Doddy

[quote name='faceman' post='725340' date='Jan 26 2010, 04:08 PM']Honestly, I get very tired of my 4003 sometimes. The ergonomics are ridiculous and it can be so painful to play. Even reaching for an octave on a note can be pretty bad - the chorus of one of our songs does this and I can barely keep it up because my third finger can't reach very well and my pink isn't strong enough. There are so days I long for the neck of my Daryl Jones again! Seb[/quote] I'm assuming you are referring to the left hand here? If so,I'm guessing that it may be a technique issue. I just looked at your bands myspace,and in nearly all the pics,you have your thumb over the top of the neck,which makes it harder to reach the notes.Try bringing your thumb down to the middle of the neck,opposite your middle finger.This should put your hand in a better position and allow you more facility over the 'board.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='725337' date='Jan 26 2010, 04:08 PM']Know any good teachers? [/quote] Funny you should say that.........

[quote name='mcgraham' post='725050' date='Jan 26 2010, 12:43 PM']I'd say transcribing is a great way to work these things out. Make a list of your favourite riffs/hooks in songs. Work out how to play them by ear (don't look up the tabs!). P[/quote] So technically,not transcribing then? Sorry to be pedantic but,transcribing is when you actually notate things,not just work them out. Rockchic- The best 'technique to create brilliant riffs and hooklines', is to study music. Learning what the notes are and how they work together is the best way of understanding how to move away from root notes and to help create interesting lines. Do you know the notes on the 'board? After 4 years,i think you should. If not,learn them. Then I'd recommend that you start looking at arpeggios. These are the notes that make up the chords.It will allow you to understand what notes are readily available for you to use,rather than just the root note. This is generally,I find,a good place to start,but like Bilbo said,it's not always fun,but it is very rewarding. If you want fun,go and jam along to some Blink 182 or something-but don't use tabs..........ever. Use your ear or find some proper notation-trust me,it's much more beneficial to you. Also,look in to finding a teacher who can help you with all this,you will progress quicker with someone to guide you through it.

Weren't there two versions of this track? One with Flea,but I'm sure there's another version with Chris Chaney on bass. Neither of which are slapped.

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='724716' date='Jan 25 2010, 11:22 PM']Anyone care? [/quote] I don't care. I'm more concerned about her shockingly bad technique.

I've got the TC Electronic Nova Repeater. It's a really good quality pedal,with a load of functions.

The set up idea is good-it'll make a world of difference,but it sounds like you just want a new bass really In that case,the Cort Artisans are good-They make good basses. I wouldn't class the Yamaha as 'amateur' either-they are good instruments that will work in a lot of situations.The price is irrelevant.

In defence of Damian Erskine,for the majority of that video he is actually playing the melody of the tune ('Donovan James' by David Dyson,for those who don't know). I liked Erskines solo too,there was some nice stuff going on.It was a good contrast to Dysons also-cool slap-fest. Nice Skjold's too.

As far as I'm aware, Sadowsky made a relatively short lived Japanese line a few years ago(the crop up secondhand every now and again)and now they make the Metro series,also in Japan. I think that is it,other than the US models.

What about the Ibanez BTB? They are a bit chunkier than the Soundgears,but are nice instruments. I've had a 6 for a few years now.

Personally,I'd check the secondhand market and try to get a decent bass and amp.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='722239' date='Jan 23 2010, 03:24 PM']Fans are savvy enough to know you're overplaying. Keep the chops in the butchers. [/quote] Nice one.

Again,writing the chart in A major cleans up the chart because of fewer accidentals and makes it simpler to read,but I'd have probably written it in E major and written the D naturals as accidentals.

Don't approximate the lines-it's Oasis,you should be able to play them spot on,at least to begin with.

Writing it in A major and starting on the 5th degree is a little neater because of fewer accidentals, but pretty much every chart I've been given has been written in E major with the accidentals written(D natural in this case).Consequently,I'd write the chart in E major-for me it makes it a little simpler, because I never really look at blues modally-I prefer to approach them chordally.

Who's it a tribute to? In the tribute world you need to be playing the parts as close as possible,and forget about showing off any chops. I tried to find a balance between the recordings and some live versions that I heard,but never overplayed,just because I could. It wouldn't sound right to play anything other than the required parts. To be fair though,if you think it's boring to play,do you really want to take the gig? Or is it a band whose music you really dig?

I teach the grades aswell-both RGT and Rockschool. It's very difficult for me to say how you would go on with Grade 4 without seeing you play,but I wouldn't book the exam date and then cram for it. It may be harder than you thought or there are outside reasons that prevent you from studying. Just because you've been playing live doesn't mean it'll be relatively simple for you-I've had students that have been playing for a while that struggle with Grades 1 and 2. It's a different discipline than band playing. What I usually do is start with Grade 2 or 3 and see how you get on with them. If you can blow through Grade 2,we'd move on to 3 without doing the exam-unless you really wanted to. I also wouldn't go through the exams in addition to your regular lessons.It's best if you do it in conjunction with them,and be prepared to slightly veer away from the Grade material at times,to make sure that you understand what you are doing,and not just spewing out patterns. If you want to know anything,get in touch-I'm only in Stoke.

Yeah it's genuine-My main Jazz Bass is from the same period.

I don't see the age thing as mattering to be honest. I don't care how old anyone is-in this case it's all about the playing,and she doesn't really do it for me.

You say you don't really socialise as a band-in that case I'd call the band leader and sort it out with him. If it was a 'good mates playing together' situation it would be different.

I was actually really disappointed in the 'Live at Ronnie Scotts' DVD. It didn't live up to my expectations-even Vinnie's playing didn't excite me like it usually does. As far a Tal's playing goes,I've never been a massive fan to be honest. I really enjoyed her solo album,but that's about it. Her solo in 'Cause we've ended as Lovers' does nothing for me-I think she really overused the vibrato. I think that Rhonda Smith is a better player and grooves harder.

The only time my hand ever aches is if I have to play a busy line and have trouble hearing my amp.If I struggle to hear myself,I start plucking harder which is no good. If I can hear what I'm doing,I can comfortably play pretty much anything all night with no physical problems.

Sometimes in a live situation the tempo will fluctuate slightly-usually quicker-and you just have to go with it,especially if the band shifts together. I do hate it when the tempo slows noticably though. If the drummer is tiring,I find that it is generally down to their technique not being up to scratch. The guys who have got it together can pretty much play all night without a lot of physical effort,and won't tire as quickly. It's the same with bass players- if the right hand is tiring it needs working on a bit more. Ultimately,tempo is the responsibility of the entire band-not one particular member.

The Ultimates that I use don't have an automatic yoke,but I've never had any problems over the last 5 or 6 years. My automatic grabbing Hercules broke after 6 months,and doesn't grab anymore.

So,after checking this tuner out a bit more I've decided that I no longer want one .................I [u]need[/u] to have this tuner. It's a bit awesome.