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[quote name='6stringbassist' post='698887' date='Jan 2 2010, 05:41 PM']People have the same thoughts on technique. They say 'Oh technique holds you back, it hampers creativity', which is nonsense. Having good technique and 'knowing' what you're playing go hand in hand to produce[/quote] Just to add to this that the ultimate goal - just like knowing how to express yourself with words - is freedom of expression - some people can say a hell of a lot with just a couple of words - others write great novels! I think the language analogy is spot on and the similarities between different styles of writing is also a good one - how does a sports journalist compare to a political one? A comedian to a novelist - etc - every musician (not just bassists) has a different way of playing exactly the same notes, the same chords, the same rhythms - there are a hundred different ways to 'say' a word - or 'play' a note. The level of mathamatical and therefore harmonic sophitication you can apply to any note can be vastly affected by your knowledge of how each note can fit into its given space - every note can potentially work anywhere but it's about understanding how and why that is that really opens up the musical posibilities available to you at any one time. Simplicity is also a good thing, but making it simple is an art in itself and one that can be refined and honed no matter how much or how little technique or harmonic knowledge you have. M

To be honest theory knowledge is only as good what you can apply on a gig/session etc in real time, "knowing more than you can show" is a bit of shame really as the whole point of learning and extending your knowledge is to be able to do this as a player... so if you can't back it up by writing down everything down and examining it under a microscope then perhaps you don't know the stuff as thoroughly as some, but can play like a well rounded bassist then well, job done... it all depends on where you want your playing to go, and what you want to do as a musician: learning how to be a bebop monster when you play funk and rock isn't necessarily a smart move, but then knowing more is better than knowing less IMO, and ultimately gives you many more options as a musician, and potentially more gigs! Just my thoughts on the subject, my theory is a lot better than it used to be but using my ear and playing with a good feel/groove are still as important on a gig, and thinking is the last thing I want to do when I'm in the midst of a kicking gig. M

[quote name='sebpayne' post='694017' date='Dec 26 2009, 10:54 PM']So back to the cabinet front. Thanks for all the advice, I think a single Aguilar 1x12 wouldn't be enough to hold it with keys and guitars so I'm still thinking a 2x10. Ashdown's 2x10 isn't much lighter than my 4x10 but I imagine would be lighter. Has anyone got any suggestions of any other 2x10s cabinets to look at? Does anyone have any thoughts on the Little Mark 210 Traveller? Thanks, and merry christmas all![/quote] Definitely check out the Epifani 2x10s, seriously sweet cabs, or a Bergantino 210, both very light and loud, my Epi 210 is all I need for now... I'm not a Markbass fan but no doubt they are worth a look / listen as well. M

I hate to admit this but I got seriously burned on Evilbay a couple of years ago and got scammed when I thought I was buying a new iMac... that didn't exist. It's a long story and I did try and involve the police, the upshot being that they couldn't be arsed, and to cap it all off Ebay eseentially f***ed me over as well as once they deleted the bogus item there was no 'evidence' of what I was trying to buy... and therefor no case. The twist in the tale was that the account of the seller had been hacked into and when she discovered this she was very helpful, I even spoke to her on the phone I thought I was getting some way to unravelling what had happened, then all of a sudden she stopped communicating and led me to suspect that she had something to do with it. I was contacted by two other people that had also bought non existent Macs as well, but all this was still not enough for Ebay to give a sh*t... I hate that site, you don't save that much money and like others have said bidding is a nightmare, I've had nothing but good experiences with the Basschat market place and if I ever need any more Mac hardware I'll buy it new, like I ended up doing so with my iMac... you live and learn! Mike

Great live act - I've got a couple of their CDs as well - cool band...

Very good - lovely tone Mike

[quote name='Doddy' post='689755' date='Dec 20 2009, 02:08 PM']It does sound like you are playing it wrong. If I'm reading you right,you are playing a low E,an open D and,an octave D. The chord that was mentioned is an E7,so you should be playing the notes E,G#,B,D. Let's leave out the B for now, and play the notes E,G# and D ------------13 ------------12 --------------- ------------0-- So you have the low E,the D on the 12th fret D of the D string,and G# on the 13th fret of the G string.[/quote] Hey Doddy, you're spot on as well I didn't mean to repeat what you said, all good M

In a nutshell a double stop could be seen as a fragment of a chord, so if you want to create your own you could try playing an open A string then fretting the 11th fret on the D and the 12th on the G string, this is a A7 chord but with notes at the upper and lower part of the octave. Try sliding these two note shapes up a fret to the desired point from the fret below so for the shape described above start on the 10th an 11th and shift up on the 4 'and' before landing on the 1 with the open A. Hope that makes sense... M

[quote name='noelk27' post='689694' date='Dec 20 2009, 12:54 PM']Just been doing the very same thing, downsizing from an SWR Redhead and Triad. Had started to look at GK, Eden and Ampeg, but when urb's SWR Baby Baby Blue came up for sale within 24 hours of my Redhead selling, fate/BC presented the perfect solution to my needs. This post though is by way of saying have you given any thought to a combo? Ampeg BA115HPT, EBS D15, Mesa Boogie Walkabout, Nemesis 210, etc.[/quote] Yeah that was cool Noel, really pleased my little BBB found a good home, as it's such a sweet sounding combo, and I'm really happy with my new Genz Benz Shuttle 9, so to answer the OP's question my advice is that a decent quality 2x10 will kick a major amount of booty - especially in the playing situation you describe yourself in - and obviously I'd recommend you try the Genz Benz stuff as the 3.0 and the 6.0 Shuttles also have their plus points, but as there are so many other good small sized, but powerful heads out there I suggest you get to Bass Direct or the Gallery and try some out. The EA ones are very good, likewise Markbass and Eden offer some decent gear and TC Electronics are very tasty indeed. The beauty of this type of gear is it travels very easily, is a piece of cake to walk into a venue with, I can easily carry my Epi 210 with one hand and the GB 9.0 fits in my gig bag... and I have 900 watts if I need them...! It's worth investing in a great cab as well as you'll reap the benefits with an overall great sound and there's plenty to choose from amp wise to suit your style, but go and try it first! Good luck and go for it - you'll love having a smaller more portable set up. Mike

Jay that TC rig is super sweet, a very good investment M

Nice - a liltte Christmas cheer for us all to enjoy - cheesy as hell but kind of sweet as well...

Really thought it was about time I added my little lot to this thread - my rig ain't as big as some but it's mighty loud and extremely good quality sound-wise - so my three basses: 2008 Single Cut Series 1 Sei Bass 2009 Sei Jazz Bass 2004 Jeff Chapman Fretless My 'heavy duty' (for me anyway) amp solution... Epi 502 + UL210 And my lighweight solution - lovely (new) Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 (sounds wicked) the best thing about this amp's size is it fits perfectly into my Levy's Italian leather gig bag.... I also have a few effects and that's it! Does the job and sounds awesome - so I'm happy with it all Re any GAS I'm thinking about either a Berg or Epi 112 but the 210 sounds so good and is stupidly loud I'm not sure I really need another cab right now. Cheers chaps Mike

Yeah that dude really does my head in - I saw him demoing Epifani gear at the Musik Messe two years ago and I thought it was pointless hiring him to do that because his tone from that beaten up Yamaha is pretty nasty - very thin and harsh.... This guy is a much more musical player - and his technique is more original - and he has a sense of humour about what he's doing: M

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' post='682362' date='Dec 12 2009, 05:48 PM']Gave up on Bass Player a good few years back, (once in a while I may purchase). The british equivalent,BGM is getting worse and , if I see it (not very often) I give it browse and decide whether to purchase there and then. The old Bassist magazine was good. I wouldn't be surprised if a Bass mag ceases to exist eventually.Or returns to a small column in a guitar mag like Guitar for the practcing musician.[/quote] Now there's optimism for you... I may be biased but having gone through a load of old bass mags from a few years ago BGM's current state is a VAST improvement on what it used to look and read like, it was shocking, now it's looking and reading loads better, and all credit is due also to the music lessons in the back of the mag, there's stuff of real substance there now, I think it's actually got, er, all bases covered now and obviously Nick wants t keep on improving it. I was speaking with a US bassist recently and he said he'd just discovered BGM and thought it was loads better than the US one, which I also used to buy with some regularity but haven't done so for at least a couple of years, their website is actually pretty good if you dig into it, and bassplayer.tv has tons of original/exclusive video lesson and performances on, not sure why the mag version is getting thin, I know the advertising downturn has hit hundreds of mags worldwide and many have closed... maybe they are next? M

Just gigged the 9 last night and it was really good - lots of tone and really punched out my low B no questions asked - for an amp this size it's pretty jaw dropping really - and at the end of the gig the amp was completely cool to the touch - it was like it was coasting along with so much more power there if I needed it. The really cool thing is that it fits perfectly into my leather gig bag: One seriously cool amp M

[quote name='bigthumb' post='680478' date='Dec 10 2009, 06:13 PM']New website looks good, just having a browse now. [/quote] Looks ace - really pleased they've finally updated it - I likes the old site but it was a little bit all over the place - this is loads better, the pics of the products and basses look great - and er, there's a couple of my vids in the video section - yay!

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='680065' date='Dec 10 2009, 11:35 AM']I'm on my way to London now I have to do a quick job in the West then I'm off to the Gallery to try some Jazzes I love my Job.[/quote] My fave shop on the planet... being a bit of a freelancer I can end up spending a good hour there if I'm not careful - a great place - and so much nice gear - try one of the Sadowskys in there, there's a nice four string - I enjoyed the sound of it though I've played more comfortable Jazzs recently... M

Sorry - another one - how about some one-handed james Brown grooves while playing the drums... then some Jaco Mmmm...

I agree Johns is a bit too busy but he is a good player - I looked at a few more clips on YT and this one is fun - he does a pretty darn cool FUNK version of 'Stairway To Heaven'... well at least he's trying to do something new with it!

That's from this superb DVD - it's half documentary and half gig and the band is killing - the bass and drum grooves are spot on througout - well worth a look. I also play it in my funk band - have a listen M

Go for it - lessons are a great way to get you off and running - or rather walking... good luck and have fun M

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='675988' date='Dec 6 2009, 07:02 PM']If you want mine (which you probably don't) it's music that convey the performer's feeling of the song whether it's their song or not. This man exudes it for me. I always find listening to Jaco leaves me feeling sterile but that's my opinion and that is what this thread is about.[/quote] Fair enough - and I dig the White Stripes as well, Jack White is amazing - but I'm noticing a lack of bass playing that clip... I think your point - and it's an utterly valid one - is that 'music' made by the likes of Jaco et al ain't your thing (?) - therefor any bassist that plays that sort of stuff (i.e. jazz-informed music with a tendancy to feature soloists) is more than likely to be overated... I could say the same anout the 1000s of guitar bands, pop bands, indie bands etc.(and quite a lot of jazz bands too!) out there - with some very important exceptions - but then we're into a debate on taste not being overated - Jaco was a monster musician besides being a brilliant bassist - I don't know how that makes him overated? If you don't like his stuff then fair enough... Mike

[quote name='benzies123' post='674439' date='Dec 4 2009, 07:08 PM'][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iimMKWF7SK0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iimMKWF7SK0[/url] [/quote] Yeah that'll be that really souless, crappy singing, really awful bass and voice duet - I hate that too... No idea why anyone would enjoy that at all