TimR

[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1357376465' post='1921697'] I'd not agree with this (well, *someone* had to!) ... [/quote] Nope. You do agree with it. Note my liberal use of 'tend' and 'in general'. Certainly a couple of big bands I've played in have not swung, even though the music has been written like that and the conductor or MD has tried to get the musicians to swing. It seldom works, though, in the way we've come to expect it in small beat combo's. As you say there's just not the feedback mechanisms and freedom in place for it to happen. In classical trios, quartets and small chamber orchestras it can, and does, work extremely well.

It all depends on what you've practiced. Classical music doesn't tend to swing, classical musicians (in general) don't learn to swing and don't practice (in general) improvisation. However, the only difference between improvising and composing is one is done live in front in an audience spontaneously (or is supposed to be). Quite a lot of blistering solos from rock musicians are very carefully rehearsed at home.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1357321814' post='1921087'] To be honest, given that Jaco arranged tunes for a big band amongst other achievements, it suggests that he had a better grasp of theory than you credit him with. And soloing in a jazz context requires you to internalise a lot of information. I don't imagine there are any great jazz soloists who didn't have a very solid understanding of harmony - you don't just pull music like that our of your arse you know. I agree that there are people who've made really engaging music but never knowingly learned any theory. But put those people in a different musical situation and they will probably fall flat on their arses. [/quote] This is a very good post. I'm sure many of you know an awful lot more theory than you realise. Reading the dots is only a very very small part of it. I suspect if most of us were asked to play a major scale in C we could do it even if we couldn't read the score or if someone showed us where the C was on the fretboard. We would probably also know the difference between and be able to play a Cminor scale. Saying that you don't know or understand theory is a great misnomer. Probably what is so scary is that it is called "theory". You don't need to know Newtonian physics theory to be able to predict where a falling object will land. You just need to know it to write down the experiment so that someone else can repeat it. But then I suppose you could video it and stick it on YouTube.

Theory does not tell you what to play. Theory tells you and others what you played and why it fitted with the rest of what you and the other musicians played. It suggests what you could play in any context, but it doesn't tell you that you must play it. It's not rules and regulations, it's descriptions. If you understand it you will be a better musician, if you don't understand it, it will limit what you can achieve at a point. It's like being a great speaker, but not being able to write.

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1357314108' post='1920855'] ... some people crafted rules and regulations around music ... [/quote] They're not rules and regulations. I think you need to understand what your function is within the music and use that to produce music before you can call yourself a musician. My milkman can whistle. Is he a musician?

No. You're a bass player, but not a musician yet.

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1357078191' post='1917322'] I seem to remember that nice Mr McLaren had something to do with all that? [/quote] Cheers. He took the backing band off to form Bow Wow Wow and gave Adam a completely new set of musicians. That would explain a lot.

Yes. I can believe that. All his best stuff was done in the '70s. Don't know how the 'Antmusic' and subsequent 'highwayman' thing came about, I suspect it was something they agreed to do to increase their appeal. I had heard he had returned to his raw '70s type punk. Didn't see the show, might watch it on iPlayer.

[quote name='Rayman' timestamp='1356965986' post='1915736'] I have two Precisions, but only ever take one to gigs and rehearsals. I took a "backup" to gigs for years, but never, [i]ever[/i] needed one, not once. To be honest a spare [i]amp[/i] is more likely to be required. It's the only part of my kit that's ever let me down during gig. [/quote] I think it's funny how our experiences cloud our judgement. So far 3 bass players have experienced bass failures at gigs, one a bass failure at home and only one has experienced an amp failure. Frrm that small sample I would say bass failure more likely. Although I've had a fuse fail in a 'kettle' lead by accidentally picking up a 5A lead that was lying around - so add a spare power lead to my list. I have a DI in my bag, worst case I'll play through the PA, albeit at lower volume.

[quote name='yepmop' timestamp='1356970647' post='1915833'] [i]Thanks Tim - A New Year's present from me to me [/i] [/quote] The batch processing is a neat feature. You can literally normalise, and convert loads of .WAV files straight to any MP3 bit rate or other format. It will even separate a long recording of a gig into smaller files based on drop in volume between songs.

Yes. You can do almost anything. Slow down, speed up, pitch change, EQ, loads of other mastering stuff, fades, reverb etc. It's a great tool. I bought it, not sure why, I think it kept coming up with a registration notice or something. There's an additional free plugin you have to download to work with MP3s.

Tony, you are bored aren't you. I'll keep you company. I dowload or am given the MP3. I put it on my iPod and listen to it in the car until I've learned the verse, chorus, middle 8, solos etc. Then, at home in front of the PC. I plug in my bass and play along. Any bits that I really struggle with I'll use Goldwave to select and auto repeat passages until they're right.

[quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1356955770' post='1915492'] ... "We tried everyone else abut no ones diary fits" ... [/quote] Whenever I learn this, I make a mental note to charge more next time, assuming that the reason why no one was available doesn't become evident in the next few hours.

My friend appeared on Big Breakfast playing a Souzaphone. I think at the time he was the only Souzaphone player in the MU in London. He couldn't actually read music, or play it, come to that. Join the MU as a Bass player and add loads of obscure instruments. You're bound to get some TV miming work.

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1356954285' post='1915466'] Fair play to you BUT........ if you have a spare bass at gigs , even if you have never used it and hope you'll never have to , it is NOT sitting there doing nothing. [/quote] I certainly don't think my spare bass is worth anything near £500 resale. It's probably worth around £1000 in terms of replacement value though. That's the main reason I've never sold it.

I have 3. An '87 Jackson Charvil that sits in the loft until gig time, then stays in the boot during the gig. A japanese Marlin Sidewinder that was £120 in '85 and impossible to play when I bought it, I pulled the frets out of it when I bought the Charvil. But it made little difference. A few years ago I realised it was the truss rod that needed adjustment. I reworked the electrics and now it's quite a nice bass. The only bass I use is an Ibanez SR400. One of the machineheads sheared off at the beginning of a gig and I had to play 3 strings with all the strings moved up one position for the rest of the gig. Hence the Charvil now comes along as a spare. That remains the only failure I've had in 25+ years.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1356738480' post='1913203'] ... However I`m no longer able to carry big speakers, so have a 1x12 combo & 1x12 ext speaker, which are great, and for my needs, plenty. [/quote] This gives you the big clue. 1x12 combo + ext speaker. Combos usually come with a power amp that can deliver more than enough power to the included (8ohm) speaker. When you turn them up too far you get distortion. However, this is usually the speaker distorting before the amp. BUT often you hear people saying they want to add an extension speaker to their combo to get the full power (at 4ohms) out of their amp. This is really a misnomer. What actually happens is adding an extra speaker allows you to get more volume out of the set up purely due to more cone area and coupling of the cabs. Usually you still won't get the full power from the amp before the speakers start distorting again. It's worth learning the difference in sound between the "farting out" that you get from an over-driven speaker and the "grunt" that you get from a distorting power amp.

Yes. Amp power is how much electricity an amp will deliver. Speaker power is how much electricity the speaker can take before it catches fire. Sensitivity (SPL) is how many decibels the speaker can give out at a specific frequency and power. Amplifier power is cheap and will increase volume to a point but: If your speakers have low sensitivity they'll probably start distorting well before you reach any power limits. You'll certainly run out of volume before you run out of power. All that usually happens then as you add more power you get more noise (distortion). Change for more sensitive speakers or add more speakers. It's expensive but better than the false economy of more power.

Ok. But Stu is right, the argument just goes round in circles. Yet again the word majority has been used incorrectly with no hard evidence. Changing access would definitely have an impact on drug use. Whether that would be positive is a huge gamble. In my view easier acces to drugs would just mean it was easier for people to get addicted.

It wasn't an entirely serious post. Was it? I'd given up as everytime I'd given a good reason it was entirely ignored and I was asked for another one. Maybe it's true that drugs mess with your brain.

Power conditioners and surge protectors contain (or should) large inductors and capacitors. The idea is that the capacitors get hit by all the spikes and surges that would normally hit the capacitors and transformer in your amp's power supply. Without one, over time the capacitors in your amp's power supply give up. It's quicker when touring to swap out a conditioner than an amp's power supply. If you're playing three hours a night for several months your amp is going to be subject to thousands of spikes. a failure in front of several thousand people, requiring an amp swap would be embarrassing. If you're playing a few hours a week, in front of a few hundred people, you decide whether to take a spare conditioner or a spare 'one of everything else' in the unlikely event it fails. Large gigs are usually run from generators, not from a venue's power supply.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1356716223' post='1912908'] ... Policing is an entirely unrelated argument. I think when laws are made it's expected that they will be enforced. Except perhaps the fox hunting ban. ... [/quote] No. Laws are only passed IF they are enforceable. Hence only drinking in public is affected. You can drink at any age at home. In fact you could probably grow and consume your own cannabis with impunity at home so long as the police had no reason to enter your premises. People creating a public nuisance and taking up police and ambulance resources is the main concern.

If you legalised drugs in the UK. We would have all the associated problems that drugs tourism brings.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1356715050' post='1912889'] ... Why should we be restricting alcohol? The vast majority of people manage to enjoy alcohol without causing any problems. ... [/quote] Tightening doesn't neccesarily mean restricting. We have alcohol laws that haven't been (but are beginning to be) enforced strongly. How are we going to ensure that the drugs laws would be?

It just amazes me that at a time when we should be tightening alcohol laws, some people are advocating loosening drug laws.