thumperbob 2002

We are in the 21s century pal- I cannot see why anyone would want to lug around a massive cab anymore. I personally love the feeling that I can make a couple of trips from the car with my full rig- especially after the gig. I remember the feeling of looking at my 2 x 15 or 8 x 10 or 1 x 15 and 4 x 10 ( I have had them all ) at the end of a gig and thinking "bloody hell- I have to move that in a minute" Not a nice feeling. I think there have been some really good suggestions in this topic - especially regarding a two cab strategy. My Schroeder 2 x 12 and 2 x 15 can be carried easily with one in each arm and my bass on my back. And they would murder any rig I could think of- no problem. Each cab is really more than enough whether you have FOH or not. I take your point that the Ampeg is cheap- but there is a very important reason why. They really should come with a health warning.

[quote name='jackers' timestamp='1322564907' post='1452583'] thanks for all the replies i realise it probably sounded like quite a dumb question, lol, but I'm really not very good with the technical side of recording/rig sound etc. my main reason for asking is that, due to unexpected circumstances which require me to raise a sizeable sum of money, I'm having to sell one of my basses, and I've been trying to decide which bass to keep. I've decided to keep my jazz, as at the moment i'm mostly playing bass in my room, with a few small gigs, so recording isn't a priority for me, and the jazz is just better for that. [/quote] Would agree with that - very versatile bass the jazz is. I am all for getting into one instrument and keeping it for years.

I have found the best sound for recording is by using a Bass Pod- the amp modelling is amazing and it is possible to get a very close sound to a massive rig without the volume problems. I no longer have the luxury of having my own sound proofed pro studio ( and have neighbours ). If used properly ( I could write for hours about this point ) in the mix no-one would know that the real thing is not being used. All amps colour the sound and in my experience an amp / speakers must be well driven to give a good sound. At low volumes most amps sound crap.

I had a Jazz Deluxe 5 -great great bass but the string spacing was just a little close for me. I didnt think the B stood out as well as my Warwick but in a band environment it was fine. Listen to Sharay Reed on Youtube- fantastic player who used one of the earlier ones with the pegs all on one side.

I have two basses now, a Lowend Jazz bass 5 string- bought from this site for £750- now they are £2500+ It was set up in the most terrible way- almost unplayable. After set up and the correct strings etc it is my main bass. I play in a soul band and it just looks "right" and sounds amazing. It can do anything- slap, fingerstyle- tapping- can sound like a P or a high end active Jazz. Took the Warwick Thunb NT 5 out of its case yesterday- for one reason or another I havent played this for probably a year. What an amazing bass!! Retail when I bought this new was over £2400. To be honest this is twice the bass the Lowend is- plays so good- for fingerstyle I cannot amagine a bass that plays better. However in my soul band it just looks "wrong" Was thinking of selling it recently but as soon as I plugged it in yesterday I know that it is a keeper.

[quote name='casapete' timestamp='1322355772' post='1449970'] Beat me to it. I was made to love her - Stevie W. [/quote] Indeed anything by Jamerson- who says you have to change your strings every few months? Think I`ll keep mine for 17 yrs!!..... and never clean them. Mind you , dont think I have 17yrs left!! Bob

volume pedal- like on a cheap zoom pedal or line 6 pod?

All the above would do it- I had the Sansamp BDDI which was great. Have you thought about a modelling pod?- I have the line 6 basspod and the basspod live and these do amazing things-not as simple as the options above but the sansamp effect in the pod is easily as good as the Sansamp and the compressor is very high end. Fantastic for recording but live I find I only use a little overdrive- just to warm up the sound - and the compressor. And you can get these very cheap- got one from ebay, as new with a gig bag for £86 delivered.

couldnt go back to a pick- I use my second finger nail if I want that pick like sound- never lost that either....!

I`ve got a Gramma - the normal sized one - I know there is a larger one for bigger rigs- I have had two schroeder cabs and a LM 11 on this- very stable. To be honest for £50 ish inc delivery I do not think there is much point in making your own. When you add together the material needed, transportation to get it- putting this together and more importantly the time to do it- and it may not work as well as the product- cant see why someone wouldnt just buy one. For boomy stages it is a bit of a god send and definately worth it.

yeah- its ok to solo a bass line that is a solo anyway- bet we could think of hundreds- most notable-my generation- middle of I wish-car wash- you can call me al- strangely enough they are all pretty short ( as it should be ). Dont mention everything is everything live!! I always think a bass solo is best where you are basically playing the line with a couple of small changes- concentrating on keeping the groove. Mr Wooten is very very right.

[quote name='BurritoBass' timestamp='1320852997' post='1432279'] One thing I've noticed it it definitely sounds better when I play down the neck, the impact is slightly lost once you get further up the fretboard. Personally I don't have a problem with this guy's tone & I remember the clip when I saw it on Jools Holland's show. However, I do have a problem with his pickguard choice! Just goes to show we are all different [/quote] I quite like his tone too- very retro- vintage- no problem with his playing either- dont think it would look as good with the bass under armpits a la marky king!!

All humans have internal clocks are you are probably a lot better than you think you are with regard to timing. The advice I would give is to play along with records- ( makes it more enjoyable ) and really listen to the drums. This will make your playing more instinctive- concentrate on what the drums are doing and not yourself too much. You will feel it. Then record yourself and listen back- believe me you will get better very quickly.

we do a few from the end of November Santa claus is coming to town- jackson 5 version Soul Xmas-graham parker back door santa -fnarr!! please come home for xmas would love to do the waitresses xmas wrapping.

there are no "best" basslines- there are only basslines.

You lot are very lucky guys- my Mrs couldnt be less interested in my bass playing and the worst thing in the world is if the wags get together- I just know they will be moaning about how much we are gigging. Still she is lovely and when I was a pro musician did not at all moan- didnt have any kids then though. The band is really my social lads thing and the girls know they are really not that welcome at gigs, not that they ever want to go to gigs. Just my way of keeping my hand in I suppose.

[quote name='Doddy' post='1185244' date='Apr 1 2011, 08:36 PM']I'm all for being positive,but that doesn't stop Moondance from being a bad example of a walking bassline. In fairness,nobody is arguing about if people dance to it or not,it's about constructing a walking line over one chord. In that respect 'So What' is a great example.'Moondance' is not.[/quote] Good point pal. I stand corrected.

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1179298' date='Mar 28 2011, 11:41 AM']The flaw in the Moondance line (apart from the poor sound and weak time) does not arise from the fact that there are wrong notes in there (although I suspect there are - not listened to it for a while) but in the fact that there is no logic to them. Its in a minor key so the note options for the minor chords would be similar to So What but the Moondance lines have no direction. They don't lead anywhere, there is no impetus created by the line itself. Its just a randon set off notes from a minor scale. It is clearly played by someone who doesn't understand the art of the walking bass line. I could probably explain better if I had a copy of the tune in front of me but that would require me to listen to it again and I don't want to waste another 4 minutes of my short life on that monstrosity. [/quote] Moondance. Pretty successful record and whilst not musically perfect people love it. I have seen them dance to it. Never seen that of so what. Think it is better to be positive about songs, bass players etc than just detail the musical imperfections. Opinions are one thing but negativity, especially in music is not for me.

If its notes played on the original record I will play open strings- if its not I wont. Think they certainly add something and should be used. No notes or tones should be avoided- it will limit you- keep an open mind. Just my tuppence

Our band- 7 piece soul group have mostly an even split- though our sax player gets a little extra for bookings etc- most of us help with website- pa - recordings etc other than the singer who drinks...

Get some sort of loop station and improvise over the bassline/ chords etc. Its what I do ( amongst other things ) Know your scales and LISTEN!!!