Hot Tub

I have BGM on subscription and I think it's improving (almost) every month. I enjoy it. I'm afraid I also buy BP (almost) every month, and that seems to be deteriorating at the same rate. I guess it's like self-harming: I know I shouldn't do it, but nothing else gives me the same buzz. :wacko:

I usually call mine "Awkward B@st@rd." Sometimes just "A. B@st@rd." Often accurate, if a touch harsh.

Ooooh, good to know - thanks for that!

As per the title really.... any thoughts/experiences on [url="http://line6.com/backtrack/"]this[/url] little gizmo?

As per title really.... opinions?

Twas pretty interesting I thought. Podcast should be available for download from the website in the next few days. Fascinating character & hoping to meet him in person on Saturday - the culmination of a lifetime ambition if it happens! Not so much a "chip on the shoulder" now, seemed more like a distant, haunting, pain. He and the rest of the band were deeply hurt by Gillan's actions. That was only a few minutes out of a 45min interview. I thought it was really good.

[url="http://philengland.co.uk/radiotircoed/player.html"]THIS[/url] will be the linky that you needy!

Stud extractor. You'll have to drill a very small and precise hole in the bit of the screw that's buried in the wood. The stud extractor will screw into that using a reversed self-tapping thread. As it tightens in the broken screw, it should start to turn and the screw will come away from the wood leaving no damage. In theory. From experience (albeit with engines) the key to the whole thing is getting the hole in the screw drilled properly and deep enough. Good luck!

I'll probably get me coat, but....

I'd like to nominate the Vintage V940B. Absolutely thunderous bottom end, awesome midrange growl, clear and tight top end. Lots of scope with the on-board controls. Very versatile and I reckon in a blind comparison it'd be right up there. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed Music Live at the NEC last year (first time I'd been), and was looking forward to it this year. But decided against it due to having a really 'orrible cold and just not feeling like doing anything much. Having read the comments on here, I'm quite glad I've saved the £18 entrance fee, and prob about £7 for parking. Sad state of affairs.

If you're on a budget, you could do an awful lot worse than look at the [url="http://www.jhs.co.uk/vintagebass.html"][i][b]Vintage[/b][/i][/url] range.

Yup, Park GB15-10 by Marshall. Pity it's in St Albans. If it was closer....

OK, so a bit more info than what's in the thread title! I'm organising a party/p!iss-up to celebrate Mrs HT's 40th birthday. Date will be a Saturday night, late January or early February 2010. We're looking for a "mature" rock covers band to play a small/medium sized pub venue in Leamington Spa. We have a good idea of the type of music we're looking for; Queensryche (Bridges, Empire, Mindcrime), Bon Jovi (sorry, but it is [i]her[/i] birthday!), Queen, AC/DC, Metallica, Pink Floyd, etc. We have a few "essential" songs, and the rest will be up to you. Now, the really cringeworthy bit. One thing Mrs HT really wants is to see me play bass on a couple of songs with the band, 'cause I've never done it before. Nothing complicated - probably Vengeance, Sweet Home Alabama, & Radar Love. That's all. (I have my own gear!) Initially just want to get some ideas if there's any Basschat bands who would be up for this?

I don't and can't play slap, but have voted "I'd like to." Unless you're Mark King or Marcus Miller, don't bother. These guys (and possibly a very few others) make it sound sort of musical-ish, but otherwise it's just Yo-look-at-me-I'm-faster-and-therefore-better-than-you showing off. Ever walked into a music shop - with money to spend! - or an exhibition or a Bass Bash, wanting to try out a few basses and amps, but turned and walked out again because you feel totally intimidated and inadequate due to all the thumping & twanging? Oh, OK, just me then.... It's just another form of w@nking. Keep it for the bedroom.

... I thought, "I'm gonna turn things up a bit and see what it sounds like. Before Mrs HT gets home." So, gain @ 25%, EQ all flat, VLE & VPF filters at 0, volume at 40%. HOLY DANCING JEHOVA!!! I've lost a couple of fillings, and the sight in my left eye. My guts have been reorganised, and I think I might have pee'd a little. How can anything be this loud and not explode? I mean, seriously? I think my CMD103H might be loud enough for a small pub gig.

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' post='598559' date='Sep 14 2009, 07:24 PM']That's actually quite nauseating to watch.[/quote] That's actually quite nauseating to listen to.

[quote name='metaltime' post='596484' date='Sep 12 2009, 12:18 PM']Thanks for the encouragement. How are you finding it?[/quote] Very slow and painful to begin with, enormously frustrating at times, but as I began to be able to recognise the notes of the staff the whole learning process seemed to get quicker. I make a point of having a bass book or magazine with some transcription in it with me pretty much all the time. If I get a quiet break at work I go through the music and just read out the note names. But that's only part of it. You also need to know where the notes are on the fretboard, and in many cases there are two or more positions in which the same note can be played. For that I'm just following some really simple stuff in the books - play the note and say it's name at the same time. You feel a bit of a plum to start with though! If it's any help, the book I'm mostly using is Music Reading For Bass by Wendi Hrehovcsik, part of the Musicians Institute Essential Concepts range, published by Hal Leonard, cat. no. HAL00695203. I'm finding it to be very well structured with good excercises which challenge me, but don't frustrate me. I'm currently fighting my way through the jungle of note durations and rest durations, all of which I think are at least as important as knowing the printed notes. My problem really, is that I have the attention span of a small insect, and so usually end up playing along with stuff again....

[quote name='SteveO' post='596434' date='Sep 12 2009, 11:31 AM']If it gives you any encouragement my 5 yr old can read music perfectly well and she isn't a prodigy by any stretch of the imagination.[/quote] That's just depressing. But excellent, just the same. I really hope she doesn't give up on it later. I did, and it's one of the biggest regrets of my life. Good luck to metaltime! I'm working my way through this long, slow process too. Practise, practise, practise - you [i]can [/i]do it!

Will you post 'em?

Can't you just say, eg. "It starts on C#." The very first note in Radar Love (Golden Earring) is C#; get that right and everything else falls into place. Simplistic, I know, but it works!

My personal view is, as someone posted earlier, simply that it's nice to own nice things. It's a sort of "thank-you" to yourself for all the hard work and long hours, when you come home and plug in that gorgeous bass. You love the look of it, the feel of it, the sound of it, and just the sheer pleasure of owning it. Whether or not you can actually play it is, I believe, secondary. It's a bit like buying a modern sportsbike. Very few people (dare I say, practically no one?) can actually ride these things to anything like their potential, but owning it, looking after it, even just gazing at it in the garage on a cold, wet, winter's day, and riding it to the best of your own personal ability, is a very great pleasure. If I can ever afford it, I am going to buy one of these "boutique" basses. And I only play in my spare bedroom.

I've got the first bit, and the last bit, but need some help with the middle bit! It's towards the end of the instrumental - seems to be descending, but damned if I can figure it out! It's probably just half a dozen chords. Anyone?

All good advice - thank you!