bnt

I thought it was both: Fairlight-sequenced samples during the choruses, real bass during the bridges. There are two different sounds there.

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' post='282091' date='Sep 11 2008, 07:23 PM']Is there much you can do on as Stick that you can't do on an extended range bass?[/quote] The two aren't really comparable, since the Stick is designed from the ground up for two-handed playing: split in two halves, extremely low action. I know there are some insane ERBs out there, so I'm not going to say anything about range, but the Stick does have plenty. I know there are bassists (Tony Levin etc.) who have taken it up and concentrated on the bass side , but it also appeals to melodic players, who might otherwise be playing piano - another instrument where the two hands are treated separately. That's the "standard" Stick - but there's also an 8-string bass model. Then there's this thing, which works as a "normal" ERB too, playable in the usual way: the [url="http://stick.com/instruments/ns"]NS Stick[/url]. I want one, but I've learned to resist GAS.

Warmoth do a [url="http://www.warmoth.com/bass/bodies/deluxe5.cfm?fuseaction=include_deluxe5_j"]Deluxe J 5[/url] type, and the price seems to be comparable (at current exchange rate before shipping). They have different routing options too.

[quote name='Bass_In_Yer_Face' post='280306' date='Sep 9 2008, 12:49 PM']Saw a guy at Canary Wharf underground station busking with one a few weeks back and it wasn't Tony Levin or Nick Beggs [/quote] It wasn't [url="http://www.johnmartyn.com/?location=/web/Lampi"]Jim Lampi[/url], was it? He used to play on the doorstep of Rose Morris in Denmark St, and has a few albums out. He hasn't done much busking for years, though, since he's been backing John Martyn.

The bass pedals only really become necessary if you're going to be doing something else with your hands at the same time. If your hands will be free, a keyboard will do the job, and basic keyboard bass is not hard with a little practice. I've seen e.g. Tina Weymouth and Tony Levin doing that, and I have a small "virtual analog" synth that will work, though I haven't had to use it in earnest yet.

Weird one... [i]I Would Have Waited Forever[/i], from the Yes [i]Union[/i] album. I listened to the album the other day, and can't get this one out of my head. The bassist is Tony Levin not quite managing to sound like Chris Squire. I'm tempted to dig out my Funk Fingers to see how they sound. The album as a whole has some very catchy bits on it, but sounds like it was produced by Dr. Frankenstein. :ph34r:

Looking for info, I found an interview with him on the Wham days. He hasn't talked gear so far, but I can see that he likes Status Graphite these days... He just casually mentioned that he did Elton John's [i]Nikita[/i] - top flight fretless work on that one. edit: he talks gear at about 10 minutes in, showing off the LEDs... first time I've seen a Status with a pickup cover. 8)

By "less wood", might it be something to do with the way EMGs are highly non-microphonic, not so much to do with active/passive? I mean, Les Claypool has EMGs in his Carl Thompsons, and I think I hear plenty of wood there. Apart from that I agree with the idea of mixing in a P-type - that's what I have in one bass (35P & 35J).

I played a headless bass on stage in South Africa - that was my gimmick. People were, like "whoa..!" I only ever saw one other player with one, and he was a pro with a white Steinberger M-series.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='276738' date='Sep 4 2008, 09:38 AM']Awesome, where do I earth the bridge to?[/quote] If that was my bass, I would first hear how it sounds without that wire - but if you have to, just wire it to the sleeve of the jack.

Michael Brook and Daniel Lanois among my favourite producers, though they're guitarists. Larry Klein and Bill Laswell are other bassists/producers to know. Not forgetting, of course, Brian Wilson.

The Fame Bureau has a [url="http://www.famebureau.com/"]website[/url]: I took a look at the terms and conditions. Note that they have separate Buyers and Sellers Premiums (commissions). Say the "hammer price" is £10,000: they take 15% (£1,500) off what they return to the seller (who gets £8,500). Then they ask the Buyer for 15% (£1,500), so they make 30% (£3,000) on the deal. They want 5% more for eBay bids. Crafty... but then the eBay auction says (in small print): "The Buyer's premium is a service fee normally charged in live auctions. Winning buyers must pay an additional amount to the seller based on their bids." Does that mean that seller wants to claw back the Seller's Commissionn from the Buyer too? They have a whole [url="http://www.liveauctions.ebay.com/catalogs/26082"]catalog[/url] of stuff for sale. The eBay auction gives another address: 11 Chance Street London E2 7JB. When I looked them up, it appears this is the Idea Generation Gallery, the location for the Hendrix guitar auction that's been in the news today - more [url="http://www.safeconcerts.com/newsitem.asp?nurn=1759"]here[/url]. There will be a live auction at that address tomorrow (Thursday) 5PM.

[quote name='BassManKev' post='276212' date='Sep 3 2008, 01:02 PM']if your mp3 player isn't wma compatible, then thatl be the problem. anything windows media player syncs to a mp3 player is converted to wma first[/quote] Only if you leave it on default settings - I was describing how to fix that.

- stereo jacks get used in guitars for two reasons: to carry two separate signals (rarely), or to turn on the power to active electronics (much more common). If neither of those apply to you, then a mono jack is fine. If you have only a stereo jack to hand, wire up the tip and sleeve only, skip the ring (middle) contact. - you need only the controls that do the functions you're going to use - so if you use a volume pedal, and change tone through effects, then you could do without any in-bass controls at all. Sod's Law still applies, however...

Me'Shell did a concert for [url="http://www.worldcafelive.com/"]World Cafe Live[/url] back in January, and it's online via NPR in the USA (i.e. legally): [url="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17992251"]here[/url].

Could Windows Media Player be converting the files to Windows Media Audio? Check: - with the player connected, right-click on it in the left-hand column, and select Advanced Options - On the "Quality" tab, the "Convert music..." option should be unchecked. I never understood why they did that. Converting files from one lossy format to another lossy format is stupid - can never improve the sound, and causes the sync process to take much longer. It's very rare to find a MP3 file that any decent player can't handle by now. --- PS: I've found it's easier to use Playlists to manage the tracks on a player, especially when it comes to removing tracks: - create a playlist with a suitable name e.g Basslines - put a track or two in the playlist, by drag and drop, or right-click -> add to playlist - sync that playlist to the player: with the player connected, right-click on it in the left-hand column, and select Set Up Sync. Add the new playlist to the player, and remove any of those auto-generated playlists you don't want. Check "Sync this device automatically". After that, you can manage the playlist at any time, even when the player is not connected. Add tracks as above, and to remove them, go to the playlist, select the tracks, right-click and say "Remove from Playlist" (not Delete).

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='275012' date='Sep 1 2008, 10:17 PM']Oh wait... I found the sound files in audacity....[/quote] Ah, Audacity: have a look [url="http://www.audacityteam.org/manual/index.php?title=FAQ#Audacity_crashed.21_Can_I_recover_any_unsaved_data.3F"]here[/url], Audacity has a crash recovery program that might help in these cases.

[quote name='Wil' post='274536' date='Sep 1 2008, 02:09 PM']Once saw a left handed bassist who played a right handed bass, flipped over left handed, but strung normally (IE not flipped to compensate). No idea why, his technique was as a result very bizarre. Quite a good player though.[/quote] Might have been Jimmy Haslip of the Yellowjackets. Though he's used a proper leftie bass for years now, he still strings upside-down. I believe guitarist Robert Fripp is another example of a leftie who plays right-handed.

Looks a bit like one of [url="http://chrislarkinguitars.com/"]Chris Larkin's[/url], I think, e.g. this:

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='271806' date='Aug 28 2008, 02:44 PM']On almost every show he appears, Alex James comes across as a bit of a nob IMO.[/quote] Well, there's the problem: why's he doing all that Luvvie TV, then? I expect that TV viewers would think I was a nob if they saw me. TV's not for everyone.

The article dismisses Oasis entirely, which is (I think) mostly right on the money. In the much-hyped BritPop War of 1995, I took the side of Blur against Oasis, partly because I was in London at the time, but mostly because Alex of Blur took bass more seriously. When I think of Oasis, I don't think of basslines, but there was one exception that caught me by surprise. [i]Go Let It Out[/i] was one of the between-bassist tracks where Noel Gallagher played bass himself, and he even plays a rare old Rickenbacker bass in the video: I'm guessing they're Beatles fans... right?

A couple of points: - record the MIDI where possible, so you can fix things afterwards, replace the snare, etc. You don't have to quantize the MIDI(unless you want to), just record it all. At mixdown you can run the MIDI back out to the drum brain, and/or use a drum sample plugin. - Drums often benefit from a good room feel when recording, which something you can emulate using reverb. Depending on the reverb, you may be able to select stone walls etc.

[quote name='Finbar' post='270718' date='Aug 27 2008, 02:07 AM']EDIT: bnt, my bass just has one pickup, so I don't think that would be easy! o_O[/quote] Ah. OK. Something for the future, perhaps? You say you have money to spend...

If you have a bass suitable for re-wiring, you could even go stereo, sending each pickup to its own channel. There is precedent for this kind of setup: Chris Squire used to go "Rick-O-Sound" through bass and guitar amps at the same time. I tried a "virtual" version of this, a few years ago, with my Hohner B2v (w/ EMGs), in to Korg Ampworks bass and guitar FX. If I want to gig that configuration, however, I'll need to make it more robust.

[quote name='Matty' post='270501' date='Aug 26 2008, 07:03 PM']It is bloody heavy though, and perhaps not the best looking bass int he world.[/quote] I tried the 4-string, and that was my impression too. If they made one in a smaller, more contemporary body, I might like one. The neck was a tree trunk, and the pickguards on both are particularly hideous. Also, why not add a single "sweet spot" pickup? More flexibility and a rounded look, for not much extra cost. If I had access to a workshop, I might consider getting one and transplanting the guts in to something nicer.