bassbloke

Which instrument do you use/prefer when composing/writing material?

Photo from our gig at the Scala on Saturday 26th June, taken by our guitarist's very talented wife. I'm either still growing at 35 or my bass is getting smaller - it looks tiny on me for some reason. [attachment=53360:untitled.jpg]

The MXR DI+ is a great piece of kit. 3 band EQ, colour switch, blendable overdrive/distortion and noise gate. I usually just take bass + MXR to rehearsals and use the rig there and for gigs, it's bass > MXR > amp with DI out of MXR to the desk. Sounds great and very very simple. Not sure how much use you'd have for the dirty channel on an acoustic gig though.

[quote name='JPJ' post='875638' date='Jun 23 2010, 05:43 PM']Call me a luddite but big and heavy is the only thing that delivers the type of bass I like on stage.[/quote] +1 My own rig is a very light 4x10 and reasonably hefty 600 Watt head. I think it sounds great, but it doesn't produce the same effect as an Ampeg 8x10. I'd love to own a quality 8x10 rig, but simply couldn't justify the hassle, especially as I used to own a Peavey 810TX. Savvy bass players may opt for lightweight gear to make their lives easier, but anyone playing reasonable sized venues will find an 810 provided.

[quote name='silddx' post='867409' date='Jun 14 2010, 08:37 PM']In a world where, in a minute, you can find an unknown kid bass player on Youtube who is so much better than you are at operating the instrument with the requisite level of feel, what importance do you place on soft skills in the quest for musical success and longevity when playing in a band, or as a session player? Why are you different to the kid? Why could the kid not deliver the goods in your band? Reliability is a given I think, what about the other stuff?[/quote] Soft skills are incredibly important. We recently conducted auditions for a new vocalist and one of the questions was "What can you bring to the band other than your musical ability?" Someone who is likeable, approachable and a good communicator can help you build up a network of promoters, labels, managers, etc... who are happy to help you out because, assuming you have a decent following and will make them money, you are easy to work with. I reckon most people would take £80 and an easy time over £100 and loads of hassle any day.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='839780' date='May 17 2010, 02:23 PM']I don't get some of the replies in here. If you're not writing songs or learning songs or in some other way becoming more familiar with songs when you've got the whole band in a rehearsal room, what exactly are you doing there?[/quote] Perfecting songs we've already written and learnt at home.

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='839492' date='May 17 2010, 09:02 AM']I can't stand it when rehearsals are used to practice rather than rehearse. Waste of everyone's time & money. Too many people don't know the difference.[/quote] +1 Too many people treat reherasals as a substitute for practice. I've been in plenty of bands with people who fell into this category. Sometimes, the perpetrators really did themselves no favours. I remember at least two occasions where a bandmate broke a string towards the end of a rehearsal and so we called it a day, only for them to pitch up at the next rehearsal and pull their guitar out of the case with a string still missing. I also have an issue with bands writing or learning material in rehearsal. This is stuff that should be done away from the rehearsal studio. We rehearse every other week and everyone makes a point of doing their homework and turning up to rehearsal knowing all of the songs. It's the fairest way.

Strange. Last few times I have been in there they have been perfectly courteous and I picked up a set of my fave Fender superbass strings for a great price.

[quote name='Jerry_B' post='816745' date='Apr 23 2010, 09:48 PM']I'd be wary of Aurora. They made me two - one of which was good, one of which was really shoddy so I sent it back. And they have yet to refund me for it. It's taken them nearly 2 months so far.[/quote] +1 I ordered two from them and they were both pretty shocking. I never sent it back or complained, but based on your experiences, it wouldn't have done me much good, so I'll settle for spreading the love instead.

I used to gig with an SWR Bass 350 and a pair of Triads. Lovely Hi Fi tone, but they aren't at all efficient and I frequently found myself buried by the rest of the band. Even when I 'upgraded' the SWR to a Hartke HA7000 I still found myself struggling. I think you'd be very surprised by what you could achieve with a decent 2 x 10, so maybe consider opting for a rig with 2 x 10 and treat yourself to either a 2nd 2 x 10 or 1x15 for larger gigs. Or, start with the just the head and single cab. I'd be very tempted to try the TC Electronics RH450 and 2x10. Compact and very versatile.

I don't have any endorsements, mainly because I'm not motivated enough to start pestering manufacturers to endorse me. I also only want to work with companies whose gear I already use, which kind of limits me to Tech Soundsystems/Tecamp, Monster and Fender. I guess I need to develop cheaper tastes. I did approach Tecamp about an endorsement, but have not had a reply. Then again, communications isn't really their strong point. Shame. Most of my bandmates are endorsed by one or more companies though (Blackstar, Rotosound, Axis, Paiste, Feline) The 'cheap gear' side of endorsements is a sneaky ploy by many companies to sell more stuff. If they sell it to you at trade, they lose nothing by having loads and loads of endorsees. The manufacturer sells more of their gear at no financial disadvantage to themselves and the band get to plaster loads of manufacturer logos over their website, myspace, CD giving themselves extra kudos and the manufacturer even more free advertising. In fact, the cynical person in me might think that it encourages endorsees to invest in more gear or higher end gear which probably has a higher profit margin for the manufacturer (aren't there a number of current/former Warwick endorsees with Hellborg rigs?). The real value of an endorsement is the support from the manufacturer, either in the form of loan equipment when on tour or access to overseas distributors when touring so that if your rig/instrument does go bang you can gain access to a backup. This kind of arrangement is of great mutual benefit. The endorsee doesn't need to cart additional gear on tour and logistics is a huge part of the cost and there is far less likelihood that the endorsee will have resort to loan equipment from a different manufacturer.

[quote name='Marvin' post='790737' date='Mar 30 2010, 04:04 PM']Simple, is raking good or bad, or does it not matter. I only ask as I've read conflicting opinions in a couple of books.[/quote] Doesn't matter, unless it presents a physical barrier to being able to play what you want/need to play. It's like saying "playing with one finger, good or bad?" Very bad if you're in a fusion, prog or otherwise technically challenging band, not a problem at all if you're playing blues, motown, james brown, etc...

[quote name='Sarah5string' date='Mar 29 2010, 03:38 PM' post='789506'] Ah but I'm not one of these sissy women see, who get blokes to do all their work... I like to get my hands dirty and pull my weight. [/quote That's OK. You carry snare drum, cymbal bag or guitars and they get to give themselves a hernia with your cab. If anyone says it's unfair, just tell them it's making up for the agony of childbirth.

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='789461' date='Mar 29 2010, 03:02 PM']Hmmm.. going to have to have a think about the weight issue really. I'm a reet skinny minny as it is and my current laney is already a backbreaker, although that's a combo.[/quote] That's what bandmates and besotted fans are for.

I used a Behringer 810 cab in a rehearsal studio recently and was left pretty underwhelmed. It weighed a ton and sounded awful. Oh, and the tweeter was blown. I'm not a massive gear snob by any means (although I can't stand ashdown gear). In terms of decent budget gear, I always find myself being impressed by Peavey. I used a Mark VI head for years and loved my 410TX cabs (didn't like the weight though). I would urge you to have a try of a Tour 450 (450 Watts in 4 Ohms and around £280) and a 410TVX.

It's not a singer problem, per se, but a musician problem in general. Google offer a free online calendar or set up a private Facebook Group for everyone and add all of your rehearsals and gigs to whichever you choose to use. Not everyone is as organised as they should be, but with the right tools hassling people about upcoming events, there's no excuse for not turning up.

Just received my MXR Bass DI+. Very fast transaction and the item is great.

[quote name='Conan' post='784999' date='Mar 24 2010, 06:58 PM']Having said that, ever heard slap played on a Rickenbacker?! [/quote] Unfortunately, yes.

I'm ashamed. 4 pages of name calling and no one has thought to post this Nice clear bass tone on a Fender precision bass. Instantly recognisable bassline.

[quote name='3V17C' post='782183' date='Mar 21 2010, 10:16 PM']why do you do that??![/quote] I plus my active bass into the passive input, or rather, leave the 'active' switch disabled. Unless your bass has active pickups and an 18v preamp that needs taming a little at the input stage, I saw little point in robbing myself of input gain.

As I said, for a lot of respected players, especially rock and metal (Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse is a perfect example) it's part of their 'sound' and often, a band's sound production is optimised to take advantage of this style - the bass will have loads of attack and they'll double the kick drum patterns. I do this all the time.

A common problem with a lot of metal fingerstyle players is their right hand is too close to the neck. There's a lot more give in the strings and, when you're playing hard, you get a lot of noise from hitting the strings and pickups. I say problem, but for many players it's a part of their technique and a part of their band sound. I play much closer to the bridge, but it is noticeably more difficult. It took me ages to build up stamina, speed and, all important, callouses to keep it up.