alibabu

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1439202420' post='2840695'] Semantics, guys. Not the point. It's not acoustic!! Electric, electronic, electrical? It's not what it is that matters here but what it isn't. [/quote] Hehe. So back on topic then. When you use the term "acoustic", does that also imply "un-amplified"? In that case, I understand what you mean. But my point is that if you take a half decent piano and amplify that in a band situation, you very often lose both the sonic qualities of the instrument and the finer nuances that are the main arguments for keeping it all-acoustic, and add a lot of unwanted noise and reverberations. Then I would actually prefer using an electr-something, where the samples are recorded from the best instruments, using the best microphones available. I also wonder what you mean by "improving" the audience?

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1439199345' post='2840655'] BTW for those interested: Rhodes and Wurlitzer = electric, Nord = electronic. [/quote] You are right, the Nord piano should not be referred to as electric, although it has pretty good samples of the Rhodes and other electrics as well. Sorry about the confusion, english is not my first language. But after looking up on Wikipedia, isn't Digital piano the correct term for the Nord piano, and neither electric or electronic?

When I play jazz in smaller venues, without using PA, I much prefer playing with an acoustic piano or grand piano (The usual ifs apply, regarding tuning and maintenance). However, if the piano needs mic-ing and amplification to be heard, I actually prefer the much more controlled sound of a good electric, like Clavia Nord's. It is easier for the sound guy, and in many cases sound better and eliminates the risk of feedback through the piano mics. Of course, when you move into the pro league where the stage conditions and microphone and PA budget allows for the best equipment available, the real thing beats an electric any day. Disclaimer: I don't play the upright, I only play the electric ehhrrm... leftright( rightright?) bass.

I've found that if you unplug the XLR cable first, before you unplug the guitar cable, there is no (or at least far less) noise. At least this works with the boxes I have tested with, both passive and active ones. If there is another band coming on after you, just replug the XLR cable when you are done. Using this method, I can unplug when [b]I [/b]am ready, not when the soundguy is finished checking his cellphone, making out with his girlfriend, eating his curry, reading todays newspaper, looking for his contacts, turning on his hearing aid etc.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1435141540' post='2805813'] Nope. Not concerned about the "slapping bit". The song prior to Never Too Much is the Graham Central Station version of Feel The Need. [/quote] I think you maybe misunderstood me. I was not suggesting you had a problem with slapping per se, but the combination of slapping and changing key. At least on the 5 string basses I have tried (and own), the sound is quite different when slapping the same note on the E-string and the B-string. I also think it is a bit strange to judge whether a key change would "work" or not, based on an mp3 that has been key shifted that much. Try it out with the band, and see if you can make it work together, altering voicings on the guitar and keys to match the new key will probably help a lot. a.

Here is another version, still just as funky imo, no slapping and a different key (although not THAT different). But I assume the main reason for your concern about changing key was the slapping bit? [url="http://open.spotify.com/track/23KyI5QURNl9LGA7LlDWYj"]Tracy Hamlin – Never Too Much[/url] a.

I'm out this month, there just isn't enough time to finish anything listenable. Which is a pity, because I really liked the picture, and had some ideas for music to go with it. On the other hand, listening to the submissions so far, my entry would probably have ended up with no votes anyway:-D. Good luck to all!

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1422381128' post='2671955'] Many thanks. Mine is a minoroty interest area but it is nice to be appreciated!! [/quote] A good composition for me consists of three elements, a singable melody, harmonics to match, and an interesting rhythmic pattern, either in the melody itself, or in the accompaniment. I have always stated that a well written composition could be translated to any genre, and still sound good. There are a lot of examples of music traveling back and forth between classical, jazz, pop, rock, country, and other more obscure genres. Even rap and other music forms where the melody is not the most important aspect, often borrow or sample melodic elements from other songs in completely different genres. In the Basschat compo challenge, I try to pick the entry which I think is the best composition given these criteria, but it is of course easy to be deluded by a slick production and impressive playing/programming also:-). Anyway, I have a lot to learn from each and every other contestant, both on form, programming and production, and most important, having a deadline really pushes me to get something finished, instead of having the electronic drawer full of half done projects.

The votes from the Norwegian jury went to the track that I felt was the strongest composition in the traditional meaning of the word. So, well done, mr. Baggins!

[quote name='wishface' timestamp='1421587019' post='2662912'] Anyone know of any suitable Android apps for creating sequences? I've tried something called Caustic 3, but it's a demo and i've no idea how it works (it's all a bit techno). [/quote] A lot of good advice in this thread already, and also read the post Coilte links to! I am not sure about sequences, but if you are into playing over chords, there is an app called iReal http://irealpro.com/ , for iOs as well as Android, that actually plays a chord chart, either from a vast library, or you can create your own charts. You can turn on and off individual instruments, so you could turn on the bass, and listen to how it plays over the chords, and then turn the bass off and try to repeat what your heard. After doing this for a while, I am sure you will recognize patterns over similar chords, and can use that to create your own bass lines. I think this is a more satisfying way of learning than first trying to read a lot of theory, and then try to create bass lines. The best way to learn how to swim is being in the water with an instructor, not to read books about swimming theory:-) a.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1421131565' post='2657392'] [attachment=180807:Buil_Conf_Dumm.jpg] [/quote] Hehe, I am a Norwegian, we live under the spell of the Law of Jante: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1420841349' post='2654245'] Here we go. All I could think of were rabbits..... [url="https://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/run-rabid-run-reprise"]https://soundcloud.c...bid-run-reprise[/url] [/quote] Like it a lot, that's what I call a composition! Goes well with the picture also, at least the two little fellas at the top...

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1421094438' post='2657125'] Excellent stuff and very well played. [/quote] Thanks! [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1421101437' post='2657264'] Excellent piece, too short by half, though. Like; well done. [/quote] I keep my compositions short for purely tactical reasons. If people hate it, or are indifferent, I haven't wasted much of their time. If they like it, they might come back for more:-)

Here is my attempt this month, after two busy months out of the challenge, I found some time to put this together: [url="https://soundcloud.com/alibabu/no-happy-bunny"]https://soundcloud.c.../no-happy-bunny[/url] Looking forward to hear the other entries through the month! a.

[quote name='afterimage' timestamp='1420663551' post='2651986'] They have located it but went off parcel tracking. I did log into Thomann and had correct shipping address as I have bought a bass another case and amp of them last year waiting delivery [/quote] If you are still waiting for delivery for an order from last year (is that 2013 btw?), I would maybe check the address once more;-). Back to the current order: Based on your posts, there is no evidence whatsoever that Thomann is to blame that you are still waiting for your order. Could be anything from you entering the address in a wrong way, one of the involved shipping companies could have an issue, the label could be smudged or torn etc. I hope you get your order soon, and also consider updating the title of the case, to make sure the right goat is scaped. As many others here, I have always had great service from Thomann. Only once have I received a faulty item, and a replacement was quickly sent without having to return the faulty one. a.

I also voted for Skol this time, ace production quality as always, and the music fits with at least the [b]title[/b] of the picture:-). As expected, I did not have time to enter this month, but if I had, I would probably have aimed more for a jazzy or latin tune than disco. Which I guess shows my prejudice for music and age, because the picture really is from the club 54 in New York, the Temple of Disco in the seventies. (The couple in the picture is the famous concert pianist Vladimir Horowitz and his wife Wanda)

Congratulations to a well deserved winner, Mr. Smalls! I must admit I hoped for a first-timer's sympathy vote or two, but never expected this level of sympathy, even from Basschat! Thanks a lot to the eight kind souls that voted for my little piece, thereby inspiring me to have another go. Not sure about November though, a busy month ahead, but I'll sure give it a try! a.

After working in the software business for more than 20 years, I know that the difference between what customers [b]tell [/b]you that they want, and what they [b]actually [/b]want can be rather big:-). I absolutely understand the "what you see is what you get" approach, but I still think that the quality of the audio does not match the quality of the playing and pictures in the video, mainly due to the auto gain issues that I mentioned earlier. After checking your comment in the youtube version, I see that you are using the Canon 60D, and I actually have the same camera. It is excellent for video, at least for fixed focus like in this one, but you will find a lot of complaints online about the auto gain control (AGC), which cannot be turned off with Canon's own software. There is a third party software from Magic Lantern that support turning off AGC, but I haven't tested that. If you have access to Adobe Premiere CS, there is also a possibility to improve the audio a bit from AGC after the "damage" is done, as explained in this video: [url="http://tv.adobe.com/watch/short-and-suite/batch-processing-with-ame-adobe-media-encoder-adobe-audition-cs55/"]http://tv.adobe.com/watch/short-and-suite/batch-processing-with-ame-adobe-media-encoder-adobe-audition-cs55/[/url]. But of course, the best is to have a good digital recording in the first place. Anyway, best of luck with the promotions, there is nothing wrong with the music, which is the most important part!

Big thanks to both of you, we apparently read the same emotions from the picture:-).

Hi! It is obvious that you guys know what you are doing. The song list is varied with a good mix of old goodies and new stuff, the piano player doubling as as a sax player works well, and at least most of the time, you sound tight and well rehearsed. One major issue though, is that I would try to improve the audio on the video. It sounds like it is a single mic (maybe stereo) recording, with auto gain (or really high limiting/compression going on), which is ok for recording speech, but a real pain to listen to for music recordings. Preferrably, I would like to hear a multitrack recording, but a decent stereo recording can also be achieved with a couple of good mics and a digital recorder. But no auto gain please:-)

Thanks a lot Dad, I´m afraid my little sketch of music does not make your raving review justice:-). But anyway, really great of you to take the time to advertise the competition in this way, and hopefully make more mere amateurs like me dare take the plunge and enter. It is a great way of developing skills in both composing and producing music, and even though many of the entries are in a completely different league than what I can cough up, the fact that the music should relate to a picture makes the competition more open.

I had a hard time choosing between several thought-through and well produced entries this month. Bilbo's composition skills should be well known to all that have been following these competitions for a while, just as much as Skol's pro quality productions. But since the essence of this competition is making music that matches a picture, I had to go with his Lordship the Sausage this time. Excellent production with lots of layers that blend well, and makes repeated listening interesting. I especially like the subtle "pulse" that drives the piece forward without taking too much place in the mix.

Sounds like you are well prepared already. We've all been there, even the most experienced session players had to start somewhere. I remember my first public appearence in a jazz club, jamming with some friends to "Sophisticated Lady", about 25 years ago. It turned out to be a much more "sophisticated" rendition of the song than both the composer and we had intended, at some point I think we were all at different spots in the chart. But a friendly audience and good laughs about it afterwards saved the day. The best advice I can give is to keep your ears open, make sure you can both see and hear the drummer and guitarist (or keyboard player), and you will be good to go. Good luck to you, and welcome to the world of live playing!

Thanks a lot, both of you! Always good to feel welcome, and it is hard not to around these parts of the Basschat city:-). After listening to the other entries this morning, it is pretty obvious that we all have seen a lot of the same movies, hehe. Lots of similarities between the soundscapes, which will probably make it even harder than normal to pick a winner this month.

After unsuccessfully trying to finish something within the time limit for several of the earlier challenges, I finally have at least a sketch of a song to show for the october compo. I hope it is not the last time, because I definitely need to work on both my composition and recording skills. Looking forward to checking out everyone else´s contributions! https://soundcloud.com/alibabu/glowing-eyes