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If not basses, what then?


NancyJohnson

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Musically, the fiddle was my main instrument for a long time. I also play guitar and mandolin. I originally took up bass because the fiddle was not cool 50 years ago and I wanted to play in bands with pals. When traditional music became popular, the fiddle came into its own and I even played it for a living for a while. I'm lucky in that I've owned various nice instruments, although I've been rationalising in recent years. Rather than have several nice mandolins, I sold them all and bought the one I'd always wanted. Did similarly with guitars and fiddles. 

 

Non-music addictions include angling, bicycles, kayaking, golf and air rifle shooting. Outdoor boys toys, really. 

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1 hour ago, iconic said:

Good timing, I'm thinking of getting a drumset. I'm extremely lucky, I live in the country, fair size man cave, no close neighbours.

 

.... thought it might improve my rhythm....then thought that electronic drums maybe easier to hoof about and, don't regular drums need tuning and other maintenance? 

One of the ways I warm up for a gig when I'm playing bass is to use a drum practice pad and go through some fundamentals. Drumming definitely helps your bass playing  and vice versa.

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On 30/01/2022 at 10:52, Reggaebass said:

I’ve always liked the melodica, inspired really by Augustus Pablo but I’ve never got around to buying one, I’m watching a vintage one on eBay at the moment, I play a bit of piano so I’m hoping that will help although the melodica is in a different position, apart from that it’s only bass for me 🙂

I bought a cheap melodica many years ago in a doomed attempt to teach myself keys.

 

The thing that really suprised me was just how much saliva collects in the blowing-tube-thing.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, Cato said:

I bought a cheap melodica many years ago in a doomed attempt to teach myself keys.

 

The thing that really suprised me was just how much saliva collects in the blowing-tube-thing.

 

 

Thanks for that Cato, I never thought of that, some have a tube and some have a mouthpiece, which was yours 🙂

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22 hours ago, BassBunny said:

I started as a guitarist in my teens but have realized the error of my ways and switched some time back.

If I had my time again it would be the Hammond Organ. Something about a well played Hammond with a Leslie that can't be beaten.

Have you heard Lachy Doley?

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51 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Thanks for that Cato, I never thought of that, some have a tube and some have a mouthpiece, which was yours 🙂

Mine had both.

 

A short mouthpiece for playing vertically and a much longer tube for horizontal.

 

It was the tube that used to get a bit nasty.

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2 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

Have you heard Lachy Doley?

Certainly have. Been a follower of his for years. Unbelievable player and the tag " the Jimi Hendrix of the Hammond" is well suited to him.

He's done some touring/recording with Glen Matlock. That would be a gig and a half.

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Guitars for me - never been a great player but always loved them. Vintage stuff would be my downfall if I had unlimited finances - have a 59 Les Paul Junior which I’ve owned for 30 odd years. Also got a nice 57 Strat reissue, a Baja Tele and a cherry 335 Fat Neck. Like old amps too, although recently sold my late 60’s Marshall 18 watt combo when someone made me an offer I couldn’t refuse - damn you Covid. 

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On 30/01/2022 at 10:52, Reggaebass said:

I’ve always liked the melodica, inspired really by Augustus Pablo but I’ve never got around to buying one, I’m watching a vintage one on eBay at the moment, I play a bit of piano so I’m hoping that will help although the melodica is in a different position, apart from that it’s only bass for me 🙂

My son's old band had a percussionist who also played melodica, or Jah pipe as they liked to call it. Great sound.

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On 30/01/2022 at 11:01, Lozz196 said:

I’d probably have been a rhythm guitarist, I’m pretty good at that but not too hot on that lead malarkey.

Kinda one reason I got a Chapman Stick. Bass AND rhythm because no guitarist seems to get what a good rhythm guitarist IS. (they all wanna go "widdly widdly widdly WEE.)

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5 minutes ago, StickyDBRmf said:

Kinda one reason I got a Chapman Stick. Bass AND rhythm because no guitarist seems to get what a good rhythm guitarist IS. (they all wanna go "widdly widdly widdly WEE.)

Agreed - I was always drawn to rhythm guitar more than endless soloing. My main influences in this respect have been Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Motown, Pete Townshend, Steve Cropper etc. Even these days the art of great rhythm playing seems to often go unnoticed. 

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12 hours ago, casapete said:

Agreed - I was always drawn to rhythm guitar more than endless soloing. My main influences in this respect have been Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Motown, Pete Townshend, Steve Cropper etc. Even these days the art of great rhythm playing seems to often go unnoticed. 

 

John Lennon, another very effective rhythm player.

 

Also Nile Rogers

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9 hours ago, EssentialTension said:

 

John Lennon, another very effective rhythm player.

 

Also Nile Rogers

I always judge a guitarist by how he can play with the rest of the band rather than widdly solos. In fact I generally detest widdly solos, much preferring those that serve the song ( same as the bassline really ). The epitome of this for me would be Mike Campbell ( ex Tom Petty and now with Fleetwood Mac), a genius guitarist who can solo and play the right chords / inversions to make the song unforgettable. 

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There’s an irony in this, but I believe I would have made a better drummer than I am a bass player. The irony being that my dad had decided he was going to make his fortune by getting me and my three brothers to be a band that he would manage. He had decided that I was going to play drums. I was upset by this because I wanted a radio controlled monster truck… Anyway, I didn’t want him getting it all his own way, so, being an Iron Maiden and Motörhead fan, I decided that I would play bass instead.

 

I own several instruments. Mandolin, banjo, keyboards, guitars, ukulele, penny whistles, blues harps, ocarina, violin, bodhran, bongos and various other small percussion things. I tend to play them all (the ones that I do actually play) like a bass player. Whenever I say that, people question “How can you play a penny whistle like a bass player?”. The answer is “I don’t know, I just do”…

 

In all honesty, the one thing I have always, for all my life, wanted to be able to do more than anything, is be able to sing. People say things like “Everyone can sing.”. No, not everyone. Not me.

 

 

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I started my stringed journey as a guitarist and still have 4 kicking around - an SG, a Patrick Eggle Berlin Pro Elite, a BC Rich Assassin super-strat and a Godin Telecoustic.

 

Lockdown saw me start drumming and I've not stopped - the original Alesis Crimson II kit has been augmented with a Jobeky 13" hybrid piccolo snare trigger, a 3rd 8" pad, the original 12" snare pad moved to the rack as a 5th floor tom, the electronic hi-hats have been replaced by some LV hats from Diamond Drums along with a GoEdrum controller and operated by a Gear4Music remote cable hi-hat pedal, and an additional dual zone ride is configured as a china. Also added a Roc'n'Soc throne and it's the most comfortable thing I've sat on!

 

The latest addition has been an eDrumin10 interface which will replace the Crimson II module and link everything to Slate Drums 5 running under Gig Performer on a Mac Mini.

 

I'll stick with this setup for the rest of '22 and look to moving to more LV cymbals and maybe a Jobeky kit in '23

 

A few shots of the development of the kit from it's original standard format, along with some pics of the 'trick' bits

 

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Edited by DaytonaRik
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