Skol303

[quote name='JTUK' post='1303559' date='Jul 14 2011, 02:21 PM']Don't agree that talent is defined as "product of environment and opportunity" at all. That is not talent, that is circumstance. Not saying it isn't helpful or even critical but not in itself, talent.[/quote] I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you define talent as being "a natural ability to be good at something, especially without being taught" - then what I'm suggesting is that the "without being taught" bit might include, for example, being exposed to music or musicianship from an early age. That is: not being taught per se, but acquiring talent through being influenced by your surroundings or environment - through 'osmosis', if you like (yes, I perhaps do have a talent for bull****!) In other words: I'm not sure talent is something you can only be born with; I believe you can pick up a talent for something through experiences (or nurture) too.

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1303417' date='Jul 14 2011, 12:23 PM']The concept of talent carries with it an implication that there is some spooky 'mojo' force that some folk have and others don't. I think there is more truth in the impact of the environmental than the supernatural.[/quote] I'm with Bilbo on this one. And it also makes me think of the old adage: "99% perspiration, 1% parents credit card", or whatever Talent and natural aptitude surely play a part: the tall, gangly kid at school is going to make a more 'natural' long distance runner than his short, chunky friend, for instance. Or perhaps someone who is tone deaf and has no natural sense of rhythm is likely to struggle more when learning an instrument [tempted to make a drummer joke here, but I'll let it pass...]. BUT... I'd argue that talent, however you define it, is always overshadowed by the dull servitude of practice, practice and more practice. It's simple really: the more you repeat an activity, the more efficient and confident you become at doing it. That applies to playing bass as much as it does to flying an aeroplane. And personally, when I take a flight I want the pilot to be practiced and not talented. So in answer to the OP: yes, I reckon that sufficient practice can compensate for a "lack of talent", because talent itself is more a product of environment and opportunity than any kind of unattainable, mystical mojo, as others have mentioned.

"I recognize that I am pretty much alone in my point of view about fretless..." ^ Brilliant. I love those kind of disclaimers - "you might not agree with me, but..."! And generally, yes, people don't agree with whatever follows. Like in this case, for instance. It just comes across as being a bit arrogant and dare I say, attention-seeking. But heh, I guess it's worked, no?! Personally, I love playing fretless because it's the closest I can get - sound-wise, that is - to playing an upright at the moment. But Mr Berlin isn't interested in all that. He doesn't play fretless himself, and so anyone who does is a "cliche", because fretted basses are, like, so rare these days I find... PS: Dood wins the "Devil's Advocate" award, methinks! PPS: quick edit to note this on Wikipedia: "Jeff Berlin's bass playing is somewhat similar to that of Jaco Pastorius, though Berlin plays a fretted bass and has stated his distaste for Jaco imitators." - and therein lies a grudge, perhaps??

... and for those of us who think 'best of' polls are a total waste of time - here's another one to moan about! Woo hoo!! This time it's the top "30 amazing unsung bassists", as postulated by Music Radar. I'm just glad Horace Panter is among them. He doesn't get enough kudos that man. [url="http://www.musicradar.com/news/bass/30-amazing-unsung-bassists-in-no-particular-order-286816#!22"]http://www.musicradar.com/news/bass/30-ama...-286816#!22[/url]

I use a pair of Tannoy myself... an old set of 631s. Had them for literally decades and they're still going strong. Good quality gear.

This is inspired! Love it Very slick editing... reminds me of this guy: [url="http://thru-you.com/"]http://thru-you.com/[/url]

I'd argue this ain't rocket science! Obviously personal tuition is going to help any bassist improve quicker than other methods. Unless, of course, the tutor in question is especially bad... and/or a guitarist And there's probably scientific blurb somewhere that suggests videos are a better learning tool than books - simply because us human beans are designed to learn things better when we're 'shown' stuff in pictures. But that's a complete guess on my part. Books are surely going to be better than no tuition at all. And my mates would just see it as an opportunity to get drunk. So that would be my personal running order of usefulness.

Nobody looks at us bassists anyway. Well, apart from other bassists... So you might as well be playing a pink Bronco. In fact, that might turn a few heads - worth a try, eh?!

[quote name='lowdown' post='1295038' date='Jul 6 2011, 06:33 PM']I see you are pushing Reason a lot today... [/quote] Ha, ha! Yeah... anyone would think I work for them! But seriously, I don't. I'm just back using it after taking a month or so off (birth of Skol Jnr being a worthy distraction), so I'm all fired up again and spending what time I can find twiddling dials. That said, I've been having fun in the meantime making music on just my iPhone. Amazed myself at what can be done using something so small and 'toy-like'. Here's a quick example of a little ditty I made recently: [url="http://soundcloud.com/skollob/hypnomatics"]http://soundcloud.com/skollob/hypnomatics[/url]

[quote name='Gust0o' post='1294968' date='Jul 6 2011, 05:18 PM']...any tips for building reasonable drum tracks?[/quote] Big subject this one! There's a ton of advice online about programming drums; too much to easily summarise here to be honest. One of the most difficult issues is programing drums that sound 'natural'. A typical way of doing this is to fiddle with the groove (again, plenty of tutorials explaining this on YouTube, etc): that is, placing your drum hits slightly before or after the beat itself, to make the drums sound more 'human' and give the rhythm a more urgent or laid-back feel respectively. Or you could 'play' the drums yourself using a midi keyboard if you have one. I've just started doing this myself and it's proving to be a very fun and useful way of going about it. Check out this videocast, which might give you some inspiration: [url="http://www.propellerheads.se/mmm/index.cfm?fuseaction=eventinfo&EID=1"]http://www.propellerheads.se/mmm/index.cfm...tinfo&EID=1[/url]

Just a quick idea that sprang to mind last night, which I thought might be of interest to some of you here - particularly the more 'professional' players among us (of which I'm certainly NOT one!)... I use a piece of music software called Reason, and it's sister-software, Record. It's a very popular and widely used piece of software, with a large global user base. New sounds and samples for Reason can be bought and installed in a proprietary format called Reason ReFills. There's a fairly healthy market for these, which is increasingly involving ReFills made by session musicians, covering specific instruments and styles. I noticed the other day a couple of ReFills focusing on bass which caught my eye, as follows: [url="https://www.propellerheads.se/shop/index.cfm?fuseaction=product_detail&ID=10481&Cat=4200"]https://www.propellerheads.se/shop/index.cf...81&Cat=4200[/url] [url="https://www.propellerheads.se/shop/index.cfm?fuseaction=product_detail&ID=10183&Cat=4000"]https://www.propellerheads.se/shop/index.cf...83&Cat=4000[/url] Just wanted to raise this on Basschat, as I thought it might present an opportunity for some of you to create and sell your own ReFills - as I imagine there's a fairly good profit margin on these, what with there being no need to invest in any packaging/distribution and a ready-made market keen to purchase them. If you know someone with studio experience to handle the recording, it might be worth exploring. Oh yeah, and I want my 10% if anyone goes ahead with it...

Judging by the way software developers are behaving, I'd say go with the iPad for sure - certainly in terms of music production. The vast majority of high-end (or just plain useful!) music 'ware for tablets is being made for the iOS. A quick browse through any computer tech magazine or website will prove this point. That doesn't mean to say that developers are ignoring other platforms, such as Android. It's just that there's currently a chasm of choice and quality between what's available for the iPad and what's available on other systems. Android might catch up of course. But people said that about Android apps in general, and there's still a very long way to go before they rival anything like Apple's App Store. So my vote would be for the iPad. PS: my personal top tip would be an app called Nanostudio. It's not really set up for working with audio, but it's fantastic for everything else and allows you to import your own audio files/samples as you wish. Here's a little ditty I produced using a combination of Nanostudio and AmpliTube on my iPhone: [url="http://soundcloud.com/skollob/hypnomatics"]http://soundcloud.com/skollob/hypnomatics[/url]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='1293370' date='Jul 5 2011, 01:33 PM']Headphones are an option - but again, what to buy?[/quote] ... good question! Firstly, whenever this asked, bear in mind that folks tend to recommend what they use themselves out of 'loyalty' So my advice would always be to visit your local audio shop and try out some different options before you splash any cash. That said, probably the most popular brand names for home studio headphones are Sennheiser, Behringer and Beyer (you mention the DT100s, which are still a good buy). All trustworthy manufacturers and worth the investment anywhere around the £100 mark or upwards. I personally recommend a company called AKG Acoustics - they're lesser known, but I'd argue you get more bang for your buck$ with them (again, this is personal opinion!). The pair I use are these - which I've just noticed are now considerably cheaper than the price I paid for them originally! [url="http://www.dawsons.co.uk/acatalog/akg_k240_mk_2_stereo_studio_headphones.html"]http://www.dawsons.co.uk/acatalog/akg_k240...headphones.html[/url] Or if you want a closed-back pair, try these: [url="http://www.dawsons.co.uk/acatalog/akg_k271_mk_2_stereo_studio_headphones.html"]http://www.dawsons.co.uk/acatalog/akg_k271...headphones.html[/url] What you ideally want are 'non-attenuated' headphones - i.e. 'phones that transmit the sound to your ears with minimal 'meddling' in between, such as artificially boosting the bass and treble as some headphones tend do. I find non-attenuated 'phones much better for working with music in general, but that's just me. Others may have a different preference.

A few quick tips that work for me: - Use headphones instead of monitors. Helps me to concentrate on the bassline for some reason, probably because it negates any background noise/distractions. Closed back headphones would be ideal, but the ones I use are open and work just fine for this purpose. You should be able to pick up a good quality pair of 'cans' for around £100-£150 (or less). Not as versatile as a pair of monitors, perhaps, but a lot cheaper! - If you have access to DAW software, trying playing with the EQ (or using filters/gates) to better isolate the bassline from the rest of the mix. I notice you're already using Audacity, so you may be doing this anyway... I personally use Reason/Record for this purpose as it has a fantastic EQ built-in, but another popular choice in terms of DAWs would be Reaper, which gives you access to 3rd part VSTs, many of which can be found online for free. You can pick up a licensed copy of Reaper for around £50. - A cheap (and portable) alternative that I'm increasingly using myself is this little iPhone/iPod app: [url="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/robick/id417016186?mt=8"]http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/robick/id417016186?mt=8[/url] Hope that helps.

I'm not a fan of slap bass-playing at all. In most cases, it actually irritates me for some deep, primeval reason. But I'm strictly talking here about slap as a style of playing; I'm not irritated by slap bass players per se. It's like break-dancing, for example... I find it all a bit tired and cheesy, but I do hold some respect to those who do it - because if I tried it myself, I'd end up looking like a total ass. So props to those who can slap and pop. Just don't expect to be playing on my stereo...

[quote name='markytbass' post='273767' date='Aug 31 2008, 03:28 PM']Bass's with plastic necks and/or plastic bodies (Y'know Status/Modulus, etc)[/quote] Aww... I quite like my old Ibanez EDB 600! Plastic body (luthite): very light, virtually indestructible and I personally think it sounds ok. But then my ears are made of cloth PS: I agree with the mention of expensive cables being a waste of money. Sure, cables can make a difference, but there's a helluva lot of "Emperor's New Clothes" involved too. Gold plated b****cks, most of it!

Nice little interview, thanks Si! I met the Roots myself years ago when I was working as a music journalist... I think they were playing at one of the birthday parties of Fat City Records in Manchester, as I remember. Must have been over 10 years ago or so (around the time of Illadelph Halflife). Great band. You've just inspired me to dig out what I have of them on vinyl and give it an airing!

All personal preference of course... That said, I tried the Bass Big Muff and the regular Little Big Muff and opted for the latter. I found the bass version too 'muddy' for my tastes, while the standard LBM had more brightness and clarity in the tone - at least to my ears. Personally, when I use a fuzz pedal I expect to lose some bottom end and compensate elsewhere (e.g. using EQ) instead, but that's just me. Best option is always to try before you buy.

[quote name='burno70' post='1288902' date='Jul 1 2011, 12:33 PM']There's never gonna be a 'best bassist' poll that everyone can agree with. It's a completely flawed concept - far too subjective.[/quote] Very true. But then, such polls always get people talking and airing their opinions... like we are here!... so they're not all bad.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1288156' date='Jun 30 2011, 08:16 PM']I don't get Cliff Burton's widdling.[/quote] The 'big deal' about Cliff Burton is less his actual playing skills/style (which I'd argue are actually very inventive and leftfield, albeit a little sloppy at times) and more his overall influence on the world of bass playing - specifically in the metal genre. If you don't like metal, then he'll probably mean very little to you and you'll be wondering what all the fuss is about. If you grew up with long hair and dirty denims (as I did!), then you'll be aware of how - during his peak in the early 80s - he was one of the most creative and influential bass players around. And still is, to some extent. Plus, he got me listening to Bach, which opened up a whole new can of musical worms for me. So his "widdling" certainly has some worth in my opinion

[quote name='ezbass' post='1288565' date='Jul 1 2011, 08:14 AM']With regard to the phrase 'cheat lines' I would point out that one the current finest fretless players, Gary Willis, uses a marked fingerboard as of course did Jaco. Now I'm not a particular fan of either, but I wouldn't call them cheats.[/quote] ^ Nice to know I'm not cheating then...! Although I do intend to start learning on a plain neck very soon, only because I like the idea of learning the fretboard more intuitively, if that makes sense.

I guess the clue is in the name - 'Popular' music - is "exactly what is says on the tin" I can't stand Bieber myself, but not because he's popular, simply because he seems to be an arrogant little brat.

Well here's a picture of the newly arrived 'Skol Jnr', practicing his notation! Poor lad... there's not a cat in hell's chance he's going to be playing anything other than bass when he gets older [attachment=83763:SkolJnr.jpg]

I made myself a 'DIY' fretless over the previous Xmas holiday and I don't think I've put it down since! It was meant to be a cheap'n'cheerful side project, but I now play my fretless more than any other instrument. It still has 'cheat lines' (fret marks) on it, which obviously help, but overall I much prefer it. Next stop is going to be an upright for me... it's a slippery slope!