Alun

I found it fine ( much better than expected) at medium levels, haven't tried it at loud rock gig levels

Hi John, thank for the interest.. <brief off topic tangent> As far as I know ( although I haven't seen Jon for a couple of weeks so it may be further down the line now), there was a teeny bit of tweaking left to do on the mastering and then it'll be ready for production. I did most of the bass parts 2 1/2 years ago so it'll be nice to finally have it see the light of day Not sure on gigs at the mo as everyone's commitments are a bit mad ( Gavin's on tour with Fish and Mostly autumn, Anne's really busy, I'm pretty busy) but I want to get out and play ASAP so fingers crossed </brief off topic tangent> Anyway,back on topic I think I've read that there is video footage in existence but have yet to find a copy. Hopefully someone here will have succeeded Cheers, Alun

I need to come to your parties - last one I went to, all I heard was dance music and Mungo Jerry

About Jaco's playing. There was an interview with McLaughlin where he was saying about Jaco just turning up to 11 and playing totally unrelated changes, and there wasn't much preparation for the gig. You can hear that he's being "inventive" with his choice of notes at times and there are moments of weirdness but there's also some beautiful music, particularly Continuum. Cheers, Alun

After reading various horror stories about the gig that's on the CD ( along with studio versions), I wasn't sure what this would be like but it has some great moments. Well worth a listen Cheers, Alun

[quote name='frank' post='60637' date='Sep 14 2007, 10:47 PM']Hello lads im hoping to buy a 6 string fairly soon (when i,ve sold off enough gear im not really using) just looking for some advice 1. would it be wise to play a 5 then move on to 6 im a bit lost on the 5s ive tried so i figure why not be lost on the 6 i need the B to cover some of the stuff i like to play as for the C i used to play guitar so it would be nice to have the option to play chords 2. I feel i would need to swap completely to the 6 how many of you still play 4 or keep one around for certain gigs im unwilling to part with my jazz bass and will only do so to get enough cash to get the 6 but would i be better off to get rid of it 3. is there a certain amount of pressure when you walk into a gig or new band rehersal with a 6 do people expect you to be a monster player or do they even notice 4.whats the general time frame from getting the 6 to gigging it 5.some of the bands i play with do covers that are tuned down a half step some the lads bring extra guitars, some of them move the song to a key their happier with, some of them play it as they hear it ,using standard tuning (which dosent sound great on certain songs) so im hoping having the extra range will leave me in a position where i can use standard tuning all the time no matter what the guitars are doing does it sound strange to play like this or does it depend on the song Im also not sure what bass to go for but ill save that debate untill i get the cash together[/quote] Hi Frank, here are my thoughts on this one.... 1, I was considering a five string when I found my first six and thought the same as you - if I have to learn one new string, I might as well learn two I've never owned a five string, just went straight from four to six, so I don't see a problem 2, I did use a six pretty much exclusively for a few years, but now switch between that, a Jazz, a violin bass, an Ashbory and now an EUB depending on the gig and the sound I'm after. I don't find it too weird but do occasionally forget I don't have the extra strings on the Jazz when doing chord stuff. 3, There can be a bit of a "vibe" sometimes but often more from punters than musicians. Some people do listen with their eyes unfortunately 4, As Jennifer said basically. I set myself a goal of being able to play a few songs on it at a gig I had a fortnight later, just to get the first one out of the way really. 5, The six is ideal for covering drop D and Eb tunes without retuning. Only time I've detuned was with a band who did a lot of riffs with pulloffs in drop D which were a nightmare to play in standard tuning so I did drop the E down - BDADGC. Cheers, Alun

[quote name='Rumble' post='60028' date='Sep 13 2007, 06:56 PM']See, when you start talking about dep'ing, sight reading and tapping chords, I'm thinking to myself, this guy's good; no wonder he plays a 6. So the most obvious question that springs to mind is do you really need to have the 4 and/or 5 string sorted, with regards to fretboard knowledge and technique before progressing onto a 6?[/quote] I wouldn't say you need to have previous knowledge of other bass types, in some ways it may even be easier to not have any habits from 4 or 5 string basses. Ultimately, if you're comfortable with the six and producing good music, it's not important what other people's preconceptions are. Cheers, Alun

I've not tried the 15" but have used a 2x10" Traveller for a medium size jazz gig ( with my Little Mark II) and didn't want to give it back. Surprisingly warm sounding and realy clear. The owner uses it with a double bass and a GK head and it sounds great in that role too. After the gig I did try cranking it to rock levels and it still didn't seem too bothered or stressed. When I've recovered fomr my impulse buy of a Wav electric upright earlier this week, a Traveller 2x10 is next on my shopping list Cheers, Alun

I think it depends on the music in question. A lot of my odd time experience has been in more jazz and fusion areas where it's either a repeated ostinato or a line that's fairly independent from the other instruments ( yes, jazz really IS a group of people all playing different tunes at the same time ) In rock/metal stuff, it can sound messy doubling the guitars all the time if you're not careful, and I do enjoy the challenge of doubling a busy kick pattern , but ultimately I htink it comes down to what sounds best for that piece of music. If it's a repeated section, try a bit of both, maybe start doubling the kick for four bars then double the guitars for four bars or vice versa - it can make a nice change in the dynamics of the song (and highlights the bass more than just riffing along throughout) Regarding writing in odd times, it's really easy to end up sounding stiff and forced whereas the trick is to get it so it feels as natural as 3/4 or 4/4. I'm "lucky" in a way that I got into Zappa early on in my playing development and am fairly comfortable in 5 and 7 ( in fact, for a long time I was more comfortable in 7 than 3) Slightly off topic, but another concept to mess about with is what drummers refer to as "linear phrasing". Basically this means rather than playing neat little one bar phrases, maybe extend the phrase across a number of bars. Eg Four bars of 4/4 gives us 16 quarter notes, so instead of playing a 4 beat riff 4 times, maybe try splitting the beats up as 5, 5 and 6 or 7 and 9 - basically anything that adds up to 16 Or try something I've seen referred to as "over-riding" which is where you keep a constant pattern going against a different time signature which resolves every couple of bars. The best example of this I can think of is Vinnie Coliauta's drumming on a lot of Sting's odd time tunes. If you listen to the ride cymbal in "St Augustine In Hell", it keeps going on quarter notes even though the song is in 7/8. As a result, it's on the beats in the first bar, on the offbeats in bar two, back on in bar three and so on. So much fun to be had! Cheers, Alun

Good luck with the audition, sounds like a fun gig I tend to use the 2s and 3s method mentioned above ( every time signature can be broken into groups of 1, 2 and/or 3). Another couple of things I do sometimes which may be useful: At faster tempos, counting individual beats can be hard going so, in the same way I'd probably count half time on a fast 4/4 walking bassline, I'll tend to just count the accents. So if I was playing something fast in 5/8 accented as 2+3, I'd just count da-daaa for each bar. Another thing I do sometimes with very syncopated parts ( especially if I'm reading) is to count each note rather than the meter, so say you have a line made up of dotted 4 eighth notes and two eighth notes, which would be tied across the barline in 4/4, I would count the sixteenth notes - 3,3,3,3,2,2 rather than trying to think of it in terms of the 4/4 beats. It works out the same, is just easier for me to count. Cheers, Alun

I first got a six 11 years ago and set myself a goal to play it on a gig I had a fortnight later which got me learning quickly ( I had been playing four string for about seven years at that point). I don't think I played that well on the gig, but it got me started. I don't remember exactly how long it took to feel really comfortable with it, I guess a few months to stop playing the low B instead of the E and to feel "at home" on it. Getting my muting and picking technique up to where it was on four string did take a while ( my picking hand is my weakest area and one I still struggle to get as I want it sometimes!). I love the six because I do quite a bit of dep work and, as well as the reading thing I mentioned earlier, I know I'll have the range to do whatever the gig entails, whether it's pumping roots all night or covering come chord parts/soloing/whatever. Regarding tapping, I actually used to do much more on four string than I do on the six as I now have the wider range in one position and can play chordal parts "normally". I still do some tapping sometimes but generally play chords fingerstyle now. I did try tapping chords on a gig a couple of weeks back and realised how rusty that side of my playing is! Cheers, Alun

Umm, at the moment i have... Cort Curbow 6 string Defretted WAshburn MB6 6 string Squier VM Jazz Alden Violin Aria SLB2 ( my first bass) Aria MAB10 fretless DeArmond Ashbory NS Wav EUB Nearly all get regular use ( the Arias not so much although the fretless is a great recording bass, and I only got the Wav yesterday so still learning how to play it!) Cheers, Alun

I use my six for probably 95% of gigs, ranging from widdly jazz stuff to rock and function work. On some gigs, it may be overkill but just because those higher notes are there, it doesn't mean you have to play them. It's a funny thing with bassists - a pianist wouldn't worry that their piano was too much for the pop songs they play on it One big advantage of the six string is that you have two octaves in one hand position, which I find really useful for sigh reading gigs as I'm not worrying about shifting all the time. Cheers, Alun

[quote name='timmyo' post='59672' date='Sep 13 2007, 08:03 AM']I was thinking more of the mechanics of your playing (in [i]my [/i]head timing and melodic appreciation are more musical rather than technical skills,[/quote] In some ways that it true, but all the technique in the world is worthless without the music to back it up so I would still say those are important to investigate ASAP I spent a lot of time learning scales, technical exercises, etc as I thought that was the way to go and missed out on groove playing, etc which I then went back and learned.

Time and beat placement. Consistent right hand technique.

Playing chords combining fretted notes and harmonics is weird at first as you're applying two different amounts of pressure - one finger string enough to fret a note, the other barely touching the string to get the harmonics. Try fretting the low note first then, while holding that finger down, lightly bring the harmonic finger into place. Eventually, you'll get used to the required pressures and it'll become second nature. I haven't tried to play that piece in a while but think I used my forefinger for the fretted notes and little finger for the harmonics which I guess is what you're doing too. Cheers, Alun

Hi. What you'll need to do for those is arch your index finger slightly so that it doesn't touch the D and G strings and stop the harmonics. You may also be laying your finger down a little too hard on the harmonics or leaving it there too long maybe? You may to place your thumb on the back of the neck rather than near the top ( if you don't already) and maybe even shift it a little lower so it's nearer the lower edge to get your index finger clear. Hope that helps, let me know how you get on. Cheers, Alun

I tend to not push the VLE on my LMII much past 12 o 'clock unless I particularly want a reggae-ish mudfest. about 9-10 o' clock is great for taming the mids on my active Cort for swing and big band stuff ( I use a 2x10 though, so it may be a bit much with a 15) I've recently been experimenting with using the tube setting on an EBS Multicomp ( formerly owned by Urb) which adds a nice warmth. Cheers, Alun

Nice vid. Good to see it being used in such a musical groove context

The Whammy setting on the new Digitech Expression Factory seems reasonably good. Bit pricey of you only want the one sound but I had a brief play with one and it seemed quite promising. Need longer to play ( and a shop that actually understood how to plug it in and isn't charging 25% above online prices) before I decide if I need one. Cheers, Alun

It's a good forum but it is quiet at the moment, largely down to the hacking and associated problems. I've also conducted a few interviews for Basstech over the years and will be getting round to doing some reviews for them soon ( honest Gary - they're coming!) Cheers, Alun

I was going to say the POG but Tayste beat me to it. Mine certainly tracks E and F perfectly, have yet to try low D but reckon it would be fine. The only downside being they are pricey. Haven't tried the Micro one yet, but will when I find one. Cheers, Alun

I bought his rather wonderful Multicomp from the same sale - came very quickly ( despite my idiot postman's best intentions!!!!), paid on the Sunday and was delivered on the Tuesday, and great communication throughout. Alun

Here solo album is fantastic - great compositions as well as some nice playing. I wasn't sure if it would be all hype but it really is a great album. Unfortunately, every time I see a clip of Jeff Beck, I spend the next hour making odd harmonic noises and trying to simulate his bend/slide licks on bass. so that's what I'm off to do now....