BottomEndian

When there's background music on (and I run a shop, so that's pretty much my whole working life), I tend to hum along to the basslines. It's what I'm naturally interested in, and it's where my ear naturally goes. Only thing is, I've had quite a few odd looks (and one or two comments from friends) -- it's like people can't realise that what I'm humming isn't supposed to be the vocal melody. I guess they think I'm completely musically challenged or mad or something. We have one member of staff, and thankfully she finds it kind of endearing -- she sees it as yet another of my idiosyncrasies. But she had to ask me what the hell I was humming before she saw the light. Anybody else get this? [Interestingly -- or not -- back when I spent a lot of time singing tenor in choirs, I'd find myself inventing inner harmony lines to stuff I was listening to. So I guess we just sing what we're actively pursuing at the time.]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='612025' date='Sep 29 2009, 02:37 PM']I'll be started a T'Midget tour quite soon[/quote] Is there an alternative name for the T'Midget, for us (originally) Yorkshire folk? "T'T'Midget" is a bit of a mouthful...

Yup, more improvements this month. Interviews are much more interesting, and the new layout in the tuition/exercises bit at the back looks much more professional. Just two quibbles that have really stuck out at me this month, and they're both to do with what contributors have written, rather than the magazine itself: [list=1] [*]Stu Hamm says that you "should" be able to play root, third, octave as a chord across three strings (e.g. G at 3rd fret on E-string, B at 2nd fret on A-string, G at 5th fret on D-string). This runs contrary to all advice I've ever seen or heard about playing one-finger-per-fret, which says you should always release the index finger and pivot around the thumb before attempting to fret with the ring or little fingers. To do what Stu Hamm's suggesting would surely lead to some nasty hand strain. I know I can't do it at all, and to be told by a pro that I "should" be able to do that might be off-putting to an impressionable beginner. [*]Janek attributes "I Want You Back" to Jamerson, when everyone knows it was [s]Carol Kaye[/s] (sorry, on autopilot there) [b]Wilton Felder[/b]. [/list]

[quote name='bassplace' post='611548' date='Sep 29 2009, 02:07 AM']Agreed and apologies for going off-thread but what happened to the ACG area under affiliates?[/quote] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=61813"]Behold the fallout and mayhem.[/url]

I traded my bass for Jon's amp, and it was smooth as butter all the way. He kept in touch, gave me a tracking number and everything. Top fella. Wouldn't hesitate to do business again.

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='609121' date='Sep 26 2009, 11:32 AM']Nice? Very Simple? Hmmm.... [/quote] Well, I guess not. The original idea was all trans-black bursts and quilted maple tops. Then I saw that bit of limba, and everything was immediately much simpler. :wub: And looking through Alan's drawers of current orders was quite an experience. There are some people with very strong backs out there, if the presence of cocobolo is anything to go by.

Well, I've got to the point now where I feel like I know what I want from a custom bass. So I've taken the plunge and put in an order with Alan as my 30th-birthday treat to myself. The spec ([b]edited 5/8/10 after some changes[/b] ): Recurve body (standard, not singlecut) 5 strings, [s]34"[/s] 33" scale unlined fretless Body: black limba with centre laminate of wenge/black limba/wenge Neck: 5-piece wenge/black limba/wenge/black limba/wenge with black limba on front & back of headstock Fingerboard: acrylic-impregnated macassar ebony, flat (infinite radius) Finish: oil-rubbed satin Black hardware [s]2 x RFB pickups (ceramic at bridge, alnico at neck) with series/single-coil/parallel switching for each[/s] 1 x RFS triple-coil pickup, switchable humbucker/triple-coil/single-coil Piezo bridge [s](switchable with ceramic pickup)[/s] [s]Hipshot Xtender on B-string[/s] ACG EQ01 preamp Low-battery indicator I went up to visit Alan on Monday with all these preconceptions about what I wanted in terms of woods and finishes. After a couple of hours looking through woods and talking about the options, I ended up with a much simpler spec, which I think will look much nicer and I'll be much happier with in the long-term. The inspiration for the change of mind was coming across this piece of limba: [attachment=33511:Limba.jpg] Because of the way the tree's grown and the timber's been cut, there's a huge difference between the front and back of the piece -- it essentially looks like black limba on the front and white limba on the back. The black grain only extends an inch or so into the depth of the wood. So the bass will kind of look like it's got a top, even though it's one piece front to back. The top half of the body's outlined in white at the top of the photo. The bottom half is outlined in black down the bottom (you can make some of it out) -- ignore the white outline down there. Because the wood can't be bookmatched, there'll be a really obvious join down the centre, so I've decided to make a feature of it with a narrow laminate stripe (wenge/black limba/wenge) down the middle -- only about 8mm total width, but it should look sweeeeet. And here's the board: [attachment=33512:Mac_ebony.jpg] Just a nice, simple piece of macassar ebony. The light's not great in this photo. It's not completely plain, but it's not overly stripy like some bits of mac ebony can be. Alan's got a really tempting bit of mango for a fingerboard, but it would have clashed horribly with the body. So all in all, it'll be quite an understated bass, but with acres of tonal flexibility. I'll update here as the months go on, for those of you who are interested. Personally, I'm excited, but it's a little bit tempered by the long wait I know is in store...

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='608668' date='Sep 25 2009, 02:15 PM']So they don't just do strings then?[/quote] Just look through the menu on the left: Bits & Pieces > Human Companionship > Eyecandy > Willing Gentlemen It's tucked away, but it's there.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='608652' date='Sep 25 2009, 02:06 PM']I've sent them a couple of emails over the last couple of weeks and had no response... and now their mailbox is full. And I'm too lazy to ring 'em. Anyone dealt with them recently?[/quote] Yup. Got some La Bellas for the SR5. Ordered Saturday, got 'em Tuesday (and they're pretty damn good, as I'm sure you know). I think they're a bit flaky via email. I've had much more joy by phone, and a jolly nice bloke I got too.

Ed Friedland's [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hal-Leonard-Bass-Method-Complete/dp/0793563836/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253859560&sr=8-2"]Hal Leonard Bass Method: Complete Edition[/url]. He takes it nice and slow from absolute basics (like how to pluck a string) through to slap.

Even if it's been sent out... postal strikes, and backlogs therefrom. Could be a while yet.

[quote name='MythSte' post='606667' date='Sep 23 2009, 02:24 PM']Anyway, Here's Stephens official Barefaced Vintage gig review; [snip] All in all, Happy days![/quote] Another experience of Fender Jazz + Vintage = Just out of interest, what was your previous amp rig?

[quote name='MythSte' post='605738' date='Sep 22 2009, 04:08 PM']heh! Im looking forward to putting mine through her paces tonight. I've named her Sharnika. And if your not casually racist enough to work out why then im not telling you...[/quote] I think there are some better names in this: How did Sharnika turn out?

[quote name='Daquifsta' post='606162' date='Sep 22 2009, 10:03 PM']Now I've just scanned through this entire thread, and as far as I can see, nobody has mentioned Tubeway Army's (Gary Numan's band) bassist Paul Gardiner. I think his lines on 'Music for Chameleons' in particular are fantastic.[/quote] I always thought that tune was Pino Palladino.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='604350' date='Sep 21 2009, 11:05 AM']I did another gig with Bottomendian's on Sunday night with Bottomendian and Howard The Bass Doc in attendance. Unfortunately, the set-up meant my fat arse was stationed right in front of - and almost on top of - the cab, so the folks out front missed a bit of clarity. Apparently it sounded fine and dandy when I managed to move out of the way... I should go on a diet. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how I feel when I go back to the Bergs...[/quote] I'll point out as well that the room was long, low-ceilinged and boomy, so really not ideal testing grounds, but the Vintage still performed admirably. With the Jazz (mmmm, the Jazz...), there was plenty o' clarity, and lots of bark and growl from the bridge pickup. When the Precision came out, it went a bit... woofy, but when Michael shifted his rear out of the way, suddenly all this grunt came piling through. What I really love about this cab is the fact that you can just keep adding top-end on your EQ, and it never gets clanky -- it just adds clarity. When you don't have an arse between the cab and your ears, that is.

Once you've gone beyond metronomes and drum patterns, for basic backing tracks, [url="http://www.jamstudio.com/Studio/index.htm"]Jamstudio[/url]'s a good start. If you want more than one chord per bar, and a lot more flexibility, [url="http://www.pgmusic.com/index.html"]Band-in-a-Box[/url] can't be beat.

[quote name='MythSte' post='603561' date='Sep 20 2009, 01:43 PM']I'll be driving it with a shuttle which im not 100% on yet. But we'll see how i get on [/quote] This I'm interested in, because I'm thinking about a Shuttle 6.0. Keep us informed... as if you wouldn't!

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='603447' date='Sep 20 2009, 11:39 AM']Er... I'm sure I had more to say when I came upstairs to type this.[/quote] Oh, yeah: Dave Brubeck's [i]Time Out[/i]. What a crushing disappointment. I'm a real sucker for odd time signatures, so I wanted to love that album. But I found it [b]so[/b] dull. Quite a few tracks (not least "Take Five" ) seemed to be: head, vamp, drum solo, head, finish. Seemed very contrived, and it didn't give the listener any credit -- for example, "Take Five". I don't find 5/4 difficult to follow, so you don't need to bash out the same vamp over and over [i]and over[/i] again...

I'm just getting into and expanding my knowledge (and CD collection ) of jazz. I started out a few years back with [i]Kind of Blue[/i] (wow), [i]Brilliant Corners[/i] (double-wow, but piano was my first instrument), [i]Mingus Ah Um[/i] (er... wowee!) and plenty of Django Reinhardt/Stephane Grappelli (different kettle of fish, but still incredible). Now I've looked over loads of "best of" lists and I've expanded the collection a little, and I'm loving it. So here are a few comments and questions for all you jazzers... [list=1] [*]I love the obvious immediacy and incredible efficiency of these 50s/60s recordings -- loads of these albums ([i]Moanin'[/i], [i]Saxophone Colossus[/i], [i]Somethin' Else[/i], [i]Blue Train[/i], etc.) were recorded in a day. You just don't get that these days, what with all the studio tinkering and stuff. Awesome. [*]A lot of the CD reissues come with "alternate takes" as extra tracks. I tend to listen to these once or twice, and if they don't particularly grab me, they don't really get listened to again -- I just play the album as it was originally released. [i]Giant Steps[/i] is a prime example -- my CD's got 4 versions of the title track on it. 2 of them have slightly different versions of the head (slightly awkward little piano fills in one, which completely ruin it for me), and one's just another take of the album version. Do you guys regularly listen to these alternate takes? [*]Benny Golson on [i]Moanin'[/i] is simply superb. [*]Er... I'm sure I had more to say when I came upstairs to type this. If it comes back to me, I'll add more! [/list]In summary: JAZZ <-- :wub:

Listening on my work laptop speakers (which seem to have a brick-wall low cut below about 500Hz ), I can really hear that fretless growl coming out -- cuts through like a cutty thing. And did the band notice the change from fretted to fretless? You can't miss it, to my ears. Can't wait to hear this tonight -- I don't often get the opportunity to hear my gear being played by someone else.

Gadge bought my XL Comfort Strapp, and it was a deal of almost poetic simplicity. Got PM, sent reply, got PayPal, sent strap. It doesn't get any easier than dealing with Gadge. Top fella.

[quote name='MythSte' post='602628' date='Sep 18 2009, 11:35 PM']Monday cant come any sooner...[/quote] Aaaaah. You're joining the family? You won't be disappointed!

[quote name='MythSte' post='602558' date='Sep 18 2009, 09:38 PM'][url="http://www.thescubasite.com/"][/url][/quote]