risingson

The think I find most frustrating about Muse is their willingness to play into the hands of those who consider them a 'novelty' act. There is so much that they could have done recently, they've had amazing longevity considering the harsh climate for bands in the top 40 album and single charts and Matt Bellamy is a terrific songwriter, an incredible musical talent despite what you might think of the band in general. He could be championing the sound of something a lot more meaningful. But instead they go into the studio and record stuff like this, it's really discouraging.

It depends on how you choose to define artistic integrity and how you implement it in a studio environment. There are plenty of bands and producers out there who are interested in making real records where vocal and instrumental intricacies, artefacts and mistakes are considered to be the very thing that makes records enjoyable and individual. There will also be exceptions to the rule, where the focus on a vocal or instrumental part could be compromised if certain elements of the music are considered to be badly performed. Lastly, if there's a time frame that needs to be adhered to (and time in studios is usually money), then you need to be able to make the best with the facilities and performers you have access to. Plus all the variables in between.

[quote name='Dudgeman' timestamp='1349806778' post='1830833'] just a quick video of my bass cover of Animals by Muse from the new album..Yes it sounds like Radio head..no its not the most complicated line in the world....but I love this song..probably because I loved Ok computer as well! Hope you like the cover...oh and the audio came out really well as well. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q683MMp9S9Q[/media] [/quote] It sounds a lot like Radiohead, particularly the more recent In Rainbows tracks. It's still definitely Muse though. But nice playing, you even look a bit like Chris Wolstenholme (it's the low-slung bass I think!).

I prefer roundwounds on fretless, I think they bring the sound of the fretless bass alive, something I don't think is as achievable with flats IMO. Personal preference. I string my fretted P-Bass with flatwounds as I prefer the solid low end that the strings can provide on a track.

Like 4 Candles says, I think if you enjoy playing then you'll play whenever you get a chance for the most part. I find it a way of relaxing as well as it being my job, I love plugging my headphones into my amp and playing along with my favourite tracks.

I was talking to Phil Mulford a while back, a great (excellent in fact) bass player himself, he talked very highly of Nick and I believe they share a number of gigs between themselves as well as Lee Pomeroy, pretty much covering a lot of the London dates.

I'm sure there will be a lack of familiarity playing live with the songs. Rehearsing and playing out live are totally separate things, as you will probably end up losing a lot of personal control over your sound and monitoring. This is something that threw me at a gig last night, a load of new original material that sounded great in practice, sounded great when we sound checked (great sound guy too, plus good monitoring), but became very difficult to recount in the heat of the moment. Needless to say, it happens to all of us I'm sure!

So cool. He's really up there with the best of the session guys, apparently his reading abilities are second to none - something that wouldn't matter if a bass player doesn't have a great feel, but he's got such a groove on him! EDIT - I should add, a lot of slap players put me to sleep, but his feel is really compelling, he plays almost like a drummer would approach playing his kick and snare with his thumb and index fingers. Great stuff!

Vocal arrangements are where it's at, these kinds of pedals are far less preferable than seeing 4 or 5 people perform great harmonies if their capability is there. It's like anything though, if you use stuff like this to correct personal inadequacies then it becomes totally pointless.

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1349610162' post='1828190'] Mind you The Beatles, Led Zep, Jaco, Jamerson etc ain't that current but it doesn't stop people talking about it! [/quote] I think they left a bit more of a lasting impact on music if we're being fair! I always get reminded of Goldfrapp whenever Moloko get mentioned, another act that I really love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVPVacTqgWg

I like them, obviously their output hasn't been that significant for the past 10 or 12 years due to their breaking up, but they had some great tracks. Bring It Back came on the radio the other day, reminded me that not all house music coming out at that time lacked intelligence and good songwriting.

It was incredible tonight. Going to see a band like that is totally inspiring, there's a lot of sh*t music out there these days but there really is something quite incredible about the way Thom Yorke pieces together songs together in such a masterful way. He reminded me a lot tonight of John Lennon in many ways. Great gig

My favourite band probably. Seen them before and they were excellent, during their In Rainbows tour. Colin Greenwood is a very capable bass player who's come up with some very solid bass parts but if for some reason you've been living under a rock for the past 15 years, check out Paranoid Android for a lovely bass interlude that he makes work so well in 7/8!

Don't ever expect anyone to pay any attention to who your instrument is made by. Count yourself lucky someone at least enquired!

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1349470699' post='1826917'] Wasn't it Lennon who said that Ringo wasn't the best drummer in The Beatles? [/quote] He later went on to say he was one of the best drummers of all time! Ringo was a really great drummer. To the OP, drums, guitar, keyboards, trombone, glockenspiel, it doesn't matter what instrument you take up, if you feel you have the time then there should be no reason at all why you shouldn't take up the drums. Obviously spending as much time being close to the drummer as you probably have playing in a band should give you a vague idea about the physicality and dexterity involved in playing. Just do it, there's no limit on the amount of instruments you can and can't play.

What an incredible talent that guy is.

Numerous lines were crossed in the recording of that cover I'm afraid!

Hi Ash, I've only just seen this post, I'm thrilled to see you getting on so well with my old Selmer. The P-Bass is getting its first outing on Sunday night as well, I'm using it in conjunction with some Roland MIDI pedals to double up some synthy type sounds. Glad to see the upright is getting the gigs!

Man, I'm so jealous! But what a great way of keeping your father's memory alive I'm a sucker for Fender's 60's custom block colours. My favourites are Shoreline Gold, Sonic and Daphne Blue, Surf Green and Fiesta Red. Got to love Olympic White with a Rosewood pickguard too but there's a lot of them around at the moment. For me, it would be a maple fretboard and an ash body, a la the MV line. Matching headstocks with these colours just look killer as well. Really looking forward to seeing the pics whatever you decide on!

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1349283492' post='1824301'] So here's a mention for Eric Avery (in case I forgot him earlier!) [/quote] Chris Chaney played with Jane's Addiction as well didn't he? Phenomenal bass player!

The issue sometimes with keys players is that they can fill a lot of space, especially with Rhodes-style sounds that really tend to thicken out in the low end. As long as there is a good spacial awareness with every player in a band then it is a problem that can quite easily be overcome. The thing to remember is that we don't just occupy one bit of low end as bassists, we can overlap with guitarists and keyboard players as well.

My personal feelings about tablature aside, I think it's a bit OTT for publishers and owners to be so heavy-handed with these types of sites. There are much worse things going on out there with regards to copyright infringement than dealing with tab sites, it's just finding that line.

I doubt I'll ever get rid of my Lakland DJ anytime soon but I've not found anything that I can honestly say that I would never part with. Instruments matter a lot to me and I'd like to seek out a classic Fender P or J next that I'll never get rid of, a bit like what Clarky described in his post.

I like this as well, mental 'behind the iron curtain' sustain and clank!

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1348854772' post='1819237'] Amazing! Thank you so much for sharing! While to my shame I know very little about the band, though I never fail to love listening to them; I do remember watching a drama-doc about the Beach Boys and it seemed to link the drying up of the Smile sessions with Brian's first hearing of Sergeant Pepper? [/quote] That's right Stu, Brian lost the plot after hearing Sgt. Peppers with the mindset that nothing could ever top the sheer achievement of it. I suspect his mind wasn't all there either!