EdwardHimself

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1336823797' post='1651560'] Surely the biggest variable BB3000 had was tuning a 125 or 130 guage string to E and the same across the neck - an extra 25 mm string thickness will make a difference to the sound - ultra ultra heavy guage effectively. [/quote] Strictly speaking it's actually 0.025" (or 0.635 mm). I don't think that was quite what he meant though when he strung it EADGC or whatever he did. At any rate I think this mostly sounds like crap. I mean, let's be serious about this, does it make a difference? Maybe a very small amount. Does it mean you should not play a 5 string? I don't think so. If anything, I think the feel of not having that string on the bottom makes a much bigger difference to the sound than anything to do with the tension or string break off angle.

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1336824400' post='1651571'] I liked that a lot more than I expected to. There are spaces in it where some kind of Steve Harris frippery would work (I'm thinking the harmony guitar bit in the middle) but only briefly. On the whole you are right Eddie, it needs simplicity to really drive the whole thing. [/quote] I'm glad you thought that. Maybe there is slightly more that could have been added without ruining it but overall I think the balance was alright on that song (even if I say so myself lol) [quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1336839086' post='1651798'] Really sorry, Eddie, I'm being dim again. Is that you playing drums or you playing bass? Either way, it's a corking song and delivered with exemplary precision. [/quote] EH played all the instruments on that particular recording, including the rubbish vocals lol. [quote] Is it worth permitting your bassplayer a song or two where - for a limited period only - he plays the guitar line while the guitarist plays a harmony above? Would that get this guitar-foolishness out of his system? [/quote] Hmm I am not sure about that really. Unless you're suggesting I do that just so he can see how crap it sounds lol.

[quote name='rOB' timestamp='1336818102' post='1651435'] I always thought that it was something to do with guitarists often using/liking speaker distortion? Isn't that the argument for guitar amps sounding best at high volumes? I might be wrong though. [/quote] That is why guitar amps are always miked up. I'm not sure it's so much an issue of speaker distortion, but the speaker certainly rolls off a lot of the really fizzy not very nice sounding high end distortion that you hear on the DI of a guitar amp on distortion.

[quote name='pietruszka' timestamp='1336815597' post='1651390']I know what you mean about guitar cabs being mic'd up so why not bass cabs? Could it be something to do with the frequencies? It is something I've pondered on before. [/quote] I think it is just due to the fact that DI is so much easier to get right than micing up a cab (plus you don't have to buy a mic) and really you just don't need to mic up a cab on a bass amp because it usually sounds pretty good just on DI.

[quote name='guildbass' timestamp='1336772858' post='1651018'] That's probably the problem then for your bassist.. You are perhaps writing rock bass lines which are basically just chugging along on the beat and in the root....A rhythm guitar but one note one octave down.... Perfectly adequate for generic Rock ...Most '70's rock/pop lines were like that...But frankly....Dull to play...Great for the punter as you were replicating the original but not creative for the musician. it's work, not play...the best tunes are both...It isn't about fancy fills, it's about the groove and you don't need lots of notes to groove...Listen to T Rex's 'Get It On'...The entire song gets it's groove from the bass simply because in 'E' the bass plays a neat little off beat riff then switches to an on-beat chug for the 'A' Take the bass out of T Rex and all you've got is Country and Western. Simple songs absolutely transformed by a really simple but 'real' bass line...And sooo cool to play right [/quote] I know what you're saying. The bass can really change the "groove" of the song. I think that is why it is important that you don't go overboard on the bassline, you just get to the point where you play so much on the bass that the groove is simply lost. I would like to think my basslines are slightly more interesting than simply "root note chugging" but don't just take my word for it, why not listen to it yourself?: [url="http://www.facebook.com/HerFatalLegacy/app_178091127385"]http://www.facebook....pp_178091127385[/url] [quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1336776391' post='1651067'] Y'know, reading this is like being in a weird parallel universe. Or on a guitard forum. It's really rather refreshing. [/quote] Lol scary I know. I think the problem is that I am not really a "bassist" as such since I play guitar and drums in equal measure (in fact I would say I play the drums more often right now, since it is a bit easier to pick up a pair of sticks than have to pick up the bass and switch the amp on and all that malarkey...) [quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1336780463' post='1651148'] Skank (as always) has a marvellous point. Imagine if Cliff Williams had said "No, these songs need many twiddly and exciting fills and poly-rhythmed marvellousness" AC/DC would be a pile of f**k-awful turd and nobody would listen to them. 8th note roots are great, if you play them right you will enjoy it. I'm mostly playing one root note per bar in my current gig, and the trick is to make them sound nice and hold long enough. It is a lot more challenging than the chromatic hemi-semi-quaver madness that I have been known to do at times. (Any twat can play a lot of notes very fast, the trick is to know when to do it). [/quote] That's just it! I mean on the same subject of AC/DC, the drummer very rarely does anything exciting at all, in fact some songs are just 10 min of him playing the same beat. But it works for the type of music they play. [quote] I would be interested to hear the songs Eddie is talking about. I suspect they need restraint. [/quote] See above. I am not sure I would say they are as simple as all that really. [quote name='dogload' timestamp='1336801373' post='1651219'] As a 'guitarist' I would encourage him to play more of the melodic or complicated bits wherever possible. This frees [i]you [/i]up to play easier stuff and make a big spacey noise; or put your foot on the monitor whilst gurning at the audience and 'riffing' or something! That's what I would do. [/quote] yes... [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1336806596' post='1651240'] You banned envelope filter?!?! Why not have him in on writing some baselines with you? Get him interested in what he is playing & then he'll get a better understanding of what the bass' roll is. A lot of my baselines follow the vocal melody, usually harmonizing. [/quote] Well that is a good point. I guess the issue is that when I write songs, I get the idea for the "whole song" in my head. I suppose I have just had a bit of trouble writing songs co-operatively. I think one of these days I need to write a song with no bass on it and see how we get on with it.

[quote name='mushers' timestamp='1336771420' post='1650996'] perhaps he just needs some more guidance as said before, maybe he feels he is done with the root and wants to experiment a bit if you taught him bass show him the ways of the force [/quote] I tought him the basics, and that was a few years ago. He's pretty muc hjust been learning on his own since then. He showed some interest in learning the guitar a few months ago but suddenly went off the idea again. [quote] a fill every 2nd bar may be too much but one placed in the right place with the right notes as we know is awesome [/quote] I do try to add fills in wherever appropriate, just like on drums. I think the whole point is though that he has just got to accept that the bass is the bass and not the guitar. There is only so far you can go with it.

[quote name='guildbass' timestamp='1336768888' post='1650947'] Guitar solos, song melody lines and 'proper' bass lines use the same bit of brain....That's why you can easily sing while strumming guitar but not while solo-ing on guitar or playing a bass line that isn't thumping along on the beat like a tuned kick drum. He probably plays guitar melodies or solos because they feel 'right' for a bass player...i do sometimes too...great for feel, timing and accurate note placement and if he's just going doing doing doing with root notes on the beat, he's probably bored...Doing that is the province of guitarists who think bass is easy! [/quote] I'm sorry to say that the vast majority of basslines may not suit the desire to be at the front of all the action and play something "out there" but the fact is that in most songs, that is what the bassline is needed for. I try to write basslines that are as interesting as possible but the simple fact is that you cannot do anything too "exciting" because with what the guitars are doing in our songs, you just "lose" the foundation of the actual music. I can't sit there and start playing a load of ridiculous fills every other bar on drums. It might be fun for me, but you just lose the whole rhythm of the song. Same thing with the bass. We are there to support the song. That was pretty much my original point when I started this thread: if bass is too "boring" for him, why doesn't he learn the guitar?

AKG D550.

[quote name='achknalligewelt' timestamp='1336742949' post='1650318'] Maybe he heard that guitarists are ten a penny, but a bassist will always be able to find a band. I have a bit of sympathy with him. I started as a guitarist (still am by inclination, but have been enjoyiong the bass for years alongside it). So, does he get in everyone else's way? I've been accused of this in the past, and have always tried to take account of my bandmates needs. But if I have space for a few notes of wild improv, why not? We all like to stretch. If this guy can make it sound good, I say more power to him. The bass can do all sorts of things other than thump away in the background. But it has to be done right, and everyone in a band needs to be sympathetic to the rest when it comes to playing, otherwise the whole band will just sound messy. [/quote] I don't think that sort of thing is appropriate for our sort of band. I have already had to ban him from slap bass and envelope filter. [quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1336749146' post='1650456'] Or he's been listening to early Led Zep and Rush, where they used to double the lines on Guitar and bass. [/quote] There are a lot of bands where that sort of thing is done, but that is not what I mean either. [quote name='skej21' timestamp='1336743882' post='1650339'] Maybe he's playing them as a hint because HE feels you're not playing the parts properly? Doesn't mean he's right, but he could be thinking it! I've seen a fiddle player do a similar thing with a guitarist, which sparked an argument about how the part was meant to be played. The fiddle player was correct, despite hours of arguing from the guitard who was promptly fired. [/quote] I can assure you that certainly is not the case. I am the one who taught him to play the bass, after all... [quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1336753207' post='1650562'] That's the thing that's confusing me. Which instrument are [i]you [/i]playing, Eddie? [/quote] Drums. That's pretty much just because we could never find a drummer though. I'm not really the best at drums.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1336742403' post='1650303'] Is he Billy Sheehan? [/quote] Lol we saw him at Bass day 2010, I reckon he wishes he was

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1336737340' post='1650200'] As I said before United were trying to do us all a favour so we wouldn't have to listen to any more of his mediocre songs. [/quote] lol. I remember one of my relatives booked a seat for her cello on a flight. I think it is what I would do if I had an expensive instrument to be fair. I remember when my sister went on a trip to poland with an orchestra and the twats on the ground managed to smash the headstock off of a £10 000 double bass! Idiots.

The bass player in my band insists he has no interest in playing the guitar, and yet every practice he is trying to play a guitar line on the bass. It's really beginning to get on my nerves now. I just don't get it, y'know? If he is that bothered about playing guitar lines, why not just learn the guitar?

There has been another similar thread recently. What I would say is it depends entirely on what sort of sound you're going for. Sometimes you may need different sounds for different songs or even the same song. I have always found that I can get away with just using one bass per song. But that is just because I like to keep things simple as far as the bass sound goes. I may use different basses for different songs that are in different tunings but that is about it. There are no "rules" as regarding this matter though.

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1336502565' post='1646596'] Oh, I thought that was for microphones only! Would I have to do anything with the phantom power button if I plug the amp into that? I'm assuming that the XLR to XLR would be the best quality (if using the same quality leads that is). [/quote] The phantom power button is only for "condenser" microphones, there is no need to have it switched on when plugging in a DI from your amp.

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1335888802' post='1637614'] Hmm, I had looked at that but I'd like the speaker to be able to handle the entire 500w my amp will provide and I wasnt sure if it wouldnt blow up on me! Do you reckon it could handle it? Cheers Alex [/quote] The power ratings of speaker and cab don't mean a great deal. As long as you don't have the amp so loud that you start to to hear farty distortion on the end, it's ok. The important thing about speakers is the sensitivity. You want one with as high a sensitivity as you can get. That way you will get maximum volume out of whatever power rating it may have. The other thing I would say is make sure the plywood is not all mouldy or anything. You don't want mouldy plywood.

I'm not sure you can do a candy finish with spray cans. The problem is (IIRC) the propellant used in the clearcoat dissolves the paint used in the colour underneath, so instead of painting "over" the colour coat, the colour and the clear become mixed in. This process pretty much buggers up any attempt at a candy finish. That's what I've heard anyway, from someone who knew what they were doing.

Really sad news. Someone has already started a thread about this in off topic though.

Defo go for the pocket, since the inside of your neck pocket is not finished, whereas the neck is finished. No point in ruining a finish for no reason.

I wish I was that damn good at stick twirling. I can't even do one rotation. Call myself a drummer eh? I must say he looks like he is on speed on the clapping bit. Typical drummer though I suppose.

I don't think it's the zoning out that is problem, it's when you come back!

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1336057865' post='1640280'] But you've still got the other half of the students who were breaking everything, and you only need one person who doesn't/won't learn and the whole thing is ruined for everyone. [/quote] They wouldn't though, because they would have to pay up or get out.

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1336052883' post='1640116'] Ah but no students equals no course, no course equals no job [/quote] It's the 80/20 thing. As owen has already said, 80% of the breakages are caused by 20% of the students. Assume say half of them leave then you still have 90% of the students on the course, and they are going to be more dedicated to actually getting a qualification.

Yep I have placed an order from them as well. Bought a bridge and some tuner parts from them, arrived in reasonable time, and they even put the value at much less than what it is actually worth in order to avoid having to fork out loadsamoney to customs.

[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1335923335' post='1638202'] The problem is that for a 12's set, a plain G would have to be something like a 20, which has absolutely no flexibility and just goes "clunk." I even tried one as the octave E string for my Rick 12 to try to see if it would intonate with the wound low E, but it was a mess tonally. [/quote] +1. You'll have to trust me on this. Plain strings above 0.02" just do not sound good at all. They don't play well either. I think you may just have to get used to playing a G string that is wound, unless you want to go for thin top heavy bottom type strings. I can bend a pretty heavy G with not much problem though.