Mister RLP

A green p bass by Lakland at Guitar Guitar in Epsom a few years ago was rather nice. Great tone. Light weight. I could slap - haven't been able to do it since! Should have taken that one home with me...

Enjoyed Saturday. Managed to get up to Olympia early taking the overground. Balked at the huge queue (and zombie) outside until I realised it was for one of the quieter events - knitting, weddings, childcare. Still unsure where the zombie fitted into this... Inside I grabbed a coffee and almond croissant at the cafe before it got too busy (nice coffee) and went to see Andrew Gouche as I was earlier than expected. I was also trying to step outside my comfort zone and see bassists I wouldn't normally see. Pretty impressed with the first masterclass. Thought there was a good mix of playing and talk and he came across as a down to earth yet talented musician. Wandered around the stands but nothing really really grabbed me. It was noisy but not as noisy as it has been some years - I didn't stay too long two years ago. Ended up exploring London when I walked back to Victoria. Picked up a EBMM to play. Entered their competition. Asked to buy a raffle ticket. Went to Chris May's session in the Luthier's Room. Rather good. Would have liked to have chatted to him afterwards but he was chatting to someone else. (Would have liked to have chatted to a few people but either too noisy or people very busy. Was next to Mo Foster and Dave Swift at various times.) Next I caught David Ellefson. Not into Metal but he was really insightful about his playing with a pick as was Cody Wright. Wow! He was superb. I play mostly with a pick so really interesting to see two bassists back to back who were discussing using plectrums. Ate lunch whilst watching Ida Nielsen. Had another wander around the stalls. Bought my daughter a wrist band with a pick on it. Picked up a fret wrap for myself. Spent less than £20. Really wanted to see Glen Matlock but needed to get back home before he was on. Seems like I missed a treat.

Me, too. Is anyone taking their bass as suggested for SBL and Luthier Room sessions?

Just bought a VM fretless pbass. Really like it as I have a Matt Freeman pbass and the transition between the two not hard. Very similar. A good set up some black nylon strings. Sounds great and only £340.

My Matt Freeman P Bass and VM fretless P Bass also are going nowhere.

Ashes to Ashes out. Wild is the Wind in.

John Giblin.

[quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I know what you feel about avoiding the obvious stuff. We played a Bowie convention in Derby last year and racked our brains for a setlist that covered popular stuff people would want to hear and less obvious tracks as I'm not sure how many times people would get excited to hear "Ziggy Stardust" for the 20th time in a weekend. The best reception we got was for "Dollar Days", although our sax player didn't thank us for that one as it's a tough one for him.[/font][/color][/quote] Completely agree re 'Ziggy'. There are some songs from my favourite bands/artists which have been played too much. Can't really listen to 'Hey Jude' anymore as it seems this is wheeled out whenever McCartney plays. Used to really love it. Prefer to hear'Lady Madonna' now. 'Heroes' too has become difficult and I'm a huge fan of the 'Berlin' Trilogy. 'Dollar Days'. Great choice. I wonder if anyone has tackled 'Blackstar' yet? Would really like to play 'No Plan'. Breaking (glass) news: Looks like we've just added 'Ashes to Ashes' and I don't slap...

[quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Now I have BCE (Bowie Cover Envy)...[/font][/color][/quote] I wanted to do a lot more of the less obvious ones like 'Look Back In Anger' and 'Beauty and the Beast'. Maybe even throw in a Tin Machine number...but I'm told that people want the obvious. [quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I'm in a Bowie cover band too! Using an Ibanez SR300 on the neck pickup, treble dialled up for a bit of extra clank on the attack. Going into a Behringer BDI-21 for some Ampeg colouration and a COG custom bass OD for the dirt and mid range boost. Can't say I nail the tone necessarily but it works for me.[/font][/color][/quote] Will look into this too. Cheers.

[quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]If you don't play hard with your fingers, play hard with a pick! I'd recommend using downstrokes as much as you can and really digging in: the sound Trevor Bolder is getting is mainly about hitting the bass hard, getting those strings moving and hitting the fretboard to generate the attack and growl. A P bass could replicate that sound pretty easily if you get lots of energy into the strings to make them move.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Effects wise, perhaps a bit of something to give that tube-y overdrive; I sometimes use my T-Rex Bassjuice distortion to blend in a bit of warm fuzz to try and replicate a massive tube amplifier being driven hard. Only a tiny bit, just enough to thicken up the sound. Any overdrive type pedal with a blend knob in would do it. Or perhaps a Sansamp type DI/preamp.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]It's quite a middle-y EQ as well. Lots of bassists avoid the middle part of their EQ, but for this kind of thing boosting the mids a touch helps cut through the mix a bit and get that snarl.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Some great tunes in that set! Bowie totally gets bass players and bass lines - so many of his tunes have iconic bass parts![/font][/color][/quote] Cool advice. Thanks for this. Will look into overdrive pedals. Yep - some amazing bassists. Didn't realise that most of the Lazarus baseline was laid down by Bowie for Tim Lefebvre. Good interview here - part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASNUYraqMIM

Blimey. I only went to make the tea and it's all kicking off! Yes - Mr Bolder is attacking his bass fairly hard. Great sound - but I don't play as hard. And I have Chromes on my p bass. Actually great bass line. Really interesting looking at the songs I am playing and the different bassists: [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]'Suffragette City' - Trevor Bolder - powerful and fun to play[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]'Valentine's Day' - Tony Visconti - simple yet really serves the song[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]'Lazarus' - Tim Lefebvre[/font][/color][font=sans-serif][color=#252525][b] - [/b][/color][/font][color=#252525][font=sans-serif]wow! - I am doing a basic version.[/font][/color] [color=#252525][font=sans-serif]'Dead Man Walking' - Gail Ann Dorsey - haven't really looked at this yet [/font][/color] [color=#252525][font=sans-serif]'Can't Help Thinking About Me' - VH1 Storytellers Version - [/font][/color][font=sans-serif][color=#252525]Gail Ann Dorsey - neat baseline to play[/color][/font] [color=#252525][font=sans-serif]So - getting back to post - how do I get the overdrive sound? Or - how do I get a sound near the Gibson EB3?[/font][/color]

I'm trying to get my bass to sound as near to Trevor Bolder's bass part for 'Suffragette City' for a Bowie gig later this year. Found the isolated bass part on Youtube - [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDV4dIHGwLI"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDV4dIHGwLI[/url] Sounds distorted/overdriven? I realise he is probably using a Mustang bass/pick? (I'm using a P Bass) but what would help come close to this sound? Would getting a behringer bdi21 v-tone bass driver di be an easy way to get this tone? Help!

Should really get round to changing my avatar pic...

My only bass at the moment out of choice. Sold the viola, the Rick and the Fender. Kept the Matt Freeman. Which I got as a back up!

I have come to the conclusion that after wanting another pbass there is absolutely nothing wrong and everything right with my Matt Freeman bass. It is extremely well made, lightweight but not too light and sounds good out of the box.

[quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Just place the covers over the pickups, and make sure you have enough foam underneath so that the pickup presses firmly against the cover.[/font][/color][/quote] Cheers. Have ordered the pickup covers.

[quote] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Are these sealed pups or could you take out the insides and use the original covers? I think thats one of the solutions i used, although i do remember taking a file to the pickguard at first. Ive had a look but cant see where i got my covers from, but i think I actually replaced the pcikguard as well at some point and that seemed to go on fine without any modification when i had a EMG in my CVP. [/font][/color][/quote] Not sealed but seem stuck in quite firmly. The Entwistles when they arrived yesterday had one cover off and the other cover was easy to prise away. Seemed they were glued in place. Is this what I should do - use glue - or just place the covers over the pickups? Don't really want to go down the replacing the whole pick guard route if I can help it - although did this with the Ric I used to own. [quote] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I got mine from 'guitars_electric' on eBay:[/font][/color] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pair-of-PICKUP-COVERS-in-BLACK-CREAM-or-WHITE-to-fit-Precision-P-Bass-guitar-/190980490847?var=&hash=item2c7753065f:m:mOj0wiAk5TV65_6pNY9TY3g"]http://www.ebay.co.u...5TV65_6pNY9TY3g[/url] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Some black ones for the Matt Freeman, which fitted perfectly in the pickguard, and white ones for the Mike Dirnt:[/font][/color] [/quote] Thanks for the pics and the link. I think the Amazon link I found are the same people - so result. Cheers.

So I have picked up some Entwistle pickups for my Matt Freeman p-bass and as stated earlier the pickup covers have long ears and won't fit. I need to get different pickup covers. Finding it hard to see which ones might work. Would these be ok do you think? https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KBYYYFW/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A30B8VBSCA3EJZ or has anyone got a link to where they got pickup covers that fitted?

I started playing with my thumb (not slapping), moved to fingers (but prefer using one as sound more consistent) and have moved over to pick playing which gives me more control over tone, etc. However, I will use whatever style is best for the song that is being played. It's good to hear lots of pro bass players saying that they play with thumbs (Sting), one finger (Sean Hurley?) or picks (Bobby Vega). Anything goes.

And I got it online. All the basses I tried before I bought them I sold.