mcgraham

Nice, gotta love having the staple basses in the stable. [quote]The Sei is still my favourite though, and is the best bass I've ever played by a mile, again that's also fitted with a set of flatwounds, Status this time..[/quote] Also good to hear. May I ask why you've elected to go with flatwounds? Just out of interest... Mark

You know what they are because you know what they sound like. In the same way that you instinctively know what the major scale sounds like, you also just learn to 'hear' what each scale/mode is. How to do it? Practice them to get the mechanics of it down, then noodle with them. I just tried to make music out of each scale, making sure to memorise any particular note choices that stuck out as uniquely attributable to a given scale. Does that make sense? Mark

Lwtait I think that's a shocking attitude to take. A bassist is a bassist, if it inspires them to get on with practicing and opens their eyes to fellow musicians what's the harm? Seriously, talk about elitist! Mark

That sounds like a good date, doesn't conflict with Valentine's day or anything else on my calendar. I'll see if I can drag some fellow bassists unaware of BC along to it. Mark

Satriani often refers to scales that are modes of a mother scale other than the major/minor by their closest relative mode from the major scale (e.g. Dorian, Phrygian etc) but with inserted sharps/flats on certain intervals to make them easier to remember. I find this helpful. +1 to Jake's method of learning them. Essentially if you work on playing a given scale (forget it's modes) in every position, (i.e. all notes across all strings in a given position, then shift), you will cover all of the modes as each time you shift your starting note you'll be 'playing' that mode. That way you've got the muscle memory and visualisation of each mode/scale down, across the neck, understanding their relation... all that remains is to get your ear to 'latch' onto the 'new' home note that is the root of that mode. Mark

[quote]Wider, leather or soft-backed strap? (First time I've heard of tele neck dive )[/quote] I've played a few with neck dive before. Easily done with a lighter than average body and such a short upper horn. It's only mild, but I like my instrument to have a good 30-40 degree angle relative to the floor, and I like it parallel to the plane of my body, not tucked under my picking arm as most guitarists do. I've put a wider soft strap on (Levy's) that helps, but its not the best solution. Repositioning the strap pin is one option, I've done that on my j-bass. Lightweight tuners is another. I enjoy guitar and I'm not bad, but I'm better as a bassist. I love the level of control you have over the band as a bassist, and I know how to use that to great effect. Guitarists have some melodic/harmonic say, and a little rhythmic control over a band, but the bassist naturally commands more authority on that side of things. Mark

On the topic of guitars I'll be taking mine to Jon Shuker soon to get some work done on it. Getting an extra fret put on, full setup and fret dress to sort out the feel, something to help with slight neck dive, and also getting the full Ghost piezo + midi bridge system. Oh... it's a Telecaster Mark P.S. I did want to get a sustainiac/sustainer put in it too, but apparently there's an issue (mentioned on their site) with having a sustainiac in combination with the telecaster bridge pickup. Something to do with the extreme slant of the pickup. Oh well. I just need to find my ebow again.

[quote]Hi guys does anyone get frustrated when posting a ad on the forum to see it disappear within a few hours by posts being bumped?[/quote] No?

Not sure if there's a technical name for it. I know Michael Manring does faux 'slapping' using the tips of his fingers, and lighter versions up the neck to add your mentioned harmonics. I've used this on occasion but I'm not a huge fan of added percussiveness from frets in that sense. Mark

[quote]Learning which notes from those scales serve bass playing and the music well is where the work lies in this subject.[/quote] +1

[quote]why do you use Mixo and Dorian[/quote] If I may... you can use any scale over any chord that shares the same notes, and that doesn't have to be a hard and fast rule though. A scale is a chord is a scale is a.... That's how I approach it. As for the analysis of why... F = F A C F Mixolydian = F G A Bb C D Eb F It's bluesy, so Mixolydian scale with the flatted 7th (Eb) makes more sense stylistically than having a normal 7th (E) as in a major scale. D7 = D F# A C D Mixolydian = D E F# G A B C D It's the only mode (of the major scale) that can fit those notes in with D as the root. Gm7 = G B D F G Dorian = G A Bb C D E F G Gm7 is the second chord built on the major scale, so Dorian is the natural choice. Again, this mode is bluesy so Dorian is a good choice (amongst other reasons). C7... same reasoning as for D7. Mark

[quote]I just don't get the application[/quote] It's just a matter of identifying what they are and where they fit in ways that make sense to you. For example, we all know that what the major scale (Ionian) sounds like. We'd perhaps call it 'happy', 'bouncy', reminiscent of standard pop songs and the like. So, you've just assigned a quality (happy, bouncy etc) to something purely technical (the intervals that form the major scale). You now have the knowledge that tells you if you want to achieve any of those attributes, the major scale is a fairly good start in order to help you achieve that sound or those qualities. Now, look at the second mode of the major scale, Dorian. Play around with it and see what it makes you think of. I instantly think, 'cool', 'bluesy', 'intense', 'aggressive' but in a light way; I also think of blues and bluesy genres too. Again, I linked the technical aspect of the scale/mode with something qualitative that I can actually use. I feel a lot more than that from each of those modes now, as I don't think purely in one mode or another now, they're just tools and I use them as such. Do the same for all the modes. Try different rhythms, pick different notes out of each of them. Try to really home in on the root so you're not just thinking 'major scale but starting on the 3rd note' the whole time. Try to assign qualities and styles to each of the modes to really 'hear' the intrinsic sound of each mode. After that, I really suggest trying to identify the key intervals/groups of intervals that [i]you[/i] feel are responsible for their given qualities. In this way, you can start to break out of set patterns and you can think on a qualitative level, rather than a purely technical level. Once you've got even just [i]one[/i] word to describe each of the modes, you'll instantly start to hear how they've been used all over the place in so many different songs. You'll start to see [i]why[/i] a given song or given phrase sounds the way it does and has the feel that it does. Similarly, when you hear/feel a certain mood and you don't recognise it coming from any particular mode (or, in time, a given combination/permutation of intervals), if you figure out what's going on you expand your tonal palette. Does that make sense? There's an awful lot you can do with them, and eventually they serve a greater purpose than just 'modes for the sake of modes', but starting with the qualitative approach is something I'd strongly suggest. Mark

I use modes! They're great. They really unlocked melody, harmony, ear training, relative pitch and the fretboard in general for me. What do you want to know about them?

They are great, and fixing this issue has breathed new life into it Probably don't need the guitar floor fx now... You know the PX4D is designed for guitar AND bass? Only 99 quid from GAK with 6 quid delivery on top. Mark

Sorted! Turns out there [i]IS[/i] a way to adjust the Noise Gate. Ahhhh, finally my pandora works nicely again. Thanks guys! Mark

I hope so! This issue was the only reason I went and bought a guitar multi-fx floor unit... Now I'm impatient to get home and try it. And I'm out straight after work this evening. Mark

Ugh. I think I may be about the dumbest person on Earth at this very second, followed immediately by being the most enlightened person the second after. When editing each patch, after all the 'Cab' 'Amp' etc settings there is an unlabelled one called 'NR' that "never seems to do anything". It suddenly dawned on me that this refers to Noise Reduction and it might be responsible for the issue that I never noticed when I first got the device, only after years of fiddling. The Pandora manual also says that you need to adjust this for your instrument or your sound may be cut off prematurely... At least I may have a way to fix this issue now... Mark

[quote]I have a Pandora, and I have never noticed a hiss, so they may have improved over the years. It might be worth checking out a newer one. Also, although you have had it for a number of years, can you check that the input level is correctly set for passive or active - that could affect the hiss and also the output level.[/quote] I've got the PX4D. I've got the switch on the side for low and high input, I set mine to high. The problem is even worse on guitar. I can't activate/deactivate the noise gate, it appears to just be a standard setting. It also sounds bad through an amp. Really noticeable. I too only use it for simple sounds. Literally just so I can hear myself played clean through headphones. But I can't think what else to do about this. I'd like to try the PX5 to see if that solves the problem. You sure you've never encountered this? Mark

Hi all I've been using a Korg Pandora for many years now, and whilst I love it, it's noise gate is starting to grate on me. Even on maximum possible volume I can't get the full dynamics I want from this device, i.e. when the level is too low it doesn't give produce sound. Also has nasty hiss that gets let through whenever the noise gate goes on and off, although that could be the instrument. As such I'm looking to some other alternatives that DON'T do this, that allow portable practice with at least a metronome and a headphone out. Something that will fit in a gig bag ideally and run off batteries. First thought is a Pocketpod, but I don't know if it has a metronome feature. Anything else that anyone can recommend? Mark

Informative Mike Cool to see how someone else does it. You've really got it down. Mark

Quite nice I like how it's got the same feel as the Wooten-esque style of playing but without the 'aggression' of full on slap. Good work. Are you just holding back a little on the strength when using said technique, just enought to get the string into motion? Mark

Hmmm.... still not sure that will be enough to counter act having such a 'pulled back' balance point. I'll believe it when I see it. Mark

Does anyone else notice how retracted the upper horn is on the axis bass? I'm thinking that unless they've got some seriously clever design work going on that there's going to be [i]insane [/i]neck dive on it. Saying that though, I think it looks a darn sight better in that picture than in the picture of an unfinished one someone posted a while back. I also see a scaled down resemblance to the Wood&tronics Chronos body shape. Mark