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[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1390343953' post='2344434']Another fine example is a band that I really like, REM. Poor Mr Mills is a great bassist, but how many of us on here have you heard say they want to play just like him?[/quote] Always loved this bassline: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hajTNk_6-XE

[quote name='Noisyjon' timestamp='1389964953' post='2340036'] I once turned a band down a long time ago because of distance/travel issues [i]before[/i] an audition and got this back: " Don't worry about sending the demo back,it's only a cheap sh*tty tape copy anyway,I don't need it. Can't say I'm too surprised that you're not up for it, I didn't think you really would be after the first e-mail I got from you when you were fretting about travelling arrangements - too concerned with trivial matters for my liking (sorry, but I have to be honest). At the end of the day we need someone who lives,eats, shits, sleeps and breathes Rock'n'Roll as opposed to it just being a "weekend" distraction,this comes before everything else in our lives! Good luck in your search for a band but, just a word of advice, think carefully how you approach people in the future, I think you're really looking for something to fit in round your life for fun and maybe you should state that in your ad. Hope you don't take that the wrong way, just being honest..." [/quote] Haha. A true weekend delusional weekend rockstar.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1389798814' post='2338028'] I think the problem is playing boring songs not boring basslines. Simple basslines in a great song don't bug me as much a complex bassline in a boring song. [/quote] Nail on the head right here. It always amuses me to see people get so fiery about "playing for the song" as if there's no place for having a bit of fun with your instrument. Reeks of insecurity to me. Each to their own though, I suppose everyone has their own goals and objectives with their playing.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1388504423' post='2322781'] My reply to that would have been something like 'Oh so that's why Hendrix sounds so crap on Little Wing with its three guitars'. ... or some comment about the three guitars on many Motown recordings. [/quote] Right, but you're talking about one of the most talented guitarists of all time with a particular knack for tasteful rhythm parts in a studio context. He performed it live with one guitar and no issues. It's far easier to get more to work in a studio mix for several reasons - the guitarists aren't in control of their own volumes or frequency content, and stereo separation creates more sonic space for them to sit in, whereas live music is nearly always mono. Any more than one guitar in a live performance setting has the potential to get very ugly very quickly, unless the musicians know exactly what they're doing.

Eh, the whole thing seems to be over-thinking it a tad, and seems to falsely assume that "guitarist" and "drummer", for example, are mutually exclusive things.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1385914635' post='2293545'] I bought a Fender curly lead 3 years ago. Took it home and it didn't work. Went back to the shop and they replaced it. Before I plugged it in I read all the bumf on the packaging from fender about how 'curly leads have changed' and that they 'don't 'suck the tone out of your guitar any more' etc, etc. So I plugged it into my bass and it sounded horrible. There was no high end at all and it sounded very muddy. I still have the lead but I don't use it any more. They sound bad enough with a bass guitar but I'm sure a guitar would sound horrible using one of these. Maybe the newer ones sound better I don't know? [/quote] Did you plug it into an Ashdown?

I try and let my playing do the talking. I've not gathered much dust yet (only 21) but for as long as I've been gigging (bar my first 3-4 gigs as a fifteen year old) I've had my bass somewhere between my stomach and my chest, so reasonably high. I also get a relatively high number of people comment on my playing too (based on some of the other stuff you read on here about people not noticing the bass player) so it must be working to some extent.

I've never broken a string on one my own basses, but I did break one on a school bass back at school. I don't think it really counts though, the string had literally rusted over and it was about three seconds after picking it up that I broke the string. EDIT: Always carry a spare set in my leads & bits bag just in case, though.

Both links lead to the same place.

We typically do two 45 minutes sets, plus encores, which in some situations have gone on an extra 45 minutes themselves.

We do our own adaptation of Muse's interpretation of Feeling Good. Always great fun to play, everyone in the band enjoys it and it's a crowd pleaser.

I'd find out where he lives and piss through his letterbox. But seriously; that's a bit of a downer. I also have a Shuttle, and I have a simple policy of point blank refusing to let anybody else use my gear unless they arrange it beforehand and/or I know them. It's a bit late for that now I suppose, but perhaps in future. As for not sticking around; I'm not surprised! I guess there isn't a great deal you can do. You could try find the bands Facebook page and contacting them, explaining the situation and asking if he would be okay with paying for the damage he caused with his own selective hearing, but I doubt you'd get particularly far unfortunately. Out of curiosity, what was the venue?

If she think's that reverb on bass has anything to do with "groove" then she's definitely not qualified to judge what it is that's bothering her about the recording in the first place. She might think that it's the bass, but that doesn't mean that it is. It might just be the quality of the recording.

Haven't watched it, and have no intention of watching it, but thought I'd add that I saw it a thumbnail of it on the front page of YouTube today and thought that it looked blatantly greenscreened and generally cheap. EDIT: [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1384966537' post='2282922'] Motown was targeted at white audiences so that's why we "got it". Not many people "got" blues at the start. Many more did after the 60's blues boom. Anyway this is splitting hairs. I don't think it's very good but my point is do we understand good and bad in Chinese music and Iranian Music? So why should be understand what's good in Hip Hop? In the "projects" they might think this is great. [/quote] FWIW, I'd say that given the subjectivity of music, anybody is as entitled as anybody else to judge good and bad in music (or should I say; whether they like it or not). There are universal things that appeal to parts of our subconscious. Admittedly a certain degree of music appreciation can be attributed to conditioning too, but I digress. I've just had a listen to the track, and I've got to say that it's dreadful (in my opinion). I've heard the occasional Hip Hop track that I can extract a certain amount of enjoyment from, even if they're not exactly my cup of tea, be that a catchy melody or the tapping of a foot, etc. It goes without saying that I was unable to gain anything what-so-ever from this experience. Regarding his target audience, I think that's more of the image he portrays than who he actually sells his music to. I'd wager that most of the people at his concerts and buying or listening to his music are actually white, middle class teenage girls. Think along the lines of Bob Marley; he's the culturally appropriated, "mainstream" cash-cow impersonation of what he models himself on (and yet manages to be infinitely more terrible than the great Bob Marley, I should add).

I'm looking to source some pick-ups similar to the ones found in the original Gibson Grabber G1 basses (the ones with the sliding pickups). The sliding aspect isn't something I'm interested in (I'm only interested because they're the same pickups that were in a Gibson Explorer bass that I used to own). Does anybody know anything about them? So far all I've been able to find is that they were originally designed by Bill Lawrence, and this snippet of information: [i]"Sliding pickup Gibson part number 13691. The single coil pickup of the Gibson Grabber bass was mounted onto a plastic slide, allowing it to be positioned by the neck, by the bridge, or anywhere inbetween. The pickup was designed for a "dark tonality" and was a simple single coil wrapped around an Indox magnet core. Some Gibson price lists incorrectly suggest that this pickup is a humbucker. The design remained unchanged for the 10 years of production, 1973-83. In later years, this pickup was also used on the early eighties Gibson Explorer bass."[/i] I'd really like to get some hold of some replica pickups if this is possible. It's not really my area though; what information do I need to know to be able to ask a builder to create my some pickups to the same spec?

Ernie Balls.. just can't stand the feel, really rough and uncomfortable, to the point of feeling "sticky". I also tried some DR strings which were literally 3x what I usually pay for Rotos, don't feel that I got anything for the added cost

The limited edition Warwick basses can look really sleek (and some are shockingly gross too). I love the Corvette they did with a poplar top and gloss finish. Also have a soft spot for a 70's Jazz with a matching headstock.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1382634510' post='2254804'] To be perfectly honest, I find the idea ridiculous. She's going to drive up costs through time and resources for quality control, could be a diplomatic nightmare, unless the contributing musician gets some sort of % then it's exploitative. And if she has such a level of sales and publicity that it makes paying to contribute worthwhile, then why isn't she allowing contributions for free and making the 'unique worldwide collaboration' element part of the marketing? I might well be wrong, but my instinct is that it hasn't been thought about properly. We shall see! [/quote] Perhaps she's doing it for genuinely musical reasons. It's an interesting concept for an album, if it were to be successful. The £100 would simply serve to filter out the folk who aren't serious. I'm skeptical about that though, it probably is some sort of poorly thought out cash cow scheme.

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1382453945' post='2252331']Fodera's also have a lot of sustain, but again, that isn't always preferable, yet at first it seems appealing. This is more the case with the more expensive neck-through basses. Oddly enough, Joey Fodera plays a bolt on. He says he prefers the sound. Funny how the guy who actually makes the specialty instruments prefers a less expensive version.[/quote] True, but neck-through/bolt-on is a preference thing. I too prefer bolt-on, but I can see why somebody would prefer neck-through. I don't think they're advertising the neck-through as being a "better" instrument though, it's simply a choice you can make which requires more work and labour to produce, hence the increased price tag. A manufacturer might charge extra for a matching headstock, not because it's a better instrument, but because the process of doing so costs them more money, so if that's your preference you'll have to pay for it.

The most pointlessly expensive Ritter imaginable, so that I could sell it on and buy myself an entire stable of great basses. And perhaps a building to put them in.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1382376168' post='2251436'] Lakland Skylines stopped shipping with gigbags a few years ago now to try and keep the prices down . I suppose the justification for the prices ( and the whole reason for the existance of) of Lakland Skyline basses is that they are a budget version of a much more expensive bass i.e a U.S.A-made Lakland . Only the basic assembley of the neck and body is done in Asia , with all the rest of the electronics and fretwork being done in Chicago , so they are not to be dismissed as being made in the Far East and therefor a rip off . They also ( except for the very cheapest models ) have the same pickups and electronics as the U.S.A models which are much more upmarket and expensive than regular U.S.A Fenders . If you understand that U.S.A Laklands are the equivalent of Master Built Custom Shop Fenders then , in light of that, it's not unreasonable to price the Skylines at the point they sell for . There are many happy Skyline owners who sing the praises of their basses and who choose them over a U.S.A Fender. I think the current U.S.A Fenders are very good and I like them a lot ( I love Fender basses , so I'm more than a bit prejudiced) but the Skylines were a major factor in forcing Fender to up their game and improve their designs post-2008 . The Laklands are a viable alternative to U.S.A Fenders , and some might say they are even a viable alternative to U.S.A Laklands , given how good the sound and playabiity can be on a good Skyline. [/quote] I don't dispute the value of Laklands. They were just an example, I could list plenty of other brands. Warwick would be a good one. I've seen some pretty shoddy examples of QC on the Skyline models; now I'm sure that's an exception, and if you get a good one then it's a damn good bass, but really the same applies to Fender. Except it's made in the USA, and comes in a great case which is itself worth £150. Fender just seem to get targeted for this a lot and I really can't understand why as there are plenty of other brands that offer instruments which are equal or worse (on paper here, which is of course all we can refer to for a discussion like this) for the same price.

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1382182085' post='2248970'] My answer to the original question is US Fenders. How they can justify such a comparatively high price for a factory mass produced instrument is beyond me. [/quote] So how about a Lakland? Mass produced in Asia instead of the USA, shoved in a sh*t gig-bag with nothing in it, same price. But I suppose it isn't as cool to bash a bass that isn't made by Fender. Not to single Lakland out, there are plenty of other companies that are the same, the mind just boggles at how regularly Fender get singled out for their prices when you look at the number of companies selling Asian made products in crap cases for the same price, if not more at times.

How about some sort of portable vice? You'd have varying degrees of pressure then. Twist the handle like you'd twist a tuning peg; tune your singer up or down.

Killer player, although never somebody I've had tone envy for. Haven't listened to this particular video though. EDIT: Listening now. One of his better tones. Bit thin still for my taste but the grind and growl is great. On an unrelated note Richie Kotzen could pass for Chris Cornell in this track.

It's an average synth pedal that commands a massive price as production wasn't run for long (didn't enjoy massive success what with it being average) and someone found out that Chris Wolstenholme from Muse used one on his board (as a very small component in a big signal chain) and such began the hype-train fuelled by the futile notion that this one average pedal was the key to his entire tone.