Damonjames

[quote name='grunge666' timestamp='1435581938' post='2810208'] I used to play this in an old covers band P bass tuned C F Bb Eb on 45-105 Roto's - an no plec!! Sounded pretty good from where I was standing! [url="https://youtu.be/v-oHpcMOA4o"]https://youtu.be/v-oHpcMOA4o[/url] [/quote] Sounds about right to me too! Although I tend to play it closer to the nut, doing it mostly below the 5th fret. Perhaps that may help??

[quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1435572355' post='2810040'] I suspect I'm being too vigorous with the right hand - it may of course be a complete lack of talent that prevents me getting anything even passable! I think your bass has a longer (35") scale length as well so I guess the standard 105s are a bit less floppy? [/quote] Nope, she is a 34". Not sure where your issue lies then, 'cos I'd say I'm rather heavy with the right hand. You could try playing g closer to the bridge, the strings will move about a little less there, but will sound more twangy.

[quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1435246644' post='2806959'] That and this, these and those. But basically the answer is you cant really play play it on a 4 string with normal strings. I'm glad its not my technique. [/quote] I'd disagree, I play this in our set in a schecter pj with standard 105's. It's a little loose, but it's meant to be that way if you listen to the recording. If it's the o my song you play in that tuning, it may sound off to your ears, but I play a couple tuned to Db so I'm used to the feel. Is it possible you are being a touch to gentle with your right hand? My setup is the above with just the P pickup, tone full, gritty overdrive sansamp VT, and dig in!

[quote name='christhammer666' timestamp='1435088311' post='2805396'] I think I read in an interview with Hetfield somewhere that he they maybe would have down the load-reload route sooner if Cliff was still around [/quote] This is true, in an interview just days before the accident, he told a journalist they would have got more melodic and worked with a big name producer, so the black album would probably have gone ahead in a very similar fashion. It's also heavily rumoured that after the European tour that Lars would have been sacked. So the rumour goes, James and Cliff felt limited by Lars' drumming ability and we're looking elsewhere, most keenly on Dave Lombardo from Slayer (who also threatened to walk from slayer around the sa time). Now THAT is a lineup I'd like to see!!!

Quality venue, let's hope they can continue to make it work in john's honour. RIP big fella

This argument is never ending... Some say it's all in the fingers, some say it's in the bass, some like me say it's a combination of both. The reality is that tone is something completely unmeasurable, because it is relative to the context of what is being played, by this I mean the "tone" gets tied in with "feel/groove". If someone said (rightly or wrongly) they wanted to sound like flea, the obvious place to start would be with a Stingray and a gallienkrueger rig, but that would in reality be as close as they would get. If they learned some chilli' songs, they may get a close approximation, but ask them to jam on something or create lines for an original song, and this is where the individual shines through. If you were to set up the Pepsi challenge as suggested earlier, but instead just asked to play a single repeated staccato note, the feel of the player has less impact, and the characteristics of the instrument and associated equipment come more into play. It is ALWAYS a combination of the two, that's why Geddy sounds very little like jaco, flea very little like 'nard. But it's also why people can still pick a particular bass out in a mix, I'd fancy I could tell a p from a 'ray and I'd like to think most of us could regardless of who was playing it. Flea always sounds like flea, regardless of what he is playing, but if you take an album like one hot minute, which he recorded on a Wal, except for aeroplane, which when you listen is blatantly obvious what instrument he is using.

To say it is one or the other is just ignorant, of course it is a combination of both. Despite what some will argue, you cannot coax a stingray sound out of a p bass, regardless of who is playing it. Can you get a good sound out of both? Absolutely, but they are very different beasts. The real thing you need to consider is who do you WANT to sound like? Find out what gear they play and start there. I agree that GAS is usually fuelled by a desire to sound different/better, and it a lot of cases, simply tweaking some things can get you want you want, but the other thing is it may also open up a whole New sound. That you weren't expecting.

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1434472664' post='2799964'] I doubt they'll ever remix it. Doing so would prove that Lars and James are total dumbasses who'd rather wreck an album than have a new(ish) member of the band out class them. [/quote] This album has always been controversial when it comes to the lack of bass. As it happens I had just finished the chapter regarding the making of this album in "enter night" the Metallica biography and there are a couple of explanations for why it may have happened. There is the obvious one is that the bass was turned down as a hazing prank to mess with Jason, this has been eluded to by Rex Brown in his book, he was out with James and had been played the album, when Rex asked where the bass was, James laughed and said they were just messing with Jason. The next version is that it IS possible that they didn't feel his contribution was good enough to be on the album. Best in mind Cliff left a massive hole in the band musically when he died, so maybe they were subconsciously looking for more than Jason could offer. It's worth noting at this point in his career, Jason was a good bass player with a strong work ethic which got him into the band in the first place, however by his own admission he really knew nothing about REALLY playing bass, or how to record it, so it's also worth considering that his tone wasn't what they were after. The last option is that due to the mindset of James as Lars, they wanted to cover the hole left by cliff by pushing themselves all the way forward. Flemming Rassmussen has even said that due to the guitar and drum sounds/eq'ing on this album, they take up most of the room sonically, therefore leaving NO room for the bass anyway. Personally I think this is the most likely excuse, although there is probably some truth to all the above and any other reasons going about. It's been eluded that James may have even secretly played the bass on this album to further take control of the product, but I would doubt this, he may have written most of the bass parts, but he would at least have let him play. By comparison, the previous recording of the garage EP has Jason prominently in the mix, and he sounds great, while he is not one of my most favourite bass players, his tone on the black album is to die for, and he has to be one of the toughest mofo's on the planet for surviving the early days in the band, he basically became the whipping boy for the band and the crew to take out their grief of losing Cliff on.

Read the title of the thread and thought that Nate had quit and we were forming an orderly que to audition....

All the above is sadly too true. It amazes me how little effort venues put in to promoting gigs. We we have had some not even mention it on their website/Facebook. It takes very little effort to do a little promoting, just update your calendar, create a Facebook event and invite everyone who like your page. Others are the complete opposite, we had one ask for the graphic for our posters so he could get a larger version blown up for his billboard, which fronts a busy rd, also pushing it via social media. A little effort makes a huge difference. I can't imagine why pubs are shutting down these days ...

I feel for you, it's a crappy situation probably Made worse by the anticlimax of what should have been your first gig. While the blunder is definitely the pubs, we usually check in with the venue in the lead up to a gig and monitor their Facebook page if they have one. Have had a similar situation at one of the venues we play regularly, but it was the other bands mess up. If you keep your side professional, it can often make up for others lack thereof. If the pub is worth deing with, they should offer at the very least to give you another date asap by way of apology, I'd be adding £50 to the fee for this though to cover lost cost. If they don't do anything but shrug their shoulders I'd just move on. Plenty of good puns about!

Haha, cheers Andy!

Just completed a deal with Andy for a lovely candy apply red fender precision special. Top bloke to deal with, invited me over to try the bass without any pressure to buy, and waited a week while I sorted my finances out (stupid banks and taking a week to clear cheques!) Buy with confidence, top bloke!! Cheers Andy

Am I first to say Larry Graham??? No Larry, no slap.