CamdenRob

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1372416883' post='2125466'] Playing an instrument isn't for showing off, it's to create music, and when you start putting technicality above musicality, I don't think you can call yourself a musician anymore. Obviously though, there are times when these things are musical and sound good, and I would be lying if I said I didn't like any song with those things in them, because I like plenty of them. [/quote] This is pretty much my entire philosophy, I couldn't agree more. Obviously the higher your level of technical skill the more tools you have at your disposal for creating music. However I still beleive that with a very basic level of technical skill and a solid understanding of chords, scales, modes ect you can create something very musical. Anyway I digress. This is maybe not the thread for this kind of thing. Rob

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1372415278' post='2125434'] I didn't mean the "technical wizard" as a negative comment. I meant it in the way that you aren't just showing off how technical you can play. I like most of your songs, and think they are great! And I would like to use a couple of your tracks as background music if you ever get around to making a proper recording, and don't mind me using them. [/quote] You'd be amazed how often I get asked by friends / the missus "why don't you upload a video of your slap bass stuff / cross handed tapping ect" To be honest I've no interest in stuff like that. I'd rather write something that sounds good (which is subjective obviously) I may do some slap stuff in the future but only if it sounds musical. You can do whatever you like with them if I ever do get them laid down properly... The audio only of my current clips has tons of pedal clicks / me wheezing ect. so best not use those Rob

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1372412884' post='2125383'] Nope, it was me that voted for you last month. I didn't vote for you this month, although you were a good contender. I have said this before, but you are really the only person that I have seen that can make a song using a bass that I could actually listen to. There's no ego with you. You aren't showing off. You aren't a technical wizard. You just make great songs with a loop pedal, and I really admire that. In fact, most other times, I hate solo bass, but you are a rare exception, mate. I will take that cake, however, if it's still on offer [/quote] Thanks mate, your always very positive with your comments / criticisms and I do appreciate them. I'm definitely not a technical wizard as the occasional fretbuzz and misplaced 3rd will attest to... I only baked a cake once in recent memory (and by recent I mean about 12 years ago) I had a girl coming round I was trying to impress with my baking skills... (dunno why I thought that would be relevent...) I made what can only be described as a jammy biscuit ... it turns out there are two types of flour, one rises, one doesn't... Rob

I keep meaning to put in more effort, record my stuff properly... what with work and sheer laziness It's going to be 'click record, click stop, upload' for me next month too... still I do enjoy it. I only got one vote last month too, I wonder if its the same person? I shall have to find out and bake them a cake.... Rob

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1372407399' post='2125282'] What is apparant, to me at leadt, is evidence to support the old idea that creating great music is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. I can't find more than 2 or three hours a month to spend on this whilst others spend more or less depending on circs. The results are probably commensurate. [/quote] I spent an hour writing a tune and five minutes with a camera.... then again I only have one vote... Rob

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1372376188' post='2125166'] Ok, I've just finished listening and have voted. Loved it. Great work everyone. I've left comments on SoundCloud (mainly of the giddy, exclaiming sort!!!) but here are a bunch of notes I scribbled down along the way... [b]SpaceChick: [/b]Bloody good first effort! Bristling with ideas. Nice baseline. Love the spoken word - it's like a Grimm's fairy tale set to music. Production needs work but that will come with practice. A very likeable track. You've done yourself proud. [b]Steve:[/b] Nice title. Spooky. Beautifully ambient. Creative use of panning - I like! Some fantastic melodies weaving in and out throughout the track. I love that it's all bass… I did wonder whether it would benefit from a synth line or other form of instrumentation towards the end, but that's not a criticism (and I'm probably wrong!). I really like it. [b]Mornats:[/b] Nice bass tone. The movie samples are great!! Ooh, nice beat coming in… Like the strings. And the guitar! This tracks builds nicely, plenty of variety too (apart from the beat - but that's not a big issue). Ah, and just as I type that the beat changes! Nice one. Kept me listening keenly from start to finish. [b]Sibob:[/b] Hard to believe this is all bass and pedals - very impressive! Someone described it as 'Vangelis' in the comments (just checked and it was Bilbo) and I think that's spot on… and I'm a fan of Vangelis. Really like the minimalism and the [i]huuuge[/i] sense of space you've conjured up here. [b]Stephen Houghton:[/b] Nice production - sounds good thru my cans. The panning is nice - especially the subtle like TB303 acid line that burbles away hard left (unsurprisingly I like 303s!). Wow… loving that throat singing/didgeridoo sound. And the news/documentary samples. Your vocal is little lost in places - needs to be a little more prominent in the mix, but that's a minor point. Good track. [b]Bilbo: [/b]I really like how this slowly cranks up the anticipation from the start. Very atmospheric and gripping. Panning seems slightly odd - maybe a little too much to the right? (could be my ears). Lots of interesting ideas going on. The anticipation is kinda killing me…!! I'm expecting a wall of strings to flatten me any second now. Any. Second. Now. No? No. Probably better for it in fact. [b]CamdenRob:[/b] I love what you do with that looper pedal mate, and bonus points for putting on a 'live' show! Great playing, as before. Lovely tone too. Super relaxed. Right down to the slug of wine half way through. [b]lurksalot:[/b] Holy Moly Lurks, your production just keeps coming on in leaps each time mate! This sounds great. Really. I can tell you've gone to town on it. The drums are especially good for being MIDI - very convincing. Vocal is strong. Harmonica! Cool. Bass punches nicely. This is a well put together track. [b]discreet:[/b] Jesus H! That opening nearly blew my head off. Oh yes, I'm digging this one already. Very much the sound of my youth [i][that smiley is very apt].[/i] Nice synth. Now bring in a beat…. do it! YES!! This is positively slamming. Literally made me grin like a raving loon. [b]lowdown:[/b] Sounds amazing! I always admire your production skills mate. It literally fills my headphones. Nice rhythm. I especially like the scratchy, percussion stuff that's going on at the very edge of the stereo field. Really cool. Vocal sample is beautiful. Where are my socks? Oh, they've been blown off... [b]bobbass4k:[/b] This is very well put together and thought out… some cool time signatures going on too. I love the instrumentation - beautiful guitars, synths; everything fits together very well. Wow, it really builds! I like the crunchy guitar coming in (not sure about the one in my right ear - a little harsh but it got my attention!). Ramping up now… this is awesome stuff! Very creative mate. The production could do with a wee bit of work, but that's a very minor criticism of what is otherwise a fantastic track. My winner...? [spoiler]Well, it was going to be Discreet (it just gave me a flood of nostalgia), then Garry/lowdown (stunning piece of work mate), but in the end it was Rob/bobbass4k that got my attention this month - a really cool and creative track, that clearly had a lot of thought put into it. Well done mate![/spoiler] [/quote] Thanks for the comments there, some nice words and much appreciated. I'm definitely going to go down this route next month, list out a little mini review of everyones pieces like you and Luke have for this month. 58 voters so far as well, thats fantastic and thanks in no small part to some sterling work promoting the competition on other parts of the forum by Dad et al. With several new people talking about entering next month this can only get bigger and better. Mind you, if there are twice as many next month I'll have to take a week off to listen to them all.... I can see yours and urb's compilation is riding high this month and I'm not surprised, its another quality peice and if it's still at the top come close of voting it would be a deserved winner. To be honest your composition is the yardstick each month, lets see if any of next months batch of new entries can come close... Rob

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1372326849' post='2124263'] oh, and also why is there a fender (or fenderish clone) in your avatar? [/quote] Yeah it's a Deluxe Jazz, beautiful piece of work. I'm looking to get either one of these or the Sandberg version as my next bass. I'm not bashing Fender here, in fact I like them. I guess what it is I don't really understand is the 'Fender or Nothing' thing some people seem to have going on. I have no doubt Glastonbury will be full of people I've never heard of playing Fenders. This will undoubtedly inspire a generation of bassists influenced by this type of music to also play Fenders. They must be doing something right to be selling as many units as they do, I just think there is more to bass than Fender alone. Rob

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1372324138' post='2124211'] You could record into a DAW and still record the video with your camera. That's what I do for covers and stuff. [/quote] Yeah I've been looking at doing something like that. I must read up on how to do it all, I'm just being lazy really. I'm so out of touch, when I used to record in bands everyone just went to the local studio and someone did it for you on an enormous and confusing looking desk with racks and racks of outboard gear. These days one man and a PC seem to be able to produce top quality recordings. Skol's stuff on here is amazing quality, you'd have had to spend hours and serious money in a commercial studio for that when I used to record regularly. Anyway I'm making myself sound much older that I am... back in the day... etc etc Rob

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1372322287' post='2124175'] [/size] [size=4]Quite. And I don't want to be showing my age, do I? [/size] [/quote] It's more a case of me not showing my ignorance Anyway, why am I still here I'm supposed to be trying to draw up a boiler room not talking about Fenders...

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1372321346' post='2124157'] [size=4]I was going to post a list of Fender bass players who are not in covers bands and who definitely aren't safe and/or boring - but I don't want to take up the next ten pages of this thread for no good reason. [/size] [/quote] Yeah thats fair enough, they can't have got where they are without some sort of top level endorsement I guess. Also, I love the look of the Jazz Deluxes. I'm not exactly clued up on bass history though and if you were to list people out I probably wouldn't know any of them everyone keeps mentioning people I've never heard of. I only know about Jaco from this forum and I have absolutely no idea who this Geddy Lee chap people keep mentioning is... I appreciate these people must have been forebearers for them to have become so well known. To be honest though I've no interest in stuff other people wrote in the past, Its all about creating something new for me Anyway this is probably for another thread. I'll shut up and go back to work... Rob

Think I'll throw my two pence worth in here... Why not, I'm at work and feeling confrontational. Whilst obviously it all comes down to personal choice and I don't think a company can become as widely respected (and vigourously defended) as Fender without a quality product to back it up. However I've always thought Fenders were a bit 'pub covers band' especially P basses. It would seem to me that the majority of Fender players are in covers bands (maybe emulating the people they are covering?) Or perhaps its the other way round and the majority of people in covers bands play Fenders so it kinda sticks out... They always seemed a bit 'default choice' I appreiciate not everyone is going in for avant-garde musical landscapes played on a 57 string custom sei bass, but I just find them a bit.. well safe and boring. Rob

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1372282968' post='2123928'] Luke's Reviews... (as I listen) faced a dialema... is anything slightly critical allowed? hmm lets just start listening! Space chick - awesome spoken word stuff going on. Love the singing too. Reminds me of the end of Shorely Wall by Ooberman (one of my fave songs) Steve - more ambient stuff here - some awesome playing going on, hard to believe it's all on a bass. Lovely parts but only seems to grab me after the 3 min mark. Mornats- movie clips added to a beat and synths, think primal scream around vanishing point or xtrmtr, death in vegas. bass lovely from about 1.06. great stuff. Sibob- oooh synthy stuff. no, pedals... that's impressive. great feel and tension. i thought this would be wibble but it's actually great. really great. Most of the others I got to reading the comments after a min or so, this has kept me listening till 4 min in before I noticed how long the song is. Mind you soundcloud seems to want to get me to listen to lana del rey, and while she is better looking i'll stick with this. british sea power's man of aran meets four tet but better. Stephen H- keys... and glock.... odd vocal pan sweep at about 1.05, I'm hearing "Do let the hater greet blindnees Big L practiced random acts of kindness" it it a song about Big L ? I like the audio clips. Bilbo- it's loading, expecting atonal jazz rubbish, lets see....oh sound cloud links Bilbo to Linkin Park for me. Oooh a snare and a melody. hmmm.... well it's not atonal jazz rubbish - but a rather nicely crafted set of melodies weaving in and out of each other. annoying snare though, it sounds too perfect timing wise for the rest of the music- I kind wanted to think of it being recorded up a chimney by a really wild fella but it was a bit clinical for me. Appart from that pretty awesome! Camden Rob- bass in the rain... oooh a live video. lovely tone - I am sat here wondering what gear you're using. Lovely melodies going on, and the bass sounds great. Very very nice playing. Awesome Lurksalot- iv'e been doing this a while and the wife said i could have a beer so the reviews may go downhill.... flip me a lot of low on that kick drum, ooh the blues, love the guitar at about 0.57 onwards. Great great singing - like a real singer rather than a bass player trying to sing! ( ) discreet..... is very loud at the start! ouch thanks for wrecking my ears - i've headphones on that can do bass quite well....that was painful- takes intill 2.06 to get going. Keep expecting some one to shout out King of snake-snake snake.... I liked it once the beat kicked in. lowdown.... actually tries to capture a south american mountain range feel in a song, plus points. eerie vocals... feels like there's a gap in the mix waiting for a bass.... nice strings coming in at end - very good and the best match of the pic so far imo. oddly it started playing mornats "running" after bob bass 4k... sounds like a whole band! very mogwai which is either a good thing or a bad thing depending, I love mogwai - we'll see how it goes. Very very nicely programmed drums here. The whole thing sounds very compressed though- it's kinda killing whats going on... overall I like what's trying to go on, but the whole thing sounds so compressed it' lost something. Skol/urb - so rap. with some awesome drums and.... well you know that really awful bass playing you see on youtube with that awful "jazz bass sound" of nice sounding bass that doesn't do anything.... this isn't it... this is that sound working to make a song... like exceptional - listen to it on your headphones if you're not or you'll miss how tight that bass is with the rest of the song. Rapping is great too. Really this was made for this month? bit of mastering and I wouldn't be able to tell this wasn't some released song I had missed! Love the funk feel in the last wee bit too. so there you have it..... some great entries... for me.... some of the highlights.... Spacechick's vocals, everything about Sibob, Bilbo's sheer musicianship in that. Camden rob for the confidence to do it all live.... for me a clear winner is Skol's thanks all for a lovely evening listening! [/quote] This is fantastic, you've obviously given everything a good listen... Thanks for the kind words as well. It's always nice to get some feedback. Gear wise it's just my spector legend into a GK MB-200 and 112 Neo cab. I use a TC Ditto Looper for the live recording of the layers. Just straight into the camera mic at the moment but I'm working on something that sounds a bit better. Although I kinda like the video thing... I like to show my stuff is 'live' so to speak. Rob

I just video mine... then again I only have one vote... maybe get some proper gear. The guys will have plenty of advice as to what's available I'm sure Rob

This is excellent... I like the look of the jabbas, the sea foam green one bass direct have is very tempting... More importantly though and all things bass to one side for a moment... What a shirt Rob

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1372260905' post='2123559'] The Frog Stamp pedal is incredibly rare ... [/quote] No outboard trickery could truly capture the weedy squelch that came out of that thing... I traded it in for a tanglewood something or other which was even worse. I know it was a squire but it put me off fenders for years.. Ribbit...Ribbit...

I've never owned a fender. Owned a squire P once though and it was pants, sounded like someone stamping on a frog and weighed more than Eric Pickles...

if anyone asks... I accidentally stumbled across this post, I definitely did not click on it the moment I saw the title... Thanks though Dad. What is music without anyone to listen to it? Rob

OK after a vast quantity of gin (especially for a Tuesday night) I have made it through this months entries and cast my vote. I don't think it's uncouth to say who I've voted for, I think we're all amongst friends here and it's nice for people to know you think their piece is the best. First up I love the SKOL / urb compilation this month, its incredibly polished and sounds like something lifted straight from a commercial release, your work is top notch and I always look forward to hearing your stuff. lowdown's piece has a cracking production, its amazing how much things have come on since going into the studio and paying a fortune for a reel to reel demo only to sound half as polished as this. I'm also tempted by steve's composition as I think he's a quality player and I greatly respect the musicality in all his pieces. Check out his youtube slap double bass clip - its awesome. At the end of the day though this is a composition competition and I have to vote for my favourite piece of music. This month for me, discreet's creation was the best. I loved it, reminds me of old Roland 303 era big beat stuff. great musicality, great sounds and a great tune. I think this is a wonderful example of what basschat's creative community has to offer. All these entries have something unique about them but this month discreet's composition did it for me... Rob

I read this and commented on the guys page but it didn't seem to get put up... I'm probably going to go down in flames for it, but I don't see the issue here. No-one is being forced to play this event so I don't see the exploitation? I don't understand why some musos seem to think they are entitled to a living because they can play the bass... As I can see it, the only way you will make money from your music is if you are playing something people are prepared to pay to hear. If your band would fill an otherwise empty venue then the venue would be happy to pay you as you are making them money... If no-one is interested why shoud you be paid? I'm all for music for musics sake, I compose stuff myself that no-one else is even vaguely interested in. But I do it for a love of the music. I don't expect to be paid for it... I have a regular job to pay for the 'rent - food - council tax - etc' My music is not popular enough for me to make a living off and I don't expect to be paid just because I am a competent player. The world owes nobody a living... Rob

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1372020677' post='2120796'] Well, what a month it's been… And great to see so many last-minute entries! Good work folks. Mike (urb) and I started out agreeing to collaborate on a 'little' project, but I don't think either of us quite imagined that it would end up where it did. I wrote a beat, Mike added a mind-boggling good bassline (as he does) and a lead synth, based on a catchy chord structure. We could have left it at that… and in a more sane and rational world, we probably would have. But instead we roped in the talents of Rebecca Romine (a singer from California) and Donnie Ozone (a rapper from New York, with whom I collaborated last month). And it just took off Rebecca came up with the theme of "watching a world passing by" (the moon in the picture), which Donnie then expanded on with his own lyrics. Mike and I worked together on producing the finished article - me handling the mix, him providing a second set of ears and ideas. Basschat's own 51m0n was kind enough to give a critique of the early mix, which I found invaluable - so big thanks to Si for that too. It was a fantastic and very creative process - and I'm hugely proud of what we achieved in only three weeks. I hope it goes to show what can be done by working with like-minded people… and putting in plenty of hard graft along the way. I know Mike won't mind me saying that on the back of this, we're now planning to form a loose 'collective' (involving Rebecca, Donnie and possibly others) with the aim of starting work on more material in autumn this year. So we'll keep you all updated on that. In the meantime, here's the fruit of our labour. I hope you dig it… [url="https://soundcloud.com/skollob/world-pass-by"]https://soundcloud.c...b/world-pass-by[/url] PS: in the immortal words of Chris Duckenfield, [i]watch yer bass bins... I'm tellin' ya![/i] [/quote] This is brilliant... I love your soundcloud stuff 'All your bass' is a tune I have on my running playlist. Rob