XB26354

I'd respectfully say that it sounds like an invitation to polarise people based on their musical tastes. Everyone has their own appreciation of music and bass playing, and it is difficult to say who is "best" between two players in totally different genres or eras. I think it would be nice to expand the recording forum to allow people to post examples of their playing which can be (positively!!) criticised based on the playing rather than recording quality - no descending into a slanging match though. Personally speaking I don't particularly go for thrash metal, but I can definitely appreciate talent and ability as well as good song arrangement. Note choice is personal and therefore very subjective, but I'm sure the more experienced members here could offer praise or encouragement in general terms (like how well the bass fits with the drums, or with the style of music etc.) To have someone say "that is sh**" would be rude, counter-productive and start just the kind of arguments that BC would, I expect, hope to avoid. Didn't someone recently post an example of their music and get some very rude replies? What I would say is that a competition that would be very difficult to set criteria for, with no commercial recognition (or prize) would not seem to make sense - and as others have said, whilst there can be "better than", there really can't be a "best" in bass playing, or music.

This is not a new technique. I have been using it for years too. Classical guitarists have been at it for about 250 years too

I'd say the Squier VMJ - an astonishing bass for the money, a couple of my students have bought them and love them. Try a few if you can though - quality does vary. I played a couple of OLPs and whilst they looked nice and had a definite Stingray tone, it sounded cheap to me. The VMJ also had more tonal variety - I didn't find the SC Pickups (Seymour Duncan designed I believe) to be any weaker than your typical passive Jazz. The Sub is, I think a lot more money so difficult to compare.

I also adapted to using floating thumb technique. It becomes more useful on 5- and 6-strings. Whilst Gary Willis has phenomenal technique I could never get that third finger to relax enough and the whole thing felt uncomfortable (and I had several goes at it over about 6 months). His technique is also extremely difficult to master if you have wide string spacing as your third finger must stretch to reach the upper string. As it goes through the string at a different angle you get a different attack, so it doesn't sound right. It also becomes very hard to keep your hand relaxed. I found that as soon as I lifted my thumb off a string my whole hand relaxed, and I could play far more fluidly and rapidly. I use it to damp the bottom strings where there is still a sense of placement, so I guess it's just what feels best to you. It doesn't work so well for big string skips so I have added using the thumb for bottom strings and i/m for the upper strings. I prefer to adapt my technique slightly to suit the line rather than being stuck with a one-size-fits-all technique that falls apart when you try to play quick octaves or chords. I haven't played 4-string for a while but none of these problems seemed to come up so maybe it is just 5 strings + that create these kind of issues with the plucking hand...

That Lull is over £2K ;-) Also consider a Sadowsky Metro M5/R5-24, although it comes with no scratchplate and humbuckers. The Jazz 5-24 is of course much cheaper but I'm willing to bet the B sounds pretty poor. Sadowskys have a great B-string.

[quote name='TKenrick' post='181856' date='Apr 21 2008, 02:27 PM']Here are some jpegs of the transcription for those who want it, I've used it before and it seems to be accurate...[/quote] Don't want to split hairs but the quarter notes in bars 5,6,8,10,12,13 etc are all quite short and should be marked staccato. There are also many other examples of notes that are written too long. One of the best aspects of Anthony Jackson's part on this tune is his control over note lengths. He varies between a lot of staccato notes on beat 1 of the bar (especially if it is a quarter note) with occasional held legato notes. It what breathes life into the song (something which machines could never do) Bar 14 beat 2 is clearly a low D, not Eb... Bar 37 is in no way in 6/4 - this would indicate a change in beat division from 2 to 3. The underlying pulse or beat does not change throughout the song. It is a bar of 4/4 plus a bar of 2/4. Otherwise the chart is good - fills look right, especially that killer one at bar 87 (although the eighth and sixteenth notes at beat one should be beamed together.

[quote name='lukeward2004' post='191943' date='May 4 2008, 11:50 PM']Funny you guys should mention it, Ive just had to learn "Aint Nobody" for my band, ill see if I can transcribe it for you - its pretty easy though, its in E Minor I believe its as follows:[/quote] It's in Eb minor. Most charts in magazines and music colleges transpose it up to E minor so it can be played on a 4-string bass (although there is a low Db and D which, in E minor would become low D and Eb, so it can only really be played on a 5-string+). I wouldn't say the part is simple though - the structure is straightforward but making the transition between the octaves and position shifting from Eb to Cb (or E to C) as smooth as the synth bassline on the original is not trivial. When I was in music college years ago it gave even more advanced players a bit of a headache (not to mention the poor drummers trying to emulate a drum machine!). The tempo is about 108 too so it's just quick enough to provide a bit of a challenge

[quote name='Mottlefeeder' post='196244' date='May 10 2008, 10:06 PM']Whilst I agree that you can pull the neck towards you if the body is lower, I have great difficulty in playing that way. I got rid of a bass because it was neck heavy, and I was not comfortable with that. YMMV, but it is a point worth considering.[/quote] The way I see it is to put your arms into the most comfortable position without the bass (as if you're playing), then that's where the bass goes. When I say "lower" I mean no lower than waist/hip level. The neck will then sit at roughly 45-degrees (depending on the shape of your body and of the bass). In this position arms, shoulders and hands are relaxed, both wrists will be pretty much straight and you have the optimum reach to the low frets without the high frets moving too far away. It kind of resembles classical guitar posture, but standing up. Just look at old videos of Mark King or Norman Watt-Roy to see how uncomfortable and tense their playing position looks (especially when playing fingerstyle with the very bent right wrist). High strap position will equal pain at some point. The fact that you had a neck heavy bass is a separate issue. A neck heavy bass will be uncomfortable in any playing position. I too have got rid of more than one bass because the headstock was too keen on visiting the floor

[quote name='AndyMartin' post='194644' date='May 8 2008, 01:11 PM']Everyone from Portsmouth is a sailor Welcome to BC Mathew[/quote] Damn - Olympic white jazz with torty scratchplate always give me GAS!

[quote name='charic' post='195886' date='May 10 2008, 10:53 AM']Standing waves are a form of resonance. It is usually found in longer rooms and effects bass frequencies waveforms are much "longer" and more powerful than high frequencies (told you bass was better than guitar). Basically your waveform could of been reflected off of the far wall and if to peaks of a wave hit each other they add together and at that point the bass frequencies will sound louder. Its not really amp science but acoustics. I find it hard to explain without pictures and im not at my home comp, may try again later[/quote] Standing waves usually occur in rooms with parallel walls, regardless of the whether the room is long and thin or square. Standing waves occur when a peak amplitude wave hits a trough amplitude - add them together and you get (near enough) zero, so they cancel frequencies out instead of enhancing them (like 2 mics that are out of phase). This is unlikely to be the cause. Bass frequencies need a fairly big space to start reflecting. It may be that the room was big enough to start reflecting the bass end off the walls, meaning front of house (and the audience) were hearing loads of bass. How big was the room? I have found that I need my amp to be louder in a small rehearsal room than a medium venue because of this.

There is a Candy Cola one at the Gallery - B sounds crap even with newish strings. As for Fender not making a lemon, almost every Fender 5 I have played has got a dull, undefined B string (and I've owned a couple - Deluxe 5 Jazz and Custom Classic 5). I have played plenty of 4-string Fenders too, new and old, that sounded crap and looked shoddily built. I'd say about 20% of them were great, no more. With Sadowsky's I'd say 75%. The quality of manufacture, fit and finish is just so much better (owned 3 Sadowskys too!). That bass on YouTube has a totally tapered B and E yet the B still sounds markedly different to the other strings. If I was looking for a Fender style 5 around that kind of price bracket I would look at a Lakland Joe Osborn or save a little more and get a Sadowsky Metro (The PJ hybrid is heavenly). If you must have a Fender logo on the headstock then go for it. Other companies have long known Fenders have great fundamental design but they also have serious weaknesses and have exploited them. If Fenders were what they should be after 60 years of R&D these "clones" wouldn't be in business!

Please Delete.

"Teaches guitar, also bass". We've all come across that kind of "teacher". Seriously though, take the time to find the right teacher for you. My long experience both as a student and a teacher over 20+ years has been that there are a lot of people that can certainly play but they can't necessarily teach (and that goes for "name" players too). A teacher should have good all-round knowledge of music, be able to read music (forget about tab - if you're going to use it there's no point getting a private teacher), has a solid and comfortable technique, and most importantly that they are open, good-natured and a natural communicator. It would also help if the teacher is aware that due to men and women having different body types (oo-er!) he/she should make sure that the position of your bass is correct and will not cause you back/shoulder/wrist pain in the future. Be wary of teachers that just want to show you licks, or just songs, or do nothing but slap or widdle or who can't express themselves. A good teacher will make you advance much quicker that you would teaching yourself, but a poor teacher will show you a load of their bad habits and gaps in their knowledge that will take years to undo. Finally be aware that a teacher is there merely to open the door to allow you do discover the ideas and inspiration to improve - it's up to you to go through the door and make it happen. If you don't work hard on each lesson's material you're wasting their time and your money

[quote name='alexclaber' post='39654' date='Jul 31 2007, 06:23 PM']There is one thing that will make it louder and that is more sensitive speakers, or simply MORE speakers! The more sensitive the speakers the more dB SPL out you will get for the voltage in. So if you were to plug the power amp output of your little 35W combo into a very large efficient speaker cab or two (like a BFM DR280 on top of a Titan 48) then you would actually get enough volume to easily keep up with a drummer. But you wouldn't want to have to move that..." Alex[/quote] I think it is worthwhile pointing out that in general your amp should have a higher wattage than your cab(s). If you have a 100w head and a 400w cab it will work fine but you'll still only perceive the volume to be something close to the rating of the amp. The temptation would then be to crank the amp past its most efficient output level to get more volume. Most amps tend to work best when the output/master volume is between 40% and 60% - any higher and the amp runs out of headroom and will start distorting. Much better to have a 500w head with the output at 50% driving a 300w cab than a 300w amp at 90% driving a 500w cab. Obviously you need to be aware of the output from the amp so you don't blow the speakers!

I don't think it is really possible to learn to develop your own style without playing in a lot of different situations (both good and bad). I am always blown away by the average bar bands in the US when I visit - they are so committed, talented and tight and I've seen very few duff ones. Most musicians play in half a dozen different bands - covers bands, functions, etc as well as "serious" original music. The ones that I spoke to are pragmatic: the functions band helps to pay for the costs of running the originals band and also gives them valuable band experience playing songs they might otherwise never play. Some even played with the same musicians in each band. Better to do that then put up with a dead-end day job So I say play what you like and use what equipment you like, so long as you put your heart into it and enjoy it then integrity will take care of itself. I think musical integrity (or a lack of it) usually refers to critically-regarded acts that produce a very commercial album just to make loads of money (but even that is open to personal opinion)

[quote name='BossHog' post='194160' date='May 7 2008, 07:59 PM']My vote 1 Gail Ann Dorsey, as of Bowie, Tears for Fears, Gwen Stefani fame as well as her own material. Great player, great voice. 2 Lydia Kaboesj can be seen on numerous posts on YouTube, I saw her playing at the Frankfurt Musikmesse this year, she's fantastic. 3 Tal Wilkenfeld, she's in a rhythm section with Vinnie Colaiuta at 21 years old!!![/quote] GAD is absolutely wicked... met her once and she is really interesting, and a really nice person to boot! Tal Wilkenfeld is playing with VC in more ways than one - which is perhaps why when he has a gig nowadays she is always there Good player at such a tender age though...

I think that a beginner would do well to look at the position the bass is sitting. It is too high on him and if you played a lot of fingerstyle like that you'd have to have a very bent wrist in the plucking hand, which is asking for pain and hand problems later on...

I have yet to come across tighter or better-defined B-strings than on Warwicks. BTW I recently bought new gold hardware for my Corvette 6 and Warwick seems to have widened the tailpiece so that non-tapered B-strings will fit. I will say that the Streamer Stage 1 6, whilst one of my favourite sounding basses of all time (especially on the neck pickup - instant Anthony Jackson) has a horrible fat neck. It is the profile rather than the depth. The fingerboard is wide anyway (55mm at nut, 19mm spacing at bridge) but the curve is too steep at the shoulder, meaning there is too much "meat" in the neck for me. I recently acquired a Ken Smith BSR6 which has the same width board but has a much shallower curve to the back of the neck. It is a dream to play in comparison. It's a shame as I love the Warwick growl but even at similar prices it cannot hold a candle to the Smith in terms of quality of manufacture, balance, looks, playability and variety of tone (although I know Smiths are love/hate as well due to their limited availability, slightly dated styling and less aggressive tone). For rock or metal though I wouldn't play anything but a Warwick as the tone just cuts through and sounds so good in the mix.

I spelt it with 2 t's until I looked at my Birth Certificate when I was about 20 and realised there was only one t I was named after the maternity nurse (a Mrs Mathews apparently) - good thing she wasn't Mrs Berk

Cheers everyone, very much appreciated!

I think so too (although I don't have a signature yet - [edit] do now!) It would nice to bump into fellow Ken Smith owners, and unless it comes up in a thread I probably wouldn't know if someone owned one if it weren't for the signature. I don't think people are trying to show off, they're just proud of the gear they have

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='193691' date='May 7 2008, 10:40 AM']S'alright, HH, no need to apologise. Most jazz out there isn't jazz, most jazz venues don't put jazz on very much and most aftershaves don't swing. Most jazz festivals are chock full of stuff that isn't jazz and most jazz bins in record shops are not full of jazz cds. And most owners of Fender Jazz basses STILL don't play jazz on them (despite my campaign). Have a good one. [/quote] Yes, the Jazz Cafe in Camden is the best of the lot. I think they have one jazz artist per year, and when they do I miss it, even though I'm just round the corner

[quote name='jakesbass' post='193531' date='May 6 2008, 11:40 PM']Welcome Mathew. I've already read and enjoyed some of your posts, I think you'll like it here. Jake[/quote] Cheers! Nice to feel welcome

[quote name='thinman' post='193304' date='May 6 2008, 08:53 PM']Thanks all - I'll try some of the suggestions. It's not playing octaves that I have a problem with as such - it's the repetition of damping the octave by lifting off that is giving me problems so I may go back to trying thumb and index and muting with the side of my plucking hand.[/quote] Ah - have you tried playing with your fretting hand fingers right on top of the frets? It slightly damps notes and saves a bit of effort as you only have to make the smallest movement to stop the note...