JimBobTTD

I cannot shake the idea that this pedal is exactly what I am after - my DHA VT1 is not quite doing it for me. It strikes me that I would use the clean channel all the time and switch on the distortion so that it is in parallel. To do this, you need to press both buttons. How easy is this to do in the heat of the moment?

...and very tasty bass and tasty playing it has, too!

I agree with the idea that it is plugging a hole in your life. For me, it is about a misconception of what is playing music. When I am playing in a band, I am playing music with other people and my thoughts go to making music with these people. I may think that I want a dirtier sound and then go after an overdrive pedal to boost the valve preamp I have...this is not GAS. This is wanting something extra to get a sound for the band in which I play. When I am not playing in a band, I am still thinking about music. But as I am not in a band, I am not playing with other people. I may imagine playing with other people and think that I want a dirtier sound and then go after an overdrive pedal to boost the valve preamp I have. This is GAS. This is wanting something extra to get a sound for a band in which I do not play. Then, the next week, I imagine I am playing in a smooth jazz outfit and buy a double bass and a dinner suit. The week after, a metal band. Ad infinitum... Of course, I might be mistaken. But there are two times when I buy gear: when I have joined a new band and when I am not in a band. When I am playing with others [u][i][b]and I am musically fulfilled doing it[/b][/i][/u], I do not buy gear.

Easily justified: Warmoth/Firecreek PJ-V (strung with flats) is my main bass. Ibanez SR-1205 is my main bass for metal - EMGs, roundwound strings and looks the part. GK MB500 amp and 1x15" and 2x10" cabs to make my noise Korg tuner Line6 G30 wireless to keep me safe from electrocution from dodgy wiring DHA VT valve distortion for dirt Less so: Warmoth Jazz V fretless - for fun right now, although I may dare play it in a band setting at some point The rest of my pedals A couple of guitars Really not: Ibanez SR-1206 - I wanted it. I hardly touch it as I have a hard time getting along with 6-ers. Ibanez 1977 PJ - I never play 4-strings any more and this has not been out of its case in over 3 years. A couple more guitars But I like them. I have two old bitsa guitars that I just have hanging up as decorations...cheaper than a van Gogh!

Horrible news. I know that stretch of motorway well and I think I know where the accident happened...from the picture and a description, that bridge between Södertälje and Stockholm on the E4. Edit: reading Swedish websites, it was indeed that place. There are reports that the car scraped past other cars and went right through the barrier without braking at all. It was a bit icy last night, but that would not explain it.

Done. I listened to the tracks again and again...as often as I could, really. After a while, I felt that I knew the songs. The downside, though, was that the guitar and bass were a bit low in the mix. I played through them using the sheet music as may times as necessary until I felt that I knew the tracks well enough to play along to the mp3s of them. Some tracks, for some reason, I just could not grasp. For these, I deconstructed them - writing out the structure, chord changes etc - and that helped me understand them a lot better. Week 1: met up Wednesday and Saturday for full-band practice. Week 2: met up Monday with the whole band, Friday with the guitarist and drummer (playing along unplugged in the drummer's flat while he kept the beat with a keyboard) and Saturday for a final run-through with the whole band before heading off to the gig. All in all, I learnt all but two of the 19 tracks, but didn't play one more as I didn't feel comfortable with it. It felt very strange to stand on stage and not play...but it would have felt worse to fluff up everything. The music was very challenging; I have come from a fairly straightforward rock/metal background where everything was in 4/4. This band's music was incredibly fast and had lots of time changes. This is what threw me in the beginning...I could play the notes but kept being thrown off by the timing. The gig went well. As always, the sound tech did his best, but I had a hard time hearing myself or the singer. I had to play off the drums the whole time - which is what I normally do - but I had to play the song in my head to keep up with the changes as I could not hear any of my cues; as such, I made a few minor mistakes. To make matters worse, their previous bassist showed up; this threw me off a little bit. He was drunk and still a bit sore from being sacked, it seems, and gave a few backhanded compliments ("you were ok", "you did ok but it missed the magic touch I brought to the band") and said some less pleasant things. But he mellowed and became a little less dickish after a bit. He was a little loud in his criticism of the next band, too. He was booted because he did not want to come to practice (he lived about 2 hours away, so I understand) but I would not be surprised if there were other reasons involved. The crowd were great and the other bands were really full of compliments, which meant a lot. It was a good night - we, as grindcore, are too punk for metal but too metal for punk, but we mostly fit in with the other two bands on the bill: a punk/hardcore/screamo group and a punk/funk/fusion band. Success, I think. I would gladly join them again for other gigs if they cannot find a bassist in time. A huge thanks to all here for tips and tricks - these will come in handy for learning tracks (even at a more leisurely pace) that I can use later. I played my 5-string P with flats (and a chrome pickup cover!) through my DHA VT-1 pedal cranked for max distortion that went into a Boss DI and then into the house's backline, which was a Hughes and Kettner 100w combo.

Fab. Thanks again for the tips, kind folks. I suppose I shall mostly disappear for the rest of this week and the next while I learn these songs. Please keep posting tips and tricks for future readers/next time I accept such a Herculean challenge/when I have a few moments. Thanks again!

[quote name='keefbaker' timestamp='1454339510' post='2968700'] Another thing. If they're after the sound I think they'll be after, practise your downpicking as much as you can. But yeah, listen to them loads, while listening imagine you're playing them and what the fingering is. Stuff like that. [/quote] Yep. I've not played with a plectrum much for the last 15 years or so...this will be the real challenge.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1454334252' post='2968646'] If what you say about their set is correct then it's only about 20 minutes of music in total, which isn't very much. [/quote] Yep - this is what I thought before I accepted the challenge. Otherwise, 20 songs in under two weeks is impossible. Still, the songs may not be too technical in and of themselves, but it is still 20 different tracks.

Excellent help so far. Thank you so very much! It seems that they have someone who may be able to stand in, so I don't know whether I shall play or not. But I don't see a downside in sitting down and working out a load of tracks, so there really is nowt to lose. Or am I being weird?

I think the red one would defo look better on a white bass, but I couldn't say for sure on a sunburst.

Backstory: I learnt yesterday that the drummer in my blues band has decided he cannot continue and has dropped out. I was not enjoying it very much - the drummer and I were tight, but the other three were just waiting for their solos in each song, we felt - but I am still a bit bummed out. But it gives me the chance to join a band without keyboards and, ideally, with guitarists who are just as talented [i]players[/i] but much better [i]musicians[/i]. So I popped an ad on a local Facebook page and have been contacted by a band. They are in need of a bassist who can play on Saturday, 13th Feb. Yep...not even two weeks away. They play hardcore/grind/punk etc and the gig will consist of 20 songs of about a minute each. I have played thrash/death metal before, so this is not too far from what I have done previously, but it is twice as fast, twice as relentless and still a bit foreign...especially as I have been playing blues for the last two years. Lord have mercy upon me...I said that I would consider standing in for the gig. I now need to learn 20 songs in 13 days. They will be sending over the tab in Guitar Pro (which I do not have...) and mp3s of the songs they plan to play. I said that I would do my best and will try and learn the tracks, but I could not promise anything. My more experienced friends here: any tips on learning songs quickly?

If you have nothing much on the rest of the week, feel free to take a zillion pics of the black fretless P! What lushdom!

Say it isn't so...

I picked up an ESP M-II today. What a guitar! Neck-through, EMGs, Floyd, a few dings and scratches and fantastic tone. I'm a happy bunny!

YES

Thanks for the info, Schnozzalee. You make a very valid point. The good news is that I know the necks and I know I get along with them - they are thin, but not Ibanez shredder-thin. When I first started learning the guitar, I had a classical and a teacher (who simply [i]did not[/i] [i]understand[/i] that I wanted to play like Kirk Hammett) who taught me to play with my thumb at the back of the neck. In retrospect, this was a good thing; I never played with my thumb over the neck, even though I sometimes wanted to as I thought it looked cooler. I have an ESP - an Eclipse II CTM (the Les Paul Custom copies) - that is one of the most wonderfully created instruments I have ever had the pleasure of playing. For a short while, I also had an LTD M400 which was 90% of the way there but very heavy. Hence, I am leaning more and more towards the M-II - ESP quality, the right sounds, albeit without exact appointments of the Hammett signature. Although, thinking a bit more, it might be possible that the M-II would be better as it would become my guitar rather than be someone else's. It is also somewhat local to me, so I would be able to try it first.

Thanks for that, BigRedX. A Yamaha (or Fernandes, Charvel, or, indeed, ESP) Super Strat may be a good choice, but I'm doing this to scratch a 25-year itch, though, so it will one of the guitars mentioned above.

Another One Bites the Dust, surely?

Too much of one band. I might be overanalysing things, but this suggests one of the key members wants to be a tribute band but is too embarrassed to admit it. You will need to play the songs exactly as on the record and you will be a live backing tape for the guitarist (it's always a guitarist) to w*** over.

Gordon Bennett...I don't venture into this part of the site all that often (mostly because I don't have - or know how to play - a DB), but it seems I'm missing a treat. That was fantastic. I think I have my goals sorted for 2016 - learn how to do that kind of walking line. Back to the books for me!

I too have once owned an LTD and found it to be a fantastic guitar. It was one of the Korean-made guitars; I have heard that they have moved production of the lower-lines to Indonesia and China and they are no longer as good. I am leaning towards the ESP M-II. Change the toggle to a stacked volume/tone and put in a toggle switch between and below the two knobs and I would be set.

Ian Haugland from Europe just posted this: [color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"My clearest memory of Lemmy was when Europe met him in a bar in London in 1987. Lemmy is playing a pinball machine when Joey approaches him to [/font][/color][font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#141823"]introduce himself...[/color][/font] [color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Hi Lemmy, i'm Joey from the rockband Europe...[/font][/color] [color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Without even looking up from his pinball game, Lemmy answers [/font][/color] [color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Europe's not a rockband!!![/font][/color] [color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Original:[/font][/color] [quote]"[color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Mitt tydligaste minne med Lemmy var när vi i Europe mötte honom på en bar i London 1987. Lemmy står och spelar flipperspel när Joey går fram och ska presentera sig...[/font][/color] [color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Hi Lemmy, i'm Joey from the rockband Europe...[/font][/color] [color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Utan att ens titta upp ifrån flipperspelet svarar Lemmy kort... [/font][/color] [color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Europe's not a rockband!!!"[/font][/color][/quote]