BassTractor

You've reached another low with this, Jack. Question is how low you can get, and that's a serious question coz I honestly can't see what I'm looking at. Is it a regular Drop D so to speak? Or something special? Nice one, at any rate.

To be mind-numbingly pedantic, actually it is a hole. A sock is a planar surface with a hole, not entirely dissimilar to a holed flower, with a number of long, narrow leaves, but in the case of the sock the "leaves" are bent in such a fashion that their sides and ends meet neatly, thus providing sometimes ample space for your feet without there being a planar-surfaceless bit where your toes tend to be. The knitted wool is there to keep the "leaves" together. You don't want surprises when visiting Her Majesty and she goes: "In our house we ask all guests to take off their shoes; it's for the carpet, see?" 😉

Hm. I was kinda positive/lukewarm, but it's spreading too much now. Yesterday's Ivankatar was the last drop. 😉

BTW, and in all seriousness this time, I've had quite some bass players play my Squiers, StingRays and Bongos, and they unanimously were very enthusiastic about the Squiers - probably because they were pleasantly surprised. At any rate: never any scoffing. Personally, as a keyboard player I've always tried to coerce good sound out of cheap gear, whilst at the same time advising pupils to get better gear, as they could not expect themselves to be able to coerce likewise. IME the same goes for string and wind instruments (not being a pro in this, mind).

OK then, I'll come out, put my head on the block and admit I'm one of those people. I scoff at someone like me. BTW, thanks for tomorrow's Wordle word to guess.

Aye, and in any style IMHO including jazz, even though I love jazz. I suspect this is a popular opinion and thus off-topic, but I hear way too many standard licks and runs that have very little to do with the essence of the composition, runs that could be used (and sadly are used) in just about any piece. Slight exaggeration, but still. My jazz teachers stressed the necessity to build up a wide range of standard runs in every key, as a library of sorts. Er ... no. No effin' way.

Ha! Good call. I suppressed mentioning him for the sake of attempted brevity. See below. Must say the same, without the word "always". I loved the ideas, liked the music initially, but that soon faded - giving me thoughts about lacking meat to chew on. This is mid 80s, so things may have changed since. Similarly with Henryk Górecki's Symphony no. 3 "of Sorrowful Songs", which I loved right away but which soon became one negative answer to the question: "Can you compose emptiness and still write a good composition?". This thread has led my thoughts to areas where brevity becomes an impossibility, but I'll attempt it anyway: Why do I love really old blues and love BB King, but can't listen to Freddie King? Why do I love honky tonk and some C&W/Country rock (some Carrie Underwood, Dixie Chicks, Lady A, Little Big Town etc.) whilst strongly disliking most of the styles? I think part of the answer is in having sensitivities for certain aspects of the songs, and another part, with certainty, is that I don't expect Mozart's 42nd symphony from Taylor Swift. Taste? Has to do with it, I think, but to me seems overrated. One thing I do know: today I might "need" to hear Taylor Swift, and tomorrow it might be Iannis Xenakis. A friend of mine exclusively listens to the Grateful Dead. I like them, but that sounds like a prison to me.

Over an hour of Steve Reich and over an hour of Karlheinz Stockhausen? You just made me realise they require much less commitment from me than an hour of ClassicFM. So really, ClassicFM is for the committed elite. Demn elitists! 😄

Coincidentally, a music producer on tv just referred producer, songwriter and singer Espen Lind's comment about pop music: "Good pop music is like a sausage: it tastes lovely, but you prefer not knowing what's inside..." 😄

Ah, but there are several aspects in this. I do like that they exist and that they provide a service to people like me mom who has it on the whole day. However, I can't listen to it myself. Also, the elitist vs populist thing is another aspect altogether again, and sadly often has a lot to do with how people wish to place themselves in their social circles and what they want to communicate about it to others. From a personal perspective, I've loved electronic classical music and the like since I was a kid, and have been met with distrust and accusations for six decades because of it: I can't possibly love that noise, so I must have ulterior motives. Right. That's six decades of time and money spent at lying. I'm almost impressed with myself for having the stamina! 😄

Ah. Don't know those and will check them out. Thanks for mentioning them. I do appreciate some of Vivaldi's music, mind, like some of those string concertos for everything between violins, lutes, celli and mandolins, and my use of the word "hack" was not entirely scientific. That broad brush was about Vivaldi's tendency to set up a structure with some depth where, as soon as he got in trouble he'd run back to the main key at ticket-inducing illegal speed. In basically identical circumstances, Bach would come up with his trademark physics-defying magic, never hurrying back to safe ground. Not entirely unrelated, I'm reminded of an earlier thread on BC where people said things along the lines of "Derek Bailey can't play and just plays random emperor's-new-clothes notes". I'm sure you defended him, as did I. The point is: Derek Bailey could play everything, and he mastered every style of jazz. He just didn't play that on record or during gigs, coz that was not Derek Bailey music. Like Bach was on another level than Vivaldi was, Bailey was on another level than most others are. BTW, ClassicFM, as mentioned by @zbd1960 to me is evidence for the notion that my stating Bach was one of the greatest composers still is an unpopular opinion - though of course not unpopular amongst classical musicians, who are in a minority. ClassicFM never plays Bach's more demanding pieces, and never plays complete works. One could well joke a little and say that ClassicFM is classical music for people who hate classical music. 😃 Another unpopular opinion, I gather. 😃

Yeah, and I've never understood Bach's reported enthusiasm. Then again, we don't know the details and are also looking at this from the comfort of centuries of further development as well as hindsight overview. One of Bach's sons reported how Bach had seen or heard a fugue theme and had immediately commented on all the structural implications for the fugue of said theme (a story I have no trouble believing after having experienced the same from a good teacher). I'd expect Bach to be quite able to look through the weaknesses in Vivaldi's structures, so can only assume he was enthusiastic about certain aspects of Vivaldi's music ... ... or was just happy Vivaldi was no Telemann! 😄

Aye, and hence the smiley, but I hadn't expected them to even be mentioned, so the last pages brought a smile to my face. As for unpopular opinions, I remain of the opinion that Vivaldi was a hack (for want of a better word), and that Bach was one of the greatest composers ever ... ... greater even than people who get singles in the Top 40. 😄

It now seems like loving Derek Bailey and Evan Parker is the popular opinion! Does this thread quickly develop us? Good, good. 🙂

A whopping two pages and still no mention of the (semi-)instrumentals on Low and "Heroes" ? 😀 Yes, I'm aware they probably weren't Top 40 as per the OP. Top 40 stuff in Holland came from bands like Focus and Ekseption, but they were far from the only ones. I guess the UK too appreciated those bands to some degree. Can't comment on recent instrumentals in popular music.

I was only noticing a pattern in the thread and kidding about it. 🙂 (In real life, Jaco and Stanley once paved my way towards jazz and the bass, and I know zilch about Wooten and Miller.) Not related to the above, and pointed out by others already, if someone likes music you don't like, then that is NOT necessarily only a reflection of their terrible personality traits. It might be a reflection of many things, like their reference frames, musical development, social circles and tastes. I believe it's a good idea to never forget the standard distribution curve (Gauss curve), which has a remarkable tendency to pop up when you do statistics stuff, almost as if things are quite accidental ...

Unpopular? I really like any of of the 'big bass names' that get rolled out on BC. Stanley Clarke, Jaco Pasty-Riots, Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, you know the ones. All very talented and great to listen to. 😉

Going back to the OP: yes, the Bass Station 2 is a good first synth if two octaves is enough. BRX's posts all nail it, IMHO. There's a difference between a first synth used for learning synthesis and a first synth used to reproduce sounds from 60 years of hits, to name just a few uses. For the use @fretmeister indicates, I'd say: go for it. It's simply a good synth, and the patch memory comes in handy as well.

Me too. I keep a corner in my living room free for my future drum set. (That and drummers have always been the most fun people to be around, quite unlike for example followers of my own religion, organ playing.)

FWIW, the response in Norway to the British song was one of relief : one was happy that you guys again delivered a potential winner, and one expressed how you were missed after having been so dependable before. Similar sentiments were reported from Holland. The "ganging up against us" idea may indeed have been driven by some media as was said, and I'm convinced that that bit at any rate is happening only in your head(s) - not in "Europe". FWIW2, of the songs I've heard, the British song was second on my list - behind Sweden.

Have no idea what you're talking about, but am taking this unrelated opportunity to let you known that I really like your teeth. Not sure I told you.

... but ... but ... wasn't Kyiv the capital . . . in Kievan Rus' some 1,000 years ago? ... or am I showing my age here? 😉

Have to agree with the OP. The support you get from folks here is startling. When I was living rough, one of you sent me yesterday's paper for the tent repair. No-one mentioned, no-one forgotten.

Thanks, @chris_b and @Bunion! For the time being I bought the tracks mentioned by Chris and two Sly tracks with Rustee Allen off "Fresh", and will take it from there. I'm confident you guys gave me a good start. b

Larry Graham is not really mentioned that often if I recall, but I was floored by him yesterday when listening to "Rave Un2 the Year 2000" where he performed with tafka Prince, using what I presume must be a Moon Larry Graham bass, as the headstock seemed to say "Moon". Anyway, luvverly playing and tone to die for (deep and roundish but still with sonority). Now, what songs should I hear if I want to know more about him? Interesting playing prioritized. I've never really been a Sly &tFS man even though their music is agreeable, and know zilch about GCS or about his solo output. Point is I have no sound in my laptop, so can't check YT. Must just buy some songs and play them from my iPod. Any help gratefully received! Bert