TimR

Ziggy is worth putting some work on. It's a great line and not that hard.

[quote name='cybertect' timestamp='1422543426' post='2673911'] Quite so - a thread a couple of lines below this one: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/254531-alright-now-what-do-you-do-in-the-verses/"]Alright Now - What do you do in the verses?[/url] [/quote] I have just contributed. Thanks.

I have purchased a cowbell for £6. It sounds awesome and I don't look like a spare part. Everything needs more cowbell.

Our singer made a great comment on Monday night. "That's a hard song, there's no breaks in it. I have to sing all the time." I just smiled. I guess each person in a band has their own difficulties that the others aren't aware of.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1422522314' post='2673580'] I seem to remember a previous topic stressing the importance of on-stage visuals, including dress code..? Is the presence of the band of so little import that a CD would do instead..? I think not. [/quote] However a DJ playing a CD is not the same as a CD on a stereo. He's there to interact, decide what tunes to play next, do requests, have a light show. But essentially, yes, valid point, there is more to it than just the music. Jean Michelle Jarre and Tangerine Dream, nice music, rubbish stage show. Add lasers and projectors and hey presto you have a show.

I've only once been told "The bassline to that song doesn't go like that." To which the reply was, and should always be. "Well, it did tonight."

This is going to be like the 90s Bass Player pic thread isn't it. Time to do some detective work. We need to find the guy with a beard from Allbang and Strummit.

Yes. Sounds like a good approach.

[quote name='Lifer' timestamp='1422364623' post='2671624'] What this thread has shown me is I need to improve my theory! I find it difficult on the bass though (just like playing songs!) so thinking picking up another instrument from scratch and learning theory/sight reading with that. Played euphonium for a while in school and enjoyed brass, anyone recommend a brass instrument that learning theory on would help bass (Bass clef obvs!) , but also something I could play in non-brass bands (eg ska!)? [/quote] I would have suggested Tuba but that's really a brass band instrument. Sousaphone would be better and if you like Dixieland jazz you'd never be out of work.

From a commercial aspect, I would suggest you learn everything off his Greatest Hits album, whether it is going to be a permanent feature of the set or not. Last thing you want is a crowd of people calling for a well known tune that, erm, you don't know.

[quote name='Weststarx' timestamp='1422363308' post='2671595'] I must admit I never noticed the walking bass line in it either... ... [/quote] Best answer so far

Not entirely. The nail adds a bit to the tip of the finger and gives a harder sound when you strike with the very tip.

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1422360211' post='2671525'] As above, although the octaves need to be adjusted when written to get the target/sounding concert note (mainly Alto & Tenor). Trombone (tenor) also written in Bass clef and not transposing for the concert sounding note. F# has six sharps, not five. But what's a sharp among friends...lol... [/quote] Good point. Missed that pesky E#. But illustrates why F# isn't a great key.

[quote name='Pete Academy' timestamp='1422308551' post='2671088'] If you play cover songs with [b]specific[/b] bass lines, do you think the majority of the audience would notice or care if you just root-noted everything? [/quote] Sorry missed the 'specific' part. Yes. However, we're doing Boys are Back in Town - Thin Lizzy. That has a pretty stand out walking bass line during the verse. Although, maybe it was only me that thought that because I scat learned it to get by while we trialled it with the intention of fully learning it if we decided it worked. I mentioned this to the other guys and they hadn't noticed and said to keep it as is. I listened to the live version and the whole lot is missing, just root notes. This is due to Phil having to sing and play at the same time. It's always worth listening to a live version of any complex tune. Sometimes a faster, livlier, live version sounds cluttered with a bass line that's too busy.

By playing it in Eb the Brass are playin in F which has one flat. Play it in E and the they have to play in F# which has five sharps! .

Brass keys. Eb, Bb and Ab. Standard brass tuning is Bb which means that if you play a C on a trumpet/trombone it will be the same pitch as a piano's Bb. Saxes will usually be Eb.

The audience notices when you come in. They notice when you drop out. They notice when what you play doesn't sit correctly within the arrangement. Whether they know what it is they noticed is another question entirely.

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1422302141' post='2670962'] Interesting. Our guitarist is always on at me to use a pick for (amongst other things) Rebel Yell. But it's just beyond me. I've started to use my nails a bit now. Makes it easier to play at speed. But just a tad too long and they can break easily I remember at one studio rehearsal I had to run out to reception and ask the guy if I could borrow some scissors as I had broken a finger nail. Felt such a girlie, lol [/quote] I still haven't, after all these years, put nail clippers in my gig bag. :/ Using a pick is just beyond me.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1422296363' post='2670851'] Thin Lizzy without a plectrum is just wrong, lol. ... [/quote] Believe me, it would sound even wronger if I used a plectrum. I've played in a couple of situations where a guitarist has given me a plectrum and told me I'd have to use it because <insert your plectrum wielding bass playing hero here> uses one. Get the nails and attack right, and it'll sound great.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1422291808' post='2670770'] I use a pick. Blue [/quote] ?

Last week we were playing 'Boys Are Back in Town' - Thin Lizzy and the guitarist said what a great clanky sound I was getting, just like Phil Lynott. He asked how I was doing it. I gave him my usual reply of 'It's all in the fingers'. Although while I was playing I was thinking 'God, this sounds awfully clanky, I really should cut my nails'. Usually I can adjust just using angle of attack but my nails do need to be of some kind of goldilocks length. Not too short and not too long. This week my nails seem to have gone mad. So, I'm just trimming my nails and wondering how short I should cut them in order to preserve the 'clankiness' yet still be able to keep a 'round' sound for some other songs. Does anyone use a template or something Anyway, just thought it be an interesting topic of conversation.

In the good old days? When were they? I remember going to Donington in the late 80s. The first three bands on where pretty much unknowns. Metallica, Anthrax and Guns and Roses. Within two years each of them were selling out stadium gigs. Donington started at 2pm and finished at 11pm. There was one stage and 7 bands. 250,000 people at the height of 80s metal. Maybe the big problem is the diversity of bands and the festivals are trying to appeal to everyone. Then there's only 8-12 weeks of the summer anyway and at £200+ for Reading, is anyone going to more than one festival? .

That's a shame. I found name dropping Andy at a sold out James Taylor Quartet gig softened the bouncer and they managed to find space for three people. BassChat is a great place.

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1418409570' post='2630062'] I guess the internet is really to blame for the current situation, I was lucky enough to get tickets for Pink Floyd at the Nordorf Robbins gig at Knebworth Park back in the late 80's? ... [/quote] 1990. Absolutely amazing gig. Too many artists to mention. Silver Clef Award winners gig. Every artist that had won it up to then played. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Clef_Award There's a DVD of it.

That's a pretty standard PA of what I (and others) used to call 'Band in a Box'. It's pretty much a set and forget type thing in that you won't be fading instruments up and down like you would with a mixer that has faders and gain (input trim). Lots of bands use them.