geilerbass

[quote name='silky13' post='483841' date='May 9 2009, 04:59 PM']I'm going over to Japan to see them play at the Budokan on 20th June! Obviously not going just for them, but its another good reason to go to Japan! [/quote] Nice one! I was lucky enough to go to Budokan a few years back - it's an awesome venue. I'm sure it'll be amazing - just wish I had enough cash spare to do the same... Just out of interest, how did you get tickets for it? Did you use Ticket Pier (or however you spell it)?

I love this band! I'm so hoping that they come touring this way...

[quote name='valentine' post='472304' date='Apr 25 2009, 05:57 PM']looking for a bass tutor that ethier specialises or has good knowledge on how to play technical and fast basslines as the style of music im into are generally the sub genres of metal the kind of stuff im looking to improve on is to master a 3 finger walking technique which im still patchy on playing in triplets at high speeds bass sweeping (sweeping the notes of the bass guitar) tapping and just generally anything to improve me as a muscian and help me build better and more pleaseing riffs his a link to my youtube page where i stick stuff up that i crate when i play to give you a idea of where im at and what i do if yom think you can help me or know of someone drop me a message [url="http://www.youtube.com/user/lovebreedsuicide1"]http://www.youtube.com/user/lovebreedsuicide1[/url] thanks[/quote] I agree that there probably aren't many tutors that 'specialise' in metal techniques, but I think perhaps you should think about the problem in a different way. Are you looking for someone to literally show you how to perform the techniques? As in, show you were to place your fingers, how to move them etc? If so, then this kind of thing can be found in tuition books and videos. What you have to remember is that everyone is different physically and so will have a slightly different way of achieving the same sounds. You know the sounds you want to make so you need to find the specifics of the technique that work for you. I don't think that you need a tutor for that necessarily. You shouldn't need someone to show you how to play things fast. It's no mystery that it's all about repetition with a metronome. If you are having trouble pushing your current technique to play things at the speed that you want, then look around at see what other people are doing. Again, a tutor will only be able to show you what works for them and that might not work for you. They may be able to suggest alternatives to what you're doing, but then I think that you could find that easily enough yourself. Playing lines slowly and working on timing and sound quality are the keys to fast, precise playing - but this approach isn't limited to metal, it's relevant to pretty much any genre of bass playing. Tapping, again, is something that does not limit itself to metal and if you really want to learn this from a tutor, you should easily be able to find one. Beyond technique, the thing that I think a tutor would be beneficial for, is to focus and guide your approach to study and practice - rather than to demonstrate specific techniques. Getting to the level you want to reach requires a lot of repetition and graft (probably with a metronome) and I feel that the difficulty lies in maintaining focus and creating goals for yourself. A tutor will definitely help with this and will also be able to point out areas that you are weaker in, that you may not have noticed. Again, you don't need a metal specific tutor for this - just someone who is open-minded. I'm not sure if he is still teaching, or how much his rates are, but Terry Gregory, who was at the Guitar Institute, would be a good person to start with. The other option, if you really do want to go for someone who can demonstrate technique, is to contact the bass player of an established band, who's technique is close to the one you're interested in and see if they do, or would be up for doing, some private lessons. I know a lot of established musicians often offer private lessons to subsidse the income they get from bands. Hopefully that's of some help and may get you thinking about the problem in a different way.

I really don't have any singing ability (nor, many would argue, bass-playing ability), but have always found singing and playing together very hard to do. I haven't really stuck at it, so that may explain why, but one interesting thing I noticed was I found it much easier to sing over a very basic groove if I played with a pick, rather than fingerstyle - the latter being my usual right-hand technique of choice.

I play in dropped A on my SR20th and it sounds suitably heavy, while still being very playable. I use Elixir medium gauge (45-65-85-105) with a medium taper-wound B (130). Again, lighter strings will be the easiest way to make it more playable at the bridge - I don't think you're going to lose much in terms of tone with a medium gauge.

I just sold my old trombone to Stew and can vouch for him being a great guy to deal with. The money was sent promptly via paypal and he was very patient with the incompetence of Parcelforce, who managed to completely mess up the delivery and send him on a wild goose chase around the South East. Cheers for a smooth transaction!

[quote name='Faithless' post='466730' date='Apr 19 2009, 02:06 PM']Well, I actually like it [i]tight[/i], but, compared to my other bass, I know, that the tension on my SR [i]could [/i]be a bit lighter/lower.. Interesting thing - Paul_C advised me just opposite - lighter strings.. And, you kno', at the moment I'm using 50-135, and you could hardly get even [i]thicker [/i]strings, well, at least, I couldn't..[/quote] Definitely use lighter strings. Try something like 45-65-85-105-130. Essentially, the higher the gauge of the string, the higher the tension required to produce the note that the string is meant to be tuned to. So higher gauge strings need to be more taught than lower gauge ones, to get the same note on either. Conversely, that's why it's often advisable to use a fatter B-string, since on a lot of 34" scale basses, this can sound 'flabby' if the gauge is too light.

A reggae covers band that I played for many moons ago, have a gig booked in Norwich on Saturday June 27th (I believe it's at the Brickmaker's pub), which I was asked to dep for, but can't make. Does anyone live in or near Norwich and would be interested in stepping in for this gig? From what I could gather, it would pay about £50 and, from previous experience, should be a lot of fun. The music is popular reggae - Three Little Birds, One Love, Redemption Song, Night Nurse etc. - and, I think, would require at least one rehearsal beforehand. If anyone is interested, let me know and I can PM you confirmed details and get you in touch with the singer. Thanks for reading, Mark

For some strange reason, I've never really got around to listening to his solo stuff - guess I should do something about that, eh! The Roth albums and the first three Mr Big records are true classics though. What a hero! I think I love him in a not entirely platonic way...

That sounds about right. I think they retailed new in the region of £500-600, but second hand Ibanez SRs don't seem to be in huge demand, so £300 would seem a sensible expectation for a second hand one.

£1800 and only a small, stock photo? Hopefully no one will be foolish enough to part with their hard-earned for this. That's a Streamer $$, I believe.

Ow, that looks painful... A really unfortunate and no doubt, costly mistake there I feel.

Thanks for the compliment! Though that track is a few years old now - pretty catchy as extreme metal goes, I think.

This is something I've been meaning to try out for some time. Based on your positive review, I will seek out an AT teacher without delay. Fingers crossed that it helps out!

[quote name='Marcus' post='450849' date='Mar 31 2009, 08:27 PM']Agreed...... I'll most likely buy a KB II or a headed Empathy befor the year is out, although i'll use it in the house for "Tidly-bop" cos generally i've found them useless in a band situation..... I'm sure they record well and are great for theatre stuff..... but put them up against 2 Marshall stacks and you're looking to borrow a P Bass for the 2nd set !!![/quote] I'll never get why Precisions are so popular. In my humble opinion, they sound terrible, feel terrible to play, are too heavy and look horrendous. But fashion and I really do not get on well together...

Those with a penchant for extreme metal with a progressive touch would be most welcome to check out a brand new and recently recorded track from my band Demagogue. It's called 'Departure' and can be heard on our myspace page here: - [url="http://www.myspace.com/thedemagogue"]New Demagogue Track[/url] The vocals are an acquired taste, but hopefully it won't put everyone off!

I'm sure you should be able to find some public-domain samples if you google it. If not, I recall Computer Music Magazine frequently have samples on their cover CD. Whether they sound any good, I can't say...

[quote name='Johngh' post='444868' date='Mar 25 2009, 12:06 PM']I've had 5 Status basses in the past, and currently own a S2 Classic 6 string headless. Built quality is excellent, and I've found that I can get just about any sound I want out of the 6er. If you phone Status beforehand I don't think that there is a problem for you to visit. There is no showroom as such, but Rob always has plenty of basses in his final inspection- set up room for you to try. I can't recommend them enough, all of mine except one were bought brand new from the factory[/quote] That's useful to know. I can't find anywhere in London apart from the Gallery that have any in at all, and even they don't have the model(s) that I want to try. May have to see about taking a trip over to Colchester...

I've been told that this is a good place to start: - [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fingerboard-Harmony-Bass-Gary-Willis/dp/0793560438/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237971045&sr=8-13"]Fingerboard Harmony[/url]

I was wondering the same. I love the look of the S2 Classic, but have never had the opportunity to try one. I'm assuming the best way to find out is to go down to the factory? Is there a showroom or the like?