guildbass

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1329347092' post='1541232'] Unless it's a tbird pro the epi is a bolt on. [/quote]Ah...OK.... I know the later Gibbies were but I thought the re-issue ones went back to being through-necks like the very first Gibsons were.. Ah well, in that case... Mind you, I still don't think it'll change the sound a huge amount. It seems to me the bass itself makes most of the tone...

[quote name='Sagawa' timestamp='1329219072' post='1538874'] Hey Basschatters, While fannying around with my Epi Thunderbird, I started to ponder upgrading the pickups. None of the current soapbars out there are really pumping my nads. I love the sound of Jazz basses but don't like the basses themselves. If I did a wee bit of carpentry (maybe just glueing a few blocks into the cavities for height etc), fashion a kind of gap-covering-plate out of thin black plastic (which I already have from attempting to make scratchplates), do we think it would be feasible to install Jazz pickups into my Thunderbird??? Da da daaaaaaaah!!! Opinions? [/quote]You know, I don't think it'll do a lot. Your bass is a through neck and it'll retain that through-neck signature sound whatever you do. It'll change subtly but I honestly don't think it'll ever sound like a bolt neck.... Probably not a popular opinion and I'm happy to be proved wrong....

What's the pay???

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1328401551' post='1526614'] I can't tell the difference between basses with cellulose or any other type of paint so how am I supposed to tell different makes? Seriously, I honestly can't tell a jazz on the neck from a Precision, but I would say this is different enough from what I would expect from a Precision that I would say it isn't no. 3. In the quiet bit it has an un-fenderish characteristic so if I had to say one its no. 5. Yes, impressive sounding track too. Was this really a competition (and an excellent one at that, I'd like to see more of these) or are you showing off a track with which you are justifiably proud? [/quote] They are all bolt neck Fenderesque basses so they all sound similar...The amp, cab and mic placement would make more difference...

Meh... I was going to say 'Alright Now' because that and Caroline were the generic 'go to' starter songs that every school band kicked off with in the early to mid '70's and worryingly you still hear them... However... Still cracking songs and you can really do wonders with that riff...especially on a 24 fret neck. I have to say though that if at all possible I try to add my 'feel' into a cover so irrespective of the song there's always fun to be had, even if it's being rock solid and totally tight. We don't 'do' covers in the 'Just like the record' sense...although I have done in the old Glam Rock band I used to dep for If the band's tight and the punters love it, It's great...Don't care what it is

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1328550213' post='1528939'] Circumstances! Tone? Gave up on that a long time ago ... what I hear isn't what the audience hears, and they're not listening anyway. [/quote] While that's true to a certain degree ( personally I think bolt neck basses have a generic sound, set necks have another generic sound and through necks ...or at least NS type throughnecks like Warwicks and Spectors have their own sound, I also think the way the 'shape' of the sound is different according to the type of construction. Both my Streamer and my Spector throughnecks will make a big note just ring and ring with a lot less 'spike' at the front of the note and a very gentle decay. To put that into perspective we've done two recording sessions recently where the Streamer was D.I'd into the desk and had absolutely NO processing at all (apart from 1db of compression) and sounded just great...Deep, rolling smooth almost keyboardy chords under the vocal. In fact the moment the proddy guy nailed an amp onto the sound...Just to see... the sonics were...Less. Although the tone changes through a P.A or indeed through an amp on stage, in my opinion the way the instrument delivers it's note is different according to the guitar's build so that for me determines the choice of instrument. My Warwick weighs 9lbs, my Spector weighs 12lbs. The Spector hurts after an hour or so but it looks great and it's more emphasised brighter toppier sound (within the tonal family of similar throughnecks) makes it useful in some live environments...Although I actually use both in the studio, with the Warwick providing the warm bottom chords and the Spector doing the arpeggio'd stuff above

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1326838843' post='1502754'] I think you have got the wrong end of what I said. Of course timing is the most important thing, but even seemingly simple beats can be hard to get right, and can be extremely physically demanding if you have to play for a long time. [/quote] Perhaps you are right, I took what you said to mean that a drummer's timing might suffer because they were too busy and the effort of being so busy was too great. My point being that being busy is less important than the timing. That guitarist was quite capable of playing several numbers beautifully and in faultless time whereas most 'Drummers' I have played with would frequently go out of time inside the bar as well as over the course of a song, especially whenever there was a fancy fill. I have played with two drummers who were genuinly good, both bizarrely called Martin, and both from Southampton. One was Martin Hailwood, son of Eddy from Fret music...He would pick up on a duff note and shout 'Key' instantly...yep, a drummer who actually listened to everyone else!

OK...Having read your OP again... It's obvious one or both you and the guitarist are writing and want to take original material, craft it and present it to the world. Whoever is writing should have the say in who plays what and to a certain extent, how. in my opinion...They have the song in their head, and if the guitarist is writing, you can BE the middle man...Just say to him .'We all need to be as tight as a ducks arse before we go on stage because on stage, 90% of your rehearsal tightness just f***s off and anyway, we need to be absolutely 100% to record. None of us are good enough at the moment so we [b]ALL[/b] need to put in at least (insert the number of hours and days here) a week to get good. [b]Can you do that ?[/b], because we really need a top drummer and if you haven't got the time we'd rather keep you as a friend and get some random drummer in who can, than lose you as a mate..."

All tongue in cheek!...The very fact that good drummers are nigh on impossible to find is an indication of how highly they are regarded and how important they are to everyone! As bass players we are all used to piss taking comments from every other bugger in the band so we make fun in a sense almost ironically!

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1326762808' post='1501757'] My current drummer came already "broken in". Occasionally he'll coil one out on the rug, but it's a small price to pay for his great time-keeping and unshakeable groove. [/quote] Nice... They're always good like that...I also find as they get older, pedigree drummers can develop faults whereas the ones who can't lay claim to parents tend to remain faithful. We had one who totally lost his hip...He started buying Showaddywaddy records....

Condenser mics pick up a lot of ambient noise, and require the user to have a fair bit of skill as regards mic technique. the distance from the mic to the mouth is important. whereas an SM58 or other dynamic can be used with the singer basically brushing the screen with their lips, a condenser needs the vocalist to know how far to pull away on loud bits and how close to go on bits that require a bit of warmth. The warmth is down to something called bass proximity effect and means if you get close in, the sound gets really fat and rich...Most decent condensers have BPE cut switching as well as pads to help limit volume stuff but even so,.... For a cool little combo with a backline that is for monitoring only so is fairly quiet...You know, most is out through the font of house, and a vocalist who understands projection and has great mic technique...or is at least prepared to maintain a fairly constant distance from the mic, a decent condenser mic sounds very hiFi natural and sweet... But on stage with a rock band, it's a complete waste of time as the backline will be coming through the mic to such a degree half the time the entire front of house mix will be buggered and as soon as the singer's head gets in the way the sound will partially disappear. Your sound guy will struggle to maintain levels as the kit will pile through the vocal mic making IT even louder and you end up in a volume spiral with the PA running out of headroom and the vocalists disappearing into the mix. Get a decent dynamic mic...Not necessarily an SM58, they're very old hat...60's technology...Still OK but surpassed a while ago as the industry standard. EV's are quite good...But just look around...there's loads of good dynamics out there...

[quote name='guildbass' timestamp='1326752936' post='1501655'] Just saw that...Haha...That's gone off to the guitarist! [/quote] Who replied; The phrase goes - "you can't polish a turd". ..... "but you can roll it in glitter". which bit a little as we were in a Glam rock covers band together in the nineties!

it's a nightmare. I think your mate is in the band cuz it's cool to be in a band...he's clearly a tad narcissistic. If the music mattered to him he'd be trying to improve all the time. you are going to struggle to get him to put any more drum time in because he doesn't think he needs it...Either that or he doesn't care enough about you guys to be arsed...Lets assume the first one... He's going to have to lose some preening time and use it to practise... He needs to get one of those electric kits and some phones. You could try a ploy...Do you know anyone who could do a half decent 'live' recording for you?...You know, set up some mics and get the tracks down onto disc... if yes then arrange a room and see if you can't borrow a decent drummer for the early part of the evening... Put the track down with the good guy, and then when your chap gets there at 10 or whatever, do the track again with him. Let him know you want to record and let him know because he can't be there you are borrowing the other guy just to fill in. Hopefully, when he hears the two versions he'll realise and then he'll decide whether he can afford to give up some gym time...or not. The thing is, to retain a mate, HE has to decide so YOU have to manipulate the situation until he is unable NOT to see the issues...

[quote name='Legion' timestamp='1326392204' post='1496692'] The silver lining though is that myself and the singer/guitarist still get on great, still meet weekly and are gaining more and more momentum in writing orignals that we are really happy with and that have some consistent direction. Now, where to find another drummer.... and keys player and singer Hmmm. Hard work innit [/quote] Well, firstly, don't assume you need one...The rhythm doesn't disappear because you haven't got a guy hitting things behind you...And secondly, consider this....Why do we [b]need [/b]a guy with a drum 'kit'...We don't. there are a myriad ways to make percussive sounds...Listen to 'Everyday' by Buddy Holly, the 'drums' in that song are the producer slapping his trousered legs with his hands...And on at least one other Buddy Holly song the drums are actually a guy playing a cardboard box. I genuinely think a drum kit instantly limits you and instantly channels your sound down some very well worn paths. Rather than look for 'drummers', look for percussionists....

You might have noticed that I think 'timing' is fairly key........Ahem....

[quote name='Davo-London' timestamp='1326665767' post='1500304'] A lot of negativity here in this post. I'm a drummer and basically you go through stages of learning. Firstly you learn basic grooves and then try a fill and lose the timing. Then there's the thinking you're better than you are as you can play along to any track. Then you record yourself and realise there's a long long road ahead of you. Then you play with other musicians and realise this is a lot trickier than you thought. Then you start to get the feel of some track and someone says you're playing it too slow or vice versa. And then you learn to practice with a click track. And you get proficient at that. [i] But this doesn't help you play with live musicians of varying ability.[/i] . Peace Davo [/quote] I used to think the same... i spent years playing bass with songwriting guitarists who had bugger all sense of timing and i learnt to 'read' their timing shifts so they felt happy... Problem was, I was holding [b]them[/b] up but the audience were getting the ragged timing from both of us. The moment i started to practise with a metronome and (with gritted teeth...literally) held my timing the guitarists started noticing they were going out...And the reason was,....THEIR timing sucked. It's not anyone's job to move from the beat to follow a band member with poor timing...Lay the law down...If they can't hack it, they get better with a metronome, or they get another job. the second you start to shift to 'stay with' anyone else, you've lost, the rest of the band have lost, and the audience stay at home... in fact, i think the ONLY way you can play with other musicians is if your timing is impeccable...And that goes for everyone...So the best way to get that precise...Is with a metronome...

[quote name='BRANCINI' timestamp='1326564667' post='1498971'] [attachment=97347:TurdPolish.jpg] ,,,,, [/quote] Just saw that...Haha...That's gone off to the guitarist!

[quote name='Austin7' timestamp='1326751739' post='1501631'] ^ Excellent post [/quote] Thanks...But it's a good job I've got my flame-proof pants on though! Seriously though, I think there are three problems with drummers. the first is that they all aspire to giant kits so they can play like Niel Peart (Rush)...And you need to be as good as him to make a big kit work, secondly, every guy who wants to be in a band to get laid and can tap a glass with his Bic lighter in the pub thinks being a drummer is the easy route to multitudes of panty hampsters...and a full-on drum kit is one of the hardest instruments to master.... ...and thirdly, seriously, how many drummers actually practice... I'll tell you...The ones who can keep time...Because there are very few places you can set a big kit up and go there daily for an hour or so...the guys that have a kit set up are the ones who are adequate to brilliant... i do an hour a day on 'phones, with a metronome and I suspect most serious muso's do that or more....I certainly couldn't keep properly good time if I just played once a week...I know guys who could, but I have to work at it... And people think I have good timing......

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1326714889' post='1500779'] This. As someone who plays the drums and is not a complete idiot I accept that there is bound to be a bit of banter about drummers with this being a bass forum but I think some people are taking it a bit far some times. It is extremely difficult to get yourself through a full set of music with the stress it puts on your forearms but you're also using all 4 limbs that you have to co-ordinate and you have to keep time as well. It's certainly far from easy. It's something that takes years of practice before you can even play to a reasonable level. That is why decent drummers are so difficult to find unfortunately. Most people just give up after not very long. [/quote] i disagree. One of the best drummers I played with was a guitarist. He could use a simple 4 piece kit. nothing fancy, no histrionics, he simply provided a decent back beat...But because he was a musician first, he had good timing. if you are working so hard you can't keep time, you're doing to much. timing first, paradiddles second....Your audience will love you for it!

My experience is that people who can't keep time can't hear the problem when it's played back to them. Basically we all need to exercise our timing muscle and no-one in a band should be a timekeeper...everyone's internal clocks should be in synch...And [i]everyone[/i] includes the audience. the difference between a good band and a 'pub' band (you know what I mean...) is that the band are rock solid on timing and the audience lock off to the band. If the band lose it because they are 'following' one member, then the audience gets subconsciously distressed...Just like when your drummer is sh*t and everything feels crowded and unpleasant on stage... The answer is, as everyone has said, is for everyone (but especially the drummer) to use a metronome ALL THE TIME during practice and to listen to it (at the appropriate tempo) before the song. Even dreadful drummers can hold timing for a gig after that. Sadly, on the local band scene, there are a heck of a lot of drum kit owners but i reckon less than 1 in 20 are musicians. Timing is everything...I've seen a Matebele guy tap two sticks together with such an impeccable sense of timing that you wanted to dance....In other words everything, kit, licks, tricks, pedals...all of it, is simply icing on the timing cake. If he can't keep time he's pulling everyone down. get him some phones and a metronome and tell him everyone else needs the help so he's your 'rock'...or some such bollocks.

I bought the thing for that goes with an Itouch/phone for Amplitube and i also bought the cheap ebay USB widgit that goes with (amongst others) Guitar Rig on a PeeCee ...a tenner IIRC. i think mine also came with a basic copy of guitar rig... while needing a little tweaking and a search and download of a free Asio driver, the Guitar Rig one works very well. there's a host of amps and speaker/mic set-ups Guitar rig will emulate, and its easy to record stuff and then pull it off. The basic Guitar rig programme is itself a free download so the entire cost is the ebay thing...

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' timestamp='1324760628' post='1477720'] check out [url="http://vibedeck.com"]vibedeck[/url] - o5b page on vibedeck: [url="http://vibedeck.com/o5b"]vibedeck.com/o5b[/url] Band pages can be customised with logo, background & colour scheme. The only fee taken off your sales are normal paypal fees (some paid upgrades are also available) - if you have a paypal account, the money goes there straightaway whenever anyone buys your tracks. Tracks / albums can be embedded in your own website, & there's a WordPress plugin to make it even easier to embed in self-hosted WordPress sites. [/quote]Thanks! ..OK...That's Vibedeck AND bandcamp...excellent!

Having read a lot of the up front bumf in Bandcamp...It does sound very good...Anyone else got any opinions on Bandcamp?

I'm very sorry because I'm sure this topic has been thrashed to death, but I'm a complete newbie as far as this is concerned... We're going to be doing some recordings and if we are happy with what we've done we'll be putting them up for download...But where??? What are the best sites, how does the money part work...Any help would be much appreciated.. cheers chaps!

i have a 60 watt 1 by 12" Alesis combo in the lounge along with a teeny tiny Behringer practice ( guitar) amp for extremely noise sensitive situations. one bass guitar is always out too. I also have an Ibanez RU10 /metronome/drum machine/tuner thingie with a headphone output which is brilliant for keeping one's timing 'hand' in. The monster rig is tucked away upstairs and to be honest, may never gig again...because when we finally get out there again, I want to go straight into my Peavey Max pre-amp and DI from there to the desk with wireless in-ear monitoring back to me either from the preamp or from the desk..