TrevorR

Some photos here, if anyone's interested. [b]https://www.facebook.com/trevorraggatt/media_set?set=a.10153488398220860.1073741842.705595859&type=3[/b] Hope that works

Hey all, The slides from the Wal talk are uploaded here http://basschat.co.uk/uploads/monthly_09_2015/post-38200-0-04971000-1443297331.ipb And some more info, links and suggested Wal listening tips are here: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/270217-wal-bass-talk-slides-from-the-bass-bash-today/ Looking forward to reading Bluejay's blog on the day in due course...

Strange double post, sorry about that... If a moderator could delete that would be great

Had great fun today chatting to the assembled at the SE Bass BAsh about Wal basses. For anyone interested here are the slides I used today to illustrate the talk... Plus a few Wal bebsites including a video playlist just for fun... •Official Wal Basses website [url="http://www.walbasses.co.uk/"]http://www.walbasses.co.uk[/url][url="http://www.walbasses.co.uk/"]/[/url] •Official Facebook page [url="http://tinyurl.com/o79rugx"]http://[/url][url="http://tinyurl.com/o79rugx"]tinyurl.com/o79rugx[/url] •My Wal History Blog [url="http://walbasshistory.blogspot.co.uk/"]http://walbasshistory.blogspot.co.uk[/url][url="http://walbasshistory.blogspot.co.uk/"]/[/url] •Facebook group [url="http://tinyurl.com/pw8ba9z"]http://tinyurl.com/pw8ba9z[/url] •My Youtube video playlist •[url="http://tinyurl.com/oxzpdxy"]http://[/url][url="http://tinyurl.com/oxzpdxy"]tinyurl.com/oxzpdxy[/url] And a Wal listening list for you to check out for yourself... Everyday I Write The Book Bruce Thomas / Custom Elvis Costello & The Attractions King For A Day Colin Moulding / Pro XTC Prime Mover Geddy Lee / Custom Rush Give It Away Flea / Custom Red Hot Chili Peppers Too Shy Nick Beggs / Pro Kajagoogoo I Want Candy Leigh Gorman / Pro Bow Wow Wow Stuck on You Greg Edwards / Custom Failure Special Way Dave Snell / Passive Pro reissue River City People Black Moon Greg Lake / Custom Emerson, Lake & Palmer Abstract Logic Jonas Hellborg / Custom builds Jonas Hellborg The Interview Jim Crichton / Custom Saga Heartsong John G Perry / W1111 Gordon Giltrap Earth Dance Percy Jones / Pro Brand X Plaster the Magic Tongue Mick Karn / Custom Mick Karn Long Goodbyes Colin Bass / Pro Camel Only When You Leave Martin Kemp / Custom Spandau Ballet Dance Away Alan Spenner / JG Roxy Music Love Is The Drug John Gustafson / Custom built precision hybrid Roxy Music Twin Exhausted John Gustafson / JG Ian Gillan Band Heartsong (Live at Oxford) John Gustafson / JG Gordon Giltrap Wal to Wal Percy Jones and John Giblin / Pro Brand X Enjoy

[quote name='GM10' timestamp='1443261393' post='2873460'] Sit Down is an easy one [/quote] And one that will immediately have the whole audience on your side. It was always a crowd pleaser whenever we did it...

Three lovely looking basses. Mind you, I'd be happy to take one off your hands if you ever decided to give it away, give it away, give it away, give it away now... Groan, I can only apologise underservendly for that attempt at humour...

Like others I have also wondered why this can be such an obsession in the forum world. Notwithstanding back problems where of course the bass weight must be suitable to fit with them... I've never really considered weight as an issue either. Even for 3 x 50 min set covers gigs. Then again, I've always gone for good quality leather straps to distribute the weight. Currently 4" Italia Leather ones. It just makes (ergonomic and engineering) sense to me. It's also seen me through some back issues and chiro treatment too. I recall a conversation with a guitarist chum who has invested time and money on a fairly weighty Steinberger (the ones with the bodies), refurbish it and making it Roland VG ready. He was bemoaning the weight and how it killed his shoulder. I pointed out that he was using a 1 1/2 inch cheap nylon webbing strap and suggested he borrow a spare 3" Levys leathers one I had. It had never occurred to him that a decent strap might answer his problem. That will work for some, but not for others. Thus is life. I personally love a substantial bass but there are plenty of great lightweight options too. I played a hollow Reverend today at the bash which was light as a feather, played beautifully and sounded amazing. It looked dead cool too. The polar opposite of my basses and one I would never have sought out but wonderful in all its differences!

What a great, great day. Huge thanks to SFNik, Hamster, Mrs Hamster, Bluejay, Lozz and everyone else involved in making it happen.

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1443032568' post='2871722'] I'd look something like this, it actually works much better as a means of putting more sound at ear level than raising a cab off the floor and has the advantage of not messing with the floor coupling so much which is useful especially for smaller cabs. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stagg-Foldable-Monitor-Floor-Stand/dp/B000YL952E [/quote] I've got a Quik Lok version... Very robust.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1442929224' post='2870628'] I've never owned or played through a rig with a "sub button". If you can buy a bass rig with an inbuilt octaver, can you also buy one with an inbuilt fuzz, chorus, flanger, and envelope filter? [/quote] I had an Ashdown Mag300 for a year or so and always thought that the sub octave button was a pointless gimmick.it didn't track too well as you got down towards (for me) normal playing positions and as o there have said was just a mud fest. The low preshape was more than enough give extra bass.

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1443215301' post='2873238'] I've not looked at the individual prices, but that sounds like a good deal, if you were looking to move up from your first Affinty Precison and practice amp, you could do a lot worse. [/quote] GAK have the amp for much the same price and you DO get a free gift... A guitar cable... Not quite the same VFM!

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1443194550' post='2873036'] Yes, that was a good one. I also liked the instrumental theme from OHMSS -- some damned fine music on that film's soundtrack. [/quote] The Propellerheads cover is a cracking version... [url="http://youtu.be/7O1_0hikl-A"]http://youtu.be/7O1_0hikl-A[/url]

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1443180791' post='2872873'] Cant beat a bit of Sheena Easten mate , Guilty Pleasure [/quote] And nobody does it better than Carly Simon

I wondered if there was a thread like this on here. Here's a playlist I did for our work "PLaylist Friday" bit of fun a while back plus some particualr faves... http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGIYNBxcSZ3tLm4p1TwazuANkxl5D_swL I spy for the FBI http://youtu.be/QHItHKfzW7A Supermassive Black Hole http://youtu.be/DH6y7LD2GG0 Der Kommisar http://youtu.be/vBfFDTPPlaM Stairway to Heaven http://youtu.be/vNc5o9TU0t0 It must be love (no not THAT version) http://youtu.be/gyNhvR1LqUI

[quote name='ColinB' timestamp='1417508311' post='2620994'] The Third Degree's version of Duffy's "Mercy" [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU12FrWWVqA[/media] [/quote] Great to see this on here - a real fave of mine. Doubly astonisning when you think that the singer isn't the black guy in the video but a beardy, white folky from the West Country called Jon Allen... go figure!

Glad that the encouragement helped! Does your friend's band have a website? Any YouTube videos? What styles do they usually play? If they do functions and covers gigs then they might have a sample song list on the website, a lot of such bands do. I'm guessing from your description that it's pretty mainstream stuff. Do try to get more info from her and tell her you'd feel more confident doing a song they already know really well and which fits in their set - rather than randomly picking some random, stylistically inappropriate songs. If not you might look at something like some of the big hits off Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album. Great songs for a girl singer, relatively simple s tructures and crowd pleasers. Don't Stop, Go Your Own Way, Dreams,... Are the Eagles too Country? They've got lots of great but relatively simple songs.

Some great openings already... Here are a few more of mine... Now that I've met you, would you object to never seeing each other again? Aimee Mann, Deathly Why must you record my phone calls? Are you planning a bootleg LP? The Specials, Gangsters When I passed you in the doorway, you took me with a glance. I should've took the last bus home but I asked you for a dance. Thin Lizzy, Dancing In the Moonlight Fergus sings the blues. In bars of twelve or less. Deacon Blue I turn my back to the wind. To catch my breath before I start off again. Rush, Time Stand Still. I understand that the first line of the chorus is rather good too...

I do love Lizzy and Lynott but I'd have to concede that his solo output had a few "that really made it past the demo , did it?" moments. For every King's Call there is a Talk In 79 (oh dear, oh dear, oh dear...). Was listening to a Grand Slam song the other day and it was just pitiful... He'll still always be my fave bassist and Lizzy will still be my fave band, though...

I think the KISS (keep it simple stupid) approach really applies here. What you are gaining here isn't about bass lines, scales, and the type of stuff you'll have been studying for grades, it's about the experience being in front of (a friendly and supportive) audience and the experience of playing with other musicians. This will stretch you but the stretch won't be in the baselines, it will be in locking in with other players and dealing with the adrenaline from playing in a gig. So, if all you do is plod along playing root notes on a simple 4 chord tune but do so solidly and with feel then that is an achievement. Impress them by locking in and being solid rather than by trying to play something complex. I'd agree with others. Get the set list from your friend (and then post it here so others can advise). Pick a simple tune that they are familiar with so that they can carry the song and you can lock in with that. There's little point throwing in suggestions for songs if they aren't ones that the band does so use that as a starting point and go from there. Then try to relax, have fun and enjoy it. There is nothing quite like playing in front of an audience. Oh, and here's a little muso mind game to be aware and wary of... After you've played there's a chance you will over analyse every note you played and presume that any you didn't feel you got 100% will have chimed out like huge ear grating clangers... Here's the thing... No one else will have even noticed them. I can recall with horror pretty much every bum note I've ever played and that's even though I know nobody but me even noticed them when they happened. The little games we play on ourselves, eh? Above all, just enjoy the opportunity!

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1442910680' post='2870353'] No - clean note execution. If Al Di Meola plays sixteenth notes, you can hear every one. If Howe plays anything 'fast', it generally sounds scrappy as f***. It has it's own personality, though, whereas Al Di Meola can sound overly clinical. [/quote] I think that some of the charm of Howe's playing for me is that "electric guitar line falling down the stairs" element to the way in which he plays. it certainly adds an air of excitement and energy into his playing. Also, I'll bet that's how he intends it to sound and plays it accordingly rather than just being "scrappy".

What he said... ^

OK, so I'll jump straight in with a controversial (or is it) suggestion. An up and coming young lad called Paul (Macca) McCArtney. It's been interesting to watch his progress from the point where he kinda got too big for anyone to say to him, "Paul, really...?" For me I'd musically put that some time soon after the "Give My Regards to Broad Street" album. I reckon that's the last album I've heard of his full of cracking songs. I've always thought he benefits from a strong co-writer/collaborator - Lennon (adding the cynicism back into his music*) or George Martin, Denny Laine or, on "BrRoad Street", Eric Stewart of 10CC fame IRRC. * The story of "Getting Better All The Time" as told by George Martin is a great example of this where Lennon's interjected "...counld't get much worse..." saves it from just being a twee syurpy tune.

[quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1442841835' post='2869899'] Got any examples of this? [/quote] Well, his playing is always great but he should never be allowed to write a song without some editing, assistance, collaboration or co-arrangement... there are a few Howe only Asia B-sides whci could REALLY benefit from the help of a co-writer to season the cheesy choruses and middle eights. "Lyin' to Yourself" springs to mind. Plus some of his solo album stuff is beautifully played by a wee bit cheesily written nonetheless.

Been a huge fan of Gordon's guitar playing for longer than I care to remenber. Such a great guitarist and such a lovely, self effacing guy (and a collector of amazing rhythm sections over the years given that they have included the bass players John Gustafson, John G Perry and Steve Anderson (of Threshold) and drummers Simon Phillips, Ian Mosely (of Marillion), Gerry Conway and Johanne James (also Threshold).). So sad to see this news flash on his website this morning. Positive thoughts, prayers and hopes for a speedy, complete recovery beaming his way from this quarter... "[size=3]Hello Everyone.[/size] [size=3]I thought I should let friends and followers of my music know that on the 11[sup]th[/sup] of June this year I was diagnosed with a rare cancer called a[b] GIST[/b], which stands for [b]Gastro Intestinal Stromal Tumour[/b].[/size] [size=3]Fortunately for me it is not at this time life threatening and hopefully will be sorted by surgery either later this year or early next. After surgery I will require at least a three month recovery period.[/size] [size=3]This news has of course been life changing for Hilary and I, and I have just been put on a three to six month course of tablets to shrink the tumour to help make surgery less invasive. The tumour at the moment is basically the size of a small melon.[/size] [size=3]To that end I have decided, for the time being at least not to accept any more engagements for 2016. Fortunately I have been able to continue with the engagements already in the book, however to all intents and purposes I have (for now) retired from the live arena.[/size] [size=3]I’m going public with this not to elicit sympathy but to really let you know how things stand at the moment and why there are no bookings being arranged. As I mentioned earlier, fortunately what I have is not life threatening and I consider myself very fortunate indeed that it has been detected.[/size] [size=3]Because of the present situation, Hilary and I are taking things a week or so at a time, making it incredibly difficult to make any long term plans.[/size] [size=3]I hope you will understand that if you are moved to send a message (which of course will be gratefully received) I won’t be able to reply to everyone. You can leave any messages on my Forum page at [url="http://giltrap.co.uk/discussion/viewforum.php?f=13"]http://giltrap.co.uk/discussion/viewforum.php?f=13[/url] on the [b]Newsflash[/b] section - you will need to register if you have not already done so."[/size]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1442643471' post='2868368'] ... I know its silly but I genuinely care about this bass and really believe in what Paul is doing down in that tiny workshop in Cobham... Can't wait to see what they thought [/quote] +1 from me on that count. Paul's done a great job bringing back the brand he cut his luthiers skills with from a very uncertain future. I don't recall seeing a previous Herman era review in a major mag so can't wait to read it!