thisnameistaken

Just so Max doesn't feel like he's going completely insane, I would like to declare myself firmly in the "If you have to pay $500 for something then surely logic dictates that it costs $500." camp. And I'll have mine made out of unicorn sh*t please.

I might try that earplug trick, but I think it's our guitarist's dirt channel that blots out my vocal in my monitor, I can never hear myself in the loud bits. It's weird I find myself pitching notes from the vibration in my head because it's the only feedback I've got.

[quote name='Clarky' post='969510' date='Sep 27 2010, 02:24 PM']Thanks Jake - not got a teacher and I could definitely do with a technique brush up. After two hours of practice on Saturday my left forefinger kept curling up involuntarily [/quote] Ouch! I keep a Plat Pro in the front pocket of my bag, it's small enough to take everywhere with my other bits and bobs. The features on it definitely do make a big difference in controlling feedback. I would say stick it in the input unless your amp has a very pronounced character to its EQ that is hard to dial out. In that case try the FX return, it might be easier to get a good sound.

I'd put it last. I don't have a "wah" as such but I've always had a treadle-operated filter of some sort on my board and it's always been last.

If I had to pick one then I'd pick J/J. I'm thinking of adding a neck mudbucker to my Jazz though. And maybe removing the bridge pup.

Let's just agree that we're jealous of your extravagance and you have a tiny winkle, I suppose that makes us even and we can get on with talking about something more interesting.

Yeah getting more of your finger tugging the string as opposed to your finger tip will get you a lot more volume and attack. Congrats on getting that gig too man, they have an awesome sound.

[quote name='Clarky' post='968361' date='Sep 26 2010, 01:55 PM']Oops, just re-read my OP. I used the word above rather than below when referring to where the neck meets the body. For the avoidance of doubt I am playing just below where the neck meets the body, some six inches nearer to the headstock than where I see most jazz players plucking. The replies above are really helpful, many thanks to all.[/quote] Ah. Sorry I misunderstood you I was having my wakey-up coffee when I replied. Yes I pick around that point quite often too, especially when doing rocksteady covers with just our guitarist. If the drummer is with us then I pick nearer the bridge because I will need to put a lot more force into the string, but I prefer the sound further up the board for that sort of thing.

[quote name='molan' post='968866' date='Sep 26 2010, 09:36 PM']You know, I genuinely think this is one of the most ludicrous comments I've ever seen on BC, lol. I'm assuming you have a £5 plastic Watch, drive a Trabant, keep your money in one those fabric and Velcro wallets and play a £50 Chinese made bass - after all, each these will 'do' the job for which they were intended. . .[/quote] To be fair, if you paid £100 for a bass it would more than likely be twice as good as the £50 bass. But is a £6000 bass ten times as good as a £600 bass? [quote name='molan' post='968866' date='Sep 26 2010, 09:36 PM']Personally if I met someone with all of those expensive things you listed I'd assume they'd worked bloody hard, been very successful at their careers and were reaping the benefits - and good luck to them, that's what I'd say [/quote] Yeah or they might be rich for some other reason. I usually assume people who spend tonnes of money on status symbols are just a bit naive and didn't realise they could get their tiny penis enlarged for as little as £5000.

Well yes the tone does change depending on where you pick, just like it does on a BG, but bear in mind the mid-point of the string is going to be somewhere past the neck joint, so if you're playing above that point your tone will be going back to what it would be on the other half of the string nearer the bridge, if you see what I mean. Also you can get a fuller and thumpier attack using the side of your finger than the tip (which tends to sound twangier). Amplified: Depends on your set-up I suppose, and your ears. If you've got a rig that reproduces a lot of the instrument's character then obviously yes it would matter how you pick. I just use an average bridge wing piezo and a bass guitar amp and even with my rig I can hear the difference in how I approach the string. Maybe if you were taping up the F-holes and trying to deaden your bass to get lots of volume for a rock n' roll gig it might not make such a difference.

I hate listening to a bunch of people who haven't rehearsed playing extended blues jams, I've heard all the blues solo licks a million times. It's on my list of stuff that makes me go to a different pub including cover bands playing the cover band standards and self-absorbed solo singer/songwriter/guitarists with acoustics.

Plucking higher up gives you a rounder tone which can be nice, but above the neck joint you'd be on your way back towards middy territory but on the other half of the string! Probably half the reason you're plucking with your hand perpendicular is because your hand is raised so much. If you lowered your hand near to the end of the fingerboard you would be forced to play with the side of your fingers rather than the tips. I would suggest you get used to a more traditional way of picking. I still turn my hand a bit "guitar-ey" if I'm playing something fast with alternating fingers and a lot of string changes, but otherwise I think it sounds better using the side of my finger.

Note that if you're selling an older one, you are still allowed to claim it sounds better and/or tracks better in an effort to justify doubling the price. It's also a cert that some mug will believe you.

Nice! I think I'm going to need a second bass for this though, it's too much of a specialist set-up to have on my only bass.

I would leave effects well alone, a bit of reverb fills a voice out but I wouldn't do anything else. If you're singing harmony and the balance of the two voices is right then nobody will be able to hear the quality of your voice anyway, just the note. Don't worry about it.

[quote name='Dudgeman' post='966262' date='Sep 23 2010, 11:28 PM']As one other post also said, to see them at Wembley inc travel would probably have cost almost £90.00 to come and see us starts at £6.00... Value for money..[/quote] Fender guitars are about £900 now, but I saw one that looked pretty much the same in Toys R Us for £90. Now that is good value.

The worst one I recall was when we opened for some space rock trio last winter, it was just inhuman. Two bands on before them were fairly sensible volume, then they came on and it was twice as loud. Nobody could stand to be in the room while they were playing, everybody was hiding round the corner or on the stairs it was ridiculous. Sound guy is just standing there behind his desk there's nothing wrong.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='965774' date='Sep 23 2010, 04:18 PM']this is great in a live situation but when you are trying to rehearse its not good for working out things...[/quote] TBH it pisses me off when live bands are so bloody loud all the time. Do sound techs learn during their training that the ideal sound pressure level is for listening to music is one that requires everybody in the room to be wearing ear protection? It makes me really angry. Especially when it's us on stage. Nice sig by the way. Half a screen of gear you don't even have any more.

This thread and others like it remind me of this:

The world's not short of attractive women or quality bassists. I suppose if you got someone who was both it would be novel, but bass playing isn't something I look for in a woman. I've even had a girlfriend who played bass but it certainly wasn't the bass playing I was interested in!

Leaves me cold tbh.

Black looks best, tort if it's not too red, but you'll wish you'd got black. White looks too clean/new, pearloid looks too bling.

Someone's given me the idea of taking Thomastik spiros F# tuning and dropping them to E to lower the tension. Has anyone done this before and how did it work out for you?

[quote name='lanark' post='963162' date='Sep 21 2010, 11:55 AM']Ha! what is this "Nitro" finish? And why on earth is it so delicate?[/quote] Nitrocellulose. Fender used to use it on their guitars, some players believe it imparts magical tone. Probably the same people who think caked-up layers of dust are also tonally important. It can react with some types of foam rubber apparently, but it goes yellow and brittle and crazes and cracks and falls away in lumps eventually, so getting marks on it from your guitar stand is probably not worth worrying about.

I'm never sure what to make of the "A gig's a gig" credo. I've played plenty of gigs where I would've rather been somewhere else; gigs that we thought might be sh*t when we agreed to play them and didn't disappoint. I suppose if you're only doing it for the money then it's a different story. To me a gig's a live music event not a job.