Earbrass

[quote name='endorka' post='1156364' date='Mar 10 2011, 10:53 AM']However, as others have pointed out, it may not work as well as you think. If you are playing chords, typically someone really still needs to be playing bass.[/quote] Might one way round this be to use guitar-style fingerpicking, with the thumb plucking bass notes and the other fingers picking chords? (Painful till you get the thumb callouses though!)

The original thread on this topic was awesome. Not so keen on these "tribute" threads.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1155449' date='Mar 9 2011, 03:36 PM']Personally I don't pay attention to what cover bands are doing, what audiences they're playing to or what money they're making because it doesn't affect me at all. Our audience isn't going to go see them and their audience isn't going to come and see us, they're two completely different kinds of entertainment.[/quote] Absolutely. Saying that tribute bands are killing the market for interesting new music is a bit like saying that if it weren't for X-Factor and the like, primetime TV would be full of challenging new drama and intelligent documentaries.

There is a huge amount of folk tunes available on-line, mostly in ABC format (this is the [i]lingua franca [/i]of the folk world). This is a very useful format that allows tunes to be posted/stored in ASCII format, and there are free on-line programs that will convert ABC into standard musical notation and/or MIDI files( so there is actually no need to learn ABC notation unless you want to create your own ABC files). Typically, these will be melody only, though sometimes lyrics are included. A good starting point is here: [url="http://info.melodeon.net/index.php/page,abc.html"]http://info.melodeon.net/index.php/page,abc.html[/url] A good site for finding tunes you know the name of is here: [url="http://ecf-guest.mit.edu/~jc/cgi/abc/tunefind"]http://ecf-guest.mit.edu/~jc/cgi/abc/tunefind[/url] An excellent book for English folk tunes is : [url="http://folkshop.efdss.org/Combined+Sets/Hardcore+English+Set.html"]http://folkshop.efdss.org/Combined+Sets/Ha...nglish+Set.html[/url] which contains 300 tunes in standard notation and there is a CD to go with it. Hope this helps.

[quote name='thunderbird13' post='1152523' date='Mar 7 2011, 02:28 PM']I think what your saying ( and I agree with ) is that as long as the artist puts something of themselves into it then it could be considered creative so creativity comes as much through the performance as it does through the creation of the work. Which I suppose is what classical musicans would use to argue that they are not just playing covers[/quote] Yup, I think that's pretty much spot on. The idea of a band trying to copy a famous recording as closely as possible seems to be pretty much restricted to the pop/rock world. It's not what (decent) classical, folk or jazz players do, even when they are playing other people's music (and of course there are many pop/rock performers who do "creative" covers too!).

[quote name='thunderbird13' post='1152419' date='Mar 7 2011, 12:56 PM']I went to see a play last night and all the actors did was walk around the stage speaking words that they did nt write and pretending that there were things on the stage that I couldnt see. I wish that these people would keep their childish playacting to themselves - unless actors only speak words which they wrote themselves then their not real artists [/quote] This is just silly. If the actors you saw were trying to reproduce, say, a well-known TV show, and slavishly copying the voices, mannerisms and actions of the more famous set of actors known for that show, then [b]that[/b] would be the theatrical equivalent to a tribute band.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='1149510' date='Mar 4 2011, 02:48 PM']By that logic, does John Williams (classical guitarist) have a harder job than Yehudi Menuhin?[/quote] only if he switches to fretless classical guitar...

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1147300' date='Mar 2 2011, 04:12 PM']I do smile at these 'tone as a holy grail' stories. I have never worked on my tone with this level of obsessiveness and have had three people this week (a bass player, saxophonist and a recording engineer) independently tell me my sound was great. Stock Wal with 10 year old Rotosound Solo Bass strings on it through Eden Metro. Just play the damn thing [/quote] Now now, steady on. You'll go upsetting the young folks, coming in here like that with your common sense and your good advice. For shame! And I bet you're wearing the wrong sort of shirt-cuffs too. It's your type that cause unrest.

Why don't we ALL just leave our bands? Right now. A national bassists' strike. That'll show 'em. B*st*rds. ( )

[quote name='silddx' post='1146624' date='Mar 2 2011, 12:16 AM']and telling your queen you caught a 68lb common carp of the Donald Leney strain from Redmire Pool today, while she smiles at you with deep, lustrous shining eyes.[/quote] She just can't get enough of those fishing stories... [attachment=73701:queen_elizabeth_ii.jpg]

Thanks for your further replies. I will definitely check out the Sonar forum. And now I've looked up FSB on google, I suppose I'll have to try to take that into account as well! D'oh! I bloody hate computers, me (IT programmer for 28 years ).

Thanks for your replies. My current laptop is about 10 years old, and is a maid-of-all-work, so I'm not going to try to upgrade that one. So is the consensus that 8GB RAM is overkill? I would have thought that it would more than compensate for a slightly slower disk spin speed by providing more buffering room. (??)

Hi all, My old laptop is increasingly unhappy running my DAW, and so upgrade-time looms. Following the advice in a recent thread on here, I am thinking of buying a Lenovo. The laptop will be used only for running a DAW (initially some version of Sonar LE, but I'm hoping to uprgade to the full Sonar X package sometime later this year). I will be using it for multi-track recording, sequencing, virtual instruments and effects. (For the purposes of this thread, can we take it as read that I'm getting a laptop, not a macbook) There are lots of options within the Lenovo range, and each laptop is customizable to some extent...I'd be interested to know how people would rank the following choices. So, which of the following will give the greatest benefit: 1) Having an i3-380M processor instead of an Intel Core Duo T6670 (2.2GHz) 2) Having 8GB RAM instead of 4GB 3) Having a 7200 rpm disk instead of a 5400 rpm disk At the moment, the leading contender looks like this: ThinkPad SL510 £648.82 Intel Core 2 Duo processor T6670(2.2GHz) Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 8 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM) 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm Any thoughts / comments? Thanks for your input.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1132273' date='Feb 18 2011, 02:32 PM']they have a use but these can't be good basses.[/quote] Do you I wonder apply the same lack of logic in reverse with regard to expensive gear? "These cost a fortune so thay can't be bad basses."??? You must be a salesman's wet dream.

Does this mean we can expect a "road-worn" edition of the shuttle? A few scratches and dents and voila - "mojo".

[quote name='philw' post='1129913' date='Feb 16 2011, 05:17 PM']... the pianist, Joanna McGregor, had two nominally identical grand pianos, one tuned to equal temperament and one tuned to an alternative temperament – they sounded utterly different. P[/quote] I briefly shared a house in Clapham with her (and several others), back in the mid 80's. Not relevant, but I thought I'd throw it in for luck.

[quote name='Hot Tub' post='1129325' date='Feb 16 2011, 10:23 AM']Putting something a bit different into the set is all well and good, and you may all play outstandingly well, but if the punters don't get it, and you don't get a repeat booking, what's the point?[/quote] If you don't enjoy playing the music, what's the point of a repeat booking? (Unless it's just for the money, of course.)

I think Bilbo's pretty much nailed it, but I'd suggest that what a lot of players are trying to buy is not 'talent' so much as the quick consumer-high that choosing and buying new toys brings. It never lasts, of course, and another hit is required sooner or later. The quest for "that sound" or whatever is so often simply the way we justify our addiction to ourselves.

[quote name='henry norton' post='1128084' date='Feb 15 2011, 10:38 AM']Keep this up and you might just scrape the magic hundred! That's about one tuning key on a US Standard isn't it? [/quote] Or about 1.66 Sue Ryder strats!

[b]First Bass Owned:[/b] Kimbara Jazz Bass copy (1977) [b]'Go To' Bass:[/b] Peavey Milestone III [b]'Your' Bass:[/b] Peavey Milestone III

I had one yesterday - for about £29. Still, can't complain, as this month I also received two £25 premium bond prizes - first time I've won anything from them in years. So it's been quite a good month so far. Must remember to renew my lottery ticket for Wednesday, as I seem to be on a roll!