icastle

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1349541523' post='1827580'] ...i'd have been in her knickers within 10 minutes............honest.... [/quote] ...wouldn't that make you walk funny..?

[quote name='kendall' timestamp='1349248059' post='1823712'] My first proper bass was an Aria Pro 2 in the 80's, when I returned to playing a couple of years ago I got myself an Ibanez GSR200 which I really liked, until I tracked down another 1980's Aria.[/quote] I'm (mostly) an Ibanez user but I've still got an original Aria Pro II SB900 that I bought from new back in the 80's that I still use from time to time.

The pursuit of [b]the[/b] 'perfect' bass always makes me smile and wince at the same time. I see people spending hundreds and hundreds (if not thousands) of £'s trying to emulate a particular sound but would be far better off getting to know their instrument better. Give me Mark King's kit and 15 mins to set it up and I'd sound just like..... me. Give Mark King my kit and the same 15 mins and he'd sound just like ..... Mark King. At the risk of driving this topic into genital comparisons, it ain't what you've got, it's what you do with it that matters...

Not a huge fan of either, but it'd have to be a J - being a delicate little flower I'd struggle to cope with a P...

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1347914848' post='1806685'] [i]Two[/i] notes? [/quote] Hey, if you've got it, flaunt it...

I think you can lose the flameproof overalls now Big Al...

[quote name='BigAlonBass' timestamp='1347908961' post='1806552'] Don't take this the wrong way (Naturally, somebody will!...) but I find a few Bass Players have very selective hearing. They listen to a song, of whatever genre, and only seem to concentrate on the Bass Line. If the Bass is brilliant, the song must be. However, there are some out there, myself included, who like the 'whole' sound of a piece of music, and if the Bass Line is excellent, well that's a bonus. Because Funk and to an extent, Reggae, feature prominent Bass parts, then the slightly selfish attitude of some of us thinks instantly "I'd love to play that" which in turn means it must be good. I've played songs with absolutely rubbish Bass parts in the past, but thoroughly enjoyed the experience, because I've been part of the ensemble performing it to Joe Public, who in turn seemed to enjoy themselves. As a case in point, Pino ALWAYS plays brilliantly to my way of thinking, but he's worked for people who (in my opinion only) turn out pile after pile of sh**. Nothing can detract from his performance or skill, but he's part of something I don't enjoy, so I can't listen to it. The same goes for a lot of Funk Bass Players-brilliant at what they do, but the music is the finest aid to insomnia that I know of personally. I'll get my flame-proof overalls on now, and nip off to listen to a bit of.......well, that would be telling, wouldn't it? [/quote] Totally agree with you. Music isn't just about <insert your instrument here>, it's about the sum total of all the parts. If the bassline has to be root and fifths to make a piece work as a cohesive performance, then so be it. I've earned a lot of money over the years by keeping things 'simple' and although it's nice to play something clever occasionally, I'll never try and lever something that doesn't fit into a space that doesn't need it.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1347903878' post='1806467'] How strange. I always had a mental picture of you nodding away to some King Tubby with a gigantic chalice in your hand. [/quote] I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'm sure your mental picture has some problems with the old vertical hold...

It looks like something out of Mad Max to me...

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1347901732' post='1806416'] I thought that most bassists would be into Reggae and Funk..apparently not... [/quote] I really, REALLY dislike both and have actually turned down work that would have required me to play them.

I was gigging last night (and tonight as well) so will have to catch up with it on iPlayer. I'm an SR505 user as well but I think Peggy tends to push the top end a little too far, especially as a pick player, but then it wouldn't do for everyone to sound the same... Bumped into him a few times over the years and I have to say he's one of the nicest blokes you could wish to meet.

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1347485633' post='1801627'] The damn thing is highly addictive, and the highs it gives you are more than worth the (initial, occasional) lows! [/quote] If you're getting highs out of your double bass then the chances are you've picked up a mandolin...

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1347480148' post='1801503'] It's not too hard, but my right hand technique needs some work to get a decent volume (or is it my left? See I don't know) [/quote] Yep. Your right hand technique probably needs to change. It's easier to 'show' than it is to write but you essentially need to be playing the string with your index finger pointed downwards and using the thumb side of your index finger pad, keeping it parallel to the string - if you've got a blister there then you've been doing it right. It'll soon harden up (remember when you first started playing bass guitar?) and you'll soon develop that lateral control to give you consistant and adequate volume across all the strings.

...and at the risk of hijacking your thread, if anyone can listen to this without tapping their foot then you must be 6' under... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-jJ5cXAVK8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-jJ5cXAVK8[/url]

With my main band, as it's always going to be covers, the rehearsal just prior to the gig. We've decided to get a bit 'posh' with the folk band this year and have already started working on some traditional xmas folk tunes and associated malarkey.

[quote name='mushers' timestamp='1347142410' post='1797459'] RcD 's can be a bit funny but in this case i would say its the psu for sure as its the only part connected to the ac of the fuse board if its tripping the breaker on the ring main when no rcd is present then i would say there is a serious fault on the psu tell them to try a new a psu [/quote] In fact, to take that a step further, if the pedal still works with a 9V battery then it gets Adrian 'off the hook' so to speak. There's nothing in that pedal that could suddenly cause a PSU to trip an RCD, therefore the pedal is working and the PSU is their problem as it wasn't sold by Adrian.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1346937028' post='1795025'] I regularly perform songs I don't know without any rehearsal and no charts; just 'one, two, three, four... it's in G'. Its amazing how much you can pick up in real time if you keep your ears open; including stops, arrangement etc. I guess it depends on whether you need the performances to be accurate to the nth degree or whether 'good enough' is good enough. Watching the guitar players hands (unless he is playing a cavaquino which is not tuned like a guitar and confuses the ass off me) often prevents any major trainwrecks. I find most songs are 'of a type' and you kind of get a feel for things over the years. [/quote] +1 He may be a beardy jazzman (instead of a raggle taggle folkie), but Bilbo's spot on here. Keep one eye on the guitarist, one eye on the drummer and both ears on everything and you won't go too far wrong.

Even if the PSU is the wrong polarity it wont trip the mains - it just won't power the pedal. If the PSU has shorted out then it 'might' trip the mains, but it'd trip the mains as soon as it was plugged in, not when the pedal was stomped on (those PSUs are always 'on').

Yep. Many of the musicians I work with have never met me and vice versa. It's quite normal when people hit a certain level of proficiency. Our drummer was a dep before he joined us as a full member.

[url="http://youtu.be/X7_k_0dKknA"]http://youtu.be/X7_k_0dKknA[/url]

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1346692406' post='1792005'] Nothing would induce me to post the link. [/quote] How about bribery and\or blackmail?

[quote name='gub' timestamp='1346449754' post='1789530'] Bass players are a bit like cooks anyway, never trust a skinny one [/quote] Speaking as a skinny bass player, I find that deeply insulting... ...true, but deeply insulting...

I tend to be rather pragmatic about performance fees. If a pub can only offer £150 for a 5 piece band then I need a sweetener before it happens. Could be repeat bookings at a higher rate, perhaps a deal to play at a more heavily attended function or even a way of expanding the audience we play to (leading to more frequent and higher paying gigs in that area). Best 'cr*p' paying gig we ever did was at one of those local wedding shows that appear all over the place. We got about a dozen direct bookings from that plus about the same again every year since from the hotel function manager. It's that old 'speculate to accumulate' thing...

I've left plenty of bands before, but have never been kicked out of one, that's a really tough break BassHavoc. Like Walman says above though, don't air your grievances on sites like FB where your regular fans can see it - these things have a tendency to end up as nothing more than a public slagging match and never turn out for the best, for either party. On the odd occasions where people have asked me why I've left a band I just cite 'musical differences'. If really pushed I might go as far as saying 'I'm musical, the rest of them were different'.

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1346428047' post='1789167'] Ben had a play with some settings so should be ok now, thanks [/quote] Much better since he started using unleaded...