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[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1328714235' post='1531549'] Apologies, didn't want to come on as a total downer - just saying one well-known venue (sorry, i had been told it was No. 2 in London - incorrectly) is a tough one. I'm sure Bilbo can point out just as many vibrant venues! [/quote] No worries Clarky - I know you're a man of taste, knowledge and musical discretion - your music's not a million miles from jazz is it? The point is if you look at the older parts of the scene then that's what you'll find - I completely admit that in a big city then you're going to find a younger audience at jazz gigs. It's worth noting as well that Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham and Leeds all have burgeoning scenes packed with great players and exciting new bands etc - the stuff is there you just have to go out and find it - the audiences aren't big but in all honesty audiences for live music seem to be in decline - like Linus said it's covers bands that are pulling in the biggest crowds - which is a wider reflection of the music scene in such straightened times and a generally MORE conservative outlook on things.... sign of the times etc

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1328712939' post='1531525'] Seriously, if playing to large audiences is your thing then jazz is a toughie. I live in Barnes near the famous Bull's Head (London's no. 2 venue behind Rionnie Scotts). Even the bigger names in jazz (eg Stan Tracey, Peter King) barely fill the back room where they stage the gigs and I've sent plenty of bands playing to just a handful of people [/quote] Firstly while there is some truth to what you're saying - the Bull's Head is not the No2 jazz venue in London after Ronnie's - yes it's long established but doesn't have a rep for pulling in vast crowds - the aforementioned Pizza Express jazz Club on Dean street has a capacity of around 120 and I've seen it full on many, many nights - I even played there on a full-to-bursting night - the Vortex often packs in around 100 people for gigs, as does the 606 Club in Chelsea, the Hideaway in Streatham does consistently well, as does Cafe Oto also in Dalston - and the bigger venues like Queen Elizabeth Hall, Barbican, Purcell Room, Royal Festival hall and their various free stages (ie. where the public can see a gig for free - while the band gets paid!) often pack in big audiences. Like Blackmn90 says funk-edged jazz is a good accessible way of getting into jazz and it's improv side of things - and appeals to a wider audience than purer (perhaps older) forms of jazz. Sadly jazz has a crap public image that's full of cliches and while some may ring true there are plenty of amazing bands and hugely talented musicians making great, innovative and exciting music - well some are anyway

Hey - I went through exactly the same thing about 15 years ago - maybe more - but I've always loved jazz too and I've been fortunate to turn it into my job (as a journo etc) but from a playing point of view having played in rock bands and funk-ish bands and found the general 'playing roots and riffs' vibe a bit stifling (though it still had if's moments of enjoyment) learning jazz presents not just lots of musical challenges but once you get past the awkward early stages, give you a skill set that will serve you well in terms of reading music, improvising over chord charts and working a lot faster generally than the old way of playing the same set note perfect - transcribing, ear training, extended harmonic ideas, rhythmic challenges etc etc - there are loads of positives for stretching yourself in this way. I still love rock and riffs etc - but the day I decided "I'm going to play the music I like/love and nothing else' - I not only started doing more gigs, and I should add more [b]paid[/b] gigs, my playing developed faster than it had done in years and all the work I've put in has stood me in good stead for gigs and recordings etc that I'd never have considered myself capable of a few years ago. Back to your question of the jazz scene the London scene is very well developed and yes it is very concentrated there - venues to check out are The Vortex (Dalston), Pizza Express Jazz Club on Dean Street Soho, Ronnie Scott's has a great mid-week jam on Wednesday in the small Ronnie's Bar, but Mon - Thurs there's a late night set that's relatively cheap to get into in the main room - the Hideaway in Streatham (South London) is superb, I've played there a few times and it's wonderful, they have a jam for beginners/amateurs/pros every Monday that's free for musicians - the there are a couple of clubs worth mentioning down near you are the Watermill Jazz Club in Dorking - they have a great jazz night once a week: http://www.watermilljazz.co.uk/ Brighton jazz club still operates once a week at the Komedia Studio Bar on Gardner Street, they get in some good names - and you could do a lot worse than check out the Jazzwise gig guide as that's give you a fair idea of what is going on nationwide: http://www.jazzwisemagazine.com/jazz-gig-guide Hope that helps - Jazz is great music with plenty of stuff that isn't 'old man's music' at all - bands like Led Bib, Get The Blessing, TrioVD, Troyka, Phronesis, Portico Quartet, Neil Cowley Trio are all based in the UK and are cracking live - many of them are on tour this year and well worth seeing live.... Mike

Both are excellent the Saffire Pro comes with great software but the Scarlett (which I currently use) is a very fine USB 2 interface and I did have an issue with the FireWire and hot plugging the Saffire - but that was a bit a one off the Saffire is a lovely bit of kit. While I used to think USB 2.0 was a bit inferior to Firewire to be honest since switching I've not noticed any difference in the quality of the sound and it doesn't limit you to just relying on a Mac/PC that has a FireWire port - the sound quality from the Scarlett is stunning - I'm really happy with it and for the money is excellent value - I've found the Scarlett versatile and really up to the job. Hope that helps M

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1328614914' post='1529912'] Nice track Mike, I really like it! It has a slightly different vibe to your other music that I'm aware of too (I don't mean that in better/worse context, just different). Not sure if that's a by-product of working with Ableton?? I've long been tempted to buy a copy myself - I'm constantly hearing great things about it - but I can't quite justify the time needed to learn the workings of a new DAW at the moment. Anyway, keep us posted on how you get on with using the software. By the sound of things it's a good product! Paul [/quote] Thanls Paul glad you're digging the vibe - yes Ableton is ace - I love it and in fact I love it so much I'm beginning to prefer it to Logic - people critcise the sound quality but I think it sounds cool. All the sounds on this track were created in Ableton and while the bass sounds a bit raw I didn't spend hardly anytime tweaking the sound at all so I know I can improve on that. The main thing with Ableton is you can record multiple loops very quickly - which means you don't have to spend ages working on a perfect performance - so while it does give the music a certain 'looped' vibe you have vary and mix and match this parts in so many ways, drop effects and alter the mix in real time - and then create a different arrangement and a completely different vibe on each take that you really can make the same song sound very different each time you play it. It also records all the parts on individual tracks so you could effectively bounce these down as WAVs and mix them properly afterwards... the sky is the limit. I've been messing around and learning stuff about all the working and processing angles for a year or more now and I'm getting more and more comfortable with it and getting a MIDI controller (Novation Launchpad) does speed things up - but I need to start building 'sets' now - which basically means assembling a virtual live set of songs - this sounds simple but I want to break them into their various elements and then be able to mess with them live. My other goal is to prepare some stuff before hand and then get some of my super skilled jazz buddies to play with it live and create realtime loops etc - kind in a soundsystem style way... I know it's all possible - I just need to get rehearsing - it will happen! I want to try and film a couple of vids of me messing with this stuff just to see what I come up with - it's all great fun and makes the whole writing and recording process far quicker and more dynamic.... I'll keep you posted Mike PS here's a great example of the live looping you can do in Ableton - from 'DJ' Kevin Yost, this is wicked: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXbC_yV4I0w [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATzkIxUzOXA[/media]

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1328551204' post='1528965'] Sounds cool Mike. If you have started to use A Live, You might want to check out the controllers for it. Akai & Novation have Ableton mapped units that are dead easy to use and very creative. I have the Akai Apc20, the smaller brother of the Apc40, and it's Fab to use. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SH4g4FHZHw[/media] Garry [/quote] Thanks Garry I actually just bought a couple - a Launchpad and a Line 6 footswitch - plus I have a couple of apps for my iPhone 4s for MIDI mapping (I'm really trying to hold off buying an iPad 2 - but the Lemur app looks amazing - see below) - again I'm trying not to get too ahead of myself and even mastering all the MIDI functions with my current kit takes some doing - my main plan is to use it for live looping with real musicians as opposed to go too far down the dance/electro route - but hey I'm not rulling anyting out. It's a whole new world of music but one that I think could benefit from a little more melody/harmony and less processing - or just more mashing of styles together.... the possibilities are very exciting. Cheers Mike [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6zOdRwgIRQ[/media]

I have a pal who plays guitar in the Brit Floyd official offshoot of the Aussie Floyd and from what I have seen/heard on video they are stunning live - the show is full of lasers and giant inflatable pigs etc... so go for it I've seen Floyd live at Earl's Court back in the 1990s and it was cracking but my one thought now is that seeing as over half their band are session players anyway - and yes Guy Pratt is a killing bassist - you're still seeing a load of extrenely good players doing the stuff the session guys would anyway - and part of the reason you would go and see any band like this is the songs are so good - I mean there's nothing more harrowing than seeing a musical legend in the flesh and they just can't cut it any more. It's embarrassing and painful - alternatively the likes of jazz guys like Sonny Rollins and Kenny Wheeler who are both 81 are astonishing for the their age I digress - go and see the Aussie Floyd - it'll be superb and really enjoyable - and top gigs today cost top dollar... it's where the money is at now for musicians so them's the breaks

[quote name='Noah Deere' timestamp='1328432494' post='1526708'] That's really good, made nice start to my morning [/quote] Thanks fella - I've still got a lot to learn here but hey I love working in Ableton - everything seems to happen so much quicker... I guess it's because I get less bogged down in perfecting takes and just laying down ideas - best way to work for me

Lovely work Ben - very sensitively and musically played - really nice man

[quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1328444180' post='1526923'] Always loved Jimmy's playing [/quote] He's killing - checked him out on Allan Holdsworth's Metal Fatigue recently and he sounds so hip - great taste, timing and tone - the three Ts...

[quote name='Blademan_98' timestamp='1328383588' post='1526326'] Really enjoyed that (headphones on to get the full bass flavour!). [/quote] Cheers fella - yeah headphones will give you the proper maximum bassiness of this track... more to come I hope Thanks for listening Mike

Just made this today - still figuring stuff out but it's a lot of fun - hope you like the vibe - kind of a mix of a lot of things I like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8-VWMO594M Mike

My latest dance-ish effort - all done in Ableton with various plugins but all sounds (aside from drums) created by and on the bass http://soundcloud.com/munkio/mazzive Hope you dig it M

Sounds a bit like this what I made today http://soundcloud.com/munkio/mazzive

OK - just wanted to share a little of my new set up - just working out all the wiring and effects loop etc - it's working well with the Sonuus i2M bass to MIDI converter but also running in a channel of clean bass - then running the lot through my Genz Benz amp's effects loop so I can wah-wah the f*cking lot... sounds rather amazing - my plan is to either use this as one unit and or run a separate channel out of the Focusrite and use Ableton as well - I've got a footcontroller and a Novation Launchpad - so now I've got my head around the wiring this is should rock live....

Sweet - played with passion and groove and no BS - very cool indeed

[quote name='Rayman' timestamp='1328211358' post='1523890'] Awesome. Just one thing to add from me. I've played drums, guitar, I've tried trumpet, clarinet, keyboards, and for me at least, not one of those instruments held a candle to the Bass Guitar. Bass has opened my eyes to Dub, Funk, Jazz, Soul, etc etc when all I knew before was rock and punk mainly. There is no other instrument better for opening musical doors and opportunities than the Bass Guitar, and there is [i]definitely[/i] no instrument cooler or more respected by other musicians. [/quote] I couldn't agree more - I've used my love of bass to guide me through discovering loads of new music too - eg i was massively into Primus years ago and it was through Tommy the Cat I discovered Tom Waits - Les played on his album Bone Machine which I bought - I couldn't hear Les in the mix but I loved that album and then got into a load of his older stuff like Rain Dogs etc The bass - acoustic and electric - is an amazing instrument and bass guitar has never been more versatile in its potential uses, but there's nothing quite like playing a killer bass line and knowing that's the reason that the crowd are dancing and that your band sounds so good... a great groove is a very special thing indeed Good luck getting into the instrument - there are literally hundreds of brilliant educational threads in the Theory forum and many are great for getting to grips with the basics of bass - and this place has more than its fair share of know-it-all bass geeks - good job they're mainly a lovely, helpful, friendly bunch innit?

I love Joe Zawinul's Syndicate stuff - so I thought I'd have a go at recording my usual grooves and ting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSqHDULv--8 Hope you like Mike

Hey NIge and co I'm a Logic user but I have used Superior drummer a lot and really love it - the thing that makes editing and 'auditioning' lots of MIDI loops for all the Toontrack stuff is EZPlayer Pro - it's well worth the 39 Euros price for the download - I know EZDrummer has its owm MIDI Loop browser but this is great if you have tons of MIDI drum loops that are drawn from all manner of MIDI drum loop packs - plus you can actually mix and match lots of different elements from different loops to create your own, anyway you might not need it but I use mine all the time: http://www.toontrack.com/products.asp?item=27

[quote name='mcgraham' timestamp='1327771849' post='1516585'] urb, thanks for sharing! I think I'm being a bit dense, what exactly are you looking to incorporate into your live gigs from synths? [/quote] Basically I'm using my bass to play soft synths via my Macbook Pro - I'm a sh*t keyboard player so I'm cheating a little - but also it cuts down the number of people I'll need in my new band... i.e. I'll play keys and bass (and loops and drums etc) and then use horn players, guitarist and drummer etc - does that make sense? No exactly like this but kind of... with musicians... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsUnUwenBsM

Really interesting this topic has come up - I've been experimenting too at finding a way to bring in more synth bass and keyboard sounds into my set up - I've been checking out the whole Soundblox pedals with the hot hand and they do look and sound amazing but I was thinking after hearing them that actually I don't necessarily use a 'filter' wah sound on my bass much and shelling £300 for all the kit was a bit much for that. My thing is that I now want to use Ableton live with 'LIVE' musicians - and so I've been researching and developing my set up for that - and I thought seeing as I have a ton of VST instruments that do some amazing bass synth sounds - and other synth sounds - it's just a case of controlling / playing them via MIDI - so I bought a [url="http://www.sonuus.com/products_i2m_mp.html"]Sonuus i2m[/url] recently and tested it in Ableton and it works well.My main Sei bass is midi-enabled but I have to say the tracking isn't great - I don't know why it's no brilliant and maybe I need to work on it some more - but it just doesn't track low notes very well - but the i2m does... and it's bus powered so no need to run it through a separate GI20 box either - all I have to do is split the signal and then I can play clean bass and synth sounds at the same time. It really works and now that I have a Launchpad controller too and a MIDI footswitch I'm ready to rock in a D'n'B stylee... The soft synths I have are from Native Instruments - I have Massive and Reaktor - Massive has some filthy, dirty synth sounds that are utterly sick and totally adaptable - so once I get my head round it all I'll try and post a video - but I'd love to hear what others think of this set up and any other ways and means you've found to use computer technology to create your sound... I find it really exciting as the possibilities are endless and if I can use this with a live band then it'll be a really exciting step - in bringing the recording studio to the stage

Superb interface but I had an issue with 'hot plugging' it -ie I fried my Firewire ports because I plugged it in while the Mac was on - instead of plugging it in first then switing it on... but it's still a great unit - though saying that I have been using the Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 for a few months - that's USB 2.0 - and it's killing - absolutely pristine sound quality and a ton of inputs for all under £250 - I really love it and have no issues with it whatsoever - including the whole plugging it into a switched on computer... so I recommend both but I love the Scralett - the virtual mixing desk software and VRM software with the Saffire are great though and they don't come with the Scarlett - hope all that helps - the Focusrite pre-amps are superb too

Nice man - I like it.... good work dude - programmed drums I take it? They sound cool

[quote name='LiamPodmore' timestamp='1326795391' post='1501938'] There's already a massive soundcloud thread somewhere, throw yours in there Damien (guessing thats your name) to keep the thread alive, a LOT of good stuff on there as well. Liam [/quote] Indeed there is - please add your stuff to the Pinned 'Soundcloud mega thread' at the top of this forum - like Liam says there are shed loads of great tunes on there already - let's keep adding to that as opposed to starting multiple threads - by all means bump your tracks on there and get folks to check them out.. Mike