flyfisher

[quote name='he man812' timestamp='1352677073' post='1866106'] I don't think all hope was lost by the 80s. There's a lot i like from that era but i definitely think it got worse from there on, with more good music sinking into the background. Particularly with the rise of god damn celebrity musicians. Even Micheal Jackson for example, although he made good music he was more famous for what he did rather than what he played. And now as a result of that we have people who are famous just for being famous. Celebrities definitely play a big part in what I think is wrong with this world [/quote] I think there's a lot in that 'famous for being famous' thing. Once that takes over, their fans will buy anything they put out simply because it's them doing it.. But isn't that just a 'youngster' thing? You know, the way everyone 'rebels' and 'does their own thing' by wearing denim jeans, or whatever the latest fashion happens to be? It's that peer-pressure/cult thing. Then, as people grow up and become more confident in themselves they become less concerned about peer approval and start to make their own choices, at which point a much bigger world of music (or whatever) opens up before them.

The Y-factor?

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1352657620' post='1865736'] The way I've always heard him is as singer playing bass. What I mean by this,is that on a lot of the later studio based Beatles tunes he's basically playing vocal-like melodies on the bass and playing the way he sang. [/quote] Perhaps that has been his USP? It doesn't seem to have held him back. Not sure I can think of one of his bass lines that follows his vocal melodies though.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1352646200' post='1865516'] My quote was (slightly) tongue in cheek and i must admit that they did write a few decent tunes. Although i wasn't a great Stones fan i always thought that they and the Kinks, Animals, Small Faces were much more exciting than the Fab Four who always seemed to me to be the acceptable face of pop. As in, if your Mum liked then they weren't as cutting edge as you thought! [/quote] Fair point. I tend to think of them as almost two bands really - the touring 'pop' band and the later studio band. I hit my teens as they broke up and although I was obviously aware of their earlier work I really started my serious listening with Sgt Peppers and Abbey Road, which is sort of in at the 'deep end' as it were, and I then worked backwards. I still remember the white album as being a total revelation in terms of the range of styles. But even listening to them in reverse, as it were, and with hindsight, it's clear that a lot of their 'pop' stuff had lots of depth - as has already been mentioned in terms of the basslines for All My Loving and I Saw her Standing There, for examples.

Hasn't there always been popular 'rubbish' in the music charts and on television? Remember 'Opportunity Knocks' and 'New Faces'? There have always been 'talent' shows on TV. Also when you used to listen to music as a 'nipper' and it was 'magical', perhaps part of the magic is that you were young and hearing a lot of stuff for the first time. Our perspectives change as we get older because we gain experience. I wouldn't worry about it. Sitting in front of the telly slagging off stuff you don't like is a mugs game - it makes [u]you[/u] the stupid one and plays directly into the ratings for the likes of X-factor etc. Just ignore the stuff you don't like and don't waste another second of your life even thinking about it.

Just bought a smoke machine from Phil. Excellent condition and with all accessories, exactly as described. I couldn't arrange collection for three weeks but Phil refused my offer to pay up front and was happy to hold on to it for me until collection. He really couldn't have been more helpful and it was a pleasure doing business with him - Basschat at it's best! Many thanks Phil. Cheers, Mike

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1352591728' post='1865051'] Having been born in the 1950s and brought up during the height of 'Beatlemania' i've tried to avoid the Fab Four ever since. [/quote] Me too, though sadly too young to have ever seen them play. Strange you feel the need to avoid their music though. Do you also avoid the other influential bands around at the same time? the Stones, Kinks, Small Faces, etc etc (it's long list!).

Bit of both I suspect, but mainly crap quality videos. YouTube is full of crap concert videos of top bands so what chance do lesser quality bands have?

Exactly. Trouble is, some people confuse not liking something with it being rubbish. Never mind.

Bands are performing entities. Unless they only 'perform' in a studio environment so they can control every little thing that is released then they have to accept the great unwashed public seeing and hearing their performances for themselves. Once upon a time those people would simply tell their mates how great/mediocre/crap the band was but these days they're able to record the sound and video instead and post it on the web. That's the world we live in. You can spend your time tracking down poor quality performance recordings and trying to get them removed or you could spend that time getting better at what you do so that any such recordings can only show you in a good light.

A couple of favourite Macca basslines: Lovely Rita: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0w21RWJ6bA and Hey Bulldog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyNOs-MqsTU

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1352548241' post='1864442'] For the perfect example of that, listen to one of his (supposedly) best-known basslines - [i][b]Taxman[/b][/i]. Some of the stuff going on around the famous riff is simply jaw-dropping, and goes unrecognised by pretty much everyone. Try playing it and you may - like me - revert to just playing the famous riff. [/quote] Everybody 'knows' the bass riff to Taxman but you're so right about stuff around it. I've played along to it for years without really getting it. This video is a good example. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGHRrHMxORY Macca's basslines are full of this sort of stuff. I've read somewhere, perhaps his autobiog, that after the beatles had all been working on a new song, Macca would stay behind in the studio, or return later on his own, specifically to work out the detailed bassline. Whatever he does, he has certainly amassed a sublime body of work.

List? LIST? That first list looks more like a book to me. Still, I'll play along. 1. Fender Precision USA (borrowed from my Brother-in-law for years) 2. 1989 Fender Precision MIJ (bought when my Brother-in-law finally lost patience) 3. Er, that's it. I really haven't got the hang of this GAS thing have I?

The only thing that will keep an amp warm in a car is an electric blanket. Seriously, covers, blankets, insulation etc can only reduce the rate of cooling - they can't actually keep anything warm. Anyway, cold temperatures won't harm an amp as such - as long as the environment is non-condensing (as noted above). The CD/Radio in my car has survived 14 years of being parked outside in all weathers and still works fine. I doubt that a bass amp is much more fragile.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1351952238' post='1857226'] The first thing to do is for the whole band to stop playing. You can't do anything while the rest of the band are carrying on regardless and you're trying to get someone off stage, or gear. [/quote] Keef can http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7g3s44FZlY

Could be that a passive crossover needs to be accounted for as well?

Index and little. I struggle to span two frets at the best of times.

Hmm. At least he admitted that "Is It Music?" was not the question to ask but we should be asking "Is It Interesting?". Fair point, but the answer is still 'No'.

Are you handy with a soldering iron? High wattage resistors are pretty cheap and 50w is not that much so it would be fairly easy to build a similar dummy load if you wanted to save a bit of money. Something like this could be the basis of a pretty hefty dummy load for under a tenner: http://cpc.farnell.com/welwyn/wh25-8r2-ji/resistor-ww-25w-5-8r2/dp/RE03432

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1351892033' post='1856757'] If I do share bank details what details are safe to share? [/quote] Well, a cheque contains your name, your bank name, sort code and account number, so those details must be pretty safe to share because millions are doing it all the time. No one can legitimately withdraw money with just that information.

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1351892319' post='1856761'] Well I certainly wouldn't leave any of my bank details with them! I'd be worried that they'd get into the wrong hands. At least with a cheque it's for a set amount of money! [/quote] If you give someone a cheque then you're also giving them all your bank details. Giving someone your bank details is usually to allow them to pay money IN. They can't take money out unless such a transaction has been authorised, e.g. a direct debit. But that's just a detail really. I tend to agree with the other comments that it does seem strange to require a 'damage deposit'.

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1351874943' post='1856520'] Do not covet other people's NADs. [/quote] Fortunately I've got one of my own . . . . er, if you see what I mean.

I was just about to question that. Reckon you meant this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aataTbxlWeM

Indeed . . . or boiling kettles, or cooking, or running baths/showers, etc, etc.