Nicko

IMHO the sound of a bass comes from many things, but chiefly the reverberation of the string acting on the pickup. A heavy bass may transfer more vibration to the string but its unlikely to be as big a factor as the nut, the neck joint, the bridge and to a certain extent the pickup. Although when the wood reverberates it will produce a sound acousticlly I'm not convinced this is ever transferred through the pickup to the amplified sound on a solid body, but it will impact the way the pickup registers the reative movement of the string. 6 string players are a litte precious about what wood is used to make the guitar, but I don't see that as much with bassplayers, hence the relative success of Steinberger and Status composite basses. Percieved wisdom is Basswood - warmth from light wood Alder - full bodied tone from medium light wood Swamp ash - bright sound with longer sustain from heavier wood Mahogany - warm and mellow with good sustain from a relatively heavy wood. I also recalll seeing an article on Wasburn tonewood series guitars (mid 90s) where the range included several woods, and the review basically said the differences were minimal, but those that could be detected flew in the face of this wisdom. The big question is whether its weight or grain structure that produces the differences. Or I could be talking complete tosh.

A mate of mine records a lot of orchestral music. He swears by ribbon mics for this type of work, but they don't come cheap.

The ability to program a drum machine.

I have actually managed to join a couple of decent bands through JMB, although its probably easier in London. Its a bit frustrating when all the ads specify age 20-25, or when the band have ambitions even though they have no songs/talent. Patience is the key, although given your age.......

Assuming this is Kingston Jamaica, not Kingston, Surrey I'm surprised that the average Kingstonion was under represented or marginalised.

Nick Oliveri (QOTSA) - No One Knows. James Johnson (Biffy Clyro) does some interesting chuggy stuff Mike Dirnt (Green Day) has some killer lines. Mark Stoermer (The Killers) is worth checking out

I assume this is intended to inhibit cultural appropriation, but to be honest without cultural appropriation we wouldn't have much in the way of modern music, and reggae itself is derived from ska. Reggae is pretty broad definition anyway - not much in common between Jimmy Cliff and Sly and Robbie in their dub phase.

Depends on the band. Some are still playing the old "classic pub rock" Alright Now, Freebird, - dare I say Brown Eyed Girl. A lot of band these days are covering 90s type indie Some Might Say, Dakota, Chelsea Dagger and erm Sex on effing Fire. If youy are depping for pub gigs I guess the setlist will be very different from a wedding band. I've PM'd you with a typical setlist from my last band.

I had the same on my Roberts kitchen radio. I'm fully culpable as I cleaned it with Dettol multi surface cleaner and its attacked the plastic.

Nah, I just used him as an example, could have said Johnny Depp or Jared Leto as other examples, although I'm not sure how good Depp is, I must say I'm partial to a bit of 30 Seconds to Mars. I think it proves the point though.

I don't get this Pro/Semi Pro/Amateur musician distinction. How you earn your income has nothing to do with your muscicianship. I wouldn't normally call a record producer a musician, but Nile Rodgers doesn't become a lesser musician when he's producing records does he?

Mine is quite eclectic. I've got around 2500 songs on my walkman and generally it's on shuffle. It ranges from early blues, 70s rock, to 80s electronica, 90s grunge and modern indie, with some pop and R&B chucked in for good measure. Last 10 tracks: Child in Time - Deep Purple, Cabron - RHCP, Wrong Number - The Cure, Girls Got Rhythm - AC/DC, Ironic - Alanis Morissette, Why Do You Love Me - Garbage, Dream Lover - The Vaccines, Chasing Cars - Natasha Bedingfield, Tomorrow - Avril Lavigne, What You Gonna Do - Plan B. I don't like jazz or country, and tend not to listen to classical on the move - haven't actually been to the Opera for a couple of years. The 80/20 rule is alive and well as I suspect 80% of the songs are rock. I change out tracks on the player every year or so.

I agree, It's the same as art - I can appreciate the artistic inventiveness of Jackson Pollock's paintings, but there is a reason for rhyming slang.

I play for fun. The mention of 60s and 70s rock on 1, 2 or 4 would put me off and and suspect I'm too old for 3. Its probbaly why I've not been in a band for a while.

Thats the thing though, being capable of holding a steering wheel and pressing the accelerator pedal does not necessarily make ou a driver. Being able to pick up a guitar and make it play a note does not make you a musician. IMO you are a musician if you fulfil some basic competencies. The competencies differ depending n your chosen instrument, but in general for bass You must be able to play rhythmically with a drummer. For simple songs you can listen to a song and play something that sounds the same, ie get the right notes, in the right order, at the right time without someone showing you how to play this. Given a chord progression and a drum beat you can make up a bass line of some sort that fits both, even t its all roots. Being capable of more than tis makes you a better musician. Knowing the names of notes on a fretboard is an helpful, but only to communicate with other musicians..

Someone I know bought a bass in the UK and shipped it out when he was living overseas and claimed the VAT back. His overseas stay was cut short and he brought it back a few months later. No one stopped him at the airport, 20% saving. The same fella also bought a new bass in the States and wasn't challenged when he brought it into the UK despite the case looking like it had just left the factory. Beware planning a purchase in the states though - sales taxes are generally in addition to advertised prices and may make the purchase seem less attractive, especially if you import offiially and pay duty. In addition many manufacturers warranties wont apply if you export the bass yourself - ie you can't register a Fender bass with a serial number which they supplied for US sale on the Fender website from the UK.

To me standards conjures up smoky jazz clubs. Standard because it's usual for bands to play the same old crap while one member goes off and simultaneously plays something completely random over the top. You may have guesed I'm not a lover of jazz. Standard does not apply to Classic rock or Alt rock - Mr Brightside, Sex on fire, Paranoid, Cant Get Enough etc.... are just stuff that most people pick up if they are playing in cover bands, and to be honest its not likely you'll ever forget these if you played them once.

Personally I wouldn't know the aesthetic difference between a 60s JB and a new one. Dont't like tort either but hey ho.

It worked for AC DC.

You have my deepest sympathy. Lifes not a bed of roses.

The tee shirt was obviously prophetic.

I couldn't agree more Billy Bragg has a great way with unexpected rhymes: In the end it took me a dictionary To find out the meaning of unrequited While she was giving herself for free At a party to which I was never invited The point I was making is phrasing is more important that forcing a word to fit just because it rhymes.

Personally I think when writing lyrics I dont think rhyme is that important, and there are some awful lyrics that seem to have been written just to get a rhyme (George Ezras Shotgun, Oasis' She's Electric), whereas its perfectly OK to have prcatically no Rhyme except repeated phrases: Elbow's Grounds for Divorce Mondays is for drinking to the seldom seen kid I've been working on a cocktail called "Grounds For Divorce", whoa Polishing a compass that I hold in my sleep, whoa Doubt comes in on sticks, but then he kicks like a horse, whoa There's a Chinese cigarette case and the rest you can keep And the rest you can keep And the rest you can keep There's a hole in my neighbourhood Down which of late I cannot help but fall There's a hole in my neighbourhood Down which of late I cannot help but fall Mondays is for drinking to the seldom seen kid (Ooh, ooh) There's this whispering of jokers doing "Flesh by the Pound" To a chorus of supposes from the little town whores There'll be twisted karaoke at the Aniseed Lounge And I'd bring you further roses but it does you no good And it does me no good And it does you no good There's a hole in my neighborhood Down which of late I cannot help but fall There's a hole in my neighborhood Down which of late I cannot help but fall There's a hole in my neighborhood Down which of late I cannot help but fall Someday we'll be drinking with the seldom seen kid (Ooh, ooh)

I'm not quite sure how you separate the two. Chord tones in any key are made up from the notes in the scale, hence if you know your scale you know your chord tones. Modal stuff becomes easier once you have accepted this so you work the C maj chord tones and immediately you know D Dorian tones, E Phrygian tones and so on. Its only a mattter of resolution, knowing what chords to leave out and what extensions sound better. You wont have much need for knowledge of modes in a pub covers band but its always worth knowing what you are playing and why it works. Perhaps you can start by looking at some modal rock music and see how you get on, I'd start with something like City of Delusion by Muse.

Yeah, thats my impression. Everywhere I've ever lived they have been out at between 6 and 9 in the morning which is peak commuting time. I've never seen a domestic waste collection lorry on the road after aroumnd midday.