leftybassman392

Ahem... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/295793-another-dont-you-just-hate-talented-kids-thread/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/295793-another-dont-you-just-hate-talented-kids-thread/[/url]

I'm sure we've discussed this one before on this forum. I'll just repeat pretty much what I said last time. The only issue (as numerous people have already said) might be the sound - some bass rigs are voiced specifically for bass guitars; others (PJB being a good example) are full range systems, equally suitable for pretty much anything you plug into them. I would quite commonly use my PJB Briefcase with my Takamine electro-acoustic (or whatever they're called now) and got excellent results. I always used a good acoustic preamp, but it would be perfectly useable straight in. (With an electric, there might be more work to do of course...) Perhaps a reverb pedal and a bit of (guitar) chorus, and away you go.

[quote name='Barking Spiders' timestamp='1480064171' post='3181334'] I recognise her from another YT clip nailing Van Halen's Eruption. Ha, at that age I could barely distinguish a guitar from a uke [/quote] This one you mean? [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV6SmY04WdE"][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV6SmY04WdE[/media][/url]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1480024460' post='3181185'] And all that whilst someone sounds to be taking random shots at her...........what you mean 'that's the drummer'? [/quote] Ah. So it's not just me then. I'm hoping it's just a poor mix and that it sounded better in the studio... If I had to criticise, it's that it all comes over a bit one-dimensional - Malmsteen, Vai, van Halen, fair enough; but her take on the Moonlight Sonata, for example, could (IMHO of course) so easily have been done differently, and I'd love to see her take on something from Guthrie Govan. Still, she's still very young even now so plenty of time to broaden her horizons, and boy can she play!

She's 14 (when she made this vid at least - 17 now I think), she's French, and (there's really no easy way to say this, but) she's a girl. In spite of all this, I reckon she's pretty good... [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIGfO2Dgc9Y"][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIGfO2Dgc9Y[/media][/url] I'm interested to know what others think, but before being overly critical ask yourself "what was I doing when I was 14?" She has her own YouTube channel if anybody wants to check it out.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1479842751' post='3179748'] Can I be bothered with Black Friday.? Can I f***. Awful consumers squabbling over crap they dont need. Horrible American import [/quote] This. So pointed it's worth saying twice! Minor caveat: there will be people who use it as an opportunity to get something they've genuinely been after at a knockdown price, but we all know that most won't... Spirit of the age, sad to say.

Another vote for Alanis Morissette. Lots to choose from. While I'm here, what about Avril Lavigne?

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1476735857' post='3156866'] My best distortion pedal was a valve reel to reel tape recorder - it did distortion and echo! [/quote] Holey moley! I had one of those too. A '50s Brenell. I think I still have the owner's manual somewhere...

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1476272732' post='3152865'] The guitarist in one of our support bands turned up with a beautiful Les Paul, a Marshall 4x12, and a 6U rack case containing Marshall pre- and power-amps and a whole bunch of flashing lights. He'd basically spent the GDP of a small country to get absolutely the worst guitar sound I have [i]ever[/i] heard. I mean, hilariously dreadful. [/quote] I had an amp setup like that once (think I had 212 x 2 from memory): the monoblocks (I assume that's what they were) were fine, but the real trick (IMHO of course) was to work out where the good sounds were on the preamp (which I'd guess was a JMP-1) - there were some good ones in there; you just had to spend time finding them is all. Old school 'It's a Marshall so turn everything up to 11' guitarists definitely wouldn't have liked it...

I'm seeing a bit of context here: you expect a small, cheap amp to sound a bit crappy and an expensive one to sound good (subjective considerations aside of course). In that context the biggest disappointment for me was a (very pricey) Fender Vibroverb reissue I had some years ago. No matter what I did I couldn't get a decent sound out of it - actually thinking about it I can't quite recall why I bought it in the first place. This opinion may be coloured somewhat by it's horrendous reliability record - 3 major failures (and two new power supplies) in as many months. When it went pop for the third time I told the shop to keep it and took home a S/H Mesa Boogie Studio .22 instead. Much more like it!

Never owned one, but I did have the good fortune to meet Gregg Burman back in the day when he had the little shop in the arcade off Percy street (whose name I forget - not even sure if it's still there TBH) in Newcastle. Tiny shop with a massive glass frontage in an arcade of similarly glass-fronted shops, 8x12 stack with a 100w head on top and a white Stratocaster for customers to play... I would have been around 22 then and he was definitely older than me, so he must be pushing 70 by now. Ahhh. Happy days. Sorry about that; carry on...

I do like a nice Tele. Thankfully I don't do it for a living anymore and I, er, have a, er, custom handbuilt job already ( ), so GAS isn't an issue. Looks like a tasty piece of kit though.

I'd rather not choose between them ta very much. No offence intended to anyone who feels otherwise, but WTF!?

[quote name='octatonic' timestamp='1474314609' post='3137104'] Bespoke 000-style acoustic guitar. Stika spruce soundboard. Rosewood back & sides. Mahogany neck. Maple binding. Oh, and I built it. [/quote]

[quote name='Jakester' timestamp='1473837891' post='3133414'] What are your views on bass guitar for littlies? [/quote] Well, the mini P shown above has the same scale length - and width - as a full-size guitar. I've not actually seen one close up but the strings have quite a 'ping' to them when played, which indicates that string tension is probably quite high too (which in turn suggests the strings will be very thick for small fingers to cope with). For a 6-year-old my feeling is that it's a big ask. Bass is a bigger instrument anyway of course, but even so I'd be inclined to hold off for a couple of years and have another look when he's a bit closer to 9. There'll still be plenty of time to get him going well before he hits secondary school. In truth there's no hard & fast rules, but the one thing you need to avoid if you can is having him give up in frustration because he can't cope with the physical demands of the instrument: growing into a complex musical instrument isn't the same as growing into a school uniform... Only my opinion of course, and I don't doubt others will see it differently.

I've only ever seen a couple of 1/2 size electric guitars, and neither of them was very good I'm afraid. Capoing a bigger instrument can be a 'sort-of' solution if funds are tight, but isn't really ideal for a number of reasons. As discussed in the other thread, parlour guitars aren't really suitable either as most of them have full-sized necks. Martin make (or at least used to make) a kind of backpacker guitar but last I heard they were around £300 a pop. As Dad said, kids grow quickly and a guitar that's correct now will be too small in a year or two (no way around that one that I know of... ). My best advice is to get a guitar that's just a little bit big for now in the hope that it will last around 3 years; that probably means a 3/4 of some sort - not going to be a quality instrument, but it will make no difference whatsoever to a 6-year-old! Visit your local music emporium with said child and get them to let you try a few out. Bass guitar for a 6-year-old? Hmmm. I have an opinion about that one as well if you want to hear it...

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1473753075' post='3132708'] No not at all. Valve Amp > Power Soak > Speaker. [/quote] That would be my solution if volume is the issue. IME the sound of output valves being made to work for a living is very hard to simulate. I used to use a Marshall Powerbreak with a 50W Dual Reverb for pub gigs. Don't know if you can still get them though (there's bound to be other technologies out there - didn't Palmer make this kind of kit as well?).

Just one more thing before I go: in state schools the local music service generally rules the roost in peri tuition, and they tend to lay down the law to their tutors as to curriculum (if that sounds a bit 'schooly' it's because it is, but it's how it generally gets done). In a private school things tend to be a bit more open and down to the music teacher (who is never, ever a guitarist!), IME they have a habit of leaving it to the tutor and checking in with them from time to time. Might pay you to see if you can get a bit of a chat with said tutor to see what (s)he has in mind for your daughter - if they're familiar with music service methods then they'll most likely have her working from one of a number of standard textbooks - which won't include chords by the way . If they're not then it could be almost anything . Better hope the tutor isn't a death metal fan I guess...

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1473021777' post='3126209'] Won't stay in tune - new strings needed perhaps [/quote] Sorry for the late reply - on holiday ATM so not around the iPad too much right now Sounds about right actually. New nylon strings take a while to settle down, so regular retuning is needed early on.: not much you can do about that I'm afraid. It will settle down after a while, but nylon strung guitars generally need more tuning adjustments than steel strung anyway - doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it. Tutor should be routinely checking it at the start of every session anyway. It is true that junior size instruments are not of the highest quality, but as I indicated earlier they're plenty good enough for your daughter's needs, and I any case it's unlikely to be a problem for a 7-year old if she takes to it then you can trade up and sell it on (impossible to say for sure without seeing the child, but 9 or 10 is a fairly typical age to start looking at a full size instrument). If she doesn't then you'll probably find out within a couple of months, and you can sell it on anyway and get some of your money back. I probably don't need to say it, but active support and encouragement from you will be a good thing too. While I'm here, keeping expectations within bounds is a big deal; if you do have any issues with progress, talk it over with the tutor. Getting the balance right is quite a tough ask in this area. Tutors can get a bit territorial about this kind of thing (I can only give you my thoughts based on my personal experience of teaching very young students over a period of years), so if you'll forgive me I won't enter into that kind of debate (which is not the same as saying I don't have an opinion about it of course...). The child's needs are paramount, and everything you, the school and the tutor do should be serving those needs. All children are different, and beyond the basic principles of good teaching there is no 'one size fits all'.