arthurhenry

It's getting too costly even when you do get paid! Fuel costs have gone up, but some venues are paying less than they were and us mugs keep doing the gigs because we just want to play!

Original Black '72 Jazz with custom shop neck which was added before Snakes & Arrows tour Jaco tribute bass with fretted neck for drop D songs (including Closer to the heart at Brum) Red Custom shop Jazz tuned down a whole tone for 2112, to make the vocals more comfortable.

My keyboard player is only into bands with keyboards and doesn't enjoy anything else. So do you have to hear bass guitar to enjoy a particular band or piece of music? It's not essential for me, though I find it harder to make an emotional connection with music without bass. Eg. could never get into Jeff Beck's Guitar shop album - all keyboard bass.

So come on, what note does your pickup/bridge cover produce? My '72 is an F#, '73 is a G.

I keep the bridge cover on, just because it's there! It prevents me from a "fading out" technique I used to use by rolling my finger/hand onto the strings from the bridge and occasionally wears my little finger a little. It produces an F# when flicked.

[quote name='muttley' post='1241590' date='May 23 2011, 01:48 PM']Is that a song or a reference to the taste of the compiler of the OP's clip? IGMC[/quote] Jethro Tull song in 5/4. Glenn Cornick on bass.

Living in the past?

Part of the problem is to do with terminology. In rock, pop and jazz "solo" has come to mean "feature" ie. one instrument is featured above the others, often by playing lots of notes. "Feature" would better describe this type of playing. Without wishing to be pedantic (I talk about "solos" like everyone else) The beginning of Stairway to heaven is a guitar solo, Page wailing away at the end is a guitar feature (it's not solo, it's accompanied). The "Formula one" bit in The Chain is a bass solo, Andy Fraser plays a bass feature in Mr Big by Free.

[quote name='chris_b' post='1225520' date='May 9 2011, 08:25 PM']What's the point? You don't need silence with a tuner and the most unprofessional thing is to listen to a musician tuning up during a set.[/quote] The point is, you should have the ability to tune by ear. You might never do it on a gig, but it's a basic skill when you play an (most) instrument isn't it?

A gig for a private party, UNDER Camden roundhouse - a circular, stone built room with tunnels off to an outer ring, like spokes on a wheel. Band was an awful function band made up of no hopers with lots of posh connections, myself and the drummer would dep for them sometimes. First there was no power, which was resolved soon enough. The power for the gig was supplied via 4 ways plugged into the venue above and hanging down the wall. Guitarist immeadiately started moaning about how dusty his gear was going to get and that people might tread on his pedals. The place was packed with rowdy, drunken toffs. Keyboard player who was used to west end pit gigs left during the break after beer was tipped over his kit. During the break there was an official world record attempt for the most drambuie shot glasses stuck to a person's body - bizarre. I came back from getting some air to witness the guitarist swinging a left hook at the singer (complete with screaming girlfriend) in an argument about whether we should go back on. We did and the power cut out a few times in the second set, but the drummer kept everyone dancing. I just laughed my way through it.

I agree with most of what's been said, but there's some concern about over-reliance on tuners. We should all be able to tune up by ear without a problem. For me, I can only recall one tuning problem onstage in 24 years of playing. If you put your strings on properly and stretch them out enough, you can give the strings a fair bit of abuse without going out of tune. If I need to adjust my tuning during a song or a gig, I'll usuially do it by ear. I check with a tuner during the break.

Bass only, for 24 years.

Good answers, thanks!

My 350 Watt Hartke head was putting out, I think about 240W into my 8ohm cab. The volume hardly ever went above 2, even on loud rock gigs. Last night I used my new Hartke LH500 for the first time. This puts out 350W into the same cab. The volume was on 6! Why?

[quote name='Count Bassy' post='1197182' date='Apr 12 2011, 07:04 PM']Is it possible that the Cabs were just shagged out from being used in rehearsal rooms 12 hours a day? - although you'd like to think the studio would keep on top of that.[/quote] Highly likely. In my experience, unlikely the studio would be bothered about it as long as it still works to some degree.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1110053' date='Jan 31 2011, 09:33 PM']I remember reading an interview with Paul Weller where he said he had gear literally thrown at him by companies desperate for him to use it, and he ended up selling most of it. The irony is that when you can afford to buy anything, the companies give it to you free. If you were offered an endorsement and could get the bass or amp for free, would you use it because it cost you nothing, despite the fact that you didn't really like it? Personally, I wouldn't.[/quote] If they "literally" threw stuff at me, I'd probably just get out of the way. Insert smiley face man.

He plays Hysteria in a weird position, don't you think - all around the 12th fret, seems almost a beginnerish way of doing it. I much prefer to play it around the middle of the neck, down to the 2nd fret on the descending part.

Playing in a 3 piece covers band I use effects mostly for intros, to cover a keyboard sound or a production effect from the original recording. When the song kicks in they go off. There are a couple of songs where an effect is used for the whole thing, such as Deeper Underground - Jamiroquai or Hysteria-Muse.

Another plus point - Jason Howe built their string winding machines by hand.

It's notable that Bailey isn't holding a bass in the ad. Perhaps he's using the Hellborg amps. Harris doesn't play his signature model, just the original P on which it's based. Geddy plays his '72 Jazz with a neck from a signature model. Sheehan's basses are off the shelf.

Pigs and Hey you and probably Fearless, the fretless is played by Gilmour.

[quote name='Doddy' post='1134698' date='Feb 20 2011, 07:37 PM']There is a series of DVD's about called 'Behind the Player',which has players like Paul Gray,Duff McKagan and Robbie Merrill,and all they do is show a couple of their bands songs. Pretty pointless really,other than the enjoyment of seeing a favourite player on video. The better DVD's actually give some good information and the players who generally have the knowledge to pass on are not the players who are in successful bands. For example,the Nathan East DVD 'Business of Bass' is really good and has some interesting information,whereas Flea's DVD is dreadful. I honestly don't think a DVD by Adam Clayton or Jarad Followill would be of any use to anyone,because all they can talk about is life within their respective bands,which is a very narrow field.[/quote] In the Followill interview in BP, he just seemed to talk about what a bad player he is. Not sure how this fits in with the mag's remit of helping to make us all better players.

Why is it always the musician's musician, highly technically able type players who do these? Why don't you see the Adam Clayton instructional video, Mike Mills instructional video or The kid from Kings of Leon instructional video? Assuming these players have some individual character and feel in the way they play and assuming learning about this side of playing is important to us too, why don't they make them?

I enjoy playing anything with the notes A to G#. I am onstage playing bass and I always play the way I like to play. I am a very snobby listener, but not player.

[quote name='thunderbird13' post='1127154' date='Feb 14 2011, 03:21 PM']For me its ZZ Top, practicing Gimme all your loving at the moment its so boring I feel degraded ![/quote] Have you nailed the staccato feel of the eighth notes, with real consistency? It's something to concentrate on. An old band used to do a 12-15 minute guitar solo on the end of this. I stayed on the C for the whole thing, no fills, no accents, no variation. In some ways it was quite a challenge - and I bloody loved it. He was an excellent guitarist though, so it was a pleasure to just listen.