flyfisher

[quote name='J.R.Bass' post='1070812' date='Dec 28 2010, 10:50 AM']Yeah but Ian Durys vocals aren't the part that make the song. Its the bassline that does.[/quote] Well, as this is a bass-player's forum, that's not a surprising view (and one that I agree with), but the great unwashed listening public might well have a different view. The sax solo is also pretty unique, for example, and Dury's vocals are certainly distinctive. Yes, the bassline is far more prominent in this song than many (most?) others, but everything combines to create a great song and I'd bet very few non-bass players would ever notice the difference between the original recording and the OP's bassline. Heck, I'd even bet a large number of bass players wouldn't notice it either. Now, if the OP had just sat on the root notes then I'd be the first to agree the song was screwed . . . although it's often been mentioned how few people really notice bass lines anyway, so that might be a fun experiment at a gig.

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='1070700' date='Dec 28 2010, 01:04 AM']Just thought point this out. iTunes, Im not sure on other sources, backs up all data downloaded to a server available only by your account. So if the terrible happens, and you buy a new PC/laptop/iPhone/iPad blah blah blah you can sign in and retrieve all that data for free. For me this is great as I have far too many computers and I don't have to buy again everytime or rip a cd on to each computer or laptop. I illegally download stuff I really want to listen to that is pretty much unavailable unless you import it.[/quote] A 500GB external hard drive costs about £50 these days, so there's no real excuse not to keep a backup copy of all your music, except laziness. And if you're illegally downloading music then you'll be saving loads of money anyway, so you might as well buy a backup hard drive . . . unless you can steal one from somewhere. Alternatively, since you have 'far too many computers', just keep a copy of all your music on each one. That should minimise your risk of losing anything.

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1070685' date='Dec 28 2010, 12:32 AM']The initial Beatles sales figures are in: More than 450,000 albums and 2 million individual songs were sold on iTunes worldwide, according to Apple, since the Beatles catalog was made available Tuesday (Nov. 16). In U.S. the best-selling album was "Abbey Road" and best-selling song was "Here Comes the Sun."[/quote] Thanks for that. Very interesting. I'd be astonished if those 450k album sales were to people who had never before bought those albums. I can imagine all the hype about releasing The Beatles on iTunes might have inspired some people to have bought those tracks/albums for the very first time, but anyone with even a passing interest in their music would surely have bought the CD versions long before the iTunes release (or even the vinyl versions)? So most people are either buying the music again (in an inferior format!) or they actually waited for it to be released on iTunes. Bizarre behaviour in either case.

I agree with the live performance thing as a main revenue source, although I do think some of the big names are taking the p*ss when it comes to ticket prices. I could have a holiday in Spain for some of the ticket prices bandied about, especially by many old bands riding the current trend to reform. Still, I guess that's market forces and if people are daft enough to pay such prices then good luck to them. It'll be interesting to see how the music industry develops, but I don't think 'strong-arm' tactics by the PRS are going to win many hearts. Besides, what IS the justification for needing a licence to have a radio in the office or factory when the broadcasters are, presumably, already paying the thick end of a very large wedge already? This seems like the usual music industry trick of getting the mug-punters to pay more than once for their music. It would be interesting to know the sales of The Beatles on iTunes since the music industry made such a big splash about their catalogue now being online. Does anyone really believe there were loads of people just waiting to finally buy Beatles tunes online, when their CDs have been available for years? And, let's be honest, millions of kids today already have access to such stuff via their parents music collection and they take it all with them on their iPods and laptops when they leave home. There is a huge body of 'classic' popular music that is nowadays effectively in the public domain. It might still be covered by various copyright laws but the reality is that almost all songs are freely available on demand these days. The music industry might not like it and our IP laws might not have caught up with the reality, but that's the way the world is working and no amount of music industry posturing and threats is going to put the genie back in the bottle.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='1070397' date='Dec 27 2010, 07:21 PM']Only if they are registered as PRS members, (although it's not the band, but the venue that has the license) and the purpose would be for them to receive payment through the licensing system for a public performance of their material. Probably not worth it for a one off, but if you are touring regularly then it can result in some reasonable cheques coming through.[/quote] I don't really understand this. Even if an originals band is on a big tour, why the need for PRS at the venues they play? Presumably they'll be getting their cut from the ticket price anyway, so what is the point of the PRS taking another cut of the ticket price which they would, presumably, have to hand over to the band anyway?

[attachment=67211:commode.jpeg] The above Chippendale commode recently sold at Sotheby's for £3.8m. It's quite clearly a masterpiece, requiring the utmost patience and finest skill to create such an exquisite and unique object. I can look at it and wonder at the skill of the craftsman who created it. I can be astonished that anyone could create such an intricate object with only hand tools. I can freely acknowledge it is a work of great art. Do I like it? Not at all.

Is a PRS licence required when a band plays a gig consisting of only original songs? And if so, why?

[quote name='JTUK' post='1070144' date='Dec 27 2010, 02:33 PM']Busking it is ok...but if you are going to gig this you have to nail the line exactly or better it. As all the bass nerds at the back will think you can't play it.[/quote] I'd say the OP has got that bass line pretty well nailed. It may not be note-for-note perfect to the original recording, but it's instantly recognisable and definitely in keeping with the spirit of the original. Who cares what the 'bass nerds at the back' think anyway? If they can do any better let them get their own band together and play live instead of air-guitar in their bedroom. I'm sure we've all seen loads of live performances where even the original band doesn't play things note-for-note as on the original recording, so why should a cover band be any different?

[quote name='Arkless Electronics' post='1061419' date='Dec 17 2010, 11:00 AM']"there's not a lot of useful information to be gained by watching a real-time audio signal on a 'scope." I beg to differ!!!! There is almost all the information you would need....[/quote] By 'audio signal' I meant a real-life audio waveform (e.g. music), not something from a test signal generator. Sure, it's easy to check the peak amplitude of a music waveform but that's about it really. For any serious testing of an audio circuit you'd need to use a signal generator to inject a consistent, reliable waveform, not something all over the place such as music.

[quote name='citymariner' post='1063771' date='Dec 19 2010, 05:38 PM']I've recently got an extension cab (Ashdown 15") to my Ashdown MAG300 210t.[/quote] That's the same rig that I use. As pointed out above, speaker cables should be heavier gauge and not screened. I use a jack-to-speakon for my speaker cables so they can't be confused with an instrument cable. Alternatively, if you do use jack-to-jack, use a different colour for speaker cables.

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1062507' date='Dec 18 2010, 02:33 PM']Bass. Cable. Amp. Job done.[/quote] Works for me.

We managed half a gig yesterday in snowbound Hertfordshire or, more accurately, half the band played a gig! I couldn't get out of my house so bagged a lift in our singer's 4x4 and collected one guitarist on the way. An hour later (for a 15 mile journey) we arrived but the second guitarist and drummer couldn't make it. It was a friend-of-a-friend's wedding and we were only there to play for the first dance and then about 30 mins of the bride's favourites, so the show went on, which cheered the bride up and helped to compensate for the 80-odd guests that couldn't make it either. The good news is that everyone enjoyed it and were very grateful for the effort we'd made to get there. The bad news is that the bride's favourites included Moondance, Brown Eyed Girl, Wonderful Tonight, Fly Me To The Moon and Delilah. At least she hadn't requested Mustang Sally.

I'm facing the same sort of issue but from the opposite direction. I'm currently playing in two bands - nothing special but gigging every 4-6 weeks and making progress in our own small way and generally enjoying things. But, for a variety of reasons, I'm likely to be moving about 70 miles away next year and am a bit concerned about how easy it will be to get into a new music scene in the depths of rural Norfolk. I guess time will tell!

Surely it's a good thing for them to be out there making an effort and doing their stuff in what is a very tough business. And, sad as it may be, we all know how important image is these days. Plus, who amongst us doesn't need money to survive, never mind indulge our musical fantasies? TBH, I'm a bit surprised about the negativity shown in the above comments, or is BC turning into a forum for bedroom slappers who think the world owes them a living just because they know one end of a bass from the other?

[quote name='luckman67' post='1058696' date='Dec 14 2010, 04:26 PM'][/quote] Nice. I'm starting to understand the attraction of more than one bass.

Just the one for me, although I entertain delusions of getting a 5-stringer. Since us single-owners seem to be in the tiny minority here, can someone explain how they manage with multiple basses? What I mean is, how do you choose which one to use. I imagine that one of them would turn out to be the favourite, so that would be the one to always play. In which case, why keep all the others? I'm not talking about having different 'types' of basses, e.g. different string numbers or maybe an upright, but just the basic 4-stringer. Not having a dig at 'collectors', just curious.

It's a law of the universe that one's 'stuff' always expands to exceed the storage space available. Moving to a bigger house doesn't solve the problem, it just enables you to accumulate more stuff. C'est la vie.

[quote name='Lenny B' post='1050996' date='Dec 7 2010, 08:33 PM']And I'm a lawyer, so please take my word for it - there are the famous sampling infringement cases (Robbie Williams v Ludlow off the top of my head) and thousands of other claims and cases that don't get reported.[/quote] May I ask something that's always puzzled me? Is it true that when you sue someone it has to be for 'damages'? In the case of someone copying your song, re-recording it and releasing it as a chart-busting success the damages are, I guess, fairly clear. They've made a bunch of money using your original song, so you sue them for the value of the money they made (which should have been yours) plus a bit for your time and trouble. Fair enough. But what about the case of a pub band that plays for nothing but steals your song? They're not making any money from your material, just performing it for their own pleasure. Can they be sued to prevent them playing your song? What would the 'damages' be?

Had never heard of them but thought they were great. Thanks for the link.

If the big media companies can't control copyright abuse with pockets as deep as theirs, what chance the man on the Clapham Omnibus? Ensuring you can prove it's your original material (as described above) is probably the best you can do in practice. At least then, if anyone makes it big with one of your songs, you can go after them with a claim for royalties. Otherwise, if it's on the web, it's practically public property these days.

I doubt that condensation will be a problem during the gig as the equipment will (probably?) be coming from a warm environment into the outside cold, so any moisture in the cold air (which carries less moisture than warm air anyway) won't condense on the warm gear. Then using the gear will keep it warm and safe - providing you have full protection from any rain, as previously noted. But, if the gear cools down to outside temperatures after the gig and you bring it into a warm humid environment then you can expect condensation. Not an immediate problem of course, but you should leave the gear to warm up and thaw out before switching it on again.

[quote name='essexbasscat' post='767976' date='Mar 8 2010, 01:57 PM']You've beat me to this one as I meant to bring this topic up myself. The topic of [b]high end expensive sound systems[/b] came up the other night and a buddy mentioned that some people use mains purifiers for their systems. Apparently it does even out the fluctuations of the mains power supply, producing a better sound.[/quote] Personally, I'd expect 'high end expensive sound systems' to include mains power conditioning within their own power supplies if it's really that important. Plus, as previously mentioned, think about the typical live gig environment and consider what sort of subtle differences anyone could actually discern anyway - even with those blessed with 'golden ears'. I keep two mains accessories in my gig bag. A plug-in mains tester, which tells me if the socket is wired incorrrectly or missing an earth etc, - useful, I think, for new and unknown venues - and a plug-in RCD for my stuff, for my own safety.

[quote name='thinman' post='1047501' date='Dec 4 2010, 04:21 PM']Basic fault finding really - e.g. see if a power rail has ripple on it, check a signal fo clipping, funny harmonics. Agreed, it matters not if the signal is delayed but I think it necessary to be able to see the signal accurately represented.[/quote] A 3KHz bandwidth would be OK for some basic fault finding but the limitations could could quickly become frustrating. For example, you'd see mains ripple on a power rail but not the sort of noise typical of switched-mode PSUs. Similarly, signal clipping could be checked (up to about 3kHz anyway) but it's unlikely you'd notice, or trace any 'funny harmonics' with such a limited instrument. I haven't checked recently, but I would think that used CRT 'scopes would be a bargain in these days of DSOs and USB-based 'component' 'scopes. Fortunately, my old 4-beam 150MHz Tektronix analogue 'scope is still going strong. To be honest, I rarely use it these days but I'd find it hard to give up the option of using it in those instances where it's really necessary to 'get stuck in' and have a look at what's really going on. Such things are rarely needed, but invaluable when they are.

[quote name='icastle' post='1047047' date='Dec 4 2010, 01:58 AM']I haven't looked into it but I wonder if the limitations of the USB ones are related to the overall spec of USB as a transmission protocol?[/quote] Not really. The USB interface will definitely limit the real-time display ability of these instruments, but that's not really the point of a digital storage oscilloscope, which is to catch and display fast and/or transient events. Thus, with fast enough sampling circuitry and a large enough memory, a DSO can collect very fast events indeed. Formatting and sending the captured data to a PC screen for display is not a time-critical process. After all, plenty of professional 'scopes have printer outputs, which have even slower data connections. The only real difference between USB 'scopes and 'professional' types is that the capture and display sections have been separated and the analysis/display functions are now performed on a PC. This makes a lot of sense because the only really specialised part of a DSO is on the signal capture side of things, so why pay extra for analysis and display capability when PCs are so widely available. It also opens up the possibility of custom analysis software for more specialist applications. I'd be interested to know why the OP wants to look at audio waveforms though. Apart from determining the peak amplitude of a signal, there's not a lot of useful information to be gained by watching a real-time audio signal on a 'scope. If it's just amplitude info that's requred, then low-bandwidth sampling combined with an averaging algorithm would probably do the trick.

The specification states the 'measurable frequency' to be 0 to 3kHz, so no, not really much use for audio work. PC-based test instrumentation is becoming more and more popular these days though, so you shouldn't be put off the concept as such. There are plenty of similar products that will handle audio frequencies, and far more, but not for £17.99.