Dad3353

I think that you can count on multiple purchases from many of us. I'm banking on at least two sets, maybe more, and I'm a drummer, so ..!

No.

Good evening, Devon, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Blo*dy pies, more like..!

From this perspective, there is, indeed, no real (as opposed to 'perceived'...) difference; one is only ever half-a-tone away from a musically-valid note. A duff note on the bass is quickly resolved by hammering or sliding up or down a fret (or semi-tone, if fretless...) and it'll fit, for sure. The rhythm has to be spot on, I'd agree, but that's easy on bass, too, as playing at high speed is seldom a requirement, and is, more often than not, even detrimental. Worst case is a couple of beats of sustained previous note, silence, or indeterminate 'plunk plunk' 'ghosted' notes to maintain timing but without any discernable tone. It's also 'only the bass', so it doesn't bring plagues of locusts if there's a duff note or two in the evening's set. If, on the other hand, the evening consists of only duff notes, it's the others fault for not giving you the correct score sheets.

The simple way to count out the acoustic main riff is to think '12312312'. It's easy enough to play a 4/4 beat to that, or a 'break-beat' waltz 3/4, depending on the result wanted. If I had to write it out as score, I'd write two bars of 3/4 and one bar of 2/4.

S'gonna cause a fuss when GuitarChat realise that they've been left behind (for now..?). Edit : Should have thought of having BC on one side, GC on t'other. Double the market for the one product..! No, no need to thank me; cadeau.

Maybe find time to sit down with the tots and read them stories..? Kids are greatly influenced by example; if they see their parents with books, there's a better chance of them doing it themselves. Just sayin'; no offence intended.

We've used a Snark since they were offered, on a 6-string fretless. No issues whatever; no later than yesterday I put in a new battery, for the first time in a couple of years. An easy job (slide out tray, remove duff battery, insert fresh battery, slide tray back, check it works and turn it off. By coincidence, it uses the same battery as my insulin-test kit (a very common CR-something-or-other...) which I always have to hand, so no waiting to get stock in. No complaints here...

Good Stuff, Ped. All my guitars and basses are fitted with Dunlop strap-locks, but a couple of sets of these will come in very handy (for visiting folks with duff straps, or as eraser-India-rubbers for correcting typos when typing into BC...). I've signed up...

Exactly. If magazines were popular, they'd be empty. ...

We can discuss licensing terms by PM; special rates for BC members (that don't laugh at me...). I'm not expecting to buy a Bentley from any profits, though.

A couple of answers come to mind... No More so, but still delicate, especially if there's any stage lighting. The camera won't distinguish between LED from the sticks and any other light source, so anything bright enough will trigger. It could be interesting, however, but somewhat random. The correct response is probably 'No, except maybe as a novelty spot'.

You've not seen me play..!

Just to reassure you... What you perhaps cannot see are the reflective tips to his feet, and the reflective balls at the end of those sticks. Facing the bloke is a rather bright light, and a camera. This camera is picking up the reflected light from the player, and feeding the movements to software on a laptop. The movements are interpreted in real time as triggers for drum software, which sounds the kit pieces. When he taps his foot, the bass drum sounds. If he strikes the air before him, a snare is triggered. It's a good, reliable, system; it works well. I have a set, so I know that it works. However, the bright light required I find uncomfortable, and any surrounding light is treated as parasitic. I've not finished the mod I've planned, which is to replace the reflective pads and balls with LED light sources, so that the camera sees, not reflected light, but an original light source. It'll work; I just have to wire up the LEDs to the sticks, with a tiny Lipo rechargeable battery as power. I'll get round to it, sooner or later. S'good fun, though, 'air-drumming' for real..!

Just over-long oodles of fuzz-wah-synth bass played at high velocity with no discernable tonality nor timing. Occasional breaks to set the drum machine off again, then more blasts, ignoring whatever EZ-Drummer was beating out. ...

No, no, and thrice no..! It's the magazine for tipping the nod to speakers and singers (operatic, especially...) so that they come in on cue. Actors use it sparingly, and with teleprompters, the journal's demise is easily explained.

Set all the tone controls, bass and amp, to the middle of their course. Get used to that sound for a while (a week or so..?), then turn them up and/or down and listen to the difference. Hope this helps.

If mic-cupping is the sound wanted, it's no good using a large-diaphragm condenser in the first place. Use an SM58 (every studio has at least one...) and 'cup' it. Simples.

Thanks, but I'm now retired, having spent many decades explaining stuff to Upper Management. If I could do that, I could explain anything..!

One thing to realise is that it's not always essential for the bass to follow each and every chord change in a lot of songs; perhaps even more so in the folk idiom. There will be exceptions, I'm sure, but many chord changes are rather 'decorative', or bringing melody or counter-melody, rather than changing the fundamental structure of the song. As an example, I would cite the Ralph Patt 'Vanilla Chords' website, where the basic, stripped-down version of many tunes are laid out... Jazz Web Page ... OK, these are jazz tunes, but if we compare the usual 'Real Book rendering of most of these, we're looking at a Black Page of all sorts of altered chords, with substitutions galore and flattened wotsits, passing tones et al, bringing interest to many songs, but not really useful to the bass player. The Vanilla version gets back down to the chase. Following the other players fingers is an excellent trick, but it's sometimes better to close one's eyes and listen to what's happening; after a while the 'patterns' become apparent, and next time round you'll not play that 'bum' note, but the simple, basic note that the song needs. At worst, it's OK to not play for a verse (maybe the first..?) and join in once it's been round one time, which will add 'beef' to it when the bass is added. It's OK to drop out for a spell, too. There are no rules saying that you have to play all of the time..! Hope this helps.

I trust that you know where the notes are on the sax, so that, when you're 'thinking' them, they get sounded..? The bass is exactly the same, if you've that same familiarity with bass note production. All that's required is the same level of experience playing bass as you have playing sax; the 'process' is identical, as it is with a keys player, or guitarist, or whatever. How do you do it..? Play your bass behind more and more stuff, in whatever genre you wish, and it'll soak in, as it did with the sax. There are 'standard' chord progressions, notably in the Bebop and Real Book repertoire, so, if you are 'into' that stuff, look 'em up, listen to 'em and play along. My usual encouragement applies, of course... 'It's the first forty years that are the hardest, after which things sometimes tend to get (slightly...) better.' Hope this helps.