Cato

The Beastie Boys are one of the best live acts I've ever seen. I think a lot of people tend to think of them as novelty/comedy act because of Fight for Your Rights, but that song is not at all representative of what they evolved into after that first album. Ill Communication is up there with my all time favourite albums.

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1490475388' post='3265447'] How do basses get this dirty? I don't clean mine much, just the occasional once over with a duster. I rarely change the strings as I don't like them too bright. But my basses aren't in a horrible greasy state. Is it because I'm a lay-dee? [/quote] It's probable you're less sweaty than most of us mank monsters. I also suspect that pubs and venues are much cleaner than they were in the 90s when I was gigging a lot in smokey pubs and clubs. My maple board tele skinny stringer used to pick up a clearly discernable layer of grime after some gigs just because of the ambient filth in the atmosphere and the dust and fag ash in the venues combining with the sweat from my left hand. If I hadn't wiped it down after every gig it wouldn't have taken long to get a properly manky fretboard.

[quote name='fiatcoupe432' timestamp='1490471732' post='3265417'] have you heard of laila hathaway ? she can actually sing Chords. i was shocked watch all this video is incredible great impro and look out at 6.10 till 6.35 . unbelivable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SJIgTLe0hc let me know [/quote] Mind duly blown. I don't think I've ever heard anyone do that before.

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1490470226' post='3265394'] Billie Holiday for me. She had a very narrow vocal range but her delivery and feel can make me cry. I am sorry but Whitney Huston's yodeling just makes me cringe. I can admire the skill involved but you are not required to put every vocal chop you know into every song. Less really is more, sometimes one note at the end of a word will do. Apologies but I had to get that off my chest. [/quote] I dom't mind a bit of Whitney, but between her and Aretha they definitely inspired the over singing vocal acrobatics thing which ruins a lot of otherwise decent modern songs.

For me it's between Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield. Although last year I had the very great pleasure of seeing Patrice Quinn sing with Kamasi Washington and she has to be right up there with the very best, from any era. This takes a while to get going but once the vocal starts properly it's well worth the wait. http://youtu.be/KUattnTY9Rg

I think they're cetainly a lot prettier than the current range. Don't get me wrong, I recently came within an inch of buying a 1024x because despite my reservations about the aesthetics it was a wonderful thing to play. If they play as well and sound as good as their predecessors then they could be a very special range indeed. Also very much liking the maple board on the 434M. Are they still using rosewood on the dark boards? I thought companies would be moving away from that now after the latest CITES rules.

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1490370605' post='3264704'] Tell me more about these GSP Basses please?! [/quote] +1. I'm intrigued but I can't find a website.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1490303458' post='3264219'] I contend I sound the same regardless of what bass I'm playing. Blue [/quote] Fair enough.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1490296275' post='3264115'] I have and gig with several basses. 2 are MIJ Fender Ps. I sound the same on both. Blue [/quote] Aren't yours the 50s stlye ones with the non-split pickup though? Do they sound the same as a split pickup P?

Cheers mate. Looks like one of the fatalities was a US citizen, so my thoughts are with you too.

There's a couple on early ac/dc albums, but this is probably the stand out. http://youtu.be/_W-fIn2QZgg

I've always though this BC Rich 8 string has quite an elegant solution for the Octave strings, which could possibly translate into a headed headless bass. The bass, note tuners at bottom of body. https://goo.gl/images/cW3GFw The headstock string holder thingy. https://goo.gl/images/71pq3h

While he didn't invent the electric guitar solo, he's certainly the guy who brought it to the masses. Everyone who's ever played in a guitar band, from whatever genre, should be doffing their cap today.

Sandwich before, curry after.

I generally aim for something like this. http://youtu.be/MVTkbCCl3-I As someone who started out with mainly metal, then indie influences, Stuart Zender's work with Jamiroquai really made rethink the instrument and how it could be played. I still think he has one of the best tones ever.

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1489702331' post='3259157'] Is this the clip that you saw? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRusbYIyRNI [/quote] I'm going to be careful here, because that technique obviously works superbly well for her, but personally I'd try to keep the thumb parallel with the strings, rather than pointing downwards. If I tried to copy that technique I'd be hitting strings I don't want to hit with the upper part of my thumb.

http://youtu.be/tGilCW0_Jf0 I can't recommend this series of tutorials strongly enough. The most important slap lesson, which comes later in the series concerns muted percussive strikes (ghost notes). Slap bass is all about the ghost notes.

How are you balancing the pickups on the SR300? For a 'classic' slap tone I'd probably start with both pickups on full, if you decide you need more bass roll off the bridge pickup slightly, if you want more treble roll off the neck pickup. Might be worth turning down the mids a tad at the amp, whilst boosting the bass and treble, if that's an option for you.

The only thing that's a deal beaker when it comes to whether you can slap on a bass is pickup placement. If there is a pickup right up against the end of the fretboard or very close to it as you get with some basses, then it's probably going to obstruct your popping technique. Other than that the world is your mollusc The Yamaha is a brilliant all round bass, I came within a whisker if buying a 1024x a couple of months ago.

Quite often, especially on budget basses, sunburst an natural finishes are more expensive because they use nicer looking bits of wood,whereas with a solid finish they don't need nicely grained wood. Why in this case the white is more expensive than the sunburst I have no idea, unless the wood top is a veneer or even photoflame and the white paint is expensive.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1489519319' post='3257646'] I've obviously uninterested Johnny's guitar playing abilities great clip though [/quote] Probably not. There was quite a lot of lead work on their later stuff,mostly short little twiddly bits on intros etc. which were apparently nearly all played by producer Daniel del Rey. Johnny certainly didn't play those parts live on the one occasion I was privileged enough to see them.

Bit of a rarity. http://youtu.be/H18AMREUUnk Definitely inspired by classic rock n roll.

It might work in the the US, but internationally? There's plenty of countries that don't really recognise international copyright or intellectual property rights.

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1489351213' post='3256302'] [b]The Pilot[/b], Bowerhill, Melksham SN12 6TA. Avoid like the plague. My band played there last night, not the first time but certainly the last. I'm out of action bass-wise at the moment but went along to provide BVs (and moral support for my dep, who did a superb job). We played the usual 2x45mins, as on the other occasions we've played there, playing to a virtually empty pub apart from a couple of scuzzy pissheads and a group of cackling superannuated chavettes. Every song met with total indifference. Started packing up and the landlady (I use the term 'lady' in its loosest possible sense) threw a total wobbler. She said that we were supposed to be playing till midnight and said that if we didn't do so, she would not pay us a bean. So we set up again and carried on playing till witching hour. When our drummer went to see about cash after we'd cleared up, she tore into him again. She said that we had agreed to play from 9:30 to 12:00 with a ½ hour break (utter bollocks #1). She claimed that we had played that long last time we were there (utter bollocks #2) and that was their normal terms (not when we've played there before, it wasn't). She then said that even our first set was only 35 minutes (utter bollocks #3), and she was not prepared to pay us the full amount, and shorted us by 50 quid. She also cancelled our future bookings, which is fine because after that lot we'd have done it anyway. And to put the old tin lid on it, as our drummer was leaving some arsehole in the other bar piped up and told him to “f*** off out the pub”. So there you go. The Pilot in Melksham. The ideal place to play if you like being ignored by chavs and abused by bolshy jumped-up barmaids & pissed-up wifebeaters. Personally, I hope the f***ing place burns to the ground. [/quote] Sounds like a 'character building' experience.

Definitely Ritter. Some of his stuff wouldn't look out of place in an art gallery and I can imagine a time when even non bassists may wish to collect his work, purely in the context of its aesthetic appeal.