Faithless

Contrary to what has been said, my advice is this: reading consists of two separate things - notes (pitches) and rhythm. You have to separate these two and practice them individually for [b]long [/b]before you actually can mix them together and do the real thing. Now, you're interested how you can practice them separately, right. For note recognition on the bass, check out this exercise first: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0sS0hhfezQ[/media] Then, get some rhythms book (it doesnt really matter which one, it can be 'dedicated' to drummers or whatever), I heard that a good one is the by Louie Bellson "Modern Reading in 4/4", something like that, and play those rhythms (just on one note, no different pitches) on the bass, make sure you memorize each one, and can put it to a high tempo before you move on to the next exercise. Just to make sure, everytime you practice something new (it doesnt matter if it reading, or whatever), do it [b]out of time[/b] (without metronome) so that you are able to correct [b]ANY [/b]mistakes you're making along the way. Practice and improvement is all about making mistakes, and that's what you 'want' to do in the practice room. Metronome implies real-time, so you dont want to use it at the starting point. Only when you become comfortable with material, then put on the metronome, and make sure you increase the BPM by little, 2-3bpm each time at most. Let us know how you get on, easy Laimis

I later was told by one of our sound-guys, that he faced the same problems in a different area, huge sports/enterntainment arena, that had huge radio transmitters at the top of it, and the in-ear systems they've been using were squeaking all those unwanted pitches, until they requested to isolate those transmitters with some huge metallic isolation shells...

Hey guys, The past week I've been doing extensive TV Sessions, the singers contest/show "The Voice Of....", and I planned to use my little Microkorg synthesizer to pull some skanky basslines on a few tunes.... The sessions were supposed to be held in a nice little arena's (SPA center, restaurant,etc) music club, that was 'designed' for live music events, if I can say so.... When I set up my bass and synth, and started my synth's line-check, there was a continious high squeaky pitch and [i]ringing-cellphone-alike[/i] (just put a ringing phone near your bass pickups, and you'll get the idea...) sounds coming through the PA and in-ear monitors....... We've checked the leads, I ran the keyboard on batteries so that it doesnt get power supply, we then ran the keyboard straight to desk using a DI Box, I even brought it near the main desk and ran it using a symmetrical cable, but the result - same sounds..... I even brought a brand new Microkorg (same model) from a local-shop to check if there are any issues with my synth, and, quess what, it made the very same sounds as mine ... We then found out that at near the very top of the building we've been playing in, there is a [b]huge [/b]mobile phone freq. transmitter, and probably a radio-station transmitter too. Next day I brought my Microkorg packed into a cooking foil, so that it isolates keyboard from frequencies, and while it did make quite a bit of difference, it didnt completely cut the off, which mean that signal coming from those transmitters was really hot, and my synth was still acting as an 'antenna' (really bad isolation). One of the things about Microkorg's construction that really struck me was that it's made main out of plastic, rather than metal, which really makes the difference (I lent an Alesis synthesizer later ,which has a metal body, and there are no squeeky sounds....) Anyone faced anything like this? The thing is that it's the first time I had to deal with this sort of thing, and it caused lots of problems, and I dont want to face them again in the future, so I was thinking of getting a more reliable synth, like Roland Gaia, but isnt its body also made from plastic? easy Laimis

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1325862214' post='1488987'] Now I'm confused. I interpret from Laimis reply that it actually is one bass on the soundtrack but it's not him ('it's not anything like my bass was sounding at least') but he recognises himself from the video ('yes it was me playing') ie yes that is footage of him playing the tune but the sound is someone else. Or maybe I'm misinterpreting him? Not that I'm too bothered either way since I didn't take part in it. Come to think of it I'm not that wild about the tune either [/quote] you're right, mate.

i dont think it was a mix, it's just one bass taken (P bass probably), but then i wasnt really listening carefully.. it's not anything like my bass was sounding at least. and yes it was me playing. easy Laimis

shed light on what, guys?

What's the fuss about those EBS Reidmar things, guys? As for myself, I'm desperate to sort out the 'basic' version of my pedalboard - first of all, to GET a pedalboard (PedalTrain SC2 ideally), then a floor tuner, compressor, and a multi power supply (like Dunlop DC brick).. Then, rig change coming next, which is really complicated - I get to with play with Loud drummers, and I lug my amp around a lot, but Genz Benz 3T10 + TC Electronic Rs112 just aint loud enough for gigs/rehearsals without monitoring... Ideally it would be - Genz 6T12 combo + some extension cab, maybe a 2x12.... Anyone got that combo up for trade/sale? easy Laimis

Any thoughts on that? (post above) easy Laimis

I really appreciate your input, guys, helpful as always, cheers I'm gonna give a shout to XB about taking the pedal. One more thing - I was going to control different volume levels with my EBS Octabass pedal either on and off - because this thing gives [i]huge [/i]output, when turned on. I planned to put the Vol pedal [b]after [/b]EBS octaver, so that it still gives me the right tracking even with less volume, and DV site says this: "The Roland High-Impedance FV-50H is designed for connection [b]before [/b]guitar effects units. ." Do I really have to put Volume pedal [b]before [/b]all my pedals? (Not a good thing, because if the signal coming to Octabass isnt right, the tracking is fluffy, as you might know..) Sorry for the fuss, guys....... kindest regards, Laimis

By saying 'wouldnt work' I meant that it wouldnt do any harm to the synth sound, but you get the idea. Any more thoughts before I actually buy the pedal? At last, is there any other way around it - these volume pedals are designed [b]either [/b]for guitar or keyboard instruments, right, so I can't buy a pedal that works perfectly for both, can I? easy Laimis

I know what you're saying about AB boxes, but the volume thing is [b]not [/b]the main thing I want to get an volume pedal. It's for silent unplugging (I have to unplug my bass very often, as it drains batteries quite heavily) firsty, because pushing the Mute knob on my Genz Benz head has beaten me up by now. ANyway, back to the pedal -any thoughts on that? I personally cannot see why it wouldnt work, when run in Mono output mode. Do you? advice appreciated, Laimis

Hey guys, I was gonna buy a Boss Volume Pedal FV-50H, which is 'designed' for guitars, rather than it's brother FV50L, which is low impendance pedal for [b]stereo [/b]keyboards and such... This one: http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetails.php?ProductId=59 One of the reasons I want to get a volume pedal, is that I'm using an electric bass and synth bass keyboard (Microkorg), - they are run through an A/B switch box, and I need to control volume differences between two - Microkorg keyboard has a huge output compared to my electric bass. I'm running Microkorg in [b]Mono [/b]mode output, so does the FV50H (high impendance pedal) gonna do any harm to the sound of the keyboard? All advice highly appreciated, Laimis

Hey guys, Thanks for the shout, but currently I'm a bit too busy taking up transcriptions, I'll be back to them on February, I think. Marry Xmas Laimis

Lobematt- that's why you, first of all, should improvise out of time, not with a recording on(which implies time, and time is moving forward), maybe writing out some ideas, so that you have something you can experiment with. Improvising in time is not bad though, as you can check if the stuff you've been working on is coming out or not - if it's not, it means some more woodshed.. easy Laimis

Can you read? You don't need to transcribe whole tunes, but some tricky or unison sections should be written down, so all you'd have to do is read through them, and not kill yourself with trying to memorise (and, in 3 days, you would [i]not [/i]memorize it) them. Don't those guys in the band have lead sheets with chords, song structures written out? This is the main thing - having those. They should be giving you lead sheets without asking, but if they don't have 'em, you'll have to write them out yourself. Or ask a guitar/piano player to do that, as it's in really short notice, and they should be helping you. Unless you've been offered 500 bucks, so that you should do the job yourself Write out the main bass grooves at the top of each sheet, as a rhythm (2 or four bars usually are enough to get the idea during the gig), so that you don't need to worry about remembering different bass rhythms/grooves for each song. Get the tunes to your Mp3 or car CD player, and listen to them over and over when you have a chance.

http://www.threechords.com/hammerhead/download.shtml This one's simple, but works great. You don't need to go that slow with bpm, all you need to do is adjust note lenghths (different drum parts, in this case), and you'll be able to go [i][u]really [/u][/i]slow with putting metronome on 30bpm or something.

I think there is a difference in how you start - scales are basically the outcome of chord tones+tensions. Pat Martino's 'minorization' concept is a super-imposition concept, which is really advanced - it's not for guys who don't know the basic 6 7th chords and tensions. First you want to learn 'the grain' - six basic 7th chords - minor 7, dominant 7, major 7 - they're used for major II V I harmony.. And, another 3 in minor II V I: m7b5, diminshed, and minor(Maj7)...... Shed all inversions of each chord in all positions on bass (there are 5 positions for each chord). I'd say, sign up for [url="http://www.joehubbardbass.com/"]Joe Hubbard's[/url] newsletter (and don't forget to check out his stuff on his website) - last time he sent a "Fundamental Chord Worksheet" for those who are following him via newsletter - you'd get a better idea of what I'm talking about. If you wouldnt get that sheet by signing up, don't hesitate to contact him, maybe he'd send you that. easy Laimis

Hey folks, I'm copying this from original thread about VisionGuitars.... "Finally, after two week wait, I got an annoucement from local post office, that my box has arrived. This one: http://www.visionguitars.co.uk/leem_ab-10_ab_box.html The problem is, when I really turn my amp (Genz Benz) up, (and I have to, in a band situation), when I try to switch between instruments using that AB switch, at the moment of pushing the switch knob, there's a noticeable, semi-loud 'tick'. It also happens even with instruments' volume knobs completely off. I'm not expecting something major from a 15 pound-thing, but hey, it's an AB box, it cannot be simpler in wiring such a thing, but I'm doing pop shows on TV where such stuff (side 'ticks' and other unwanted noises) just cant happen,period. I mean, are those unwanted noises during switch are common in these AB boxes? I'll be contacting seller, I'll let you know. Any advice appreciated, Laimis