VICTOR WOOTEN IN THE UK AT DIGITAL VILLAGE

[Feelgood]

So how do you recognise fellow BC'ers at this sort of thing?

Adonis-like physique from years of carting a heavy bass rig?

Carnation in the lapel and rolled-up copy of the Times?

Maybe one of those snazzy BC shirts?

Or just the faint air of superiority?

[Dusty]

Can I say what a fantastic evening Victor gave us, His bass playing was amazing, but even better was about 90 mins on Q & A, on technique, practice and life ! My 13yr old came away a changed lad regarding his music studies.

Many thanks to all those at DV, you did us proud

[olipaulo]

The "guy from Somerset" is finally home. The almost 400mil driving where nothing, compared to the evening we got there!

Terrific playing! That guy has a metronome in is brain!!! That part where he was adding notes on the loop was UNBELIVABLE!! What sense of beat and rhythm. For me, that's his most amazing characteristic.

And the Q&A: very nice detail!

And got surprised when at the end he said: “you can play what you want with my bass. No problem. Just leave there when you guys finished!”

And most important: THANK YOU ALL YOU GUYS AT DV!! AMAZING NIGHT!!!!

[pantherairsoft]

I am soooooo gutted that I missed this and my tickets went to waste. So much so that I'm not going to look at this thread again!

Glad everyone had a wicked night though!

[Floyd Pepper]

I must admit that although a great player, I've sometimes struggled to 'connect' with his music in the same way that I have with other players.
Saying that, I thought he came across as a fantastic teacher of music and I was really impressed with his approach to playing, his philosophy and his connection with the audience.
An excellent evening and an impressive man.

[urb]

Vic is fantastic, I've seen him live about 6 or 7 times and he's always amazing, I would have loved to have been at the clinic but I'm out of town all this week, for those who missed it though I recommend his Groove Workshop DVD as there's a ton of very insighful musical thinking and instruction on there, Vic's philosophy on life and bass playing really adds some humanity to learning and playing music, he's a deep guy and even though he has insane amounts of tchnique he knows how to dig deep into his emotions and feelings.

[Dood]

I missed the clinic - Norfolk's stupid road system let me down in rush hour traffic. gutteddan.com

[chris_b]

Many thanks to DV and Hartke for putting on the evening with Victor Wooten, I enjoyed it immensely. He's not my style at all and I only bought the ticket on a whim but I was surprised at how much I was drawn in to VW's playing in the live environment.

He's a very good communicator and a direct and likeable guy and I felt that he got his advice on playing, practice, music and life etc over very well.

“No one ever got a gig on the back of the “twiddley” stuff. You get gigs on the back of your groove.” That's how I've justified my style for years!! So much of what he said resonated with me. Now I’ve just got to try and get some of those licks sorted!

The only down side for me was the gear. Sorry, but I just don't like the sound of Hartke!

[bassface2k10]

I think what Floyd Pepper wrote above just about sums it up for me perfectly, was a great evening, i also couldn't believe he said “you can play what you want with my bass. No problem. Just leave there when you guys finished!” what a great guy.

[Hartke_UK]

I've put some images up from the event in our Hartke Forum.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=89390"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=89390[/url]



Thanks.

Edited May 26, 2010 by Hartke_UK

[RhysP]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='847097' date='May 25 2010, 01:43 AM']I know I am becoming infamous for needling top-knacker bassists here... (here it comes)... but:

Who here is convinced that Vic Wooten cannot find better amplification than Hartke?[/quote]
It's all subjective, isn't it?

There are plenty of "better" basses than Fender Precisions/Jazzes available but they're still what the majority of people use/aspire to use.

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure that somebody with Wooten's stature in the bass world could use any make of amp he wanted to.
Maybe he's just found that it's the most suitable amp for what he wants to do.

I'm no fan of his music, but he comes across as a man that's passionate about his playing & I honestly don't think he would use something he wasn't happy with.

Edited May 26, 2010 by RhysP

[Stingray5]

VW came across really well, was a great communicator and obviously a superb musician (not that I needed convincing beforehand!).
I loved when, during the Q&A, one of the audience (I think his name was Ayo?) asked VW about certain techniques and was promptly invited ('ordered', even! ) to get up on stage with him. He was immediately handed 'the bass' to then receive a 1-on-1 lesson from the man himself (with 199 other bass players looking on! ). Yikes!
I wonder how many had wished they had asked the question instead -- or perhaps were glad they didn't!
But the chap -- once he got over the 'shock' -- gave a good account of himself and I thought it was a most memorable part of a great evening.
Talking to a couple of the DV guys, and as Caleb announced, I know a lot of work has gone into converting the first floor into a nice performance/demo area and I'll certainly look forward to seeing further events in the future.

p.s. - ok, just saw the link to the Hartke_UK thread above (pics of Ayo and VW).

Edited May 26, 2010 by Stingray5

[chris_b]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='847097' date='May 25 2010, 01:43 AM']....Who here is convinced that Vic Wooten cannot find better amplification than Hartke?....[/quote]
How can I know what VW wants?

Why should every Mondeo owner have to be looking for a Jag and then a BMW and so on? In every field there is always something better. The cleaver bit is knowing when you have what you need.

[mcgraham]

I heard an interesting discussion with Guthrie Govan, who was emphasising the importance of tone and working on understanding how to get different tones from the instrument. He then very quickly explained that this didn't mean investing in lots more gear, but instead understanding how to utilise the gear you've got to it's full potential.

For those who are more concerned with making music (like Vic), their main concern might not be the 'best' gear, but merely acceptable gear that allows them just to get on with it, and the good base sound and international availability of Hartke gear would certainly seem to fit those criteria.

[4 Strings]

[quote name='chris_b' post='848328' date='May 26 2010, 11:14 AM']Many thanks to DV and Hartke for putting on the evening with Victor Wooten, I enjoyed it immensely. He's not my style at all and I only bought the ticket on a whim but I was surprised at how much I was drawn in to VW's playing in the live environment.

He's a very good communicator and a direct and likeable guy and I felt that he got his advice on playing, practice, music and life etc over very well.

“No one ever got a gig on the back of the “twiddley” stuff. You get gigs on the back of your groove.” That's how I've justified my style for years!! So much of what he said resonated with me. Now I’ve just got to try and get some of those licks sorted!

The only down side for me was the gear. Sorry, but I just don't like the sound of Hartke![/quote]


Just tuppence here, the gear was DI'd and much of what you heard seemed to come from the PA. If so, not sure why he didn't have it louder from his cabs.

Of course everyone has their opinions, which is why the world is so great, but I thought he sounded great.

[chris_b]

[quote name='4 Strings' post='849524' date='May 27 2010, 04:11 PM']....Just tuppence here, the gear was DI'd and much of what you heard seemed to come from the PA. If so, not sure why he didn't have it louder from his cabs. Of course everyone has their opinions, which is why the world is so great, but I thought he sounded great....[/quote]
I'm sure I was in a minority on Monday. If VW and everyone else thinks Hartke is good then that's fine by me. I was in the front row so I mostly got the stack and it was loud enough for me to need the plugs. My ears are prettyknackered, but then so are his which is why he might not have been louder.

VW surprised me in that he's not a delicate player. He was really pulling and hitting the strings much harder than I thought he would.

[NickThomas]

It was a fantastic evening. Everything I'd hoped for and more. The Q&A was great, he has a very unique view on life and it's refreshing to hear! His playing was awesome .... I was the one with a 4 year old on my shoulders most of the night lol

[bassface2k10]

[quote name='NickThomas' post='849693' date='May 27 2010, 07:12 PM']It was a fantastic evening. Everything I'd hoped for and more. The Q&A was great, he has a very unique view on life and it's refreshing to hear! His playing was awesome .... I was the one with a 4 year old on my shoulders most of the night lol[/quote]

Yeah you looked like you were struggling a bit there Nick, i was the one that moved my car back a little to get you off the yellows

[NickThomas]

[quote name='bassface2k10' post='849888' date='May 27 2010, 10:30 PM']Yeah you looked like you were struggling a bit there Nick, i was the one that moved my car back a little to get you off the yellows[/quote]
That was mighty kind of you mate!!
I couldn't have been more pleased with his behaviour really . He enjoyed the music but the talking bored him I think . It was longer than I expected , but it's all good !
I bought then dvd on sale and turned it on tonight. Alex ( said 4 year old) walked into the room and said " Hey that's that Victor .. Victor Log" .... " Log? " I said " His name is Victor Wooten" .... " Oh that's right !" he said " Victor Wooden" LOL
Creased me up!

[NickThomas]

Oh one other thing ... Did anyone else see Laurence Cottle in the audience?

[Stingray5]

[quote name='NickThomas' post='849934' date='May 27 2010, 11:19 PM']...Alex ( said 4 year old) walked into the room and said " Hey that's that Victor .. Victor Log" .... " Log? " I said " His name is Victor Wooten" .... " Oh that's right !" he said " [b]Victor Wooden[/b]" LOL
Creased me up![/quote]
Victor Wooden! Out of the mouths of babes, eh?!.
That's gotta stick! (er...no pun intended )

[bassface2k10]

[quote name='NickThomas' post='849934' date='May 27 2010, 11:19 PM']I bought then dvd on sale and turned it on tonight. Alex ( said 4 year old) walked into the room and said " Hey that's that Victor .. Victor Log" .... " Log? " I said " His name is Victor Wooten" .... " Oh that's right !" he said " Victor Wooden" LOL
Creased me up![/quote]
lol...love erm ah... priceless moments of being a parent.

[Chris2112]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='847097' date='May 25 2010, 01:43 AM']Who here is convinced that Vic Wooten cannot find better amplification than Hartke?[/quote]

Well, they're certainly held in high regard. Stu Hamm got his best tone from them back in the day and has recently gone back to them, citing it as being something of a "homecoming" with his amps. So if Victor and Stu are playing through Hartke, and remembering they're two of the best bassists in the world, I'm inclined to believe they're pleased with the product.

[gruf1968]

It does make me laugh that there are people here banging on about the Hartke sound and how the artists could do better. THEY HAVE PICKED THE BRAND!! Lets us not kid ourselves that these people couldn't pick whatever they want. Why would they use gear if they didn't like them? In this day and age gear could be shipped around the world quite easily so supporting an artistis isn't that difficult. I use Ashdown and Hartke depending on what I want but it doesn't make one better than another. I have listened to all three types of Hartke cab (aluminium/paper cone mix, traditional paper cone, and all aluminium cone) and they all sound completely different so what is the Hartke sound? It just depends what you need , the badge shouldn't matter.

I thought Victor was great and the gear he used is right for him, lets us just respect his decision and stop trying to second guess it. These are great musicians and that is the important factor here not what they play. As Victor poointed out it is just what is right for each individual.

Viva la difference!

Owyn