JamesBass

So, as part of my degree work, I've got to arrange and hold a music event. And after months of planning we are now just over 2 weeks away from holding a gig in the Spinnaker Tower in Gunwharf. This is a first as far as I am aware so it's going to be a special and spectacular evening! If anyone wants to come down then please get in touch with my promotions company via our website. It'd be truly amazing to see the place busy and rocking! We have 6 awesome local acts who promise to put on an incredible range of music! http://www.big-wave-promotions.com

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1393966632' post='2386453'] ! [/quote] Haha that'll teach me to try and multi-task! James Johnston is the bloke I mean!

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1393883281' post='2385524'] So, who uses it it then? Who are these great bass players? I need to justify my purchase :-) [/quote] I do believe I've seen Pino with one, James Jamerson of Biffy has and I do but I can't remember off the top of my head, go check their website out, they're very well laid out and obvious so it's not hard finding who does

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1393759455' post='2384000'] I spent years trying to find the sound, as many of us do and it wasn't until I heard and played through the 400+ that I found it. I tried Ashdown ABM, Trace SS, GK, Markbass, Laney, Hartke, Genz, TC, EBS, Aguilar and others but until I got that thump in the chest from the 400+ everything else was like alcohol-free beer. I have since tried a Matamp GT200 and that is like a very different flavour of what I like. I'd like to try a VBA400, CTM300, the big Laney and some others before I decide on a second head but the heft of a big valve power section is just an unbeatable experience for me and the 400+ has more personality than all the other amps I've ever had put together. Sure, it's got weird EQ and the DI is the usual Mesa impractical nonsense until you get used to it but the ownership experience is fabulous, it's so much more than a tool to do a job, it's a thing that's almost alive. [/quote] Valve amps always seem alive to me too, there's so much more tone and definition to a valve amp in my opinion! As a user of the CTM300, I cannot recommended it highly enough! It's got a dead easy EQ, a great DI as most Ashdown's do. The fact it has a home biasing is amazing as well! The ability to bias at home has saved me some money already! Plus the tone is just spot on! It's a perfect workhorse and is used by many great bass players already!

I raise you John Entwistle, Live at Leeds! That for me is an incredible tone. I also raise you Chris Steele from Alexisonfire, who is HUGELY underrated, his lines are amazing and technical while simple. Also Joe Principe of Rise Against, another underrated bass player with some incredible lines and one hell of a tone!

[quote name='rogerstodge' timestamp='1393773272' post='2384170'] Well done that man. Did you take 3 or 4 basses with you to show off? [/quote] Haha it was 2! Unfortunately the soon to be fret less isn't ready yet! As for others asking the band is called Caught In A Crossfire and we are signed to Coffee Jingle records! My debut on stage shall come soon enough! So happy and excited! Thanks for the support and well wishes everyone! BassChat is one of the best communities I've ever had the pleasure of coming across!

Well just got back and I got it! I'm now in! Formalities and the like to follow to make it all fully official but I'm in and gonna be working damn hard with the guys who are all top quality as people and muso's! Today is a good day!

Finally today I have the audition I've been waiting for. A signed (Small indie label) band have contacted me earlier this week and want me to go down for an audition today. I've been looking for a band for months now, and have yet to find anything I'm comfortable with and willing to commit to. But today feels like it's gonna be right! I feel all excited and slightly nervous. The bands I've been trying out have been largely posers and very clearly amateurs. Plus I finally get to try my CTM300 in a proper band situation! Can't wait!

Well what does she personally want to get out of the lessons? Is she ever looking to be in a band? If so then obviously timing in some respects is essential. What sort of music is she in to? Find things she's after or wants, once you've got that I guess you can hone in on what is needed to make that happen? I always work that way with my students, figure out the path you need to take to give them what they want? From what you've described you're doing things spot on so far! What about looking at songs she wants to learn, try finding a way to get the technique in to practice where she'll be able to hear it and spot it? Hope any of that can be of help!

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1393242255' post='2377615'] [font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif]Would Thomastik JF344 4-String Jazz Flatwound 43-100 long scale be the cheese?[/font] [/quote] Those are the ones I'm looking at putting on my Ric, been looking to use them for a while now, just got one last set of D'Addario EXL170BTs to use first

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1393264926' post='2377989'] I found that really fascinating. I really like Sean Hurley, and I am always interested in anything he has got to say about playing the bass. But could I play devils advocate for a moment? Here we have yet another bass player championing vintage- style equipment and a minimalist " less is more" approach to playing . This kind of a stance about bass has become [i]de rigueur[/i] in recent years, but it is just a trend in exactly the same way that elaborate hi-fi and hi- tech basses and equipment and busy, flamboyant styles of playing were the dominant trend in the era before this cult of back-to-basics became widely embraced as being received wisdom. Why is it that in the era from the mid-1970's to the 1990's when bass players gravitated towards as upfront a sound as possible, usually by means of modern bass designs, the latest amps and roundwound strings , that the bass guitar has been so clearly audible or as prominent in popular music, both live and on record? I've seen plenty of stadium shows and big concerts of various kinds where the bass was perfectly audible. Could it be that Sean and bass players like him are putting problems in their own way by following the zeitgeist of the time towards vintage and retro and then offering advice on the solutions they are finding to those problems. Put simply , if you are playing a Precision with flatwounds through an old Ampeg B15 is not surprising you are having problems with getting clear articulation and being heard. That is exactly the reason why back in the day people started gravitating towards newer equipment. and the possibilities it offered . When Sean says that producers and engineers weren't happy with the sound of his more contemporary bass , I can't help but wonder if what has changed since those kind of modern basses were what was fashionable is not so much the way that people want to hear the bass so much as the collective imagination those involved, specifically the romantic ideas in their heads and the associations they make between vintage equipment and the relative aesthetic value of the sound it makes. That is the fickle culture which surrounds music, I suppose. Fashion is always cyclical, and for every bass player in the 1980's who had a bass with a graphite neck, a Trace Elliot amp and mullet with flashed blonde highlights there is now an [b]equivalent player with a vintage Precision with flatwound strings , an old Ampeg and a beard.[/b] [/quote] Almost a spot on description of me. Minus the ampeg and vintage P, my P is only a 2011 Mex and my amp is Ashdown though still all valve!

I will echo EVERYTHING he has said about a P Bass. It is and always will be, a work horse. I have my Rickenbacker which is a beauty to play and it works for me, but there are times where only a P will do. Being able to switch from my P which sits in the mix nicely to a growlier and more punchy Ric just gives me the best variety I could ever dream of! As for amps and gear on stage, I've yet to gig my new rig but in the rehearsal room and studio its pretty good, I have definition and I have tone. Just need to see how it reacts out on stage. For the first time since I've played bass (10 years) I'm no longer worrying about my tone. I'm just thinking purely creatively!

Today I've worked on; The Northern by Alexisonfire Rough Hands by Alexisonfire Mailbox Arson by Alexisonfire Boiled Frogs by Alexisonfire Paper Wings by Rise Against Survive by Rise Against Satellite by Rise Against From Heads Unworthy by Rise Against and then I moved on to working on writing some new stuff, as well as doing the usual theory and technical practices!

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1392629371' post='2370685'] To add to Jake's post, I would just reference the fact that, in a Jazz setting, most improvisation is a dialogue between the various parties and that you will find the source of your inspiration in the playing of those around you. A piano lick, a drum fill and bass line etc. Or even in the theme of the songs themselves (Sonny Rollins is THE expert in this). The best Bass orientated book on impriovising I have ever used is the Chuck Sher/Marc Johnson book 'Concepts For Bass Soloing'. [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Concepts-Bass-Soloing-Chuck-Sher/dp/1883217008/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392628661&sr=1-1&keywords=marc+johnson+bass"]http://www.amazon.co...rc+johnson+bass[/url] A small point, the two guys you have mentioned, whilst in no way lightweight, are not particularly advanced improvisers. You would be far better getting inspiration from a range of saxophone, trumpet, piano and guitar players (i.e. don't focus on one individual player). Seek out great improvisations, things that make your ears go 'aaaah' and make you think 'what was THAT'? Try Chris Potter, Mark Turner, Branford Marsalis, Joe Lovano, Keith Jarrett, Kenny Werner, Wayne Shorter etc. There are also great source books like Slonimsky's Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns. It is also important to note that you are starting a journey that never ends but it is the journey that matters not the destination. Look forward to a life of gigs where two solos a year (maximum) do it for you But it's the BEST feeling And, yes, Steve Berry rocks!! [/quote] Book bought and now awaiting delivery! Cheers for the recommendation! Might also look at the thesaurus you mention!

Know your notes, chord tones and wider theory inside out! If you can learn all your scales, arpeggios so well you can do them in your sleep you're half way there, the next step is ear training, know by ear what someone is playing and then your scales and arps come in to play but make them musical when you practice! Don't just play them straight, make them musical, play around with them and find your own little patterns and sequences when practicing with a metronome.

Don't look beyond the Ashdown CTM300 all valve head, I own one and it's an utter glorious piece of kit! Best amp I tried, ever!

Plugged my CTM300 in the other afternoon at home and thought I'm going to re-learn some old favourites and maybe write something. I ended up playing for a good 4 hours without realising that much time had passed, I just plugged in turned it on and let it warm up, flicked the EQ about and then played, it was a joy to play and the sound was so much more interesting and characterful than my SS EB-180 Ashdown! Normally when I use the EB I sit and fiddle after every song trying to find the best balance to often no avail! Not so with the CTM it's an absolute pleasure to play and the tone is the best I've ever had and heard! HUGE +1 to valve amps and in particular the CTM300

I've bought from them before and they've always been nothing short of perfect! Extremely friendly, knowledgable and accommodating! I'd buy from them again and again!

I've recently purchased my first valve amp, an Ashdown CTM300. It's fantastic, it's simple and straight forward, the EQ is subtle and not too sensitive, which is good, as I know roughly where I have my settings but on this amp it doesn't have to be perfect every time! Saves a lot of hassle when setting up! The headroom on this amp is MASSIVE it stays clean and extremely well defined but still warm and characterful past 12, then when pushing 1, it breaks up, still with definition but it's growling at you, then the further it goes the better it becomes! I LOVE that dirty but defined tone! The extra nuances in my playing just come alive and fill out my sound. In comparison, I play an ABM300 combo at college and while it's still extremely good it's just not alive, it's just there, it doesn't make me or anyone else sit up and go yeah that sounds great! It's brilliant if you want a more clinical tone. But if you want that warmth and the extra harmonics and natural compression that you get from valves then valves are the best way to go. Having a valve amp allows me to use less pedals. I can plug and play. I don't need anything else in the signal chain.

One very simple question to the OP. Are you happy doing what you do? Do the basses make you happy? If yes, then disregard everything anyone else tells you.

Last night I went to see City and Colour at the Brighton Dome, this was the first time I've been in the Brighton Dome to watch a band and my word! The sound in there is INCREDIBLE! Among the best I've ever heard live, it was seriously good, the drums were present but not overwhelming, the bass sat in the mix but cut when needed, the guitars were present and you heard the nuances of the playing and the vocals still dominated everything while remaining at the right level so as not to totally dominate it all. This is the second time I've seen City and Colour live and although the band is predominantly made up of Dallas Green, formerly of Alexisonfire, this new band who recorded the album and gigged it were just first class, his last band were good but this band just blew his old lot out of the water! Seriously good bass playing from Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs. The support came from Hannah Georgas who had a decent enough band with her, it was REALLY made by her drummer who carried her band in terms of charisma and enjoyment! Was an exceptional night and probably one of my favourites ever!

This isn't probably the right place for something like this but, I'm looking for either the logic files or the bass-less version of All Around The World by Electric Light Orchestra? Does anyone have it or know how to get it? It's to prepare for an audition for uni! Sorry if this isn't the right part of the forum to post about this but I thought I might get more views and replies this way! Thanks!

Who Did You Think I Was by Jon Mayer Trio! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ahbb9rzMDg

[quote name='Samashton12' timestamp='1391089702' post='2353109'] Hi Guys, Not sure whether this is the appropriate place but could someone tab the section 1:17 : 1:28 [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcycNbLq510[/media] It's really got me stuck Thanks, Sam [/quote] It sounds very pentatonic style to me, something Jon was big on, without knowing it or so the rumours go aha! But yeah, sounds like a pentatonic riff that goes up and down while peddling in the middle, if you know what chords he's playing that under/over then you're away

Think I'm gonna approach my lecturers now and see what they think to my shortlist which has had some added and removed, thinking my number 1 choice is All Around The World by ELO, disco-y and groovy but still rock themed.