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[quote name='The Funk' post='505712' date='Jun 4 2009, 06:55 PM']Anyone planning on checking out this bass-player led double bill? I'm up for going if anyone else'll come and join me. Warning: could be full of fusion-silliness.[/quote] I'm going on Saturday - I went to the masterclass at guitar X last night with just Hadrien and the drummer Johan Schmidt... it was totally killing - Had is absolutely burning and funky as hell too - though I doubt he'll do his version of Jacko's 'Don't Stop Till You Get Enough'... which was amazing. A little info - Hadrien will be on first, Linley second both with separate bands then they'll jam at the end - bass-fest-tatstic. See some of you there M

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='505395' date='Jun 4 2009, 12:21 PM']Nice. It almost looks like stone! Another work of art from MP. As for the black knobs, it's screaming out for black Hipshot O-rings! <checks pennies - how much do I need a Sei...?>[/quote] I certainy has a 'marble' effect when you look up close, a polished stone no less - not sure what make the knobs will be but it does have a Hipshot de-tuner on the E string - I love drop D! and it's also got V shaped tuning pegs - I'm not a fan of the Butterfly ones. Anyway - not long now - I really couldn't be happier with it - I just can't wait to hear what the Glokenklang circuit sounds like... M

OK, I know, I'm rubbish, just pathetic.... I just couldn't resist putting up this one pic of the bass as it was yesterday when I popped in - Martin said he could probably finish it this week but hey it's so close now I don't want him to rush it. There's going to be a ramp made from a lovely bit of bubinga between the pups and the knobs will be black metal ones... the bass is so lightweight and the neck feels amazing - obviously I haven't heard it plugged in yet but it felt great to play and it wasn't even set up... Anyway she really is a beauty - the cool thing as well is that the 24 fret neck doesn't look too long because of the way Martin has put it further into the body, and it really does look soooo much nicer in the flesh - I can honestly say it's come out exactly as I wanted it. OK - shoot me now! I'll obviously post better pics and a full report on delivery. Cheers Mike

[quote name='peted' post='504541' date='Jun 3 2009, 11:11 AM'] I'm sure that's illegal in the build diary section tease.[/quote] Sorry man I know - but HOT DAMN I've just seen and played this bass (acoustically) and it looks and feels amazing, the top wood looks sick! Hopefully collect it next week possibly the one after... M

[quote name='JTUK' post='504202' date='Jun 2 2009, 08:56 PM']It will look the business... every thing that comes out of the workshop does.. The colours, patterns and tones are subjective, the quality is not... It is always a work of art.. IME[/quote] I hope so - and having just spoken to Martin today he assures me the body now looks "really sweet" after its trip to the polishers - he's been routing the pickups and the neck join has also been done - pending the electronics being installed the bass is almost finished - I'm going to have a look tomorrow - but NO pics till she's finished - sorry folks. M

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='503544' date='Jun 2 2009, 09:32 AM']I have recently discovered this technique and argue that it can be done without the nail (I hve hardly any nails) but not for more than a few mintes at a time at first. You need to build up a callous on the top side of your thumb the same as you did the bottom side so take your time an be patient. Its a case of practising the techique until it is 'automatic' and confortable, same as most other aspects of technique (PS I haven't used it on a gig, yet, and feel that I am unlikely to!)[/quote] +1 - be careful when starting out with this technique - one thing that is kind of essential is that you lower your action as you are in danger of hurting yourself quite badly if you have your strings too high - which means there will a lot more tension in them and far more resistance when playing 'through' and 'up' on the down-up motion. The ideal wrist/arm action for this should actually be quite light, keep you thumb rigid but your wrist quite loose... Marcus shows you all you need to know in 18 second... And then Victor explains how to add in a pluck with your index finger... Hope that helps - take your time, build up the calluses and a muscles and in six months or a year you should be well away - but ma sure it grooves! Cheers Mike

[quote name='Duarte' post='503240' date='Jun 1 2009, 07:49 PM']That's really impressive playing and recording quality. Great bass tones and sweet mix of styles, nicely done.[/quote] Cool D - appreciate the feedback Cheers Mike

Cool choice man, I had a fretless made by Brighton luthier Jeff Chapman, who's a pretty obscure but highly skilled luthier, and he made me my ideal fretless, no question! In other words a big name luthier isn't always the best option... At the end of the day (cliche, cliche) it's not the bass you play it's what/how you play (on) it... gear is gear, i.e. driving a Ferrari doesn't make you a great driver, right? I only chose Sei basses for my other one after a long period of consideration, right now I'd happily own an MTD, Marleaux and or Sadowsky but hey life's short, I've got gigs to play and I have some great gear, just as long as you have the bass for the job just get out there and use the damn thing! Make sure you start a build diary thread in the er, Build Diary forum, be great to see how this baby shapes up.... speaking of which my Sei Jazz will be ready in a couple of weeks Mike

One time bump for this Would love to hear some thoughts on the overall tune, arrrangement, production, performance etc... there's no bass solo on this thanks guys Mike

[quote name='Spoombung' post='500298' date='May 28 2009, 09:40 PM']The smirk on his face is due to the merciless amount of piss-taking going on - Tears for Fears songs and bluesy bass lines! He's a cheeky sod. It's fair to say the bass and bass lines don't figure too much in High Llamas music. Are you expecting a Posh Fender Copy, soon? Is it a Shuker? [/quote] Ah I see, my posh Jazz 'copy' is a Sei actually, see the thread below this one, should be ready in two or three weeks, so I'll have some pics up as soon as poss... should be a bit of a looker...

Hey Just worked on this tune again today - I posted it a while back but I think I've made some signifcant improvements - re-did some bass parts and actually ended up adding a piano part at the end - I hope my ham-fisted playing doesn't spoil the vibe! It all gets a bit hectic in the middle but completly chills out at the end... I'd love your thoughts on this - criticism welcome etc. Thanks for listening Mike [url="http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=114860"]http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=114860[/url] PS - you'll need a Quicktime player to make this stream ok - but it is a highl quality MP3

I've been a massive fan of Terry's for years - I've seen him live a few times - he's a very special performer and all round guy - for anyone curious about where to start with his music his amazing album 'Time Peace' is one of THE best soulful jazz-folk albums of the last twenty years - some great bass on there too, all very understated and Terry's songwriting/lyrics/voice are just magical - catch him if you can - he's a real one off. Mike PS I'm jelous of you at the Union Chapel gig - I went to another gig at Cargo that night - but hey I've seen him loads before... still great though - first time I saw him Terry played three hour gig at the Escape in Brighton - dodgy venue but an amazing gig!

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='500977' date='May 29 2009, 02:53 PM']The survival of the newspaper alone shows us that the printed word has it's own place in the digital age. There is something about paper based text that has an appeal over information that is delivered via other digital means. Who would have thought that the radio would survive with the invention of records that meant that we could play the music we wanted to play when we wanted to play it? I hope you aren't implying that comments which have been shared on this forum alone are considered sarcastic or unhelpful because when working in the industry that BGM are, there is simply no excuse for some of the errors that are being made (again and again). This forum alone has made some excellent suggestions in the last year alone - and very few people that could make a difference seem to be taking any notice. This isn't a personal attack on anybody, it's just an observation on the quality of publication that is being distributed by a professional publishing business.[/quote] I agree the proofing and fact checking really needs to improve - I wasn't pointing anyone in particular out - Nick is very open to all manner of suggestions but unfortunately you can't please all the people all the time and unlike magazines with surplus amounts of staff and whole teams of sub editors (I work for Time Out and even their small army of proof readers miss things!) - BGM is a very small operation with a handful of staff. Regarding the issue of review credibilty - it's an intresting one and I kind of agree - how this is solved I don't know - I'll be happy to pass on suggestions to him and let's see what he says. Mike

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='500938' date='May 29 2009, 02:13 PM']There's been a bit of a "what's the point of BGM?" thing going on here, and I've been thinking about it. To an extent, I agree: magazines like BGM are becoming largely redundant in the internet age, and all the information contained in the magazine is freely available on the internet. But the thing is, we're physical, tactile creatures. I, for one, love to hold and read a book, magazine or newspaper. At the risk of sounding extremely poncy, it's an immediate medium. Every month (or thereabouts ) a magazine plops through my letterbox, and it contains all sorts of information and news [i]that I've had to make no effort to find[/i]. If I wanted to find out everything in the magazine via the internet, I'm pretty sure I could, but I might not necessarily look for it in the first place. Basically, it exposes us to information that we might not seek out independently, and that can only be a good thing. /babbling[/quote] Hey they said casettes would kill music... and then we got the interweb - it might have killed record sales but music is still going strong - magazines face a similar thing but the idea of setting down for a good read with your iPhone/Blackberry/laptop just doesn't do it for most people... if you're under the age of 16 and have grown up with the web then it's fair enough - but I think most people who buy mags have a bit of cash/disposable income and that in turn leads us all to buy stuff - gear in our case - and that ties in with the whole demographic of people who read mags... so there will still be a big demand for printed media for the foreseable but obviously at some point it'll become redundant. I think if BGM keeps on getting a good balance between UK and international players and keeps taking on board 'constructive' (rather than sarcastic/unhelpful) criticism then I think we should absolutely have a UK bass mag - give us something to tallk about hee anyway. M

Personally I think it's a big improvement on the last issue - good mix of players and (even though I may be biased) I think the Messe report came out well - hey there's still room for impovement but there always is - I think it's definitely heading in the right direction. Cool column at the back by Franc O'Shea as well - he's one of the UK's best kept bass secrets - good job he's head of Bass at BIMM then innit? Cheers Mike

[quote name='peted' post='499947' date='May 28 2009, 03:24 PM']Can't wait to see the finished article. Good luck getting to sleep for the next few weeks [/quote] Great thing is this has come around a lot quicker than I thought it would - especially compared to the previous build - and I'm so busy with work it'll be a great bonus when she's ready - I'm going to see the lacquered body next week, but I'm not posting any pcs until it's finished. Cheers Mike

ETA = 2 - 3 weeks time....

[quote name='Spoombung' post='497176' date='May 25 2009, 11:33 AM']Oh, we'll be back to the Posh Fender Copies on the build thread before you know it![/quote] I hope so for my sake! I really meant what I said though - your bass looks very cool and from the look on your buddy Sean's face while he's playing it, it'll no doubt bring you years of happy service - very cool indeed - now where's my posh Fender copy... Mike PS I really dig the High Lamas

I switched from using Elites Players (Nickels) to D'Addario XL nickels and love them even more - I agree the softer overall tone is great for a multitude of sounds - from NO treble to snappy slap - plus Nickels definitely last longer and have a more consistent tone/playability than steels. I've tried both Elites and D'Addario steels and while they both sound great the rougher under your fingers and feel tigher and less flexible than the nickels for both brands. Just my £0.02 but I really love my nickels - they just feel and sound so great Mike

[quote name='steve' post='495563' date='May 22 2009, 09:09 PM']Very impressive, for me the 2nd one is really nice - I'd love to hear a recorded and mixed version[/quote] Hey Steve (and others) there's now a high quality MP3 version of the 'Outfunk' tune here: [url="http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=114553"]http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=114553[/url] plus it's the first tune on my Myspaz page - hope you like it - I think it sounds pretty sweet... Cheers for listening Mike

It looks great - congrats, wacky but wonderful - nice to see something a bit different round these parts... M

[quote name='steve' post='495563' date='May 22 2009, 09:09 PM']Very impressive, for me the 2nd one is really nice - I'd love to hear a recorded and mixed version[/quote] thanks Steve, I like the second one better too, since I recorded this straight into Logic I have a good quality mix of it, I'll try and post it somewhere soon... thanks again for the positive feedback guys, Cheers Mike

[quote name='alexclaber' post='493470' date='May 20 2009, 05:09 PM']I don't know dawg, you cats really need to get with the vibe and scope out the hang. Ain't nuthin' but a thang if you don't lay it down in the pocket, drop those big bass bombz. Get back in tha woodshed and work those grooves until it's sounding bad, mmmkay? Alex[/quote] Word... (to your mutha )

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='493232' date='May 20 2009, 01:20 PM']"Shedding" is another one I hate. It sounds like the type of thing you'd do in a "Cottage" on Hampstead Heath. Also, I agree with Rich about "chops".[/quote] Oh so that's what shedding means! Thanks for letting us know... The term chops has been around for decades now.. not new or trendy in any way M

[quote name='bassace' post='493435' date='May 20 2009, 04:42 PM']Sorry, but a half decent jazzer could do that as well on double bass. It's competent but nothing amazing. ..............runs for cover.........[/quote] FYI - Dave's a very accomplished jazz double bassist as well - but he tends to play for the song before showing off He's played with just about everybody - check out this page on his website for some more vids [url="http://www.daveswiftbass.com/pages/people.html"]http://www.daveswiftbass.com/pages/people.html[/url] He's a dude and very down to earth chap as well Cheers Mike