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Do basses serve us - or us the bass?


4 Strings
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Ok, this is really about a drummer, but, in my opinion, my bass and gear is there to serve me and my music. I look after it well, a couple of my basses do not even get touched by anyone else. But, in going about its business, it may be accidentally knocked against something, adjusted even (dare I say it) modified. If any of this leaves a mark, I'm disappointed but would rather the stuff was doing its job

A pair of bongoes was required for a recording, one was not in tune and required a spanner. None available, I suggested using pliers - which, of course, may cause a burr on a nut or two - and was derided. The bongoes were therefore recorded out of tune. We paid for bongoes to be recorded out of tune.

To me, bongoes, a bass, a nut are not sacred and are there to do their job. Am i weird? (well on this matter anyway?)

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[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1318244755' post='1399547']
Nope, you're dead on the money mate.
[/quote]


+1.

People should be professional enough to carry the necessary accessories for adjusting/tuning an instrument, and to do what is needed to produce music to the highest standard possible.

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I think I`d rather have not had the bongoes in the track, rather than have them there, but out of tune. Providing the pliers were used with care, it shouldn`t have been a problem.

Instruments, unless vintage ones that will gain in value, are tools. I look after my gear, but if they pick up a knock, well they`ve picked up a knock, i`ll get over it.

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[quote name='bassmachine2112' timestamp='1318274348' post='1400016']
My musicman hardly ever goes out of tune.
I,m getting my coat.
[/quote]

Beat me to it!

Ok, thanks all. I suppose if I'm honest I wouldn't want pliers used on my Pre-EB but you don't need spanners for that anyway.

The bongoes will be low in the mix for the middle part of River Deep only so its not huge in the end, but the issue applies to his whole kit. Takes an hour to set the drums up, everything polished out the cases and back in, cymbals transported as if they're made of glass with just the minimum finger contact at the edge. Drives everyone nuts. Mind you if you want any 2nd hand drum gear you should buy it from him (and he really is the loveliest fella you could meet!)

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The bass is a tool. And like any tool, it gets exposed to damage and wear and tear through doing it's job. Of course, we look after them, but a minor bump or scratch is the cost of life and the cost of enjoying our instruments. If they don't do the job they're supposed to do, whats the point of having them at all?

Out of tune bongos indeed!

That said, I do pride myself on a collection of physically near perfect instruments, but then I don't play live much anymore, and certainly if I do it's a seated gig in a comfortable chair where my bass is looked after!

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  • 2 months later...

As a drummer (and amateur bassist...) I look after my kit and cymbals in what, imho, is a reasonable manner, but when the situation requires a sacrifice, it's the end result that counts. Having a sub-standard recording is too high a price to pay, again, imho, when there are simple alternatives. If it took using a blowtorch on my drums to get the right sound, I would object in the strongest terms, but turning a bl**ding tuning key (even leaving a mark...) is not the end of the instrument (well, perhaps, for bongos..:-). Your drummer may well be a fine lad, more power to his elbow, but a bit of a tw*t, to my mind. I am rather 'maniac' about my cymbals (Cymbags, never touched with bare hands and all; that's just common sense at the price they cost...), but I've busted quite a few over the years, by hitting them with bits of wood.
How does he preserve his toilet paper from being soiled, I wonder (but not for long..!)?
Just my tuppence worth...

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[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1318319878' post='1400340']


......cymbals transported as if they're made of glass with just the minimum finger contact at the edge.
[/quote]

Why FFS? He's going to spend the next hour twatting them with lumps of wood! They're percussion and therefore designed to be hit - I don't think a fingerprint will break them....

Edited by TheRev
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[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1324120545' post='1470955']
Why FFS? He's going to spend the next hour twatting them with lumps of wood! They're percussion and therefore designed to be hit - I don't think a fingerprint will break them....
[/quote]

But the acid in the fingerprints stains the finish and won't come off.

Exactly.

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