bnt

If you view that seller's other items, there's more Cheapness than a man can stomach. Anyone for an acoustic bass with soundhole pickup? On the other hand, that thru-neck bass also comes in [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/6-STRING-THRU-NECK-BASS-SOLID-MAHOGANY-WILKINSON-PU-S_W0QQitemZ160230498212QQihZ006QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]6-string[/url] for £20 more.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='177157' date='Apr 15 2008, 04:38 PM']There was a comedian I heard once who was taking the piss out of duran duran because their basslines were all the same. Was it Richard Vranch? He was funnier than Guy Pratt anyway.[/quote] I'm pretty sure it was Guy, he did that when I saw him live. It was a bit harsh, I thought - it could be classified as part of JT's style, and I easily point to songs like [i]New Religion[/i] or [i]Ordinary World[/i] as counter-examples.

Since I mentioned Tina Weymouth in the "Babes" thread, I've been trying various Talking Heads bits, including [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MA3ZE3mb7DU"]And She Was[/url] and [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4NXkM8PsPXs"]Wild Wild Life[/url], but try [i]Heaven[/i] for starters: Dig those 80s threads! Also, since I last looked at XTC's [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5Da9sc6YDBo"]Mayor of Simpleton[/url], someone's posted a video of the bassline, which looks spot-on to me: [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vVcFsdPD8kw"]here[/url].

[quote name='phatmonkey' post='175838' date='Apr 13 2008, 08:23 PM']Good idea, i'll stop people uploading BMPs.[/quote] If you do that, I also recommend blocking TIFF (or TIF), the uncompressed format used by Macs.

[quote name='tauzero' post='173768' date='Apr 10 2008, 11:04 AM']It still takes time to download. And one point is that if you take the photo, load it into something like Irfanview and then save it again, at exactly the same resolution, it will be considerably smaller.[/quote] Is that because it's a BMP or other uncompressed format, instead of a JPEG? Or do you mean a JPEG quality thing? Not many people know about the second factor, so I should say something about that: You can usually choose the quality setting when you save a JPEG file, and save a lot of disk space (and bandwidth) that way. A typical value is 85%, which is OK, but 95% is usually unnecessarily big. I've taken JPEGs down to 60% and struggle to see any difference, at 1/4 the size.

I thought at first this would be about the picking hand - my pinkie is too short for that. On the fretting hand, always. I've had to work at using the [i]ring[/i] finger properly, and still lapse in to index-middle-pinkie on the lower frets if I'm careless.

The way I understand it, "hot" is not so much about raw level, but the signal/noise ratio. The original idea behind onboard active circuitry was to boost the signal close to the source, with a short run of wire between pickup and amp, because long cable runs can mean loss of signal while picking up more noise. EMG took that idea to the extreme, putting the preamp inside the pickup casing. Amp boost stages also introduce noise, so a higher low-impedance signal helps minimize noise in that way too.

And here's Victor unhinging a few jaws...

[quote name='Rich' post='169738' date='Apr 4 2008, 12:40 PM']I simply fail to understand why so many people seem to be quite so anti-ERB (or for that matter, anti-4string). At the end of the day, surely we all play music because we love doing so, not because we think it's clever? Can't we all just get along?[/quote] Well, are that many people anti-ERB? I see a lot of comments along the lines of "I don't see the need", or "it's not for me", which I don't construe as anti-ERB. If I tried telling people "you're wrong to want an ERB", that would be another matter, for which I would expect to receive a nastygram or three. Personally, I've been torn between the GAS for a 6-string and the realization that I probably wouldn't make effective use of it. If I ever find an EBMM Bongo 6 in Teal Green in a shop, you may need to get a mop and bucket to clean up the drool... but in the next couple of years I may need to travel light, live out of a couple of suitcases, and I have nowhere to store stuff that doesn't charge per week. That makes GAS fairly easy to resist, and GAS is my only justification for an ERB.

Let me share one of my secret artists with you - or, I should say, why-is-this-guy-a-secret? artists: [url="http://www.keneally.com/"]Mike Keneally[/url]. Here's a recent video of "Dolphins" with bassist Doug Lunn, but he's also worked with Bryan Beller extensively.

I've just heard that my old Stick arrived safely, and it was a pleasure dealing with Mego on the sale. I was more worried about DHL than anything else, no worries about the transaction. - brian t

On a related practical matter: getting strings for a 6 isn't always easy. I have to order strings for my 5-string (headless High C) from the UK, and I've never seen 6-string sets on sale here in Ireland. All the shops carry are standard 4- and 5-string sets from (mostly) D'Addario and EBMM. In fact, last week, at a university jazz gig, I saw the first 6-string I've seen in 8 years here. (An Ibanez BTB-406, new, and I never saw the bassist touch the 1st and 6th strings!) I know the're certainly [url="http://www.chrislarkinguitars.com/"]made[/url] here... maybe one day.

I honestly think a 6-string neck would be a bit much for you to be comfortable on, without a lot of practice. A 4-string bass is not somehow "less" than a 6-string, you're not "more" of a bassist if you have more strings. How about a 5-string? I play one tuned EADGC, which would also work in EADGB - I just have to buy "High C" sets.

Let me tell you a story... are you sitting comfortably? I played bass first, and tried guitar later, and when I did I found myself at odds with the standard guitar tuning. I came to the conclusion that the tuning makes sense in one specific context: for strumming full 6-string chords. Coming from the bass side, however, I was used to the strings being a major 4th (5 semitones) apart, so could I tune the guitar EADGCF? Turns out it works just fine for many things, and I still do it today, though I don't play guitar much. I have a system of working out chords (a spreadsheet), and the chords can be transposed in two dimensions - up the neck and across. There are even some chords that I can strum on all 6 strings: just not as many compared to standard tuning. Since you're (generally) [b]not[/b] going to be playing 6-string chords on bass - ewwww! - I think you have no reason to want the same tuning on the bass as the guitar. I think this is behind to some of the comments here about "thinking like a bassist" - and also our objections to the term bass [i]guitar[/i]. To get the most out of the bass, you will have to go beyond guitar techniques. Sure, it's possible to play a bass like a guitar, to lay a bassline down, and I don't mind when guitarists like Satriani and Vai do that - it gets the job done on tracks where it's all about the guitar. Those guys also know that if they want a more complex bassline, and more of a band feel, they need to get a bassist in to the studio.

Bass-related, it has to be plectrums, of which I have a few, I've basically given up on pick style, on the few occasions I tried it I dropped the plectrum anyway. I even have a Dunlop [url="http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=42&pmh=products/picks"]thumbpick[/url], which won't fall off, but it hurts my fat thumb. Non-bass-related*, it has to be one of these: the [url="http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news-11197-The+attack+of+the+cat+paws+by+Bandai.html"]Neko Nyanbou[/url]. Literally "Cat Meow Paw", it curls up when you pull the trigger, so you can use it to scare people, or grab things. That site has a great graphic with "sample applications". * Now I think about it..?

I remember being highly interested in a [url="http://www.yamahamusic.com.au/products/musicalinstruments/guitars/electric/solid/sg.asp"]Yamaha SG2000[/url], after seeing Big Country playing them - loved the looks and the sound. More recently - yes, a Parker Fly would be very nice, especially the upcoming Adrian Belew signature model with MIDI pickup. Mmmm... What I do have, however, is one of these: Oink!

I like a good bit of older Dream Theater, but they kinda lost me with [i]Metropolis 2000[/i]. In 2002 I saw them three times in four days, in Dublin, and London where they did a double-header. That's when they do weird stuff, like JM breaking out the Stick on [i]New Millennium[/i], and on the second night they played the whole [i]Number Of The Beast[/i] album (Iron Maiden). Great, but I was kinda cured of the DTs after that experience. Anyone for [b]DragonForce[/b]? I've seen the video, and I don't know [i]what[/i] to think.

I've settled on 25-45-65-85-105 on my 5-string, tuned High C. On my newish Tune 4-string, it's currently Elites 40-100, which seem OK so far, though I might go for a EB Slinky set at some point.

For me it's complicated... I have a particular vision of what I want Rock Bass to be, influenced by my history of listening to Progressive music. It's not really compatible with most of what's going on today, I feel. Geddy Lee has been a big influence in the past, but to me his Fender + SansAmp sound of the last decade doesn't stand out the way his previous bass sounds did - my fave being the "light" Wal on [i]Presto[/i], and the Steinberger on [i]Grace Under Pressure[/i]. Even when he used the [i]same[/i] Fender Jazz before, it still sounded unique - like no-one else. I've enjoyed previous Muse albums, with Chris getting some great sounds out of his Pedulla, but he's also partly retreated to Fender. Though he's kept the fuzz boxes and has a Rickenbacker too. I suppose the main problem I have with Fenders and copies is a kind of elitism on my part: everyone's doing it, basses being cranked out like McDonalds Cheeseburgers, and I'm not hearing the variety in sound that I used to. I know Fenders can sound interesting if the player works at it, but I have to say that nearly all the bass sounds I've liked in the past were not Fender sounds. From McCartney through Entwistle & Squire, Mick Karn, John Taylor, Tony Butler & Pino, Tony Levin or Jim Glennie, through to Cliff Burton, John Myung, Fieldy & Chris Wolstenholme. I want to hear that bass stamp its authority on the song, so I can hear the player clearly as a full member of the band, not just part of the "rhythm section".

+1 for the Midge Ure book - pretty interesting. The story about how Warren Cann was kicked out was very interesting, because I really like the [i]U-VOX[/i] album that they made after that, with Big Country's Mark Brzezicki on drums. Probably the most intense musician's autobiography I've read was Neil Peart's [i]Ghost Rider[/i]. Even though I knew Rush was back with him in it, there was still a good amount of suspense as to how well he would survive what he went through.

It's a little confusing. On the one hand, I heard that the move to roundwounds was the main reason Rickenbacker developed the 4003 - because players of 4001s were having neck problems because of them. On the other hand, if I look at the tension figures that D'Addario publish on their website, the Flatwounds are slightly heavier than Nickel rounds for the same gauge, but a lot heavier than the stainless steel rounds. Chrome Flatwound CB105 E 0.105 41.5lb 18.82kg Nickel Roundwounds XLB105 E 0.105 40.3lb 18.28kg Stainless ProSteels PSB105 E 0.105 37.3lb 16.92kg

I find all this fascinating too, and sometimes I'm amazed that the equal-tempered scale works as well as it does. It's based on a particular mathematical formula (exponential) that is a very close - but not exact - match to basic harmony principles. Using that Cycle of Fifths as an example: we call 7 semitones or frets a fifth, but it's not really: - harmonic fifth: tones on the pure ratio of 3:2, or [b]1.5[/b] - 7 semitones: 2^(7/12) = [b]1.4983071[/b] If you follow both of those ratios round the cycle of fifths, you apply the frequency ratio 12 times, which in maths terms means raising it to the power of 12: - 7 semitones: 1.4983071 ^ 12 = [b]128[/b] = [i]exactly[/i] 7 octaves higher (because 2^7 = 128) = still in tune - harmonic fifth: 1.5 ^ 12 = [b]129.74634[/b] = 7 octaves and a bit sharp. Apologies for the maths - but one interesting side-effect of this process is the possibility of using octaves with a different number of semitones. There are folks out there with 19-tone guitars, and Steve Vai has a 16-tone guitar somewhere in his collection.

[quote name='Hit&Run' post='155667' date='Mar 12 2008, 12:00 AM']The guy from 'Talk Talk' (sorry, still don't know his name)[/quote] 'tis Paul Webb ye're thinking of * I agree. Also: Tony Butler (Big Country) Robbie Shakespeare (Sly & Robbie, UB40 & more) Cliff Burton (Metallica) Mark King (L42) Pete Trewavas (Marillion) Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads) Geddy Lee (Rush) - from [i]Moving Pictures[/i] to [i]Presto[/i] is all 80s edit: Mark "Bedders" Bedford (Madness) should be here too + I meant to list Scott Thunes, who was with Zappa in the 80s - though Patrick O'Hearn was still a monster in the 70s. lastly, my Enthusiasm Award goes to ... Andy McCluskey (OMD) PS: on the bass-related Equipment side, I think of: Fairlight CMI, for solid bass sampling & sequencing (ask Frankie & the Art of Noise); the rise of the 5-string bass; and, of course: Steinberger.

Sorry, folks - I've had a rethink, and won't be coming to the Bash after all. The timing was just too awkward, it required me to take time off university and miss lectures, which I would rather not do with exams 6 weeks away.

That looks like a rosewood fingerboard... have you considered Doing a Jaco on it? I hear the frets come out more easily if you heat them up with a soldering iron, and 2-part clear epoxy is inexpensive these days.