Leaderboard

I'll go and watch a few videos and see what she says. My take is, when I chart stuff out I will always write the full chords rather than something like a bass tab. Firstly, because it helps to have it In case we have to get a dep bass/guitar/keys player. Scales are good to know, and a great reference, but chord tones are more of an accessible way to start making bass lines. For me relating bass lines to chords is better way of understanding harmony and the function of each chord in any given key. It gives more of an ability to target key notes that'll compliment what the others are playing and I can omit notes I know won't work over a chord. If someone gives you a chart with some more unusual chords, say I Will Survive that says: Am Dm G C△ F△ B° Esus4 E it'd be simpler to relate something like a m7b5 to a chord rather than a half diminished scale. Because right away you know which notes you can highlight, and can disregard notes that won't compliment the chord. Plus, you can visualise the shape of that chord, and know where those key notes sit as opposed to having to run through the whole scale to find a 6th or b9 or 11 or whatever the extension to the chord may be She could also be referring to the numbers system!

/thread

*Don't worry, there is a video below* For as long as I've had my little collection of Boss OC-2s, people have asked the inevitable; "what do they sound like all together?". Up to this point I'd never tried because, well, that's silly right?! Well here it is, a very quick hit of my 7 OC-2s together. The looped bass 'riff' had to start high on the bass neck to accommodate the stacked low octaves as best as possible. We ignore the -2 octave control, and so each pedal starts with no direct signal and 100% -1 level. Once all on, we start to introduce the clean blend on each pedal. I have to ride the Input gain of the recording device a bit, simply because of the sheer amount of signal going on, but once we get to OC-2 number 5 & onwards, they start to overload each other. So the distortion that you're hearing is not a clipped signal into the iTrack Pocket, but OC-2 pedal 5, 6 & 7 themselves clipping. Helpful? No Silly? Yes Have fun. *USE HEADPHONES OR DECENT SPEAKERS". For the geeks who get this far, bass is a US Lakland 44-94 passive P/J, and the OC-2s are one of each iteration of the pedal, as follows: - Black Label Japan Octaver - Black Label Japan Octaver - Black Label Japan Octave (lighter paint) - Black Label Taiwan Octave (darker paint) --Silver Label Taiwan Octave - plus two extra un-boxed Octavers. I tend to gig these two. Si

Another one from the 70's:

Another one - written by Lalo Schifrin:

I know that many members think that Gibson can't build basses, and having in the past owned a '66 EB2 which played like a dog I might have agreed, but the EB described here as a "monstrosity " is very well built. Take a look at the top of the neck with its volute and the amazing Babiscz bridge. Who ever designed this put some thought into it. You may not like the body shape (which isn't so different from Fender's Dimension) but it works. The slightly extended upper rear bout tucks under the arm perfectly and I suspect contributes to the excellent balance countering possible neck dive as its so light. May be critics should try out an instrument before slagging it?

Plug in and play, I don't have this thing called 'your sound'.

I've done a similar thing many a few times. I buy a bass at a keen price. I clean it up, oil the fingerboard, tighten all the screws, set it up with new strings, and noodle it for awhile, then eventually sell it on at a modest loss. It's easy.

Yes, that would be great to learn, but I would say that if you want to learn it, no point waiting to get a 6 string, it was written for the Cello, which has 4!

Stu, if this story results in a Wal being returned to long-lost owner or similar I'll happily donate £100 to a charity of your choice. If it turns to out to have been a noble attempt at the above - which it's looking like is the case - I'll still donate £50 to the same charity. I'll let TrevorR be the judge of the outcome. Either way, my apologies for the scepticism and thanks for your public spirited attitude, a rare thing on the internet. Chris

I've had the same experience. Moved on from Markbass stuff years ago and went round the houses with 'better' boutique brands. Recently got bored of having 2 grands worth of rig and not being 100% happy with it; went back to Markbass and it just works. That sound out of the box just fits really well with so many applications.

Bolt Thrower

I was a Stones fan but still had all the Beatles albums, singles and EP's. As a musician you had to, they were the source of most new ideas at the time. The Beatles started as a live Rock and Roll act, went through being a backing band and came out the other end as the biggest original band in the world. No one's ever likely to like all their output (even they didn't), as it stretches from I Saw Her Standing There to I Am The Walrus, through Yellow Submarine (!), but they constantly changed what was possible with every new song and record they put out. Lennon and McCartney were musical giants. Very few bands have survived to the first album with two such original talents on board. They had to fight each other for their space in the band and certainly weren't interested in giving George Harrison a fair crack. He got his token song on each album and as he said he was writing songs but not bringing them to the band. He did manage to write one of their most famous songs. As Frank Sinatra said, "Something is the best song Lennon and McCartney ever wrote!" Forget the inaccuracy, that's some complement. While Lennon and McCartney were busy re writing the rule book for popular music Ringo was redefining what was possible for a drummer to play. Earl Palmer changed the drum world in 1949 by starting the 2 and 4 snare drum pattern. Now you can't imagine music without that simple beat, but 2 and 4 didn't cut it in so many of the Beatles songs that Ringo had to come up with something that did and in so doing opened the door to creative drum patterns that have spread into every drummers repertoire. Neal Peart, Buddy Rich and Jon Bonham are all great drummers, they brought something to the table but they didn't change the world of drumming. Ringo did and for that he needs recognition. There might be "better" drummers but Earl Palmer and Ringo Starr are the two most influential drummers in the last 70 years.

I used to worry incessantly about what bass I was using, what rig I had, was it right for the job, were my strings bright enough etc. I came to realise after playing in 3/4 different bands over the past 4 years that, certainly in my case and situation, it doesn’t matter, and no one cares or notices how my bass sounds. I am about the only person who notices the difference in my rig or bass and most band members can’t really hear a huge difference in a live situation. This is also compounded by the fact that I go through a PA and ‘my sound’ can usually only be heard by me on stage, and everyone out front just gets the dry signal from my DI (pre EQ most of the time) which is set up by the engineer, I don’t normally hear it. Dont get me wrong, I will get a comment when there is too much ‘woolly’ bass or treble in a venue, but as long as I sit in a mix and play the right notes, no one cares if I’m using a Squier Precision, 3k Overwater, Aguilar rig or £250 Ashdown combo. For me it has become quite liberating, no one apart from me and few folks on here or other bass players (I don’t meet many to be fair) give a monkeys about my kit. This means I don’t swap my kit very often apart from out of curiosity, and I free up mental space to play and try and retain 3 bands worth of material in my brain.

First encountered him playing with my old drummer Willie Wilson and Tim Renwick (both Cambridge lads) in Quiver, later The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver. So he buggered off to join Elvis Costello and the Attractions & the resultant search for a replacement bass player gave Ace their number one hit "how long has this been going on?" written by Paul Carrack, keyboard & vocalist in the band about the rumour that SBQ were trying to poach Ace's bass player, Tex Comer. He also did pretty good on his own and singing for acts like Mike and the Mechanics, didn't he? Interesting that Bruce is known mostly for playing a precision but he didnt get into P-bassing until he left SBQ. Always used a short scale Fender bass with them. One of the busiest bass players out there at the time, but somehow it always seemed to fit. And these days nobody ever mentions him.

Here's a pic of a guitar I toned with StewMac's Starcast Ambur toner then did the black around the perimeter. It was done in Nitro over the existing black poly that came with the guitar. Came out perfect. The pic is before it was cleared over.

It is, really. Anyone can play whatever they like, and call it music. The audience can choose to like it or loathe it.

oh dear, I do this all the time... and every time I dread the thought of looking in here and seeing that someone is slating me for it... then I go back to counting all my cash and the feeling goes away

Whilst his playing wasn't/isn't to everyone's taste his legacy regarding the electric bass guitar should never be diminished and is almost beyond compare in terms of players generations later looking to emulate him and (some would say rip off) his sound - see also James Jamerson and Larry Graham. If we consider how many incredible musicians there have through time few leave a legacy whereby their sound/tone/style is emulated almost on a daily basis (you could argue that Hendrix would be a good example from a guitar perspective). In the 80s you couldn't move for bassists rolling off the neck p/up on a Jazz and playing right next to the bridge - it was everywhere. The 90s brought Acid Jazz and, again, those urgent and funky sixteenth note lines, and as Joe Dart is heavily referenced (quite rightly, in my opinion) as one of the leading lights of today's electric bass playing, for me, the sound he is closest to, is that of Jaco. And without Jaco there wouldn't have been Rhythm Stick, and for that alone he deserves all the acclaim he gets!

I don't mind davie504 too much, I can't really say I enjoy his videos at all and they have virtually no musical value, but he is easy to ignore and if he gets a few kids interested in bass then that's a good thing I suppose. He technically isn't clickbait either as you know what you're getting. On the other hand, I find it particularly distasteful to see stuff like "Three reasons why six string basses SUCK!!!" and then trying to get people to hand over money for "lesson" on how to get gigs or "slap workout" rubbish.

Fair play to you mate!

YES, without a doubt, took me to wonderful far away places while I sat on my bed dreaming as a teenager, the density and complexity of the music always gave up something new, and baffled me as to how they could all play together like that. I can't say Chris Squire inspired me to play bass, that was probably Geezer Butler, but it is YES that appeals to my inner self!

You bought it in good faith Stu, If it was me I wouldn't try hide it or feel guilty about it. if someone contacted me about it being stolen or ripped off I'd take it from there. You lucky bugger

The Cure

When i was first learning bass after the initial knowing where the notes on the bass were and a year of lessons i came across several Jazz bassists incl Jaco. I was listening to Weather Report and Mahavishnu styles simply because i had never heard bass played like that before and it intrigued me. I used that style to my advantage and was able to use some of it in Rock and Prog bands i played with at the time. I wasn't a fan of the music to be honest but the bass playing on those kind of albums was way beyond the standard bassists i had previously been listening to. So for me i wasn't a big fan of the music but there were so many great bass parts to learn and that in itself made it interesting for me. Like most Jazz / Fusion style of music i find that sometimes it works and other times it just sounds like an ego trip to me with no musicality (is that an actual word ? ) Back then Jaco was the bassist that others tried to emulate even in professional circles and because of that he has to be one of the most influential bassists at that time. Things have move on since those days with people like Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Mark King, Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey and they have all been influential to many bassists during their peak periods. That how bass playing develops thru time. Poeple push boundaries and others take up the mantle to try and push it further. At one time bass was either a walkng bass or 4 notes to a bar just as a basic rhythm section. Now it is being used as a lead intrument. Maybe we should be classing bass as Progressive Dave

Digital Man - Rush just added!

Buy half decent gear. Plug it in. Set it all flat. Play some notes. If there's obvious nasty noises in the room fix it. Press the mute button, put the bass down and wait for the gig to start. It's only a bass. It just needs to make a rumbly noise.

Free, since hearing 'Tons Of Sobs'. Though the interest waned with the last album 'Heartbreaker' without Andy Fraser's input.

Four but I'd love to bring this out for an encore

Why not try it and find out? I mean like all engineering, maths and understanding how things work are optional extras aren't they?

Will you lot all shut up and let an old man sleep, for goodness sake..?

It's midnight... what are you doing up..?

Speak for yourself Dad now, welcome Raeman

I think as a player you need to decide what you want to achieve, do you want to get a ‘better’ sound or do you just want to change your sound? What sounds ‘better’ is all subjective and causes huge arguments on forums like this. Different is a lot easier to achieve and you have already highlighted the ways to create different. Without spending money, the quickest and easiest way to change your sound is to change hand position. Then age of strings, leave them dead if you want a warmer ’vintage’ sound. Next option, eq on your existing amp, try extremes of eq and everything in between. A plectrum is another big change for nothing (if you steal a mates plectrum). I can do almost any kind of music and find a complementary tone for that style with just these things. Personally, I would not look to pedals to help make my sound better, only to modify, leads IMO make little to no difference (in a live situation). That is where I would start anyway, but it’s all down to what you want to achieve and that’s down to the individual.

I'd say it was more than a few years.

The Flexocor Deluxe are a slightly brighter string than the Original Flexocor and they complement darker sounding basses well, both work well under the bow. If you want to try either type of Flexocor and you can get into us in Derby, we have both variants fitted and available to try on Eastman basses. Although this won't help you know how they will sound on your bass it will give you a feel for them.

I got an Aguilar octave pedal for £100, and a set of entry level shure in ear monitors for £70 both from Guitar guitar. I’m happy!

Put it this way, the Beatles could have had almost any drummer they wanted, they wanted Ringo. When he walked out they begged him to come back. The feel of the songs would have been different with any other musician in there, not just Ringo. You want to hear a live band absolutely nailing it? Go and see the latest Beatles film. No click tracks, no monitors, poor PA systems....but perfect harmonies and a super tight band. Genius.

For me Dino from The Rascals (3 Italian & 1 Irish guy) was the first guy to take the drums to the next level for pop music. Very progressive for 1966. Blue

Welcome to the site! Lovely photo.

Thanks, I think the 3TSB is particularly nice. A couple more pics for you.

I'm not getting this, the cynic in me says there's more to this than is being said above....?

Great looking guitar and bass. A lot of binding and classic good looks. I hate to be an old geezer. But man did those guys look great in suits or what? Blue

Black Friday was invented in 1975 by Donald Fagan and Walter Becker (R.I.P). Even they would be surprised how it has taken off across the world?

No. So why do you watch it? Have you considered starting your own youtube channel in which you sit in your bedroom shouting at stupid retarded youtube videos? You never know, you could be onto a winner there.

There is no nonsensical noodling in most of Jaco's work. If it sounds like nonsense, it is because you aren't hearing it. As a fan of some of the more extreme Jazz forms, my interest in Jaco wained a long time ago but, to continue your analogies, Jaco was pretty much Jameson plus. There isn't much that he does that isn't intensely melodic or riff orientated. Sometimes he went up his own arse a bit but that is the nature of improvisation; sometimes you fuck up. Jaco pushed the envelope. A lot of what he did had precedents but he just took it all further. Except the harmonics. That was all him.