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I want every note to be clearly heard and felt by the guy sitting in his front room in the next street. And I want to see a sprinkle of dental fillings on the floor around the room.

$ods Law dictates that whichever decision you make will be wrong, so do as your gut tells you and just wait for the realisation that you were, indeed, wrong.

From Musicfestnews.com on Facebook

I'd like some deodorant, please. Yes sir, Ball or aerosol ? Oh, isn't there one that can do both ?

Getting there!

Hey gang I’ve just finished reading this marvellous new book about Tony Stratton Smith, a remarkable and secretive chap. Well worth a few hours of your time, even if you just have a passing interest… https://www.waterstones.com/book/strat/chris-groom/chris-charlesworth/9781912782611

I rang the shop back this morning and basically told them I wanted a refund. I explained my disappointment with the sequence of events and the salesman had the temerity to suggest that I had only paid a deposit for the piano - a 90% deposit... He got a bit stroppy when I said I just wanted to draw a line under things and re-took my payment details in that clipped, disgusted way that only employees of the most prestigious establishments can muster. It was all a bit Mitchell and Webb. Anyway, Forsyth's of Manchester, I realize that my custom might pale next to that of some of your clientele but I've still got a lot of strings, instruments and amps to buy over the next 30 or so years- and they'll be being bought elsewhere.

Like many of my age (I'm 58) I started playing bass at about the time Jaco was becoming very high profile. I remember reading his interview in International Musician (I think) where he claimed he 'invented the f**king fretless bass' or words to that effect. I bought his three solo albums and a good few Weather Report ones too. I ended up with a fretless Aria SB900 as my main bass for about 15 years. Slowly but surely though, I came to realise there was an awful lot of the music that I just didn't really - how can one put this? - like very much. I admired his playing but it never really made my heart sing. And then I heard his playing with Joni Mitchell - specifically Shadows and Light. And that's the Jaco I love, and still love. There's nothing I can say about him that's going to be original or relevant or more insightful than anything that's already been said and written about him by many much more qualified then I. But to the naysayers I would simply point you in the direction of 'Refuge of the Roads' on Joni's Hejira album. I've never heard anyone play like that before or since. Stunningly melodic, beautiful and touching. The feel, the note choice; in fact, the absolute rightness of every musical choice he makes on that track still leave me gob-smacked. 'Slang' - so what? 'Refuge of the Roads' (and there's others of course) - unsurpassable. And yes, he was funky as f**k too.

Oh, you Brut!

Bought from new CLF Research L-1000.

This arrived a couple of days ago direct from Modern Vintage (Rob Elrick & John Files), but I wanted the La Bella Black Nylons on and the bass setup before I posted it. So far I love it, fantastically built bass, sounds great and a neck finish, feel and shape to die for! Loving the finish too, really nice vintage Shell Pink colour with matching headstock! Si

Slowly starting to put effort into the bass again, rough body carve done.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=a+remark+you+made&&view=detail&mid=0C7549DFC4038667779D0C7549DFC4038667779D&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Da%2Bremark%2Byou%2Bmade%26FORM%3DHDRSC3 'A Remark You Made' from Heavy Weather is one of the most sublime pieces of music. Edit: Obviously there's a trick to inserting links😕

I feel a Cinderella's glass slipper moment coming on...

I had to buy it.... Sorry.

The number of members at the time anyone joined is the number in the URL of your profile page that comes before your user name. Regarding the first member even Kiwi is only number 2 so I would assume that number 1 would be whoever did the technical bits for setting up Basschat .

Personally, I would say that Denim is the mark of a man.

And there it should stay!

No one ever said 'gosh I want to smell more like a Christmas cake' but Old Spice still sells...

And also my L-5500 (again)

My third bass was a Maya, still got it. I like it and have gigged it loads.

4 coats…

There is a small, but finite, possibility that they thought replying to an email telling them Marmite smells of yeast might not be worth the effort? 🙂

A Remark You Made is also my favourite track by Jaco and a delight to play indeed.

No trick to it, as long as they're U-Tube 'Share' links ... One piece I've learned (well, after a fashion...) on my own fretless. It's a joy to play, imagining in my tiny head all the other parts. Splendid Stuff; Music of the Gods.

The question suggests that we as bass players have some sort of control over the overall audience experience. I gave up years ago worrying about how I sound from the middle to the back of the room/hall cause unless ur doing the Entwisle, John Taylor, Jaco thing then those bass frequency nuances we endlessly discuss pretty well all sound the same...either over bloated, or soft and mushy.....rarely will ur crispy well honed tone sound like that at the bar.

Your periodic reminder that: * Academic research has established that the first reference in print to 'heavy metal bands' was penned by the American rock critic Lester Bangs in the February 1970 edition of Rolling Stone * Born To Be Wild songwriter Mars Bonfire has stated that the line 'heavy metal thunder' was a reference to motorcycles * 'Hapshash & The Coloured Coat Featuring the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids' was an art-rock band * The Heavy Metal Kids didn't play heavy metal and were an entirely different band to 'Hapshash & The Coloured Coat Featuring the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids' * Author William S Burroughs invented the term 'Heavy Metal Kid' and accidentally shot his wife dead in Mexico City in 1951 * Rob Halford allegedly managed a porn cinema before joining Judas Priest and was born in leafy Birmingham suburb Sutton Coldfield which is about as far as you can get from the Black Country and still be in the West Midlands.

Oh god, 2nd time I’ve posted something that’s already on the forum. I’m retiring…

Maiden have a knack of delivering live that has recently seen a resurgence. Songs sound bigger and better live imho when compared to the studio - but thats ok. Live is the litmus paper. Studio only karaoke kings and queens are the festering boil on the derrière of boy and girlband music. Im ok with maiden, and i thought the drums sounded great now he is with BDC. Im a fan for almost 40 years and have loved all the albums except virtual xi. Each to their own i suppose

I cut the apertures for the handles, using a hole saw to start off two opposite corners (as I didn't have a drill that makes a big enough hole for the saw blade) then cutting 'freehand' with the cordless saw - I didn't know if this would work but tried it out first in the middle of one of the bits I was about to cut out and it was fine. Next, the fittings for the speaker. The original speaker took larger bolts than the Beyma, and on a slightly larger pitch circle diameter, and the aperture itself is a bit larger than the Beyma needs, so I decided it would be a bit marginal trying to put new T-nuts into the back of the baffle itself, apart from the issue of whether I could hammer them in properly when the baffle doesn't come off. So I cut short lengths of batten and fitted the M5 T-nuts to those, then glued the battens to the back of the baffle. To get them in the right places, not wanting to get wood glue anywhere near the speaker, I used a sheet of A3 foamboard I happened to have to make a template from the speaker mounting holes: I then marked up the positions on the baffle using the template, and drilled four of the holes using the Big Gator drilling aid thing - I can't remember if this was recommended on here or elsewhere, and it does seem expensive for a lump of metal with a few holes in it, but it did do the job of enabling me to drill exactly vertical holes very close to the edge of the aperture without problems. The four previous mounting holes overlapped where the new ones needed to go, so for those I just had to cut notches out of the aperture. Here's the inside view, also showing a handle cutout: Glue dry, template removed, deep breath, try mounting up the speaker… and it fits! Phew! Next up, fitting a brace across the baffle just below the speaker, and then making the holes for the horn, port and connector…

We're changing Off Topic's name to "Get back to work, you're not being paid for this!"

Absolutely this. If I had the cash and the pedalboard space, personally I’d have a Keeley Bassist at the start of the chain, and engage as needed to tame peaks in dry sound or squash the sound to work with downstream effects, AND I’d put another at the end of the chain as a limiter. But I’ve settled for one at the end always on at around 4:1. Means the worst excesses of my synth sounds are tamed before hitting the amp. Play around with the order is the best bet here

I was a brut guy back before I needed to shave, and before regular washing seemed important. No one ever wanted to smell like that .

This recipe is certainly the ‘norm’, but there are always exceptions and importantly there are no ‘wrongs’. For example, synth pedals often sound better after distortion pedals. Filters sound very different before and after both distortion and modulation so it depends on what you’re after. In a traditional synth bass setting where you create sounds by using Octave > Distortion > Filter, it’s common to place the compressor last in the chain, not first. This allows it to act as a limiter and it works to increase output consistency, much more like a keyboard synth. This is how I typically use compression. Whammys and pitchshifters usually go first in the chain for tracking as they sound most natural there, however, if you’re going for synth bass tone, pitch shifters will normally go along side modulation as the deliberately unnatural sound to pitch swells makes it sound even more synthesised. There are of course many more... but what I’m trying to say is, there are no specific rules. Always try everything in every position to see what works for you. It’s too easy to get trapped into what is considered the ‘norm’, but often it’s not the most optimal.

rather prefer Hai Karate myself.

That's the first time I've ever listened to Jaco play. What struck me was the drumming. Such swing. Thoroughly enjoyed it and will go and check out more of Jaco's playing

and if it was me i'd also tell them i was going to name and shame and tell the whole world what a bunch of shysters i think they are .

On 'people who do Jaco better than Jaco', I'm reminded of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix. Much as I loved SRV's music, one was the innovator, the other was the imitator. It's the creation of a new paradigm in music which is the real achievement. Einstein conceptualised relativity, but others too it further - does that diminish Einstein's achievement? As for Jaco's mental illness and drug abuse issues; they are desperately sad but no doubt as intrinsic to his character and creativity as Van Gogh's, for example, and cannot be bignored to understand him in the round.

Quality research done there by Procter & Gamble on what image to use…..

Did someone leave it on a radiator? It seems to have melted... One fugly bass.

Thanks for posting this - what a positive documentary. Jaco suffered from what we would now call bipolar disorder which, for anyone who is a relative or close friend of someone with this, will know that, as for all forms of mental illness it can be supremely hard work with that sort of relationship. I’m afraid that people complaining about this is really discriminatory in the same way as complaining about other disabilities or people’s sex, age and other illnesses. I’m sure if it were now there would be far greater support for someone like Jaco. That he was a genius on bass should not be in dispute - I learned so much from him (and Alan Spenner, Leo Lyons, Jack Bruce, Louis Johnson, Bernard Edwards - more recently Jamerson, Dunn, Babbitt - in fact an absolute mammoth of a list right up to the current day - but Jaco’s work (also as a writer) really moves me - when Two Views of a Secret was played on the video attached it almost moved me to tears - fabulous! I also am a great fan of Henning (and was from first seeing him at the beginning of the 70s on DB with Oscar P - usually on the tele) - there have been many jazz players I’ve admired - but Jaco taught me to groove on electric bass (as did most of my other influences), followed by the note selection and patterns, voicings to make things interesting (even the most mundane) - there’s a mass of truth in Zawinul’s input to the documentary about his view of Weatyer Report - I have heard other stories of Jaco idolising him and finding it hard to gain praise from him - especially with his solo stuff - so good to hear Zawinul say in such positive terms what he thought of Jaco and his music. Jaco’s tone was pretty well unique at the time and his accuracy staggering on fretless (Pino - another influence - took this approach as well but added his own flavour). I can say in 1980 I was really after copping some of Jaco’s tone and groove (and Pino’s)!! Though I didn’t own a fretless (yes a Stingray) till 2010!!!