urb

[quote name='funkgod' timestamp='1339775968' post='1694232'] URB,,,,, that has to be the nicest body i have seen on a jazz... ever ! not sure what wood it is but i have an early goodfellow Classic (number 41) in what looks like the same wood. Revised my old post..... LtoR green bits of, Mex cust,,,, burnt orange Metallic Mex, Ice Blue Metallic. Aerodyne Highway 1 flame [/quote] Yeah man - it came out better than I hoped it would - I made this vide shortly after getting the bass - and it highlights the kind of tones it can produce - still love this instrument but it gets a bit neglected thanks to my other Sei 5 string Single Cut, but I'm not selling it http://youtu.be/N4OqNvamScM

[quote name='Cameronj279' timestamp='1340679559' post='1708046'] That was erm...not what I was expecting! I also had a small childish chuckle to myself about the fact that his second name is Manring. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLeXaxlSbc8[/media] a bit of 9 string w***ery however I think for the most part, it sounds pretty nice [/quote] I'm not a fan of Kerazzzeee 9-string basses - but this is the first time in a while I've heard someone play the instrument's full range and justify having such a beast of a bass - the music was so-so but the guy can play for sure, quite tasteful all things considered... I think this was pretty damn innovative at the time... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25DXcFg1TFo

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1339358955' post='1687454'] : 1) EQ the distorted section so that it's more 'gutsy' - it sounds a wee bit thin at the moment (although it's nice and clear); Anyway, nice work mate and very creative Paul [/quote] Hey Paul - sorry for the re-bump but I just stuck the headphones on and listened again to this on YT and the middle bit has some pretty decent sub bass going on - I agree overall it's err-ing on the 'clean' side, and could do with a bit more crunch, a la metal - anyway the old MP3/Youtube compression has really brought the bass out on this tune - still not sure what I make of it... thanks again for listening & watching y'all Cheers M

Awesome thread - sorry I don't have any full length shots of my baby but it really is a stonking bass, killer tone and great to look at/play too - Sei Jazz custom 4 string (made for me in 2009): So many nice basses here... where to start/end???

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1339669716' post='1692245'] No-one's mentioned Guiggsy yet [/quote] Oh yeah he's f-ing dire - but then I heard he allegedly got a right royal payoff when he left Oasis - so he probably never has to play again... so the moral of this story (and thread) is it's not being a great player but being in the right place at the right time that REALLY counts....

OK here's the thing - the best way to build stamina is actually to play some long sustained notes on the bass - and rather than just banging away through fast, relentless songs, why not just play some simple scales or melodic patterns, slowly, in time and a few minutes at a time? This way you'll be not only building the muscles in your hands/arms you'll also be improving your coordination, timing and by holding the notes longer your tone as well. It's also worth looking at your bass's set up and making sure you're not fighting the instrument - if the action is too high, strings too heavy etc - you could be wearing yourself out just be fighting the physicality of the bass - get some medium weight strings and your bass set up properly - by a pro if possible - and playing should be a lot easier. Stamina/endurance also comes from playing a lot but can be helped hugely by working on your basic technique - it'll also help avoid any serious injuries bad posture and or hand position may inflict over time. Hope that helps M

I'm digging the general concensus of this thread - but if I had to volunteer a name along with Peter Hook I'd have to say Jack doo-dah from Reef...

New Branford Marsalis album 'Four MFs Playing Tunes' is f-ing great - coming out soon I believe Cool video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r_FPvSn0RY

In no particular order: Willis Wooten Pastorius Garrison Cottle Jenkinson Wimbish Feraud Marthe Eckhardt

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1339358955' post='1687454'] Hey Mike, I'm a bit late to this particular party! Just given it a listen... that middle section is pretty damn crazy! I'd say it's more metal than dubstep, although the drums/percussion have a definite dubstep flavour (clever how you change the drums on the fly - I'm assuming some Ableton magic or something?). Amazing playing as always. The only constructive comments I can give are: 1) EQ the distorted section so that it's more 'gutsy' - it sounds a wee bit thin at the moment (although it's nice and clear); and 2) I'd personally work on the middle section as a separate track, rather than bookend it with the cleaner, more funky parts - they don't quite sit together at the moment, although I appreciate tJhis is a jam! Anyway, nice work mate and very creative Paul [/quote] Hey Paul Thanks for such considered comments - I agree with all the critical points - to be honest I'm not sure where this track is heading and I like all the parts but like you say I'm not sure they belong together - but I'm up for trying new ideas at the moment so some successes and some failures are inevitable! Re the thinness in the sound I think you'll hear the lower frequencies better on headphones or big speakers - there is a sub bass on that bit but I think the mid/high frequencies are dominating too much - re the tempo changes this track is all done in Logic and not Ableton - I've rediscovered my love of Logic and working up rich sounds in that - I'll create clips from this for Ableton at some point for now I just want to work on parts and ideas - I just thought I'd do the classic half time dubstep thing on the heavy bits... anyway glad you enjoyed some of it - thanks for the feedback . Cheers Mike

No one digging this? Oh well...

Just added this - an instrumental take on Talk Talk's 'Life's What You Make It' http://soundcloud.com/munkio/lifes-what-you-make-it Hope you dig... vocals coming soon

They're great monitors - only trouble is - they're friggin' loud... other than that - all good!

Some distortion-tastic dubstep-ish somethingorother from me - hope you enjoy it... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4SJ0F_gJm4

OK this seemed like a good idea at the time - just trying to mash a few things together - the tune's nt quite finished but I really fancied whacking on the distortion for once and going for it... anyway hope you enjoy some of it... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4SJ0F_gJm4 Cheers Mike

I got my basic technique together over about a ten year period which initially involved playing for several hours a day some days, then when I went freelance ten years ago thanks to a lack of work in the beginning I was doing a couple of hours a day. This always covered stuff like reading, scales, improv, trabscribing and learning tunes. I now have much less time to practice so often do what I feel like doing - be it just practicing one lick or idea or busking some jazz standards - or composing a new tune/recording - it all depends what takes priority - sometimes I just want to play the bass!

[quote name='Rayman' timestamp='1338381336' post='1673556'] To throw in my opinion on her performance on JH, I really WANTED to like her, as this type of thing would normally be right up my strasse, but I just thought it was dull. I enjoyed the other acts much more tbh. Disappointed. [/quote] I really want to see her live again as I haven't heard her play bass guitar on a gig - her upright playing is great and she can sing her butt off (not literally - that would be impressive!) - the clips I've seen of her on BG have seemed like she needs to fully transfer her DB skills to bass guitar - she's sickeningly talented though and I suspect we're all just being a little too anal On another slightly unrelated but similar 'new bassist everyone has been talking about' / or perhaps getting overhyped - I went to see Thundercat live and it was killing - if you can imagine a 21st century Stanley Clarke ripping up some P Funk-into-fusion stuff - all to a wild reception from a crowd of dubstep-weened 20-somethings - he had a great band and a second bass playing who was nailing some fine low end grooves. I think the point is - reserve judgement until you've really seen someone live - recordings/YouTube/TV sound erc can be deceptive Cheers M

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1338208816' post='1670775'] I really love Radio Song, but Black Gold has cheesy lyrics and it kills it for me, I somehow knew she'd do that one. She is really, really good though, highly talented, and a great composer and player. Love her voice, but as Wombatboter said, the jazz clichés start to grate a little after a few listens. Edgy as a billiard ball but nevertheless, very accessible and lovely tunes performed beautifully I like about half the album a great deal, and about a quarter of it tightens my sphincter uncomfortably, not as bad as listening to Liza Minelli which has a sphincter factor of about 9.5. I'd say Esperanza's album has a jazz sphincter rating of about 2.5, which is excellent for what is essentially a soul/jazz album. Hope that helps [/quote] Love that review Nige...

I've only heard the track with Marcus M on it - of maybe I'm getting confused with the tune on his new album featuring Dr John - anyway whichever album it's on it's stonking stuff

No matter what you think of her music - Esperanza has at least got you thinking and talking - about music. Her original idea with Radio Music Society was to bring some elements of jazz - ie improv, unusual song forms and extended harmonies - and I know that she succeeded in some ways and missed the mark in others - but either way the point I think is that she makes a damn fine case for broadening the possibilities of mainstream music today - and that inevitably risks something beyond being predictable. But hey, no worries if ain't your bag - I'm hoping the next album will be better - still love her version of Endangered Species though

[quote name='Wooks79' timestamp='1337781126' post='1665356'] Yeah, Ableton live with a mid floor pedal to select parts sounds like the way to go to me. [/quote] It works for me - I road tested it live recently and it was great - the audience dug it too. Ableton rocks

Back on topic I checked this out and I think the mix for the bass was pretty crap (the bass lines on the albums are great and really well played, she has a cool tone as well on electric) - having seen ES live she really does have talented by the truck load - what interests me is to see if she can really funk it up for a whole gig doing this stuff - I'm a big fan of hers and like Nige has rightly pointed out the music here is brilliantly written/arranged and the band are killing - Esperanza, like Robert Glasper and quite a number of other bona fide jazzers, are pushing 'jazz' into the mainstream without killing its vibrancy - sure these are songs and that's all good but the attitude and playing is bang on... YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIKE JAZZ TO LIKE THIS - Maybe I'll get that tattooed someday... I get kind of tired of saying it - thankfully Esperanza and others like her are doing it for me now. M

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1337758412' post='1664868'] Bilbo will be pleased she put a long frock on. Band was good, did they all come over with her? I recognised her regular piano player. [/quote] Yes - they are here for her only UK show in London next week: http://www.timeout.com/london/music/event/255218/esperanza-spalding She's back in November for the London Jazz Fest - so if you miss this one (I will) then she's at the Royal Festival hall on 15 Nov

Pretty much spot on [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQcehK0802A[/media] ... apart from the "we earn A LOT Of money" line - I guess some of you do

As with most other things in life - turning up on time and 'being there' are two 'skills' that somehow qualify a lot of people as both professional and expert... go figure