Raslee

Brethren Redstriper is also a great reggae player too...calling ya in bro Well...lets talk reggae haha....the belly of the riddim! My humble opinion on this is probably somewhat fragmented as I believe that any 'irie' reggae played well will get the people on the dance floor...but the reggae covers band i play with has opinions that are divided on this viewpoint. So we generally go for a mixture of classics peppered with the odd modern version take on a classic riddim. For example we play BMW's 'Waiting in Vain' but we also play it through to General Degree's version 'Almighty God' on that same riddim. Now i guess most of crowds will know the BMW original but not heard the General Degree one...but the people still dance and like the tension of difference...and at the same time we give a reggae education in little chunks...kinda shows we like our reggae too- and its always a good sign to see a Rasta or two on the dancefloor... seen . But equally the set is balanced by crowd pleasers to associate the crowd with the dance floor for example Madness, UB40 , BMW etc, so guaranteed floor fillers is a bit more strategic than simply playing our favourite tune. To be a good reggae covers band appealing to all audiences can often require a spectrum of reggae genre's to include Dancehall, Ska, Dub, Roots, Ragga, Lovers etc etc but i guess that also depends the venues your seeking (nothing like a Sunday morning hangover dub set at a Southwest sunshine festival with farting speakers and good Colly ...but perhaps thats another band-irie ). I play with a few reggae band set ups, all very different , catering for different venues from Weddings, clubs, recording sessions to European reggae festivals. But typically weddings, pubs, clubs etc i would say having a good Ska contribution is a must... people like to dance and like that upbeat to get them started...i'm not a big fan of the 'modern ska' covers I play but they do go down well such as Madness 'Night boat to Cairo' or Bad Manners 'Lip up fatty' (dedicated to my beer belly) and one the crowd really love is Ghost town (interesting bass on that one). As my good buddy Bubinga said checking out some riddims is also a good place to start for some real education...classics like Stalag, Sleng Teng, Answer riddim, Real Rock are a good place to start.....but don't get too bogged down with riddims unless you want to play real classics, versions or modern sets (i.e. Capleton, Sizzla etc)...i occasionally play with a Rastaman called MC Goldman and will get through about 20-30 riddims in an hour....equally i can be playing the Answer riddim for half an hour with him having done several versions.......Puuuuullll uuuuppp & rewind.... depending what mood he is in Our destroyed version of Taxi riddim (very easy) i did with him, bass is a bit pants though (bloody keyboard player-nuff said-choirs eh?) [url="http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/2165105"]http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/2165105[/url] This is a good riddim finder site: [url="http://www.riddimbase.org/riddimbase.php"]http://www.riddimbase.org/riddimbase.php[/url] Here also is a reggae tab site, sometimes a pointer in the right direction but often the tabs are totally wrong-ears are best unless your deaf like me, in which case big speakers & loud rig is a must...... [url="http://www.broz-reggae-tabs.com/tablatures/liste_artiste-en.php"]http://www.broz-reggae-tabs.com/tablatures..._artiste-en.php[/url] Here is a an example of some tunes we do in the covers band....its not exhaustive by far.....we have something like 100's in the repertoire....but it may help a little. These tunes are generally played to pubs, clubs, weddings, bar mitzvahs, Childrens parties etc I'm sure people will think of loads of commercial tunes...but me....I'm roots man...but its all reggae! Great thread....more reggae discussion!!!!

Yeah i've got an Eden WT550 on order, bloody expensive though however it is part funded by a proud in law (recent parenthood as helped alot) I alone could never afford a new one though!!! But they are bloody good IMO, perhaps not the reliability track record of Markbass stuff though-having said that my WT800A hasn't missed a beat since i've been using it - bloody typical. TBH I did like the Markbass amp alone...i think my sound issues were mainly the Neo 15's. I particularly like the filters on the Markbas and may consider getting the MB filter foot pedal if needed. But the Eden has a coloured sound alone that i really like (and Familyman Barrett!), bit like a vintage car vibe.... Prior to going back to the big cabs i had all the band firmly agree to help with lifting etc for gigs, in fact our drummer is a well built builder who carries the 6x10 on his own (luxury) so.....so far so good.....we're quite lucky too as we have our own studio unit with our gear living there; it is literally a short distance from the unit to the back of the band van thankfully....i guess the acid test for my fellow roadies will be festival season ....

[quote name='guybrush threepwood' post='686126' date='Dec 16 2009, 10:30 AM']That's quite a rig mate. And it's lovely to see my old Corvette in front of it. You still enjoying it?[/quote] Yeah, quite a heavy rig Heavy bass too...also that 2x10 Eden cab seems just as heavy as the 6x10-its quality though. This set up finally shifts the air i was looking for. I used to have a Warwick 6x10 cab and our drummer always said it sounded better than my Markbass rig that i had...i was so reluctant to accept this as i could carry the Markbass in two hands (A MB Berlin combo and MB 15" ext cab), but in the back of my mind i always felt something was missing. Now although i semi like the Markbass sound i could just not feel the air or earthy vibes.....so i thought perhaps it is because i am using 2x15" speakers (not my usual choice) so then i tried the head off the Berlin through an Ampeg fridge 8x10.....sounded good but then i compared the MB to the WT series Eden...well Eden is in a different league IMO (especially for reggae), but the MB was nice. So it was off with the Mark bass stuff and in with heavyweight new cabs again... and this is what i ended up with. Its great as i have the versatility of using just the 2x10 for smaller gigs too....those Eden XLT 2x10s can handle some whack for sure...seen. As for the Warwick vette, its weird, i didn't want to become too attached at all, it was supposed to be bass number 3, one for the living room etc - and that's probably where the affair begun-we did it on the sofa :brow: - Soooo i cheated on my 79Ray & P bass and haven't looked back .....the vette is just so easy to play and the eq is great, i can go from a thick warm dub tone to a clickerty clank ska bass just via the eq alone...i was never able to do that before. In fact i was more of a passive bass geeza generally but i really like the eq control of the upgraded EMG pre amp & EMG PU's......most impressed indeed. And although not particularly competent at funky slappy slop stuff...well i can get a half decent groove going on it-at least enough to twitch my funk gland anyway :ph34r: . Interestingly I played another Corvette recently to compare and it was pants compared to this one...real chunky neck too...weird. Jus waiting on the delivery of the Eden WT550....Mansons are a bit slow...or Eden are i think.

[quote name='Clarky' post='682542' date='Dec 12 2009, 09:11 PM']Hey Rasta, I presume you are about 7 foot tall in order that you can adjust the amp settings [/quote] It's about eye level, 5ft 11...but yeah pretty cool [quote name='Rayman' post='683015' date='Dec 13 2009, 02:24 PM']You can keep yer blinkin 1x8 super lightweight whatever mini cabs.......... nowt moves air better than a couple of ruddy great back breaking wardrobes the size of a small car with 1x15s in 'em.[/quote] +1 (Jus prefer 10"'s over 15"'s)

Well having done the Markbass thang for the last 12 months I found there was something just not there in my reggae sound from the days I reminisced of a past Warwick air shifting 6x10 that i had previously owned......so to the detriment of my fellow band mates backs (mine too)...I'm back on the heavyweights with my new rig below....they just sound different to neo's to me, so heavy for a reason me thinks? Perhaps for heavy for dubbing belly pumping bass vibrations. The Eden WT800A is soon to be replaced by a new WT550 that i have on order from Mansons. Sadly the WT800A has proved unreliable in the past but typically I've not had a single fault with it since having recently ordered the WT550

Both Rich & I travelled from both ends of the country to meet in the middle for a coffee and a trade of bass cabs.....Rich is a top chappy and buyers / sellers can deal in total confidence. Thanks Rich and nice to meet you. Lee

I'm awaiting the arrival of a new WT550.....soooo excited as i love the 'proper' David Eden tone

Top guy to deal with, thanks for being patient with our new arrival-all the best, RastaLee

Do both and find a dep to cover you for gigs you cannot do, someone who does not want to commit, maybe hard at first but its achievable.....that's what i do anyhow.

[quote name='waylander' post='672994' date='Dec 3 2009, 11:30 AM']nearly moved to plymouth couple months ago but decided against it lol[/quote] Well done for managing to escape that, it generally sucks in Plymouth although I feel compelled to work here as a purveyor of social justice for janners. Musically, i think Plymouth depends what genre your into i guess but i have found it be a much better avant-garde music scene in Exeter...more to my tastes. Av fun

Allo mate from the Janner part of the Southwest Plymouth, welcome to bass heaven.

Swapped my old faithful Aria Fretless with Luke for his POD XT. Great chap to deal with, good communications, and item was well packed and sent very quickly. Buyers/Sellers can totally trade with Luke in confidence - Thanks Luke, great to deal with bass brethren