xilddx

If I had the cash right now, I'd have that oops without a second thought and raise you a f***ing hell. With fanned frets.

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1269246' date='Jun 14 2011, 09:28 PM']As WOT said, it's Nigel Clutterbuck. Tasteless sh*te. I was stood next to him for 2 days at the LBGS and apart from the fact he played that rubbish solidly for 2 days without a care for anyone else in the world, he doesn't seem to realise the volume on bass amps doesn't have to be on 11. The worst part is it's interesting to watch for about 30 seconds, so as people filtered through, he always had a crowd which seemed to encourage him. It really wasn't enjoyable for 2 days straight.[/quote] That is f***ing horrible pointless sh*t. Completely unmusical. Nothing whatsover in that is of any merit.

Studios are all about people. Equipment is important, but it don't mean sh*t without people with talent. You can record great music on next to nothing. So talk to the people you'll be working with, get a feel for them and listen to what they've done recently in the SAME studio. CVs don't mean much either. We've had people with amazing CVs (2nd engineer with major producers etc.) who set up their own studio and offer to produce our music for free. Then you listen to their work and realise the reason they made the offer is because they want talent to work with for their next CV and they actually have no f***ing ear whatsoever, and little ability to produce great recordings and mixes. So, studios are all about the people. The most important thing is to get good clean recordings with plenty of frequency range, especially for acoustic instruments. It should go without saying you should be very well rehearsed and able to lay down really well performed tracks quickly. Production is where it's at now, so getting good recordings to work with is what's most important in a studio. Decent mics, pres, desk, and room are important, so do your research on what good equivalent studios are using. Recording drums is a major undertaking. You get people micing each drum, you get people micing the kick with two overheads, depends what is right for the band and what sound you want. Be wary of too much processing, some people stick all sorts of sh*t on the drums, gates, limiters, reverbs, all sorts. This isn't generally necessary now as it can all be controlled on the computer at the mixing stage. Again, get good clean recordings with plenty of frequency range. An experienced engineer with good ears is worth their weight in gold. Recording a live band in a studio is where you need plenty of space, good room sound and good equipment with an engineer who really knows what they're doing in terms of instrument isolation, mic phasing, and minimum bleed on the channels. After the tracking is done you need to work with someone who has a really good ear and technical knowledge for mixing and mastering.

I like the track. I don't know what it is about your music, it really does have a tonality of its own, a complex kind of pathos seems to run through it all, it's very appealing. I really think you should find a singer who enjoys what you do and work together. There's lots of potential there mate!

[quote name='skidder652003' post='1268989' date='Jun 14 2011, 06:19 PM']ken, im really enjoying you on here, you,ve got balls of steel! [/quote] Me too

[quote name='jonno1981' post='1268621' date='Jun 14 2011, 01:50 PM']That would be me! The shop went under sadly but we had made the decision to stop stocking Warwick's some time in the past. Whenever we would get inquiries from customers I would get to the meat of the conversation (price) and people were shocked with the prices we were quoting (and they were competitive!!!!). Put simply they priced themselves out of the market to customers. Every 6 months for 2 year period the cost price to dealers went up by 10-15% a time. As a dealer the commitment of goods you have to take on to be a Warwick Centre was prohibitive and unaffordable for us. To offer any German made Warwick's at all you had to have at least 12 in stock and a Hellborg system. Warwick offer no kind of credit account so you have to have the cash up front to pay for £20-30K of goods. [size=4] [b]The product is fantastic, the quality better than ever[/b] [/size] but at the prices they are now there isn't enough of a customer base to support sales at the prices they have set. £2.5k plus for neck through 5 string?? Double buck's with no options for over £1100?? That's why there isn't a UK dealer base anymore. Sad really coz the basses are great but at a time when the second hand value is so poor it's very hard to justify buying a new instrument. It was especially frustrating for us as we had always done well with the brand with many customers ordering custom shop instruments but we simply couldn't afford to keep stocking them. Oh and Sime I mentioned I had a white scratchplate for the DJ5 knocking around somewhere - I've found it. PM me if you want it and I'll drop it in the post.[/quote] I completely agree with this and have no real idea why people say their old ones are far better than the new ones. In my experience it just isn't true.

[quote name='bassbluestew' post='1268171' date='Jun 14 2011, 08:01 AM']I'm glad a little balance has been restored and hope Ken reads those comments too Oh and as I said in a previous mail it was I who made the 300 buck minimum overseas order. I have checked back my emails and that is indeed what it said. It was a private email sent Tony by Ken himself so I wontbe posting it up for general consumption but if you feel you can't live without seeing it I'll pm you a copy on the proviso that you don't post it up. Suffice to say I wasn't mistaken.[/quote] Will it be accompanied by a receipt stating what you had for your lunch that day?

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1267758' date='Jun 13 2011, 07:20 PM']My conclusion to this thread was: * I'm probably still not going to buy a boutique bass. Them as likes them, fill ya boots. * KS seemed entirely reasonable to me and I agreed with much of what he had to say. * Skimreading long threads is perilous. * [b]Nige should be practising for his raga gig not waffing around on here.[/b][/quote] just letting the new strings settle in my absolutely delicious new Stratocaster, then I'm on it mate. In fact I am a bass free zone for the next 18 days

[quote name='skidder652003' post='1267679' date='Jun 13 2011, 06:37 PM']he's also a bit pissed with me cos i joined his forum as hugh jarse, but i hope he's cooled down now he's vented his spleen... [/quote]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1267647' date='Jun 13 2011, 06:19 PM']Why close it? What would that change?[/quote] Agreed. Threads should be allowed a natural demise, not closed because a mod decides a purpose has been served. That is beyond prediction.

[quote name='Ken Smith' post='1267571' date='Jun 13 2011, 05:24 PM']Ok, I read the last few pages since I posted, most of which has nothing to do with the subject but whatever. The Original poster/complainer finally replied to me after several emails I have sent him. He feels he has done something good by attempting to smear our reputation. Bottom line. You buy used, your dispute is with the seller, not the maker of the product. You buy something 15 years old discontinued almost as long as that, you have to buy what you need for it. Nothing is owed to you except maybe from the used seller who sold it unless you broke it after the sale. Breaking a control in an active unit might send a power surge thru the circuit and fry something inside. We never replace single pots in this type of situation. We replace the unit with either a new or re-built one because the labor to fix one single part is not worth it if there are hidden electronic problems in the circuit FROM that initial visual breakage. The other option is to send the circuit to us to send out to the lab to have rebuilt. If the bass walked in here, we would replace the unit, give some labor credit towards a new or re-built unit, collect the fee and send him on his way, while waiting if he walks in early enough. Then we would send that unit back out if it can be saved and re-build it for the next person. Just like a re-built auto transmission. We give the same warranty of 1 year against manufacture defects in our work under normal use for both new and re-built units. We do not warranty against actual physical breakage by a person or in shipping if dropped. This circuit was replaced by our current model back in 2004. We only have a few of these left in new and re-built to sell for repairs or after market but before long, the older parts may be difficult to find and we will then stop offering them. I have probably no less than about 10 hours of my time on this guy and the bottom line is, he has to buy what he needs. We are not responsible for his problem and have given him all the information how to buy what he needs, over and over. This is not a customer service issue and his bass is not a current bass purchased from us but bought second hand, about 15 years old or so (1993-1998 est) and he prefers to spend is time typing on line rather than working to earn the few dollars to order the part. I still can't say if that part will fix his problem. We did not test the bass here ourselves and do not know if anything within the circuit is fried either. Re-building involves a full test, any and all needed parts replaced and usually, ALL new Pots. "That is all I have to say about that!"[/quote] You know what, Ken, although I think you do seem to have a bit of an attitude, and 'seem' to be quite rude even when you aren't being, I absolutely agree with this post of yours, apart from the cheeky snipey bit about spending his time typing. My advice to him would be to get a John East pre-amp, simply because he will get a superb unit and only pay very little for postage, and also get superb and gentlemanly service and after-sales care. Really though, his initial issue was about $100 shipping cost (which I also find amazing as I buy stuff from the States often and get strings sent for $10). However, these little problems often end up being the start of a much bigger one. He needs a new pre, not just the pot. HOWEVER, as a customer or inquirer, even if I'm wrong (which is never of course ) I expect courtesy and politeness, and effective service where necessary, otherwise I go away and never trouble them with my money ever again. Hello Thomann. Anyway, it's been an interesting read, this. And respect to Ken for coming here and, erm, 'explaining' things

Haha! You nicked my gloves! What make are they? I use Jasmine Silk, quite durable and fit really well, but I'm looking for more durable ones. That was a very good lesson, thank you.

I did the same thing on Saturday except with Fender Stratocaters. I came away from Nevada music in Portsmouth with a fabulous brand new USA Strat Deluxe V-Neck for £1,100. This is the first time I have been in a shop, tried lots of instruments and found one that made my pulse race, even though two of the others were the same model and production year. Playing the instrument first (I usually buy cold) was a revelation and I now have a Strat that feels and sounds wonderful and needs nothing changing. That was well worth the money for buying new.

[quote name='RhysP' post='1263852' date='Jun 10 2011, 12:44 PM']He uses his Martin signature model mostly nowadays - he had the original refurbished by Martin & doesn't take it out very often anymore apparently. I had my Fylde set up in Carthy tuning for a while - CGCDGA. The strings were massively heavy, something like a 17 or 19 top string & a 59 low string![/quote] Ah yes of course he does, I wonder if he still records with his old one. So is that his main tuning? I read somewhere he used DADEAE. I tried it and it was really hard for me to get anything pretty out of it. I think he said he had two tunings to cover four keys, two each.

[quote name='ZMech' post='1263137' date='Jun 9 2011, 07:38 PM']Sounds like you've had a productive day! glad to hear the confidence is back. A small bit of advice. I've found when approaching any daunting task is first to sit down and cut it down into small sections, which normally brings on the realisation that each one individually isn't so bad. My last application of this was writing my 40pg lab report, when I made myself write the contents page so it was down to 8 different 5pg sections and it suddenly looked much more doable. Same goes with music practise i think, seperating out your concentration to rhythm, notes, and technique individually can make you much more productive, provided you remember to bring it all back together at the end. not sure i'll be venturing into 13/4 anytime soon, i find 5/4 bad enough! best of luck.[/quote] I sort of approach things in this way too. I lived with the music recordings for a few of weeks before even picking up the guitar. That way the tonality gets in my head. Then I learned a few tricky bits before the first rehearsal, I should have done more but it was not clear how much the arrangements would change. Yesterday I developed the chord voicings, weird because the guitarist who did the original recordings plays in a strange open tuning I've not come across before, it has an F sharp in it. I have most of the chords sorted now, but they are tricky because certain tones need to be present and the voicings are difficult in Drop D. I'll have to put the hours in to get them under my fingers. Also, we'll be improvising some of it live so there's added pressure to be completely comfortable with all aspects of the music. Anyway, off to rehearsal 2 in Southampton in a couple of hours. I'll record it this time!

[quote name='RhysP' post='1263115' date='Jun 9 2011, 07:24 PM']Have you tried playing the guitar stuff with your gloves off? You're playing on the same stage as Carthy? Wow. I wouldn't even hold a guitar in the same building as him, I'd be far too intimidated.[/quote] They are off, but I feel like they're on! Carthy has the most beautiful tone. I think he still uses his Martin that's over 40 years old with very heavy strings. Wonderful musician.

[quote name='51m0n' post='1263089' date='Jun 9 2011, 07:07 PM']I've got very very close to some of Nigel's bass playing over the last few weeks. He's absolutely right, it's all really simple stuff. It's also some of the hardest stuff to create that I've ever heard. He plays exactly what the song needed, even if the song didn't know it yet. Classic parts, with real empathy for the musical whole and massive space for everyone else to shine. Silly s*d worrying about his musicality, he is one of the most musical players I've ever heard.[/quote] Bloody hell Si, can I use that on my CV? You are too kind mate

[quote name='51m0n' post='1263005' date='Jun 9 2011, 06:00 PM']I wasn't trying to say a compressor wont even things out some, I was saying it will neither completely remove all dynamic expression, nor hide bad technique. As you say it will even out over abusive dynamics, but at the expense of showing up any poor technical limitation the player has. I constantly use a compressor to even things out in mixes and live, but the more work you make the compressor do the more artefacts it leaves, the more obvious it gets. This can be great, or it can be pants, depends on the player and the musical setting. You are setting up a compressor to try and take out the peaks as quickly as possible when someone gets over exuberant, you may find a limiter for the peaks and lengthening your attack gives an even more natural sound when the player isnt going mental. If they even care , lets face it punk as often as not has a dynamic range between in your face and total annihilation. I think we are saying the same thing really [/quote] Oi! You! Get back to your honeymoon!! Hope you had a fantastic day mate! I've left you well alone so you get some peace from all the music, and I find you on here talking about compressors again! Go away and drink wine with your wife

Thanks for the insightful and encouraging posts friends I have been working on the material today and had a chat with her about some of it. Notably that I did not want to be playing folk style guitar on the arrangement of Scarborough Fair if Martin Carthy is playing guitar at the same time, way too much potential for appalling note clashes as I can't play exactly what he's playing. I suggested I do keyboard-like guitar sound washes with the volume pedal and she liked the idea so that's sorted. I can now pretty much play all the chords and sitar lines on the rest of the material, just need to firm up the arrangements and tighten it all up, which is where the main work will be. The cut and paste music creation methods of today can throw up a lot of strange arrangement problems that can be difficult to remember as they aren't natural, and I'm more of a feel/repetition learner, not a counter, I can't stand having to count while I'm playing. Feeling a bit better about it now Although the philosophical lessons and questions remain, what do I really want from playing music and how do I best achieve them when I do find out? This episode has really thrown up a lot of self analysis. Thanks again!

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1262194' date='Jun 9 2011, 01:21 AM']Bass players who have heard Billie Jean should be able to play Billie Jean. It's one of those 'You obviously play it like this' songs. Anyone who can't play that song at the drop of a hat probably can't play anything without getting a tab off the internet.[/quote] You're probably right

[quote name='TMB' post='1261328' date='Jun 8 2011, 03:32 PM']GUYS!! Dream Theater have officially announced that the title of their upcoming album will be A Dramatic Turn of Events, and it will be released Sept. 13. The band will follow the album with a world tour.[/quote] BTW, I LOVE how you spell the band's name in English

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1262054' date='Jun 8 2011, 10:50 PM']Portnoy? Hey, could you listen to their music day in, day out for 20 years? [/quote] Play, not listen Seriously, they obviously love what they do and it's highly accomplished. Not my taste although I like one or two tracks. Plenty of people love it and at least it's not Pixie Lott. Myung does talk a lot of bollocks though, when he can summon up the courage to open his mouth to speak.

I have it, and you can have it for nowt sir. PM me your addy if you are still looking.

I know this is in BASS discussion, but this will hopefully relate to any instrument. I got this guitar gig , a biggish festival, with an old friend who is a well employed world class sitarist, gig's at the end of the month. She's the most amazing musician I've known, she plays with true passion and can communicate it too, along with being hugely accomplished and with notable Indian classical music heritage. I have to play raag based music with a western twist in time signatures such as 13/4 split into 6 3 2 2, stuff like that, playing quite challenging and fast sitar melodies with strange non-western phrasing, and playing chords generated from open tunings. I have to sing in another language on one number too. It's sitar, guitar and claypot, the three of us singing at some points. nowhere to hide I've been playing for over 30 years and I'm a reasonable guitarist with a decent ear and I know I can handle this (with a lot of shedding over the next few weeks) but it has really got me thinking. I've not had a challenge like this in a very long time. Most of the basslines I have to play are quite simple really, I can put a fair bit of passion into them playing live and really concentrate on the sound of the whole band. I love composing basslines, and I love performing live and slinging my bass about and having a good old dance. That's why I think I graduated from guitar to bass, I love how massive it is, and how (if you pay attention to your imagination) you can do so much with so little, and put so much energy into it. This guitar gig has so far given me so much self-doubt as to my musicality. It disturbs me because I feel like a musical child. So unsophisticated and lazy. I had my first rehearsal with the percussionist and sitar last night, and my god, I had to use every ounce of my physical and mental ability. She said it went ok, but I didn't. I've been listening to the music a LOT over the last few weeks, so it's all in my mind in a slightly abstract fashion, but I could sing you the melodies and I have a good impression of the structures. but only spent a couple of hours learning some chords and tricky lead lines, because she said it would be different from the recordings. I have realised how little I can remember, although some of it is coming back now, how my chord and single note playing ability is restricting my musical expression, and how easily intimidated I am when faced with a real challenge. I think I've become lazy and that I believe THINKING about music is a substitute for hard practice. It isn't. The thing is, my limited physical ability means I can't play with any passion, I feel wooden. My memory means I am concentrating so hard on stuff that isn't musical like the arrangement. My lack of experience with the weird timings men I am even more wooden while concentrating on where the ONE is. The lesson for me is confusing. I think if I work hard I may be able to play the gig with some fire in my belly, intuitively instead of some pathetic plastic nonsense. But the biggest lesson is that I know, if not for my laziness, I could be a really good musician. This troubles me. What do I really want out of music? I want to be proud of what I do, I'd like to be taken seriously, I want to entertain on stage and record something other people like, even inspire some people, have people like what I do. But it's all vanity, narcissism, selfishness. Even me posting this reflects this bullshit. It's easy, lazy, and pathetic. I'm cheating myself and my bandmates, it's not real, I'm not really feeling it. But I have always been like this, vain and lazy, and pretty hard on myself at the same time The hardest thing is to feel community with your fellow musicians and the people in the audience, enough that it creates real sparks, a true emotional and spiritual experience, while satisfying all technical expectations. It not all in your sphere of control, but the lesson is to do all you can to make that happen. Here endeth the dump. Hope it makes some sort of sense

[quote name='steve-bbb' post='1261492' date='Jun 8 2011, 05:30 PM']please please please please please.... if you must indulge in technical excess, then do it with some flare and expression [url="http://&quot;%20&lt;a%20href=&quot;http://youtu.be/hEtZpLk1jjc&quot;&quot;%20target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;http://youtu.be/hEtZpLk1jjc&quot;&lt;/a&gt;"] <a href="http://youtu.be/hEtZpLk1jjc" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/hEtZpLk1jjc[/url]</a> i thank you [/quote] Mate, thank you so much for this! Fabulous! I love it Saw him live twice but not with his own material.