cytania

The miracle is that Denmark Street hasn't been turned into winebars and offices or 'The Tin Pan Alley Experience'. That's prime London real estate pardner. I guess truth is shops there do try for the high end, with premium instruments. These represent discretionary income that is in short supply at present. That said I'd have though that the general rules of retailing apply. You discount to clear stock that's sticking. Even if you take a loss you're clearing store space for an item that will stand a better chance of making a profit. Goddamn credit crunch, goddamn toxic yankie debt... grouse.. grouse... I'm very saddened to see the decline of physical stores (Nottingham has lost 2 in the last year). Musical instruments, like clothing, are one of those goods you really want to handle before buying. There's so much personal 'feel' involved. Buying over the net only works if you are totally convinced by a brand and it maintains absolute consistency. Otherwise you may find 'oh they've changed the neck profile' or 'oh the finish looks different now' etc.

Nice link, the personal accounts of the day are great and it's great to have the other bands personnel and set lists immortalised. Documentary is a fine timecapsule of the London formulation of hippy. Even the hells angels have that British wannabee factor (didn't one of them have a home-made German helmet, looked covered in bacofoil).

Sky showed the Granada documentary concert as part of Nik Powell Night. Stones appeared to be having real problems getting anywhere near tight for the whole concert. Maybe they didn't have alot of onstage monitoring, maybe it was Mick Taylor's newness. Charlie and Bill were locked in but the guitars failed to ignite (WEM amps sabotage just like Jimi at Isle Of Wight?) and Jagger just couldn't find his groove. Only really got going on Sympathy For The Devil, perhaps the african drummers brought in some mojo, unfortunately this appeared to be the closing song :-( Not the classic concert it's made out to be?

I believe this design is meant to be a nod to the Grazioso Futurama electric guitar which was Albert Lee's first guitar. It's not a straight steal by Music Man but it's certainly got that 50s Astromatic vibe. [url="http://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/hofnerfs/futurama/gal12.html"]http://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/hofnerfs/futurama/gal12.html[/url]

This'll teach me to start a thread on a Friday afternoon and then get caught up in work. Stingray, has to be there of course. Why didn't I think of it? Probably because it arrived 1976 and probably took a few years to get going. Wouldn't have made it into the seconds pile punk and post-punk drew from... (my bedrock music) Hofner is the look thing I guess. One I picked up last year was awful and the sound is stuck in the sixties... Thunderbird, could be. Did the originals sound as good as recent issues? I always think of the tone as like a ball bearing shot from a steel cable catapult. Kapling! Then of course isn't the FenderBird an inditement, saying 'Nice pickups, cool body shape, shame about the neck profile'?

OK let's take it that the Fender Jazz and Precisions are fighting over the number 1 and 2 spots and that Rickenbacker fills number 3 in this chart. What's next? I'm thinking basses real people played over the last half century, not prototypes and boutique beauties.

Steady As She Goes - the Raconteurs, once you've nailed the come-in it's glorious, real bass-upfront song.

Yes TB the world needs bass players, when bands are forming there are always two dozen guitarists and never any drummers and bassists. Often a guitarist gets a short straw and is 'lumbered' with 'bass duties'. Problem you are finding is typical. Bands advertising are either kids wanting to be the next Green Day or pros wanting someone who can tour Sweden for two months. This is part the reason Weekend Warriors schemes are springing up. See if a guitar shop near you isn't running one. You pay for 6 weekly rehearsals and then at the end you share a stage at some dive for a half hour set. Band members are usually matched according to musical preferences and the looming gig gives the new entity a real sense of purpose/desperation. Results are often surprisingly good. WW schemes are always crying out for willing bass players. Most instruments are social, they require others to play with. Instruments like guitar, violin and piano that can hold the stage alone are uncommon. Even then I bet the lone performer would really like to have company. So keep on at it. Put up an ad and make it clear you want to have a bit of fun playing covers, should get you calls from like-minded chaps.

Live sound thoughts - expensive gear can't alter bad venue acoustics, bad electrical supply and grounding (humumumzzt). You've also got to be able to turn you back on it after setting up without worrying too much about it disappearing (instruments more so than amplification). There certainly are some bad amps out there (shagged out Peavey Century hang your head in shame) but most give a decent sound. Much of what we play will be bonding in with the drums anyway. So long as it's loud enough... I sort of got into bass to get away from 'voicing-itis', an affliction of electric guitar players (ooh maybe with more reverb?, no delay then?, chorus perhaps?, tweak the gain and... it sounds like mud). Part the trouble with playing live is the audience should be getting the best sound and up on stage it's second best. Not sure you can always trust soundboard or video recordings. Perhaps nearest you can get to objectivity is if another band is playing similar stuff on the same equipment...

Been trying to play 'Shining Light' right and it struck me today (driving in sun, CD blasting) that it sounds like one bass playing a straight propulsive line whilst on another track Hamilton's playing for treble ring, possibly down two strings or down the neck. Or perhaps it's the one track in a live room, one track DI-ed trick. No wonder it's hard to pin down!

Just woken up to Ash, via Shining Light and their singles CD. Why did I have them pegged as terminal 90s shoegazers? Great music for the car. Sounds fresh and punky unlike alot of 90s acts. Love the bass sound Mark Hamilton is getting, which gear sites tell me are Gibson Thunderbirds and Ampeg SVTs. Sounds to me like he's really trashing the strings with a pick. Incredible ring, does he change the strings alot? Indeed I get the impression he leaves the G off entirely. Anyone seen the Hamilton bass hurricane in action?

Two online companies I have found to be really decent, Andertons and PianoCoversOnline (great for gigbags/cases).

Bands today may be 'genre-bound'. If you want to play metal you'll find alot of stuff online showing you just how to do it, no need to work a heavy sound up from any roots like blues. Also with fewer venues I think today's bands have to make a real obvious pitch, no room for oddities. Gear is cheaper but rewards are a shifting sand. Simple goals of previous generations (get a single out, make it a hit) are gone. Who dreams of getting good ticket sales at medium-sized venues or promising downloads? Until sophisticated/hybrid sounds become really popular again don't expect groups to make them.

Sliding... The new band are very rock. I'm concluding that in rock if you are going to a note you should slide to it. If you have a pause then you should slide up or down, even if it makes you grab for the next part. Oh and if you have a pattern to play try to hammer on... Now you're rockin'!

Feels to me like your treatment by the sales staff is rubbing off on your feelings towards the bass itself. In which case you may never be truly happy with it. Time to cut your losses adn invoke your consumer rights. PMT are already guilty of trying to sell secondhand stock as new, something local trading standards take seriously (Dixons stores were always being prosecuted for this). Don't come on heavy just ask for any deposits to be refunded. Draw a line and don't line up anything else, they clearly don't respond to further custom as an incentive to make good previous sales. You may find writing to Fender a good idea, they jealously guard the idea that buying Fender American series should be a quality experience. Maybe that sales assistant won't feel it but simple letters have occassionally been known to bring down bigtime wrath.

Strikes me there's huge potential for the buyer to claim 'I never recieved the item. Some imposter must have met the UPS man at my door and given them a forged cheque'. Unless UPS can give more detail of how they check identity or verify cheques before goods are passed over I'd say avoid COD.

My new band is now rehearsing and I'm looking at what's beyond the first gig. We're playing covers; Killers, Raconteurs, Jam, Beatles, Lizzy that sort of thing. Should we bother with a demo CD to give to pub landlords or just a fancy flyer with picture and a list of the covers we play? If a demo is a big must-have then do they expect CD or old-fashioned cassette? I can sort of see why acts pick justone band to do as a tribute act. It gives people a clear idea of what to expect. Where's my afro wig?

Kaiser's - Ruby is the one, never could get a grip on Riot... Kings Of Leon - bass isn't a big thing for them. I've learnt Four Kicks, California Waiting and Use Somebody. Enjoy that last one most but I've no idea whether my band will go for any of them... Killers - just spent the rainy part of today learning 'All These Things That I Have Done'. It's in F# but your guitarist may want to play it in G so they don't have to tune down or revamp any of the guitar lines they can see on YouTube. Tabs have it up on fourth fret but watching the Killers bassist I reckon it's 9th fret. 5 notes cover the whole song but the feels range from balladesque (start and end) to pulsing eighths and what I call the 'kid creole' verse hits.

I see plenty of bass players at gigs whose little and middle fingers appear superglued together. Alot of the time you can get away without needing to use your little finger but the truth is it's independence and strength develop with practise. Playing boogie lines and passing note runs where you need a finger in each fret will force the little chap into action. Partly I think it's a style thing. If you are playing something fast and furious in two basic positions you aren't going to worry about exact finger placement. If you are playing something lighter and more syncopated (say a walking line) you'll need to place that digit neatly.

Yep, that's right. I had the tempo at 130 and of course standard notation can't really show the slides. New band has suddenly decided _not_ to do this one after I learnt it for them :-(

Strange Technique, his left hand holds chord shapes like a guitarist. Keep watching his tumb to see if he's picking out a 'bassline' Travis style but he just seems to touch it on the top string occasionally. Lots of redundant moves, yet he's making a lovely sound...

Ibanez make a huge range of basses, all of which have a great finish and build quality for the price. IMHO Ibanez's all have a particular sound - clean, bright, ringing, piano-like - whether it's from their rock range or their jazzy funk types. I went for something a bit dirtier for my second bass but I notice my Ibanez has a singing 'cut-through the mix' quality my growly Spear doesn't.

I have one, search on Spear GAS for my old thread. The idea of single cut is pretty simple. You get a stiffer neck and certainly my Spear vibrates like a rampant rabbit. Growltastic. Spear have also really skewed the top bout so placing your hand is really natural finger style. I suspect mine is an early one as the blue Bay picutre lacks the 'mute' switch. Spear are also doing a trans red, blonde and nautral finish.

1) Work through chord sequence playing simple. Does it sound right? May be all that's need for ballads. 2) Something lacking? Do a search of the net for bass tabs. Beware there are some very wrong headed tabs around. 3) Bass tabs absent or unconvincing? Search further and see what lead guitar lines are. May give a few clues. 4) Play along to the record. At which points does simple root progressions fail to convince. Are there signature bass parts or riffs you need? 5) Create your own bassline. Try root-fifths root-sevenths root octaves type lines to see what's close. Let your mind drift into lines you do know that feel similar. 6) Play the basic roots but try out alternate note positions to give 'voice' changes. So open E string stuff for growly bits and then 5th/7th fret runs from E for tighter bits. Key thing is to remember you are trying to make a rythmic groove with the bass drum beat. A basic root note that chimes properly with the drummer's pattern is worth ten fancy lines that are timed wrong. I have myself played the same one G note thoughout 99% of a song and no one noticed (not very swinging but it wasn't that kind of song).