Doctor J

I've got a Streamer Stage 1 and a Streamer JM, they are very different beasts. I like the Streamer shape a lot, it's exceedingly comfortable, even if some of the contours aren't to everyone's tastes. As mentioned already, the only difference between the FNA and Streamer JM is the body shape. Both are bolt-on with the same electronics.

Misery loves company, they say, though I won't say I'm happy but, rather, find solace to be among those who have spluttered into action this month. I've got little done, just haven't had the focus so far... dunno, just can't seem to get my arse in gear for whatever reason. I have a couple of days off work, though, and I'll try to get this song down. The ideas are there, just getting them recorded so they sound similar in the real world is proving troublesome.

Melon Collie and the Finite Sadness Tonight, Tonight Zero Bullet With Butterfly Wings An Ode To No One Love Galapogos Muzzle Where Boys Fear To Tread Bodies Thirty-Three 1979 Thru The Eyes Of Ruby X.Y.U. Farewell And Goodnight

Had something of a productive weekend, building a pair of gigging strats. Decided to strip back to just what I need, so one pickup, one volume, no faffing around. Necks are Warmoth - one with quartersawn maple and ebony fretboard, the other is maple with a rosewood fretboard - bodies are poplar from GFS. Gotoh hardware on both. Seymour Duncan JB in the yellow one, DiMarzio Fred in the green one, both tuned down to A

Free for all, do what you want

Following on from Dad's Blog idea - documenting your songwriting process - in the voting thread, here's what I'm working on. For those who don't want to know, don't read the bleedin' spoiler [spoiler]Looking at the pic, it almost looks like yer man is controlling the tornado Magneto-style, with his outstretched arms. For all you Metal fans, you'll know Manowar had a ballad called "Master Of The Wind" on their fantastic [i]Triumph Of Steel[/i] album - and if you don't, leave the hall. Well, I'm probably going to borrow that title, but I'm hearing a slinky funk kind of thing in my head which I've been mentally bouncing around on the drives to and from work for the last couple of days. I've got a couple of interacting guitar riffs in mind, very stripped down, which I'll work into verses. I see it getting bigger in the choruses with some envelope filter shenanigans. I've got the first couple of lines of the chorus vocal in my head too, unfortunately they're falsetto. I can't sing anyway but I'm really not sure I can get anything listenable in a falsetto style but, sure, I'll give it a go. As mentioned, Nile Rodgers vs Prince in a fist fight, think Prince's "Kiss" vocals with some Nile type guitar stuff, some Bootsy bass and you'll get where I think I'm heading with this. I want to really have something, lyrically, which ties into the picture, so given the dude controlling the wind but this kind of stripped down funk I'm aiming for, he isn't going to be a bad guy bent on destruction, he just wants to impress his lady friend, so this is going to be more of a forces-of-nature-manipulating chat-up line. Honestly, that's what I see in the picture I always have to hear something in my head first and then work it out with real instruments, I'm useless at just plucking stuff out on a guitar or bass. Tonight, I'll try to work out the guitar riffs and general chord movements and build up the song structure in ProTools. I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going to go with the drums too, so I'll try to map that out. If I can get that done tonight I'll be a happy Doctor J. End communication.[/spoiler]

I'm getting Nile Rodgers vs Prince in a mid-80's bare knuckle barfight.

It's the waiting that gets ya

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/202271-click-here-to-sell-your-bass/

Congratulations, Skol, beat some serious competition there.

Sadly, a lot of people seem hellbent on getting an old bass, rather than a great bass, so it's not surprising that any old piece of crap will command what is, in the cold light of day, an absurd amount of money for a mass produced instrument. It's to your credit that you don't seem blinded by vintage fever and are holding out for a properly good instrument. I despair when I think of mates who have sold fantastic contemporary instruments to raise the money for something old and then show up with something no better in quality, tone or playability than a low to mid import instrument and then ask "what do you think?". They know this bass will sell at or near that price, sooner or later, so they don't need to take care of the customer. This is the age we live in, demand outweighs supply and old sells.

No regrets. There has always been a good reason to sell. It's easy to have rose-coloured glasses looking back at gear, particularly the longer it has been since you sold it, but things always get moved on for a reason.

Is a CBS, Fender Japan or FMIC really a [i]Fender[/i]? It depends what importance you put on the brand name versus the importance you put on what made the brand name. For me, Fender stopped when the company was sold to CBS. The innovation slowed and, eventually, ground to a halt and now it's like a band with no original members playing their versions of the hits. It's a tribute band trading under the real name, rehashing the same old thing in varying degrees of accuracy and little to no genuine connection to how the original real deals were made. The spirit, the ethos which made that name so great carried on through Musicman and G&L. To me, their early instruments are more authentically Fender in spirit than something carrying the old logo made in Korea under a FMIC licence. There's more to being authentic than buying the copyright to some timeless designs So, to answer the question, once the hitmakers moved on, [i]everything[/i] after became a copy. Some copies were at least as good as the originals and, for a time, the Asian copies were substantially better than those carrying the name and made in the U S of A. That's when it became open season and the instruments adhering to the design became Precisions and Jazzes, rather that what the logo on the headstock said

In a room of cool people, Eddie would still exude more cool than most.

Good advice above. I would add to say take some of the low end out of the bass drum, it's really sucking up a lot of space, a real speaker grinder. Some mid on the bass would help it come to the fore a little - the bass drum and bass guitar are really fighting over the same sonic space. I think the guitar could use more high end, maybe take out some mid range, make it a little slinky and move it away from the bass and bass drum and fill that space towards the vocals, it sounds very middle-heavy. Adding high end might get it into the same space as the vocals too, which might help tie the voice and instruments together more. I would look at applying some reverb to everything in varying degrees, it's very dry, getting the cymbals, snare, guitar and vocals through the same reverb space should get it sounding more like one composite piece. Record the guitar with less amp reverb, apply it afterwards in the mix. Just to add, it sounds good, don't get me wrong, but it sounds like everything was EQ'd in in isolation, rather than in the context of the other instruments it shares the mix with. Sometimes something which sounds awful solo'd really works in the context of the mix.

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1456654808' post='2991001'] My thoughts would be that I wouldn't want to read anybody elses inspiration and ideas before I had been having a good go at my own , the likes of Douglas have a completed product before I have got my idea together , and I wouldn't want to be have any of my thoughts coloured IYSWIM . that sounds terribly precious but its not meant to be [/quote] I'd agree with this, precious as it is I like this idea, but maybe it's something to submit once the deadline has passed or keep it in a separate thread from the general challenge thread?

Always enjoy reading these every month. Thanks Douglas.

Aside from the eclectic mix of compositions drawn from the same source, which is impressive enough, there is some really tasty bass playing in a few of them too, which is always nice Well done, all, I raise this cup of tea in your honour

I wasn't sure I was going to make the deadline, but I'm in, just. Another journey through the rock thing, starting with a beautiful sunny day and ending in a wall of fuzz as our protagonist goads them-self into being less conservative and trying new and possibly dangerous things. https://soundcloud.com/doctor_j_bass/the-first-time-you-jump

Great band. The first album was great but the second was utterly superb, best listened to as a complete piece, comfortably one of the most adventurous and accomplished from that era. Shame it died, commercially, though. The last one I heard from them was Strangefolk, with great basslines as usual. If there's something new out, I will seek it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEnziTHv7so

I don't play slappa-da-bippa-boink-boink. In fact, I run a sanctuary where abused basses can spend the rest of their lives peacefully, without the threat of shameful thumb abuse hanging over them. They're kept clean and well set-up with good, fresh strings and get played frequently in a non-violent way. Society frowns on slapping children or pets, yet slapping a bass is still flagrantly popular, especially on youtube. It's enough to bring a tear to your eye. You're welcome to donate to Thumbs Down. I'm determined to make a better life for [i]every[/i] bass.

Have the strength of character not to be a brand slave. Basses look fine without logos, [Img]https://docjgear.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/king_1.jpg" class="ipsImage" />

That's one louder. You may be the most metal out of all of us.

I saw a band live called the Jubilee Allstars and really enjoyed them. I picked up their album the next day and it was utter sh*te, every song starting the same way and no energy or soul at all. It really was the same band so I'm guessing I caught them on an off night when they were actually useful.

Your Result 10/10 You're a steel panther, a manowar and a battle beast. All of your sabbaths are black and your killswitch is fully engaged. You were about to rock, now we salute you! I did guess the Slipknot one though