Huge Hands

I had already been playing drums for a few years, and remember enjoying listening to rhythmn sections, but strangely enough, it was watching Paul McCartney closeups in the first 40 seconds of [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yNcE8c3j2M"]I Am The Walrus[/url] on the Magical Mystery Tour film that made me say "I want to play bass". I thought he looked so cool, shame I've never managed to look anything resembling cool in my time playing. However, although I would add that there have since been players who have had much bigger influence on how I play, I still think he's great (sorry Macca haters ) P.S. Message to oldslapper: I love Dee Murray too. Shame he's no longer with us.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEnAi8H70BY"]This one[/url] is my favourite JGW tune, nice and chilled.

Jerry Scheff?

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='699493' date='Jan 3 2010, 01:42 PM']Funny enough, I think my DJ5 looks great but i dont really like the tone so i guess its eligible for this thread.[/quote] Oh wow, I think I just felt movement in my trousers....

I know Mr Zender is in the video, but didn't I once read somewhere that as this was the first track recorded, it was pre-Zender joining and done by Andrew Levy of the Brand New Heavies? Of course I could be wrong...

Why thank you everyone! I've been watching this thread develop and have finally got around to plugging a decent set of headphones into my laptop so I can listen to all the clips. Excellent. Personally, I like the slow grooving stuff. I especially liked the Me'Shell one that was posted early on. I would like to add my own personal favourite, Millie Jackson. To be honest, I think it is the whole band that makes this groove and drip with funk, especially as the bass player is playing it quite straight. I love it after the breakdown, after 3.45 ish. Further examples of "my thing" are: Freddie King Ronnie McNeir Aretha Franklin Another example of the religious lot doing it well is this soundcheck by Tye Tribbett (brother Thaddeus "Terry" Tribbett on bass)

Flipping heck! Some nice prezzies there. I got a wooly hat.....

1) How long have you been playing Bass Guitar/String Bass for or both? [b]Bass Guitar 18 years, Upright Bass 5 years (although the latter is mainly at home for personal gratification)[/b] 2) If you don’t play string bass/bass guitar have you thought of doubling up on either to get more recognition as a bass player? [b]See above[/b] 3) Who are your favourite exponents of both string bass/bass guitar? [b]Jamerson. 'Nuff said.[/b] 4) Do you think that both the bass guitar and string bass are important as bass instruments? [b]Of course. [/b] 5) What genres do you think are important for bass players to listen to? [b]All genres.[/b] 6) Do you think electric guitarists can learn to play bass guitar more than string bass? [b]I think it depends on the person. I struggle to play the guitar because I have fat fingers, I'm sure guitarists with dinky hands might struggle to stretch on the upright?[/b] 7) Do you think bass can be used to solo as well as accompany other instruments? [b]Yes, but not the sort of thing I like to listen to for very long.[/b] 8) Do you think it is important to learn to sight read? [b]Yes, I wish my skills were better.[/b] 9) What do you think of bass guitars such as 5 string/6 string e.g. as being an add-on to the bass players role? [b]I love 5 strings for the extra low notes and position possibilities. I'm not into extra high strings because I'm not a "widdler" but I'm sure they are good for those that are.[/b] 10) What are your opinions on electric upright basses as a substitute for the string bass? [b]Never tried one, but once you've tried to get a 3/4 acoustic into a Renault Clio along with the amps and other stuff, you begin to wish you had.[/b] 11) What is the best amp to use for bass guitar or string bass? [b]Erm, this will cause a flame war for personal preference, it's all subjective! I use an Ashdown rig, but never been happy with the upright through it. I think this is down to lack of setup time spent with the pickup and its preamp to get a nice sound, rather than the rig though![/b] 12) What pickups for string bass are the best for capturing the natural tone of the instrument? [b]As above, RE: subjectivity. I suppose I could generalise and say flatwounds?[/b]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='691106' date='Dec 21 2009, 11:13 PM']Low Rider by War, also helps if you have the deep voice to sing along (i haven't!)[/quote] "World Is A Ghetto" by War is unbelievably simple, but groovy to play along to. [quote name='kennyrdog']Not quite stupidly easy but Donny Hathaway's Little ghetto boy is the one I get the most pleasure from.[/quote] Erm, I take it this isn't the live version with Willie Weeks you're playing to? If you're trying to imitate some of his fills on there, I wouldn't say it's easy at all!

I have, and I love 5 strings! The reason for me is that I love the occasional addition of the rumbly low notes without having to detune, and I prefer to play scale shapes in keys such as E and Eb without having to play open strings or move about the neck more. It might be lazy, but that's the way I like it. I also taught myself to sit with my thumb on the E-string when not playing it as I would a 4 string. This keeps both E and B strings muted, and also to keep my hand "memory" for when I occasionally go back to a 4 string. I don't know if it has worked, but I seem to be able to swap fairly easy, and that's what I keep telling myself anyway! Good luck with it, I would always advise someone to try it before knocking it.

[quote name='Higgie' post='690142' date='Dec 20 2009, 09:11 PM']Yup, uses 5's for Jamiroquai as the Low B is needed for a lot of their stuff, but prefers playing 4's. I met him through a friend and he's an absolutely lovely bloke.[/quote] A right handed drum kit in these pics though, so not Jamiroquai, or has Derrick left a well?

[quote name='YouMa' post='685985' date='Dec 16 2009, 02:07 AM']well i was happy.[/quote] To clarify, and be honest, the stuff I got from Grotts was probably "the cheapest item in the shop" rather than something decent they might have had. My first drum kit was adorned with the name "California", but I wasn't thinking of the sun of LA when I was having to tighten all the lugs with pliers because they couldn't handle the weight of the drums!

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='685593' date='Dec 15 2009, 07:22 PM']How very dare you.[/quote] Maybe I should have added "allegedly"

[quote name='chardbass' post='685529' date='Dec 15 2009, 06:23 PM']Evening Stu [/quote] Evening 'chard! Howard is something else we have in common....

My first drum kit, bass guitar and amp came from Grott Guitars. All of it s**te.

[quote name='MIJ-VI' post='683771' date='Dec 14 2009, 10:48 AM']Perhaps someone here would know: POLAR AUDIO LTD.[/quote] As far as I understand it, Polar Audio are a distributor of GK, so may not deal with your average "man on the street" direct. They may refer you back to where you purchased it, or a local retailer. However, it's worth a shot. I know one of the guys at Polar and have pointed him to this thread, I'm sure they'll appreciate the comments - including the constructive criticism!

[quote name='Shockwave' post='685186' date='Dec 15 2009, 02:01 PM']It seems to be me that every barefaced user is Whiteknighting (for lack of a better word) Barefaced and making it seem like the cabs can do no wrong, which is very similar to what happened when Ashdown gear was popular on here and was first questioned as to how great it really was.[/quote] Rob, I think you should take some praise in the fact that you wrote a review giving your honest opinion of the cab. If I had the cash, I would love a "Big One" (oo-er) and it was nice to hear some of the other side of the coin and possible pitfalls involved in getting one, including the purchasing issues, which is always a worry when purchasing from small businesses. For example, (again if only I had the cash), I would love a custom Shuker, but I reckon that his apparent waiting time (going by users on here) would drive me up the wall with impatience. I'm not saying that it's out of the ordinary or unreasonable, but it's good to know as I don't think I'd be able to wait that long! I think Alex has answered some of your queries in a way that after the initial concern from your posts, would make me feel better about taking the plunge. Unfortunately I haven't got the cash to do so (have I mentioned that already??) Anyway, balanced reviews are always welcome from me, as long as the manufacturer has the ability to reply to criticism. Bally good job well done fellows, in my opinion!

Ha ha, the shop in High Bridge Street! I remember often trying to look through the window whilst on my way back to Worswick Street for the bus home! I can't remember which incarnation it was at the time, nor whether I ever plucked up the courage to actually go in and try something....

[quote name='Beedster' post='681702' date='Dec 11 2009, 08:56 PM']What your thinking on straight versus relief Doc?[/quote] I can't believe Howard was asked this gem and didn't come back with a smutty response. I scrolled down the thread as fast as I could but was disappointed. A golden opportunity missed, surely? Or maybe my mind is just [b]too [/b]dirty....

I laughed my head off at a friend's status on Facebook last night. He was arguing about why such an amazing music icon should be on such a show that idolises karaoke and non-originality (his words not mine) when a young girl he obviously knows suddenly wrote: [i]"Karaoke? Well Macca is no better. He got up and sang a Guns 'N' Roses song".[/i] At first I thought it was sarcasm, until I read her responses when people tried to correct her. Classic! EDIT: Sorry corrected it to Guns 'N' Roses, rather than "and". I'm just not down with it!

Interesting that this seller appears to live in London but can't even spell it properly in the listing? I realise there will be people which will flame me and say this could be normal due to dyslexia etc, but still arose my suspicions....

In my experience, normalisation not only "stretches" the quiet music signal to an average level, but also stretches the noise floor. I have used normalisation to good effect on several band demo tracks to good effect, but on some the noise in the quiet bits is too obvious and distracting. I would imagine a lot of pro engineers use normalisation, so I don't know why it is a "mug's game". Probably the hi-fi snobs talking there! Obviously, over use of it can cause loss of dynamics, introduce distortion (as other have mentioned) and in some cases totally change a sound. However, this isn't always a bad thing, you might get some good effects from it! For me, sound is subjective and experimentation should always be the key (always keep copies of the originals so you can start again of you go too far!) For people to just dimiss it like that is a bit closed minded as far as I am concerned. Again, just IMHO!

[quote name='JTUK' post='684817' date='Dec 15 2009, 07:59 AM']For me, these cabs need to have a good few months of hard gigging to get a better picture. I know people are going to say that their cabs have done well so far, but for the money, these cabs need to last and be bombproof over a a few years.[/quote] Surely though, my take on this is if I had the money to buy one of these, I would be in the frame of mind that I was paying more of a premium because they have been made so light, to save my back, whilst still doing their best to give the best audio possible? If they then turned out to be bombproof, then even better. I'm not so sure I would expect that of something so light as well. However, I have had a go of a "Big One" (I believe it was) thanks to Merton letting me have a shot when he was trying an early model out for Alex. Due to the neighbours, this was at low volumes (when I would expect it to be at it most middly with not much low end). However, it had a lovely warm tone that I like. I agree the construction looked bit "homemade", but the finish on the one in Alex's avatar looks really nice to me. If I had the spare cash, I reckon I'd plump for one of these, knowing that I'd have a few more years with a little less back pain than I would get from other cabs! If I had shedloads of cash and my own tech to hump my gear around, then I would probably look elsewhere! Just my humble opinion of course....