ednaplate

Excellent stuff and very well explained. Cheers.

Ironically, or perhaps as a result of tediously inputting the tab into GP for a few tunes, my sight reading is slowly improving. Rhythm reading in tab or in proper music format has never been a problem but the brain has to work harder at where dots and lines go on a neck. For example the Home Cookin' tab is in Ab as it has four flats so I know that a note on the d line on the staff is a Db and played on the A sting 4th fret and so on. It isn't instinctive but some of it is slowly sinking in. I have also noticed that many Motown/Jamerson pieces are played in these awkward keys ie anything other than plain old G and A that so many popular songs are written in. I can now shortlist my favourite bassists as Andy Rourke, James Jamerson and Geddy Lee so that's pretty much most bases covered. Bad pun intended.

Thanks for the advice. It is the tab from the Jamerson book that I'm slowly working through (every bassist should have this book). I'm putting the tab into Guitar Pro as my reading skills are terrible. I'm also using a Tascam MP-BT1 Phrase trainer which is an invaluable piece of kit. I can enter the relevant bars in 6/4 time but the way GP interprets it makes it hard to read.

This is a great store and one of the very few I have any faith in. I bought a Pedaltrain from them some time ago and have been very satisfied. The only downside, if there is one with this store, is that the bass selection is a little limited. They do have some decent second hand stuff as well as some some MarkBass equipment which I've never seen anywhere else. The staff are always helpful and polite and you do get the impression it's an independent family firm so custom is important. If you like acoustic guitars, which I do then upstairs is acoustic guitar heaven with some models from custom builders. I'm not on their payroll but it makes a refreshing change from the indifferent service you get at the likes of Sound Control.

Cheers. Much obliged to you sir.

I'm currently working on Jr Walker's Home Cookin' bassline and the majority of the tune is in regular 4/4 time. There is a passage before the 2nd verse that is in 6/4 time and my query is this; is one bar of 6/4 the same as one bar of 4/4 and one bar of 2/4? This may seem obvious but I just want to clarify it with you theory bods out there. Wishing you all a Basstastic New Year.

If I can add my tuppence worth I would also recommend Ged Green. Very friendly chap. I just turned up with my bass and was shown into his workshop while he gave it the once over and didn't charge me anything. While he was doing that he let me have a go on a custom built acoustic (sorry but I do dabble in six string heaven too) that he'd just finished building. Simply stunning build quality with an action and feel to die for. I could have spent the whole day in there. He made no money out of me but I will definitely keep him as my 'personal guitar tech'

...and another greeting from a fellow Manc.

There is a US based seller on ebay called reliablefender with a shop called The Stratosphere. It's mainly broken down Strats and Teles but there are often many bass bits and pieces on there. You have to check every few days. I've bought a few bits from him and it's all legit Fender stuff

I got one from B&Q recently for about £14-15. Very useful for keeping your bits in one place (!)

Nice collection of Wals by the way. How did you get to meet them? Was it a meet and greet competition they ran on their website or was it that you'd travelled such a long way from Scottsdale? (I was in Gilbert in January - love it over there). The Manchester show was stunning and by all accounts the best UK show. I've got about the first 20 minutes filmed which I'll stick on Youtube any day now.

Just read a review of the Manchester gig. Not positive at all. It's a pity as Mr Z is a real talent however Mr Ronson was described as swearing too much and looking like a public schoolboy trying to be all chav. There were only a couple of vocalists so he couldn't really recreate the Version album. Bit disappointing as I do like the album. Anyway that same night Rush were in town and... nuff said!

I know Geddy thanked Eucon for their hospitality at the end of the show last night so maybe he was there after all... or maybe not. It's interesting that you mentioned Terry Brown as he is my mate's godfather (he's originally from Toronto) and gets regular emails from him so I'll check it out later when I see him.

It certainly was an amazing gig. As a live band nobody can come close to touching them. The sound was crystal clear from where I was in the seated area on the Geddy side. There were none of the sound problems others have experienced on previous gigs. My only gripe was the cabling from the light rigs partially blocking my view of Neil Peart so I had to watch his magic on the screens on stage. There was a lot of humour on stage between the three of them who tried to out gurn each other at the end of each song. I managed to film about half an hour of the gig including the first five songs altogether. Should be on Youtube soon. Incidentally my wife got chatting to someone she used to work with at the gig who had been to the Rush Convention meeting in Manchester earlier that day, and guess who was guest speaker... Geddy himself. I bet that surprised a few. ...And to see Geddy in kilt and ginger wig making a date with a bucket of chicken... I guess you had to be there.

I'm on the Show Of Hands DVD too for a nanosecond during the second chorus of Turn The Page. Never even noticed the cameras at the time I was that engrossed... and it's nearly 20 years ago!!!! Going to see them tonight in Manchester. Can't wait.

He's also reforming Monaco for a series of gigs. I know this for a fact as the singer's parents are neighbours of mine. Not sure if this will be a permanent reunion but they are doing a charity bash at The Ritz (I think) in Manchester at the end of the month.

Off to see them in Manchester on the 14th. Can't wait. For me this band can do no wrong and it's the second time they've been here in 3 years which is incredible.

Do you have powertab? If so I can send you a spot on version of the tab (it good good reviews last time I made it available). If you haven't got it I can send it as a pdf file

I think we've all established that. I was just reminiscing as he did quite a bit of work for me too in the past.

[quote name='punksoul257' post='57739' date='Sep 9 2007, 02:40 PM']Rush - YYZ Not an intermediate song, but what a bassline. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iONLKn5VHY4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iONLKn5VHY4[/url][/quote] I was at that gig. Birmingham NEC late 80s. I managed to spot me and the girl I was seeing at the time in a crowd shot during the second chorus of Turn The Page. This nearly 20 years ago. Bloody hell I'm getting old

I'm sure remember Adey from the mid 80s when you used to go into A1 from the corner entrance on Oxford Rd. You'd have to step over the amps to get to the stairs. They used to have loads of old Squier Strats in a glass case that could only be used with permission. I've seen all the changes A1/SC has gone through over 20-25 years. Some of the staff are just plain obnoxious which is why Sounds Great in Heald Green now gets my business.

I can definitely recommend Sounds Great in Heald Green. Very nice friendly staff. Sound Control has more gear but less friendly staff. If you're on Oxford Rd then there is Johnny Roadhouse, another Sound Control and another shop more or less opposite the BBC (I can't remember the name). Forsyths is a little dull although great if you're a pianist. A little further out is Harker & Howarth in Bolton who are always up for a bit of negotiating if you see something you like.

Welcome back Gonzobass! I remember you from the BW forum and thought you'd been lost forever with the change to Basschat. Hawaii vs the UK. Where would most BCers prefer to be right now?

I purchased one of these very same basses from MB1 a regular contributer on here. It was originally a backup bass tuned to Eb but I found the tone completely addictive (it reminds me of a Geddy Lee type growl on certain bass runs) that it is played just as often as my 92 Warwick Streamer. Build quality is every bit as good as the Warwick and anybody buying one would not be disappointed. They are probably the only brand that I would buy blind ie. from an onlne retailer without playing it first as the quality control is first class and puts other better known brands (did I hear Fender?) to shame.

Love the literal translation. It looks like it could be quite a good site with some pretty decent photos.