bassbloke

Tell him to go have sexual relations with his mother.

[quote name='Jambo10' post='1214081' date='Apr 28 2011, 06:59 PM']Of course all of us, in every band want to strive and make our individual selves better and the group unit as a whole. In the case of our singer at the moment, there are a lot of murmours coming from the punters that she is stale, same patter after every song, we ask her to change it about a bit, nothing changes. the biggest thing for the rest of us in the band is the lyrics, sure its not easy to learn EVERY song, granted, but it is read almost word for word, no variations to tone, it is basically reading from a book, and there are lines or indeed sections of songs that just get refused, not sung at all, the *anytime anyplace* section of Call Me, the whole mid section of Many Of Horror, there are numerous to mention. It has been subtly suggested that she tries various things, but all to no avail. We want to be playing better venues, and have already been offered bigger and better things then the local boozer, but, until we iron out these issues, we don't want to be made arses of in bigger venues and laughed out of town so to speak.[/quote] Sounds like the three of you have already come to some conclusion as to the problem and you wanted external opinion s for reassurance. Sensible. I've been there before - singers that don't warm up, singers that don't want themselves in the monitors so they can't pitch properly, singers that don't fit in with the rest of the band's image and style, etc... My suggestion would to take a different approach with your singer. Rather than subtle hints, get into the habit of making specific demands of each member. Step one - lose the music stand, step two - pre-prepare onstage, banter... Perhaps you need to sit her down and give her an ultimatum.

It's a shame I've only just got home from a writing session. My mate works/lives in Norway and would happily have lent him a decent Stingray 5 string in return for a free ticket.

I'd say two issues: 1) Your singer has a limited vocal range and onstage presence. She can be challenging to listen to and boring to watch. Not a good combination. 2) Your material seems one dimensional. I appreciate that you're a covers band, but there's nothing to stop you mucking about with the songs a little. Maybe if you tried a different approach to the songs (bluesier, slower, punkier, country, folk), you'd hit on a style that suited your singer's voice better.

After visiting a hippy friend of mine recently I gave some thought to the possiblity of my bass tone being adversely affected by the fact that my cables' chakras were not properly aligned. So, we are goign to launch a special service where you bring your cables to us and we will use them as props in tantric sex rituals , to imbue them wit positive energy before your big gig. We'll also clean the jizz and sh*t off them when we've finished.

[quote name='bassbloke' post='1167960' date='Mar 19 2011, 09:08 AM']I have a Peavey, sheffield loaded 1 x 15 cab, usa made, full working order, 8 Ohms, but unwanted and a JHS 4U rack bag in OK condition up for grabs. Collection only from KT6 (Long Ditton) Thanks[/quote] Items have now gone. Regrds

I have a plan B - it's called an impromptu 2 minute drum solo whilst I change strings. I've broken 1 string in 14 years and that was during rehearsal. In fact, if you really to impress your audience - learn your instrument well enough that if you do break a string you can soldier on until the end of the song by switching to a differetn string and position. Might not sound perfect but it breaks the flow less than a mid song instrument change - unless you have a roadie that can hand you a pre-tuned bass ready to go.

1mm Dunlop nylon (the black one) or Dunlop Jazz III XL (the red one) The dunlop jazz is slightly thicker, at around 1.2mm, with a much sharper tip, which is great for cross string picking. However, I find the 1mm nylon is a good balance between stuffness, for good, strong notes and flexibility. The nylon lessen the harsh scraping. Playing properly with a pick is difficult. The lazy, sloppy, alternate picking with the hand up by the top of the neck is what gives pick playing a bad name. Nice precise picking, ensuring the pick is parallel to the strings when it hits and that notes are properly muted sounds very different to fingerstyle and should inspire you to write very different bass parts. I switched to pick in my last band and re-wrote a chunk of my parts to incorporate the differences between pick and fingers.

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='1170940' date='Mar 21 2011, 05:22 PM'][s]More than likley [/s][b]they[/b] [s]were thought up to [/s] [b]hide[/b] [s]a[/s] [b]dodogy[/b] [s]bit of [/s][b]routing on [/b][s]early[/s] [b]Fenders[/b] Jez[/quote] Fixed it for you

I have a Peavey, sheffield loaded 1 x 15 cab, usa made, full working order, 8 Ohms, but unwanted and a JHS 4U rack bag in OK condition up for grabs. Collection only from KT6 (Long Ditton) Thanks

[quote name='JamieBenzies' post='1161281' date='Mar 14 2011, 03:23 AM']Those were the most appalling videos I've ever seen, I would rather listen to someone throw up against an out of tune harp whilst reciting Cannibal Corpse lyrics then go through that excruciating experience again.[/quote] Verdine white and rocco prestia are both players that sound decidedly unimpressive on their own, but stick them in a good band and they're dynamite.

I wouldn't know about improved tone, but one benefit of knurled saddles over grooved, especially on a 5 string, is the ability to increase string spacing, which is what I do.

Jennifer, check this out.

[quote name='Evil Undead' post='1158946' date='Mar 12 2011, 07:53 AM']Weird question I know, but this is something that has been causing minor trouble to my brain for a while. I have 3 basses and my favourite by far is my Warwick $$. But I like it too much to gig with it, which is silly as it's the best looking, playing, sounding... Well, you name it. So I bought a kramer for £90 from a pawn shop just to use as a beater for gigs. But it's not the same The Warwick is insured of course, as is all my gear, but I can't stand the thought of it being stolen, broken, molested by some teenager from another band etc. It's the only material possession of mine that I just couldn't be without. Has anyone else every felt too protective of their favourite gear to gig with it, or am I just being paranoid?[/quote] You need to get a hammer and put a couple of nice dents in your bass. You'll be heartbroken for a couple of days, but then you'll forget about the damage and get on with the job of playing it. My main bass is my pride and joy, but it's been dropped, knocked over by clumsy ar*eholes and dragged across several continents in a gig bag.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1158448' date='Mar 11 2011, 06:52 PM']Creed are the second worst band in the in the behind Alter Bridge who have the honour of sucking and blowing.[/quote] -1. Myles Kennedy is cool.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1158410' date='Mar 11 2011, 06:33 PM']You shouldn't inflict playing Creed on any instrument.[/quote] +1. Wise words indeed. I don't know what it was about Woodstock '99, but every performance I've seen has been shocking and the crowd look like they were expecting to be on MTV Spring Break. No wonder they rioted.

[quote name='observer' post='1156307' date='Mar 10 2011, 10:01 AM']Hi guys, if you don't mind to spare a couple of minutes, we'd appreciate your opinions about songs. There's a four songs on sondcloud [url="http://soundcloud.com/hell_and_taid"]http://soundcloud.com/hell_and_taid[/url] or reverbnation [url="http://www.reverbnation.com/hellthetaid"]http://www.reverbnation.com/hellthetaid[/url] Regards Kris[/quote] Hi, How did you do record the material? The different instruments just don't seem to gel very well, with the guitars and kit overpowering the rest of the band. Also, your drummer needs to use more dynamics, especially on the ride and hats. 'Is that you' has a nice opening guitar line and vocal line and you should exploit it more. I'd also try getting one of the male ban d members to join in the vocals on that song - it needs a deeper voice backing up the lead singer. Hope these are of some help.

Practising scales and modes will help your knowledge of the fingerboard and help teach you the sound of the scales and modes and interval training. Practising arpeggios, as Doddy reccomends, will help you develop more musical basslines, solos and fills. I would also reccomend singing the scales and modes as you play them.

[quote name='tomb' post='1151994' date='Mar 6 2011, 10:39 PM']i do believe that this will cause alot of strain in the arm leading to ending the song in pain[/quote] This is how I play with a pick and I never have any pain. Just moving from the wrist is a sure fire way to get rsi.

You to play this a pick to nail the speed, sound and feel of the original. These tips will help you get the part right. Start out playing the part much more slowly than on the recording and really focus on the quality of each note. This song needs to be executed cleanly to sound good. Play near the bridge The movement should come from your elbow and forearm rather than wrist or fingers. Alternate pick and concentrate hard on making sure the pick hits the strings parallel and that you get equal attack on the downstroke and upstroke. The heavy part from 3:40 should be all downstrokes.

Totally in agreement. If a producer wanted bass lacking in dynamics and 'feel' they'd use a sequenced bass part.