EliasMooseblaster

It chimes in with my general outlook on life: I call it "The optimistic approach to pessimism." Which is to say, if you always expect something to be a bit crap, it's no surprise when it turns out, in fact, to actually be crap. But then! When something turns out to be really good, it's twice as satisfying, because you never expected it to be any good!

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1380793927' post='2230553'] PPS I wrote it and recorded it in less than 30 minutes. I am a bad man [/quote] See, when you can turn out a performance like that in < 30 minutes, you can probably understand why most of us thought it was you playing that cello on last month's entry!

This looks only slightly less ridiculous the kind of tat that used to end up on Regretsy.

[quote name='41.2Hz' timestamp='1380724691' post='2229580'] Listening to any blues-based riff will help. The chord changes occur on the first beat of bars 1, 5, 7, 9 and 11. If you can't identify the chord changes either you really are in trouble! [/quote] Though watch out for those blues songs with the "fast change" - up to the IV on the second bar, then back down to the I for bars 3 and 4!

I've always been a bass guitarist, never an upright player, so my usual list of influences is an interesting one - at least to me! Above all else: John Entwistle. I've spent my entire bass playing career wanting to sound like various eras of his tone - mainly the late '60s, growly P-bass tone (cf [i]Live at Leeds / Isle of Wight[/i]) and the early-mid '70s Thunderbird tone (cf [i]Quadrophenia, Who by Numbers[/i]). And then there's a handful of the usual suspects: Jack Bruce, Geezer Butler, Geddy Lee, Lemmy. But then - it must be the years with the old jazz group - a lot of upright jazz players. Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Charles Mingus, etc. I've always loved the sound of a well-constructed walking bassline, even though I've never been able to play the double bass. So I suppose my basslines are typically some strange combination of Entwistle-inspired tone and style with (I'd hope) a slightly jazz-informed choice of notes.

[quote name='crag42' timestamp='1380622005' post='2227865'] Sir Ian McKellen? [/quote] "YOU SHALL NOT BASS!" (Sorry...he does look an awful lot like Sir Ian, though!)

Anyone know if it will get dried blood out of my strings, or am I going to have to suck it up and buy a new set?

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1379932859' post='2218305'] As I'm going to see DP next month I thought I'd better give Now What another go yesterday. Played it a few times back to back when it first came out but then neglected it. You're right it's abetter album than I first thought, some of the tracks have a similar feel to the material from Abandon from the mid-90's which tends to get overlooked. [/quote] Good to know I'm not the only person who enjoyed Abandon! I may have to give this new one a try. Now then...don't know if I've actually bought an album that was released this year! I can recommend a brand new band though - they formed this year and have only released a few tracks but they're definitely worth hearing. Hailing from deepest, darkest Surrey, I give you Stitch: http://stitchband.bandcamp.com/

[quote name='12stringbassist' timestamp='1380472821' post='2225793'] THIS remains my dream.... [/quote] I never thought I'd be able to lust after such a gauche-looking instrument...until I heard one being played: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96TjWtm7kSQ Trouble is, for all the talk about the bass itself sounding "immense" or "huge," I do wonder how much of that is down to Entwistle's enormous wall of valve amps in this particular case!

At last, a "sofa" to go with my "coffee tables!"

It's a shame I can only cast one vote! No easy decision, but I think Bilbo's beautiful cello performance nudges just ahead of the others. Very close seconds for me were lowdown's brooding, atmospheric soundscape, and ambient's wonderfully moody trip-hop-esque piece. Clearly, I should listen to these competitions more often!

I think it happens to a lot of bands - when you're ready to start gigging, anything seems like a good offer because, if nothing else, it gives you a chance to test out the unit, see what people think, etc. After a while, you become more confident that the band is competent and liked, and you don't really need those gigs any more - that's when various band members start considering the cost:benefit ratio. Looks like you're just the first one to reach that stage. I'd hope that, as long as everyone's polite and upfront about it, it shouldn't do any lasting damage to put your foot down occasionally!

Probably! I've certainly heard tell of him owning at least one 4x15 cab. (Though if I could get my hands on even one of those, I don't think there'd be space for the rest of the band in our rehearsal space!)

Yours.

Does this chap...not understand how eBay works? Or is he just exceptionally generous and/or brave?

I have to say, it does look the most "neutered" of all Schecter's not-officially-copies. Like the OP says, a bit like the lawyers were standing over the designer's shoulders at the drawing board. (I say this as the proud owner of a Model T, which couldn't be mistaken for anything but a souped-up Fender copy!)

I think that was why I plumped for the CTM15 to begin with - the overdriven sound was absolutely stunning. Sadly it didn't really have enough bottom end once we put a guitarist and drummer over the top! And I probably can't get away with playing a full-on Lemmy-esque OD tone for our whole set. (I've only got a 1x15 for the time being, but this might give me an incentive to invest in another cab!)

On the contrary: NOW you have seen everything. (Seriously, who the hell puts a LOTR-themed scratchplate on their bass? Are they also a fan of Dingwalls & Dragons?)

Because I'm sure you're all desperate to hear how my story ended: the shop traded in my CTM15 for a LB30. Tried it out at last night's rehearsal and it holds its own a lot better. Nice and simple to use, and the tone is wonderful right from the off!

Well, that makes at least two of us. When I went to buy my first bass, I was just concerned with finding something that was within my limited budget. I actually managed to completely forget I was left-handed in the process. In hindsight, thinking about it, it makes more sense to me to have the dominant hand on the fingerboard, as that tends to be the one doing the most intricate work!

On the other hand, if it weren't for Mr Holland, we might never have had this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAQ95Vln4I4

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1378754701' post='2204333'] Bring back Gastank! Real musicians jamming with the house band which included Rick Wakeman. Here's John Entwistle playing (and singing!) Twist & Shout - previously played on a thuddy Hofner, with the most ludicrously sproingy Alembic tone... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9Sc5t2wVYY[/media] [/quote] Seeing as all the other instruments are so audible in that mix, I'm assuming his amp was set up in the building next door!

[quote name='Ashdown Engineering' timestamp='1378754866' post='2204338'] It was never designed to gig with.... That's what the CTM 100 and CTM 300 are for... It's a recording, studio, practice amp really. Although saying that do you not have PA at your gigs? Stick a mic in front of your cab and sorted. [/quote] Well, it was certainly loud enough for rehearsals, and it sounded wonderful! But enough headroom to fill a venue - well, as you say, it wasn't designed for that. Ordinarily I'd be all up for mic'ing the cab, but I've found that sound engineers at most venues have a strange phobia of doing that to the bass cab. They'd rather take a DI off the head (fine with me) or straight off the guitar...which then defeats the point of bringing a nice valve amp! Though I notice the CTM 30 has a DI socket on the back, and I think my budget might stretch to the extra. I might take my 15 back to the shop and see if they can order in a 30. (If not, is there a DI on the back of the LB30?)

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1378737772' post='2203949'] Everyone has jumped on the retro bandwagon. Also it's funny that nearly every 1960s Japanese guitar or bass on auction sites has a reference to Teisco when most have nothing at all to do with that company. [/quote] I'm almost tempted to put "THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH TEISCO" on my next listing. I don't even care if I'm not selling a guitar, I just reckon it will turn up as a search result for anyone including "Teisco" in their terms. Just for the extra views.