dlloyd

[quote name='JackLondon' post='563939' date='Aug 9 2009, 12:59 AM']The main 2 areas are on the palm of my hand, one just below the tumb and the other one is just on the opposite just abowe the inside of the wrist. With regards to my thumb I always thought you are supposed to keep it around middle of the hand so maybe this is where I'm going wron [/quote] It sounds very similar to the pain I used to get. It came from gripping too hard on the neck. I sorted it out by practicing with my thumb off the back of the neck.

Pipped to the post.

Lucky Scott

[quote name='Mateybass' post='562054' date='Aug 6 2009, 04:09 PM']The luthier was John LeVoi, he's a friend and so I am in the extremely fortunate position of acquiring his services in return for looking after his computers.[/quote] I used to have a LeVoi guitar... it was the finest instrument I've ever played, and I bitterly regret selling it.

[quote name='BassBunny' post='562238' date='Aug 6 2009, 08:44 PM']+1. If you have CTS then you need to get someone to look at your technique. Here's an article from Guitar magazine about CTS and a simple "hint". You may just need some B vitamin. [attachment=30361:CTS.jpg][/quote] You might want to read this before taking that advice... [url="http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=1215"]http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=1215[/url]

[quote name='TKenrick' post='561886' date='Aug 6 2009, 12:11 PM']There's an organisation called BAPAM (www.bapam.org.uk) that specialises in treating musicians/performers, they were a great help to me when I had problems with my shoulder. As for technique, I'd definitely recommend going an seeing an experienced teacher to make sure you're doing the right things - maybe have a look in the teaching section of the forum and see if there's anyone in your area that's recommended.[/quote] +1 As your location says 'small town in Wales' I suggest being prepared to look further afield for a really good teacher.

[quote name='bassace' post='562006' date='Aug 6 2009, 02:42 PM']I've got Spiro mediums on my basses. The E was a bit quiet on my Upton and they recommended substituting an Evah Pirazzi medium. That did the trick. Trouble with going up to a Spiro heavy is that you get a bloody thick string. But you need to find out what's on the bass first. Some shop bought basses have very low spec strings as standard and a complete upgrade may be in order.[/quote] Must have posted at the same time... They're Pirastro Jazzers.

[quote name='TheRev' post='561922' date='Aug 6 2009, 12:57 PM']What colours are the silks (both ends)?[/quote] They're different colours. I went looking for the original for sale advert as it had a photo of the bass in it (and I couldn't remember what colour the silks were!) Apparently the strings are Pirastro Jazzers. I think I'm going to try out some Spirocores when I next get paid.

[quote name='gnasher1993' post='561873' date='Aug 6 2009, 11:58 AM']What strings are you using? I've heard that a few people have had problem with Thomastik's quality control. They've had dead strings. They've all sent them back and Thomastik returned one that worked. My guess is that it's a problem with the string.[/quote] No idea. They came already on the bass. Perhaps it's time to change them. (If Tallboy, who I bought the bass from is around, perhaps he might be able to say what they are?)

I've had my Stentor Conservatoire for just under a year now and by and large I love it. It immediately felt like the right instrument for me, but the E string just isn't as loud as the other three. The A, D and G give a beautifully round, resonant tone, but I really have to fight the E string to get it to match the others. I imagine the problem can only really be diagnosed in person, but is this likely to be an issue with the string itself, or is it the going to be the bass and, if so, is it the sort of thing that can be adjusted away?

[quote name='paul h' post='560635' date='Aug 4 2009, 09:19 PM']I have seen the same thing once when playing bass in front of the tv. Positioning the strings so I could see the screen behind showed the wobble.[/quote] Yep, +1

[quote name='leftybassman392' post='556664' date='Jul 30 2009, 10:49 PM']If anybody's still awake I'd be happy to discuss it further ..... [/quote] Totally... I love this stuff.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='555348' date='Jul 29 2009, 05:27 PM']Intrigued who the band are too, If they have been going 3 years I should know of them.[/quote] I believe it's these guys... [url="http://www.myspace.com/thebedlamsurvivorsclub"]http://www.myspace.com/thebedlamsurvivorsclub[/url]

[quote name='jonny-lad' post='556052' date='Jul 30 2009, 12:10 PM']Yeah, because if you play guitar that means you can play bass too because it has only four strings!!?....NOT![/quote] To be fair, most of the skills you learn as a guitarist are fairly easily transferable to bass. It's not [i]that[/i] difficult a transition to make. Particularly in an indie pop band (which this is).

Yep. Drop it and move on... you're not doing yourself any favours in emailing back.

[quote name='RhysP' post='552786' date='Jul 27 2009, 04:05 PM']Bloody hell. Messy.[/quote] There's a hell of a lot more of it too. Interesting forum to read, if incredibly sad.

[quote name='RhysP' post='552587' date='Jul 27 2009, 01:26 PM']Thanks for some great responses. I've read the Milkowksi book and thought, like most people on this thread, that it was quite well written & didn't really show anybody in a bad light. It was frank and unsentimental about Jaco's mental health problems, but I think the majority of people who were likely to read the book wouldn't have found any of this a great surprise. It would be interesting to hear the specific reasons behind Methenys derogatory comments. Out of interest, is the revised version of the Jaco book worth getting if I've only read the first edition?[/quote] I've not read it. I have the first edition and haven't gotten round to buying the 2nd edition, so I'm only going by what has been said by others. To give an idea as to the level of acrimony involved between the families, read these... [url="http://www.jacopastorius.com/realdeal/sabotage.pdf"]http://www.jacopastorius.com/realdeal/sabotage.pdf[/url] [url="http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2006-12-07/news/jaco-incorporated-strikes-back/"]http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2006-12-07...d-strikes-back/[/url]

[quote name='rjb' post='550155' date='Jul 24 2009, 01:26 PM']Oops, some ruffled feathers?[/quote] Er... no.

Here is a post by Bob Bobbing on the subject... [quote]I would like to take this opportunity to try and set the record straight about the legitimacy of Bill Milkowski's Jaco Book. _______________________________________ Here is a little background about how I came to know and appreciate Bill Milkowski. You see, I too was on the fence about Bill when I first started hearing his name and reading his magazine articles, but before I prematurely formulated an opinion about Bill personally and started speaking out against him, like so many did after his first bio came out, I decided to take out a week and go to New York to find out for myself what this guy was all about. And because most of what I knew of Jaco came from our early years coming up together in South Florida, I thought that visiting Bill would be my best shot to be able to find out what Jaco’s routine was like during his New York years. So, I arranged the trip and almost immediately my intuition proved correct because as soon as I began hanging out with Bill and was able to observe his daily routine, work ethic, and keen insights about Jaco, I quickly began to gain respect for him as a person and a writer. That trip proved invaluable because it’s very possible that I too could have been affected negatively from all of the misguided rumors and BS. You know, I too could have formulated an unfair bias against Bill Milkowski. For the record Bill Milkowski almost exclusively used first hand accounts from friends, family members, music industry insiders, and luminaries in the making of his Jaco Biography; The Extraordinary & Tragic Life Of Jaco Pastorius. He recorded well over a hundred interviews and facts were checked against newspapers, other reputable writer’s magazine articles, court documents, police reports, album/CD liner notes, etc... But most of all Bill became aware of Jaco’s NY routine from his own personal experiences. Over the course of several years and through his own countless hangs with Jaco, Bill was able to observe Jaco up close and personal in just about every imaginable situation; during and after his gigs, on the street, from the many pick up games they played together at the 4th street courts, throughout Washington Square Park and his Village haunts, in restaurants, pool halls, hole in the wall bars, during escapades with Teresa, at his various addresses, and Bill visited Jaco religiously at Bellevue hospital. Bill was able to develop about as complete a personal profile of Jaco as anyone could expect not to mention the fact that he recorded three sit down interviews with Jaco during his time in New York. And maybe I was more able to understand where Milkowski was coming from because I actually re-connected with Jaco in 1987 when he returned to Fort Lauderdale where I witnessed much of the same behavior that Bill describes in his book. I think if it wasn’t for me spending considerable time with Jaco during those final months in 1987 I probably would have had difficulty accepting a great deal of what I would come to read in Bill Milkowski’s first biography. But because of my experiences with Jaco in ’87, I could easily picture Jaco acting out throughout Bill’s text. At the time I went to New York to check out Bill Milkowski he was living in a run down apartment under the Williamsburg bridge which at the time was one of the worst neighborhoods in New York. In fact, the first morning I awoke there was a torched out car directly in front of Bill’s door, a common occurrence I came to understand, as his neighborhood was a popular desolate final destination for stolen cars. Before long a strange looking truck with a big claw casually came down the street and snatched it up in ten seconds flat as if it was just picking up the weekly trash. No police report. Nothing. As for Bill, he didn’t have a car and commuted everywhere using a tight network of busses and trains. Besides struggling to make a living as a music writer, Bill also gigged as an on-air personality for a weekly R&B/jazz radio station using the handle “The Milkman.” I accompanied “The Milkman” when he did his radio show and I found it to be a very humbling and worthwhile experience. I also quickly learned that Bill was a very seasoned musicologist who apparently did his homework. His unique radio voice provided savvy insight about every tune regardless of the genre or artist. And I thought he did it in a very hip and authentic way. Then at night it was off to any number of hole in the wall joints to catch various musician’s sets, or occasionally cover a legit show that he was commissioned to cover for a newspaper or local magazine. He worked hard and nonstop the entire time I was in New York just trying to keep his and his wife’s heads above water. But despite what I thought was a rather grueling routine Bill seemed totally into the music scene and appeared to enjoy every aspect of his job. At my request Bill set aside some time on the weekend to take me into the East Village and adjoining neighborhood to give me an up close and personal tour of Jaco’s familiar haunts; The 4th Street Courts, Washington Square Park, the Jones Street Apt., the Blue Note, the 55 Grand, the Dump, and several other clubs, restaurants and bars that all played some incidental role in Jaco’s routine during his time in New York. Even Bellevue Hospital and of course the World Trade Center that Jaco and Jimi Hendrix built with their bare hands. I have to say that Bill really did everything he could to bring me up to speed in regard to Jaco’s New York experience. And I picked up a strong sense of respect and admiration from Bill towards Jaco. Just read the remembering Jaco section in the book if you have any reservations about how Bill feels towards Jaco. More humbling observations to Bill’s credit is that during the time I was at his place he was confined to a very cramped work space and used a small antiquated word processor for his manuscripts. No cell phone or Internet connection either. And the window view in front of his desk faced directly into a brick wall that featured elaborate graffiti that reflected the rivaling Hassidic Jew’s and Puerto Rican’s ongoing turf war. And behind Bill’s desk along the wall was a very extensive and eclectic album collection that was carefully cataloged so he could locate anything in short order. It didn’t take long to discover that Bill wasn’t this slick operator or corporate schmoozer. On the contrary, he was a hard working jazz writer with plenty of street smarts, work ethics, and someone who had a broad understanding of Jaco’s routine during the early to mid-eighties in New York City. I also thought he had a very hip way of story telling without distorting the facts. And he absolutely nails Jaco’s unpredictable behavioral patterns in my opinion. Sure he goes out of his way to be a little entertaining at times, that’s what makes his book a good read. And there is little to no conjecture on his behalf as he lets the facts and opinions arise from within the countless first hand testimonies from those who were there and knew Jaco. I came to realize that Bill is the kind of Journalist who frequently uses first hand quotes of others to inform the story. It’s very effective and believable to hear various opinions from insiders, but I happen to know first hand that this presents problems if the writer doesn’t have keen instincts and a vast grasp of the subject matter. You know, you can’t just post anything and everything anybody says willy-nilly. I’m pretty sure that Bill had to keep everybody honest and on point throughout the process. There is always an ongoing need for quality control as not to just take anybody’s word for things without passing them through a kind of credibility test first; like who they were, do they have an agenda?, do they have reason to be jealous or resentful?, are they over exaggerating or grandstanding?, were they high?, is what they say in line with other credible testimony?, etc, etc… For the most part Bill already knew who ran in Jaco’s circles and which musicians and professionals were legitimately connected to Jaco. I imagine that establishing credibility was not as difficult for him because he already came to know most of the musicians and industry professionals personally. The New York music scene is Bill’s element. There is a great deal of responsibility involved in writing a book about such an important and historically significant artist as Jaco Pastorius, and I happen to know that Bill felt the pressure of that responsibility. But Jaco’s life was so incredibly unique and outrageous and full of life it would be a terrible injustice to censor out any of it. The music of Jaco Pastorius will always be appreciated as some of the most beautiful music ever written. And his pioneering techniques, incredible virtuosity, and outrageous stage presence were invaluable in securing his place among the greatest of all time. But Jaco’s life also contained some very unusual and bizarre behavior that was played out by Jaco himself on stages and street corners in New York City and around the world. Now as misunderstood and painful some of the issues are surrounding Jaco’s behavior, It would be foolish to think that if Bill Milkowski was to edit out, censor, or change the facts in his Biography everything would be just be fine. It would be just like someone editing Jaco’s music. The complete, unedited, true and balanced story is the only Biography worth reading in my opinion. And I think that is what Bill has accomplished in his 10th Anniversary Edition of his book; The new “Deluxe Edition” of; The Extroadinary & Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius. If a dramatic full-length feature film is ever produced about the Life & Times of Jaco Pastorius, Bill Milkowski’s book will surely be the catalyst. BB.[/quote] [url="http://www.jacopastorius.com/interact/discussions/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4692"]http://www.jacopastorius.com/interact/disc...p?TOPIC_ID=4692[/url]

[quote name='rslaing' post='552054' date='Jul 26 2009, 08:49 PM']Great post, and well said.[/quote] Thanks. I also wrote a fair bit of the Wikipedia article... it's a fascinating but frustrating subject because Jaco's Bipolar disorder gave him a tendency to ignore factual accuracy in his interviews.

The biography is as accurate as they come. There are a few features of the Biography that upset people. 1. It concentrates on the part of Jaco's life in which his bipolar episodes had intensified, when he lived in New York and was a close friend of Milkowski. The material from this part of the book is as accurate as any biography. It is well-researched, backed up with interviews and from published material. Pat Metheney has said that he had no contact with Jaco during this part of his life. Bob Bobbing (a long term friend of Jaco) has collaborated with Milkowski in the 2nd edition to redress this balance issue. 2. Milkowski related an incident in which Jaco introduced a young girl to him as his 'daughter'. Milkowski had no reason to question that the girl was his daughter, but as it turned out, Jaco was fibbing. Milkowski corrected this in the paperback edition of the 1st edition. 3. Some have complained that Jaco's illness was not treated with compassion. Frankly, to bend the truth in order to make him look more less ill than he really was would have been a disservice to him... 4. The person who has been most vocal about their criticism of the book is not presented in a particularly positive light in the book. 5. There is a long-running antipathy between certain members of Jaco's first family (who are associated with Bob Bobbing) and certain members of his second family. For more details, check out the forum on the official Jaco Pastorius site forum.

[quote name='skywalker' post='548954' date='Jul 23 2009, 02:41 PM']So the ii-V-I is not the ii-V-I of the key, (In the example above the key would be Bbmaj , and the I would be Bbmaj7- or would it be Gmin, and the I would be Gm7??). Sorry if I am being a numpty, but I haven't found a book or lesson that explains it. Steve[/quote] The ii-V-I relates to the key centre you're in... and that may change through the course of the tune, without an explicit key change. Autumn Leaves is in G minor, but you treat the first bit as if it is Bb major... which is the relative major key of G minor, so it's easy...

[quote name='skywalker' post='548734' date='Jul 23 2009, 11:38 AM']Hi All Can anybody explain how these progressions work??. I understand the theory behind the chords, but do the chords repeat through the verse/chorus, or are there likely to be other chords in there to trip me up?? Also can someone give me some examples that I can use for practice. Thanks!! Steve[/quote] Take the first line of Autumn Leaves Cm7 F7 Bbmaj7 Ebmaj7 Am7b5 D7#9 Gm7 (or whatever variation you're using) There's two ii-V-I's there... the Cm7 F7 Bbmaj7 and the Am7b5 D7#9 Gm7 The ii-V-I is usually just part of a bigger progression.

I remember reading an interview with him in Bass Player a few years back and feeling sorry for him. Apparently he does stuff to his pickups that he'll never reveal so nobody can truly copy him. It must be terrible to feel that insecure.

[quote name='rjb' post='546743' date='Jul 21 2009, 05:13 PM']I always found it funny how loads of folk bought Stingrays after Blood Sugar Sex Magic only to later discover many of its best lines were played on a Wal! [/quote] As far as I remember, He's said that Under the Bridge and Munky Monks were on a Stingray5 and Aeroplane off One Hot Minute was on a Stingray. Any others?