Burns-bass

If we’re happy to stand by while artists get ripped off, why should we care when it happens to musicians?

Late stage capitalism.

Home taping is killing music! You can choose to take part in something or not. I’ve chosen the latter. I’ve not openly criticised anyone for doing so, but shared my opinion. Other opinions are available and lots of people have shared pictures of themselves, so happy days.

Absolutely. In my business we actively check all content for AI. Research is fine (and can be very helpful) and even basic tasks (like checking referencing, for example) but generating content is a complete no no. I actually did some no-code stuff with AI content generation and it’s impressive. It really could be incredible, but it’s fraught with dangers.

It’s not just images. It’s hoovering up all the content on the internet, including written content, music and images and regurgitating it. Plagiarism is, or should be, a moral outrage. We, as a society, are giving access of valuable material for free to tech companies who will then charge us to buy it back, repackaged and recontextualised. Mind you, this is the country where people will happily share their DNA with a company if they get some report that says they’re somehow related to a king etc. Anyone involved in the creative industries should hate and fear what AI is doing today - and could do in the future.

This stuff is all good fun but we’re ripping off the intellectual property of huge numbers of people doing this. ChatGPT aren’t paying to license this. Neither did they pay Studio Ghib for the manga stuff and a near limitless number of other things they’ve stolen. It’s fun and a I enjoy seeing the results, but ultimately, it’s theft, however the AI guys want to dress it up.

So many questions… Is the E rattling only on an open note or when you finger a note? What does the rattle sound like? A metallic rattle will be very different to a woody “buzz”. Everyone says the same thing that you need to work though the bass from top to bottom. Start with the tuners, nut, string action, bridge, any pickup(s), end pin and then the structure of the bass (seams, etc). Then pick it up and shake it to make sure nothing is rattling around inside. If you’re still experiencing a buzz, who knows!

Locked and loaded for next Friday.

I have never listened to a Fugazi record. Which is weird as I used to love this sort of stuff. The Beck thread has inspired me to listen to that. But what album would you recommend starting with?

Never really got Beck. Always seems too contrived and the lyrics just a continuous stream of non-sequiturs. Will reflect on this during a car journey next week and will play one of the albums and see what it’s like.

Yes this makes sense. I had a Full Circle pickup in the one I had. (which was probably yours at some point)

Interesting! I assumed the whole point of the silent bass was you could plug headphones into it. Assumed it was standard across all models. I had an SLB200 actually, but I only ever played it through an amp. I don’t doubt the SLB300 is great, but I could never justify the cost.

To answer your first question, the Yamaha Silent Basses do have a headphone socket so you can plug headphones into them. The others will require some sort of pre-amp. Or you can use an amp plug or something like the WaZa air. Do you want something you can bow or something you can play with your fingers? The Silent Basses, MK basses, Eminence bass and Kolstein are best for bowing (although none is like a double bass). If it’s playing pizzicato, then any would be ok. You’ll need to find one with a body brace that works for you. If you want to transfer what you know to DB, then choose an EUB with the appropriate scale. (A 34” scale like the Ibanez or some Wav basses is little better then electric bass practice).

100% this.

The value in an old Fender bass is its originality. They’re not prized for their weight, built quality or playability. That’s the vintage market distilled into two sentences. If you want a vintage Precision, keep the lovely one you have. If you want a durable, versatile and lightweight bass that will perform for the long term, I’d buy a modern Fender Pro series bass. If you start changing bits it’s not original and the value will lower, in some cases, significantly.

Nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

I remember that. Bad ass.