gjones

Peter Jackson said that a lot of the rehearsal soundtrack was recorded in mono, on a portable reel to reel. This meant that the levels of the individual instruments and vocals were all over the place. He had to electronically isolate each instrument and vocal and transfer them to individual tracks, so that the songs they were rehearsing could be mixed and separate EQ added to each track. The sound could then be remixed in stereo. That's why the music sounds so polished on the new film.

I used to own an Ashdown EB150-15 for a few years. I also bought it secondhand, about 15 years ago. It had a great basic sound, with all the EQ knobs at 12 noon. I've owned a lot of different amps since then but still really like that Ashdown sound.

Just grow a Van Dyke beard and wear a beret. Remember to call everybody 'daddio'.

If the gig isn't cancelled, I suspect that the pub will be empty, with just die hard alcoholics and anti vaxxers in attendance. I'm meeting a friend in a pub tonight, which I expect (hope) will be empty too.

Next working day delivery from Barefaced. My first cab, about 9 years ago, took 3 months to deliver.

Just about everyone I know, who is back gigging, seems to have caught covid. I suspect we'll all get it sooner or later.

I played a blues club which had a raised stage, which must have been hollow as it amplified the subsonic frequencies so much, that the drummer couldn't stand it. I reduced the bass on my amp to zero and it still sounded like a whale farting on stage. As soon as you stepped out front, the bass frequencies disappeared and my bass turned into a twangy banjo. Luckily there was also a decent PA at the venue and the sound engineer put me through the PA and added extra bass on the desk.

A couple of months ago, I bought a ticket, plus hotel room and train ticket, to see my favourite band down in London. I suspected we would be back to square one, with some new variant of covid this winter, but bought the ticket all the same. The gig is at the end of January. Will we be surfing the, predicted, tsunami of covid by then? Will it be pulled again, like it was last year? ........probably.

I bought a bass, via Basschat, and the guy I bought it from had fitted 45-100 Elixirs. Up until then I tended to go for standard gauge of 45-105 They sounded great and were very easy to play. So from now on they are my string and gauge of choice.

I saw an ABM 500 III on ebay and snapped it up for the ridiculous price of £134. I used to have one, over 10 years ago, but traded it in for one of those new fangled digital fellas. I loved the sound but not the weight. I no longer live on the 3rd floor of an inner city block of flats with no parking, so the weight is no longer an issue. It sounds great in the practice room but haven't managed to gig with it yet.

I've recently joined a rock band and I've had to relearn how to play with a pick. I've found that anything by Thin Lizzy is pretty easy and allows you to get up to speed with the technique if you're new to it. Try this one.

Bass Direct have a 1960/1 Precision on their web site. It's in ridiculously good condition and is going for £14000. Musicians don't buy those kind of basses. Just like art lovers don't buy Van Goghs. It will be bought as an investment and stashed away, in a dark room, securely, for the next 20 years. I heard Guy Pratt and John Illsley (bassist in Dire Straits) talking about this very subject on Guy's podcast a couple of weeks ago. Both of them have early 60s Fenders that they actually play.

The problem with drummers is they don't have a volume knob (unfortunately) which means they will hit their drums as loud as they need to hit them, in order to hear themselves. So blame the guitarists......yet again.

This is very useful, as I bought a used 2014 Stingray about 3 years ago. I didn't realise that the Stingray specials were the new standard.

I tend to 'upgrade' any new Jazz Basses I buy, with a J - Retro. It makes them very versatile but recently I removed the J-Retro from my Road Worn Jazz and replaced it with the original electrics, and it sounds great.

I have a friend who used to promote gigs at a local venue. He mixed the sound but only vocals and keys ever went through PA. He was always moaning about guitarist playing far too loud. I told him to get tables, flight cases, or beer crates, put the guitar amps on top of them and aim them at the guitarist head. That did the trick.

Sounds great. I've just joined a rock band and we play a few Lizzy tunes. It's good to be able to play with pick. The last time I played with a pick I was 18 years old and was playing Queen songs in my school band.

Are you sure he didn't confuse you with the drummer/guitarist/flugelhorn player? That's happened to me in the past 🤥

The only time my band ever appreciated me, was when I couldn't make the gig and somebody else depped for me and was fekkin awful.

They say that the cabbages grown in that field, were magnificent for years afterwards 🤣

So who was the seller we should be beware of on Ebay?

I leaned the floating thumb style, when I first started playing bass and it means you can play anywhere along the strings, from the bridge to the neck. Which allows you to get a lot of different tones. But I've noticed many, very good bassists like Guy Pratt and Leland Sklar, playing with their thumbs glued to the pickup. Edit: Oooops, I take that back, I just saw a vid of Leland playing floating thumb style. Edit2: And just saw Guy do the same............I'll get me coat

I think it's time to take up Morris Dancing.

He appears to have forgotten that he can't gig for health reasons. While I 100% understand why he can't gig, I didn't want to be in a 3rd band with a drummer who can't gig (I'm already in 2 bands with him). As far as I'm concerned bands are not social clubs, they have to gig. If I asked him to play in a hot sweaty bar, in a couple of months from now, I know he'd tell me he couldn't do it and it would be irresponsible for me to ask him to.

Well the saga continues...... Tonight, myself and the guitarists, told the drummer that we had started a new rockier band with another drummer, and he's had a hissy fit and appears to have flounced out of the band. His logic appears to be, that we knew he really liked heavy stuff (it's a heavy rock band) and why didn't we ask him? I told him it was because he's afraid of catching covid (which is understandable considering his health issues) and doesn't want to gig. I smell something fishy, I suspect he's lost interest and wanted a way out of the band and feigning indignation is a way of doing it.