chris_b

I still have a love affair with 5 strings, but I never moved far away from simple lines. Most of what I play could be played on a 3 string bass, but I'd need 2 with different tunings so a 5 is the simplest option for me. No matter how many strings, a good bass is a good bass if it makes you a happy player.

Whitney Houston is way too shouty for me. Just belting it out and no subtlety at all. And why is Chaka Khan always screaming? The best voice IMO belongs to Aaron Neville.

Most of the guys I've played with in the last 20 years have been playing in more than one band. If you're relying on a lift to a gig it might not be there for the next. The dep is unlikely to be a taxi as well. I'm friends with the guys I play with but they're not "mates" and none of my gigs are social events. The last "mates" band I was in was my band at school. I can gig anywhere in the country so IMO it's best to be self sufficient in this game.

. . . . as the bass player are you playing exactly the same notes every time? Help your drummer by changing what you play a little and give him some inspiration.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1490312491' post='3264300'] IMO, it's our responsibility as individual musician to resolve boredom not the vands. We play songs that a I dreaded playing that are now songs I look forward to playing. If your bored with a song, figure out a way to make your part fun and one that you can commit to. Blue [/quote] Blue, you beat me to it. Exactly the point I was going to make. If the drummer's bored tell him it's his job to work on it. Different drum patterns can improve the songs without killing them, changing the feel or turning them into a drum solo.

Do all Precisions sound the same? They can do. If that's what you want, but listen to JJ Burnell and Bob Babbitt and you'll hear that Precision basses will also let you sound totally unique. If you are a "no style" amateur player, a "meat and potatoes" semi pro player or a top pro player a P bass let's you shine. That's pretty impressive for a bass that "sounds the same". The question is, is using a P bass a bad thing if the spread of tone is so limited? With many of the hit and successful records of the last 60 years being recorded on P basses, and the high percentage of touring bands out there today using P basses it seems that using a P bass was and is still a good thing. I guess all those players might be thinking they sound different to the next guy or they'd probably be playing something else. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMNTN-9SAUQ[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoJUz1oajXo[/media]

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1490184116' post='3262941'] I posted a video of Simon and Garfunkel... surely uncontroversial? [/quote] Dunno. . . . what were they doing to each other?

There are lots of these floating around for all sorts of companies. I just block the sender when I get one.

If you will be bored in a covers band then don't do it. If you think it's just somewhere you can park yourself for an easy ride for a few years, again don't do it. If you can't accept that most of the time you won't be playing your favourite numbers, don't do it. If the guys in the band are not good players, don't do it. I haven't played a boring cover yet, but average and disinterested players can make anything sound boring, trite or just plain dull. Play them properly and most covers, certainly the ones that audiences like and want to hear, will sound good, even Sex On Fire and Mustang Sally.

I haven't been in a band with a van for decades. I travel to all my gigs in the car. I couldn't make it work any other way.

I haven't put flats on my passive Jazz, yet, but I have been playing my active Lakland 55-94 with flats for a little while and although it sounds pretty good, I think I prefer the "livelier" sound of a good set of rounds on an active bass. The flats give the 55-94 the typical thump and fuller fatter sound, but the P bass does that even better. I guess that's down to it's pickup design and location.

I played my Lull PJ5 with roundwounds for a couple of weeks and it sounded good, but something was missing. I was comparing it to Happy Jack's Lull P bass which sounded better!! Then I put a set of flats on and discovered [i]the[/i] sound.

DD wasn't on the green onions record. The first MG's bass player was Lewis Steinberg. [/useless facts]

Stax rearranged my brain cells. Never the same again.

I'd do this in stages. My feelings towards modding is coloured by my experience. I replaced the P pickups in my Fender and liked the sound so much I jumped right in, adding a J and going active at the same time. Of course this was going to make a great sound even better? Wrong!! Neither of those mods made the difference I was hoping for. And I preferred the previous sound when P was upgraded. I could have saved myself a couple of hundred pounds by stopping there!

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1489975146' post='3261218'] yeah, SHOULD being the key word. . . I find guitarists are the worst at keeping time. [/quote] Yep. . . . [i]should[/i]. . . . because we all play with guys who need to try harder to be better. How can guys play out of time? It's like finger nails down a blackboard! There's a simple difference between amateurs and pro's, it's how well they can play in time. If you're playing with people who find it difficult to keep in time you'll be doing everyone a favour by telling them. You have to be exceptional to make bad timing work. The only person I can think of who got away with it was Keith Moon. John Entwistle said that playing with Kenny Jones was the first time he'd played with a drummer who came out of a fill at the same tempo as he went in. Kenny Jones sat in with our band and he was great to play with. I would hate to play with Keith Moon, but for all his problems he's still the legend!

Let us know how this goes.

+1 I'd look at the passive option. Also a good P bass pickup would improve the tone without having the hassle of trying to route a J pickup, which IMO will give you less than a top of the range Nordy or Lindy Fralin, Bart, SD etc. The uprated P pickup will cost a lot less than all the other work.

No Particular Place To Go. . . . played today as the encore. I loved every second. Also this week sees the 50th anniversary of Purple Haze. So we played Fire. Close enough!

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1489893602' post='3260631'] Probably Clarkys Pino Sig Precision, it was just effortless to play. [/quote] It was a good one, wasn't it.

Chuck Berry was one of the most influential songwriters and performers of the 20th Century. He's up there with Lennon McCartney, Dylan, Lou Reed and the rest. Those who think they haven't been influenced by him had better check out their heroes. The 6 Degrees of Separation theory certainly applies here.

Always a genius. RIP Chuck. Treated very badly in the beginning and, sadly, spent the rest of his life trying to get even. There will be a lot of Chuck Berry songs being added to set lists around the world over the next few weeks.

The Harvest full leather gig bags are currently £259 on their web site.With the Mono M80 gig bags being listed at £200-ish, the difference is not as great as it was.

In a band everyone should be playing in time. There should be no [i]timekeeper[/i]. As has been said, embrace the spaces. Enjoy the clean uncluttered and fluid sound.

[quote name='ThePapabull' timestamp='1489834677' post='3260169']That might sound daft but I think sometimes that kind of thing can affect how you play! [/quote] Not daft at all. If you are confident in your sound then you'll be happy. A happy bass player is [i]always[/i] a better bass player.