EssentialTension

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1459951573' post='3021186'] I'm a big fan of Picasso actually. Him and Piet Mondrian. I like a bit of neoplasticism of an afternoon. [/quote] Saw a lot of El Greco's last week in Toledo ...

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1459949398' post='3021151'] Anyway, how is any of this a [i]non sequitur[/i]? Or has that phrase changed its meaning recently? [/quote] There's no controlling language use Jack, especially when it's both foreign and dead and hardly anyone knows what it [s]means[/s] meant anyway.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1459950603' post='3021171'] True, but chances are they will like it better if you're a good player - regardless of their knowledge (or lack of it) regarding all things bass. You don't have to be an artist to appreciate that Picasso was terrible - my four-year-old could do better than that. [/quote] Of course lots of things, including being a good player - in tune, in key, in time, etc. - have an affect on the outcome. As for Picasso, I preferred his early work when your four-year-old couldn't have done it.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1459943932' post='3021084'] I don't buy the "nobody cares what the bass sounds like, so what it sounds like doesn't matter" silliness. That is a myth and a fable. Everything you do as a performer matters. If you operate it right, a better bass will sound better, which will make you feel better about your playing, which will make you play better, which [i]will[/i] be noticed by the people who really matter to a bass player, ie the other band members, the potential band members who are in the audience and any band leaders who are looking to replace their bass player because he sounds crap because he doesn't think that what the bass sound like matters to anyone. [/quote] Of course it matters. But a large proportion of an audience are not going to be able to tell you the difference. They will simply like it, more or less, or not at all. Nonetheless, in the right hands, a £250 Squier can sound as good as a £2500 custom job. [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1459943932' post='3021084'] I played Mustang Sally a couple of weeks ago in a band of sh*t-hot pro musicians. Wilson Pickett would have signed up there and then. That's how Nathan East got started, when Barry White saw his band in a club and signed them up as his touring band. [/quote] I was doing a Mexican Day of the Dead gig a couple of years ago with an 8-piece band. During our rendition of 'El Cuarto De Tula' I did feel that if any of the Buena Vista Social Club had wondered in they would have said 'yeah, man' and joined in without hesitation.

Can you get a Road Worn Ferrari?

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1459941419' post='3021038'] it's just a bit of fun isn't it? Like "Would you rather eat a raw badger OR watch your parents have sex? You HAVE to choose one" [/quote] No, really, you don't have to.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1459936641' post='3020953'] Let's be honest if it's a 'regular' shape (P or jazz typically) then 90% of audience at least can't tell if it's a £2K or £250 bass. [/quote] ... and almost certainly couldn't hear a difference either.

There's many setup videos on Youtube. I like this one. http://youtu.be/cIzV9462xeE http://youtu.be/D4MdWzN_100 You can get away with not having all of those tools but they are handy.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1459934258' post='3020920'] I've retracted my vote, I don't see why you can't have both. Why are we having to choose again? [/quote] I never voted at all. I don't believe in 'plays like butter' or in 'tone of the gods' so I reject both options.

[quote name='GrammeFriday' timestamp='1459800062' post='3019845'] ... Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, Birmingham ... [/quote] Blimey, is that still going? First played there in about 1974 or something. I must return to Birmingham one weekend.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1459356637' post='3015779'] ... I have a real problem with keys players and have had for decades ... [/quote] [quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1459361236' post='3015848'] I can think of one (1) keyboard player I've worked with that didn't overdo it with the left hand. [/quote] I play with a pianist. He also plays bass in another band and so he understands the issue. When playing together we have certain general rules: (1) If I am playing a riff or arpeggio of some kind, then the piano left hand plays a chord or a single note or an exact unison with the bass without variation. (2) If I am playing in a lower octave, then the piano left hand goes up an octave - and sometimes vice versa. (3) Bass fills are my responsibility, so, in relation to fills the pianist has to have an agreement with the guitarist (which is not a problem). (4) It's accepted that a left hand in the bass register piano part is not required at every moment in every song.

I'm very flexible on both. Tone can easily be shaped by fingers/pick/strings/preamp/effects/amp/cab etc. And one person's playability is another persons unplayability.

[quote name='sunburstjazz1967' timestamp='1459775190' post='3019440'] Six months on upright and they all feel small. [/quote] Not merely feel small, but feel like toys.

If the string is hitting the pickup then the pickup is too high - or the string is too low at the bridge saddle - but commonly you should set the action and intonation before setting the pickup height. If you use higher tension strings then you can usually manage to set the pickup higher without the strings making contact. A Precision bass pickup has the advantage of being able to adjust pickup height differently on the two sides.

... and Rufus and Martha Wainwright ... and actually lots and lots of others.

... and Nancy Sinatra

I have thin neck on my Lakland Decade, fatter neck on my Fender Precision, even fatter neck on my Takamine, and even fatter neck on my upright. I am not that bothered. I just play as best as I can.

In nearly fifty years of playing I have been in many bands. The majority were so-called 'start-up' bands and the great majority gigged regularly. I can only recall one that did no gigs at all. Hence, I am yet another exception to the imaginary rule. When I was still nearly a child I harboured thoughts of musical and financial success. For a long time now I have been happy to have a hobby that I often get paid to do.

Effects pedals or pre-amp pedals can also make a difference to which amp input is preferable.

Like these?

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1459723067' post='3019046'] I play with myself every night in my bedroom and it fills me with great joy. [/quote] You need to do it live on stage like Blue does.

And here's Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 ... http://youtu.be/_I7zEpzFa1g

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1459722686' post='3019039'] Yes, since 1997. I was trying to be a bit more subtle about it. [/quote] I think we may have moved on from subtlety.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1459720169' post='3019018'] He's in Milwakee this summer, I plan on checking him out. For those who have misinterpreted my othher responses on this thread. The above means Fela is a musician I'm interested in seeing live. Blue [/quote] Fela Kuti is dead. You can see either of his two sons Femi Kuti or Seun Kuti who are still touring.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1459706631' post='3018798'] I probably have a very restricted outlook on life, as I cannot begin to understand why anyone wants to play an instrument and not perform in front of people. [/quote] Composers, arrangers, producers, and probably several others, might well play a musical instrument and not want to perform in front of people. This will not be the case for all of those but there really is no reason why it shouldn't be so sometimes.