rushbo

Are all the Beatles songs available in split format on Rock Band? I thought Giles Martin separated about 45?

In an attempt to drag the thread back on the right track... Although it would have been great to have the facility to listen to isolated bass tracks back when we first picked up our basses, we were forced to use our ears to try and work lines out. We may have got it wrong more times than we got it right (I certainly did) but we spent a lot of time doing accidental ear training. And that's not a bad thing.

I have to admit, I used to get really annoyed when people would have a go at The Beatles. Now, I just roll my eyes and get on with my day. Regarding the tone on the YouTube video that has prompted this thread, I'm guessing that the original uploader used one of those clever AI things to isolate the tracks. While they're good, they're far from perfect and they tend to make the "isolated" copies sound a little warbly, to say the least. I'd imagine if you dug out the mastertape, the original bass sound would be a lot richer and fuller. As for the intonation... yep, it's not perfect. But in the context of the completed song, it's decent. And if it got past the scrutiny of George Martin, it'll do for me. The early-mid era Beatles records are generally snapshots of four blokes playing together in a studio. If one guy fluffed something, if the rest of the track was good, that was the take they kept. When the band ceased live performances and practically moved into Abbey Road, performances got a lot more polished. And Macca was playing a Rickenbacker by then so his playing became less "approximate" beyond the seventh fret. It's OK to not like The Beatles. It's OK to pick faults at their deficiencies. But in spite of dubious intonation and questionable tone, they did OK, didn't they?

It looks like perfectly normal wear to me. ...or maybe someone passed a sander over the top bout once, got bored and then dropped the bass on a concrete floor a few times.

Blimey! I thought I was a Zoom fanboy, but you win! I loved my B9.1ut.

My #1 - A Squier bitsa with a three way toggle switch and Entwistle pups. The nicest neck I've ever played.

I've had a number of nice 5 string basses which I intended to use in my R&B band. When you're playing quite a few 12 bar progressions in 'E.' its very useful to be able to play them without having to shift your hand position to use the open note. Sadly, due to lack of aptitude and lack of patience, they've all since been moved on, although I have recently put a 5 string Bitsa together which I'm messing about on.

TDK made the SA100 tape - 50 minutes each side. The SA was my tape of choice for sound quality (on my fairly modest, 1984 Pioneer stack system and 1985 Ingersol "Walkman.") A mate of mine warned me against using chrome tapes as they wore out the play heads (apparently.) This may, of course, be bullshine.

Oh, yes indeed.

My favourite album which was released in '85 is "Crashing Dream" by Rain Parade. I didn't hear it until '86 when I started my desperate scramble through all the "Paisley Underground" stuff coming out of the US.

I still play it often - although it's littered with things that nail it to 1985 ("s-s-s-s-s-s Sony!"), it still sounds really fresh and exciting and there's not a duff track on it.

My tastes expanded in '85 when I started to work at Virgin Records in Birmingham. I went from a rocker who liked a bit of pop/indie to the smart alec music nerd that I am today. In heavy rotation at Rushbo Towers at various points in 1985 would have been: Ratt: Invasion of Your Privacy Prince: Around the World in a Day REM: Fables of the Reconstruction Suzanne Vega: S/T Big Audio Dynamite: This is BAD

That looks great - the back looks bloody gorgeous! I'll cast another vote for a pair of Bakelite "chickenhead" knobs. The only thing on the bass which is less than gorgeous (IMO) is the control plate - I think I'd have gone with a curved MM style one - reliced, of course. The finish and the colour scheme are lush - good work, fella!

I've only recently discovered "my brand" which are Rotosound RB35's. They tend to be about £17 everywhere. I use flats on a couple of my basses and unless I see a set or two at a good price second-hand, I'll go for an Olympia or Adagio set from eBay.

This: Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way anti-relic, but this is just... wrong. It's as if someone really wanted to play a game of "Hangman" but only had a Chinese P Bass copy and a sharp stone to use. The bass looked quite nice once.

If any of you subscribe to Desmond Doom on YouTube (and you really should), you'll be familiar with this fantastic item of clothing:

My main band is a Roxy Music tribute and we have a "smart-casual" dress codes, so a T shirt would be frowned upon. Our drummer is exempt from this ruling and wears a selection of vintage Roxy Music T shirts at gigs, which I think is pretty cool. As a man of a certain age, I tend to gig in a waistcoat, buttoned up - apart from the bottom button, of course. I do wear a T shirt underneath that and very occasionally, it's the band's T Shirt, but you can't see what's on it anyway. I'm not a huge fan of wearing a T shirt onstage (unless it's teamed with a waistcoat or jacket) but if you've got a cool logo or a snazzy design then go for your life. Free advertising and a plug for your merch.

Ahem... http://guitarz.blogspot.com/2011/10/vintage-rare-guitar-of-week-dommenget.html (I know it's not a "classical" guitar, but it's the best I could do.)

Hey kids! Like Tony James? Like cheap but great-sounding basses? Scared of being picked on by the cool kids when you play them at gigs? Never heard of Ronnie O'Sullivan? ...then oh boy, do we have the waterslide decal for you...

I have a love/hate relationship with pedals. One of my favourite bits of BassChat is the "show us your pedalboard" thread, and I often gasp in awe at all the gorgeous devices that my colleagues drag around with them, on pedalboards that have their own generator and which probably require their own postcode. I went through a phase which many of us must have experienced; the "people will only think I'm a legitimate bassist if I have a load of gizmos on the floor in front of me," phase. I came to the conclusion (after deploying a gnarly fuzz noise rather than a pretty, shimmering chorus effect by accident for the umpteenth time), that my needs are few. My current band covers a wide variety of styles so I need to ring the changes somehow, and the easiest way to do that is with a modest MultiFX - in my case, an old Zoom B3. Could I do without it? Probably. Would anyone notice if I didn't use any effects? Probably not. I quite like them, though. There is something really liberating about about playing "direct." I've supported the current line up of Dr Feelgood a few times and their (excellent) bassist doesn't have any toys at all. He plugs a P Bass into an Ampeg stack and it sounds glorious. Horses for courses, I guess.

This whole thread has been brilliant fun. I think Mr James should peel off the sticker and embrace the cheapness!

If you get a chance and you're open to a bit of weirdness, Godley and Creme's second album 'L' is a bit of an overlooked gem. Their first album after they left 10cc, was 'Consequences' - an incredibly self indulgent, if sporadically brilliant triple album. It was released when Punk Rock ruled the world and was quietly ignored. 'L' was the follow-up and is a spiteful, sulky, bile-filled record which must have horrified their record company who were desperate to recoup the hideous amount of money they'd spent on the previous album. It's a desert island disc for me, but it isn't an easy album to listen to. There is one moment of loveliness on an otherwise bleak record. Here's 'Art School Canteen.'

10cc were the first band I ever saw live, in September 1978. "Dreadlock Holiday" was just about to get to #1. Their first four albums are all brilliant examples over upscale pop rock. If you haven't got "Sheet Music," you really should think about sorting your life out. Their lack of an image seems to render them invisible from all those "weren't things better 50 years ago?" type programmes, but they can still fill most theatres in the UK without trying too hard. Graham Gouldman is doing a fine job of keeping the name alive. I'm a fan.

Roxy Magic played the Hale Barns Carnival on Saturday. It tipped it down for most of the day, but it cleared up when we were on, by some miracle. A good fun set - nothing but the hits. We were on with the legendary Graham Gouldman who's been a hero of mine since the mid-70s. He was doing an acoustic gig, playing a few 10cc songs along with some of his solo stuff and the songs he wrote for the Yardbirds, Hollies etc. Sadly, after a clear start, the heavens opened and left him playing to a smaller crowd than he deserved. He was still ace though. I'll spare you the picture of me grinning next to a slightly bemused GG.