Skol303

[quote name='CrackerJackLee' post='1132955' date='Feb 19 2011, 12:06 AM']I'm also striving to put a practice routine together by practicing major scales with their relative minor scales and playing and analysing pieces from Bach's Cello Suites to educate my ear and train my fingers.[/quote] ^ Weird... I'm doing pretty much the same thing myself right now! I'm still very much a beginner, so I tend to spend a lot of time practicing major and minor scales to help build up my finger strength/speed/stamina. I'm also using Bach's Cello Suites to help me learn notation. Just finished learning the Prelude of Suite 1 (the easy one!), which itself is great for stretching and warming up fingers.

^ Nice one folks, good to know there's a few more of us tech heads on here! I'm working on a few tracks at the moment that involve some recorded audio (muggins here playing bass), which I'll upload/link to once they're finished so you can have a good laugh ;-) I might also share a few home-made synth patches and .rex files once I get my ass in gear. Currently spending more time playing bass than actually recording - only because I'm trying to get my playing up to scratch and learn some notation. Might also have a 'live' gig in the pipeline this year, which fills me with fear to be honest! I'm hearing very good things about using Ableton for this purpose, and I notice some of you here recommend it, so I'll have to check it out and have a play. Happy twiddling!

First thing in the morning after a cup of coffee for me... (ba-da-boom-tish!) Sorry, couldn't resist! I'll get me coat...

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='1118176' date='Feb 6 2011, 08:02 PM']Bach - [i]Cello Suite #1[/i] played by Jeff Bradetich on double bass.[/quote] ^ I've just learn this Cello Suite based on your recommendation here, so cheers! :-) Nice piece of music and enjoyable to play - makes for a damn good finger 'warm up' too.

Can't say I have experience of this myself. But friends of mine who have made the leap into full-time gigging have had mixed experiences: some good, but mostly bad I'm sorry to say. The biggest 'risk' (aside from income) seems to be turning a hobby that you love dearly into a badly paid job that you might end up hating even more than your current day job... Just saying.

... does the Pope poop in the woods? Are bears Catholic?? In other words: yes please!! :-)

Would it be a 'faux pas' to mention Cliff Burton's (Metallica) bass solos in this thread? E.g. Anesthesia; Orion; Call of Ktulu. Ah, what the hell - metal up your a$$, and all that! ;-)

[quote name='Commando Jack' post='1120310' date='Feb 8 2011, 05:25 PM']Ableton Live gets bundled with a lot of audio interfaces, so there would be chance he already had it. It's unlikely he'd have a copy of recycle kicking about, unless bought specifically for that purpose.[/quote] ^ Very good point! My bad ;-) I'm not sure, but I think I have a copy of Ableton on a few magazine cover discs too... probably limited to 'save disabled' or whatever, but still. I guess it's more likely to be found as a freebie than ReCycle: though I still stick by ReCycle as being the 'daddy' of working with loops and samples.

[quote name='Commando Jack' post='1120088' date='Feb 8 2011, 01:55 PM']Software-wise I would think that Ableton live is the one that is built for this kind of thing, but I haven't tried it.[/quote] ^ Err... yeah, or Propellerhead ReCycle, which is exactly built for this kind of thing! ;-)

Yup, I love Squarepusher's stuff... in fact, he's a kind of inspiration for the sort of music I make when tinkering at home (i.e. live bass + electronica). I actually interviewed him once when I was working a music hack - very nice chap indeed.

^ ... and then there were three! Good to know there's a few tech heads on here. I've never used Logic (despite owning a Mac), but a friend of mine swears by it. Must admit I'm too far gone with Reason to make the switch, but I understand that you can rewire Reason into Logic, so there's still scope for me to expand in future - I guess that would turn Reason into one helluva VST plug-in :-) Out of interest, what interfaces are you folks using to record audio? I've always used a Tascam US-122MKII, but I'm thinking of getting a new one sometime this year. Just curious for any other recommendations. Cheers and happy twiddling!

^ Looks like it's just you and me then mate! I'm surprised there aren't more folk on this forum using Reason/Record, but then maybe I/we are minorities here as I guess Basschat is geared more towards audio/live work than technical tweakery. Still, I might use this thread to share a few patches 'n' stuff in future... ;-)

You can't achieve EXACTLY what you're looking for using a piece of software called 'ReCycle' - here's a link for more info: [url="http://www.propellerheads.se/products/recycle/"]http://www.propellerheads.se/products/recycle/[/url] ReCycle is an 'industry standard' for sampling loops - it allows the user to change the tempo of a loop with affecting its pitch (and vice-versa). I use it all the time; it's a brilliant piece of 'ware. Only downside is that it comes at a price - around £150, though you might find it cheaper on eBay. You might also be able to do the same more cheaply (or for free) using software like Reaper - but I can't advise on that, as I don't use it myself. Best of luck!

This question depends HUGELY on the genre of music in question... But in most cases I'd argue it's the vocalist who is the lynchpin of most bands - and this is certainly the case in terms of mainstream, popular music. Teenagers rarely buy posters of their favourite bassists... or drummers! ;-)

I guess the maths are along the lines of: £200 = 20 people spending £10 each or so at the bar / ordering food / eating pork scratchings, etc. So landlords/ladies must assume that a band brings in at least 20 new punters who might not otherwise be there on a Saturday night in order to break even. Plus, there's some psychology behind people drinking more in loud/noisy environments (I guess because it's more difficult to hold a conversation). So spending at the bar would probably be up among the regular punters as well.

Just wondering if there are any Reason/Record users on here? [ if you have no idea what I'm blathering on about visit [url="http://www.propellerheads.se/"]http://www.propellerheads.se/[/url] ] I've been using Reason for a while myself and am now starting to get my head around Record for audio work - so far, I'm finding it fecking brilliant to be honest! Great piece of software and perhaps even better than Reason itself... Anyway, just checking if there's other folk on Basschat whose brains I can pick for advice (when the need arises), or just other bass-playing Reason/Record users who want to talk tech or swap patches 'n' stuff. If so, feel free to geek out in this thread! :-)

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1110621' date='Feb 1 2011, 08:31 AM']I'd avoid the Vox amplug unless you're really on a budget. Not great, IMO.[/quote] ^ Hmmm... the Vox Amplug ain't great, but it's pretty damn good for £30 in my opinion! The sound I get from mine is nice, and I like the fact it can be plugged into the end of a pedal chain if I ever want to run effects into it. It's also very dinky, so you can literally carry it around in your pocket with a set of mini-headphones, if need be. The downsides being: 1) it's cheaply made and feels like a toy; and 2) it drains the batteries fairly fast (about 6 hours for two AAAs).

Mine would (currently) be my little Vox Amplug - a headphone amp. Let's me practice late at night without waging war on the neighbours ;-) Essential.

I'm a 4-string fingerstyle player. Started off in my teens (late 1980s) as a Cliff Burton wannabe: all long hair, denims, bangin' head and blazing away 'lead bass' style with fuzz and wah. Now back playing after an 18 year+ hiatus...! Still a Cliff Burton wannabe, only with shorter hair and a newly found respect for Jaco Pastorius as well as Mr Burton (what is it with dead bassists??). Though now heavily influenced by dub, drum 'n' bass and electronica too: still 'heavy', but no longer solely metal... And I'm still very much a beginner!

Well, I knew mine was plastic because it is! It's an Ibanez Ergodyne EDB600 with a luthite body... light as a feather and it sounds great :-)

[quote name='DanOwens' post='1103825' date='Jan 26 2011, 03:20 PM']With the interval stuff, just learn the major and minor scales on one string. This will help you visualise the distance between your root note (open string) and say a major or minor third. You want to learn the names and sounds of the interval between your open string and anything else up to fret 12 (and beyond, but start at 12). PS. Only one of my students ever really put the work in and got this and now he's a successful professional player.[/quote] ^^ Cheers Dan, that's a good tip for me to practice with. By the way, I might be in the market for some lessons this year, so I'll drop you a line if/when... ^ Thanks also Scott, that a goldmine of info you've let me into there!! Nice one. [ I love this forum... :-) ]

^ Ha! Yeah, that last chord is a beast... To be honest I've been ignoring it thus far. To paraphrase Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) in the movie Jaws: "We're gonna need a bigger boat (or longer fingers)!"

^ Cheers guys, very useful feedback as always! Arpeggios and intervals are now on my 'homework' list... PS: Dan - I've been having great fun with that Morley wah pedal I bought off you last year! Hope all's well with you.

Hi folks, I'm a beginner who's currently learning scales (as well as notation generally...). So far I've familiarised myself with major, minor (including pentatonics) and blues - all nice and easy! My question is: what should I learn next? In other words - what are the most 'useful' scales to know, other than those I've already learned? E.g. harmonic/melodic minor, lydian flat-seven, diminished, whole-tone, altered, etc, etc... (it's like learning a new language!). Also, I notice that each scale can be played in different 'modes' - Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, etc. Again, which of these modes are most useful? There appears to be a lot I have to learn, but I'm keen to do so. I just don't want to waste my time learning stuff that I'll rarely ever use. If it helps to know, I play all sorts of music but tend to focus on rock/metal, dub/drum 'n' bass and some jazz. Any advice gratefully received. Cheers!

... just a quick update: I'm now getting there with PoT, thanks to the advice above! I'm still finding the (infamous) stretch kinda tricky - I can now make it from 2nd to 6th fret, but I don't always get the harmonic to sound. So I tend to 'cheat' but playing the harmonic on the E string instead; simply because I tend to lose less tempo when I do it this way. But the rest of this piece is starting to fall into place. Such a beautiful thing to play... I'm quite addicted to it! :-)