Doddy

46 minutes ago, Boodang said:

Now, I'm going to put my cynical hat on here and hypothesise that 'the sound is tighter' is code for it's cheaper to to build a bolt on. Vigier did the same thing, versions 1, 2 & 3 are neck thru, then along comes version 4 and it's a bolt on. A tone decision or a cost cutting one?

 

I don't think it's a cost cutting decision at all, especially where the high end luthiers are concerned. When you are looking at multiple thousand dollar instruments, it's all about the tone. A number of big name luthiers talk about bolt on necks having more punch and a quicker attack, while neck through is more compressed and has more sustain.

Pretty much all of my basses are bolt on and I don't have any issue with playing in the upper range, which I do a lot.  It's a bit of a pain to reach the top couple of frets on the Warwick, but my other basses all have really good access to the top frets. Even on a Fender I don't think it's difficult to reach the high Eb. 

Ultimately, for me, the choice of neck join is about tone more than anything else.

I know a lot of people tend to simplify modes to being just a major scale starting on a different note,  but that's only a small part. I like to look at them as different scales and how they relate to chords. As a basic example, where can you play a Mixolydian mode? It's essentially a major scale with a flat 7, so it fits perfectly over a dominant 7 chord. A Dorian mode goes really well over a minor 7 chord, and the raised 6th gives it a different flavour than playing Aeolian (which is just a minor scale).

Modes can be very handy, but I think something like knowing chord tones is far more useful and important.

I've got basses in all different price brackets and played gigs on all of them. Most of my Fenders are either Japanese or Mexican Deluxe models. I've got a Sire V7, an Ibanez Gary Willis, and an MTD Heir which sit firmly in the low to midrange, but my main basses are all in the upper range- F Bass BN5, Roscoe LG3500, Tobias Standard 6, Warwick Streamer, and a Shuker Singlecut.

I've started selling a bunch of my lower range instruments, in favour of a few high end ones

1 hour ago, Lozz196 said:

 I know The Ramonas, great band and great girls, the concept really works 

I did a gig alongside The Ramonas a few months ago. I've never seen a band with so much energy.

He doesn't want any Country musicians either.

The Local 257 guys must be really annoyed.

So what? 

It's not like it's saying 'no wonen because they aren't good' or something derogatory. 

Some venues dressing rooms are shockingly awful and make it different for mixed sex bands to change comfortably and privately. Maybe they are all staying in shared hotel rooms and can't afford extra rooms for the comfort of female members. It could also be something as simple as bringing in a member of the opposite sex can change a band dynamic in a way that they don't want, especially if small budget tours are in order.

I doubt all the stuff about the equality act is going to matter to a band advert on Join My Band.  Maybe it would if it was for a big name tour or something, but the chances of those jobs being on that site are pretty low.

I'm using a Fender PJ bass for a buge chunk of my gigs lately. The way I use it is that essentially it's just a Precision, but I can turn the Jazz pickup on if I need any extra bite for playing any harmonics or slapping.

Depends on how much you want to get paid, and if it's worthwhile for you to do the gig.

Personally, I do those kind of miles regularly for gigs but it's not for pub money, and I often get food and accommodation thrown in too.

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

My brother has ordered one of these:

 

https://www.tcelectronic.com/product.html?modelCode=P0DDQ

 

 

Does poly and mono as well as toneprints. I'll report back.

I thought the TC was ok. I don't like it's octave down as much as the OC2 or Octabvre and I prefer the octave up on the Digitech Ricochet, but I got some really cool faux organ type sounds out of it. 

1 hour ago, Quatschmacher said:

 It’s a bit hamstrung by the rather daft method of how one loads the patches onto the pedal. Would have been so much better had they adopted MIDI PC messages via onboard preset slots. I believe it is possible to send a SysEx message to them to alter settings but that adds lots of extra hassle when having to construct the file. Source Audio’s implementation is far better. 

This is why I like analogue pedals. None of that makes sense to me 🙄

I got one of the '02 passive models (the one with the matte finish) in a trade last year, and I've been using it on gigs most weeks. 

I'll disagree with the above point about the Jazz pickup being a bad match. It's not that bad at all. I mainly use the Precision pickup solo'ed, but the Jazz pickup adds some nice top end for slapping. 

I really like the bass. It sounds like a Precision and it has a Jazz neck, which I prefer. It plays and sounds great.

As far as I'm concerned, the bass is as equal as any other instrument and should be treated as such.

The "bass should be felt and not heard" thing is pure balls. I want to do both.

I can probably count on both hands the number of times I've used a compressor in my signal chain, whether I'm going straight in to the amp or using a whole bunch of pedals.

Out of intetest, Seymour Duncan didn't start making pickups for Jaco until the early '80s, so all of his classic recordings were done with stock Fender pickups.

5 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Got to be in the £500m-£1b mark for all that?

 

Springsteen got £500m

$300m apparently.

2 hours ago, Barking Spiders said:

Bottom (bass) line is that you can probably bet three quarters of people in a given audience can't tell a bass apart from a guitar, what its function in the band is, let alone what's a budget model and what's top of the range.

But audience opinion on if they know what a bass is, is irrelevant.  People do notice, and care, what your gear is but they are usually the people who are hiring you. If you're being paid decent money, you're going to turn up with decent gear.

20 minutes ago, 12stringbassist said:

Fodera?
Quite a few of them were Fender copies if I recall correctly.
I'd just buy a Fender.
 

Fodera don't make Fender copies.

18 hours ago, lownote said:

 

Different animal I'd have thought. The Sire's superpower is the EQ and its huge range of tones. Fender P is a well made ironing board with strings - if its a well made one, with one tone - if it's what you want. Not knocking it, just saying, the AB is a bit apples and oranges, very much IMHO.

The Sire P5 is a straight up passive Precision. The P7 is the one with the EQ.

I really like the look of the sea foam green P5.

4 minutes ago, 4000 said:

 I seem to remember Brian Beller, IIRC, once lamenting the fact that whenever he tried to write music all that came out was La Cucaracha. 😂 

 

He did say that in an old issue of Bass Player but he's since released 3 excellent solo albums (4 if you count the live album), that completely negate that quote.

42 minutes ago, Oomo said:

 

 

Could that time be better spent on learning to play with more restraint? If you spends hours learning a technique you'd use in 1 in 1000 songs, would be better to skip that technique entirely, to avoid the temptation of using it on the other 999 where it wouldn't be appropriate?

 

 

Being proficient in a technique doesn't mean you're tempted to use it all the time. It means that it's there for when you need it.  I'd hate to be required to play something and not have the means to play it- even if it's only on one gig a year.

3 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

This way you'll never play anything "wrong" but you are also unlikely to play anything truly musically remarkable either. 

Nonsense. Knowing your scales doesn't mean you won't play anything interesting. Knowing stuff doesn't automatically shut off your ears.

For overdrive, I like the EQD Plume, and the HBE Hematoma.  

In a similar vein to the Spark Booster, the Emma Onomatopoeia can add a nice bit of hair.

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

 

This is litterally geddy lees reason for playing more notes the way he does. Would rather listen to a geddy lee over a root and fifths guy every day.

 

And yes, if you go and see a three piece, the guitar goes for a solo and the bottom drops out of the song unless the bass picks it up.

Not everyone is Geddy Lee though. How many times do you hear bass players try to go off under a solo, and the derrière drops out and it becomes aimless noodling?

Personally I think it's often better to play simpler with a big tone in a trio. I find I can play busier in a bigger band.

8 hours ago, Boodang said:

PS want to slow down and groove more? Then get a double bass. Even if you just use it for practice, it will change the way you approach bass playing in general.

Even a cheap EUB, like the Stagg, will do the job.

I haven't really found that playing upright changed my approach to electric bass, because I view them as different instruments. If anything though, I find it a little frustrating that I don't quite have the speed and fluidity on upright that I do on electric. 

Will Lee and Darryl Jones are two of my favourites- There aren't many bass players who have done the range of gigs that they have done. They are such great players.

Sure the drummer (Kenwood Dennard) might overplay a bit at times but that's probably how he played it with Jaco.

I don't think busy playing is a lack of self confidence. If you are confident in what you are doing, you can play busily and still make everything groove and sound great. Look at players like Rocco, Jaco, and Jamerson- all of them could be described as busy players, yet they all grooved hard. 

As you've changed from guitar to bass, it could be that you aren't fully in the bass mindset yet. That's not a negative thing, but it is a different approach. It could be that you need to focus a little more on rhythmic subtleties like note placement, and whether you are playing on top of or behind the beat.  It's little things like that that make a big difference.

If you are confident and know what you're doing, you can get away with being a busy player.

I have the tone wide open and the the pickups either both up full, or neck pickup down 25-50%.  I've never had a problem with a lack of bottom end on a Jazz Bass.