Russ

[quote name='Sibob' post='33337' date='Jul 17 2007, 10:56 PM']Isn't that the technique that Ryan Martinie uses? He said he picked it up after watching his dad play classical guitar Si[/quote] Could be, although I didn't see him do it on the live Mudvayne DVD I've got. The bastard nicked some of my other moves though.... I was doing tapped harmonics the same way he does years before I ever saw him!

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='32730' date='Jul 16 2007, 09:18 PM']sounds interesting. Is it similar to 'chicken picking'?[/quote] In a way, yes (in the banjo sense of "chicken pickin'" anyway). The trick is getting it so you can do it all on one string in semiquavers (16ths), and using it to simulate the sound of up-and-down picking using a plectrum (since the thumb and fingers produce different tones, analogous to pick upstrokes and downstrokes). Crossing strings all of a sudden becomes really easy using the technique. I'll have to knock up a vid or something.

[quote name='johnakay' post='33138' date='Jul 17 2007, 04:42 PM']abit pricy for what I'm willing to pay.I've got a Fender quire but 6 strings.and that tremolo does not fit into the bridges.so I'm wondering if I fit a 4 string bridge and a bass neck,do you think that would be fine?I know the pick ups will be different but may work? oh I've found one on ebay check it out and see what you think... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150133816405&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RSCC_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=150142859810&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=active_view_item&usedrule1=StoreCatToStoreCat&usedrule2=CrossSell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...s_promot_widget[/url][/quote] Sounds like you're talking about converting a guitar into a bass. I don't think that'll work, for all sorts of reasons - the neck pocket will be the wrong size for a bass neck, the scale length will be off so the intonation would be WAY out, the pickups won't match the layout of the strings (and will have the wrong frequency response to sound good), and a tremolo bass bridge won't fit the body routing for the existing tremolo. And that's just for starters! Sorry to be so negative, but you really need to have a proper bass to begin with. There's plenty of half-decent cheap basses on eBay, so why not pick one up, along with that cheap trem bridge, take them to your friendly neighbourhood luthier/guitar repair place, and get them to install it for you?

I dabbled with the three-finger playing thing for quite a few years, and still use it on occasion for playing triplets, but I worked out a new technique that works better for me, while providing the agility of three-finger picking and allowing me to mostly do away with using a pick for the tunes I do that needed that sound. It's pretty much a rock-optimised version of the Garrison fingers-plus-thumb technique, except using only two fingers in addition to my thumb, and incorporating the edge of my thumbnail for a pick-like sound. Basically, I nail the "one" using the thumb/thumbnail (depending on the sound I'm going for), then the 2,3,4 (or 2,3 or whatever) with the fingers in alternating fashion, and using the thumb to lead when crossing strings. It's not dissimilar to classical guitar technique, in a lot of ways. Makes for quite a powerful technique that has a lot of versatility as far as speed, tones and muting are concerned. I'm still working on it, but I can see it almost replacing all my other finger techniques once I'm comfortable with it for everything, as it's much more efficient.

I saw the Nemesis 8x10" combo a couple of weeks ago (it was slightly more expensive then, £579) and had a play through it... awesome, it just won't fit in my car! I was hoping they might have had the 2x12" combo and the 2x12" extension cab. I'd have had that right there and then!

There seems to be an unusually high demographic of lefties here (me included) - going by the current results of the voting, around 30%. The national average is around 10%... I wonder what we can draw from this? Probably something to do with right-brain thinkers being more creative, and possibly more drawn to playing music?

[quote name='bassboy115' post='31927' date='Jul 14 2007, 10:21 PM']errmmm... who is it? [/quote] Anthony Jackson. Shame on you. Having said that, when I first saw him after he lost all that weight, I almost didn't recognise him either!

Older Status bolt-on range. Most of the same features as their current range, although, if I remember right, the graphite necks didn't have truss rods back then and the bodies were more sharply bevelled. Hyperactive PJ pickups on the 4-string, and a pair of J pickups on the 5, with Status' own 2-band EQ. I think they carried the Energy name over when they started doing the wooden-neck range in addition to the graphite necks, so some Energy instruments may have the reinforced maple neck. Nice instruments and there are some serious bargains to be had. I've been on the lookout for an old Energy 5 for a while. You could probably find out a lot more from the crowd over at www.statii.com .

Love 'em. Just wish they did the cheaper models in a 5-string.

Just scored a nice ATK405 on eBay, so I am rather a happy Russ right about now. Anyone want my two Jazzes?

My old friend Lee Pomeroy (now playing bass for Take That and appearing in Elites string ads!) does some amazing lefty-and-upside-down slapping... he still slaps with the thumb and pops with the index finger, but it's impressive to watch him do it upside down!

I came across a small music shop in Oxted today (lovely little town if you ever get the chance to go there... very quaint, and a little one-screen cinema where you still get usherettes with orange-rimmed torches who serve ice cream and Kia-Ora before the film starts ), and they had an interesting-looking Fender American Deluxe Jazz 5-string in the window. So, of course, I had to go and take a look. Wow... just, wow. What a bass! The neck was a little on the chunky side, but it sounded amazing, even through the smallish combo I tried it through. Loads of tones, punchy as hell, versatile EQ, great feel... managed to get everything from Marcus-style slap heaven to the chunkiest pickstyle tone ever. I want one.

A lot of bands are going over to Myspace's two new competitors - Trig.com and Virb.com, mostly because they're not nearly as overpopulated as Myspace, and the sites themselves are a lot easier to use. The problem is, the audience is still over on Myspace... it'll take some really big names moving over to the competitors' sites to make the lay users change.

I'm another leftie who plays rightie... seems there's quite a few of us out there. So, this one is directed at you lot... have you had any problems playing and singing at the same time? I find my left (fretting) hand works fine when trying to sing, but not my plucking hand (the right, in my case). Basically, I can fret the notes fine, but actually doing the rhythm with my plucking hand is challenging while trying to concentrate on singing. I've come to the conclusion that this is probably because it's not my dominant hand... do the righties out there have the reverse problem (being able to keep the rhythm fine with the plucking hand, but having a little trouble with the fretting hand)?

Probably because of the sheer size of them, and the fact that they can't be sent via the post or couriers cheaply. It'd have to be a local bidder who could collect, and, even then, 8x10"s don't fit easily in most cars! What kind of 8x10" are you selling?

As someone who's previously owned both, personally, I'd go with the Ampeg. The ABM is a nice head, plenty of power and lots of adjustability (although I found the sub-harmoniser a bit useless) but, overall, a little clean and characterless for my tastes, even with the valve drive dialled way up. If you're going from an all-valve Ampeg head, you'll notice far more of a difference in character between the ABM and the SVT-3. The SVT-3 has 90% of the all-valve Ampeg tone (including that lovely fizzy midrange and huge low-end punch) for half the cost and a quarter of the weight!

Cheers David, I'll have to look into that! I found a 405 for sale on a French message board - I dropped the guy a line (thought it'd be a good chance to brush up on my French!) so hopefully he'll get back to me. If I don't hear anything, I might have to grab one from that website.

I think everyone should strive to be in their own favourite band. Whether it's originals, writing songs you prefer to listen to to anything else, or covers, where you feel your version of a particular song is the best, that's always something to strive for, even if you don't always achieve it. Cake please.

I've checked out GAK and Sound Control, and neither of them seem to have the new ATKs. Anyone know of anywhere stocking them? I always wanted the old ATK405, but they're rare as rocking horse sh*t now, so one of the new 305s will suffice...

My Sei has a pair of custom-wound Kent Armstrongs in it - Aaron Armstrong will wind pickups to your specifications. I specified a 70s-style MM pickup for the bridge, and a 5-string P pickup in a 40DC-sized casing for the neck. They sound great - thick, punchy and clear, and they capture the essence of the tones I was after. Highly recommended - they're vastly underrated pickups.

Cheers guys, plenty for me to think about here!