The Funk

Cheapest solution would be a rack drawer - stick your pedals in there and pull them out to fiddle with settings if required. As for good quality rackmounted compressors, there are so many good studio ones on ebay right now that you could go for secondhand entry level gear from big rep pro audio brands. I picked up a Drawmer compressor a couple of years ago. Haven't used it in a while but it was excellent.

Damn it! I was working real late on Monday night and then crashed out early on Tuesday night. I'd forgotten they were on anyway.

Worth it? No. Borrow a 5er!

Looks great! Very Larry Graham.

[quote name='jmesa' post='451065' date='Apr 1 2009, 01:29 AM']Has no one noticed the date? [/quote] Good one! Oh, you meanies!

[quote name='AM1' post='451110' date='Apr 1 2009, 05:35 AM']It is more advanced for a beginner, i.e. it is easier to play 8th root note punk bass but the funk stuff is rhythmically a bit more difficult. It's the "feel" - I don't think you can artificially create it, you either feel it or you don't. I think it was more the techniques such as percussive stuff/muting that makes it look technically difficult.[/quote] I get what you're saying but on those three tunes I mentioned there are no advanced techniques. I think the way you get a feel for funk tunes is by listening to them and playing them a lot. It takes a while to filter in.

[quote name='AM1' post='451109' date='Apr 1 2009, 05:30 AM']I have managed to craft up a few funky basslines but it was more from what I can hear in my head, and only now can release from my fingers, not by any scientific means! That's the problem for me going onto another instrument, I can hear what I want to play, I just can't make my fingers do it![/quote] The "right" way to come up with lines is by playing what you hear in your head. The science is there for if you get stuck. If you can hear what you want to play, just force yourself to sit there with your bass and work out exactly what the right notes are. Once you know that, then you can work out the best fingerings for it.

[quote name='AM1' post='451105' date='Apr 1 2009, 05:07 AM']I absolutely love this stuff, [b]I'm just nowhere near up to playing it[/b], but hey nothing wrong with having goals![/quote] I think somewhere along the line someone has started a lie that funk is slightly advanced and requires some kind of pre-existing technical expertise. I think that's total bollocks. If I had any students, I'd see nothing wrong with getting them to learn songs like [i]Papa Was A Rollin' Stone[/i], [i]If You Want Me To Stay[/i] or [i]Tear The Roof Off[/i] at an early stage. There's nothing to it!

If you like Rocco you should just stack up on Rocco's videos. I don't like Tower Of Power very much - but he's a good bass player! Funk's very simple. Rhythmically, all you need to know is that: 1. there's a big accent on the 1 and a smaller pair of accents on the 2 and 4. You can play wherever you want in there - pick your spot and make it count; 2. there are two main types of feel, straight and swing-funk - the best example of swing-funk is [i]Superstition[/i]. In terms of scales, Dorian and Mixolydian modes because there are a lot of II-V chords typically. If you don't know any modes, then minor and major blues scales and licks are just fine! The only thing you'd be missing out on really is the major 6th-minor 7th thing you get. Obviously, if you get into jazzier funk tunes like [i]Streetlife[/i], you'd have to have enough knowledge to play through more tricky changes.

[quote name='AM1' post='451100' date='Apr 1 2009, 04:50 AM']That clearly means you don't use it. So, even though you're a dick (hey you said it not me) I'll let you sell it to me! [/quote] I can't sell you something I can't find. I think it costs around £10 new anyway, so you could just pick one up in a shop. If I can find it before I come to your gig, you can just have it.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='450820' date='Mar 31 2009, 07:49 PM']Any decent Fender stores who can do good prices? As in I order and they match (or closely match) someone like gak.co.uk.[/quote] I'm missing something. Why can't you just buy from GAK? I've bought things from them before. Worked for me. Delivery was either £6 or £10, I believe.

I have one! Just can't find it at the moment.

[quote name='escholl' post='450121' date='Mar 30 2009, 11:40 PM']not bad, it's got a very "live" feel to it, if that's what you were going for.[/quote] Yes. Sounds very "live from the radio station". The fact that you used one mic explains it! [quote name='escholl' post='450121' date='Mar 30 2009, 11:40 PM']-the guitar is a bit thin, both at the bottom and the top. I would try to capture a bit more "body" of the guitar, to give the sound a bit fuller nature, and sparingly use a harmonic exciter as well in post processing if you've got one -- they really help to bring out acoustic guitars. -if you can, record the guitar in stereo -- my choice would be an MS technique, but a coincident pair would also work. this will help take the "mono" feel out of the mix, and with the now wider guitar, the vocals will sit much better, instead of having to be placed spatially right on top of the guitar.[/quote] Yes and yes! A condensor over the body and a dynamic over the fretboard works quite nicely too. Overall, I think it was a decent performance considering you sprung it on him and you captured it well - which is what studio recording is all about IMO!

I think he has half a point. There's only one Jeff B who can knock your average punter's socks off with instrumental music and his surname isn't Berlin.

[quote name='AM1' post='450090' date='Mar 30 2009, 11:10 PM']PS - Funk, I'm in London too, don't be a fascist, come along and watch me sweat!![/quote] Let me know when it is and I'll come along. I'm trying to watch as many basschatter bands as I can.

I bought some excellent cables from him for my guitarist. They're exactly what was needed and a cut above the rest!

Sorry, can't help you. Love those albums and those songs though! Do you need to provide charts for all the other players or do you just need to cop the bass parts?

[quote name='escholl' post='449964' date='Mar 30 2009, 09:32 PM']well then, you should come see me play. we've conveniently got a gig sunday! >.<[/quote] If you're gigging in London, I'll come watch. Eight - I totally agree about the Mark Knopfler thing! AM - I would watch your gig but I'm not into punk.

[quote name='The Funk' post='449813' date='Mar 30 2009, 07:30 PM']There is no set technique for bass guitar. Borrowed flamenco guitar technique is the closest we have. Do whatever works for you. [...] A sweatband has prevented the bleeding. Excellent.[/quote] [quote name='AM1' post='449831' date='Mar 30 2009, 07:49 PM']Not commenting on anyone specific here but self-appointed internet gurus with purist ideas of how things should be done, is a rigid mentality that simply does not work for everyone, especially not those who have adapted their own style so they can actually play.[/quote] In between the other stuff, I did try not being a dick. I do get that the same things won't necessarily work for everyone. My right shoulder/upper back/collar bone/right forearm are totally messed up from a rugby injury I had when I was younger and the little finger on my left hand broke in two places and didn't heal properly either time, so I've had to adapt and adjust. When I switched from playing a 4-string Fender Jazz to playing a 5-string Warwick Infinity, I did have to alter my technique so as not to mess up my wrists. There's a lot of people on these forums with a lot of experience of different aspects of being a bass player. That's what I love about these forums. I especially like the purists - they're so passionate about their philosophy that it's very easy to see why you agree or disagree with them. I'm not a right hand/left hand technician. My thing is the elbows.

These threads and videos are what the internet is all about.

[quote name='AM1' post='449702' date='Mar 30 2009, 05:44 PM']EDIT - PS with due respect, playing for 6 hours against the constraints of an underpowered amp and getting pain would suggest letting the amp do the work, not changing technique.[/quote] There is no set technique for bass guitar. Borrowed flamenco guitar technique is the closest we have. Do whatever works for you. A bleeding wrist suggests your technique isn't working for you. Sometimes these things only come out in extreme circumstances - such as my discovery above. I know you ruled out changing your technique at the beginning. I don't think that's sensible but your wrists are your wrists. For the benefit of anyone else who might get bleeding wrists and be open to the idea that their technique might be at fault, I don't see how you can play floating thumb technique with your wrist resting against the bass. I don't think I've seen anyone with floating thumb technique have any part of their plucking hand/arm resting against the bass. The bleeding is caused by friction from where the arm comes into contact with the bass - which happens here to be at the wrist. My solution would be to eliminate the friction by stopping having my arm come into contact wit the bass. A sweatband has prevented the bleeding. Excellent. My osteopath recommended I play with the technique I play with now for the least strain on the muscles in my hands, wrists, forearms, shoulder and back. It doesn't look too stupid either. This way I won't get all the inflammation I was getting before and should avoid RSI, carpal tunnel syndrome etc.

[quote name='AM1' post='449509' date='Mar 30 2009, 02:47 PM']I have tried altering my technique so my hand is not resting against the edge of the bass, but because I don't always rest my thumb on the pickup (I prefer to "float") then if I try to not rest my hand on the bass, I'm holding too much tension in my arm muscles. So a change in technique is probably not the answer at this point in time. Any ideas would be useful.[/quote] What are you doing!?! Stick your elbows out from your body. Your hand/arm/wrist should not be resting on the bass - your wrist should be flat and straight, in line with your forearm. A change in technique is the only answer to damage to your wrists! I had to change my technique in a week after I couldn't move my wrists anymore the next day after a 6 hour gig with an underpowered amp. Change your technique! Or go back to the Jazz.

[quote name='captain black' post='449161' date='Mar 30 2009, 01:41 AM']I've noticed a proliferation in the numbers of 'Dads Bands' around at the minute. You can see them all over. They're young. Their dads ferry them to 'gigs' and set the gear up for them while they stand around looking vaguely interested. They spend the whole night playing power chords learnt from Tab off the internet while adoring jailbait looks on. The dads stand at the back nodding all the way through and then pack up the gear at the end. The upshot? It's all done for them! They haven't had to do it for themselves. As a kid I had to bus 6 miles to practices then carry my amp and bass about a mile (stopping for many rests) so that by the time I got there I could hardly play. When you learnt your favourite songs you had to LISTEN to the Record ...NO REALLY LISTEN and work out what was going on. You learnt the subtleties. You learnt your trade. You couldn't just google it. So I think your answer lies in the fact that the future generation of bands are missing out on the 'serving your time' part. Also the standard of affordable guitars and basses you learnt on back then, or should I say Planks (hondo etc.), was pretty poor in comparison to what young 'uns have today (not that Dad hasn't bought them a Les Paul anyway). Anyway....Rant over. Ps. Apologies to anyone who helps out with their son's band but you get my point.[/quote] I agree with you completely. I remember just how long it took me to carry a tiny Fender practice bass amp from Camden Town to Kentish Town on foot. Over an hour. And by the end, I couldn't move either arm. And I remember trying to walk down the windy staircase at the back of the old Route Masters with a school bag in one hand, practice amp in the other and bass over my shoulder as the bus reached the stop. It took a lot to keep from falling down and breaking everything! Amyway, as my mate Pete Brown says, at some point in the early '80s, the middle end of the live market just disappeared and you either had toilet or Wembley. If it wasn't for a certain amount of dads' help, a lot of bands playing the toilets just wouldn't be able to do it. Bands making 3 figure losses a night playing the toilet circuit - it's just not right! Most of the acts playing Wembley (arena, not stadium) these days also had the support of at least one parent.

I'd say the only thing that's changed is the number of ideas has dropped: good and bad. Everyone plays it safe by copying the other thing that sounds ok because it kinda sounds like that other thing that came out once that was good. The ratio of good band members to a band has probably dropped too. You don't get bands like [i]Deep Purple[/i] anymore, where everyone's actually pretty good. Most young bands I've seen have been carried by one overly talented person. The other young bands I've seen have a few excellent players in the band but crap, uninspired songs. Everyone's afraid of not making any money from music because the music industry is dead, so everyone's more desperate to be accepted. As I see it, jazz, blues, rock n' roll and metal were never about being accepted or playing it safe. Cream lyricist Pete Brown blames the '80s for killing music, when record companies tried to force punk and disco together. Jack Black's character in [i]School Of Rock[/i] blames MTV (as did Biggles and possibly Dire Straits). The record companies blame the internet while putting out samples of samples of covers by fakes. The artists blame the record companies while spending more time on a music video than on making the record or trying to write a decent song. The fans don't treat music as an art form anymore, they don't treat it as a product anymore, they treat it as an instantly disposable passing distraction. I don't think there's a general decline in standards. I think the days of music as a business are over. It's sad but I've come to terms with it. Ironically there's never been a better opportunity for an overall rise in standards. If we all accept we're not going to make any money from this (with a very small number of exceptions) we can be freed from having to worry about impressing the people with the chequebooks and focus instead on trying to make music we love that we think is as good as the stuff we listen to at home.