solo4652

[quote name='silddx' post='1237371' date='May 19 2011, 08:29 PM']If I need to let songs sink in, I ALWAYS do something else at the same time. Drive, play a stupid game on my Blackberry with the music in the headphones, cook dinner, whatever. In a day or two, I'm humming parts of the songs without prompting or I get earworms and stuff. If it's complex, I will record the bass to the track and force myself to get it right and understand the arrangement.[/quote] Really? I'd never considered that. In fact, quite the reverse - I tend to concentrate fully on a song with nothing else going on to distract me. Maybe I'm trying too hard. Never could multi-task.

I have an 08 USA P, a USA G&L L2000 and an ATK 300 and I've been trying to decide which to use, when. At home, through the 75w practice amp, the G&L steals the show with it's richness and depth of tone. But that's when it's on its own, and I wondered whether it would be a bit OTT in a band setting, especially aongside two guitars. I decided to take all 3 to rehearsal and ask the others which they preffered. Through the 160w SWR rehearsal amp running at pretty much full whack, the P bass was universally judged to be the best because it produced the clearest, most defined sound. 2nd choice was the ATK - it can be set up with a full, rich tone without it becoming too phat or intense. 3rd choice, perhaps surprisingly was the G&L. It was considered to be just a bit too loud and full-on in terms of its tone, even when switched to passive and whichever it is of series/parrallel that pulls the bass tone back. I bought the bass because of its chocolaty, full-roasted, old shoe-leather-and-licorice tone and now spend most of my time working out ways to reduce that tone - all a bit daft really. Aongside 2 guitars the G&L can be good at adding to overall volume but can struggle to cut through and be heard clearly. Would I sell the G&L? No - it gives me a lot of pleasure playing it at home, and I'm going to use it for recording. So, in a band setting, I'm with Happy Jack - good ol' P bass through my Roland, with the ATK 300 on standby in the corner. Steve

[quote name='steve' post='1233993' date='May 17 2011, 09:46 AM']Sounds like you're at a bit of an impasse, what's the band dynamic like? Does the songs originator put the songs out to the band to be modified by jamming/ discussion etc, or is it a case of "it's my song, play it like this"?[/quote] The song writers are fairly relaxed about the band modifying the songs, to be fair. I've had a bit of a breakthrough with some music analysis software that I've been sent. I've put some of the originals through it and it's come up with some very useful chord suggestions. When I played them, they sounded much better than any of our by-ear efforts. So, I've run off some copies for rehearsal tonight - might be the first time we've all played off the same songsheet. I'm really hoping it will save a lot of wasted time. We'll see. Steve

[quote name='deepbass5' post='1233751' date='May 16 2011, 10:19 PM']This is something you will get better and quicker at. I find it depends on the song, it is far better to learn it parrot fashion verse by verse chorus by chorus start to finish. Be aware of that guitarist they have a tendency to learn one verse and one chorus scribble an intro and a bridge and bobs your uncle. Many songs have some quirky alterations as they go on. So I always learn them. Top to bottom as a check. Down load for free ( [b]Best Practice [/b]) you can download your track into it and slow it down without changing key. Or use it to learn something in a different key, say to suit the singer. Really good for those tricky numbers with loads going on, where picking out the bass line is pretty hard. Our guitarist wanted to play Sweet child of mine in C, crazy I thought but I just used Best Practice. I need crib sheets and I use all three of these methods in an evening. Remember the worst handwriting is better than the best memory. 1. Just Learn it so you can engage with the audience and move about a bit 2. My own short hand which comprises of A4 sheet with basic root chord notes per bar in big felt pen, maybe with some written bits or runs where things need to be spot on and I may forget. 3. As a reader I occasionally write the whole thing out, usually on more moving lines that do not seem to follow a pattern and again need to be exact Good luck[/quote] Sounds like you and I have a very similar attitude to ensuring we know what we're doing. Like you, I learn the song top-to-bottom as well and as soon as I can. In fact, the rest of the band generally ask me if they're unsure about the overall structure of the song because they know I've probably listened to the song umpteen times. I perhaps tend to learn the song too well, too early because I don't like turning up at rehearsal semi-prepared and going at a song half-cocked. However, I then find it frustrating when other band members point out that what I'm doing is wrong (even though I send them my notes beforehand so they can check them). I too have crib sheets which sound just like yours. Often, I don't refer to them much - it's the act of writing them out that really helps me to learn the song. Steve (from Radcliffe) makes a good point above - perhaps the sensible thing might be to do the minimum amount of learning and transcribing for the first few rehearsals, let the others disagree/suggest alternatives, and try hard not to learn the song in too much detail too early in the process. My current (largely originals) band has a very different vibe to my previous (all covers) band, and I'm struggling to change from being expected to get it absolutely right to getting it generally right.

[quote name='steve' post='1233541' date='May 16 2011, 08:11 PM']If I was in that situation I'd start with roots, and then wait for everyone else to sort themselves out before fleshing out the rest of the the bass parts[/quote] Yep - that's what I've tended to do. Problem is, we can't even always agree on the roots!

[quote name='MrRatty' post='1233458' date='May 16 2011, 07:07 PM']Would something like Transcribe (www.seventhstring.com) help? I find its ability to slow things down, filter out certain sections and have a stab at which notes are present pretty useful. It could be considered a cheat but I consider it a practical aid.[/quote] Thanks - I'll have a look at it.

[quote name='markstuk' post='1233317' date='May 16 2011, 05:34 PM']how did the drummer/singer get the tracks into mp3 format without instruments? Other, now defunct, musicians? Forgive me, but it's hard to understand how the "songwriters" could compose without knowing the structure of the songs ... Why not post the mp3's here? I'm happy to give at least one of them a bash :-)[/quote] The songs were recorded a few years ago. I'm sure the songwriters knew the structure of the songs, but it seems nothing has been written down. Thank you for offering to transcribe one of the songs, but that would be a major cheat by me! I'm going to have to read up on chord theory and keep on listening.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1233263' date='May 16 2011, 04:44 PM']Everyone's approach is different - mine would be just to listen to the song repeatedly, and let it sink in. A line will present itself eventually...[/quote] Well, that's what I've been doing, really. Trouble is, after a few listens I think I've got it but after few more listens, I convice myself that it's something else. And so it goes on. Headaches, confusion, irritation...

[quote name='chris_b' post='1233159' date='May 16 2011, 03:32 PM']The easiest way is ears! A chord chart is just that. Are you trying to write the dots/notes as well?[/quote] My ears have had a bashing over the weekend with this and they don't seem to hear what the guitarists' ears are hearing! I'm trying to write a chord chart which I can then use as the basis of a bassline. Is there a simple, free software program that will do this for me? I tried to download Digital Music Mentor but McAfee threw a complete wobbler, and it's taken me almost an hour to clean up the computer. Steve

The drummer and singer in my band write songs. Over the past few weeks, I've been sent studio recordings of these songs so I can learn the bass parts. No music (no point - I don't read music), no chords, no tabs - nothing written at all. Just the MP3 files. I've asked for a chord chart - blank looks from the songwriters. I have spent HOURS listening to the songs, trying to write down the basic song structures and bass parts, and then re-writing them. So have the lead guitarist and the rhythm guitarist. The result is 3 different chord charts, which leads to much discussion and experimentation at rehearsals. It also leads to an obviously-bored singer who contributes by saying "can you all stop fannying around and get on with the song"! I'm getting so frustrated with this. I'm new to transcribing originals, and I'm wondering if I'm missing something. Is there an easy, foolproof way of coming up with a chord structure? Steve

[quote name='Sibob' post='1230065' date='May 13 2011, 03:52 PM']May I put forward my 'guitar bands' effort Forgive the extended intro (we have fun with that live), but we mess with the arrangement of the main tune and I think it works! Si[/quote] Damned good. Damned depressing.

[quote name='charic' post='1229600' date='May 13 2011, 07:51 AM']Line 6 Studio 110 gets my pick [/quote] I'll second that. Mine sits unobtrusively behind the sofa. Beedster's got one for sale: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=135523"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=135523[/url]

[quote name='peteb' post='1228436' date='May 12 2011, 09:02 AM']Unfortunately that makes it impossible to play on a guitar / 4 string bass in standard tuning Get the feel right and E sounds just fine![/quote] My last band played this in E and it was fine. We had a very good keys player who played most of the bass, with me helping out. He and I worked out a fairly simple bassline for me to play and I have it written down as a scruffy mix of roots and tabs, if anybody wants it. PM me, if so. Steve

[quote name='Grandad Paul' post='1228953' date='May 12 2011, 03:54 PM']I have just twisted my back looking at the photo. Not much torque in my spine at 64. lol.[/quote] Perhaps it's not even worth a sidelong glance.

This seller just doesn't know when to let the picture do the talking - I gave up reading the details... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Torque-200-watt-bass-head-and-4-x-10-inch-speaker-cab-/140545462787?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item20b9299203"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Torque-200-watt-bass...=item20b9299203[/url]

Update. Thanks to everybody for your helpful comments. The singer has made it clear that she is much more interested in originals than covers. Given that 3 of the 5 band members are keen songwriters, it may well be that the band decides to go down the originals route. I'm not unhappy with that - in many ways I'd rather do that then try to do both covers and originals and end up falling between 2 stools. We'll see how it pans out over the next couple of months. Steve

Folks, I recently joined a covers band that's rapidly turning into an originals band. It has been suggested that we could do a 50/50 split but I'm not sure whether this is viable. Are covers and originals different "markets", played in different venues to different sorts of audiences? The band leader (an experienced pro muso and songwriter) says that all will be well providing we choose originals that are dance-y, poppy and accessible and in that way sit easily alongside the covers we play. "We'll write and play songs that the audience think they know, but don't, so they'll still get up and dance..." To be fair, the originals that I've been played [i]are[/i] catchy and "commercial", but is this covers/originals blend going to work? What do you think? Steve

[quote name='watchman' post='1203124' date='Apr 18 2011, 02:15 AM']At a real push, I find. But it is a decent little home amp, with some decent recording chops too. I wish it were a bit lighter, but mine does well for the practice task.[/quote] Vote of support for the Line 6 110 Studio. I use mine for living room practice and it tucks away neatly under the TV table. Up until recently I also used it for rehearsals with a rhthym guitarist, singer and unmiced drummer. It eventually ran out of puff when we got a lead guitarist too. Steve

Here you go: [url="http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/1954-fender-vintage-precision-p-bass-super-light/77597709"]http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/1954-fen...-light/77597709[/url]