Stuart Clayton

[quote name='Beedster' post='584687' date='Aug 29 2009, 07:20 PM']Stuart Clayton on here has two great books of JK transcriptions, extremely well done and well worth the investment. Either PM him or go to www.basslinepublishing.com. I assume they're stil in print
Chris[/quote]



Errr..... no i don't!!! You're thinking of Simon Merrick! He published a couple of Jamiroquai transcription books a few years ago but I believe they are now out of print!!

However, Bassline Publishing (my company) will soon be releasing a Brand New Heavies bass book.

Cheers
Stuart

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='560149' date='Aug 4 2009, 01:14 PM']Another random thought for BGM staff/contributors to consider:

It'd be nice if a consistent house style was applied to the chord symbols in the notated examples. For example, we've got Cm7 in Dave Marks' B-flat jazz blues bit, but Janek's got his minor chords notated as A-. Now, I know that A- = Am = Amin, but someone with less knowledge might assume -- because they're in the same magazine and they look like different things -- that they [i]are[/i] different things. Years of confusion ensue.

Personally, I'd go for m=minor, maj=major (seventh), dim=diminished (none of this circle stuff) etc. IME, triangles and minus signs are much more common in the US.[/quote]

I completely agree and have been pushing for this to happen for some a few years. I am also very keen that all music is notated at the same size and is beamed correctly. The editor is in the process of getting these things sorted and it's something that either he or myself will end up doing.

Stu

[quote name='jmanfunk' post='553190' date='Jul 27 2009, 08:55 PM']Bump![/quote]

Please... DELETE this thread and stop tempting me!!!!!!!!!!

[quote name='Bigwan' post='529396' date='Jul 1 2009, 10:10 AM']I'm pretty unimpressed by the new issue. A quick look at the front cover made my heart sink - my first thought was "they'll never fit this all in one issue"... and they haven't. The home recording roundup is a single page where they only mention one (yes that's ONE, UNO) audio interface. The 3 basses reviewed in the issue are all over 3 grand! The 2 amp rigs reviewed both stack up to well over a grand (a lot more in the case of the mesa stack). What planet are these people on? There's a recession on you know! Get the reviews sorted out guys, for goodness sake!

Granted the Sadowsky interview is moderately interesting (although the online video interview floating around at the minute with the man himself is SO much better). The session player article is pretty good. Haven't read the rest yet... although once again the proof reading is diabolical. I'd do it for free and be better than whoever's doing it now!

Going by this issue I'll not be renewing my subscription...[/quote]

Bigwan,

With regard to the amp rigs, yes they are both over a grand, but the Peavey Tour Series head is great value for money at £480 (can't recall exact price, haven't got a copy of the mag here). I believe there was a comment in the review to the effect of the cab not being such great value, and a suggestion that the head be paired with a different cab. I would say that in the middle of a recession, the head unit at least represents a pretty good buy.

Stu

Stuart

[quote name='RhysP' post='522370' date='Jun 24 2009, 10:01 AM']I'd admit that a lot of the Level 42 lyrics are pretty woeful, but no more than 90% of lyrics in general IMO.
Some of the very worst songs & lyrics I've ever heard are on the Stanley Clarke albums. He's a great player but most of his songs are bloody awful - I can't listen to them anymore because they just make me cringe.[/quote]


It's the same with Victor Wooten - with each album he seems to sing more and more and he really shouldn't.

Stu

[quote name='Eight' post='506185' date='Jun 5 2009, 10:48 AM']For me that's not so easy - I think everyone does a great job with technique columns and the Lowdown, so can't really suggest how to take them further. I would just be happy to see them continue as they're going.


Well I've made comments about the transcriptions on numerous occasions so had better say something now.

I can appreciate the copyright situation is a pain. And whilst I've pointed out that Guitar World have managed 4 or 5 complete transcriptions for guitar and bass, every issue since memory began. I wouldn't be surprised if they're a much bigger mag and have more financial resources to deal with copyright fees.

But I think it's a matter BGM should take seriously. A lot of players (particularly newer players like me) like them. And when you do so few, it can lead to disappointment when readers aren't interested in the one you've picked. So I regularly post that I'd like to see two done from contrasting genres. The only transcription in BGM that I can remember getting excited about was The Real Me - and it was too hard for me at that point. [/quote]

Just to clarify, we - or more specifically Nick - do everything we can to get a transcription in every issue. This current issue is the first for a while not to feature one, and that is only because we had planned to do a Killers transcription, but the licensing turned out to be impossible to sort out.

Arranging copyright permissions is very time consuming and sometimes fruitless, something I know from long experience of writing and publishing transcription books.

Stu

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='493489' date='May 20 2009, 05:25 PM']No it isn't - Jean-Luc Scratchplate would sound daft [/quote]

You do have the best name on the forum you know...

Right, back to the woodshed...

Stu

[quote name='Captain Bass' post='476787' date='May 1 2009, 10:39 AM']I particularly love Alain Caron for his composition, especially in that song 'Slam The Clown', do you know where you can get any acurate tab/sheet music for that song?[/quote]


Funnily enough, I've been really getting into this song recently and just started learning it - Caron's slap technique is tough to pull off accurately though, gonna be a few weeks in the woodshed yet with this one!

You can find a transcription of the 'head' of Slam The Clown in Bass Player, June 1996 issue - transcribed by Caron himself, with all the left and right hand fingerings - very tough line to play. There's also a playalong book and CD for the album Rhythm n Jazz. I ordered a copy from Amazon a few weeks ago but it's not shown up yet.

Hope some of that helps...

Stu

Some nice vids there, really enjoyed them both! I'm a huge fan of solo bass playing and it's always great to see it done well!

Stu


[quote name='Captain Bass' post='475006' date='Apr 29 2009, 01:04 PM']Hi guys,

I have been meaning to do some videos for a while of me playing some of my own compositions on bass.
I try and combine different techniques and at the same time I try to keep things musical!

I hope you guys dig them,

My first youtube bass vid -


Tom Thumb" Live -


Here is an MP3 (3.18MB) of "Tom Thumb" I recorded and produced myself :-)
I have uploaded it onto Rapidshare so every one can share it
I have also attached it to this Topic.

[attachment=24531:TOM_THUMB.mp3]
[url="http://rapidshare.com/files/227114220/TOM_THUMB.mp3"]http://rapidshare.com/files/227114220/TOM_THUMB.mp3[/url]


Feel free to share the link/mp3 around.

Kind Regards,
Andy

p.s. Cheers to 'urb' for showing me how to embed youtube vids [/quote]

[quote name='MB1' post='451488' date='Apr 1 2009, 01:58 PM']MB1.
WOW!...that finish makes your eyes go funny!
BUMP![/quote]

Nice. Bernie has an old body in his workshop that is made with that harlequin pattern - it's stunning up close.

Good luck with the sale, have a bump on me.

Stu

[quote name='ARGH' post='450911' date='Mar 31 2009, 09:59 PM']Yeah..I didnt do it,it was either Paul..or Turner....Bastards tried blaming me..It was not me..I promise,I knew better...

You dont piss about with another mans instrument.


There has been quite a high ratio of Talent that vomited forth from NDC,and the Kerslake method....Im a lower league..But from the fountain.[/quote]

Ahh yes, the Kerslake method... man that guy knew his stuff.

Stu

[quote name='ARGH' post='450897' date='Mar 31 2009, 09:42 PM']Dont worry,you didnt get the blame for marking his metallic purple Maison Bass 17 years ago.


(I was not me either..)[/quote]

That's a pretty interesting comment! Who are you?

A purple Maison bass... weirdly that's a bass I really regret selling.

Stu

[quote name='silddx' post='450776' date='Mar 31 2009, 06:52 PM']While I'm at it, Stuart had been watching this thread for ages and only contributed when prompted.
[i]
[b]EDITED [/b]for a potentially hurtful personal remark. Sorry Stuart.[/i]

Sorry Stuart, I'm really trying not be personal. I just detest a wasted opportunity. A wise man makes more opportunities than he finds. Please try to be wiser.[/quote]

I'm not offended at all. And the only reason that I joined in on this thread - which you are correct, I was watching with interest - was that I thought I could be helpful in some way. Like I said, I make no decisions on what goes in the mag, the direction it takes, who is interviewed, what transcriptions are chosen, who writes columns etc etc. It's therefore not a case of ME being wiser because I don't run the magazine!!

I'm not here to ruffle feathers and am very keen that this remains friendly.

Cheers
Stuart

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='450699' date='Mar 31 2009, 05:33 PM']You can imagine Bernie's thoughts on such matters.[/quote]

I would prefer not to.

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='450689' date='Mar 31 2009, 05:24 PM']I was just looking at the website reviews...

[url="http://www.bassguitarmagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=221:gb-guitars-spitfire-5-string-issue-36&catid=37:bassguitars"]http://www.bassguitarmagazine.com/index.ph...=37:bassguitars[/url]

Seems like the review of my Spitfire has been nicely mangled with (some of the negative parts to boot) the Ibanez BTB675 review. I can see why manufacturers would be reluctant to have text printed about their products when things like this are happening.

Do [i]any[/i] checks happen anywhere?[/quote]

That's quite frustrating to see...!

[quote name='BigRedX' post='450388' date='Mar 31 2009, 11:24 AM']I think the issue with BGM is that it is the only UK magazine dedicated to basses and their players and therefore we'd like it to be good, and are disappointed when it doesn't live up to our expectations. Be thankful that there's people here voicing their concerns and some even offering useful advice, at least the magazine is being talked about - would you be happy if we were simply ignoring you?

From my perspective, what you do well is interviewing bass players who might not have 'killer chops' but have something interesting musically about them and you do usually know which players are going to appeal to a UK market. Too many of the US BP interviews seem to place pure technical ability to far above actually doing something original with it.

What you don't manage as well as your US counterpart is in the range of equipment you review. Admittedly there's a bigger selection more easily available in the US, but I think that you need to realise that with on-line purchase both new and second hand getting hold of bass equipment that doesn't have a UK distributor is no longer the near impossibility that it was 10-15 years ago. In fact reviews of gear that isn't easily available in the shops would actually be more useful - it'll open peoples eyes to the sheer breadth of basses and related equipment that's available - and as it's possible to go and try the more common instruments in our local music store we can make up our own minds reviews of the latest Fenders, Yamahas, Ibanezes etc. Actually in that respect your most recent issue was a vast improvement and if that's an indication of the way things are going to go congratulations, but so far it's been the exception to the rule.

Following on from that, would it be possible to have at least a 6 issue ban on reviewing Warwick products? I know that they're spending a lot on advertising with you (there's normally 2-3 pages of Warwick ads per issue when all the other big names take just a single page each) and they're obviously happy to supply review instruments, but when there appears to be a Warwick review in every other issue it starts to get a bit much. I've noticed a similar trend in Guitar Buyer Magazine. It doesn't do you any favours when in appears that the UK musical instrument press is part owned by a German manufacturer!

Finally I do think that you need to employ a proper proof-reader and artworker as there are too many beginners mistakes in both the standard of the writing and the technical aspects of the production of the editorial pages. Having recently gone freelance I would be happy to offer my services in the latter capacity and my rates are very reasonable. For starters here's a tip for your production 'department'. Turn off "Automatic Smart Quotes" in your page layout application. Then you might stand a chance of getting the apostrophes the right way round in "Rock ’n’ Roll" and also render feet and inch measurements with the correct typographic symbols (both the highlighted mistakes occur in the very first spread of your NAMM overview).[/quote]

Well, I don't want to set myself up as the mouthpiece for the magazine here, but you raise a few points that I do think I can comment on.

The range of equipment we review is down to what we can get our hands on. We do everything we can to get the latest stuff as it's released, and have a had a few decent scoops recently with the Status Kingbass 2, Hartke HyDrive system, Tech amp rig, Marcus Miller SWR rig and hopefully next issue with the TC Electronic Rebel Head rig (I want one of those based on looks alone!). However, if manufacturers don't get gear to us for review, we cannot review it. Warwick are one of the companies that seem to be particularly on the ball and send a lot of stuff in.

With regard to proof reading, I agree. As I said in an earlier post, no-one wants to see errors of this nature in the mag, especially when they are so easily avoided. Perhaps you (BigRedX)should contact the magazine head office and offer your services?

Stu

[quote name='Mike' post='450243' date='Mar 31 2009, 08:05 AM']Hi guys - not sure if this has been posted yet - I couldn't find it, if it has.

Jeff Berlin went on Talkbass to field some questions. I think a lot of interesting ideas and useful stuff came out of this.

[url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=505003"]Link is here.[/url]

Sorry if it's a double-post!

Regards

Mike[/quote]


Wow, some great stuff in there. I always loved Jeff's columns in Bass Player, and quite often agreed with what he had to say. His playing might not be to everyone's tastes, but he sure knows what he's talking about.

Stu

[quote name='OldGit' post='450270' date='Mar 31 2009, 08:51 AM']So Stu,
What's the new regime got planned for the magazine?

Oh and I hope you[i] will[/i] be reviewing the Fleabass when they get here.[/quote]

Hi,

I have no idea, I'm not involved in any planning issues really. All I know is that they're going for a transcription in each issue (something we have ALL wanted for many years, right?) and that someone else beat me to it in getting hold of the new TC Electronic rig....

I think the Fleabass might be in the next issue (42), which I have not yet seen. I have no idea who reviewed it though, wasn't me.

Whilst obviously I am going to be defensive of the magazine to a certain extent, I can totally agree with the comments about spelling and grammar issues. It gives me no pleasure to read the mag and notice these things any more than it does anyone else - I didn't feel too great about the first four bars of my 'The Real Me' transcription being left off in issue 39 either. But, these things do happen, especially when pages get moved around at the last minute etc.

I'm a huge fan of Bass Player magazine as well, and have gone to great pains to collect every issue (just missing one, dammit). However, they suffer many of the same problems. That's no excuse on the part of our magazine, just an illustration that sometimes, even with the best will in the world, mistakes slip by.

Stu

[quote name='silddx' post='450192' date='Mar 31 2009, 01:22 AM']Right I'm off to bed. I need a thorough night's sleep. See you in the morning, when, I hope, comrade Clayton will join in the discussion so we can encourage Bass Ferret to set up a new and thorough British government due to our dissatisfaction with the current one.

Good night.
xXx :wub:[/quote]

I've been reading... I just don't really know what I can add really. Some people don't like the mag. Some people do. I don't think that will ever change.

It could be worse. We could have just released a green bass with a bright orange scratchplate. ;-)

Stu

[quote name='LWTAIT' post='429929' date='Mar 9 2009, 10:43 PM']ooh is this book going to have the solo version of the simpsons theme tune in? if so hurry up with it please, i'm looking forwards to attempting to learn it and giving up after the first two bars.[/quote]

That's the one, and I'm sure you'll do great with it!

Cheers
Stu

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='428976' date='Mar 9 2009, 01:00 AM']Props to Stuart Clayton - when I first saw him play, he made me look into a hell of a lot stuff that he has obviously taken inspiration from... Stu is class. Check him out. He has written the best slap bass book too - check it out.... and Stu - still waiting for that solo book!![/quote]

Thanks dude, the solos book is coming along nicely...just very slowly!!!

Stu

I reviewed a Celinder J4 for the bass mag about 6 years ago and it was just utterly awesome. It's the only bass other than the GB Rumour that I reviewed in the first issue that made me want to sell everything I have in order to get one! I never did, but I know damn well that at some point there will be a Celinder in my collection. Really great basses.

Stu

That's a great looking bass-in-progress! Every time I see a new Sei being built I try to convince myself to take the plunge...

Stu

[quote name='doctor_of_the_bass' post='428364' date='Mar 8 2009, 02:19 AM']Apols if this has been done before but having met quite a few fellow chatters, here's my list of favourite players! In no particular order and without prejudice! Each of these players has a definite quality to their playing that I've personally enjoyed - its not a question of how fast someone can play Mr Pink...

Urb

Funkmunky

Me (of course!)

Funkyhobbit

Poptart

OutToPlayJazz

Marcus

cd_david

ped

dood

Crazykiwi

EBS_Freak[/quote]

+1 for Urb. I think he's the only BC'er I've heard but I was very impressed indeed. And whoever suggested a BassChat album, that's an awesome idea - count me in!!!

Stu

[quote name='Low Down Dave' post='426734' date='Mar 5 2009, 10:11 PM']I tend to find the DVD’s start off really basic then suddenly jump to advanced stuff with no middle ground, but the ED Friedland Slap Bass the Ultimate guide is as good as any and better than most, and cheap.

The Stuart Clayton Ultimate Slap Bass book with CD’s is really the ultimate guide, it will really help you develop your technique and it is very highly recommended and pretty much all you need.

David.[/quote]


Thanks for the kind words Dave.

If it's of any interest to those reading this thread, I will soon be uploading audio files for all the exercises that were left off of the two CD's that ship with Ultimate Slap Bass - there were just too many exercises in the book to fit on the discs! I will also be adding a whole batch of new exercises of all levels, plus hopefully some videos of some of the lines in the book. All free too!

When it's done (which won't be for a month or two) it'll be on my publishing site: www.basslinepublishing.com

Cheers
Stu