Doddy

[quote name='Faithless' post='719899' date='Jan 21 2010, 10:43 AM']And, to add, It's sad for me, (if it's true, what the man in post said..) that even NYC cats are going for such a crap (music-wise) gig.. But that's just another proof of J Gwizdala's words, that, in NYC, it's not the music, that is major factor (though, it always was), but it's money, that's [i]is becoming[/i] a such thing..[/quote] Last time I was talking to Janek he was telling me about the current pop tour he's doing where he is the MD,and that on order of the artists management,he was not allowed to audition anyone over the age of 25.

So Jeff Beck has got a new rhythm section with Narada Michael Walden on Drums and Rhonda Smith on Bass. Sweet. That should be ace-especially because I think that Rhonda is a far better player than Tal Wilkenfeld.

[quote name='Protium' post='719243' date='Jan 20 2010, 04:49 PM']I heard JaqofourX got the part[/quote] I don't know about that, but a girl named Sylvia Gordon announced on her website in November that she had the gig. Considering the auditions were for all instruments-and this week-,it seems that the whole band has been booked for a couple of months already.

I use Ultimate stands [url="http://www.ultimatesupport.com/category/Guitar_Stands__Genesis_Series"]http://www.ultimatesupport.com/category/Gu..._Genesis_Series[/url] I found the Hercules to be easily 'knock-over-able'. The Ultimates are sturdier.

I heard about those auditions-apparently the spot was filled before the auditions even took place.

[quote name='Faithless' post='718981' date='Jan 20 2010, 01:39 PM']BTW, I got this 'horn idea' from one of my faves, Janek Gwizdala - guy is a monster reader, he now even practises reading horn parts on bass (when you need to transpose on the spot), also a wonderful improviser. He took a year or a few on horns, just for those purposes, I mentioned.[/quote] Janek also played upright for a very short while but gave up on it so that he could give his attention to the electric bass. I love playing upright-and get more work because of it-but it requires dedication and should really be treated as a separate instrument to the electric. If you have doubts,or just are not 'feeling it' maybe it's not for you. If you took up a horn,you may feel the same way. It's really about what you want out of it-don't play it if you think you 'should' be playing it,play it because you 'want' to and are willing to put in the practise.

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='719141' date='Jan 20 2010, 03:41 PM']Can someone please explain to me how this is achieved? Doesn't this mean that the lowest point of the body of your bass must rest on or above the hips, so it can hang in the same place regardless of sitting or standing? Or do you practise on a bar-stool with legs forming an angle greater than 90 degrees with the body? Maybe I've just got an extremely short body, but I'm pretty sure that if the bottom of any of my basses was above my hips, the top horn would be choking me. [/quote] What I do with my basses,is when I'm sitting practising I adjust the strap so that it is taught but without lifting the bass of my leg. Then when I stand,the bass won't move and everything remains the same. There isn't a specific height-it depends on the physical size of the instrument,and how it lies whilst sitting. I generally sit on a bar stool when I'm practising.

Juan Nelson's solo at the end of Ben Harper's 'Steal My Kisses' is really sweet.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='718850' date='Jan 20 2010, 11:51 AM']Opinion has it that, for optimal technical delivery, one should hang the bass to match the position it occupies when you're sitting practising. Problem with low slinging - back issues for the elderly apart - is the fretting hand wrist angle; too narrow and - whoops! - here comes the ol' carpal tunnel syndrome. Given that Gibson have come up with robot tuners, I'm sure the same principle could be applied to strap buttons. Flick a switch and - Hey Presto! - the bass whirrs downwards eighteen inches and assumes the 'cool' position. Cue audience sensation, beautiful women fainting, etc.[/quote] I totally go with having the bass at the same height standing as sitting. As soon as you change the height of the bass,the angle of your hand position changes,and brings a whole new variable that,I think,is unnecessary. As far as a 'robot' style strap length changer- Bass Player magazine did an small 'article' on one as an April fool's joke a few years ago.

I'd put it on it's side with the neck between the front seats-that'd leave you more room to put your accessories in. The Mondeo will easily take the bass-I used to fit mine in my KA with no problem

[quote name='funkygreega' post='717935' date='Jan 19 2010, 03:15 PM']Thanks Doddy, I thought so too and Greg is one of the best synth players around along with Michael Boddicker.[/quote] Michael Boddiker is one of the other players on the track,along with John Barnes.

It's synth all the way. There is no bass player listen on the credits to that track but there are 3 synth players, including Greg Phillinganes who is one of (the?)the best synth bass players around.

[quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='717530' date='Jan 19 2010, 10:01 AM']It'll be ok,i've got until easter for the top lot. [/quote] Are you actually transcribing all those songs-ie.are you writing them all down,fully notated-or are you copying and remembering?

Big + 1 for reading trombone books.

When you say transcribing,I'm assuming you mean actually writing down and not just learning parrot fashion. In that case I've just transcribed Trey Anastasio's guitar solo from the Phish song 'Stash',and a couple of Janek Gwizdala heads,in lead sheet form.

I've done a couple of these in the past. They are basically play,finish,next band. The ones that I've done have involved the bands taking all their own gear,including PA, lights,backdrops,everything. You have to supply your whole show,to play maybe 3 songs. I've never seen anyone have chance to tell the agent what kind of work they are after. If they like you,they will be telling you what gigs they want you to do-if you don't want it,someone else will. It's always worth having some promo with you,some people may ask for it. As far as the backline situation,I'd have my gear in the car/van,just in case. Treat the showcase like a gig, because basically,it is.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='715724' date='Jan 17 2010, 03:25 PM']Bear in mind if you bypass all your pedals with a passive switch like that, you may find you still get tone suck as your signal degrades along the cables to/from your pedals and amp. It might be an idea to keep one active pedal in your signal chain just to push things along - some tone shaper maybe, outboard preamp, anything with a quality buffer in it would do.[/quote] If you are using a bypass switch,you can put all of your effects in the loop so that when you turn it off,the pedals are removed from the signal chain,so you are effectively running through just one pedal.

The Schroeder cabs are really good,but i honestly believe that Bergantino make the bass best cabs anywhere. They are the only cabs I've tried that made me say 'I need that'.

Just bought a couple of DVD's of Kevin,and everything was cool. Top bloke to deal with.

In no particular order-just one's I can think of now....... Willy Weeks-'Voices inside' Marcus Miller-'Panther' ( 'Live and More' version) Jaco Pastorius-'Havona' Stanley Clarke-'School Days' and 'Vulcan Worlds' Victor Wooten-'Sinister Minister' John Patitucci-'Got a Match' Janek Gwizdala-'Culture' Jeff Berlin-'Joe Frazier' And that's without thinking of Upright players.......

I don't mind the Thumb Singlecut,but I'm not a fan of the price.

[quote name='iconic' post='715156' date='Jan 16 2010, 08:13 PM']....I had this playing the van today and thought, this sure sounds like a proper early Steinberger playing in this....were they around in late 70's very early 80's [/quote] They were around since 1980 officially,although the prototypes were out in '79-the first 3 went to Tony Levin,John Entwistle and Andy West. As his track was released in '79 I'm guessing that it's probably not a Steinberger. More likely it was something with EMG's,which were the pickup of choice for Steinberger (although a few had Dimarzio's).

I think it's still worth doing-especially if there are a bunch of ledger lines. Also,even though alot of the pieces are nearly all 16th notes,many of them are meant to be played rubato,so it'll also help with your phrasing. I've looked at some Bach pieces in the past,and would recommend it-it can't hurt,and some of the lines don't fit comfortably under the fingers,so you'll have to employ different fingerings,so it's helpful for that too. Don't worry about not being 'concerned' with the style,it's all good practice. I even practice reading in treble clef,even though I've never been given a part in treble clef on a gig-other than occasional lead sheets.

I've never seen a Steinberger like that. I'm pretty sure it isn't one.

I'd totally recommend iGig cases. They really are great. [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/IGIG_Bags.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_sp.../IGIG_Bags.html[/url]