Fat Rich

For $25,000 you can buy an Anthony Jackson Fodera contrabass. One pickup wired straight to the output jack because it sounds better!

[quote name='GT40Graham' timestamp='1345892617' post='1782797'] Both different brands of strings, Rotosounds and Ernie Ball I think and they weren't 35 years old! [/quote] Not surprised, never had a problem with Ernie Ball but it was Rotosounds that caused me all the trouble. Shame because they sound great.

Caught this by accident, he's an interesting bloke. I'll have to read his autobiography.

Nightmare! What strings do you use? I used to have lots of breakages with one manufacturer, when I gave up with them I've never had a breakage in 20+ years.

Half of a 1960 Stack Knob Jazz?

[quote name='shizznit' timestamp='1345728162' post='1780939'] ........In a nut shell, I don't like teaching him and I am losing potential earnings...... [/quote] Ultimately if it's really annoying you then you should do what makes your life better. I'd ask him to stop messing me about and stop cancelling lessons at short notice, I'd be less accommodating about rescheduling lessons and see if he sticks with it. If he doesn't, no great loss. If he decides to "learn" somewhere else then it shouldn't affect you reputation.

[quote name='louisthebass' timestamp='1345585652' post='1779244'] The best thing to do is to harmonise (sp?) the major scale like this: I = Major 7 Chord II = Minor 7 Chord III = Minor 7 Chord IV = Major 7 Chord V = Dominant 7 Chord IV = Minor 7 Chord IIV = Minor 7 flat 5 Chord or Half Diminished Chord This applies for any key in the circle of fifths as detailed in the book. The above is (pretty much) the basis for Western music as we understand it in terms of pop & rock music anyway. If you're really struggling with it, send Stuart a PM (he's a member of the forum) & I'm sure he'll be able to make it pretty easy to understand. [/quote] Figuring this stuff out will open a lot of doors into music theory, it's the building blocks of pretty much everything. The good thing about learning this stuff is that it applies to the chords, the arpeggios and the modes... you're actually learning three things at once. Throw in that the relative minor (let's say A minor) of a major scale (in this case C Major) uses all the same notes, you're only a small step away from harmonising the minor scales too. (You can start harmonising the harmonic minor and the melodic minor scales, but then you're into pretty advanced territory, I find it's easier to remember the altered scales by associating them to tune you know. For example the Lydian Dominant scale is the theme to The Simpsons) You'll also find while your brain is thrashing about trying to work all the note names and intervals out, pretty soon your fingers will just starting finding the notes on the bass by themselves, you'll get a feel for where the intervals are and you'll find working songs out by ear much much easier too. Generally, the more of a struggle you have learning this stuff, the more likely you'll remember it when you get it And then you can start forgetting it and just play. Good luck!

[quote name='gafbass02' timestamp='1345622042' post='1779458'] Mentioned it a few times but I do all my practicing using a combination of my iPhone and my zoom pedal. If I want to sound good and have all my sounds I use the zoom, but if it's just a straight ahead learning session then the trace Elliot sound in the ampkit app is fine. I run ampkit at the same time as an app called 'robick' This let's you play songs and [b]lather[/b] the speed/pitch/key etc as well as cut out the bass/mid/top and slow down/speed up or loop sections. And it's all on my phone, incredibly versatile and convenient. Vocally it means I can try out keys till I find one I like [/quote] There are some great music apps for the iPhone, shame the autocorrect is so daft though

As has been said, I'd skim through this book pretty quickly and pick out the things that seem to help you the most. Also, consider it a long term project, maybe pick and exercise or two a month and spend a few minutes a day on them. It's not his best book in my opinion, his books on funk lines and muted grooves are good fun, and the one on reading music is pretty useful too.

I assume you've been through this lot: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/127704-jazz/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/127704-jazz/[/url]

Once I've learnt a song I rarely play along with the recorded version anyway so it doesn't matter what key it's in. I prefer to play to a click so that I'm sure I really know the form of the songs and any hits and changes without any prompts from anything else. Also it's much easier to hear exactly what I'm playing and how I'm playing it without the original bassline in the background, I've often thought I've nailed the feel of a song but then when I've played it without the original found it's lacking something. Of course, that's assuming you've got plenty of time to learn the songs.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1345540029' post='1778514'] On many of his sessions JJ was just given chord charts so [i]he[/i] was creating the bass lines you hear. On the other hand, all I hear in Led Zep is JPJ playing standard 60's R&B bass lines in-between a thousand fantastic Jimmy Page guitar riffs. IMO "For Once In my Life" top trumps any line JPJ created. [/quote] I think most of the arrangers at Motown let Jamerson do his own thing within reason. One of the notable exceptions was "What's Going On" where Jamerson was chuffed to bits that the bass part was written for him in his own style.

A lot of the early Marcus Miller stuff was fairly standard melodic basslines, but played only with the thumb with just the occasional pop thrown in as an accent. They're great melodic basslines whatever technique you use to play them. Maybe try playing what you'd normally play with fingers or a pick, but with only your thumb? And then maybe look for places to occasionally drop in a few standard slap / pop licks, but only if they fit the song. I think slap can still sound great if you avoid the over-percussive-slap-monster-chops-no-space-no-groove-relentless-in-yer-face-thwacka-whacka, it's been done to death in the 80s and 90s and isn't going to impress anybody any more. Space and groove is where it's at.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1345450880' post='1777509'] Pedant alert: I think JPJ was the arranger, orchestral conductor and bassist on the album that's taken from - 'Dusty ... Definitely' - but the producer was John Franz. [/quote] Yup, just looked it up and you're right.

Although before Led Zep, John Paul Jones was producer and bass player on songs like this: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwA43FHkxjo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwA43FHkxjo[/url]

I'm hoping to come along, probably with a couple of 70s Fenders and a Status or two.

Great to meet you, it was nice to just relax in the park on such a hot day.... Edit: Hope you're enjoying Edinburgh Shelley!

My plans have changed for today, hoping to drop by for a couple of hours if that's OK?

This video is a great demonstration of the number of cool fills that can be found in just a couple of notes. The temptation is to go whizzing around the fingerboard to play something that sounds good, but I've lost track of the number of times I've worked out something that sounds complicated and found it's actually just a few notes that were already under my fingers just waiting to be played. And anther thanks for all the useful videos!

Roll the balance control on your stereo fully left, then fully right then back to the centre for a quick demonstration of that theory Not twice as loud but there may be a benefit from having two sources of sound instead of one.

I used to have to adjust my wooden basses twice a year without fail, the action would go from being high enough to drive a bus under to so low that the strings were down on the frets. However since I've moved to a better insulated house they seem to be much more stable, the action varies a little but not enough for me to bother adjusting anything. But as E sharp suggested, my graphite Status basses have never moved and haven't been adjusted since they left the factory.

One of the most talked about basses on the Olympic closing ceremony was Chris Wotsisname's Status, so anything's possible!

Some more Bobby Vega clips in this thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/113326-bobby-vega/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/113326-bobby-vega/[/url]

They've been watching too much Bill Bailey.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1345031482' post='1772537'] .......... Don't be worried about it, Geddy Lee has said recently that he writes with the song foremost in his mind and often has to spend a good while learning how to sing the vocal and play the bass part at the same time after the song is tracked. ...... [/quote] Sting said the same thing, it took him ages to be able to sing "Message in a bottle" instead of "Message in a bot-ot-ot-tle"