SteveK

I have an old dictaphone. I can hum/sing any ideas that come into my head into it, along with a few verbal notes. For me, it's better to let my head do the thinking ( ).[b] Mostly[/b], I find an instrument at the initial[i] seed of an idea[/i] stage a hindrance. From there on it'll be bass or guitar.

[quote name='silddx' post='871632' date='Jun 19 2010, 12:08 PM']I really enjoyed your interview with the guy from Manfred Man in Guitar & Bass.[/quote] That'll be Michael Rogers. IMO Guitar & Bass have really scraped the barrel with that interview. Apparently, on stage, he is completely overshadowed by the bass player of the band (whose name escapes me) and far more worthy of an interview. And, if you're reading this Mickeyboro, I'm available a week next Tuesday.

I should start by saying that I am a big fan of AH, and have been since the 70s. And didn't want to post anything negative about him. But, the Hastings gig was a disappointment - for a number of reasons: Firstly there were only about 150 people in 1000 capacity theatre. The sound was very poor. First time I've seen Jimmy Johnson...couldn't tell what the hell he was playing - just a rumble! Kit didn't sound very nice. Alan was way undermixed. The only way I can describe the show was: 10 minutes of watching paint dry followed by 3 minutes of absolute brilliance, followed by 10 minutes of watching paint dry followed by 3 minutes of brilliance etc Too many drum solos for my liking (Not really a fan of Gary Husband... if only he would groove a bit) Believe me I really wanted to enjoy the show, but in spite of that...he is still [i]one the best/my favourite[/i] players around.

Seeing him (them) tonight in Hastings.

Have you tried your Yamaha through another rig? If so, did it sound better? Have you tried another bass through your rig? Was that ok? Does the bass sound dull acoustically? Need more info to nail the problem. Not sure why you would think the pots on you bass would effect sustain.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='847637' date='May 25 2010, 04:16 PM']Good tune's still a good tune, I guess.[/quote] Too true. But, in the 40 years since its release, I would have thought more recent tunes would've bumped it off yer pub bands set list years ago. You'll be telling me next "Hey Joe" and "Sunshine of your love" are[i][b] still [/b][/i]played in pubs up and down the country.

Wow! Is Paranoid [i]still[/i] a pub band favourite? I remember playing it in one of my first "proper" bands in the early 70s.

Probably not a good idea. And, If D&B is your thing, then, certainly not a good idea. You will almost certainly shorten the life of your speakers. Try this simple experiment: Get a bass sound (as best you can) similar to the clip you posted, without a compressor, turn it up to a good volume, and then turn it up a bit more (which you are bound to do... Right? ) And then accidentally/on purpose unplug your bass without muting your amp (which you are bound to do...Right? ) Nice noise, eh? Domestic hi-fi speakers love it...

Just tried the test. None of the tones seem to work...

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhmyhvWKiwU"]Original[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Va9etqma30"]Rip Off...er, I mean, Sample[/url] And would you believe(?) Massive Attack denied the sample, until virtually on the steps of the High Court...cheeky f***ers!

Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel)...Sledgehammer

Yup, I'm a former student of his, from the BassTech days. Very good teacher. If you see him, say hi from me.

A simple fact of life: Turn a job down once - chances are, you won't be asked again. Musicians are generally an insecure bunch, but by taking these "lesser" gigs, aside from the money, you are keeping your options open. One gig often leads to another. Many's the time that I've chatted with band-mates and other musicians about a gruelling journey or something else that has p***ed us off. But, in the end, the one thing we all agree on... At least we're working! There are many (fine) musicians out there without a gig! BTW I'm writing this from a Hamburg hotel room, having driven last night to Dover, met the bus and then 12 miserable (thanks to a bad case of sciatica) hours overnight to Hamburg. Thanks to that friggin' volcano. It wasn't pleasant, but... at least - I've got a gig. Oh, and I don't think the op's post was "snobby"...more naive, perhaps!

[quote]True. And there are many musicians (including bass players!) who are far more bothered about what they can hear of themselves (i.e. on-stage sound), than what the punters can hear![/quote] Yep, that was the point I was trying to make - about onstage volume. An Ampeg rig in the wrong hands can be a recipe for disaster.

[quote]I could barely hear an effing note any of the other bass players played all night - they just blended into the rock sludge of their guitarists. But apparently I was "really loud" and everybody I spoke to said it was nice to hear what the bass does because "usually you can't hear it".[/quote] Not knowing the venue and not having been at the gig and heard the bands, it's impossible to make any kind of useful assessment. However, for the sake of discussion... There's nothing wrong with[i] any[/i] of the gear listed. From what you say, my guess would be that[i] you/your band[/i] play quieter on stage than the other bands, enabling the FOH engineer to do his gig and get a decent mix. Maybe, you should be thanking the engineer, instead of... er... BTW there are many bands/FOH enginners that actually favour the [i]wall of sound[/i] approach.

[quote]Guitarist tunes between numbers - what to do?[/quote] Probably has less to do with tuning, and more to do with nerves.

These basses would generally be aimed at the pro wanting something a little different, and I'm sure the manufacturer would expect it to be of limited appeal. As for cost - I can see nothing wrong in spending that kind of money, or more, on a bass. In any case, it would be tax allowable, reducing the real cost.

[quote name='arthurhenry' post='748125' date='Feb 17 2010, 10:28 AM']At a heavy rock gig I played a load of Rush and Iron maiden licks at soundcheck - no one noticed. At a classic rock covers gig I slipped the solo from Jethro Tull's Bouree into my solo - no one noticed. At a covers gig someone kept shouting out for some Bee Gees. Later in the set I slipped in the riff from Stayin' alive - he didn't notice. On the 20th anniversary of Jaco's death, I sneaked lots of Jaco licks into the set - no one noticed. Shortly after George Harrison's death, I slipped the melody from Here comes the sun into a song - no one noticed. Do things like this happen to you, and frustrate you? Am I a musical snob for expecting audiences to notice this stuff? Is it due to peoples lack of understanding about Bass? Is the sad truth that however passionate you are about music, most of the people you ever play to will be casual music fans?[/quote] You keep saying "no one noticed"! How do you know? Providing you played these licks/riffs well and you were heard in the mix, then, I'm sure many will have noticed...what kind of reaction were you expecting?

[quote name='crez5150' post='745201' date='Feb 14 2010, 08:00 PM']that's the gayest thing I've heard today..... Dates in April I believe.... See you then! [/quote] 'fraid not...PC is doing the Go West 25th anniversary tour in April, of which i'm not involved. I was, in fact, referring to the fact that Pete [i]is[/i], and has been for the last few months, on vocal duties for Manfred Mann's Earth Band, of which I am most definitely involved.

[quote name='crez5150' post='744737' date='Feb 14 2010, 01:13 PM']Anything by Go West.... awesome! Alan Murphy, what an enormous loss to the guitar world! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gW6WcwNirk"]call me[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl3PYk_s4Kk&feature=related"]We close our eyes[/url][/quote] Whatever happened to Pete Cox?...I hear you say! Word is, he's joined some outrageously talented individuals. The bass player, apparently, is phenomenal... and staggeringly good looking, to boot.

[quote]Whomever got them that gig and the theme tunes for the CSI TV programmes is doing a mighty fine job.[/quote] Seem to remember reading/hearing Jerry Brookheimer's a bit of a fan and thought they might work as themes. Don't know whether they should quit or not - What I do know is, if someone told me I was too old and should knock it on the head, I'd tell them where to stick it. In their day, and on a good night, no other band came close. Won't get fooled again - probably one of the greatest ever rock records... Fact!.. I once heard a lawyer say that, so it must be law.

[quote]I think the actual music sounds great but the vocal performances from Daltry and Townsend are dreadful[/quote] What? You mean, that they were actually playing and singing live? ...didn't think that was allowed these days. We played a festival in Austria 4 or 5 years ago where The Who were headliners. Being a fan of theirs since the 60s I stuck around to watch the set. Yeah, the vocals don't have the range these days... they are in their 60s ffs. And Pino and Zak are no JE and KM...Even so, they can still show a lot of the bands around now the way home. BTW they totally screwed My Generation

[quote name='cheddatom' post='735118' date='Feb 4 2010, 03:11 PM']"tone is in the fingers" - lol, yeh, if you have a boring tone.[/quote] Assuming that we all understand that "the fingers" are connected to our brain/soul then I would agree, tone/sound is in the fingers. Give Jeck Beck any guitar, he will still sound like Jeff Beck. If you gave John Entwistle any bass, he would still have sounded like John Entwistle. [quote]"Core Tone" isn't very important in your bass., Reliability, Comfort, Playability and Looks are more important[/quote] I would generally agree with that... However, we are artists, and artists are sensitive, delicate flowers, and as such have to feel totally happy with every micro nuance of our sound, otherwise [size=2][b]we cant fu**in' perform...[/b][/size] ...can we? EDIT: Having said all the above, I am attempting to buy a Stingray 5, IMO it's an ugly mother, but I like the sound . I say "attempting" to buy, the retailer is giving me the serious "runaround" .

[quote name='Mrs Tinman' post='730626' date='Jan 31 2010, 02:36 PM']I sincerely hope this reply is not disrespectful, I just wanted to address the above. The question is, where do you (we/ the UK government/whoever?) draw the line? Sadly, Tim did not have travel insurance which is designed to pay for exactly this sort of thing. I have read media accounts of people having to remortgage/sell family homes, borrow from friends and relatives or beg the same people for money because a relation or friend has either fallen ill whilst abroad and needed expensive medical care/medical repatriation or has sadly died overseas and the body is to be repatriated. I'm sure that there are many more cases of this sort of thing that simply go unreported, Tim's case, whilst undoubtedly tragic, is far from unique.[/quote] There is a very basic ([i]triba[/i]l, if you like) feeling inside me that says, [i]he was one of ours, we should bring him home.[/i] It just strikes me as the decent, civilised thing to do. "Where do we draw the line?" I think there is a very obvious place where the line can be drawn. On reflection, this is probably not the thread to be having this discussion.

Excuse my ignorance here, this is not something that I've needed to give much thought to. But, shouldn't we, the British tax payer, via our government, via the British Embassy in Brazil, be arranging and paying for repatriation in this kind of situation? If not, then we/they bl***y well should.