XB26354

[quote name='SteveK' post='266394' date='Aug 20 2008, 04:03 PM']The reason metronomes have been so popular is that until relatively recently there was no alternative. If you are playing or intend playing with a drummer, then a drum box would be far preferable and less boring. For a start, It makes practising a far more enjoyable experience - enjoyable's good, right? - and, It will give you a better idea of how you will sound in a "proper" situation. 5 minutes of, [b]Dock[/b] click click click [b]Dock[/b] click click click would make me want to put down my bass and go for a cuppa tea. Steve[/quote] I never found a metronome to be annoying. It depends on the sound - a fairly dull click rather than an electronic beep is obviously more palatable. Playing with a drumbox or click is just fine, as long as it just gives you quarter notes. Try halving the metronome tempo and have it click on beats 2 and 4 - it swings much better. It also forces you to supply the downbeat.

The point about playing in time is to internalise it - to feel the pulse inside you whether you have something to play to or not. The reason many musicians practice with a metronome is that is a very stripped down time source. The less source you are given, the more time you have to come up with by yourself. This develops your sense of time and feel - if you can make your lines groove and swing with a metronome clicking on beat 4 of every other bar, play on top of the beat and behind the beat and keep everything consistent with the metronome then you have good time. Drum machines or play-alongs are great for developing stylistic awareness and band playing but the time is being given to you by other musicians. It's better to be able to supply time by yourself. Musicians of all styles have been working with metronomes for a long time - if it didn't work or stopped the music from flowing it would have died out. Also bear in mind that at some point you may have to play along to a click track or with a song that is sequenced so trying to develop time by just playing with other musicians will cause you trouble sooner or later - especially if the drummer you have played with rush and drag (which is all too common).

I have been "visiting" the bass cellar since it was further down the street in the basement and they're full of sh!t. Not only do the assistants know nothing about bass, they know nothing about retail or customer service. I was interested in a Yamaha TRB 6-string (and I am neither young nor inexperienced, as the assistant stopped talking to someone else and looked at me when I played it). The action was approx 7mm at the 24th fret, i.e. unplayable. I asked him to set it up and was told "you can't really drop the action any lower as it buzzes" Maybe he should have looked at the amount of relief in the neck?? The stock is OK but I've seen loads of basses that have been there for years. Their attitude is and always was so poor I wouldn't buy a plectrum off them.

[quote name='Cernael' post='261261' date='Aug 12 2008, 11:33 PM']One thing I've come up with lately as a possible help to develop this "thumb in the middle of the neck" playing style: place a little bit of BluTack there, and anchor your thumb on it; then play scales without changing position, utilizing all your strings. I've yet to try this myself, so I ask; ye who know, does this sound like a good or horrid idea? This should not take up the whole practice time, of course, but in short bursts? Interlaced with playing the same scales, without the tack, while consciously focusing on the thumb?[/quote] Can't really see how it would benefit you - the danger is you'll end up squeezing the neck harder. The thumb should just act as a pivot and stabilising point - very little pressure should be used. The same thing applies to fretting notes with the left hand fingers - use as little pressure as necessary to stop the note buzzing. I would avoid using any "approach" that doesn't allow you to learn in a regular playing situation - unless of course you normally play with BluTack on the neck

[quote name='synaesthesia' post='259118' date='Aug 10 2008, 04:56 AM']Only bass player these days that will make me get up and get tickets....and on this topic...why do these US tour agents organise European tours for top musos like Messrs. Swallow, Scofield etc that always come as close as France, Holland and Belgium but never cross the channel? Surely there is money to be made in the UK? Hotels, taxes, licensing, venues, promoters in Paris are probably as bad as those in the UK, so what's the deal? These people have no pop entoruage, and no containers of gear. Steve Swallow uses a WW head FFsake....[/quote] There isn't the demand. The Victor Wooten gig at the Jazz Cafe was well-attended (by musicians, mostly bass players) but I was near the bar and they were very quiet. When a more well-known act is on and non-musicians turn up they spend more, especially if they can dance a bit. That is just one venue in the centre of the biggest city in the UK. How about if he did a gig in Northampton, or Birkdale? How many people would turn up? Tribal Tech never toured here as the cost of getting here would not even be recouped as there would only have been small audiences. Jazz/instrumental music has never been a popular form of music in the UK. I have also encountered tremendous snobbery against electric bass in Jazz. It makes me laugh really as Jazz guitar has been amplified for a long time, and at larger gigs horns and keyboards go through the PA so isn't everyone electric to some extent? The prejudice comes because electric bass players often play too busily, with too many skips when they walk, and don't swing. Double bass, being harder to make a sound, tends to make one play only what is necessary. The sound and feel of double bass has never interested me however. As Jazz is a fairly new and constantly evolving art form, who is to say that electric bass should not be as valid? Who would seriously say that Steve Swallow, Jaco and Gary Willis don't deserve to be called Jazz bassists?

Speaking as a teacher for the last 10-15 years, I can't see any reason why you shouldn't learn with the thumb in the middle of the back of the neck. You will definitely limit what you can play with the "baseball" grip, to the point where even fairly attainable bass lines are unnecessarily difficult. Guitar is a different instrument with a different function - the thumb is often used to grab root notes for chords where the rest of the fingers are on the top 2-3 strings, so there is no choice but to wrap the thumb round. As other threads have mentioned, position playing (i.e., lining up one finger per fret, or double bass-style, index, middle and ring/pinky together) is useful for many things that we commonly play. It is next to impossible with the thumb-wrap left hand. With regard to extended range basses (5+ strings) - muting where possible with the right hand (especially low strings) results in a much cleaner sound and frees up the left hand to fret.

[quote name='BassManKev' post='255729' date='Aug 5 2008, 08:17 PM']dont bother with mim fenders, you can get much better basses for the same cash[/quote] Well I just got a MIM Precision for inside the OP's budget and it is the best new Fender I have played. Looks, sounds and feels like a good US Fender. My flatmate's favourite electric is a MIM Strat that just sings. They can be more variable in quality but I have played plenty of other, higher spec basses that were badly setup, heavy, ugly or noisy. OK, maybe you can get more bells and whistles but the P-bass won't break down, the battery won't die (hasn't got one) and it has a sound that works in any style of music. I'm no luddite either as my other bass is a 6-string Warwick Corvette

DR Hi-beams 30-130. Most decent quality 6-strings I have played/owned sounded so much better. D'addario EXL1656 also very good (and a monstrous .135 B!). I had a cheapo Yamaha that only worked with a tapered B (which I don't like so I got rid of it!) so I found Warwick Black Label to be the best. The F-basses I have tried only sounded good with LaBella SuperSteps. In short it is worth trying a few brands and see which one makes the bass sing...

[quote name='Prosebass' post='246558' date='Jul 24 2008, 01:02 AM']Nice looking bass but very little info out there apart from £720 new...try this guy and see if its still for sale. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PEAVEY-CIRRUS-6-String-Bass-USA_W0QQitemZ330253420328QQihZ014QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]Peavey[/url][/quote] That is a redwood US Cirrus - again MSRP is $2500 on Peavey's site so about £600-700 s/h seems a good price. Also note that the body has a gloss finish but the neck is some kind of matt rubbed oil finish (like a Stingray) - there is an obvious line where the body morphs into the neck between the two finishes which imho doesn't look very nice. Protects the body and makes the neck feel fast though... The Cirrus BXP (the cheap model) is only available in 4- and 5-strings so this 6 is defo the US handbuilt model.

If it is the Cirrus USA model then the last one I played was a 5-string with a tigers' eye top. It was definitely handbuilt and retailed at about £1500. 35" scale, very straight and rigid neck, great B-string, lovely tone (and lots of variety), and the build quality seemed similar to a US Lakland or Sadowsky. The standard US Cirrus 6-string seems to retail at $2500 on Peavey's website so I doubt very much they'll be £720 new...

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='241962' date='Jul 17 2008, 05:39 PM']Noisedude, I'm getting bored of quoting this! "The MIA is for snobs that have to have Made in the USA on the headstock" Go and read the post! It doesn't say "often people by MIA's becuase they have a snobbish attitude towards where basses are built". (I agree) It says, to re-itereate: [b]"The MIA is for snobs that have to have Made in the USA on the headstock"[/b] Get it? One more time? [b]"The MIA is for snobs that have to have Made in the USA on the headstock"[/b] What part of this are you struggling with? If I were to say "I don't like black people because black people commit crime" could I get away with it if I then say "but I didn't say all black people, just some do"? Would you be so understanding to my view? Of course not. I'm going to have a lie down. This is bringing me out in hives. Mother??[/quote] Oh for god's sake - now you're mixing metaphors and accusing me of being a closet racist? Anything else you'd care to share?

And for the record, [i]some [/i] - not all people can have a snobbish attitude and will only buy American Fenders. Often these are patriotic Americans - nothing wrong in that, just that Mexican Fenders can be just as good. Bear in mind what goes into making a p-bass - even American Deluxe models come into the shop badly set up, needing fret- and nutwork. The Squier VMJ is also a great instrument for players on a budget.

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='241947' date='Jul 17 2008, 05:26 PM']I don't disagree with your view that quality varies and that for some, an MIA is not worth the extra cash. I disagree with the retarded statement that you made. As for being rude, as an MIA owner, you infered I was a snob. Snob or retard? Not sure which I'd prefer really.[/quote] Well I disagree with your extremely offensive personal comments made about someone you don't know. If you can't argue a point without being rude then keep your opinions to yourself.

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='241910' date='Jul 17 2008, 04:57 PM']From this, I can't really tell if you agree with me or not?? As for the "friendly face of xenophobia" thing, I can only comment on why I chose and MIA over a MIM. I couldn't give a sh*t if MIA stood for "Made in Africa" and MIM stood for "Made in Massachusetts". In my experience MIA's tend to be better quality than MIM's. This is what I care about. To suggest that someone who agrees with that view is a snob is pretty f***ing stupid.[/quote] Charming. People both here and on TalkBass go on about their American Fenders as anything else is somehow not the real thing. Fender cultivates this by calling the American models "American". Instruments made in Mexico, Indonesia, Korea and China are just "Fender" or "Squier". The important part of your quote is your experience. I also do not care where the bass is made as long as it works. The fact is that the parts in a US p-bass make up a very small part of the retail price, and believe me when I say that American Fenders can have variable quality just like Fenders/Squiers made in other countries. Oh, and you could try being civil on an anonymous Internet forum - just because you disagree with someone's point of view doesn't give you licence to be rude, no matter what your username is...

I think you'll find that the wood, hardware and electronics cost about £100, £150 absolute tops on a MIA Fender, maybe a touch more for the translucent finishes as the body wood needs to look nicer. The rest is made up of the other costs mentioned above. I just got a MIM Fender P-bass with a lovely figured-looking alder body, great sound, high output, no noise and very light for £399. I could have spent another £550 to buy the American Standard and get.... a case. The MIA is for snobs that have to have Made in the USA on the headstock. I also got one of my students the Squier VMJ - for £250 they're seriosuly good. I guess it is just that you have to try a bunch of Fenders and choose the best one. That applies to MIA as well.

[quote name='aceuggy' post='239593' date='Jul 14 2008, 10:31 PM']Me, for one. As I stated earlier I subscribe. Perhaps it's aimed at beginners and intermediate players rather than pro bassists. I find the content very interesting indeed, as a beginner I am thirsty for knowledge and this magazine feeds that. I have recently enjoyed the write up about the Squier VMJ and the Squier P-bass, Fender Rumble 15W package as this is the kind of gear I am playing/looking at, at the moment. There is also a new beginners how to play column as well, so I feel I am well catered for. No complaints from me. Whereas the American Bass Player mag I find a bit high brow and technical.[/quote] You may be right. I don't think there is much education value in the teaching articles. Bass Player [b]used[/b] to do articles that roughly covered a lesson's worth of material or guest players would write about more abstract concepts (players like Anthony Jackson and Jeff Berlin - like 'em or loathe 'em they were all monster musicians). As a beginning player it would make more sense to either look on the net or pick up any of the fine teaching books that are available (or even get a teacher!) I notice also a distinct lack of transcriptions, and they don't seem to do full tracks. I guess this is partly because BGM is not designed to be a techniques magazine and partly because the budget cannot cover royalty payments. If BGM is a casual hobbyist's read then they will surely limit who will actually [i]pay[/i] for the mag rather than browse it in a shop. If it had more substance and a less amateur look I would not just buy it but subscribe.

I've read plenty of issue of BGM and I think it is very poor on content and journalistic standards. The lessons are a waste of paper in most cases - you could get as much from the Web. To be a paid magazine there needs to be more substance. The reviews also meander on, are often contradictory and don't really say anything that could not be gleaned from the manufacturer's Website. Then again I got a copy of Bass Player a few months ago and it wasn't much better - it was a great magazine 10 years ago. Full up with ads too (but then at least some of them are interesting). But then consider how the music industry has been going for players over the last 20 years - no studios to play in any more, very few professional gigs or tours, kids don't really want to play an instrument as there are loads of other forms of entertainment, and even if they do make music it will probably be with a computer. The standard of all-round musicianship is supposed to be much higher than in the past yet there are very few players coming through. I live near Central London and there are very few gigs on even compared to 10 years ago. The US has always had a bigger appetite for live music (plus 5 times the population) but even there the same effects are doubtless being felt. As a teacher I have noticed that there are definitely less people interested in learning instruments, and those that are interested aren't really learning to be the best they can, just as a hobby - most of my newer pupils have been middle-aged beginners who love music from the 70's and 80's. Add to this the potential global recession coming (no-one's got money to buy gear or go out and watch lots of bands) and we just have to accept that bass is really a cottage industry. Victor Wooten maybe a household name to bass players but he isn't to anyone else. The music industry has billions but less of that is going into the pockets of instrument playing musicians than at any time in history (probably!).

Don't want to be funny but when I see a thread that seems to end up in an argument here I do notice that your name crops up as the OP quite often...

Bloody hell that is a lot of Spectors... in fact that is a lot of [i]basses[/i]

[quote name='Machines' post='231416' date='Jul 2 2008, 03:40 PM']It should mean the strings sits lower in the saddle and thus your action will be slightly lower.. that was the main benefit I found.[/quote] Eh? If you use an untapered B you drop the saddle down and you have the same action... and if you go back to a tapered B with the same saddle height there would be loads of string buzz. Assuming your bridge saddles can be adjusted enough you can achieve the same playable action with either type. I've never liked tapered B-strings. As only the core (or inner wrap) goes over the saddle the string feels more floppy and is harder to palm mute (a useful technique in any style). I imagine some basses that don't have the tight feel on the lowest string would benefit from it but that's why I've always chosen 5- and 6-string basses carefully. I also owned a Sadowsky Metro, and although the Sadowsky strings have a tapered B I used DR Hi-beams and they sounded great, as they do on any decent-sounding bass. My present Warwick (Corvette ash custom shop 6) has super-tight low end that really growls, even on the neck pickup, again with an untapered B (Dr Hi-Beam 30-130). I also really recommend D'addario EXL1656's (or 165's for 5-strings) - it has an untapered .135 B that sounds so big, yet balances really well with the other strings in the set. Then again some people love tapered strings so it's horses for courses Off the top of my head - LaBella, Warwick, Sadowsky, Lakland and Elixir all make tapered B-strings. DR also do a tapered set.

Funny, I played that same Fodera and thought it was very average. B string was nothing special too, even with the string going to the tuner at the end of the headstock. Wire-wool marks all over the body when you held it up to the light too. The 535 in the Gallery is mahogany with a spalted maple top. It is very lightweight, well-balanced, with a crisp, modern tone. I guess it would sound good with modern techniques but a p-bass it is not - but then you don't buy something like an MTD to get a Fender The Lull is also very very nice for a similar price - they've got quite a few different 5's in so I'd recommend the OP go and try them head-to-head. You may find something else you like even more