risingson

The only reason I've heard of Janek is through bass sites like this one. I've watched a few videos of his after his name got mentioned, the guy can really play. But I consider that I listen to a hell of a lot of new music, and I'm yet to stumble across his name outside of sites like this one, so I don't know... maybe he'd be better not to be quite so eager to shed some of the more die-hard 'bass' fans of his work that frequent sites like this. Then again, I don't know what he wants to get out of his music, if its just a level of self-satisfaction then fair enough. His responses on TB made for really interesting reading, clearly he's a very talented guy and everyone's got a musical itch that needs scratching. But you just get the impression from his replies that actually, it kind of does bother him what people on sites like this think on some level.

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1334315040' post='1614291'] It's like Groundhog Day on this forum sometimes The search facility on this forum is an excellent tool and will bring up dozens of [i]Jazz vs Precision[/i] threads all of which have some excellent comment and I promise will answer all the questions you will ever have about said basses and also some you would never think of. [/quote] I don't see the problem with people posting questions to others on a bass forum that satisfies their curiosity concerning two different kinds of bass guitars, especially since the OP has described himself as a newer player and many of us here are experienced with gear and such. If you don't like the topic, I would have thought it easier to simply not reply? Back to the original topic, I agree with Ed S's post. I've played Jazz basses for practically the whole time I've been gigging and have found it to be indispensable as part of any given band situation. My old P Bass was great too, and if anything I would probably argue that the P Bass was a little better suited to 'trio' work as it fills out the low end of a mix much better than a jazz bass tends to, giving a full, fundamental low end that really works well at filling space. Playing wise, I think I'll always prefer the profile of jazz bass necks, plus I tend to play over the bridge pickup a fair bit and swapping between my old P (which had the thickest neck of any bass I've ever used) could throw me a bit. Still, I'd have another Precision in a heartbeat, and I love the design and sound of both basses. Very different instruments, but at the same time they kind of compliment each other.

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1334269931' post='1613753'] I wonder if he knows how much of his 'fanbase' is composed of these people. Just a thought. [/quote] I was rather thinking the same thing.

I do love the Gallery so very much but their site needs a proper overhaul. And that Stingray ain't passive!! Lovely bass though.

Not a Fender, but Sandberg do their PM4's and 5's and they're really quite good. They look like this: [url="http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg209/scaled.php?server=209&filename=sandb2.jpg&res=landing"]scaled.php[/url]

[quote name='Doctor J' timestamp='1334229818' post='1612823'] A drummer I used to play with hated Bonham, but idolised Neil Peart to the point of having the stupidly big red kit, signature sticks, etc. To cut a long story short, I didn't play with him for long. When you meet a drummer and if they say they like Bonham and/or Tony Thompson. you're usually onto a good thing. [/quote] I think you're bang on the money there. The groove on Fool In the Rain is great, it's just such a tremendous shame that the tune is total pap! At least, it's definitely not 'Zeppelin'.

I spoke to Mark a few months back regarding an amp they had in at BD, he was incredibly informative, friendly and helpful on the phone and you just got the impression he'd go out of his way to help out in any way he could. Not met him in person or been to the store but with customer service like that I'm sure it won't be long till I buy something from there.

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1334168210' post='1611991'] I think that you may be misunderstanding the point that I was trying to make. Janek Gwizdala's music is not the most accessable (I don't think that he would claim that it is) and to appreciate it it helps to have an understanding of 'advanced fusion' music (see Bilbo's post above). I am quite happy to listen and enjoy all sorts of music but I don't like JG's music . However, this is partly because that sort of music is not really my thing, so it could be a really great piece of 'advanced fusion' and I still wouldn't like it...! [/quote] I did get what you were getting at, I just used your post as a bit of a jumping off point, sorry I didn't make it a bit clearer. But there is a lot of music out there that isn't 'accessible' and I don't buy that you necessarily need a good understanding of any type of music to make a judgement on it necessarily. I dragged along a few people to a gig I went to on Sunday night that had absolutely no listening background in jazz but very much enjoyed a very leftfield jazz ('fusion') style band. Likewise my girlfriend's mum got taken along to a Shostakovich concerto recently having never been to (or listened to) anything much orchestral in her life and yet now she can't stop talking about him, talk about getting thrown in at the deep end. I think ultimately what is boils down to is just how open-minded you are, not how much you've listened to one particular type of music. Let people decide for themselves.

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1334164075' post='1611914'] I find his music as dull as ditchwater (as I do the others he is being compared to here), but then my knowledge of this type of music is limited (but not non-existent). Even I can see that he is not close in terms of writing ability to the likes of Weather Report (for example) but that I can also accept that he is obviously a highly capable player who scores some highly prized gigs with guys who are extremely big names in the fusion world….. [/quote] People get way too caught up in genres. I absolutely hate the term fusion, I'm not sure what it's even meant to mean (even if I am aware of what people would like me to think it means). I went to see Snarky Puppy on Sunday, and I absolutely loved every second of it but when the term 'fusion' gets applied to their music, my stomach turns a bit. Their music deserves a much better moniker, or better still, for people to understand that music is music - a touch of jazz here, a bit of funk there etc. It's all one giant palette. The argument that you are ill-equipped to judge music unless you have a very broad understanding of music (as much as elitism dictates that this should be the case) is quite frankly bollocks. The fact that artists willingly put their music out into the big wide world means that you waive the right to shelter yourself from the views of others. That's not to say that subjectivity concerning music shouldn't be exercised, but on the internet it's rarely obligatory and often totally ignored. Just learn to not expect it, but at the same time, let the music speak for itself as opposed to someone on a bass forum telling you why something you enjoy is rubbish.

When I play this piece up the neck like John Patitucci does I fret the B with my little finger and the D with my index, but when I'm down the neck I think I'd play an open string and use varying degrees of muting with my right hand to compensate. The idea being that you get comfortable as you can with both, and find your preference later on.

I find this new generation of bass players interesting. I'm always impressed by their technique etc. but when there's no writing prowess behind it then to e it becomes bleak and self-serving. I appreciate the likes of Janek and Hadrien have their place in this world, but I do sometimes wonder if their music is just about the exploration of how hard you can jazz and how fast you can play whether they'd just be better writing a thesis or teaching. And for once I almost agree with Chris2112 on something. The level of music that these guys are bringing out just isn't even close to good enough. I appreciate that they'll have their audiences with the bass playing crowd but otherwise, it's not exactly cutting edge stuff. (You're wrong about Squarepusher though Chris, he can write ).

When I was younger I would drink at rehearsal from time to time, but nowadays it's totally out of the question. I'm there to rehearse, if I want to have a drink then on the odd occasion I'll go to the pub afterwards. Your situation may well be different but I find that the more you combine drinking with other band activities, it will quickly become a slippery slope. I also think it's extremely unprofessional, but again I'm only speaking from my angle where we have to actually get things done.

[quote name='JellyKnees' timestamp='1333551938' post='1603439'] I would argue that's only the case only if someone makes money out of it. Until then, it's just the vibration of air molecules as perceived by the eardrum. [/quote] Yeh of course! And when I'm sat in my room or out on the beach in the summer playing guitar etc. I do it for me because I enjoy music first and foremost. But I've got to make a living from it too, and so do a lot of people, including those who don't play instruments at all. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't financially motivated by music on some level. But music is most enjoyable when there's no pressure from anyone else, and where there's money there's pressure. That's one of the reasons why playing music for yourself is great. [quote name='chaypup' timestamp='1333552397' post='1603453'] Do you not think it's a bit hypocritical to sing "It's not about the money, money, money" etc and then do ads for Mastercard? Fair enough, do adverts/corporate work/suck on Satan's c*ck (as Bill Hicks put it) but don't tell me it's not about the price tag! Edit:I actually love her singing, esp the big band stuff I've seen. [/quote] I think the sentiment of the tune is one of the things that makes the song salable. Most people who know anything about music will know that it is hugely ironic to have success with a song and lyrics that pertain to the rejection of generating money from music, and then having it played on the hour every hour on Radio One for the next 5 years. It's hard not to be a hypocrite when you make music that then gets sold on a national and international scale.

The music vs. money thing I partially buy into, but there has been plenty of creative people that have existed within the music industry and have made wonderfully progressive music whilst generating cash for their labels. The degree to which an artist or band's creativity may have been hampered by efforts by labels to drive work out of them will never be fully understood because without the platform offered by the industry to broadcast a band's talent, hardly anyone would get to hear what is there to be offered. I would equally submit that its as much about being in the 'right place at the right time' too.

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1333536674' post='1602999'] When i was a nipper there always appeared to be a healthy disconnet between popular music and the corporate world. [/quote] This has never been the case. 'Artistic integrity' is a complete facade. Even the most left field bands who you like to think have managed to keep their work clear of the corporate machine have their selling point. People need to make money, music is a commodity, be under no illusion.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1333471348' post='1602243'] That's all totally cool mate, just that [b]none of what you have written bears much relation to music[/b], that's all. [/quote] Depends who you're talking to, doesn't it.

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1333469220' post='1602192'] I was just wondering if that bunch had been mentioned... my vote would be for Hey Jude, which seems to have entered into mass consciousness... my little daughter knew it when she was five or six. [/quote] I mentioned them in my OP. The Beatles really sum up what pop is for me.

I made a massive, hugely foolish error a 5 months back! I was set to play in front of 10,000 people in an arena in Gothenburg Sweden, an important gig for us and a rare opportunity. Before I'd got to Sweden, I'd bought some D'Addario strings online, and decided a few hours before the gig started to restring and play them in a bit before I went on. So there I was in our changing room, happily cutting the strings off of my old bass behind the nut of my Lakland, only to pull out the strings and notice something odd about them... I'd accidentally bought short scales. I could have kicked myself for being so incredibly stupid, in fact I think I tried a few times. Luckily for me I managed to borrow the in-house bass player's Stingray 5 and everything was okay! Here's a pic of the Ray I ended up playing... lovely bass [sharedmedia=core:attachments:93700]

I'm off to see them this Sunday, I'll tell you what its like!

[quote name='Jack Cahalane' timestamp='1333320043' post='1600135'] It's gotta be this for me [/quote] I love this song. And quite a few others posted up too that made me think 'great'. There's been some interesting stuff so far and I'm looking forward to seeing other peoples!

Big +1 on Johnny Marr, but the one that very obviously stands out from the U.K is Brian May, he went quite some way to defining Queen's sound. A bit more recently in the U.K Johnny Greenwood from Radiohead and and Graham Coxon from Blur.

Following on from BB5's Michael Jackson post, I wondered if there were one or two songs that you could identify that could constitute as 'classic' pop songs. Something that you like and admire for embodying what you enjoy about music, but that is truly considered timeless. I appreciate that on this forum there are a wide variety of tastes in music, so I'd be interested to see the results. There's no set criteria as such, but posting something like a 10 minute epic from some obscure prog band probably isn't going to count because whist it is 'pop music', it's not in the forefront of the musical public consciousness like 'Hey Jude' is (for example). And for those that might claim that they 'dislike pop music', be honest with yourselves, and I mean very honest with yourselves. Think about your favourite music is and then think of its roots. I personally could choose from a lot of stuff. Michael Jackson's Thriller album always springs to mind whenever I mention great pop music, but for me these two do it. The first one is The Beatles 'She's Leaving Home' and the second is 'God Only Knows' by the Beach Boys. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lG3nXyI41M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDfH_J4MAUQ Your turn!

I love PYT, it's such a tune BB. Also really like Baby Be Mine if we're talking left field Thriller tunes. The whole album is finely crafted pop.

Personally I'll always need a jazz style bass, they're completely indispensable for what I do. If you're saying that you've never got on with jazz basses then maybe you don't need one. EDIT I agree with Clarky, sounds like you've made up your mind. Just do it

I know 3 or 4 exceptional drummers, including my own drummer who is absolutely rock solid and has great feel. Having a good drummer is top of my list of things that make me happy when I'm playing, if he makes my playing feel effortless then he's good.