Blackbird88
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What are you listening to right now?
Blackbird88 replied to Sarah5string's topic in General Discussion
Sixx A.M. - Life is beautiful Trying to work out how to play it but the internets tabs are predictably all wrong and I have no ear for these things. Of course it probably doesn't help that it's after midnight... -
[quote name='blamelouis' timestamp='1352844724' post='1868433'] I agree with Sting ...... Rock star Sting has called the X Factor "televised karaoke" and said judges like Simon Cowell have "no recognisable talent apart from self-promotion". The singer, 58, told London's Evening Standard that the Saturday night show was "a soap opera which has nothing to do with music". He added: "I am sorry but none of those kids are going to go anywhere, and I say that sadly." Sting rose to fame with The Police, but has also had a successful solo career. With albums like Ten Summoner's Tales and Nothing Like The Sun, he has notched up 11 Grammys, two Brits, a Golden Globe, an Emmy and three Oscar nominations. The Police, who recently reformed and performed a sell-out world tour, scooped five Grammy awards when they were together. 'Appalling' Sting said the singers who participate in the X Factor, created by Cowell in 2004, were "humiliated when they get sent off". He added: "How appalling for a young person to feel that rejection. It is a soap opera which has nothing to do with music. "In fact, it has put music back decades. Television is very cynical." The singer, whose Fields Of Gold is a staple of talent show auditions, went on to say that X Factor encouraged contestants to "conform to stereotypes". He added: "They are either Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston or Boyzone and are not encouraged to create any real unique signature or fingerprint. "That cannot come from TV. The X Factor is a preposterous show and you have judges who have no recognisable talent apart from self-promotion, advising them what to wear and how to look. It is appalling. "The real shop floor for musical talent is pubs and clubs, that is where the original work is. But they are being closed down on a daily basis. It is impossible to put an act on in a pub. "The music industry has been hugely important to England, bringing in millions. If anyone thinks the X Factor is going to do that, they are wrong." A spokesperson for the X Factor declined to comment on Sting's interview, saying he was entitled to his opinion. [/quote] Sounds pretty spot on to me, except for the bit where they called him a singer. He's a bass player goddamnit.
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great bass players with terrible technique, are there any?
Blackbird88 replied to iconic's topic in General Discussion
Duff McKagan - He plays with a pick -
[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1352301477' post='1861283'] And nearly 100% mark up! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280958454861 [/quote] Over £100 profit for f**king up a bass? Not bad, he's on to a winner financially speaking. Tragic loss of an instrument though.
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Hmm...fair enough. Never seen one before. Really don't like it though, just looks wrong. Sorry for the insult guys.
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In fact on closer inspection everything about it is wrong, PJ pickups, fender style bridge, pots are wrong type and location and the tuners are the wrong side. Headstock might be the wrong shape too, I'm looking at it on my phone so the picture isn't very big or very clear. And obviously the body is the wrong shape. It's like it was made by someone who'd had a t-bird vaguely described to them.
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Or obscure model? I've never seen anything like this, it looks glaringly bad and my instinct was it's a very bad fake but the seller seems legit (even if he can't spell musical). Anybody know anything about this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EPIPHONE-THUNDERBIRD-ELECTRIC-BASS-GUITAR-POWDER-BLUE-MUSICIAL-INSTRUMENT-BAND-N-/230875300300?pt=Guitar&hash=item35c13d81cc Edit: Disregard this, I stand corrected. My apologies to all non-reverse t-bird owners/fans, I'd not seen one before and Epiphones website didn't have one listed.
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Bumpage -
Bump-de-bump
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The SRs are great, I've got the 400, pretty sure the only difference between mine and the 300 is the quilted maple top and the trans lavender finish, and I love it, lot of bass for the price. The cheaper models can be picked up so cheaply too, gumtree and eBay are full of them. If you can find one the EDB550 is awesome too. Neck profile is similar to the SRs, they're active, have Duncan p'ups and they're cheap second hand too, not very popular though. The 550 and 555 (to my knowledge) were the only ones made of wood (they're light ash), the rest were luthite. Great tone and real easy to play, and lightweight for a bass too, changing to mine from a 4 string BTB is like swapping a brick for helium balloon.
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Bump
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SOLD - Hartke 3500 amp in flight case _SOLD PLEASE REMOVE
Blackbird88 replied to MikeBass's topic in Amps and Cabs For Sale
Great amp, great price, esp. as its in a hard case. I run mine through a Hartke 4.5XL, great clean tone. -
Bump
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I'm selling my Ibanez BTB 775 inc. gator hardcase for £600 I bought it 2 months back for £650 brand new (reduced from £750) from Nevada Music in Portsmouth, it's been my first 5 string, but over the last couple of months I've found I'm not really getting on with it, and I'm at a bit of a loss at to what to do with the extra string if I'm honest She's completely damage free, theres just a few fingermarks on it, and I've fitted a new set of Elixirs to it because the original strings were feeling a little old. Looks great, the poplar burl top is finished in Charcoal Brown, but it actually looks more like a dark/burnt orange, the body is mahogany and the neck is a five piece maple/bubinga mix with neck through construction, and a rosewood fingerboard with abalone inlay. It has the MR-2 monorail individual bridge which helps prevent sympathetic string vibration and gives great sustain. It has 2 Bartolini Mk2 humbucker pickups and the Bartolini Mk2 preamp fitted, running on 18V, the tone is great, she's an absolute beast, but I can't do her justice and can't afford to have a £650 ornament sitting around! It's a testament to how much I love the sound of it that I've just bought the 4 string version in Amber from eBay. I'm also throwing in a gator hardcase I don't need/use to protect her/sweeten the deal. I'm willing to ship via Parcelforce at the buyers expense, or another courier if they'd prefer, or if they would rather set up their own courier that's fine too, I'll pad the case inside and out with foam/bubblewrap/whatever I can get my hands on, and see if I can get a bike box to ship it in too, the more protection the better. Here's what Ibanez have to say about it: [url="http://www.ibanez.com/BassGuitars/model-BTB775PB"]http://www.ibanez.co.../model-BTB775PB[/url] Any questions don't hesitate to ask. I'd have added the pictures to the post but they're rather large and I don't know how to add them as thumbnails. Edit: As I hit post I spotted the attach button at the bottom of the page, nevermind, they're on there now Edit2: Might help if I put my location on here, if anyone wants to view and play it, I'm based in Swindon in Wiltshire. Pictures: [url="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Demonic_Mk2/image7_zpsba9b2f35.jpeg"]http://i267.photobuc...psba9b2f35.jpeg[/url] [url="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Demonic_Mk2/image3_zps2329b7ce.jpeg"]http://i267.photobuc...ps2329b7ce.jpeg[/url] [url="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Demonic_Mk2/image4_zps87738f41.jpeg"]http://i267.photobuc...ps87738f41.jpeg[/url] [url="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Demonic_Mk2/image5_zps0ca72c4b.jpeg"]http://i267.photobuc...ps0ca72c4b.jpeg[/url] [url="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Demonic_Mk2/image6_zps5dcf0ddf.jpeg"]http://i267.photobuc...ps5dcf0ddf.jpeg[/url] [url="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Demonic_Mk2/image1_zpsb93a9048.jpeg"]http://i267.photobuc...psb93a9048.jpeg[/url]
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The basses you love to hate thread.
Blackbird88 replied to StephenFerguson's topic in General Discussion
[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1350911953' post='1844935'] err.... you know fender invented the original right? [/quote] I do, I meant that not much about them has changed since then, sorry for the ambiguity. [quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1350934605' post='1845325'] http://axvault.com/2012/10/10/five-other-fender-instruments/ there's the article. Can't be bothered finding the links to the bass specific part, but it should be in there somewhere. [/quote] I did not know about this, I'll have a read of it tomorrow, I'm at work right now on a nightshift. And in the meantime I'll amend my comments to this "Fender P and J basses are way too common". I realise they're common for a reason, but I prefer something a little more unusual. Based on which I'm not sure why I play an Ibanez SR... -
The basses you love to hate thread.
Blackbird88 replied to StephenFerguson's topic in General Discussion
Fenders, simply for the lack of originality, in all the time P and J basses have existed the body design has never really changed much, and they never seem to try anything new. Probably why I like the Blacktop Jazz, there's a bit of creativity there, deviating from the norm and taking a risk. Thunderbirds. I really liked them until I tried one, and took a sharp swing in the other direction. Like a baseball bat with a lead weight at both ends, unbalanced, uncomfortable and awkward. And far too heavy to play sitting down. Wasn't sure whether to play it or fight with it. BC Rich, with the exception of the mockingbird, they're trying way too hard to look cool. And failing. Stingrays with the single MM pickup in the bridge position, they look unbalanced. I can't yet find it in me to hate Rick's, I like the look too much, but then I've never played one. -
[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1350898565' post='1844693'] Muse and Korn have been around for a fair few years. There are still plenty of bass heroes around, but name a new one from the last 5 years? [/quote] Mine would be Amos Williams of Tesseract, but they're a very niche band, and they've only one album. From what I've seen his fretting isn't usually overly fast or technical but he uses a multitude of picking techniques and he has a hell of a groove.
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I like the play what you like approach, but in case you were interested, John Myung of Dream Theater plays 6 string MM bongo's.
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Glad I spotted this thread, it's highlighted a problem in my own playing. A couple weeks ago I had some tingling in my left hand, thinking back I'd been practicing more than usual beforehand. Said tingling lasted on and off about a week, it has faded since with the odd rare relapse. Going to adjust my strap position in response, I'd never realised playing could cause this, though now it makes perfect sense. I wonder if its related to finger length, I have rather short fingers and find I had to arch my wrist somewhat to achieve speed and dexterity on my E string sometimes, clearly now due to the strap needing to be shorter, but I don't have it longer than anyone else I know.
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I don't think we're lacking in bass heroes as such, in fact Chris Wolstenholme of Muse and Fieldy of Korn spring to mind, I just think as others have said, it's a classic case of the bassist being a ghost. I remember reading somewhere (Bass Guitar Mag I think) a bassist in a gigging band said he believed that the bassist job is to be invaluable but invisible, and I think it's all too common a case. Modern bassists aren't necessarily unoriginal or uninspiring but paradoxically you have to be a bassist already to spot the awesomeness! Which gives you the drive to learn. They are also often overshadowed by larger figures, taking Muse as an example Matt Bellamy is a massive character and the face of the band, much as Slash and Axl were for guns and roses. Personally I'm a big fan of John Myung of Dream Theater and John Moyer of Disturbed, but I didn't recognise the things I admire in them until after I became a bassist. And to further the point about kids not wanting to be Victor Wooten, it's more likely they don't know who he is. I'd never heard of him until I started playing. Because if I'd known of him years ago I'd have wanted to be him, he just oozes cool. I also refute the point about churning out root notes, it has a place, I consciously decided not to play the full blues scale in my bands cover of Johnny B Goode because we have a fast and heavy rock vibe to it and I thought root notes gave it more drive (though I indulge in a run down said scale at the end of the chorus' and solos ) though I usually hate to fire out repeated root notes. Aside from that, we're pretty much the geeks of the band, bassists tend to be gear heads, present company proving said point
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Bought a Line 6 Studio 110 from him, solid item, good communication, flexible with pickup times/locations, and a nice bloke too, couldn't be happier.
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Cheers for all the welcomes guys. @BassTractor: damn, knew I should've painted that ladder matt black @Leen2112: Love my Ibanez's (Ibani?), just so easy to play. I strangely find myself wanting a Jazz bass at the moment though. @MiltyG565: We are indeed, it'd be boring if we were all the same. I've heard similar sentiments from a friend who recently started playing guitar, though he was a bass player first. I think it might be deceptive though, the first stringed instrument you play is always the hardest, because at that point it's completely foreign, but when you start your second one some of the skills are transferable (e.g. fretting). That said, even on bass I still can't get the hang of chords, so I might just be defective
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Hello everyone, my name is Rob and I'm an addict...of bass I guess I don't quite qualify for that title yet, I've only been playing for 2 years. I bought an electric guitar a year before that, and spent a year of failing to really learn anything before realising I was better suited to bass. So I sold off the guitar, bought an Ibanez EDB550 from my Dad's workmate and haven't looked back since. I still have that bass, plus an Ibanez SR400 and BTB775, and an Aria IGB-49 that I'm looking to strip and rebuild/upgrade soon, watch this space, I'm sure I'll be asking lots of noob questions when the time comes (it will be my first time, be gentle). I'm in a pub rock covers band doing stuff like Stereophonics, Foo Fighters, a little Greenday, that kind of thing, and I'm amplified through a Hartke HA3500 with a 210XL cab for practice and when we eventually start gigging (by Xmas hopefully) I'll be using my 4.5XL cab as well. I've been voyeuring here for a while using the boards for information, finally decided to take the plunge and sign up.
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@LeeCassidy: I don't honestly know if he posts here or not, aside from the odd FB comment or nod in the street I've hardly spoken to him in years. As I said before though, he's a good guy, if you respond to the gumtree ad I'm sure he can answer anything you need. The BTBs do look sexy as hell, it was half the reason I bought one, and the clarity of the B string is damn good on the 775 model. I still haven't got to grips with mine fully yet though, it's my first 5 string, plus the added inch to the scale which made so much more difference than I thought it would, especially at the lower end of the neck. I would guess your GSR is 35" scale anyway though so that shouldn't be a problem for you.
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http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/ibanez-sr506/1001611134 Not sure if this would be any good to you, Ibanez SR506. I can vouch that the seller is a good guy, I know him from school. He posted this on his Facebook a few days ago, I'd have had it myself, in spite of the fact I've never played a 6 string, if I had the space for another bass. That and I'm GASing for a Jazz Blacktop. I do have a BTB775 myself as it happens, and the bartolinis on mine are pretty potent. It's also immensely loud, I've got other active basses and this thing is so much more. It does take two 9V batteries though. Tone sounds damn good to me, though I'm rather inexperienced, I've only been playing 2 years. The SR 4 string necks are incredibly smooth and playable as well, I have a SR400, and I'd imagine the playability of a 5 or 6 in that model would be similarly good. The SR 5 string basses have a narrower neck than the BTB 5s by the way, which should in theory mean closer string spacing if that's what you're looking for, so an SR would probably be preferable.