diskwave

Thought about this a lot recently. I think as with classical or jazz, each genre has its day. Totaly original rock/pop/dance has had its day and those days were mid 60's to mid 80's. What I'm seeing now is quite frankly difficult to describe. Am I right in thinking there's some festival on somewhere at the mo......From what Im seeing, its just a load of programmed Stubblefield beats, barely any backline or anything really... and everything sounding like hip hop but it actually isn't. Pop/dance and rock is finished and with it guitar, drums, and especially bass (I got there eventually). So yes bass has very sadly had its day...its over. Thank goodness I grew up in the 70's when it was cooking and guitar pub bands,- seasonal cabaret bands, club bands and the like were the thing in spades. Im just thankful I was there and had a lot of musical fun doing it, it was amazing.

I always cringe when anyone does Eric Carmens ...All By Myself, The way he sings it is so precise and extraordinary and not a single performer since can do it right. You hear other tunes being butchered in TV ads too...Horrendous.

Theres a Highway One on FB right now. Superb basses and rarely come up for sale.

Put it this way. I doubt it will ever go missing or be painted over with Walmart el cheapo lacquer..In other words who ever owns it now is probably going to cosset it which is all we can expect. The bass for me tho is Jamersons second P bass I think which he recorded all those tracks with....Dont sppose it'll ever be found, if it survives at all.

Remember watching Virginia Plain on TOTPS...completely blew me away...so weird and unusual. Brilliant.

How far do you take this cancel thinking. Artists by definition are a funny lot....I'm a musician and an artist/sculptor and probably look kinda "arty" what ever that means. I'm sure my boring suburban neighbours find me a bit odd...Does that mean my creations and music are to be avoided? Until the day I die, as an eg .... I will fight for and play Brown Sugar. Its art, it was written by a "black respecting blues dude" and its a monumental piece of story telling and writing, but it is 'NOT' gratuitously nasty, filthy or offensive. As I said, an example of what it seems so many people now are scared of. Art can be scary and, even offensive, not that offensive art appeals to me personally but we do need it cause without it we're all gonna end up in a rocket fuelled version of the 'Stepford Wives' which is worse than just about anything I can think of. A bit off point but it's all part of where the thread is I guess.

Odd thread really isnt it. That thumpy tone that sits "underneath" the band is what I was brought up to believe bass was all about. Jaco and the whole late 70's "bridge PU" fusion scene has a lot to answer for. Way to many players now want to be upfront...no problem, but get urself a mic or a Strat. Anyway Jamerson, still is and always will be the greatest bassist other than Bach, the planet has ever seen.

With one major difference from todays manufacturing. They were built using old growth wood which has now all gone. Instruments today are built from fast growth material, necessary of course to keep up with demand. Maybe I'm being unduly romantic with this..but pretty sure I can here the difference.

What a great story, and that's cleanest T rod screw I've ever seen...looks a real good'un. Had one a few yrs a go...they've got a weight to the tone that you just dont find in any other make of P bass.

R , just the man. How come then at every show, gig, festival Ive been to in the last five or so years the bass is always boomy mud.

Correct, and here is a very important public service announcement to the bass hive. The sound dude is programmed to crank the subs, kill the mids and render you and your squillion quid custom whizz banger to sound no better than the Walmart kids toy bass we all got at xmas. (Beleive you me I honestly wish I was joking).🙄

Torres is often found on early 70's P basses...

Scooped mids are systematic of the way music is going. Every single show...gig...festival Ive been to in the last five or so yrs the bass has been scooped to the point of being just a monotonous background drone, and I absolutely do not get it. Cannot beat a punchy mid pushed bass tone and I wouldn't have it any other way. My ole P bass. Dead flats, mid boost, with bass turned back on the amp, light touch. Punch, heft and clout for days.

Tried to upload the original, anyway, the quality of the playing, arrangements and studio engineering is just peachy on these early 80's dance tunes...love it tho this remix is a bit crisper, still cool tho.

deletd

I'll play just about anything and have done so for ever...but last yr I got a call to sub a bunch of guys I loosely knew. Set list pops up..ok fine the usual and some nice ones too, Gerry Rafferty, ABBA (yep, and it sounded pretty good) etc...but wait what's this?...some guy called George Ezra? I have never played such a cringy tune ever...but then the state of current music is a whole nuther thread all together.

Cruising the threads and never thght anyone else would be talking cello. Started tenor recorder two yrs ago (mentioned in the recorder thread) and then took the cello plunge last Nov. But yes what a work out....so bloomin difficult and it wasn't long before Twinkle got real boring. I think the trouble with being older is the joints just do not work so well as a childs so its prob impossible to catch up. Fun tho.

Just cruising the threads and this popped up. Played bass and drums for ever...Played violin at school but packed it in for Punk, (can still read ok) Decided two yrs ago at 61 its time to get back into classical so got myself a Yammie tenor recorder (other half has played on off for yrs) ....Hard to start with but huge fun and a re-freshing change from playing rythmn.

Talking about basics. My very first "studio" experience in 1977 was in a semi two up two down on a street which the owner had converted into a studio/control room....Prob broke every H&S rule in the book. Band setup downstairs in the knocked thru lounge with control room upstairs, again two bedrooms crudely knocked through...the bundle of cable snaking around the house and up the stairs must have been a foot thick....I always remember being amazed at the smooth recorded quality compared to how noisy and rough we sounded in the room......great days. Second studio in down in Bournemouth was a huge step up. Sir Fripp had been in there the week before us finishing an album or something... I was so impressed..

Could be latency.

In a word it amplifies and distorts the signal that's why active basses tend to have a punchier harder tone..Stingray and all the boutiques etc etc.

Bit of ole school disco...then some Bach cause Im getting back into playing cello...badly..haha

It wasn't just about prominent bass either...listen to all those tight little dance tunes from around 79 to 83. Great melodic writing, forward vox, crispy orchestral arrangements, keys, drums, gits and massive analogue space between the signals.....Sorry kids but todays music sounds dull and lifeless in comparison. Lovely P bass slap tone on this one.

He was aquitted so what's the problem? Its also important to think about all those amazing musicians who played on those incredible tunes AND all the production bods too. To not play them is to do a huge disservice to Rod Temperton, QJ and all of them and not least the tunes themselves which today still stand head and shoulders above so much else.

S'ok I can help with that. In a small rehearsal space?..... Hideous! Having said that us oldies have all been there in another life cranking the amp to make up for zero technique. Oh to be a teen again. Not.