risingson

Anthony Jackson, Andy Rourke, and... Bobby Vega. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkKXDtKesR4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkKXDtKesR4[/url]

[quote]I always wondered who the bass player was on that record. Absolute groove monster and my favourite album of hers. Her studio efforts never seem to reach the heights of her live stuff. More due to the tendency of neo-soul producers to opt for the clean electronic sound rather than her I think; oh well[/quote] I think she amounts to a lot more live. I've been trying to find some footage of her playing at Dave Chappelle's 'Block Party' in Brooklyn with Braylon Lacy, he pulls out the sickest groove on his P-Bass, but I just can't find it! All the same, if anyone was interested then get the DVD, Questlove on kit for the whole thing just killing it.

Oops... just noticed this is in the wrong forum! Mods, feel free to move it over!

Been listening to 'Mama's Gun'... totally sick bass playing from Pino Palladino. Her most recent bass player, however, is something else! His name's Braylon Lacy, his feel and sound are just amazing. Old P-Bass and flatwounds are his usual recording choice. If you're into your James Jamerson meets hip-hop/funk, then you'll love it! Have a listen: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4bhKB1E6iY&feature=fvst"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4bhKB1E6iY&feature=fvst[/url]

It's annoying having a site advertise something that they claim to have in stock, but they actually order in from the distributor as soon as you've placed the order. GAK have been known to do this a lot, although I hear they're better now. I went to see them in Wapping to ask them a few questions, and actually they were quite helpful, even though it was only their offices. I can't comment on their customer service as a paying customer, however.

[quote name='edstraker123' post='508150' date='Jun 8 2009, 12:42 PM']I don't think it's a friction problem as the pain is not on the surface but as if the soft tissue inside had been damaged i.e. as if you'd hit your finger with a hammer (only obviously not as painful). Don't know why it would strike now though as I've played guitars and basses for many years and have not been playing excessively recently. I'm not aware of applying excessive finger pressure - certainly not to the extent of causing physical damage.[/quote] I'm no expert, but if it's really bad I'd say go and see a doctor. The nerve endings in your fingers could be triggering pain from wrist problems, and if it's as painful as you say, well I personally wouldn't risk it. If I don't warm up properly, my hands can seize up with cramp, but to be honest this sounds much worse. Hope you can get it sorted asap!

Is it muscle pain, or pain caused by the friction between your fingers and your strings? If it's the former, then I guess it might be worth assessing your hand positioning and also warming up before playing long gigs. If it's really bad I'd say go and see a doctor.

[quote name='Brother Jones' post='507727' date='Jun 7 2009, 08:32 PM']What I'm concerned about is the way that less experienced players seem to be using flats because they are easier to control...[/quote] What?? Your kidding, I've not ever come across a beginner bass player who yet knows how flatwounds work or what they are, let alone wanting to use them to control their technique. Everyone is entitled to an opinion of course, but I think that's a pretty inaccurate and rubbish statement if you don't mind me saying so myself

I love flatwounds but I can't merit using them on my primary bass right now... I need a bit of a rock grind, plus rounds have a bite that suits my playing well. In the near future though I'll use Thomastik flats on the Jazz bass all the time once I've got two basses!

[quote name='gwizmon' post='506029' date='Jun 5 2009, 01:28 AM']I didn't quite "get" the TC head when I first tried it in LA back in November. I was in a tiny booth at the back of the BassPlayerLIve event and didn't really get a chance to crank it, and certainly had no chance to play it with a band. I tried it again at NAMM in January when they launched it officially and got to really play it pretty loud and was totally knocked out by it. The only reason I'm posting this on the thread is because, contrary to what is quoted above, I think I probably do use it in just the same way as an average BGM reader, or BC poster. It's pretty fresh in my mind how versatile the amp and cabs are because I use them to practice at my house every day (pretty quiet) I just played an all out rock show at the Roxy last sat night (totally screaming loud with very little monitor action...DOH!) and then went straight to a gig at someones house for Freddie Gruber's birthday party. Freddie is one of the most legendary drums teachers alive today, and the party was a perfect example of having to play in a number of situations, with no monitors, and a ton of different styles. Playing with totally straight ahead drumers, rock guys, quiet guys, loud guys.... and we're talking Steve Jordan, Peter Erskine, Dave Weckl, Clayton Cameron... etc etc... The amp was like a silent warrior throughout the night. From the balls to the wall rock show, to the totally up and down late night gig, and then back to my house the next day shedding for hours.... it's perfect. And there was something posted about the head looking fragile..... I now travel everywhere with it in my hand luggage on tour. I've done something like 100,000 miles flying this year so far, and played all over the world, and besides a few scratches, it's in perfect working order. I was talking to Gary Willis in Barcelona about the headroom and the power of the amp as he was checking it out. For me it's been great so far, but if I were to run out of head room I can just daisy chain another RH450 to the one I already have and double my power output. And the amp would still come in at 8kg with two of them! Anyway, I might be a signed artist with TC, but I'm not paid to talk to people about the amp or to promote it at all. I hate gear, I hate questions about gear, and I think that if you don't have it in the fingers, then you just don't have it at all, and no matter what gear you play through you should be able to sound like yourself. And the TC gear just took all the thinking out of the equation for me. You plug it in, you leave it totally flat, and you play, and you sound like yourself. It has some preset features I believe, but I've yet to use a button on the device besides the on/off switch. I also know that I won't be having back problems from carrying gear around which is a massive consideration for everyone right? I totally played some EBS cabs in the UK last year that were rocking too, and very light. I dug that about them very much. I think the sound was a little bright for me, but really, it's all about the fingers. That's where the control is at I think. Easy, Janek[/quote] Cool post, although about the gear thing... I agree that there really is no substitute for being a good player and good technique, but good gear used by a good player will sound miles better than a good player playing bad gear. I guess that's probably completely obvious, but there is nothing more frustrating for me than playing bad gear... it just takes the thrill right out of playing.

[quote name='dood' post='505907' date='Jun 4 2009, 10:27 PM']Is Spotify a bit like LAST FM? - I havent had a chance to look at the site properly yet.[/quote] It is indeed, only you can choose exactly what you want to hear and skip through tunes. It's really great! Okay, here are some of my suggestions: Naughty - Chaka Khan The Nightfly - Donald Fagan Emergency on Planet Earth - Jamiroquai The Weather Report - Black Market Herbie Hancock - Thrust D'Angelo - Voodoo Erykah Badu - Mama's Gun Incognito - Positivity Michael Jackson - Off the Wall Paul Simon - Graceland And if you can find an album called 'The Philadelphia Experiment', it's got Questlove on drums and Christian McBride on electric bass. It's great.

That must be annoying. I'm in a similar band setup, luckily for us our drummer deals with all our admin exceptionally well, plus there is the added bonus of three people in the band being brothers, and myself being a cousin, so it's very much a family affair. I think it's incredibly unfair to pull out of gigs last minute, it really shows the inadequacies and the unprofessionalism of a musician. If you want to make a living as a working musician, pulling out last minute is something that will earn you an incredibly bad reputation.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='501108' date='May 29 2009, 04:58 PM']For me, this is another of those things that is surrounded in myth. When we are young, developing players, we are convinced that we need to give 100% to our chosen instrument, in this case the bass, and that to spen anytime with another instrument, such as the guitar, will udnermine us in some way. Bad! There are 1,000s of great musicians out there that can play more than one thing. The one that impresses me at the moment is saxophonist Chris Potter who also plays guitar, keyboards and flute (if not more). Charles Mingus and Jack DeJohnette have both done solo piano lps, most arrangers have more than one instrument (piano is often one of them). Steve Swallow writes mostly on piano, as, I believe, does Pat Metheny. Al DiMeola is a credible percussionist. Omar Hakim, drummer with Weather Report and Madonna () plays guitar. The list is endless. I play guitar and bass and am getting into piano to fill some gaps in my knowledge of harmony and orchestration. Bass is the one I gig on (have done a few on guitar but you wouldn't want to hear it ), Its the music that matters and knowledge you gain from playing one instrument is invaluable in broadening your insight into the MUSIC[/quote] Hmm, I agree there are a lot of players out there that are good at other instruments, but Omar Hakim isn't known for his guitar playing, Mingus not so much for his piano playing, and DiMeola will always be remembered as a great guitar player and not a percussionist. I think putting all your eggs in one basket is never a good idea in any situation, but I do think that particular attention to a chosen instrument instead of focusing half your time on one and then the other is a productive use of any good studying musicians time. That's not to say that developing a skill on another instrument is a negative use of someone's time... on the contrary it is almost certainly a productive thing to do, but I guess the crux of my argument is that it's natural for a player to gravitate to their one instrument they feel comfortable with. Which is why my recent guitar playing is confusing... I am at heart a bass player, it's my main instrument, and what I'm known for, yet I'm loving playing guitar so much right now. You could throw me in front of an oboe and force me to play and I'd still enjoy the music and the challenge of it... it just so happens that my attention at the moment is on that of the guitar. And who knows... it's most likely subject to change anyway, when next week I'll probably be raving about how much I'm enjoying bass again!

[quote name='AM1' post='501047' date='May 29 2009, 03:47 PM']Liam - an interesting topic. I started playing bass only very recently after playing other instruments for a long time. I went through identical feelings to you for some time, but in the end couldn't ignore it. It is hard to imagine becoming equally obsessed with a new instrument, but believe me, it's astounding what can happen if you go with it! But there's no point in wondering what if...because it may well be that even if you had picked up a guitar first, instead of bass, you may not have had the inclination for it at that time. When the time is right, for a certain instrument, it's right. Sometimes it's initiated by a certain player/players. It's really, really strange to get a "calling" to play another instrument - and I don't mean pissing about on guitars, drums, keys etc, in the studio, I mean a serious, obsessive interest, like you feel with your first instrument. I have always loved good bass but it has only been recently that the "calling" to play it appeared. Some people have whims over stuff like this but I think you can judge in your own mind, the difference betwen a whim and a serious passion for a "new" instrument. For example, I used to appreciate guitar parts in music, much more than bass. One example - The Rover, off Physical Graffiti, has an outstanding guitar solo, but now I listen to guitar and just hear "twiddling" - whereas I really "feel" the bass now. I don't know what or why it changed, but when it does...you should go with it! Sometimes when you learn a new instrument, you find that you are able to express your musical personality in a completely different way. If you have music in you, the instrument is just a voice, but it's only when you find your "optimum" voice, that you can realise your true potential. If the guitar speaks to you, then do it. You'll regret it if you don't.[/quote] Yep, I've always loved the guitar... but don't get me wrong, I've always been into being a bass player a HUNDRED times more! Bass has always made a mountain more sense to me for so many reasons, and perhaps if I had taken up guitar all those years ago I might have found myself switching to bass because I prefer it. But... I don't suppose there are many musicians out there that are equally adept at being EQUALLY great at two or more instruments. Sometimes, naive guitarists claim they are bass players as well, having never picked up a bass in their life... an assumption made on the basis of small similarities between the instruments, and equally vice versa too

[quote name='jonny-lad' post='501033' date='May 29 2009, 03:41 PM']My first instrument is guitar, which I've played for around 11 years and I've played it plenty professionally, but I've played bass for more than 6 years aswell. I've always been attracted to a good groove as a guitarist and although I love playing lots of lead, I really enjoy locking in with a good rhythm section. I sometimes struggle to find this as a guitarist, but not so much as a bassist. Over the past year or so, I've been playing much more bass, I've upgraded all my gear and become better known as both a bassist and guitarist instead of just one or the other, and lately I have found myself more often in the position where my second instrument (bass) becomes my main instrument...I guess it has more to do with demand for bass players than anything, but I really enjoy playing bass as much as guitar and I'm way beyond the point of being a guitarist who happens to own a bass! As long as it feels right to me to be playing either, I'll keep going! [/quote] That's cool... the one thing that always held me back at guitar is that I never wanted to fall into the trap or neither being an excellent bass player or guitar player, but rather a mediocre bassist/guitarist. For me it would have been too much to take in learning the two instruments at once, whilst now instead, I'm happy with my technique on bass, i.e. happy enough for it not to be ruined by concentrating my efforts a little more on my guitar playing. I think there was always a stigma attached to being both a guitarist and a bassist for me because ultimately, I think you'd have to be better on one or the other... or you'd have to focus all your energy on learning the one instrument, whereas now that does not present itself as a problem to me. Confusing stuff

I've been a bass player for 9 years now, since I was 11 or so, and have never been remotely interested in furthering my guitar skills past a certain point. I've always just focused solely on my bass playing, and have worked hard at it for a very long time now. However, having broken out the Stevie Ray Vaughn, Hendrix, and Mayer tunes I've been playing guitar like mad... so much so I've got a serious hankering for a Mesa Boogie setup and a new Strat! I've always been okay on guitar, but I've never put this much effort into honing my skills at an instrument since I took up the bass all those years ago. I guess my point is that the reason I originally picked up bass was because at school, I was asked to join a band, and both my other two friends had drums and a guitar coming their way that particular Christmas, so they asked me if I would buy a bass and join them. The irony is that I was the only one to stick at my chosen instrument and get good at it ultimately... but I can't help feeling like it might have been a different story for me if I'd picked up a guitar all those years ago instead of a bass. I've always had an okay ability at turning my hand to a lot of different instruments, and I guess I was lucky to get the chance to play because it's changed my life completely. Bass will always be my first love, and probably always what I'm best at, but it did make me think...does anyone have a similar reason for picking up their first instrument? Do you all think had you been guitarists you would be where you are now? You put it all down to chance, or do any of you believe in fate? The floor is very much open for discussion!

I feel completely at home on a Jazz bass but I love C profile necks, I find them incredibly comfortable.

[quote]The only bit that had a ring of truth was about my reluctance to wear better stage wear and wigs[/quote] I'd ask yourself some fairly probing questions about being in a band who insist that Glam is still a palatable look to be honest. S**t happens, move on, get in a new band!

I like Fenders and Musicmans but I don't think I could ever say that a Jazz bass sounds thinner than any bass with a single MM humbucker configuration that I've ever heard. Aside from that... it's horses for courses, innit. Fender will always have it's critics. I think the price tags on the new Fenders are ludicrous.

[quote name='rslaing' post='499347' date='May 27 2009, 09:52 PM'][url="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/bobby-paterson-409534.html"]He's dead[/url][/quote] Blunt, and completely hilarious

I've never been nervous before a gig, or very rarely, though to be honest I am bricking myself about going up in front of 7000 people next month at a festival in Sweden!! I usually just grab a smoke and a beer. It's more or less essential I have a Guinness on stage at all times though, that is sort of a deal breaker.

[quote name='Hodge' post='498303' date='May 26 2009, 09:11 PM']The only reason Jamerson doesn't make the list of "Bass players who can do no wrong" is that I know for a fact he carried a gun, and he must, at some point, have been in the same room as Diana Ross.......[/quote] Jamerson carried a gun to protect his own interests as a musician, and at the same time... I'm sure in 1960's Detroit, you probably would have too. The Funk Brothers got held up at a bar once by a barman after being refused payment. Benny, James and a few others placed down their guns on the table to prove they were serious about getting paid... big deal, it's the U.S, it happens, especially back then! Leland Sklar = amazing player! And for those that haven't heard Jimmy Johnson's playing with James Taylor of recent... he's a complete mater!