Mark Dyer

As most people here have commented, I agree with keeping it simple. I have a Streamliner into a Berg 4x10, everything is flat on the amp and the bass, I'm confident of the sound I'm going to get every time. On occasion I might tweak the cab to the room but it's very rare I do that.

Bit of spare time this afternoon so I thought I'd put some new strings on the new Spector, had it about a month now, it's done a few gigs, rehearsals etc, strings were starting to sound a bit on the dull side. The bass came supplied with D'Addario Nickel wound 45 -105, I usually have DRs (of the same gauge) on all my basses (except one, but I'll get to that later) but I was very impressed with the sound of the D'Addarios so I ordered another two sets. I always start with the G string and work my way up, one at a time, get to the E and I find it doesn't fit into the bridge, the windings on the end are too thick to slide through the slot, I open 2nd packet and try that E string, exactly the same thing. I check the old string that came with the bass, fits in no problem. I check the gauge, defo the same gauge but, on closer inspection I find that whoever strung it at the factory had crimped the end windings flat, probably in some large bench vice I expect. I don't have one. Why supply a bass, strung with a set of strings that you know do not fit and you need to crimp the ends!? What is the point of that? Now, I also had the same problem with my Corvette 5-string, the bridge slot wasn't big enough to allow the DR 'B' to fit. In the end I searched around for a manufacturer who offered tapered ends, Ken Smith strings seems to be the best I could find. D'Addario don't supply tapered end versions, I can't seem to find any on their site anyway. And this isn't the first time I've had problems with D'Addario strings, I purchased two sets of DB end strings for the Status last year only to find the E string was too short on both sets. Thomann refunded my costs thankfully and I now use GHS on the S2. But my questions here are: Who is at fault here, the guitar companies or the string manufacturers? And has anyone here come across any of these issues? And, last question I promise, does anyone here have a solution to the problem? Before I go out and purchase a large, industrial bench vice.

My policy on working with a new band or musician is quite clear, I will develop a logo\brand for them at no charge but, I insist on complete creative control. This is something well worth considering if you have limited budget, there are plenty of student/post-grads who would jump at the chance to design logos, album artwork etc for the right brief, they need good work in their portfolios, you just need to trust the designer. This is not an invitation for me to produce free artwork for you lot btw, I tend to have some kind of relationship with the band/musician before I consider waving a fee! If the band want creative input, design by committee and endless amends then I will charge accordingly.

Fixin' To Die Blues - Bukka White

Silence.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1400757242' post='2456652'] Historically from the days of metal and wooden type a font is a specific size. So your typeface might be Caslon 224, but the font for your body copy would be 9pt Caslon 224. [/quote] I know, I didn't want to get all technical, but it's a well known quote, and kind of sums it up neatly.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1400672805' post='2455956'] As a qualified typesetter you should also know the difference between "font" and "typeface". ;-) [/quote] [font=MuseoSans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4]A font is what you use, a typeface is what you see.[/size][/font]

Just my opinion but I think this has very little to do with what instrument your son is/wants to play. At that age (12+) it's more about wanting to be in a band, play guitar with your mates, the image, 'being in a gang' mentality, especially so with rock, and it's a good thing. I don't think any kind of continued encouragement is going to make it any easier for your son. He has a guitar, he's started lessons, he practices at home, he has everything he needs at this stage, if he's going to persevere, then it's down to him now. If we could all magically go back in time to when we first starting playing I think most of us would probably do it different, we would be taking lessons at age 5 for a start!. But we can't, and even if we could we would probably make the same mistakes again. If I had one piece of advice I would suggest he gets together with anyone else he knows at school who plays an instrument and encourage him to form a band.

Justin Nozuka

Oh noes…. Taxi!

[quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1399453408' post='2444297'] ...If people are using ipads as short cuts for learning songs properly, then subtle nuances and changes in the song from verse to verse could well be missed... [/quote] Our vocalist has the lyrics on stage but he says he only needs to see the first line and it triggers the rest of the song. I have suggested we put the first line of the song on each track on his setlist instead, this brought on some stuttering and a mild panic attack, so we let him have the lyrics in their entirety again...

U.N.K.L.E.

Go Down Easy - John Martyn

Jeff Beck Prof Brian Cox (but not in the music field) Neil Young

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1398592920' post='2435507'] ...but I have always found asking for [i]others [/i]opinions on [i]comparisons[/i] between different [i]basses [/i]to be an utterly [i]pointless [/i]exercise... [/quote] Erm, this is a Bass Forum after all, I would have thought people come, read and post here for that exact thing of other peoples opinions on bass guitars. If a comparison thread is enough to get people out the front door and trying an instrument out in a music shop, I would say that is far from an 'utterly pointless exercise'?

Without listening back to the track I would say it's probably a minor/blues scale with plenty of chromatic fills scattered all over and some two string chording that is Lemmy's trademark technique. If you use a blues scale as your starting point and improvise you probably won't be far off any of the versions he recorded.

[quote name='Damonjames' timestamp='1398586066' post='2435414'] Hey guys, just a couple of questions as I havnt played a spector before. Has anyone tried an NS2a? It's made by the Kramer factory in Korea in the 80's/90's and apparently are quite good but with slightly different preamp to the us versions. Also does anyone know a store in the NW that has an NS or euro I could try out? I have just recently discovered the best way to cure gas is by actually trying it out! [/quote] I live in the NW, (Merseyside) and have recently purchased a Spector Euro LX from Bass Direct, I don't know of anywhere in the NW where you might try one out but Mark at BD is a stockist for the US and Euro models and has a few in stock at all times, I would seriously recommend you take the time to travel down for the day (in Warwick)… and try not to get distracted by the Aladdin's cave of bass guitars surrounding you.

[quote name='Wolverinebass' timestamp='1397724028' post='2426736'] With respect, that isn't really true in part. If you have a bass which you can set the action suicidally low and have a light touch for fingerstyle, it will be fine. As long as you don't play even mediumly hard, there will be very little tone difference. As long as you don't overdo the chorus, it works fine for typewriter. You are quite right about flanging though. It sounds awful with tapping in this method. Yuck.... Isn't it obvious why he doesn't explain his technique? It's because it's all showing off!! He knows this, you know this. Nobody plays bass like that if they want to be a backup man. Obviously, he can't really say that on a mainstream production as (heaven forbid!!) a bass player doing more lead work than the guitarist is always wrong. Apparently. I suppose it depends what you define as "useful." If you're looking to check something out and steal a few bits of technique then yeah it is. If you're looking for a tick box of where something can be used in, well, it is total pants. I always took it as being down to the individual's imagination. I never had any problem retroactively going through songs I play to use it. It's just such a pity that my favourite members of The Who are both dead. [/quote] It was Pete Townsend who said "The Who never really had a bass player but more a second guitarist." (or something like that)

[quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1397747575' post='2427065'] Reading through this thread I did notice that one aspect of this whole argument seems to have been overlooked, so I'll don my asbestos underpants and play devils advocate; Is lack of choice really a problem, or could it also be viewed as an advantage? Right handed bass and guitar players are overwhelmed with choices, which seems to lead quite easily to serious GAS which is basically an excuse to avoid practising because buying a new bit of kit believing it is the answer to your problems is easier. So if you viewed the situation from the POV of being a musician rather than a consumer/collector, being restricted in what is available to purchase shouldn't be a massive issue, as it is one less distraction from actually making music. The most talented musicians that I've had the good fortune and pleasure to play with all stuck to one instrument which they were intimately familiar with, and in the ocasional situations where I saw them pick up something else, they still sounded good and very much themselves. Conversely, I've also met plenty of bad/mediocre (mostly guitar) players with really extensive instrument/equipment collections, and if you can't play for toffee, a megabucks dragon inlay PRS and a boutique amp isn't magically going to endow you with talent. As a percentage, how many instruments actually get played on a daily basis as opposed to being ornaments, or sitting in their racks/cases unplayed for months or even years on end? Was Jaco Pastorius disadvantaged by using predominantly the same sunburst jazz his whole career? Undoubtably if you want to go on a massive GAS binge as a lefty and welcome the inherent financial issues that will arise, or are sufficiently rich to not care, then lack of choice is going to be frustrating, but is this really a barrier to making music, or just materialistic consumtion? [/quote] This is genius, at last we have an answer to the problem, all we need to do is convince all guitar manufacturers to strip back production of their entire range so it matches the guitars currently on offer for LH players. Then RH or LH players alike need never worry about those difficult choices again and we can all concentrate on improving our playing, instead of worrying about book matched veneers or led inlays. Meanwhile I guess all those redundant craftsmen and technicians previously employed in pushing boundaries in guitar design could go work for NASA or something. It's genius, I should've thought of this a long time ago

Having realised, after watching this [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/234603-john-entwistle-tekkers/"]http://basschat.co.u...wistle-tekkers/[/url] that I need to re-evaluate how I play it, "Won't Get Fooled Again" has leapt to the top of the 'learn this properly' list.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1397675699' post='2426422'] You would then be fired, business is about money not ideals. [/quote] I think you missed the point, read it again with a bit of heavy-handed irony PS: Business is not about money, it's far more complicated than that.

If I were put in charge of a large guitar manufacturing company for a day I would make available three signature models. A Kurt Cobain signature model, but it would be available as a LH version only. A Jimi Hendrix signature line of all his guitar variations, all only available as LH versions apart from a RH black body version. A Paul McCartney bass guitar line, but only available as LH models. maybe a RH model if enough players showed interest.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1397668837' post='2426314'] ...Well, there is a tokai one for sale on the forum right now. [/quote] Not any more

[quote name='throwoff' timestamp='1397664310' post='2426244'] Thats sad if they have killed the Euro range, they are very nice basses. [/quote] I may well have the last LH Euro they made then, so glad I didn't leave it any later to place an order. Phew!