meterman

Hi everyone, hope you’re all well and warm and doing alright 👍 Just wanted to ask the BC collective hive mind about shielding tape.

I need to add some shielding to my Jazz bass and my Mustang bass, but it’s not something I’ve ever done before. I admit I am very very lo-fi when it comes to maintenance and setups and anything technical so I apologise in advance if this sounds daft but is it really just a case of ‘buy some copper tape / stick it down in the cavities and on the back of the pickguards / screw the pickguards back on / job done’?

And is all shielding tape much of a muchness or is there a best brand to go for? I appreciate any advice anyone’s got on this cause I’ve no idea🙏

Many thanks - Lee 

Just three.

Mustang bass

Jazz bass

Tanglewood mini precision 

Lot of other gear though (3 drum kits, countless guitars and keyboards, etc)

The Mustang gets all the play.

Forgot to mention, a label in the UK has released a limited edition 7” single of “Fools Gold” and “Liquidator”. Again, all done on a cassette machine and using a 25” super short scale Tanglewood EB-18 bass, Hammond organ, melodica, etc. It’s pretty lo-fi though so purists and hi-fi buffs best cover your ears now 😂

https://www.discogs.com/release/25484437-Earl-Natty-Fools-Gold 
 

On 03/01/2023 at 22:08, Woodwind said:

@metermanthis sounds fantastic.

A really nice sound from a cassette 4 track!

 

Where did you get your 5" lathe cuts done?

 

Cheers

Thomas

Hi - sorry for the late reply, I haven’t logged in here for a while, the lathe cuts were done in Cardiff by a company called Lathe To The Grave. I’ve done three different projects with them so far and they have been brilliant and easy to work with. Can recommend 100%
 

https://www.lathetothegrave.com

Very few of my mates shared my tastes in music when I lived in the UK so I’d often go to gigs on my own. It would be the only way to see Brazilian artists I liked, if they ventured over, or South American artists, etc. Trying to get folks to come along to a cumbia or Latin gig was impossible, so things like that were usually solo missions. No point asking when you know you’re going to just get a blank expression. 
 

I rarely had the opportunity to play the exact kinds of music I liked either. Didn’t matter too much, but it probably won’t happen in the future either.
 

Now I’m out in the sticks in rural France I’ve seen just one gig in the two years I’ve been here, and that was by accident 😂 

Isn’t isolation brilliant?!!!

I lived in London for 20 years on and off and only twice had any ‘bother’. Neither times were music related, more a case of wrong time, wrong place. 
 

I tended mostly to gig in central London so even though I’d be doing load ins and outs with high end gear in busy streets, I wasn’t often doing the same thing in areas that were too dodgy. Had more hassle and problems elsewhere in the UK to be honest.

Depends where you’re planning to be, obviously, but I generally found London a lot safer than other places in the UK I lived in, or gigged in. 
 

Caveat: YMMV and all that. Good luck if you make the move though 👍

Have used Bandcamp for about 18 months and can definitely recommend it if you’re selling music or merch. It’s easy to add Bandcamp links to websites or YouTube videos or social media posts etc.

I don’t earn tons of money from it but every release I’ve put on there has covered, say, my medical insurance for the year, or car insurance, or paid for new musical gear etc. 
 

Defo worth a look 👍

I’ve thought about having a website but Bandcamp does everything I’d need anyway so I’ve just stayed with that. YMMV and all that, though.

1 hour ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Is this the right place to say I really can't be doing with Khruangbin?

I find their music to be incredibly tedious, mediocre and wet?

 

Eh?

You’ll be saying you don’t like Khruangbin next!

Not sure if anyone had mentioned Simone Butler from Primal Scream yet? She used to play a Rickenbacker but plays Precisions with the Scream. She sold me a CIJ fiesta red Fender Mustang bass in 2003 when she worked in Denmark Street. Great player and she has stage presence for days.

1 hour ago, Leonard Smalls said:

I never realised they were an actual band! Despite having 2 of their albums I always thought they were some sort of producer-led studio project...

I was initially unsure, and it’s hard to tell because their albums are very ‘produced’. But I remember seeing them at a festival in France and they were like “White Light, White Heat”-era Velvets gone house music. Quite a garage rock feel for a supposed dance outfit.

Nice! 
 

I love these, my first bass was one of them, it had ancient flatwound strings on it and was brilliant to play. Used it on a few records as well. Would have another if I found one in my country.
 

You should have no problem finding a buyer for it, GLWS 👍

10 hours ago, Frank Blank said:

If I succumb to this bout of melodica gas it'll be my third. This is the one I fancy...

 

Suzuki PRO-37V3

 

I had a copy of that one as my touring melodica for years. I think it was about £30 from Hobgoblin. Went badly out of tune eventually but it did get a lot of use. I did get a similar replacement a while back but I can’t remember if it had a brand name or not now. Found a blue 37-key one on ebay for £25-£30. Not as nice as a Suzuki model but it’s fine for what I need. 👍

Forgot a local female bass player - Patrice Carrie from the French band Rinôçérôse. Brilliant live and on record. 
 

8 hours ago, Barking Spiders said:

 I give a huge toss about her costumes......kinda.  I'm not being facetious but with them being a 3-piece instrumental band where the drummist has a stripped down kit (unlike many 3-pieces e.g. Rush, Police) and there's no fancy stage show like other 3-pieces (e.g. Muse) her outfits are an essential part of the act IMO. If she wore sober coloured gear they actually could be quite dull live.

I flipping love sober coloured gear!

Honestly though, the likes of Muse and Rush leave me stone cold, but  music with a bit of space, like dub reggae, or bands that leave a lot of room in their music (like Khruangbin) do it for me all day long. Their drummer is one of my favourites too.

Depending on your taste / outlook / medication (delete as applicable) I get how they could be either hypnotic or boring live. Their new album with Vieux Farka Toure is beautiful, I reckon.

1 minute ago, Frank Blank said:

Now that's pukka recording kit! Good man. I now have melodica gas...

I’m still looking for a Hohner Alto melodica, the red one. Or a Hohner Pianica with keys rather than buttons. Melodica gas is definitely a thing!

7 hours ago, Sonic_Groove said:

I would offer that a genre with a reasonable amount of great female Bass players is Punk/New Wave (what ever you want to name it) from 1977 onwards.

A few notables for 70's into 80's (there are many more):

 

Gaye Advert (The Adverts), Tessa Pollitt (The Slits), Sara Lee (Gang of Four, PIL, Rob Fripp),Julianne Regan (Gene Loves Jezebel, later Vocals All about Eve), Cait O'Riordan (Pogues), Jackie Fox & Joan Jett {Bass '77}(Runaways)
    

Later notables include:
D'arcy Wretzky (Smashing Pumpkins), Annie Holland ( Elastica), Tracy Wormworth (Waitresses, B-52's)

Would agree with everyone on your list and add:

Gina Birch (The Raincoats)

Clare Kenny (Orange Juice, Aztec Camera, Sinéad O’Connor, Brian Eno etc)

Rose Simpson (Incredible String Band)

Naomi Yang (Galaxie 500)

Britta Phillips (Luna, Ben Lee)

I’m not really fussed who plays in what band or on what record or tour or online video. But if I like them and they make me want them pick up my bass then I’m a fan. 
 

Laura Lee from Khruangbin particularly inspires me at the moment. Don’t give a toss about the nylon wigs or the onstage costume changes but her basslines totally do it for me 👍

10 minutes ago, Beedster said:

That has made my flipping day @meterman

Thank you @Beedster - I really appreciate that 🙏

21 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Really great work meterman  , I’m liking the B side, I’ve subscribed to your Channel ☝️

That is really kind, I appreciate it thank you 🙏 When the 7” comes out I’ll let folks know.

I apologise because I forgot about this, but for @Reggaebass and @Nail Soup and anyone who might have been interested, the finished record sounds like this:

and the B-side is like this:

It got released as a limited edition 5” lathe cut which plays at 45rpm. Not compatible with all turntables (particularly automatic ones) but it sounds fine on mine. 
 

I know people tend to moan about lathe cuts not being super hi-fi, or how mastering in mono is a waste of time in this day and age, or whatever, but they can laugh at how basic it sounds or cry into their half-speed mastered Steely Dan reissues for all I care. 😂 DJs have already played it in clubs, it made a profit on the first day of release and as long as it makes folks do monkey dancing when it comes out of a big sound system I’m happy. A label in the UK has already sent off the masters for a vinyl follow up, so... job done 👍

If anyone has doubts or second thoughts about whether or not what they’ve recorded is good enough to release, don’t sweat it just do it. Go with your instincts and crack on. Don’t fret about whether or not your music sounds ‘pro’ enough. It probably is. Just put it out there. And keep doing it.

Anyhow. Hope everyone’s doing alright and looking after themselves. All the best to yers!

On 06/10/2022 at 17:02, msb said:

It’s been some years since I’ve owned a Jazz Bass , but this has been described as a Jazz on steroids.

They’re not common , but they’re out there.

After some years of looking at them for sale everywhere but Canada , finally found one in Toronto for a good price.

Quite jealous! I’ve always liked the look of these. Never seen one for sale though. 

This popped up in my instagram feed, would it count?

Personally I wouldn’t touch it with a stolen Richard but I’ve never been a fan of 1950’s kitchen cupboard formica. 

Cannonball Adderley “Walk Tall”

Pharoah Sanders “Thembi”

Ramsey Lewis “Slippin’ Into Darkness”

Jimmy Smith “Root Down”

Yusef Lateef “Nubian Lady”

Anyone covering any of these can play whatever bass line they like, but the original parts are killer. 

Baby Huey. 
 

Good luck with everything! 👍

Has anyone posted “Prisencolinensinainciusol” by Adriano Celentano yet? Phonetic gibberish written by Italians to mimic how an English language 4/4 disco funk belter might sound to non-English speakers. Confused? Don’t be. Just press play and turn the bass up. Superb sound for 1972.
 

The part where the girl says “My ice lies senseless, and it also goes with miso. Ice” is about the only lyric I can decipher, but it’s a good one.

“Ice”.