bnt

Midge Ure: [i]Answers to Nothing[/i]. Not all the album is as good as the title track, but a lot of it is, and where else do I get to hear one of my favourite drummers (Mark Brzezicki) jamming with Midge and Mark King?

Basically, if you break the signal chain down in to blocks: as soon as the signal goes through a buffer to lower its impedance, it's an "active signal". Whether that buffer is inside the pickup, part of an active tone control, or a dedicated unit: if it's inside the bass, then that's what they sell as an "active bass". It is quite normal to put the signal from an active pickup through passive controls: if you buy an EMG pickup, that's what the standard wiring diagram shows, which is enough to get you going - and it sounds pretty good, I must say.

[quote name='Jase' post='286219' date='Sep 17 2008, 08:43 PM']I'll narrow it down for you....Fender [/quote] This question is a bit like asking "what car should I get?", and that answer is like saying "... Ford". For a first bass, I'd definitely second the idea of forming a relationship with a local music shop, because they can give you advice on strings & accessories, and (if it's a good shop) help with setup. It doesn't have to be expensive - these days, all but the cheapest basses are generally decent - but a poorly set-up bass can be a real enthusiasm-killer, like trying to learn to drive in a Beetle with a dodgy clutch.

I'm thinking in the same direction as JimBob: sounds like induced him in the strings getting in to the signal through the earthed bridge, which you don't need.

[url="http://www.crystalair.com/content.php?id=1B200809008"]Link[/url] [quote]"If you don't include the second guitar, who's going to go out and buy it just to play bass?" asked Tony Levin of the progressive rock band King Crimson. "Hell, I remember back in the '80s I had a bloody time getting Robert [Fripp] to shell out for my actual bass. But I finally convinced him that Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part III) would make no musical sense without one. "We were such pretentious assholes," he added.[/quote] Oh dear...

On top of all that Freaked Out animation, the sight of Adrian Belew in a [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Army_Corps"]WAC[/url] uniform - complete with skirt and stockings - is another memorable moment... :wub:

Good news for the Gilbert-heads: he's touring Europe in November: details [url="http://www.paulgilbert.com/Tour2008.html"]here[/url]. I can't see who's in his band for this tour, but he's recently toured and recorded with Mike Szuter on bass. A new name to me... because also a guitarist (and singer), with a band called Magna-Fi. PS: PG seems to actually like bassists, and has a quiz about them on his website, [url="http://www.paulgilbert.com/Bassists.html"]here[/url]. Pretty easy, except for the 80s hair metal, where I'm a bit under-educated.

I thought it was both: Fairlight-sequenced samples during the choruses, real bass during the bridges. There are two different sounds there.

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' post='282091' date='Sep 11 2008, 07:23 PM']Is there much you can do on as Stick that you can't do on an extended range bass?[/quote] The two aren't really comparable, since the Stick is designed from the ground up for two-handed playing: split in two halves, extremely low action. I know there are some insane ERBs out there, so I'm not going to say anything about range, but the Stick does have plenty. I know there are bassists (Tony Levin etc.) who have taken it up and concentrated on the bass side , but it also appeals to melodic players, who might otherwise be playing piano - another instrument where the two hands are treated separately. That's the "standard" Stick - but there's also an 8-string bass model. Then there's this thing, which works as a "normal" ERB too, playable in the usual way: the [url="http://stick.com/instruments/ns"]NS Stick[/url]. I want one, but I've learned to resist GAS.

Warmoth do a [url="http://www.warmoth.com/bass/bodies/deluxe5.cfm?fuseaction=include_deluxe5_j"]Deluxe J 5[/url] type, and the price seems to be comparable (at current exchange rate before shipping). They have different routing options too.

[quote name='Bass_In_Yer_Face' post='280306' date='Sep 9 2008, 12:49 PM']Saw a guy at Canary Wharf underground station busking with one a few weeks back and it wasn't Tony Levin or Nick Beggs [/quote] It wasn't [url="http://www.johnmartyn.com/?location=/web/Lampi"]Jim Lampi[/url], was it? He used to play on the doorstep of Rose Morris in Denmark St, and has a few albums out. He hasn't done much busking for years, though, since he's been backing John Martyn.

The bass pedals only really become necessary if you're going to be doing something else with your hands at the same time. If your hands will be free, a keyboard will do the job, and basic keyboard bass is not hard with a little practice. I've seen e.g. Tina Weymouth and Tony Levin doing that, and I have a small "virtual analog" synth that will work, though I haven't had to use it in earnest yet.

Weird one... [i]I Would Have Waited Forever[/i], from the Yes [i]Union[/i] album. I listened to the album the other day, and can't get this one out of my head. The bassist is Tony Levin not quite managing to sound like Chris Squire. I'm tempted to dig out my Funk Fingers to see how they sound. The album as a whole has some very catchy bits on it, but sounds like it was produced by Dr. Frankenstein. :ph34r:

Looking for info, I found an interview with him on the Wham days. He hasn't talked gear so far, but I can see that he likes Status Graphite these days... He just casually mentioned that he did Elton John's [i]Nikita[/i] - top flight fretless work on that one. edit: he talks gear at about 10 minutes in, showing off the LEDs... first time I've seen a Status with a pickup cover. 8)

By "less wood", might it be something to do with the way EMGs are highly non-microphonic, not so much to do with active/passive? I mean, Les Claypool has EMGs in his Carl Thompsons, and I think I hear plenty of wood there. Apart from that I agree with the idea of mixing in a P-type - that's what I have in one bass (35P & 35J).

I played a headless bass on stage in South Africa - that was my gimmick. People were, like "whoa..!" I only ever saw one other player with one, and he was a pro with a white Steinberger M-series.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='276738' date='Sep 4 2008, 09:38 AM']Awesome, where do I earth the bridge to?[/quote] If that was my bass, I would first hear how it sounds without that wire - but if you have to, just wire it to the sleeve of the jack.

Michael Brook and Daniel Lanois among my favourite producers, though they're guitarists. Larry Klein and Bill Laswell are other bassists/producers to know. Not forgetting, of course, Brian Wilson.

The Fame Bureau has a [url="http://www.famebureau.com/"]website[/url]: I took a look at the terms and conditions. Note that they have separate Buyers and Sellers Premiums (commissions). Say the "hammer price" is £10,000: they take 15% (£1,500) off what they return to the seller (who gets £8,500). Then they ask the Buyer for 15% (£1,500), so they make 30% (£3,000) on the deal. They want 5% more for eBay bids. Crafty... but then the eBay auction says (in small print): "The Buyer's premium is a service fee normally charged in live auctions. Winning buyers must pay an additional amount to the seller based on their bids." Does that mean that seller wants to claw back the Seller's Commissionn from the Buyer too? They have a whole [url="http://www.liveauctions.ebay.com/catalogs/26082"]catalog[/url] of stuff for sale. The eBay auction gives another address: 11 Chance Street London E2 7JB. When I looked them up, it appears this is the Idea Generation Gallery, the location for the Hendrix guitar auction that's been in the news today - more [url="http://www.safeconcerts.com/newsitem.asp?nurn=1759"]here[/url]. There will be a live auction at that address tomorrow (Thursday) 5PM.

[quote name='BassManKev' post='276212' date='Sep 3 2008, 01:02 PM']if your mp3 player isn't wma compatible, then thatl be the problem. anything windows media player syncs to a mp3 player is converted to wma first[/quote] Only if you leave it on default settings - I was describing how to fix that.

- stereo jacks get used in guitars for two reasons: to carry two separate signals (rarely), or to turn on the power to active electronics (much more common). If neither of those apply to you, then a mono jack is fine. If you have only a stereo jack to hand, wire up the tip and sleeve only, skip the ring (middle) contact. - you need only the controls that do the functions you're going to use - so if you use a volume pedal, and change tone through effects, then you could do without any in-bass controls at all. Sod's Law still applies, however...

Me'Shell did a concert for [url="http://www.worldcafelive.com/"]World Cafe Live[/url] back in January, and it's online via NPR in the USA (i.e. legally): [url="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17992251"]here[/url].

Could Windows Media Player be converting the files to Windows Media Audio? Check: - with the player connected, right-click on it in the left-hand column, and select Advanced Options - On the "Quality" tab, the "Convert music..." option should be unchecked. I never understood why they did that. Converting files from one lossy format to another lossy format is stupid - can never improve the sound, and causes the sync process to take much longer. It's very rare to find a MP3 file that any decent player can't handle by now. --- PS: I've found it's easier to use Playlists to manage the tracks on a player, especially when it comes to removing tracks: - create a playlist with a suitable name e.g Basslines - put a track or two in the playlist, by drag and drop, or right-click -> add to playlist - sync that playlist to the player: with the player connected, right-click on it in the left-hand column, and select Set Up Sync. Add the new playlist to the player, and remove any of those auto-generated playlists you don't want. Check "Sync this device automatically". After that, you can manage the playlist at any time, even when the player is not connected. Add tracks as above, and to remove them, go to the playlist, select the tracks, right-click and say "Remove from Playlist" (not Delete).

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='275012' date='Sep 1 2008, 10:17 PM']Oh wait... I found the sound files in audacity....[/quote] Ah, Audacity: have a look [url="http://www.audacityteam.org/manual/index.php?title=FAQ#Audacity_crashed.21_Can_I_recover_any_unsaved_data.3F"]here[/url], Audacity has a crash recovery program that might help in these cases.

[quote name='Wil' post='274536' date='Sep 1 2008, 02:09 PM']Once saw a left handed bassist who played a right handed bass, flipped over left handed, but strung normally (IE not flipped to compensate). No idea why, his technique was as a result very bizarre. Quite a good player though.[/quote] Might have been Jimmy Haslip of the Yellowjackets. Though he's used a proper leftie bass for years now, he still strings upside-down. I believe guitarist Robert Fripp is another example of a leftie who plays right-handed.