FuNkShUi

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1427883166' post='2735328'] I can be a right pain if a gig hasn't gone well..... in that I wont be happy and upbeat the way others might be. If I've recorded it, I'll check it out and often I'll find it was better than I thought at the time. I'm happy with it being that way round. Sometimes you have to accept the general vibe over the playing but I see no harm in being very critical of yourselves and your playing. The downside is that I can be like that at other people's gigs. It is the way it is... oh well. [/quote] Yeh it's a pretty horrbile feeling if a gig hasn't gone down well, so i suppose that's an upside. I agree, it's always good to be critical of yourself. That's how you improve right?

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1427883151' post='2735327'] Were you drinking ? Not as disrespect but a couple of pints gives the impression of getting your grove, but when listening back to the recording, you often realise it just gives you a false reading on the gauges. [/quote] Nah, i don't drink when im gigging. Just complacency i think.

About a month ago we had a gig in a local pub. Went well, tidy sized crowd, everyone seemed to be having a blast, we all enjoyed. Happy days. The sound engineer recorded it and we had the mix back about a week ago. I didn't think too much of it. The songs sounded good in general, few mistakes, but we knew that. I recently sent a few of these links to someone, who was looking for a few links to my playing, to get some dep work. Yesterday morning i showed someone the links who i am good friends with, and someone who i respect highly as a musician. "What the F*ck is that?!" was the first thing he said to me. "What do you mean??" "That is utter sh*te. Sloppy timing. Not punchy. Not good at all bud." I listened back to it again, this time actually listening for the bass, not just an overall feel for the song. I was shocked. It was really slack playing. No mistakes as such, but none of the attributes that i would consider a good bassist to have. I don't think i'm Victor Wooten, don't get me wrong. But i'm a lot better than the bass player i was hearing. Same goes for the rest of the band really. Everyone was just, a little off i guess. I showed everyone what i was talking about last night in practice and we were in agreement. It was a pub gig, so i know we were playing a bit more "free" than normal, but really that's no excuse. I have standards that I want to stick to. That should be regardless of venue. This has proved to be a bit of a wake up call. I wont be taking things so light heartedly anymore, and just going through the motions. I don't want to hear that kind of performance from myself, or my band again! Anyone else had a similar experience? Are you happy if the gig goes well, regardless of how you played? When is the last time you listened back to a recording of your gig?

Nice one Bluejay

I suppose it depends on how much you like your current bass, and how much you would spend on modding it? If you REALLY like your current weapon of choice, then i would suggest having a play around with the EQ on your amp to suit slapping first, before deciding to mod it. The "smiley face" EQ setting is usually quite popular with people who play a lot of slap. So boosted Bass and Treble. And perhaps a new set of strings? Edit: Beaten to this suggestion!

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1427723939' post='2733452'] Me too. [/quote] Same. We also get a great recption for our "80s cheese" section, consisting of * Gold - Spandau Ballet * Hold The Line - Toto * Dont You Want Me Baby - Human League We always try to take a few requests whenever we book in a wedding. These were chosen for one wedding and we dreaded playing them. They had the best reception of the night, and have continued on in that trend. We feel like we cant drop them now!

I currently have 2 x TKS 112's, and they are plenty stable enough. I've never had any issues. I have a ToneHammer 500 as the amp though, so cant comment how they'd cope if you have some big valvey type thing.

Love it. Congrats!

Fodera . . .

I enjoy winding up my guitarist by referring to his guitar as his "Epiphany". It is of course "Epiphone", but as soon as he bit once..... I can't help myself now

[quote name='stubass' timestamp='1427052857' post='2725173'] I think that there is a slight misconception that because they are nearly all made using cnc machines, the quality is more consistent. In order to have consistent quality, you need a good QC operation to keep the programmers and operators on their toes. As a supervisor in a cnc machine shop, I can confirm that shoddy workmanship is more common than you'd think. [/quote] Im not a supervisor, in a cnc workshop, but as a technician/engineer who uses a toolroom on site to make parts we need, i can confirm that some parts come back to us so far out of spec we would have been better served scratching the part out with iron files ourselves. I dont understand how they can be so bad when a machine completed the vast majority of the work, but it definitely happens.

I've been here a good few years, despite the meagre amount of posts. Some people get offended very easily on here. Which is crazy considering, for the most part, this site is just made up of opinions. Dont agree with them? Thats fine! I'm aware of how sarcastic i can be, so it's just easier to stay out of it. That being said, i still find this site extremely useful. I've met some good people on here, who's wisdom has proved invaluable and is much appreciated. So i'll continue watching from afar, and extracting what bits of information i can. Now.... back to the shadows

All The Kings Horses It's the name i had in mind for my current band. Didn't get the vote though

Cab A: 10 Cab B: 15 Cab C: 12

Anything from Jamiroquais "Travelling Without Moving"

[quote name='Bill' timestamp='1425513726' post='2708208'] It's a whole different animal.. But yes I do! :-) [/quote]

Hi Danny Not an option you mentioned, but i have a TH500 paired with 2 X TKS112. Both without a tweeter. The sound your after, is exactly the sound i try to achieve. Cant compare to the SL or the DB, but may be worth you trying out the TKS if you get a chance. I would say your welcome to try mine, but im sure a day trip to Wales probably isn't pheasible!

Nice Bill So do you prefer this to your Thumb now?

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1424904631' post='2701863'] The other stuff she has suggested aint exactly all right now either, Michael Jackson stuff, Jamiroquai etc [/quote] Virtual Insanity is a great one to cover. Tricky bassline, but everything is is pretty tricky too. So when it does eventually comes together, sounds great!

Congratulations. Ive been to download a good few times, but unfortunately cant make it this year! Im sure itll be a great time for you though!

I use my ring finger, but with the middle finger sort of pushed up against it to brace it. Its not easy to get right, but honestly, stick with it, and it'll come good. One bit of advice i'd give is make sure you aren't gripping the neck with your thumb too hard. This makes it harder to slide between the notes fast or smooth enough. As an excercise, set up a metronome, and practice the vibrato on maybe the 4th beat (if assuming 4/4), but do it without gripping the neck at all. This will make it easy to slide quickly. Once this is ingrained in you, slowly start using your thumb again, until you build up to being able to do it without a struggle.

Nice one. Anything that improves you, and you enjoy has got to be a good thing!

Ive never used circular vibrato on a bass, so cant comment on that. Horizontal or vertical both work perfectly well though. I personally prefer to use horizontal vibrato where you slide between two notes quickly, but this is personal preference. I think i picked it up after watching a Marlowe DK video a good few years back. Felt very unnatural at first, so if you dont "get it" straight away, just persevere. Work at it until your notes become even. That was the thing i found most difficult when i started to learn to do it.

[quote name='louisthebass' timestamp='1424702562' post='2699329'] I think on Carol Kaye's website she favours playing triplets with a downstroke, followed by two upstrokes? [/quote] Can't imagine how difficult that would be! I started bass after playing guitar, so im pretty proficient with a plectrum. Down-up-down is the method i use. But your hand should constantly be moving. Its quite hard to explain this in writing, but basically you play "down - up -down - up", but on the second "up", retract the plectrum so it doesnt play the note. I dont know if this is obvious, but people i have shown, always try to reset the picking hand, rather than keep a constant motion and just exclude playing the 4th note. Hope that makes sense to you