skankdelvar

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='541285' date='Jul 15 2009, 01:39 PM']....Of all the bands I'm a fan of, it was because I heard their music first, not because they wear cool clothes. When I go to see them live, I don't look at what they're wearing, I couldn't care less.[/quote] You're right - in the sense that you heard their music first. Which presumes they've organised themselves to get a deal or do it themselves, so they're clearly not in the game for giggles. I'd bet the image discussion's been had at least once And, yes, you don't care what they wear, because you're there for the music and rightly so. But not everyone's the same as you - lots of audience members base their initial sampling of a band on certain image cues - hence the importance of media coverage and cover art. Even the decision not to focus too much on visual image is an 'image' decision on which audience expectations have at least some bearing. And I bet it's a conversation that's been had by any band even if it's just "What are you going to wear?"- "Well, not anything flash, the audience would think we're w*nkers". Image isn't just about cool clothes. It's about the overall stage experience - movement, audience communications, the frontman's speaking voice, lighting, intro music or not, band average age, set pacing. Clothing is an important component, though. Realistically, most bands dress for their genres - metal, indie, jazz - (I'd love to see someone at a jazz gig in full 'Lemmy' fig complete with bullet belt). So actually, everybody does it to a certain extent. Doesn't mean we have to engage a 'stylist' - but it's worth looking at the difference between pro-band promo shots and amateur stuff from the early days. There's a certain quality to the image there that helps a band stand out and it's worth thinking about, even if you ultimately reject it. I once saw a band that had a very 'thought-out' image. In order to satirise the idea of 'day jobs' and the daily grind, they all wore inexpensive suits and ties and had briefcases on stage. The subtlety eluded 99% of the audience, who blanked them as white-collar 'amateurs' who'd come straight from the office and didn't know how to dress for a gig.

I'm all in favour of working out what visual image will best support the music. But I always wriggle when someone talks about "Uniforms": [size=1]Sven the psycho guitarist at far left[/size]

Some of this depends on the audience. If it's just casual punters in a pub and you're there for 'ambience', there's an argument in favour of starting with a couple of throwaways, on the assumption that no-one's really listening that hard. OTOH, you could try going in with all guns blazing, just to wrench them out of their torpor! As you say, another view is that punters only really remember the first and last songs in any set, so that's where to put your best ones. Swings and roundabouts... Assuming your aim is to 'build excitement', you probably want to plan an upward curve in terms of speed, intensity. This doesn't mean stacking all the slow ones at the front and the fast ones at the end - more like alternating 2 of one speed with one of the other, building the overall tempo so the fastest of the fast ones is at the end of the 45. Given that your songs will probably be in different keys, you may wish to look at how the transitions from one song to another work out. Some changes will sound more pleasing or more jarring than others. Something I've tried is chopping rehearsal recordings up in Audacity so that each file has the intro and the outro of each song. You can then play around with your sequencing and see what works best for you.

Hi Bod and welcome Nice stuff on myspace - well punchy, with some tricky bits. Kudos, Sir.

Hi and welcome There's been a reasonable bit of Ampeg stuff floating around here over the last couple of months. Watch the For sale section like a hawk and you'll be rewarded!

Hi Sim Welcome to the forum Hope you find what you're looking for...

Absolutely Elixirs - I left a set on for several years of rehearsals and gigs. The extra tenner or so is worth it and I've never broken one, despite playing heavy handed with a pick. It actually saves you money...

Done it.

First off, better recording quality than I've ever got from a rhsal room demo. Right - all comments intended as constructive crit and based entirely on personal taste. Song - nice to hear a restrained tempo. Good melody. Edited and tidied, could be an epic. Good singer. Structure - I'd get the vocals in a bit earlier. Intro could be halved in length Performance - guitar and violin are often occupying the same space - high up. This leads to the occasional pitch clash when their notes are (almost) in unison. One of them needs to get out of the way of the other - suggest guitarist try re-phrasing his chords lower down. Your guitarist seems to spend a lot of time picking eighth notes - could alternate with gently sweeping his chords (maybe with tempo-set delay or trem) and playing some bars as quarter notes for emphasis. Arrangement - with a strong, slow-paced song like this I'd be looking for a more accentuated, obvious build and release. Maybe sparser sound early, building to a firm middle, then cutting back to "pin-drop" at the end? Maybe the dynamics need plotting out. Bass - You must be doing something right - I was too busy listening to the song in its totality! Just my opinion. I'd pay to watch you.

H Banana and welcome I'm sure your rig will be fine to get you going - certainly compared to the cheese-grater and blanket box that I started with in 1976. As for stuff for sale here, it's definitely better value for money than e-bay, with tons of advice and info in the various sections. Enjoy! Cheers Skank

Has anybody else realised that when you boil your strings, you're effectively cooking [i]yourself[/i]. Think where the dead skin, etc, comes from... M'mmmmm - protein!

My first thought was "Read the T-shirts. Funk band? Nah, can't be - bloke with a Les Paul. I'm muddled now" I reckon it's Blues. With a sprightly bounce to it. And a 'hubba-hubba-woo-woo-yowsa-yowsa-rrrwahhrrr-ding-dong-Well hel-lo' [s]bass player[/s] singer.

[font="Arial Narrow"]WOW!!! EXCESSIVE USE OF EXCLAMATION MARKS!!! WOW!!! CAPS LOCK STUCK!!! WOW!!! GUSHING PROSE!!! BUT DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT!!! [size=1]And then maybe I'll type a really really really really really really really really really really long unpunctuated stream of ungrammatical hyperbole that will have you glazing over and longing to take a samurai sword to your pc screaming for mercy now while I go on and on and on and on and on and on about how marvellous the product is and the only relief will be the occasional speling errror and while your mind is curling itself into a tiny shrieking ball of madness I might slip in a caveat saying that while we endeavor to ship within two years we may just decide to take your money and disappear never to be seen again maybe to mexico [/size] THATS HOW HAPPY YOU WILL BE!!! JUST MY 2C!!! IT MAY BE A GOOD BASS BUT I'D HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT BUYING FROM A CRAZY MAN POSSIBLY HOPPED UP ON BOLIVIAN TAP-DANCING POWDER!!! WOW!!![/font]

I was kinda hoping the thread title meant Tescos were knocking out basses. I buy bl**dy everything else there, so why not?

[quote name='tauzero' post='535480' date='Jul 8 2009, 10:16 AM']Bostons, which are Schaller clones .... Available from [url="http://www.dangleberrymusic.co.uk/c-52-straplocks.aspx"]Dangleberry Music[/url].[/quote] Excellent heads-up. I'll be trying a set of those.

I just start with the roots and some really easy transition passes. After that, I'm not really competent or interested enough to plan a bass line. Once I'm playing the song with a band, I just sort of turn my brain off and think about other things, like "What's for tea?" or "Are we going to get canned off?". At that point, more interesting stuff just kind of emerges by accident. Trouble is, this means I rarely play any song exactly the same way twice.

Are boutique instruments a particularly 'bass player' thing? I don't seem to be seeing quite as many people playing boutique guitars these days. (Though I wouldn't mind a Trussart T-type) Or boutique drumkits, keyboards or vocal mikes.

Got a cheap job lot about 15 years ago, and I still haven't run out

Reliced amps? Crackly pots, missing knobs, cut out, catch fire and electrocute the user. It's the way forward.

[quote name='fretlessguy' post='534271' date='Jul 6 2009, 11:07 PM']It is a great bass to play..... I think you would enjoy the bass. Kindest regards, FG[/quote] Useful info - thanks FG!

[quote name='gwizmon' post='533251' date='Jul 5 2009, 07:51 PM']1) BGM don't pay me for writing for the magazine, or for appearing on the cover or for interviews. 2) I do not speak on behalf of them, I speak for myself.[/quote] My apologies, Janek. I completely misunderstood and therefore retract unconditionally. Which pretty much invalidates the rest of my post. Happy to delete it if you like. I stand by the last bit, though. Lots of people on here value your input.

[quote name='Snakeman1066' post='532741' date='Jul 5 2009, 07:25 AM']I thought Limey was a negative term?[/quote] Welcome! On behalf of Her Majesty and the Nation, I can confirm we are not offended by the suggestion that we eat a particular citrus fruit as a prophylactic against scurvy when making long ocean voyages Just stick to the beer. Who needs food?

[quote name='gwizmon' post='533064' date='Jul 5 2009, 03:00 PM']I actually think it's pretty pointless starting any sort of meaningful discussion when it's clear to see that no matter what I write it will be shot down and ridiculed. I'm out.[/quote] Well, that's helpful. If you stick your head over the parapet on behalf of the mag that pays (some of) your wages, you should expect some criticism and be prepared to handle it. This is business, not personal. That said, the more 'personal' reponses came in response to your posts somewhat loftily refuting the entirely reasonable suggestion of broadening your mag's review base. Rather than slamming the Fodera angle, a simple "OK, we'll look at it, no promises" would have sufficed and we wouldn't have this problem now. Lots of people on this thread have also been kind enough to praise your playing skills so personal cuts both ways. Face it, this is absolutely not a good way to bow out. Now please just suck it up and start contributing again. People here value your input.

In fairness to BGM, most of the guitar mags are the same. Blinged-up PRS's and UK Luthier acoustics at £2k+, with very occasional reviews of Squiers or Epi's. I suspect that there's some ancient consumer magazine publishing formula which goes something like 'Review products should always cost 6 times more than the average reader's annual expenditure on that type of product or your circulation goes down" So we all drive Focuses, but read about Ferraris. Or live in a 2-bed flat and read about 6-bed country houses. I can understand the need to harness the 'aspirational' factor, but some balance would be nice.