Count Bassy

James Dewar on "Too Rolling Stoned" (Robin Trower)

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1390524678' post='2346536'] Rig == amp and associated gubbins. Rig generally implies (to me anyway) separate amp head and cab(s) (speaker cabinet(s)) rather than a combo (all in one amp and speaker(s)). [/quote] [size=4]Now you see I've always taken rig to include everything except the bass itself, so would include a combo in that.[/size] [size=4]... but then again if someone asked what rig I was using I would probably include the bass as well![/size]

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1390480446' post='2345829'] Signed, even though i live in London and cant here it lol. I do think if a music venue is operating in a close residential environment they should be made to do as much as possible to ensure the noise is not an issue for those that choose not to want to hear it. I do hope they can stay open but its not so silly that someone wants a quite home. [/quote] But the point is that if you want a quiet home then don't move in to a home close to an established live music venue, which is apparently what some of the complainers in this case have done. After all the venue has been operating in this way for 20 years apparently. (obviously some residents may still pre-date that)

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1390380816' post='2344609'] Did you even read that the petition is basically a load of crap and they are not being threatened with closure? All that the residents are asking for (some of them being there for 10 years +) is for the volume to go back to its last level as the venue increased their volume level massively. That's it. [/quote] Well they are being threatened with having to turn it down, which might well result in closure if they loose their clientèle. Well I signed before all the counter arguments came out, and I sort of wish I'd waited for details of this specific case. However past experience still suggests that Councils in general tend to jump in in support of the complainer, hence my signing at the time. Unfortunately the "discussion" on Manchester Confidential (ManCon) is hardly a reasoned one, on either side. And, re the arguments about it only having got louder since October, well to some extent that's what the complainers would say isn't it. Not saying they're lying, not saying they're wrong, but in case like this the truth is often the first casualty (on both sides)! If nothing else the petition will force the two sides to talk and hopefully come to a compromise.

I thought that the device had a distinct sound of its own. While the two "unassisted" guitarists posted where obviously very clever, they did not sound (to me) the same as the device. Whether you like the sound of the device is a different and personal matter! [size=4]I can't see a great market for it myself, but I have no philosophical problem with it being out there as an option.[/size]

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1390324102' post='2344080'] Gaillard D/G/accs, two year build time. Gorgeous box but not right for me. Steve [/quote] Shame, especially after a 2 year wait! I suppose with something like that it's difficult to find one to try out in advance. My main squeeze is an old Castagnari RIK , which is a great box (when I say old - I bought it nearly new off Rhys Wesson about 24 years ago). To be honest I very rarely stray on to the A row, and a two row would have been both cheaper and lighter! But I got it at a good price so I put up with the extra weight. Often thought about trading it against a 2.5 row, but never did. I don't play it much at all these days as the Ceilidh band is very quite, and I'm enjoying bass in the rock band more. I did buy a Hohner Preciosa and got it retuned to G/D, but that has sat in its case for a few years now. The tone and and punch were great, but didn't really get on with the compressed keyboard, and the novelty of its size soon wears off!

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1390259002' post='2343384'] Not just with basses. I finally got to buy the melodeon of my dreams (£3,500), sold a pile of stuff (including a couple of boxes, a bass and some other gear) to get it and it lasted 3 months. Fortunately I was able to pass it on to someone else at the same price BUT what I can't get back is one of the boxes I sold to make it happen, which in fact this one was a replacement for, and that is what really gets to me. Steve [/quote] Don't just taunt us!! As a melodeon man myself I need details.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1390304329' post='2343710'] FWIW...the best wedding band I recall... as in very different for me at the time, was a Celidh band with a good caller. Got everyone involved as no one avoided the dances as everyone looked as stupid as everything else. [/quote] +1. Far more sociable as practically any age group can join in and enjoy it, and it encourages people to interact, between ages and the two families involved. Plus when the caller is doing his bit between dances the guests can actually talk to each other without having to leave the room. A rock band is great if it's your/the guests thing, but offers nothing to guests who are not into it (Still better than a disco though!).

It's just great to see Wilko still out there gigging and having fun. An example to us all!

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1389904957' post='2339470'] The parties directly involved need to get down to some proper dialogue and compromise instead of the polarised, defensive nonsense that has gone on so far, of which this petition is part. [/quote] While I agree with this I have signed it as well, because unless the council get a wake up call (e.g. in the form of this petition), they will just carry on and effectively close the place down, because it's easier than engaging in dialogue! Over 56000 now! This sort of thing really pisses me off! It's always the complainers who get listened to. Our local pub put on a weekend music festival, with plenty of consultation and warning to locals, but because one or two residents complained to the council it will never happen again, despite the fact that there were about 300 people, mostly from the village, having a great time.

[quote name='6MinsToBass' timestamp='1389618639' post='2336120'] I have I I have spoken to Mark by phone, been into the shop, and exchanged quite a few emails over the last 6 months. Mark is a great guy and offers a fantastic service. I have bought 2 Vanderkley 212MNT's from him, a Babicz bridge, a Darkglass B7k, and part-ex'd a Markbass LMii, and 2 GK 112Neo's - all with out a glitch. Infact when I was dealing with Insurance companies following the loss of my rig Mark was only to happy to help me with supplying receipts, serial numbers etc, and helped my to replace some of my equipment. I have played Guitar and Bass for many many years, but I haven't dealt with a shop that delivers such a good "personal" service before. Absolute 100% Top Marks for Bass Direct. [/quote] Not to detract from the guy - I've never had any contact with him, but his helping sort out your insurance claim may not have been purely altruistic, he had a potential large financial incentive to help out as well.

[quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1389739649' post='2337512'] Clever enough, but sounds sh*t. [/quote] Beat me to it!

The thing I find with music is that "Frame of Mind" has so much to do with it. You can do exactly the same thing repeatedly and sometimes it feels great and other times it doesn't. The problem is (for me anyway) that if I don't feel its working it I start worrying and thinking "What's" wrong, and before I know it it really is going wrong!

[quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1389263436' post='2331972'] I think a lot of Paul Young's songs were covers. However, (and I may be wrong in some cases) I think Pino's basslines were new and completely different to those in the originals. In my book, these basslines are worthy of study/comment/praise etc. But hey, that's just me. CB [/quote] I know and agree! My dig was not at Pino, but at the people on here (and elsewhere) who seem to think that people who play covers/versions are somehow lesser musicians than those who play originals.

Re "Every Time you Go Away": This is a Hall and Oates song that pre-dates the Paul Young version by some 6 years.[size=4]Therefore Paul Young's version is a cover version, therefore Pino is playing on a cover version:[/size] I think you'll find that that makes it pretty worthless according to some of the "Real Musicians" here.

[quote name='FlopalotapusBass' timestamp='1389206393' post='2331393'] [size=4][color=#000000]They're both pretty mad bass lines in my opinion but I wonder if there's a song with a bass line you know that will really ensure I get an A or even an A*[/color][/size] [/quote] I have no idea of your competence level, but as a general rule for examinations I would say that it's better to perform a less complicated piece better than to play a more complicated piece less well - And m[size=4]y wife's old sax teacher always said that, even when considering one piece, slower and more accurate would get a better mark than faster and sloppy.[/size] Obviously in both cases it is a matter of degree and judgement, based on your ability, but don't fall into the trap of thinking that a more complicated piece will necessarily help get you and A or A*. A load of teenagers might be impressed by a "Flash" bass line, but you'll be being judged by professional musicians who will be judging the execution, not the flashiness. Obviously if you can do a "flash" piece really well then so much the better. I can't see the attached file that you mention, so haven't been able to take that into account in my comments.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1389028994' post='2329027'] Fair enough. What's that Sherlock Holmes saying? When you've eliminated everything else then what remains must be the actual reason, no matter how improbable it may seem! Many years (*cough* decades *cough*) ago I had to fault-find an V24 serial connection (look it up kids ) between two computers and it took me ages because nothing I tried made any sense. Long story short, it turned out that two of the wires in the multi-way cable actually [u]swapped colours[/u] within the overall cable sheath! [/quote] I had a similar problem with a multi-core (around the same time), 24 or 36 core 0.25mm, and found that it had two green cores !!

IF you fancy something more classical we had William Waltons "Crown Imperial" fro the bride's entrance, and Widors Toccata in D for the exit - both worked really well. And to entertain the troops during the signing the other three members of the Ceilidh band we were both in played a medley of appropriate folk tunes. (By appropriate I mean "Haste to the Wedding", followed by "Tripping Upstairs" followed by "Cuckoo's Nest").

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1388963989' post='2328303'] Another thought is that perhaps the negative connector (not the 'stud' like one) on the battery had been deformed? It's possible (though pretty unlikely) for the 'petals' on that connector to be opened out a bit so that the mating 'stud' doesn't make a physically tight contact and in an extreme case it's possible for the stud to just lie inside the 'petals' and not make any contact. A quick squeeze with a pair of pliers would fix such a problem. [/quote] That was my first thought, but I definitely had to press hard to engage each stud, especially after I had pinched them up tighter. I even resoldered the wires onto the connector part, but nothing changed until I actually tried a different battery.

Just thought I'd share a really odd problem that I've just had: I was getting irregular and very loud pops from my active bass. To cut a long story short it turns out that I had an intermittent contact [b]inside[/b] the PP3 battery (or another internal problem giving these symptoms). This was Duracell, so not a cheapo, with loads of volts left when checked with a meter. Changed the battery and everything is rosy again. Because I'd never come across an internal battery fault like this before I spent quite a bit of time messing about with everything else (Battery connector, wiring etc.) before trying a different battery. Doh!

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1388692917' post='2324994'] Owning two sig basses, I actually feel mixed about them. In principle, I find the idea of owning a replica of someone else's bass odd (unless you're in a tribute band or a HUGE fan!) so I went for the whole 'go in and try as many as possible and buy the one that is best!' idea. Both times that turned out to be the signature model. There isn't a jazz bass I've played with a neck quite like the Geddy. For me, I loved it and wouldn't have had that profile on a standard production model. Similarly, I went for the Nate Mendel precision because the neck profile is so different to the other standard precision neck profiles and the addition of the bad ass bridge, quarter pounder and nitro finish swung it. I suppose the feel and sound rather than the signature on the headstock made the decision for me. [/quote] My sentiments exactly, except in my case I have the Fender Stu Hamm Urge Mk 1 because it has the 32" scale (and other things), and I have the Ibanez Garry Willis GWB 35 because it is a five string lined fretless at a sensible price and Ibanez build quailty. In fact I'd never heard of Stu Hamm or Gary Willis until I bought the basses. I also find the idea of wearing a band's merchandise to that band's concerts a bit "odd", and never do it myself, however much I rate the band or artist.

Well the clip sounds OK, but hardly the "Ground breaking" that they claim.

Sad to say that part of my plan is to spend much less time on Basschat! [size=4] (This post is a good start [/size][size=4] i[/size][size=4]sn't it [/size] ?[size=4])[/size] [size=4]But a lot more time playing [/size] [size=4]And the band I'm [/size]practising[size=4] with should have our first gig in February [/size] [size=4]And buy myself a light(ish) weight amp (Possibly an LMIII) (while retaining the DBS 7400).[/size] [size=4]And move on some of the basses I don't play anymore .[/size] [size=4]And on a wider scale: change my job.[/size] [size=4]A happy New Year to all.[/size]

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1387912355' post='2317199'] A generous interpretation CB, I would have said - stress or no stress - "thanks for bringing your bass here to have the work done" and I might have been thinking as I said it "despite our extremely high prices for relatively simple jobs and despite the fact it takes our technician over a month to rewire a bass and despite the fact that even when he has the controls don't work properly and I have to ask him to sit down with the customer and let him explain how to do the job". [/quote] Well I've said and done few "off" things in my time (largely due to depression and stress - but not always), so try to give benefit of the doubt, or allow for what might be going on someone's life (or head) at the time, where possible. However he might just be a twat! PS: I still love the fact that Twat gets through the filter! Doesn't even recognise it as a word, let alone a rude one. Twat Twat Twat (just because I can)!

IN: Ibanez SR605 Vanderkley 112MNT OUT: Nothing (Maybe next year)