urb

Show's almost started! The quality is good - bear in mind it's a live stream - they have to keep the picture small - the sound should kick ass tho - I have some big speakers plugged in! M

[quote name='NickThomas' post='75683' date='Oct 17 2007, 06:20 PM']Excellent .. I'm unable to see him this time at the Jazz cafe so this is almost as good .... And I dont have to take the train home after lol btw what is that thing of beauty in your avatar picture?[/quote] Ace - I'm staying in after all tonight so I think I'll have a look at this as well - showtime in 15 mins - cool! The bass in my avatar is myu custom fretless five string - made by Brighton luthier Jeff Chapman - it's one piece of African mahogany quarter sawn and shaped into a lovely bass - sounds on my Myspace page BTW - the fingerboard is ebony - and that's a ramp between the pickups Pics here: [url="http://www.munkio.com/jeffchapman/flynn_fretless.html"]http://www.munkio.com/jeffchapman/flynn_fretless.html[/url] Cheers Mike

Hey folks! A heads up for a live webcast of Marcus' gig tonight at The Parasiso in Amsterdam - it starts at 7.30 - the streaming is really high quality so that means good audio and visuals - check it out here: [url="http://www.jazzwise.com/news/item/7226"]http://www.jazzwise.com/news/item/7226[/url] Hope some of you can watch it - I'll be out...doh! The gig is archived though so you can watch it again whenever. Cheers Mike

Hey guys Definitely like the idea of this forum - sharing stuff to help each other improve as players - or those who are just starting out with various styles and techniques is a great idea - I certainly try and contribute. In the meantime I've been a member of this website - [url="http://www.icompositions.com/"]http://www.icompositions.com/[/url] - it's free to sign up and there's nothing dodgy about it - it's basically for people who use Garage Band - I guess you don't have to but it's really interesting to see how creative you can be with this ultra basic bit of software. The really cool things with the site is that every month they give away loads of FREE Apple loops - I've downloaded tons of them over the last year and they really are good - covering all styles from funk to electronic dance grooves, sound effects and loads of percussion samples - it's well worth checking out and you can upload and host your tunes on there for FREE as well. Hope some of you check it out Cheers Mike My page is here [url="http://www.icompositions.com/artists/Munkio"]http://www.icompositions.com/artists/Munkio[/url]

Hey peeps Quick update - my bass is at the finishers - while I'm waiting I've been drooling over the other buckeye six string - mine's a 5 obv - that has just returned looking absolutely lovely - there will be quite a few others coming to completetion in the next few weeks - yippeeee! Lovely looking - the colours are pretty wild in that burl: [attachment=2706:sei6_2.jpg] Until next time - cheers Mike

Hey - apologies for posting 'another' clip - but this was from my gig the other night (Friday) with my Big Fan band - this is my bass solo from a tune I wrote called 'Push' - we had a trumpet player sitting in with us for this one and he and the sax player set up a great horn line under my solo - then I slapped it for good measure... let me know what you think. [url="http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=74800"]http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=74800[/url] (It's also the first tune on my Myspace page) Thanks for listening Mike

I've been wondering what I might get for my Thumb 1990 if I had to sell it - which I hope I won't as I don't want to - really interesting abouthe letters for the month they were made mine is a 'D' - "April 1990" - anyway here's mine again - complete with MEC jazz pickups and a newly installed 3-band Schack EQ, and ramp now - she still plays great and sounds great - but is too damn heavy!!! I get some neck dive but only a little - it's more the weight and the 'dark' tone that I have grown tired of - but it's still a very funky bass - mine for life I think... Mike

No idea if you made it dude - but we had a brilliant gig - ace crowd and lots of fun had by all - next one is in November will post details soon. Cheers M

Hello I'm playing with my groovy jazz quartet this Friday in London at a funky place called the Cosmo Bar near Barbican tube - all details are here: [url="http://www.timeout.com/london/music/events/515680/big_fan-s_free_funk.html"]http://www.timeout.com/london/music/events..._free_funk.html[/url] If you haven't heard my band check out: [url="http://www.myspace.com/bigfanjazzband"]http://www.myspace.com/bigfanjazzband[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owgpl0fFwY0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owgpl0fFwY0[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SozTxK1Mj3Q"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SozTxK1Mj3Q[/url] Be great to see some of you London BCers there Cheers Mike

Ace - that looks fantatsic - while the body shape isn't my cup of tea it looks absolutely stunning all the same - great work - hope she gives you many years of pleasure - nice one. M

Let's all be friends - obligatory bass jam when we all finally meet up with respective 'designer' basses OK? M

It's fine Steve - no problem. And Dontcarebear - I agree - there are far too many lovely basses out there - but a). I can't afford more than one at a time - and . - you have to make a choice in the end! Anyway - the bass is off to the finishers next week - so no pics until then - maybe not until it's finished - I think early to mid November it'll be close to finished... so until then keep your thoughts coming - I'm off on holiday for a week! Cheers Mike

[quote name='steve-soar' post='63291' date='Sep 20 2007, 07:54 PM']Not to detract from the benefits of a Sei. I wholeheartedly recommend an AC Guitar. You will be blown away by the playability and the price. The sound of these basses is astounding.[/quote] No worries - all I'd say is "horses for courses..." - I've wanted a Sei for a long time - I've played a ton of other amazing basses - and I still think Sei are among the best out there - in the world - personally I think they look amazing, sound great and play great - I'm happy with my choice - I'm sure you feel the same way about your bass too - and that's the way it should be. M

Hey Nate - love the groove and feel - you made it musical not a tap-w*** display - well done Ace stuff M

[quote name='BigRedX' post='61454' date='Sep 16 2007, 11:11 PM']That's coming along nicely now. It's amazing how much more like a bass it looks now the fingerboard's been added. I'm a great believer that when you're having a custom instrument made you should find a luthier who's ideas and vision for what they want to build match the ideas that you want for your finished instrument, rather than someone who claims to be able to build anything.[/quote] I completely agree with you man - the thing with asking Martin Petersen to make me something wasn't a case of just 'wanting a Sei' I had a very good / clear idea of what I wanted the bass to be - the tone I'm looking for, the feel of the instrument, how it looks - I specifically wanted to use lighter woods than the dark African woods on my Thumb bass, I wanted to the facings to be 'yellowish' and the whole block of burl that was ordered that they are cut from I helped Alex to choose etc. Also having seen other 'designer basses' that cost twice that of a Sei but - IMO - don't have the same evel of craftsmanship in a Sei bass - I know I'm getting something very special. I know there's another 6 string being made right now that is pretty much the same as mine but will no doubt be different in many ways too - each one of Martin's basses has its own identity and that's becuase he really listens to his customers. I also trust his decisions - the madagascar ebony board was his choice and it's awesome - I have been a bit hands off with some of the stuff because I know Martin and his work well - that's why I 'hired him' to make this for me - he's the expert - not me. I'll keep you all posted with any further developments, Mike

[quote name='thumb4bob' post='61339' date='Sep 16 2007, 07:48 PM']very very nice bass, I hope you don't mind me asking but what made you pick sei ahead of say another jeff chapman, your fretless is amazing. Was it down to specific tonal needs or were you just after something that looked a bit different?[/quote] First off thanks for the positive vibes - I love Jeff's work and will endorse his basses and workmanship to the end but I've loved the Sei designs for a long time and have wanted a single cut for almost as long - when I ordered my fretless I lived in Brighton - Jeff lives there - so it was better for me as I could see the bass and discuss the design at regular periods - whereas now I live in London and even then I don't get up to Camden very often - but I really love what Martin does - the SC is going to be very much 'my' bass with my specs built for me. Jeff doesn't really have his own design of bass - with my fretless based on a Tobias classic - so I would have had to come up with my own design for a single cut from him and to be honest I love the Sei single cut - and thankfully I've been able to afford one.. Anyway - this bass is going to truly rock when it's ready - my fretless is unique so I'm happy to have just the one JC bass - he did some of his best work on it - and for that I am truly grateful. M

[quote name='paul, the' post='61137' date='Sep 16 2007, 01:24 PM']Aww bunny ears. That's beautiful. One of the best I've seen methinks.[/quote] Indeed - I hadn't thought of bunny ears - I will own my very own Bunny Bass - how cool! Cheers mate Mike

Hey peeps Just a few more new pics of the bass hat's starting to look a bit more finished - and it'll be off to the finishers soon - so these will be the last pics of the bass before that - the finger board is madagaskar ebony which looks ace: [attachment=2333:seibass_150907.jpg] [attachment=2331:seibass_face150907.jpg] [attachment=2332:sei_facing_closeup.jpg] [attachment=2334:seibass_back150907.jpg] Cheers Mike

[quote name='G-77' post='60313' date='Sep 14 2007, 11:31 AM']I just paid 625 for logic pro7, i will qualify for the free upgrade, but still slightly annoyed!!! Urb, it will probably take a few days for it to filter through the the Resellers, apparent the london Apple store has the full vers, but sold out of the upgrades quite quickly. [url="http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=353805"]http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=353805[/url][/quote] Thanks G77 - you have my sympathies - I can't shell out for this now but £350 is still save-up-able - I'd be happy to buy it new as well for that price. M

[quote name='garbev' post='60137' date='Sep 13 2007, 09:54 PM']The £129 is the upgrade from Logic Pro7. The full retail is £329 a huge price cut from Pro7 which was around £599.[/quote] Yeah ace! My only question is - where do I get it from? I did some googling last night and couldn't fomd anywhere aprt from the Apple store that was selling it - maybe I'll pay them a visit in London - or just wait a few months until it's on Ebay on a 'buy now' thing - they are normally legit and at least a third off. Thanks again for flagging this up Mike

So what happens if I buy this from the US - will I be paying 150 quid? And will I get taxed - if that's the full package for $320 that is unbeleivable value... I just got Ableton Live 5 which is amazing but I'd still like to get Logic - and combine them both... Any thoughts gents?

[quote name='Rich' post='58788' date='Sep 11 2007, 04:36 PM']At last, I've finally got to grips with some of this digital malarkey. I've spent a few hours mucking about with Audacity and come up with the tune 'Tears' on [url="http://www.myspace.com/baldybassplayer"]my MySpace[/url]... I really wish I could say I wrote it, but unfortunately not, it's a Brian Bromberg tune... I just used as a tester really. It's as rough as a badger's arse in places, but OK for a first attempt. It's just drums and Shuker... the bassline was done with both pickups in twincoil mode with a tad of bass and treb boost and a wee bit of mid cut. The main melody is the neck pickup tapped & bridge twincoil, with the bass rolled off a bit and a touch of reverb. I cheated with the higher doubled melody bit... cut, paste, pitchshift. [url="http://www.myspace.com/baldybassplayer"]http://www.myspace.com/baldybassplayer[/url][/quote] Hey Rich Just checking it out now - the bass sounds great, I know the tune off the old 'Jaco' CD, it's a good one. I can't really critique it beyond the fact you've done a decent job of recording the bass and maybe the drum part feels a bit static but as a first attempt I'd say well done. All I'd give in terms of advice is just keep doing it - recording yourself is a brilliant way of actually hearing yourself much clearer - and a way to hear stuff that you do and don't like in your playing - and likewise hearing whether your ideas do or don't work. Then focusing on playing more of the stuff that sounds good and does work. Then it''s just a case of how far you want to go - if you make a habit of recording ideas regularly it's surprising how many you can have after 6 months or a year. And the more you try stuff the more you will learn. I have a lot of ideas and a lot of stuff to learn - my problem is finding the time! Anyway good work and good of you to get the first one out there - the good stuff takes time so now you've started keep doing it.

Gawd knows if any of you will dig this - but I love jamming along to stuff and this particular Jazzanova remix of a 4Hero drum and bass tune is a great spacey but fast tempo tune to groove along to. I'm trying to get the 4-finger groove thing mixed in with the normal 2 finger stuff - I think it's coming together...slowly [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdcmTcnzI8c"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdcmTcnzI8c[/url] Mike

This is my page here: [url="http://www.myspace.com/flynnbass"]http://www.myspace.com/flynnbass[/url] Funky tunes galore! M

[quote name='steve' post='52059' date='Aug 29 2007, 12:03 AM']wow, that's some really impressive playing. can either of you explain the idea behind cell playing, or point me in the direction of a website, I'm intrigued thanks[/quote] As Mr D says it's really just a cell of notes - you could say four walls to a cell - four notes to a cell - but as with any simple principle in music extrating the formula out into its fullest possibilities is a huge task and a challenge that might take a lifetime to barely scartch the surface of. You can try playing a group of four note 1235 over any chord - try moving it diatonically through the scale or in the case of a tune with fast moving changes like Giant Steps, you can save yourself the hassle of running up and down scales with this type of harmonic 'shorthand' - it's still exciting harmonically but it's the repeptition of the idea that builds excitement and tension - if you are REALLY good then you can keep this idea going through loads of variations and the audience will thnk "how long can he keep this up?" which again builds tension and excitement into your solo. It's a hell of a challenge but then that's jazz - it's very very challenging! Mikey - a great book for ear traiing is Gary Willis' Complete Guide for Ear Trainging - or something like that - it has a CD and is brilliantly put together - really good stuff and very helpful. The one thing I have found most helpful in the short term with ear stuff is recognising the sounds of certain chord types - i.e. major, minor (obviously), diminished, augmented, aumented 5th etc - I've found myself quite comfortably continuing to solo by ear - even when I lost my way on the chord chart on a jam session - and I still got 'nice solo' said to me afterwards - though I was completely busking it! Good stuff anyways - jazz is good! Mike