scalpy

Frustrated bass player! I play in time and in tune, am punctual, don't smell that bad, gear sounds ok, I read, am house trained and can observe the social protocols required to rehearse and gig, but I live in the cultural vacuum that is Herefordshire, where the live scene and artistic input is basic and at the absolute opposite of what I'd like to be doing. Trying to get a band together of a decent standard and keep it going is a nightmare. I love living here, but I need a regular gig that isn't pit work or ceilidh bands!

Ringo. Al Jackson Jr, Roger Hawkins, Steve Gorman, Keith Moon, everybody else has had my choices but top of the list, Ringo.

Have some! If I went to church my skin would probably melt but that is some tasty playing, and to hear that calibre of playing it's worth the risk!

I once sold the bass player a five minute car wash. Amazing what happens when you work in a petrol station in Oxford. That was the best thing in 6 months.

The pickups on my ASAT are red hot in output, and this has never been a problem until switching to a Markbass head. The input gain has to set very low (9 o clock or less) to avoid clipping. Whilst the tone is fantastic I don't believe, I'm getting the full 500W as a result. This maybe due to the digital components of the amp, I'm not sure. I mention it just as a heads up to those considering high out pups and a Class D head.

Jimmy Page!

I suspect there's millions of reasons, and a lot of it will be politics and ego. I had that argument drummed into me all the time when I was starting and I do realise that most people don't know quite how bass is happening on most songs but... In most forms of music the melody is in the treble range, and that coupled with the fact our ears naturally perceive those frequencies with more accuracy and clarity means that busy bass is off putting. Commercial music means producers and punters want the bass to be the anchor between the rhythm and the harmony. If that can be something that goes beyond being root notes then fantastic, but it's too easy to detract from the piece of music as a whole with our instrument. The physics are against us for a start, our range takes up loads of sonic space and energy. Unless we have the ability to be eloquent we have to face playing less. If we can't, there's always the abyss of jazz funk!

Book marked! Thank you.

I didn't do to well on some of the questions because I really can't sing. I scored low on a number of the tap along questions, I'm guessing because they were in compound time and I didn't know if they wanted quavers or dotted crotchets. All those sessions at AIR gone to waste...

McCartney, Dunn and JPJ have some mentions, which is great. Only 1 mention of a James Brown bass player as far as I can tell, so I see your Bootsy Collins and raise you Charles Sherrell and Bernard Odum. I also would like to mention Johnny Colt of the Black Crowes and Kris Novoselic of Nirvana. And with my pretentious hat on, we all owe almost everything to JS Bach and his vision of the major minor key system...!

I'm quite fond of my LMT. The tube doesn't give you that much grind but it fattens up the signal nicely well past 12 o clock. The usual LM controls like VLE and the other one make it dead easy to tailor your sound to the room, and the DI out is excellent. Did a session at Rockfield in Monmouth and the engineer was raving about it, plus the mic'd sound as well. No bloody sansamp can opener for me, thank you! I would like a little more headroom as my ASAT seems to make it clip very early, earlier than seems necessary but I have seen this criticism leveled at other LM heads on this forum. Only thing is the new Aguilar tonehammer head is looking very tempting...

Stick Dave Hood on the list as well! By the way if anyone can tell me who played Respect by Aretha Franklin that would be great, I've heard conflicting reports.

My two favourite settings are neck pickup bass boost on, turbo p-bass, and both pickups on, bass boost on, massive stingray/jazz cross. When I was using a hartke set up both pickups on bass cut was a great tight ray sound but with my new rig this voice doesn't work as well. Maybe with G&Ls the amp has a big say, although previously I never had an issue at venues that insist on you using their amp. I always play in active with all other controls on full. Getting used to the G&L approach took a little time but I'm never going back now!

Duck Dunn says that Al Jackson Jr suggested when playing quavers feel the crotchets, when playing crotchets feel the minim etc. Works for Duck, and works for me too!

marlowedk licks- he makes them look so easy. Jamerson transcriptions Anything on Stefan Redtenbacher's site, loads of good stuff.

Enjoying this thread George Porter Jr anyone? [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuRDMu87tl0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuRDMu87tl0[/url]

New Aguilar 500 Tonehammer head! And a heavier gig schedule to justify it...

[quote name='TimR' post='1067615' date='Dec 23 2010, 11:21 AM']Excellent point. I'll ask my Dad. You don't see pianists changing strings, or pianos every few months. What other musicians are there that obsess and swap instruments so much?[/quote] Oh you do see piano players obsessing over the instrument. At uni we had two Steinways and a Yamaha concert grand set up in the concert hall and believe me the debate would rage over the right choice. I've seen little documentaries during the proms where the keyboards and actions are removed from the instrument so that the soloists can have something close to their preference. The practicalities and cost of the instrument mean they can't go the lengths we do! And as for organists! Living in the shires and being involved with a church school means every summer I have to sit through endless discussions over which of the three counties cathedrals has the best organ. Tedious in the extreme.

Anybody else see that youtube video of TM Stevens and Jonas Hellborg jamming on the same bass? No tone difference what so ever. Your kit does matter. As to the tone fallacy, it is important. The brain associates certain timbres with certain feelings/ grooves etc. Imagine Bernard Edwards playing Cliff Burton's rig! It would not sound like disco, the exaggerated harmonics of distorted bass would tread on everybody else's toes and not provide the syncopated ghost notes and tiny touches required for the genre. If tone isn't important why is there a multi-million pound industry based around live sound and recording, let alone instruments? Why is a good mix engineer worth their weight in gold?

Firstly, I normally think I wish I had a gig that night. Secondly, if they have a six string I think it's going to be a long night, unless they're very, very good indeed. That's once so far. Thirdly, if I'm playing and another bass player compliments my playing, I think "damn it, I over played tonight."

First gigging rig 1993 Encore PB3 (I know, plush with 2 pups) Laney Linebacker 100 into a HH 215. I've made my disgust about this cab known on the recent HH thread, and it was replaced by an original Hartke 410XL, much, much better. I changed to a Silver Series Squier Jazz and Hartke 1400 head, then the tobacco sunburst ASAT and most recently the rig in my signature. It doesn't mention the boss tweed finish of the cabs though. This set up is going to be around a while.

My bass is pretty heavy for a four string, and I'm bit of a racing snake, but I like it so much I'll live with it. Given up on carrying a 4 10 around though!

Your tone does matter, it's pretentious but it's your voice. I can sing Nessun Dorma at the right pitch and right words and rhythm, but I sound like a dysfunctional foghorn and nobody wants to hear it, quite rightly. Playing in covers bands and doing pit-work new strings and a scooped middle don't sound or feel right. I need strings with the edge just taken off them and a nice fat sound to provide something for the punters to feel and recognise as bass. Choosing gear and having something I feel is special to me is one is a massive pleasure I really enjoy. I'm sure millions of musicians feel the same. The marketeers can supply loads of gear with only tiny differences (look at the mark bass range of heads for the love of pete) because there is a demand. Some basses and rigs don't do it for me, but I really enjoy my new rig and how it brings out aspects of my playing my previous and perfectly decent rig didn't. I've also seen an upturn in studio bookings as the engineer likes it so much.

Aaargh GAS