Alun

[quote name='The Funk' post='49588' date='Aug 23 2007, 03:02 PM']Good luck with the gig and let us know how it goes. I'd like to see him play sometime soon.[/quote] Thanks, it was good fun. I ended up doing four or five and didn't screw it up too badly Laurence is playing at BassDay UK in Manchester so if you're going up, there's your chance ( he did say he may be on pretty early in the day) Cheers, Alun

I shall say hello to Lewis for you :-) Cheers, Alun

I used a Carlsbro for years - a weird thing with a 15" and this really odd semi-parametric EQ. Only one I ever saw. I think I sold it in the end - amazed anyone bought it as it had more Gaffa tape than real covering by the end! Cheers, Alun

Hello. If anyone's around Swansea tomorrow night, Laurence is playing at [url="http://www.swanseajazzland.co.uk"]Swansea Jazzland[/url] with his brothers Richard and Dave. It's a bit of a varied night - some of the night will be with Laurence on bass, some of it will be more traddy with him playing trombone. I also get the dubious pleasure of playing bass on a couple of standards with Laurence on trombone ( no pressure there then! ) Cheers, Alun

Sounds high but I do personally know a guitarist who is getting £2500 a gig with a well known artist. Better not say who though, but it is confirmed as true. And no, they don't need a bass player. Git! Alun

Hello. If you're in the South Wales area next Sunday ( the 26th), I'll be playing at the Diplomat Hotel in Llanelli's annual music day. The daytime gigs are free, the evening ones are ticket only and I'll be doing a bit of both. I'll be playing... 2pm Tommy Harris Quartet ( mainstream jazz) 2:50 Descarga Cubana ( Latin ) 5:20 Dawn Sandals ( blues, and yes that really is her name!) And then in the evening ( starts at 7.30 ), I'll be playing firstly with trumpeter Steve Waterman's octet ( also featuring trumpeter Bruce Adams and saxophonist Alan Barnes) and then finishing the night off with Jeff Hooper ( BBC Big Band, LSO, etc) 's Big Band. All in all, a fun day! Oh yeah, and I've got a rehearsal for the big band at 6pm The festival's website ( which is a bit naff if I'm honest) is at [url="http://www.llanelli-music-jazz-festival.co.uk/index.htm"]http://www.llanelli-music-jazz-festival.co.uk[/url]. There is something funny about it being called a "Music [b]AND[/b] Jazz" festival Cheers, Alun

Yeah, the layout is a bit annoying as you have to keep clicking to new pages all the time rather than just scrolling down, but the content is really good. Cheers, Alun

[quote name='markdavid' post='46808' date='Aug 17 2007, 12:13 PM']Hi , Does anybody know of any other bass that sounds like the DeArmond Ashbory Bass , I love the sound of this Bass [url="http://www.frozencloudmusic.com/~chrishiscocks/Bass%20guitar%20samples/"]http://www.frozencloudmusic.com/~chrishisc...itar%20samples/[/url] but I know I could not adapt to the 18" scale. Any Suggestions[/quote] Hee hee, I recorded that and had forgotten all about it! They're not too bad to play once you get used to them. Regarding tuning, intonation is harder AND easier in a way as rolling your finger gives you about a semitone's woth of adjustment so "zeroing in" on a pitch is a little easier. That was recorded with an early 2000s one which has got the "normal" guitar type tuners which hold their tuning pretty well. The biggest tuning issue is the G strings tendency to go flat ( or snap!) in transit. The closest I've got with any other bass is my Alden violin bass with flatwounds, played over the end of the fretboard but it's not the same really. Cheers Alun

Sorry to hear about that. I've not had that happen, but have had a few occasions where things have been booked by a previous owner and the new ones are clearly begrudgingly honouring commitments so you end up with a sh!te atmosphere all night and they do everything they can to be awkward. Another fun one was where I was booked with a trio to play two sets on a Sunday afternoon. It started badly when we got there and the new owner's mate's gear was on the stage so we had to set up on the floor. Then we were told that we couldn't use the PA, contrary to what the original booker had agreed so the guitarist had to go home and get his. Finally, we finished the second set and were packing down when the owner comes rushing over and says that all bands do three sets and began arguing over the fee. We didn't play there again! Alun EDIT - forgot to name the venue - Cafe Cesso on the Marina in Swansea. May have improved now as that was last summer but I haven't bothered finding out.

Anyone else's look like they slipped with the guillotine? The top centimetre or so of most of it is flapping about independently. Haven't had a chance to read it yet but will do soon. Alun

Great player and extremely underrated.

I hate to say it, but it looks better than I expected. Alun

[quote name='Mikey D' post='44639' date='Aug 12 2007, 10:59 PM']I agree with alun, although, if you want a bit more (lots more) flash CHOPS by Joe Pass and NHOP is a close 2nd.[/quote] Yup, that's a classic too. Only reservation I have with that one is that NHOP seems to be using a magnetic pickup and the bass is quite electric sounding. The playing is still phenomenal though. Cheers, Alun

Although they are mainly known for metal, they've also done a Jeff Berlin Signature bass, so are pretty versatile Cheers, Alun

I've used one on and off for a few years. It will drive the low strings, but it takes a bit of practice to get the angle/distance right, and sometimes jumps to the octave harmonic. This is a one take improvisation recorded with my Cort Curbow and Ebow in 2005... [url="http://www.alunvaughan.com/hopesandfears.mp3"]Hopes And Fears[/url] I'm hopping between the low E and the C strings throughout (the occasional slap noises are the Ebow hitting the strings). Most of it is the normal setting, then it switches to the harmonic setting at around 1:06 . It was recorded direct with some delay added afterwards. Cheers Alun

Here's my rather basic board for the gigs where I need effects ( probably 1 in 10).. The path is bass into homemade true bypass box into amp and then the loop runs: PD7 ( either on Overdrive or clean with the bass and treble boosted as a "slap channel">OC2> B2.1U (assorted modulation and filter noises)> Danelectro Backtalk > LMB2 ( not used too often) And that's it. Cheap and cheerful For rock gigs, I tend to just use the B2.1u set to the SVT simulation. Cheers, Alun

Hmm, not sure if it's real or not, but if it is they certainly changed their plans before going into production! To me it looks more like a Yamaha of some form, the body looks a bit like a BB-series model and the headstock is very similar to the Nathan East models Cheers, Alun

The simple answer is - every make is different. To be honest, it's best to try what you ever you've got your eye on and see if the tone is acceptable. The Crybaby may suck the low end a bit for general bass use but may sound great for solos or isolated riffs. Plugging your bass into them won't harm them so hook them up and see what you think. Ultimately, no spec sheet in the world can tell you if something sounds good. Cheers, Alun

I'm pretty sure Rowlands in Swansea are Warwick dealers. Cheers, Alun

"We Get Requests" by the Oscar Peterson trio ( with Ray Brown on bass). Although not a CD, there is a great DVD of Oscar Peterson at Montreux in a trio with both Ray Brown and Neils Henning Orsted Pederson on bass - mind blowingly good! Cheers, Alun

Any news on nearby hotels Gary? I'm a lazy bugger at heart ( and not keen on wandering unknown areas at night) so am hoping to find somewhere nearby. The list for last year was great. Cheers, Alun

I believe Gypsymoth on this forum also has an 8. I am tempted I must be honest - I tried a Dean 12 (fingerstyle) and it was a bit much for me but an 8 might be fun. And yes, I did play Jeremy and other Ament lines on the Dean-it seemed rude not to! Cheers, Alun

Well, my signed copy arrived yesterday and I've only had time to have a quick flick through but so far it seems great. The transcriptions are clear and well detailed, and there's a nice biography and section on Stu Hamm's basses. Plus good performance notes complete with insights from Mr Hamm himself. All in all, well worth getting if into Stu's work. Cheers, Alun

I'd have a look on eBay. I picked one up for £145 plus postage and it looks like they still have them [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Boss-RC-20XL-Loop-Sampler-RC-20XL-RC20-XL-NEW_W0QQitemZ160145286991QQihZ006QQcategoryZ22669QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViItem"]HERE[/url] They get them sent from the US, but I still got mine in less than a week and they're brand new and unopened. Cheers, Alun EDIT - for some reason that link isn't wokring for me at the moment, so this is the full URL if you need it.. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Boss-RC-20XL-Loop-Sampler-RC-20XL-RC20-XL-NEW_W0QQitemZ160145286991QQihZ006QQcategoryZ22669QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViwItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Boss-RC-20XL-Loop-Sa...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url]