Alun

I've got a POG and have just bought a Micro-POG for my pedalboard. They're great fun. To give you an idea of some of the sounds available, this was all done with my Cort 6 string and POG.. [url="http://www.alunvaughan.com/OMAHP.mp3"]http://www.alunvaughan.com/OMAHP.mp3[/url] Cheers Alun

Like a cheap attempt at a Hyperbass - I quite like it.

I'm afraid I'm going to give a very boring answer - learn the notes of the neck, learn chord construction ( eg what notes are in what chord ) and then apply this to the neck. This will help you in the long run much more than learning a bunch of shapes. It's a bit like the music version of the "teach a man to fish..." story Cheers Alun

Bit of an update - there is currently a 40% discount on the price of the Todd Johnson masterclasses if you sign up before Feb 14

I've got an Alden violin bass copy which is ( I think )30" and it's great strung with flats. It records beautifully too. Alun ( I have got the Ashbory too but that's taking short scale to extremes!!)

I just bought a Mighty Bright and it is indeed mightily bright. I often do gigs with 5 and 6 page charts so bought the double headed one but ,in all honesty, the single one is probably bright enough. Cheers Alun

[quote name='BassManKev' post='123193' date='Jan 18 2008, 11:21 PM']for octave down, what would people recommend, boss oc-2 or micro pog?? im guessing an old dod octoplus would beat them both?[/quote] The OC2 is great, and has a classic sound, but the Micropog does track better and seems to happily track down to low E and possibly beyond ( it doesn't sound like it's struggling but my speakers don't reproduce that low too well ) Cheers Alun

Todd Johnson will also be doing Guilford a few days later if Cardiff is a bit out of the way... Wednesday March 5: Todd Johnson - Master Class The Academy of Contemporary Music Rodboro Buildings Bridge Street Guildford GU1 4SB T: +44 (0)1483 500800 [email protected] [url="http://www.acm.ac.uk/"]http://www.acm.ac.uk/[/url] Not 100% sure if it's open to the public but it's worth a look :-)

The Micro POG is also good fun

There's a great backing vocal in "If I Fell" by the Beatles where someone completely misses the high falsetto on "was in vain" and giggles. I've heard other people cover it and it just doesn't sound the same with the part sung correctly. +1 on the Heartbreaker solo too

Is that link correct? It seems to go to a best of CD rather than the book. Cheers Alun

Hi Col. I've got a few gigs in Swansea coming up but alas nothing further West at the moment. The gig list on [url="http://www.alunvaughan.com"]my site[/url] is up to date so take your pick Likewise, let me know if you're playing locally and I shall try and come along. Cheers Alun

At the moment, I'm fiddling about with some solo bass arrangements, Blue Bossa which I played live for the first time last night ( busking the bits of the arrangment I haven't written yet!) and Smells Like Teen Spirit, plus relearning songs I recorded about three years ago for some upcoming gigs with [url="http://www.panicroom.org.uk"]Panic Room[/url]. I also have the urge to relearn "Holy Wars" by Megadeth as it's fun to play and a great picking workout. Cheers Alun

Welcome back

[quote name='urb' post='116783' date='Jan 9 2008, 09:09 AM']maybe I will break it down and get Alun and other jazz heads to help me - and us collectively - look at a jazz tune and how to approach all the different elements - from bass line, to chords and solo and melody.[/quote] Sounds like fun, I'm in Cheers Alun

My violin bass copy had rounds in it when I got it and they did give an almost piezo like "zing" to the sound. They sounded pretty nice too. Personally I prefer flats but then I bought it sound thuddy and vintage Cheers Alun

[quote name='SJA' post='113716' date='Jan 4 2008, 07:38 PM']Brian Ritchie of the Violent Femmes mostly plays acoustic basses- in particular the old (and very large) Ernie Ball Earthwood.[/quote] Ah, I forgot him. A great player

He is a good player but I've seen him at a couple of bass days and it's always the same - set up, turn up louder than anything in the nearby vicinity, play fast triplets for 20 minutes. I'm sure he is a great band player, and his slap technique is inspiring, but his "performances" have always struck me as an extension of the Saturday afternoon slap monsters found in most guitar shops. Just my opinion. Cheers, Alun

Jonas Hellborg is probably the best known player to predominantly use acoustic bass guitars. For this style of playing on bass, try Jeff Schmidt. Cheers, Alun

I've got LaBella Beatle Bass flats on my Alden violin bass and they sound great to me. I haven't got an isolated clip if how they sound but if you go to [url="http://www.myspace.com/merlinsgavel"]http://www.myspace.com/merlinsgavel[/url] and give "First Draft" a listen, that's the bass in question. Cheers, Alun

I tried the compressor and it was OK but didn't do a lot for more. Can't really say what it was about it, it was just a bit dull really. Cheers, Alun

I know I'm probably in a minority but I still love the Ibanez Phathead PD7. Great range of noises from clean and clanky to out and out death metal and the tone controls allow you to dial in all the low end you want. In fact the EQ is so good that I've been using mine with the "Clean" setting as a "smiley face" EQ for slapping. Cheers, Alun

There was some discussion about Bernard's technique a little while back... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2647"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2647[/url] Cheers Alun

104 plus a 3 day residential big band course which I was tutoring on and played about 10 hours a day as there wasn't a bassist to do the ensembles