mikel

Most enjoyable. Great to see some of the originals and I was amazed at how well they performed considering there ages. I always preferred Stax to Motown.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1504333884' post='3364122'] 'Learning the song' is one of the issues, surely. If you read dots and are playing for an MD who writes great charts, you don't need to 'learn the song'. If I do a show, I will often get just one band call/rehearsal before Showtime. No time to'learn the songs'. [/quote] No one is disputing the fact that in certain situations the ability to read music is crucial. The OP asked "Is tab really that evil". Unless you have your head wired in a strange way it obviously is not. Lots of people who don't wish to, or simply cant read music, like me, find it useful for certain applications.

There is no evil way to learn a song. Tab simply means that if you dont wish to learn to read music you can still see the notes played in a song, then decide how you wish to play them.

Use what you find the easiest for what you require. I have never wanted to copy note for note anyway. If tab gives me the basics of a cover thats all I need to add or take away what I want. Music is about interptetation for me. Dont let anyone tell you how to play rock and roll.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1503657213' post='3360001'] What Brown Sugar gets from Keef, and no one else, is the riff played in an open tuning. Everyone else is playing in standard tuning which doesn't make it wrong, but it still isn't [i]right[/i]. [b]Like All Right Now.[/b] Most guitarists are close but don't play the correct riff. Then try playing a Who song in a different key (no capo), with a different chord inversion. Same song and OK. . . . just not [i]right[/i]. [/quote] Yep. To play it with one guitar you need to nail the live versions, as the recording is two guitars.

[quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1503654494' post='3359946'] A few years ago I played in a Dire Straits tribute band. I wasn't massively keen having endured years of hearing them on the radio. As rehearsals got under way it became clear what brilliant songs MK wrote and just how beautiful his guitar playing is. A whole new appreciation started which has continued. [/quote] Agreed. His understated, laconic style often hides the wonderful melodies and clever lyrics he has come up with. As for his guitar playing, lyrical and fitting for every song would be my take.

Nice one mate, I love it when that happens. Had the same feeling with "Superstition" last year. I have played it on both drums and bass over the years and although I like the song It never felt quite right. Anyway, a start up band last year, third or fourth rehearsal, and I am waiting for the vocalist to sort something out and I simply start playing a steady 4 beat, slapping the string. One note. The guitarist picks up on it and begins to add a few "Chucka chucka's with the Wah pedal, and then he improvises with the riff from "Nobody's fault but mine". Suddenly the keys player comes in with the riff from "Superstition" the guitarist joins in, and myself and the drummer jump on it. It was magic, even the vocalist nailed it, sometimes all the stars just line up.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1503421728' post='3358114'] I'm still here ya bastard!! [font=P22JohnstonUnderground , sans-serif]I stayed over at a friend’s house in Kensington last night. This morning, his kids were playing around in the kitchen while we had breakfast and, who knows how, I managed to swallow a few Scrabble squares.[/font] [font=P22JohnstonUnderground , sans-serif]My next trip to the toilet could spell disaster.[/font] [/quote] Joke of the week for me.

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1503344785' post='3357486'] Well... Dunning got it. Kruger got it too. I got it, and I honestly think most people got it. [/quote] Well, quite. Just cos you like, or indeed "Get", a quip or joke does not mean you have to indicate the fact. I am not about to post "Yep, got that one", every time.

A bit OTT but I do like to see a stage full of amp's and equipment, for a Rock band at least. I am always less than impressed by a rock band doing a show with a couple of Fender combo's and a 1 x 15 bass cab. That might sound good out front, but the depth of sound you get from a stage full of gear is hard to beat. And no, I couldnt care less about the sound guy trying to balance out the spill, its his job, get on with it.

I love a good laugh on here but some people, no names no pack drill, insist on turning threads into serious discussions. Its very wearing.

The Third Degree covering Duffy's Mercy. I love a bit of Northern Soul.

Well, If you are paying the PA guys £250, but the pub will let you have free beer, you should just about break even, If you take it easy.

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1503169082' post='3356234'] That wouldn't help much. An Orchestral Conductor Score is mainly for reference. Orchestral Conductors read very little on the stand, other than bits here and there, or important things (to them anyway). It's mostly committed to memory and very well mentally rehearsed. Reading a full Orchestral score isn't difficult, but committing to memory, all and every line is. Yep, Classical musos have ears as well. [/quote] Pedantry apart, we are discussing a previous posters assertion that the ability to read music is the measure of a real musician. My personal view is that there is nothing wrong with learning a bass part from Tab, or being able to play the piano without being able to read music. What is your view.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1503161630' post='3356164'] If he could read he maybe wouldn't need to run through? It's also maybe got something to do with the fact he's been playing so long, not necessarily talent. [/quote] Who cares? He is a good musician and does what he does, in his own way. I have never suggested that reading music was a drawback, simply not a requirement in the bands I play in. He could site read like an orchestral conductor and it would make no difference as we don't write our stuff down.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1503156906' post='3356118'] It would indeed. To each their own, but there are tried and trusted ways for us to learn. As with "ambient's" earlier comparison of learning music to reading a book. In order to learn how to do the latter we generally take a certain path. We start off with our ABC's, we get familiar with the sound the letters make. Most people remember at infant school, constantly saying out loud..."D-O-G" = dog....C-A-T= cat etc. We move on then to bigger words and then on to constructing sentences. We then start reading child's books, maybe with pictures to help us get the gist of what the written word says. Finally we move on to adult novels and literature etc. Do you see a certain path being followed here ? I certainly do. It is THE ..(there's that word again ).. learning path to reading and writing. One that I'm sure the vast majority of us have taken. Like the content of the book, music is also a language and has it's own learning path. So in this context I think the word "the" is valid. Granted, some people choose to join the musical path somewhere in the middle. They then often find themselves having to backtrack.....mostly this brings them back to ground zero...which is the most beneficial place to start. [/quote] You do it your way and that's great, but please don't try tell everyone its the only way to play/learn. Each to there own. I have been playing bass, drums and guitar for 52 years and never found the [b]need[/b] to learn to read music. If I had wanted to play in an orchestra or a big band then I would have had the need, so I would have made the effort. I began playing in the 60s during the birth of pop and rock and it was the very fact it had no formal requirements or education that made it "Our" music. It was made up, and never written down. The vast majority of great musicians I have had contact with can not read music, with the exception of most keyboard players. I have never been handed a sheet of music at a rehearsal, gig or audition, If you cant learn the required songs from a recording in the time available then you obviously cant cut it. The best keyboard player I have ever played with is 71 years old, and the only pianist I have ever meet who cant read music. To counter this he can pick up any song you care to play to him from one or two plays through. Now that takes talent. Written music is fine for those who need it, for the music I play and the bands I have played in, both originals and covers, it is not a requirement.

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1503062041' post='3355429'] [b]As a fairly clueless musician my opinion is probably not much use, [/b]but the way I see it, standard musical notation is a very accurate way of showing what to play where and isn't instrument specific, tab is a less accurate way but IS instrument specific. I self taught myself using tab, online tutorials and by playing along to songs I love. Probably not the best way but works for me. I also found tabs very very useful when I had twenty songs to learn in a month. [/quote] You play bass? Then your opinion is a relevant as anyone's. We all learn in different ways. The only people to avoid are the one who say "There is only one way to do it.".

Nice one, hope its exactly what you wanted. Just one thing. Did you really buy it without playing with it first? It's just, judging by your requirements, looking for the holy grail of amps, and the range of top stuff you have already gone through, It seems a huge leap of faith to me to buy an amp without hearing it in the flesh and using your own instruments.

Personally I would rather play than watch, its the reason I learned to play instruments. It sounds to me like your heart is not in this band, I could be wrong, just my take on your post. If you booked the tickets a long time ago, and you have band practice every week, why wait till one week before the concert to let them know about it? That would also suggest this band may not be for you. Go to the concert, and let your band know of your concerns re the guitarist, and let them know it was the big factor in you not doing there gig. It may bring things to a head with the other members and you can find out just how committed they are to making the band work. Tell it like you see it and see how they react. One way or another the band will improve, or, you will find out its not worth your time and you can find something else.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1502726199' post='3353137'] Point taken. My point however, is if you don't have a good ear, all the more reason to concentrate on rectifying that. Personally I have never found tab useful. YMMV. [/quote] Yep. Your opinion, as valid as anyone elses. If I am in a hurry to learn a song I find tab quick and easy, If its available, certainly quicker and easier than playing parts of a song over and over trying to get a handle on the bass line by trial and error. I wasnt "telling" the OP how to learn quickly, I was offering my own experience, without dissing anyone else, for him to treat as he wishes.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1502715974' post='3353035'] OP...if you go for tab... use it VERY sparingly....if at all. Even with your limited time, it would be more beneficial to instead use it to develop your ear by playing along to songs and working out the bass lines yourself via trial and error WITHOUT TAB. Keep the songs simple to start with. Yes, it will seem frustrating at times, but in the long term it will pay dividends. If you become over reliant on tab, it can be a crutch. [/quote] I was assuming the OP did not have a good ear, as that is exactly how I learned, from listening and playing. I also advised him to learn THE SONGS HE LIKES, if we are all shouting, then use the phrases, over the chords, for other songs. Dont take it all out of context.

Utterly gorgeous. I presume from the pics its a short scale. It seems a little odd to spout on so much in that blurb about everything but the scale length.

If you have little time for practice, as you say, why not learn by playing. Have a look at the various sites that have the tablature or music for the songs you love to listen to. If you go for tab it will save your limited time and get you playing the songs you love. It will also show you how the original bassist applied there grasp of the instrument to the song in question, you can use the phrases and changes to suit other pieces of music. Its always easier to learn a song you already have a feel for. There are many ways to learn, so pick the one that suits your personality and the time you have to spare.

Yep, great groove. Bonham and Pocaro both modified, or expanded the groove, to suit songs they played, like Fool in the Rain and Rosana.