Jamolah

Hi Chatters, Spent a few days in the studio last year with my function band, Groove Central Station. Thought it'd be nice to share 'em on here with you folks, as I'm pretty pleased with the performances and the bass sound! Love playing with this band. Great players and a setlist that avoids most of the standard wedding fare, but (almost) never fails to get a crowd up... Shout out to the guys at The Garage in South Shields. Lee and Kyle did a great job and I was really surprised by how good these vids turned out, given the (very resonable) price. Recommended to anybody in the North East looking to get some videos made, these guys have their stuff together. So yes, peep 'em if you like. It would be ace to get some feedback from the BC community. Much love, JP [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff3ZvJM7Qxw"]https://www.youtube....h?v=ff3ZvJM7Qxw[/url] Never Too Much - Luther Vandross/The Way You Make Me Feel - MJ, mini-medley [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXCxA4BS0vs"]https://www.youtube....h?v=hXCxA4BS0vs[/url] Last Night A DJ Saved My LIfe - Indeep [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS2Qw7wysKc"]https://www.youtube....h?v=iS2Qw7wysKc[/url] Something Got Me Started - Simply Red

Sure enough: swapped the wires rounds on the bridge pickup and everything's sounding sweet! Whoever shipped the package had mislabeled the hot-and-cold colours for the bridge pickup (I did think it was weird that the two 'cold' wires were different...). Thanks for the tip-off.

Ah! Had a feeling it might've been some thing like that. Will give it a go when I get back in and let you know. Cheers!

Hi guys. So I installed an East DJ-retro preamp in my Lakland DJ5 this week, and have noticed a funny affect it's had on my sound; when in "passive balance" pickup mode the sound seems to thin out, lose a fair bit of volume and goes kind of hollow-sounding (very different from the sound of the old passive system with both knobs full). Same when the rotary control is dialled in the centre. Either pickup on its own sounds perfectly normal, and the blending seems to be pretty smooth too (very happy with the sound of the preamp, as it happens, when switching between pickups). I thought I'd ask on here to see if anybody else has experienced this, wether or not it's something inherent in DJ's or if it's maybe a fault with either my installation or my pickups or something. Any advice appreciated! Cheers, Basschatterers...

That first album was the album I learned to play with. The old cliche; running home from school cos I couldn't wait to plug in and rock out. I used to put the album on and play all the tracks through, start to finish. IMHO they are one of the best bands to pick up the bass to. They groove really hard, the riffs are easy enough to learn but really need to be locked in to feel right, and once you've nailed them then the sound of your basic pentatonic scales will be ingrained in your ear, even if you've never considered it. Bloody excellent material for an upcoming newbie. I definitely would not be the bassist I am today were it not for RATM. Cheers, JP

[quote name='KevB' post='546329' date='Jul 21 2009, 12:48 PM']I think in his day he was a well respected player in the area but he's not gigged seriously for 12 years and I came to live work late in life so our paths have never crossed. He's played more gigs than I'll ever do in my life so I've tried to show the respect due but I can only assume his social skills have got a bit blunted during his lay-off.[/quote] See, when I hear stories of/go through similar encounters, I always assume it's because these people are unrealistic rock-star dreamers who have no idea how to deal with [i]professional[/i] musicians in real life (flattering myself here, perhaps ). It smacks of inexperience and nervous, overcompensatory braggadocio to me, but I suppose there are plenty of well-practiced douchebags out there too! +1 for forming your own band, with guys you know or have worked with before.

[quote name='KevB' post='546379' date='Jul 21 2009, 01:17 PM']Problem is that often rehearsal studios are in either slightly dodgy areas or remote 'industrial unit' type places and casual thieves soon get to know about them. Not having gear in the car is no deterrant. The drummer in a band I was in a few years back had his side window put through whilst we were rehearsing one time even though there was nothing on display in the car, they were just opportunists having a go at the glovebox and boot on the offchance, could have happened to any of us. He quit after that and I had honest sympathy for him.[/quote] +1. I wholeheartedly believe that my car would've been done in even without the bass inside, as I'd also left the face on the radio and my iPod was on the seat (underneath my hat). My car has(had) blacked-out rear windows (honestly, not my choice. They were on it when I bought it) and was parked away from the main street, so in order to have seen the bass the guy must've walked up and looked through the front windows. Too good to resist. Still no excuse for leaving the damn thing in the car, but you don't think, do you? You just assume it'll be fine because it's been fine for the last 2 years to leave the thing in there for a few hours. JP

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='545970' date='Jul 21 2009, 07:46 AM']I'm sorry to hear what's happened but at least the police have him. Would it be worth seeking legal advice about bringing a civil case to recover the costs due to his neglicence?[/quote] I'm waiting for the police to contact me before I ask, but if there's any chance to squeeze some cash out of the guy then I'm all for it. They reckon he's definitely going to get it for this, as it's not the first time (sigh) he's been up for breaking into cars. What a world. JP p.s. - still looking for a good 2nd hand upright. Any leads/offers/advice welcome.

Since the unfortunate theivery and subsequent violent dumping of my trusty plywood upright has left me bass-less, I have decided it's time to look for a new upright. I'm looking to spend around £1000, possibly upwards (but really not by too much). Not hugely bothered about origin or age, but it would be nice if the neck was pretty thin and it at least have a carved top (if not back and sides too). Feel free to pm me. Am based in newcastle but will happily drive (pretty far, if need be) to collect, or pay for shipping. Cheers JP

Cheers for the sympathy, basschatters. It happened down by the Cluny, WoT, outside the rehearsal room we've been using for over a year or so (and longer, before i joined the band) without incident. Folks i've told about it have given me similar stories about thievery from their vans/practice rooms/etc, so I don't feel too victimised, just one of many. Like I said, the depressing part is the lack of empathy; I can't conceive of the mind of a person who would treat anybody else's property with such thoughtless disdain, particularly an instrument. On a related note, if anyone has a decent upright for sale around the £1000-£1200 price range then I'm pretty certain I'll be looking for an upgrade fairly soon! Cheers, JP

Last night, around 9pm, whilst I was rehearsing with my electric band, my rear windshield was smashed and my upright lifted from the boot. Luckily a girl who happened to be passing saw this happen, phoned the police and rushed into our rehearsal room to warn us. Two bandmates took off in hot pursuit whilst I stayed to talk to the police on the phone. The guys managed to catch up with the thief and hold him till the cops arrived, but he dumped (read 'hurled') my bass somewhere in the undergrowth surrounding the path, so by the time a search got underway it was impossible to find in the darkness. I'm happy to report that the instrument was found this morning by the day shift, but unfortunately she appears to be in pretty bad nick. The fingerboard is gouged in a few places, the back is splitting away from the ribs on the bottom and there's a pretty nasty crack running from where the post comes out. I'm distraught. It's a pretty cheap Gear4Music bass (I got it to see if I could get on with the upright in general, and of course found it to be even more fun and rewarding than electric, in it's own ways), but it's become pretty much my main gigging instrument over the past two years and I don't know what i'll do if it's going to be more to repair than I can afford. The car insurance company won't cover it, and like a fool I never got round to registering for the free MU insurance. I feel so rotten and stupid all over, from leaving it in the car right down to even parking the car in such an obvious spot, to not having insurance. But most of all I just feel so upset that there are people out there who would throw an instrument away like it was nothing. A musical instrument is not just an object; to a musician it's like a limb, a part of the body, an integral piece of who we are as people and players. I feel so upset that someone could have so little empathy that they would even consider tossing something so precious away, let alone stealing it in the first place. Regretfully yours, basschat, Jamolah

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='346618' date='Dec 5 2008, 04:41 PM']He should have it in a couple of days. [/quote] Lovely news. Here's to getting what we want. As for customs/insurance etc. where and how do I go about dealing with this? My assumption was that the courier company would inform me of all the costs and procedures when I arranged the shipment. Am I wrong? Also, forgive my ignorance, but what is an Escrow service? And what does it have to do with wine? JP

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='346071' date='Dec 5 2008, 07:38 AM']I think that Reuel's reply is possibly tempered by his recent 'experiences'. [/quote] Another reason for my seeking advice. I didn't want something to go wrong with shipping and have this Czech gentleman appear on BC and then have the BC SWAT team come crashing through my computer monitor. Actually, it wasn't long after I signed up that all the business kicked off, and as I've been trying to flog the Warwick I was terribly worried that I wouldn't have any luck, due to my newbie status. It's a shame these things happen, and a rotten deal for those on the (non) receiving end, but I'm pleased to see that people around here look out for each other. Sorry for weighing in a little late, just my 2p and all that. Cheers for the advice. I hope Reuel is/soon will be enjoying his hard earned Vampyre as well as the buyer of my Thumb hopefully will. JP