EliasMooseblaster

Here we go - managed to track down the original post:

"Babooshka" came up on a thread about great fretless basslines, and one kind soul directed us to a No Treble article with a transcription of John Giblin's sublime performance, so I've been trying to get my fingers 'round that. I'll see if I can dig up the link and share it on here. Anyhoo, it's been a good challenge for my fretless intonation, as it's not often I find myself having to play up the dusty end in E-flat. Definitely a good workout for the ears!

I know MIDI guitars haven't really caught on in the same way as keyboards, but it did occur to me that keyboard players have a great boon when it comes to writing down music these days - they can play a controller keyboard into some sequencer software and, presto! the music is transcribed by the computer - albeit with all their mistakes, but much faster than clicking them onto the stave by hand. Now...on that basis, is it time that MIDI guitars were stepped up a notch? I'm sure they can transcribe the individual notes well enough, but are they capable of doing TAB? If the interface can detect the pitches played, and the strings which are sounding at any given time, surely it could infer the fingering from this information?

Just remembered, there's some very tasty-but-not-too-difficult fretless phrasing in Pink Floyd's Hey You.

Thank you - that's my evening sorted!

*head explodes*

...and don't forget, on a 'bird you'll have a second pickup to throw into the mix and try those different Tonestyler positions with. THINK OF THE COMBINATIONS.

A computer tech once advised me I could drain the (admittedly much smaller) caps in a PC by unplugging and then pushing the power buttom - if there's enough juice left in them, you may even see some of the LEDs on the casing light up briefly. Could you do the same with an amp, or would that be inadvisable?

Hi all, Been eyeing up the iRig 2 interface recently, more for better sound quality when recording/livestreaming via a phone, than for the possibility of using Amplitube. The manufacturer's site seemed to suggest this second edition of the interface is, among other advantages, compatible with Android devices (not just iOS any more). However, some customer reviews seem to suggest that this "Android compatibility" might be limited to Samsung devices...and I'm buggered if I'm going back to a Samsung phone. So: does anybody have any experience of using an iRig 2 with another Android phone or tablet? (Any Nexus 5 phones would be particularly useful to hear about...) And: if the consensus is that they're incompatible / disappointing / worse than Hitler when hooked up to a non-Samsung Android deelie, which alternatives do people like?

If Aerosmith had come not from Boston, MA, but from Leicester, UK...

Dani Alabama? It's got a ring to it...

The UK boasts some of the highest highs... ...but also some of the lowest lows.

Whilst it has been a slight inconvenience, it has given me a prompt to find a fresh moose for my own avatar. Let the blasting recommence!

A car in CAR?

Thank you very kindly!

Keane? (/runs for cover)

Weren't the Foo Fighters a trio for the longest time? At least, I'm sure it was a three-piece that recorded Colour and Shape and Nothing Left to Lose, and I kind of lost interest after those... PS if you can busy-up the bassline during the (generally quite brief) guitar solos, then you can cover a LOT of Creedence Clearwater Revival's back catalogue without a rhythm guitarist. I say this from experience!

On Monday 13th May, Ralph Beeby & the Elephant Collective - which is to say, me with a couple of acoustic guitars - will be heading up to Oxford to provide an evening's entertainment in the form of some furiously fingerpicked folk-blues, in the vein of Davy Graham, Bert Jansch, Ralph McTell, etc. The venue is the Bullingdon Cocktail Bar: 162 Cowley Road, OX4 1UE - same building as the well-known music venue, but I understand this will be in the separate bar area. Music from 8pm-11pm, free entry (though the purchase of many large rounds of drinks is advisable to keep the guv'nor happy) If you've not heard this outfit before, you can do so below, or via the Bandcamp link in my sig If you're inclined to use the Facebooks, there's an event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/379182622667504/,

Probably worth also noting that not all scoops are equal: there's the "gentle scoop," such as @Lozz196 describes when going for that gnarly, JJ Burnel-esque sound, and then there's the "nu-metal style" scoop, where there just seems to be a massive chasm in the middle of the frequency range, until you're left with a rumbly, indistinct, wet-fart-distortion sound right at the bottom end, and a horribly thin, trebly, clackity-clack which sounds like two mice fencing with lolly sticks.

I can't help but think that would have looked all wrong at any time of day...

I would guess there are two forces at play: 1. yes, it probably is quite fashionable at the moment. I've seen a lot of "smiley face" EQs at gigs when I've been close enough to see the amp. 2. sound engineers in a hurry, dealing with a multiple-band bill, may find it easier to cut the midrange from the bass to mix the sound during a 30-second line-check, especially if they have to keep two guitarists and a singer happy with the foldback. Edited to add: I'm very much pro-mids myself - partly because I feel that's where a lot of the "character" of the bass comes through, but also from years of playing in single-guitar bands, where I have a lot more sonic space to fill.

So what is it, exactly? Is it a similar setup to the Varitone switches that Gibson used to bung in some of their basses?

It does feel like a long neck...it's fine if it's the first bass you pick up that day. Where you notice the contrast is if you start off playing a Fender-shaped bass - a Schecter Model T, for instance. You'll probably find that the 12th fret sits a little to the left of your torso. Then you pick up the Thunderbird...and suddenly the 12th fret is three feet away. On the plus side, this does mean that the hard-shell cases are about five feet tall when standing on their end, which makes them an ideal leaning post for the taller lady or gentleman who might find her or himself waiting idly for a train after other persons have occupied any available seating on the platform.

If by "dissuade" you actually mean, "egg you on," then sure: I'm more familiar with the Gibson version, but it's a wonderful instrument. I'll second @stewblack's comments about them sounding great - given the pickup placements you could argue you're looking at a Jazz bass with more "oomph," and the front pickup soloed sits in a similarly comfortable sonic spot to a Precision. Also, I don't know whether it's the humbuckers or the neck-through construction, but if you like to venture up to the "dusty end" of the neck, you'll find them very articulate. I've also not had a problem with neck-dive. THAT SAID, don't be tempted to skimp and go for one of the cheaper, bolt-on models. There are several good reasons why they're cheaper.