tinyd

[quote name='cybertect' timestamp='1374851357' post='2154084'] Although Fleetwood Mac famously trash that particular rule and make it work, with Mick Fleetwood playing ahead of the beat on drums, and John McVie on bass, playing slightly behind it. Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman had a similar sort of arrangement. [/quote] That's interesting - I've never really listened to this aspect of the playing on Fleetwood Mac or the Stones. Maybe it's a case of having to know the rules before you can break them, or, more likely, they just played what sounded good and it worked.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1375114962' post='2156867'] Walking lines at that pace are easy, soloing less so. I tend to be thinking three dimensionally, theory/scales/patterns, melody and reacting to what is around me. A bit of theme and variation is in there and the occasional 'lick' I have practiced. Some muscle memory, no doubt; its all in there. [/quote] Thanks for sharing that Bilbo - however you are doing it, it sounds great and I'll be delighted if I ever sound a fraction as good!

That's some fantastic playing Bilbo. I can barely play the first note in each bar at that tempo, but you're really swinging! Just out of interest, how do you find playing at that tempo affects your note choices? Do you necessarily have to pick from a smaller 'set' of notes? Or is part of the achievement of playing at that tempo that you're able to make the same decisions? From listening, it certainly doesn't seem like you're limiting yourself, but I'd be interested in what's going through your brain at that speed...

Another thing to remember is that the whole band (in particular the drummer) have to be playing with a similar feel. On Chicken Grease, the kick drum, guitar and vocal are all pretty loose as well as the bass. If you're the only one playing like this, it might well just sound 'wrong' rather than loose.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1371628875' post='2116275'] I don't disagree with what you say but would suggest that reliance solely on either method is potentially problematic. The ear only works if the ear is educated, rather like the mouth [/quote] I agree with Bilbo's 'education' point above. Of course, some people's ears ears maybe don't need to be educated. But I find that knowing more theory gives me more insight into what I hear and what I play and this in turn suggests new things to try on the bass.

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1371485827' post='2114445'] Other week I watched 'Soul Power', the film about Zaire '74 - the Ali fight and music festival around it. Loads of James Brown (whom I also adore) and the whole thing is sooooo recommended! Owwwww-eeeeeee!! [/quote] +1. That Soul Power documentary is fantastic - I force my kids to watch James Brown's performance every now and again just so they know how it should be done. Not sure if they're that impressed, but it keeps me happy Also, the Fania All Stars/Celia Cruz jam on the plane is great.

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1370856286' post='2106225'] Thanks, you may well be right. I just took what I read on TalkBass when doing some research where a couple of guys thought the mid-range voicing of the S was better suited to double bass than the E [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f4/more-questions-about-gk-mb150e-372594/"]http://www.talkbass....-mb150e-372594/[/url] Doesn't mean to say they are right or that the E doesn't work very well for double bass either! [/quote] That's an interesting thread - my feeling is that there's nothing that the S can do that the E can't and that your "coffee shop" requirement would be more than adequately met with either version - but good luck with the hunt all the same! Cheers

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1370848537' post='2106144'] thanks for the heads up but I would prefer the S version, rather than the E, of the MB150 as its supposedly voiced better for double bass (the E being better for electric). Appreciate the post though [/quote] I don't think that's the case - as far as I know, the E version just has better EQ and outputs. But the core electronics, speaker etc are the same. Here's the manual so you can check though:- http://www.gallien-krueger.com/manuals/MB150-III-Manual.pdf I just got a second-hand MB150E and it's great for the DB ( I would have been just as happy with the S version, mind).

I have a Plat Pro that I used with my previous amp (a Roland) with a Bass Max pickup. However, I recently bought a GK MB150 amp and I prefer the sound without the Plat Pro. The Bass Max does have a relatively high output though so this arrangement might not work with other pickups. I guess the best approach is to try a pickup/amp combination and if it sounds crap, has feedback etc then a preamp is probably required...

If you can stretch the budget a bit then a second hand GK MB150 would be worth considering. They're small, surprisingly loud and they sound great, both for DB and BG. I have a Fishman Plat Pro but since I got the GK I've found that i prefer going directly into the amp. Like yourself, a new one was out of my price range but it was worth the wait for a second hand one.

For what it's worth I'd make sure that he can tap a basic pulse with his foot while playing. This might mean breaking the bass lines down into smaller pieces but once he can do it he should find it much easier to figure out how the bass interacts with other rhythms.

I suffer from nerves before even the smallest gig - like others have said, it's just one of those things and it keeps you sharp ! For what it's worth, 2 things that I always do are 1) don't drink beforehand - even a single pint messes with my ability to play and remember stuff and, 2) always have a bottle of water on stage to combat nerve-induced dry mouth syndrome The thing is, you're taking care of the important part (knowing the tunes) so you'll be great...

To answer your original question, the consensus seems to be that if you're going to play amplified then the carved top will make less of a difference plus laminate tops are supposed to be less likely to cause feedback problems. However, if you fancy the carved top for 'acoustic' reasons, one thing you could try is to get a 'mid range' pickup like a Bass Max. I have one of these and I plug it straight into my GK MB150 amp and it sounds pretty usable (I have a Fishman Pay Pro preamp but since I got the GK I find I prefer the sound straight into the amp). The trick for me was to tweak the EQ to get rid of the nasty 'boomy' high-mids.

@bilbo, that's a great post. IMO what you've described is the irrational 'fear of getting found out' that lots of us suffer from in all walks of life! You're clearly a very accomplished player and I'm pretty sure that all decent musicians who aren't completely deluded go through the same thought process. From reading about and listening to jazz my theory is that only the true greats really 'get' all aspects of the harmony of what they're playing. But this shouldn't stop the rest of us from trying our best and having fun at the same time.

IMO if you want to play jazz it's worth getting a book specifically about constructing walking basslines. I've got the ones by Ed Fuqua, Ed Friedland and Jay Hungerford and I got something from each of them. John Goldsby's Jazz Bass Book is a wonderful combination of biographies and technique that's filled with snippets from the great players. It inspires me to try new things out whenever I pick it up, well worth getting. Hope this helps.

We started a song once and the singer was singing pretty much at double-speed so she was on to the chorus when the rest of us were still halfway though the verse. I still get a headache when I think about it now but I asked several people in the audience if they noticed and not one of them did. Which either means we're so incredibly professional that even our mistakes sound good, or (somewhat more likely) that all our stuff sounds shambolic and a bit sh*t anyway

I have an Intellitouch PT-10 clip-on. It seems reasonably accurate and responsive but what I really like about it is that it has a bright, clear display that you can read easily on a dark stage.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1365582412' post='2041225'] I think the two are intrinsically linked. To make someone want to rock out or dance you have to have that almost indefinable sense of timing, syncopation and phrasing. You have to groove. For me, Deftones and Beyoncé are almost the same. They make me want to move in almost the same way. The notes and style are peripheral to the core skill. [/quote] +1 - the core abilities are the same. IMO any bass player who understands the qualities that @xilddx has outlined should be able to play either genre (or anything in between). They might not WANT to, but that's another thing....

I get the impression that a lot of keyboard players learn to play basslines with their left hands as a core part of learning the instrument. So I suppose once they get into a band with a bass player their success will be based on how quickly they can 'un learn' this. I must admit, I still get insecure as a bass player when I hear someone like Jimmy Smith basically doing my job with his left hand

I have to say that although the Simandl book is pretty hard going, it really sorted out my intonation. If you have even a passing interest in jazz, then [url="http://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Bass-Book-Technique-Tradition/dp/0879307161"]John Goldsby's Jazz Bass Book [/url]is a real pleasure - it has plenty to read about the players and tradition, plus it has a good amount of theory and the musical examples are really nice to work through

Thanks for the suggestions - I found the Jim Hall and Ron Carter stuff on Spotify just after posting here, and the Pat Metheny and Charlie Haden is great too. All these sources are making it crystal clear to me that I need to get my act together when it comes to soloing.....

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1362744165' post='2004087'] There are videos of Joe Pass and NHOP on YouTube. Fairly tricky stuff though! [/quote] Cheers! Those are some great vids - I think it's fair to say that ability-wise we inhabit a very different universe...but there are some nice ideas in terms of arrangements and feel that we might be able to learn from. Thanks for sharing

[quote name='Chambo' timestamp='1362742778' post='2004060'] Ah! I thought that 3/4 was for learning [/quote] Yep, it's only 75% as difficult as a full-sized one

Hi there Myself and a guitarist friend have been playing though a few jazz standards for a while and we're thinking about gigging at some point. Does anyone have any examples of 'proper' guitar/bass (+ poss drums) bands that we can use for inspiration and ideas? We're interested in playing bebop and newer (as opposed to gypsy/trad stuff). I love the likes of Bill Evans' and Brad Mehldau's trios, and it's obviously possible to learn a lot from them, but equivalents with guitar seem a bit rarer. Anyway, all suggestions will be gratefully received.... Cheers

[quote name='mtroun' timestamp='1361553536' post='1987510'] You aware that this is a (brilliant) joke video? One for the jazz geeks (that's me) [/quote] Haha, I didn't realise that this was the 'shred' version. The original video has a few shots where you can see PC playing the line