bassbloke

DD Verni - Overkill.  I bought Years of Decay around the same time I started playing bass (16).  Considering bass tended to be buried beneath twin guitars on most metal and thrash albums, his tone and presence in the mix was something else!

I remember wearing my bass as low as possible and cranking the treble up full.

Great gig on Friday.  A longtime friend and former vocalist started playing guitar a few years ago and really started to put in extra effort over lockdown.

His dream was to play a gigbat his 50th birthday so asked us lot if we would be his band.  We roped in another friend, who is a great jazz/blues singer and lover of metal and got to work.

A few months and 7 rehearsals later we had an hour set   mostly Iron Maiden (Powerslave, 2 mins to midnight, moonchild, fear of the dark, losfer words, wrathchild), plus dio and priest.

He said it was the best birthday present ever.  100 punters (mates), loads of positive feedback and we actually sounded really good.  I was standing next to him onstage and he didn't stop grinning.

Added bonus, I got to be Steve Harris for the night and got loads of compliments.  Eventually the penny dropped that three of us had been in bands together for nigh on 30 years.

2022 has been pretty much a write off anyway as we've been searching for a new singer since March.

The malaise and general disinterest is like nothing I have experienced in nearly 20 years.

I've been to a few gigs and attendance has been really good, so there's clearly demand.  That said, it depends on the genre, venue and bands.

People are going to look to make savings wherever they can.  It might mean deferring a wedding or revising their expectations and booking a DJ rather than a band.

It's a combination of musle memory and economy of movement.

Players like Billy Sheehan and John Myung have spent years making their right hand technique second nature.

Steve Harris has an incredibly light touch and makes his amp do the hard work.

Some suggestions.

Alternate your hand technique a little to demonstrate the different feel you can achieve.

E.g. digging in harder near the bridge, busier style with more ghost notes or slap.  Any one of those styles would still have suited the song and allowed you to demonstrate a different interpretation.

On 10/10/2022 at 10:18, Nicko said:

I never liked Airplay that much - always a pain to park and the rooms were a bit depressing. The only other places I've used local to Sunbury are:

 

RnR in Uxbridge  http://www.rnrstudios.co.uk/ was my regular space for most of my bands.  

West Star in High Wycombe https://shttps://www.weststarstudio.com/ but I haven't been there for probably 10 years

 

If I lived in Sunbury and I joined a local band who ended up rehearsing in High Wycombe, I'd feel a little hard done by.  M3, followed by worst section of M25 and M40.

 

Will take them.  PM sent.

I'd take Tweeters over Powerhouse.  Unless you're local and using back roads, getting to that part of town is an absolute pain.

Tweeters is 5 mins off m25.  The three downstairs rooms are a decent size.  If you're rehearsing outside of usual business hours, there's plenty of parking.  There's also a big tesco 3 mins away if you get hungry.

The car park at powerhouse is awful.  As soon as it rains, the car park is full of huge puddles, which isn't fun when loading in.  Also, the one time I rehearsed, there was a lot of mains noise and bleed from other rooms.  They do have a small recording studio and reasonable looking live room.

There's only 1 cover of Sound of Silence that you need to bother with...

Just be sparing.  I've used a 5 string for 99% of recordings, rehearsals and gigs since 1993.

I used to constantly drop below the low E.  My first band reformed a few years ago and going back over my early parts I've come to the conclusion they sounded heavier playing 1 octave below rather than 2

21 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Spose these sort of count as nu-metal... I liked 'em!

 

 

24-7 Spyz were around for years before the blight of Nu-Metal.  There were quite a few crossover bands from that era - Mordred, Clawfinger, Dog Eat Dog.

Hi.  What gauge?

Hi, will take nyxls.  Pm sent

Hi.  What gauge are these and will they fit a standard jazz bass?

Hi, could you please post dimensions?  Seeing if my GK MB Fusion will fit nicely 

PM sent.

Hi,

Markbass Little Mark II amplifier.  2008 Date of Manufacturer.  Borrowed from a friend years ago and it stopped working so I was obliged to replace.  Likely to be power supply board.  In good cosmetic condition.  One of the Made in Italy models with 4 band EQ and VLF and VPE controls.

If you are able to repair it for a reasonable amount and feel so inclined, then a small donation to DEC would be appreciated.

Collection only from KT6 area.

You might get away with a 4 string set with a heavier E, like Billy Sheehan rotos.  Or dadarrio exl160bt would probably fit bill perfectly. 

Two ways of playing that part

All on E, which is pretty straightforward two finger right hand technique. 

E and A, which is trickier but sounds cleaner, esp as you can leave open E ringing.  I use ring finger in addition to index and middle for lines like this.

It's a case of technique and speed.  Repeat playing it along to a metronome at half speed until you are 100% happy with your technique and sound of the notes.  Then, start increasing the tempo. 

Not a problem I've experienced.  Bridge pickup full, neck pickup 50-75%, tone 50-72%, push low mids, add some valve overdrive and there's plenty of bottom end and it cuts right through.

5 hours ago, dclaassen said:

"Vegetarians are cool. All I eat are vegetarians - except for the occasional mountain lion steak."-Ted Nugent

 

Sorry he triggers you....do you need a plush toy to cuddle now?

Pays to do a bit of research before you post.  Less chance of making a fool of oneself.

https://reverb.com/uk/item/24535232-starfire-eks-jazz-type-bass-entwistle-pickups-upgrades

Take the 1 off the beginning and the 0 off the end and it's a pretty good deal.

1 hour ago, SteveXFR said:

 

A wall of sound is exactly what we're going for. Where we do leave space, it's generally long, sustained notes with lots of distortion. 

MXR.

2 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

I'm looking for more dirt because I've just joined a stoner/doom band. Only one guitarist so the bass is really filling out the sound, especially during guitar solos. I've got my valve preamp gain near max all the time and I've got an Orange fur coat fuzz which sounds filthy with my Thunderbird but weak with my Stingray so I need something to work with the Stingray. 

I searched ebay last night and bought a WayHuge Green Rhino which is a tube screamer type overdrive. I'll look for a Russian big muff later. At least with used pedals I'll only lose the postage cost if I don't like them. 

I'm tempted by the Justin Chancellor fuzz wah but there's no used ones yet and I'd probably lose £50 or more on a new one if I don't like it

We're a single guitar band too, but more classic metal than Stoner/Doom.  The MXR bass fuzz might be a good fit.  It's a pretty fearsome fuzz circuit that is certainly OTT for me at anything past 12 o clock.  However, with drive/fuzz at around 10-11 o clock, tone at around 12 o clock and dry and wet signals balanced to suit you can lay down a really thick layer underneath the guitar.

The Cloven Hoof on the other hand really nails the Geezer Butler NB tone and works very well with an octave pedal but really doesn't play nicely with modulation or filter pedals wherever it is placed in the signal chain (IMHO of course)

As for overdrive, I run sansamp with drive at around 12 o cclock pretty much all the time as it really helps bass cut through.  I find pushing overdrive too much just makes my amp sound like I'm pushing it too hard (paarp).  Granted, that sound may work for some people/scenarios, but not for me.

I've got a variety of basses - Active Fenders, reissue passive jazz, active fretless, 8 string, dingwall.  The bass that sounds best with any of the effects is a passive bitsa fretless P bass.

If you take a look at his career to date and philanthropic work, you realise the world would be a better place with more Blunts.  And fewer Nugents.