dave_bass5 Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 4 hours ago, AndyTravis said: There are some times we rehearse in a dampened live room and I never ever like the in room sound. The little zoom recorder always says otherwise though the next day. I’ve chopped and changed basses a few times this year and the only time I really didn’t have much confidence in the sound was when I had an EMG p/j set in an Attitude bass. Needed a preamp I suppose, sounded beautiful in isolation but didn’t seem to push for the band. Some days, even after 22 years I feel like my hands are on wrong and I need to practice more - and others I feel like the second coming of Bobby Vega. Oh well. I’m like that. Quite often go home deflated and straight on here to look for new gear, but the next day when i listen back to the recording i tend to feel different. Also same she playing at home. Some nights I can sit for hours playing, and other nights with the same settings etc I can’t get in to it at all......one or two rum and cokes seem to make things sound and feel a lot better though.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 (edited) 13 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said: I’m like that. Quite often go home deflated and straight on here to look for new gear, but the next day when i listen back to the recording i tend to feel different. Also same she playing at home. Some nights I can sit for hours playing, and other nights with the same settings etc I can’t get in to it at all......one or two rum and cokes seem to make things sound and feel a lot better though.. I always come back better if I don’t play for a week, just time away usually gives my head and repetitive patterns/phrases or ideas a rest and I change approach. In terms of sound/tone... I’m not going to lie, I really don’t give it huge amounts of thought/effort. If it sounds bad I don’t get upset, I just jiggle some control knobs and make it passable. The last rehearsal was with the Godlyke I’ve just part traded for a modulus flea. And I know the stingray type sound really works for our stuff. But a P/J and Jazz work too - I did all our studio stuff with Yamaha p/j basses and it all sounds ace, last gig was my jazz - sounded phenomenal (because it’s a bloody lovely bass) and then the MM setup just seems to be the best fit overall. I could be wrong. I’m sure someone with more time could tell me my eq is all wrong and I need to do something different. But after all this time, I’m just satisfied with a nice combo and the basses I have cover anything I need. So I just need to play regularly to justify the flashy gear. Edited September 30, 2019 by AndyTravis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 (edited) IMO it's a healthy approach, to finish a gig and think I could have done some of that better. . . . . and then you do something to improve the areas you identify. Edited October 1, 2019 by chris_b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baxlin Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Hearing a recording of your own playing, for me at least, is like hearing your own speaking voice on a recording, not at all like it sounds like 'from inside'! Add to that the only recordings we make are at rehearsal in our cabin, and only on a phone, and mainly just to get the arrangement and timing right, rather than sound quality. So the playing always sounds cr*p...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 It's difficult to be in "the zone" or the right mood every time you go to play. I was talking about this to a mate of mine at the weekend, in the context of drums. If I'm not in the right mood when I go to play, I don't realise it, I'm just really unsatisfied with my playing, and I start trying different sticks, adjusting the heights of stands, swapping cymbals, even looking online at gear to buy. When I'm in the right mood to play I'm just "on it" and the gear I'm using makes almost no different to my level of satisfaction (obviously crap gear is no fun but it's very rare I'm confronted with crap gear) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 I can noodle away and am sure I am sounding great. I have a decent catalogue of songs that sound impressive when played but as soon as I go to a music shop and the guy says do you want to try it? I completely dry up. Cannot remember anything, fingers get all mixed up. You name it. I can almost see the guy thinking, yeah another wannabe that has nothing. I have played for nearly forty years and have been in a very busy gigging band and yet I sound like a novice. It's a confidence thing I am sure as I have not played live for a while now. Still sucks though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 I always sound crap and I can't play. When I see youtube videos of our gigs it's like it's somebody else playing - it definitely didn't sound like that when i was doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Steve Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 I'm always the person who's most critical of my playing and tone, and often I'm the only person to spot what I've done wrong. More than once I've walked off stage shaking my head, and the rest of the band have all raised their eyebrows because none of them spotted anything wrong - once when my bass packed up completely during the last song of the set. basically nobody's listening as closely to you as you are Another trick, like others have said, is to record your playing. It's something I'll always do when auditioning other musicians, because just playing the bass means I'm not fully concentrated on what everybody else is doing, and sometimes it's surprising to listen back and hear that somebody you thought was good in fact made loads of mistakes, or vice versa. It equally applies to your own playing Recording is different, and it sounds a bit more like nerves from the OP than poor playing (though obvs I have no idea). I haven't done a lot of recording over the years, but when I have I've always tried to know my parts backwards (and in fact the last demo I recorded while having a massive diabetic hypo, and have little recollection of actually playing it, but the muscle memory kicked in and it sounds fine - I would have liked the producer to change the amp sound, but couldn't speak coherently at the time so had to live with what he'd done). And if there's anything that I'm not 100% confident in, I'll usually play a slightly dumbed down version for the tape Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 5 hours ago, Twigman said: I always sound crap and I can't play. When I see youtube videos of our gigs it's like it's somebody else playing - it definitely didn't sound like that when i was doing it. Yeah, same here. Thats why i cant wait to get through the gig/rehearsals, and then listen back and appreciate my skill the next day lol. Unfortunately this also involved hearing all the mistakes the others make, i get wound up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 (edited) On 28/09/2019 at 22:54, Bassmidget209 said: Our drummer struggled playing to a clickon the day and so we had to play with him. Blame the drummer. I would. If he’s not keeping time you probably find that there’s a lot of interplay going on between the two of you and you’re probably normally carrying him when you play together. As soon as you’re not playing together it’ll be impossible to lock in to each other. If he’s not even playing to click and you’re trying to follow him then you have absolutely nothing to go on. Edited October 1, 2019 by TimR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 On 28/09/2019 at 22:54, Bassmidget209 said: Our drummer struggled playing to a click Nothing unusual about that. Our drummer can't play to a click - he doesn't even understand when we talk about the number of the beat: the 3 or the 4 etc - he doesn't count while drumming. After 40 odd years he still plays to a variable tempo, accelerating through rolls and getting to the 1 a fraction early. I've got used to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 20 minutes ago, Twigman said: Nothing unusual about that. Our drummer can't play to a click - he doesn't even understand when we talk about the number of the beat: the 3 or the 4 etc - he doesn't count while drumming. After 40 odd years he still plays to a variable tempo, accelerating through rolls and getting to the 1 a fraction early. I've got used to him. Ah, so my drummer is moonlighting again .......... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkPonyPrincess Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 All the time, I play crappy punk pop so I'm comfy with not misadvertising.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Twigman said: Nothing unusual about that. Our drummer can't play to a click - he doesn't even understand when we talk about the number of the beat: the 3 or the 4 etc - he doesn't count while drumming. After 40 odd years he still plays to a variable tempo, accelerating through rolls and getting to the 1 a fraction early. I've got used to him. Loads of drummers struggle playing to a click. In fact loads of musicians do, full stop. It’s generally an acquired skill, i.e. something you really need to practice and get used to doing. I remember doing my first funded album when I first went to London in the ‘80s and joined a band, you know, my “big break” (the album was never finished and never came out). 😉 The drummer put the drum tracks down and then I tried to put the bass on (for some reason I don’t remember there being guide guitar which was a mistake on someone’s part!). It was nigh on impossible. I went back to the hotel that night crushed, convinced I didn’t have what it takes. The next day I went back in and they put up a click track for the first song and I played to that. Got it in one and proceeded to nail the rest with relative ease. When they put a click against the drums they were all over the place. It’s one thing playing along with a drummer when he’s playing, but if his timing isn’t great doing it after the fact can be a nightmare. Although of course these days it’s all easy enough to fix.😉 Edited October 1, 2019 by 4000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 When Kenny Jones played with the Who JE didn't like his style, but he did give Jones a complement when he said, it was the first time he'd played with a drummer who finished a roll around the kit at the same tempo as when he started! So dodgy timekeeping and drummers goes right to the top! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 12 minutes ago, 4000 said: if his timing isn’t great doing it after the fact can be a nightmare. Don't I know it. I really struggled recording albums in the analogue days back in the 80s. We tried to record to a click but the drummist was all over the place. I take so many visual cues from my drummer that playing along to something he has already recorded is nigh on impossible. So many overdubs and so many timing errors that went all the way to vinyl. These days with digital, it's easier because we can put the drums in time before recording the bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Just now, Twigman said: Don't I know it. I really struggled recording albums in the analogue days back in the 80s. We tried to record to a click but the drummist was all over the place. I take so many visual cues from my drummer that playing along to something he has already recorded is nigh on impossible. So many overdubs and so many timing errors that went all the way to vinyl. These days with digital, it's easier because we can put the drums in time before recording the bass. Yep, and if I had my way I’d do it on every single bloody track, whether it obviously needed it or not. 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 I've had rehearsals and gigs where I've said; "And this is how I'm playing after 50 years" Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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