4000

As with most basses, you need to try a few yourself to find out how you interact with them. For instance I get on great with most Rics and don't get on very well with most Fenders; many find the opposite is the case. Bear in mind individual instruments differ too; I've played some Rics I really haven't liked at all, but my favourite of all the basses I've ever played is my '72 4001.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='888832' date='Jul 7 2010, 07:12 PM']Fair enough. Good post. Good groove, bad groove...now there's a thread in the making. [/quote] No hard feelings and my comment wasn't meant to inflame; it was just me thinking aloud. I should maybe have chosen my words more carefully; its easy to read the worst into something. I then took offence at the "laughable" comment and shouldn't have done. As for that thread, I think I'll stay out of it this time!

Thanks Mike. Maybe I didn't express myself as clearly as I thought I had initially, but regardless, I hope I've got it across now. Anyway, enough about MM, back to the Janek/Hadrien show. BTW, is Matt Garrison definitely on at Bass day? There's nothing on the web page yet.

This is what I actually said : "[b]I don't find[/b] his groove that good at all. However I feel that I prefer players who push/drive/swing more than he does". I didn't say he couldn't groove. I also qualified my comment. I then further qualified my comment (yes, I'm repeating myself yet again) by saying I didn't personally like his feel. I'm not sure what it is about what I've said that is so difficult to grasp. It appears some people have taken offence at something they think I've said (that I didn't actually say) and have gone off on one. FWIW, I don't feel that "good groove" is an absolute. It is all a question of taste. It may be that there is a collective agreement about what constitutes good groove, in the same way that there can be about what constitutes good or bad anything, but that doesn't mean that absolutely everyone must share that opinion.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='888099' date='Jul 7 2010, 09:01 AM']I appreciate people have their opinions and favourite players, but to say Marcus doesn't groove is like saying Pavarotti can't sing. Just because you don't like Opera, you still can't deny he is a great singer. If Marcus couldn't groove, do you think he'd be one of the world's most sought after session players? I just think some people on here think it's cool to admit not liking him.[/quote] I don't agree. Groove is about feeling and is a subjective issue. If I don't like his groove then my opinion is as valid as that of someone who loves his groove. If everyone else thinks he grooves great, fine, I have no problem with that. But my opinion still stands. FWIW I believe I actually qualified my initial comment by saying that I don't personally [i]like[/i] his groove. Am I not allowed to have that opinion either? As for "thinking it's cool to admit to not liking him", now that really [i]is[/i] laughable. Why can't you just accept that some people simply won't like his playing? I happily accept that there will be many people who don't like players that I like, because everyone has a different perspective on playing. That's one of the things that makes music so interesting. I don't not like Marcus because it's cool not to like Marcus (the thought never crossed my mind and is utterly ridiculous anyway; I would never have thought it was cool not to like Marcus. Why would that be cool? I would've thought if anything the opposite would be true). I simply don't like what he does or how he sounds. Get over it. I can't understand why people so often think their opinions are absolute truths rather than just that; opinions.

It seems I've hit a nerve. Sacred cow anyone?

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='887764' date='Jul 6 2010, 08:43 PM']It is impossible to think MM doesn't possess a great groove. Laughable.[/quote] Why is it laughable? Can't I feel/hear things differently than you? Do I have to like the same things? I thought I qualified my comment by saying I prefer guys who push more. I don't get on with Jazz Basses either. That's just me.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='887758' date='Jul 6 2010, 08:38 PM']Feel, sense of time? Average technique??? I'm gobsmacked. You can't be serious. Tell me this is a joke! So who do you think achieves this?[/quote] I just don't [i]like[/i] his feel. I don't like the way he approaches a groove, I don't like where he sits. It doesn't (if you'll excuse the pun) sit with me. Such things are down to personal taste after all. I'm obviously not saying he's rubbish, just that nothing he does does anything for me. I could probably name a hundred players I prefer without breaking sweat. However, you may not like a lot of the guys I like, you may not like their rhythmic sense etc. It's no big deal. Technique-wise, I don't see that much at all (although he certainly slaps better than me, which isn't saying much!). There are a thousand guys with more chops. If he floats your boat, great. But for me, no, no, no. I think of him as the Eric Clapton of bass. Sorry!!! Some guys you just don't get; I saw Alan Holdsworth with Chad Wackerman (who at the time I'd never heard) and everyone was raving about Chad. However I didn't enjoy his playing at all. That's just the way it goes sometimes. Heck, I really don't find Angelina Jolie attractive either!

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='887678' date='Jul 6 2010, 07:15 PM']I've just dived back into this thread. For me, Marcus is the ultimate player - a groove monster who can hold it down, never a wasted note. Whenever he solos, it's always grooving. Some players can slap a solo and it becomes tedious after a while. Marcus never falls into that. He makes it look so easy, but believe me it isn't. He sometimes plays flash, but not very often. Janek was featured on a Bassplayer TV video, leading a workshop some years ago. The late Hiram Bullock guested on acoustic guitar. It was the first time I'd seen him. His groove was unbelievable, and I thought 'this guy is something special'.[/quote] That's one of the things I don't really get about MM; I don't find his groove that good at all. However I feel that I prefer players who push/drive/swing more than he does. The first time I really listened to Marcus I bought a dvd, watched it through and thought, "?????". I just don't get anything about him. Can't stand his tone, don't like his feel or his sense of time and think his technique is pretty average. One of my least favourite players ever.

[quote name='Bilbo' post='887494' date='Jul 6 2010, 04:34 PM']I agree that Miller does that but would also argue that his general concept is a little more wholistic than most so this is not surprising. My one criticism of Miller is that his 'thing' just leaves me cold. I like his funk grooves etc but, fundamentally, I have not heard anything by him that moves me. Same with Jeff Berlin's solo stuff, Victor Wooten etc. Great spectacle but no emotion.[/quote] +1, although in Miller's case I don't personally find the spectacle that great either.

[quote name='purpleblob' post='886450' date='Jul 5 2010, 04:54 PM']I'm one of those guys who thinks there's no limitation to what an instrument should do, whether it's a bass playing chords, soloing or whatever, what does matter to me is does it sound good to my ears and is it therefore enjoyable to listen to.[/quote] +1

Actually I've just checked the customs form I've been sent and it states that a commodity code should only be entered for a trade import. I think I might have to give them a ring.....

[quote name='Stacker' post='885365' date='Jul 4 2010, 12:00 PM']As to hassle, I'm with you on that but there's also something satisfying about catching out a Government department not doing its job right and getting a refund offa them.[/quote] If you knew what I did for a living you'd probably understand why that wouldn't give me quite as much satisfaction as it gives you. Regardless, I'd much, much sooner get it right first time. Hassle is something I try and avoid at all costs, and extra hassle....well, I just don't need it. If I can help get it right first time I'd much sooner do that.

I think "what bass playing is all about" really depends on the situation......

[quote name='Rayman' post='885418' date='Jul 4 2010, 12:53 PM']I understand Matt Garrison is doing Bassday in Manchester in November, so I'll look forward to checking him out.[/quote] Crikey! I sent Matt's name in as a suggestion. Fab!!!

[quote name='Stacker' post='885277' date='Jul 4 2010, 10:20 AM']Well, there you go! Write to them at:- UK Border Agency Coventry International Hub Siskin Parkway West COVENTRY CV3 4HX It must, thoguh, state on the docket exactly what the goods are. Don't give them the code; let them do the work and make sure the code is correct when they write back to you! Ask them to re-asses the charges. If they stonewall you, or don't reply, get your MP involved, like I did. That'll set a fire under their lazy ar*e!![/quote] Wouldn't it just be easier to make sure they use the correct code in the first place or am I missing something? I'd rather them get it right first time than go through a load of hassle later.

[quote name='Rayman' post='885236' date='Jul 4 2010, 08:54 AM']I enjoyed the clip a lot. I'm a big Janek fan, but never really given Hadrien much of a listen. By the time it had gotten around to his set at bassday I was "jazzed out", I'd heard enough jazz to last me a lifetime, so I left just before he started. Matt Garrison is a bit of an enigma to me, I have a couple of his albums, but I just can't get into them at all, the music just seems to wash over you leaving no lasting hooks whatsoever.[/quote] I prefer Garrison to the others by a long way. Janek's stuff is pretty good but all seems fairly obvious to me; however I love Garrison's compositions. If I ever listen to that sort of stuff these days it tends to be Matt G or old RTF.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='880691' date='Jun 29 2010, 10:00 AM']Thanks for this. I'm expecting a bass to be released from customs today - the bastard charges will be in the region of £200. [/quote] If only mine were going to be that low. Try tripling it..... BTW, thanks for the info Stacker, it could come in really handy in the next week or so. Very nicely timed.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='881830' date='Jun 30 2010, 12:29 PM']Yours looks like one of the original S2000 models - Hang onto that one - Prices are going up on these! [/quote] Typical. That's like the one I had a few years back, which I took back to the shop as I didn't like it!

[quote name='Stag' post='884603' date='Jul 3 2010, 10:04 AM']I had this very recently, got my sound sorted on stage to what I like and what the drummer likes to then have it changed by the sound man and the volume totally removed. Apparently FOH sounded great but id rather be able to hear me playing a sound I like to hear... I know we are all there for the audience but at the end of the day if you dont like / cant hear your own sound then you wont enjoy the gig anywhere near as much (I didnt).[/quote] I tend to feel the same. I thought it was just me!

Janek used to play a Wal 5 so it could've been that.

[quote name='Bassman68' post='879844' date='Jun 28 2010, 01:28 PM']Just a pity 'bout 'the pipe'!....................[/quote] The pipe was the best bit! Classic!

[quote name='silddx' post='879566' date='Jun 28 2010, 09:33 AM']I thought I was a cracking set. It did what it was supposed to do. Top class professionals at the top of their game. Extremely entertaining.[/quote] +1. Can take or leave 'em on record (1 or 2 great songs mind) but think they look like a tremendous live act.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='881887' date='Jun 30 2010, 01:23 PM']Different strings for different basses. You've got to find the right strings to suit the bass and the way you play it.[/quote] +1. I use Rotos on my Rics, although I'd be interested to try DRs and TIs when my budget allows. Most other rounds just sound too "boingy" when I play them; I love the aggressive hollowness of the Rotos. Not sure what's on my Sei, I need to ask when I go back to the Gallery as I need a new set.