risingson

[quote name='MythSte' timestamp='1323548712' post='1464547'] I finish my exams next week man so shoot me a text and I'll come down with you? [/quote] Aye, I should be available!

I'll get over one Monday when I can, it's been a while since I last played at Hannah's. Used to play on a Thursday sometimes with a soul/blues/funk band.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1323441294' post='1463457'] Had a similar experience mate, I have changed since then, but so has he, and it's easier now, but still a source of worry and anxiety for me, and fear of feeling like I did back then, and knowing I can react to things in the way I did, I NEVER want to feel that way again. However, my musical life took off as a result of me needing the comfort of music. Also, one of my very closest friends suddenly dying in April changed me a bit. I recorded most of the bass on his album (which he'd almost finished and which we are releasing pothumously), I was basically embellishing his ideas and replacing his synth bass parts. I remember sending him the bass track for a song he wrote about his girlfriend who had donated a kidney to him a few years earlier, it was a really important song for him. I had reharmonised the second half of a part with a sax solo on it. He phoned me later on and told me the bass on that part gave him the shivers, he loved it! That made me realise I should trust my judgement and take more risks. That was also compounded by the wonderful comments I got on here about Kit's EP. I'm starting to feel like I have an identity in the way I write bass parts, and although I'm severely lacking in many areas, I am starting to believe in myself. [/quote] That's a great thing to take away from such a sad event, absolutely brilliant. It sounds terribly corny, but I do believe that listening and creating music is a great way of assimilating strong feelings that would otherwise have the ability to overwhelm and consume us. Music is never depressing to me. I hear a sad song that reminds me of a tough time and I feel strangely liberated by it. Equally I hear songs that remind me of the best of times of my life and it makes me feel great, I'm uplifted by it! Creating music is a whole different ball game all together, hearing a song you've created or helped create come together is just an unmatched feeling. Better than any therapy or drug I can think of. You should be proud of yourself that you've helped your friend to realise his music posthumously, what a great thing to have done. I must admit I've not yet had the chance to listen but as soon as I've posted this message I'll be sure to check it out.

This has been a really good thread to read. I've had some terrible family problems over the years, especially between myself and my older sister. There were times where being in the house when she was there could get unbearable and I'm certain that during that time of my life, I became a much more driven person creatively and became really committed to music.

Only got my Lakland Darryl Jones 4 right now, in desperate need of another bass. It basically succeeds where my old Fender Jazz fails. My old Fender lacked any balls and my Lakland has that in spades. The only thing that my Lakland's missing perhaps is a low B, other than that I love it. My old second hand P-Bass was an endless frustration. String response could be uneven, the electronics were totally shot and the winding in the pickup broke which required a bit of a painstaking rewind. I replaced practically all the electronics in the end because everything inside wasn't done properly and it it looked like a monkey had shielded it. By the time I'd got it reasonably sorted I was disenchanted with it and sold it on.

Thanks for everyone's replies, there's been some good advice that I'll certainly look into. I don't have a gig until tomorrow now so it's going to be trial by fire as I simply cannot coax the fault out of the amp in isolation. If something goes wrong then I'll report back.

[quote name='jhk' timestamp='1323117829' post='1459572'] probably a silly idea but............................ try regular speaker out(eg not bridging it) for each side ,in a solo mode and see if maybe you can narrow that element out of it. to see if both amp channels work independantly one at a time................. I`ve never felt comfortable bridging amps........ but that`s just me!!!!! hope this helps good luck [/quote] Thanks JHK, but I've already tried this with no luck.

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1323114176' post='1459513'] Great track... Just been reading some history with that track [urban myth has it that Stevie Wonder played kit on it] And the Detroit Spinners were called just 'The Spinners' before they left Motown. It was changed so as not to get confused with an English folk group called 'The Spinners' Garry [/quote] This explains a lot! Searching Spotify for 'The Detroit Spinners' never brings this particular song up, now I get why.

This is one of my favourite Jamerson bass lines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5VaRSEvq8U

[quote name='andydye' timestamp='1323097972' post='1459213'] Does it happen in particular venues as compared to others or is it just all the time? Could it be related to the venue wiring maybe? Does your power come from a particular power reel? Have you tried using the same power reel at home? Do you use a power conditioner? [/quote] Hi Andy, thanks for your reply. 1. It's happened at a few venues now. I did immediately think of it being a power issue, but the problem has occurred at very different venues. 2. As above really. It's been more than a few venues now. 3. We don't use power reels, just long extensions, and it's happened with and without said extensions. 4. As above! 5. No, I don't use a power conditioner. Power obviously did cross my mind as a possible cause. But the amp itself isn't fully cutting out. The front panel is still lit up (the preamp of the Eden has a series of LED's that light up the preamp panel and it's not cutting out), which suggests to me it's not a power issue.

Hello everyone. I have a problem that I'm hoping that one or two of you may help me in addressing, or perhaps offering some possible explanation concerning my WT-800. It's a bit of a long one, but here we go. The amp itself is playing up. It's the old version of the 800 from 2001. I run it exclusively with a 410XLT (8 ohm) bridged at every gig, no exceptions. The problem is thus; after 10-15 minutes or so of playing live with my band, the amp starts to cut out intermittently. The EQ clip light goes on, the set-gain LED goes out and there is a visible and unnatural pulsing in the speakers. The fault lasts for a few seconds at a time before the amp begins to function normally again. It will than happen as an intermittent fault for the rest of the evening, seemingly with no rhyme nor reason to when or where. A few things to point out at this stage. You'll most likely now be thinking this to be a dry solder joint problem within the amp. I thought this too, but I actually had the dry solder joints in the amp resoldered a year or two ago and the amp has worked perfectly up until now. Furthermore, not only have I taken the amp to a very experienced technician (who can't find any fault with it), but I have even had the lid off the amp to have a quick tap of the capacitor in the preamp to to elicit some kind of reaction from the amp indicating dry soldering, but to no avail. My amp settings are as follows (in bridge) for those familiar with Eden controls: Gain: 1-2 o'clock Enhance: never more than 12 o'clock Preamp: largely flat across the top with a bit of a 50hz bass and mid boost. Balance: 12 o'clock This is where it gets really annoying. I cannot replicate the fault outside of a gigging situation. It would seem to be totally [u]faultless[/u] in fact, I've been playing it for an hour or more today and the problem has completely stopped! But during gigs it is definitely playing up, no question. I'm a bit lost and really at the end of my tether with it all. If any of you know of any possible cause or have experienced anything similar I would really appreciate the feedback from you. I'm a regular gigging musician and need to get my amp back on track. Cheers guys and all the best, Liam

[quote name='lowregisterhead' timestamp='1323025029' post='1458443'] Phenomenal. I've met Pino a couple of times over the years, he's physically and musically a giant, but a real gent with it. He's doesn't take any sh*t, though - there's the old story that The Stones asked him to have a meeting after Bill Wyman left, where he was effectively 'auditioned', and then turned down. He promptly sent them an invoice... [/quote] The Stones are idiots for turning Pino down for anything other than some kind of scheduling conflict. I couldn't name you a better suited bass player as Wyman's replacement! Darryl Jones does a fine job and is a marvelous musician, but even Anthony Jackson has commented on the shadow that Pino casts over session work being nothing less than intimidating. Coming from (IMO) the best bass player in the world, that's high praise.

This probably sounds a bit silly and very obvious, but the main difference between a beginner wanting to play a well and a pro playing well is experience and a lot of invested time. Putting on a pair of football boots isn't suddenly going to make you the next Messi or even the next Peter Crouch. I've been playing for 10 years now and I can honestly say that the thing that made me a better bass player, apart from practice, was gigging and recording experience because all of a sudden, everything you've practiced has to get pulled sharply into focus. There was a guy when I was younger who I used to be in total awe of. To me he was the best bass player I'd ever seen, I used to try and get to talk to him after gigs about his favourite bass players so I could study them and get as good as he was. I didn't see him for a while, but when I did next see him performing a few years later, his skills were comparatively no better than my own. In fact, I was considerably better, not least of all because by this stage I had out-practiced him and had a number of years playing live under my belt which really booted me into gear. This all sounds a lot like I'm blowing my own trumpet , but I don't think that too fine a point can be put on hard work and experience. As obvious as it sounds, it really is the key in becoming a better bass player. You just have to want it and work for it.

Interesting weekend of gigs. Last nights was your standard Xmas party dans le marquee, but Friday we got the opportunity to support the Beautiful South, which was a lot of fun. After the support slot and the Beautiful South had finished, we went upstairs in the venue we were playing and did another 2 hours. The Beautiful South we good enough to stick around and watch us. At the end of the night, Alison Wheeler asked if she could get up and sing with us, unfortunately we had ran out of time but it was nice of her to ask and it would have been a great laugh had the venue not been closing! A good weekend all together.

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1322989970' post='1457895'] Have you listened to Dave Grusin's version/Album of West Side story ? Top arranging and playing all round. ... Garry [/quote] Yes, but not for a long while, thanks for posting it up again Garry! Great playing, fantastic stuff.

I tend to take the results of sound checks before any of the audience is let in with a big pinch of salt. Once there are people in, the sound tightens up and the level of stuff gets reduced.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1322939679' post='1457606'] Only musical I've played was Grease about twenty years ago and I really enjoyed it. It was harder work than I expected although I realise Grease is probably somewhat easier than say West Side Story (and most others). [/quote] Grease was the Toto/L.A guys and the level of musicianship that went into the soundtrack was superb (fairly certain it was David Hungate on bass for it and also Mike Porcaro), even though the musical itself really isn't my thing. Likewise, if you listen to the Wiz, Anthony Jackson is all over it like a rash. Amazing bass playing. Not a fan of musicals in general, apart from one, which is West Side Story. It is a masterpiece, a triumph of 20th century music from one of the greatest musical minds of all time as far as I'm concerned!

Not quite understanding the 'Neck EQ/Bridge EQ' part. Do they mean tone pots? Do they boost bass/treble in one go? Or bass one, treble the other etc. ?

[quote name='SteveK' timestamp='1322756371' post='1455503'] IMV the music world of today is sadly devoid of characters/musicians of Robert Fripp's ilk... where the f*** are the Robert Fripps of today? [/quote] I had a music lecturer at Uni that inspired me so much to want to pick up my bass and really learn. He was one of the only people who's lectures I really looked forward to, a complete genius and former student of Dave Holland's. He imparted a lot upon me as a musician. You're definitely right in saying that the music world is certainly lacking this kind of character right now.

I currently have a 'Rockcase' rackmount. It's not brilliant but it does the job. I've owned shockmounted rackcases also and found them to be cumbersome for what I do, but certainly if you're going to be running something all valve for example, it's probably going to be worth the investment in the long term.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1322750831' post='1455365'] Good to know we have found some common ground. We will indeed have to agree to disagree about the gripping devices. BTW, you were only supposed to look at the first minute of the Gary Willis clip !! [/quote] I think Gary Willis is a marvelous bass teacher with a lot of informative stuff to say, but I wish he'd inject his teaching with a bit more in the way of life!

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1322749474' post='1455329'] These grip devices, by their very name involve gripping. They are designed to develop gripping strength primarily. There is no getting away from that fact. Otherwise they might be called warm up gadgets. This repeated gripping and releasing is what gets the blood pumping, like you say. In the process you are building up strength that is not required. This unwanted strength could make the hand muscle bound, if the gadget was over used, and could in fact inhibit playing, much like our friend the weight lifter trying to do gymnastics or run a hundred meters. IMO, gentle stretching of the fingers and wrists, followed by slow deliberate exercises ( musical or otherwise) on the bass itself, is all that is needed to warm up. Five to ten minutes is all it takes. [/quote] I don't necessarily disagree with anything you've said here. But these gadgets aren't isolation exercises, i.e. they're not singularly working on one thing (the big hang up here being grip). They are by their very nature they are making you perform compound exercise, or in other words you're working out more than just one thing at a time. Low resistance work outs and high repetition on an irregular basis will not see improved muscle mass, that's not how muscle building works, so it is a theory that can be discounted if you're using such a device in the correct manner. I'm yet to come across anyone who has developed high muscle mass from singularly using a grip master either. I do strongly believe that good technique should be achievable without the use of something like a grip-master, or indeed any other gadget that is marketed as such. But I would say that the times in which I have used them, they have gone at least some way in getting my hands 'motivated' to work for lack of a better term But I suspect we shan't agree. I respect your opinion though, and that of Gary Willis's, even if his video was starting to put me asleep!

[quote name='hairyhaw' timestamp='1322736558' post='1454984'] The covers band I'm in has taken on two new songs; "Hundred Mile High City" by Ocean Colour Scene and The Lemonheads cover of "Mrs Robinson". Up till now I’ve never really had a problem with BV’s as they were few and far between, Choruses etc. so generally not a whole lot that I had to remember. Now these two tunes require me to sing the harmonies from start to finish. Do many of you guys and girls do BV’s? If so, how do you memorise your words? I've thought about cheat sheets with prompts taped to the back of the PA but I'm maybe a bit old fashioned in thinking it'd be a good idea to actually try and memorise them. Any thoughts? [/quote] Yes, I do loads both covers and original material. We do Bohemian Rhapsody at the end of every set. When we first decided we were going to do it, it just took some time to sit down and dish out the parts to the person who's voice is best suited to said harmony. For example, I'm never going to have a blindingly high range, therefore I forfeited singing the really high parts and opted for a lot of the mid-range stuff because it's where my voice is most comfortable. From there, it's simply a case of practicing, both a capella and with your instrument. It's hard work but very rewarding providing you've got a decent arranger!