Chris2112

That Roland demo is just absolutely ridiculous. He seems to be playing right 'on the edge' of what he can cleanly pull off and his demo sounds far sloppier for it. However, contrary to popular belief from pub rockers and people can't do it, slap still exists and bassists still slap, even just for fun. I'll admit though, most demo videos aren't much if it's just a Nigel Clutterbuck style slap assault.

I still remember MX Tabs shutting down. And then realising that a waste of time tabs were!

Fender have long been associated with crap low B's. Though Stuart Hamm's OB1 Urge II sounded great.

I had never noticed before, just how out of time Cliff was on that 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' intro!

I too thought this was going to be about the death of Cliff Richard.

That little phrase at 01:23 is just awesome. Great sounding bass too!

Awesome playing there!

[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1348745582' post='1817609'] Some might say you run the risk of becoming a musical snob with statements like that. [/quote] You will note all I have done there in the phrase you have quoted is to paraphrase the sentence that Bilbo had already written, and just changed 'jazz' for 'fusion', essentially giving the phrase the opposite meaning of what Bilbo had said. But if some might say that Bilbo and I are running the risk of becoming musical snobs with statements like that, that's a risk we'll just have to take! [quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1348735826' post='1817418'] Great Album all round [agree about the Synth sounds and being better] I remember buying it for about £20.00 or so around the mid 90's, now you can download from iTunes for about $10.00 Garry [/quote] Tell me about it. A few years ago I was buying as much of Jonas Hellborg's back catalogue as I could get my hands on. Some of the records costing as much as £25 a pop! A lot of them are still unavailable on the internet though. Some of them, I wonder if Jonas even has a copy!

I've been there and done that before. Generally I didn't find myself wanting frets too much for most things, but some things were just completely undoable (Level 42, for instance). In the end, I realised I was happier with a fretted bass!

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1348478728' post='1813947'] I went through this phase..... What hindsight tells me is that a lot of this stuff suffered from a superficiality that meant it struggled to live up to the standards of great Jazz and often lacked the musical interaction that, for me, defined the greatest Jazz. [/quote] But then jazz usually lacks the flair and passion of great fusion, that, for me, defined the greatest fusion records. Jazz is all well and good, especially if you're hosting a dinner for old folks at the bowling green. But years of listening and research have taught me that whilst fusion grew from jazz, there is often a gulf between them in terms of their ability to interest me. I don't buy the lazy argument that fusion was poor man's jazz, amped up for the rock listeners. Rather, I would say it grew from jazz where jazz had become staid and turgid. As much as fusion players can be accused of excess and superficial displays of technical facility, more often than not I believe this stems from a desire to push the instrument and the music to it's limit. For even the most dedicated fusion players have had quiet, feelsome tracks. For every [i]Havona [/i]there is a track like [i]A Remark You Made. [/i]The same argument could be quickoly modified and thrown back at jazz; namely that it's players often turn out boring records, supposedly expecting some kudos and appropriate praise because it's jazz. At their closest, the bridge between jazz and fusion can be little more than electric instruments vs acoustic instruments because the music is so similar. But there are extremes at either end, from overly-fanciful fusion records to lazy jazz plodders. That's the thing with jazz, it often seems quite soulless and self-indulgent. To recommend some more great fusion though... I love this track. Very angular sounds, and Anthony Jackson laying down the bass with some serious groove. I have played this track for friends before and they say it sounds 'dated' because of the synth sounds. I think they're very much 'of their time' and the track is all the better for it. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb8k53ZzJbc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb8k53ZzJbc[/url]

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1348579402' post='1815440'] For me the important thing is that the low B should have he same tone and attack as the other strings on the bass, and not just with fresh strings either. Otherwise you'll find your low notes will just go missing and it'll feel like the bottom has dropped out of the song. [/quote] This is an essential factor for me. The Low B must be present and useable. On some basses it feels and sounds like an afterthought. Never played a Status with a bad low B (graphite ones, anyway). My Warwick Thumb 5 string is the bass that had brought me back to 5 strings after a considerable hiatus. It really is superb.

Yes, I used to know that one when I was obsessed with learning the Big Country back catalogue. I don't think there is anything particularly tough about it aside from some of the verse riffs. But in typical Tony Butler style, they are never far from the root. Try using a pick to make sure you stand out in the mix too, it'll help you keep track of your sound and what you're doing! The trick is to keep your ear on the drums. Tony often locks in with the drums and the guitars will set about doing their own melodies which can distract your ear if you're trying to follow the tune through the guitars.

Ah, at least you know it's just from over-tuning it that you've bust a string. Easier to sort than having a sharp bridge saddle!

Pretty damn good. I had the Warwick Thumb out and was going over a few Killers tunes that I had forgotten. I had been putting off [i]Mr. Brightside [/i]for ages as I used to know it well and then stopped playing it and forgot it. So I knew I wouldn't enjoy playing it again, especially if I was struggling to get it perfect like I used to have it. It all came back pretty quickly though, and I look forward to playing it again and getting it back to where I had it.

This also sounds badass - awesome tune! I also love the fact that the cowboy is so tough he doesn't nod in time with the music. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loJ_3hXHNBY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loJ_3hXHNBY[/url]

[quote name='Schnozzalee' timestamp='1348527062' post='1814945'] Every Music Man Sterling guy needs to try a Kubicki [/quote] Definitely. I will go back to a Kubicki one day. Still one of my favourite basses of all time.

I love the overdriven crunch of Geddy Lee's tone. [i]Hemispheres[/i] is great for that.

[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1344801536' post='1769355'] Practicing hard... can't smile and play at the same time (that's performances buggered then!) [attachment=115495:538676_10150897637590362_1858479885_n.jpg] [/quote] You are giving that the stare of death!

I love fusion. This may be my favourite bit, from 05:46 to the end. Absolutely stunning stuff. Great melody, beautiful playing from all three musicians. Shawn Lane just takes flight on this one. As perfect as music ever gets.That little lick Lane starts at 07:26. Bloody hell. This band just made everything else seem obsolete. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJRHXSElKcY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJRHXSElKcY[/url]

Bruce has made a reply on the website. I would copy and paste it here for posterity but it seems it's disabled on that site, and Bruce reckons the post will be deleted as the manager he is complaining about runs the sites and hasn't given them the passwords to it. I still think that a lot of Tony's reasons for leaving seem to be his unhappiness with what the band are doing now. He seemed quite enthusiastic to be back touring as 'Big Country' again, having long said he would only get back together if it felt right, citing some corporate shows they had done that just felt like going through the motions. But maybe he get the sense during the tour that it wasn't 100%. Maybe he felt that they weren't in the right place to start writing new material, or maybe the new material just wasn't sounding great. I suspect the manager issues could have played a part in this, but Tony's love for Big Country was always apparent and I feel he would soldiered on if he really felt he was doing the right thing. As I have said though, he has more than earned the right to take some time to himself. The first two Big Country albums I would say are some of the best prog rock albums ever. He's given us more than enough.

[url="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Country/117922511589604?ref=ts"]http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Country/117922511589604?ref=ts[/url] Found it. I think he is really done this time, given how wary he was of doing a reunion at all. I did feel at the time of the reunion tour that he was enjoying himself and reeling re-energised after a few years of not really being able to reconcile with the whole idea of Big Country following Stuart's death. He has gave it a go, it doesn't appear to have worked. Hopefully he will continue to make music as he is superb bassist and one of my favourite players.

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1348311901' post='1812160'] From what I gather he was always rather reluctant about the reunion. [/quote] Well, he had always said he was only willing to do a reunion if it felt right. But I guess this is the end. It was never the same without Adam, and I didn't think the new singer was great but the band overall were really good when I saw them live in Newcastle earlier this year. I guess he has his reasons for leaving though, and if it doesn't feel right or he's not enjoying it then fair play to him. Still can't find anything about this on the net though.

[quote name='megallica' timestamp='1348157219' post='1810187'] Just curious if there is a Warwick with a chunky neck other than the double buck model? Most of the Warwick's I've tried have quite skinny jazz bass like necks which I don't mind but I'd rather a more Precision type width if possible. [/quote] Try a 4 string BO model after the Millennium. Some of them, particularly Corvettes, seem to have massive baseball bat necks. That said, I thought the 'Broad Neck' on my 2003 Thumb BO would feel massive. It's actually very manageable because it's flattened across the back in a way that won't be unfamiliar to Yamaha TRB owners. Quite a surprise! It's still a handful, though a pleasingly usable one!

I can't remember what it was that drew me to bass. I just decided I want to play it out of the blue. My brother saw how much fun I was having and decided to follow afterwards, picking up a guitar and admittedly being better at his instrument than I was at mine. But we both found masses of enjoyment in playing music. Is the bassist the unsung hero? Undoubtedly. But I think this makes it a captivating part to play. So much power in such a discreet fashion...

[quote name='ern500evo' timestamp='1348080702' post='1809079'] Very nice, is he not using TC stuff anymore then? [/quote] It could be that the Trace Elliot amp was the only one they had to hand. Or his dalliance with TC could be like his brief flirtation with Eden amps.