meterman

From the other end of the postal chain I’ve recently had items take up to four weeks to arrive here from the UK. Used to take about 6 days. And yes, import / customs duties might well happen. I just paid €16 to receive a £5 secondhand mic. And that took 30 days to get from Brighton to the south of France. Things do seem to take longer now.

Not very hi-fi. The 4-track has no EQ controls. And I used a Boss overdrive pedal as a mic pre, which shouldn’t really be done. And it’s in mono! 😂 But I’m handing in the masters tomorrow and it’s coming out on a 45 soon enough anyway so it’ll probably be alright. The A-side sounds like Jackie Mittoo circa ‘68 playing through a knackered music centre, and the B-side sounds like Augustus Pablo with Jackie Mittoo on Hammond, playing through a knackered music centre. Proper roughneck. I’ve got Pro Tools and Logic but this kind of stuff always sounds too clean and antiseptic when I try to do it in a DAW. It’s quicker and easier to just bash it out on a 4-track. The end result is always grittier 👍

It does! I flipping love Lionel Blair. And his sister, Lionette. ❤️ Phwoar!

I often wish I had taken up bass first, before any other instruments. And studied at college etc. I’m always in awe of proper bassists. If I hear an XTC record or a Blockheads tune comes on the radio, I’m always focused in on the bass line. Same with Motown or Stax or disco or certain punk records. Coming to bass last is something I do regret.

I’m probably behind the curve on this one, but why are the basses named after Lionel Ritchie? And if they are, why isn’t the retail price £15? (Cockney rhyming slang - a Lionel is £15. Lionel Ritchie was in The Commodores, they had a hit with “Three Times A Lady”, a ‘Lady’ refers to Lady Godiva - a fiver, £5.00 - so a Lionel is 3x a ‘Lady’) Yes, I may have been at the French equivalent of Special Brew, but still. I’ve wondered about this for a while now. I apologize in advance...

Today I have mostly been recording reggae music on a cassette 4-track, heavily influenced by Jackie Mittoo, Augustus Pablo and King Tubby. Hi-fi studio folks best look away now...

I started as a percussionist (aged 7) then graduated to drum kit, then later took up guitar in my teens so I’d have a compositional instrument. I only bought a bass much later when the bassist in our band quit and we didn’t know any others, and we had studio time booked. So I bought the cheapest bass I could find and got into it that way. Coming from a drums / percussion / guitar background definitely helped me understand where to put the notes, where to leave spaces, and whether certain bass lines worked or not, etc. I eventually got into writing songs on bass, so it’s been a real help for me. Still wouldn’t call myself a bassist though. Nor would anyone else, probably 😂

Ooh those do look interesting 😎

I got a Squier Mustang bass a few weeks ago and put a set of LaBella 760FLMUS flats on, and I swear they just work. I’ve had half a dozen Mustangs from vintage USA, MIJ reissues to Squiers and this latest one with those strings is the best one I’ve had. Perfect combination. Love playing it. Hope yours hits the spot for you 👍

I’ve tried playing left-handed but it’s too weird for me. Didn’t feel natural at all. I’m not ambidextrous or talented enough to get away with it. Might be different for you though?

It also might depend on what style of playing you want to do. But if you’re right handed then maybe start playing right handed and see how it works out for you. I never use my left pinky finger when playing bass (I’m right handed) as it’s very ‘clunky’ and tends to lock in a straight position if I try to use it, or if I reach for a note with it, it might lock and go to a wrong note or stick to my ring finger. I can’t rely on it to go where I want it to, so I don’t use it. My left hand technique looks weird but I make it work for me, I use 3 fingers and sometimes my thumb for root notes. You wouldn’t guess from hearing recordings as they sound alright. But my mates call my playing style “the mitt” because it looks like I have no finger interdependence. Skinny bass necks and short scale basses work better for me. This is my playing from 20 years ago without using my pinky, it’s only an old funk vamp and I’m not Jaco Pastorius or anything but don’t let that put you off 😂 Definitely give it a go, you never know. You might love playing and be amazing.

Superb 👏😂

The singer from Family? Don’t know a lot about them to be honest. Did he wear a straw hat often then?

I’ve rarely stayed in one place long enough to get around to hanging basses and guitars up. Only did it once and that was because the floor space was taken up with a Fender Rhodes, a Hammond organ and a vibraphone... Will probably hang things up again in the future, I think our recent house move might prove to be a bit longer term.

I love Chic, and disco in general, but I think Nile Rodgers is off the mark a bit here. Yes, don’t be snobby about music (including inverted musical snobbery) but don’t kid yourself that the top 40 is the be all and end all of you need to aim for. Brushy One String and his lo-fi beat-up guitar playing hits me a damn sight harder than any of the autotuned filler that clogs up the charts at the moment. Well, in France anyway. Your country may vary, etc...

Thank you, and pretty close to the mark influence wise. Our other big faves were early A Certain Ratio, and Can and the early US post punk scene, things like Liquid Liquid or ESG. All the records that got sampled for early hip hop records basically. And yeah, the 45 had to be an edit as a 5” single can only fit 2 minutes per side. The album version will be nearer 6 minutes. With more Minimoog. And Mellotron. And more percussion breaks. 👍

Oh I would have loved to have seen that period of Genesis. Acoustic guitars, that sounds good to me. I love other acoustic stuff from that era like Pentangle, Incredible String Band, Tim Buckley, Joni Mitchell... Oddly enough I enjoy the 80’s incarnation of Genesis if I hear it on the radio but never really got them otherwise. Will give them a go after Yes 👍

The vinyl sold out within 4 hours 👍 Next time we’ll get more pressed.

I just released a single this week (vinyl and everything!) where the bass and drums are in 7/4, the percussion is in 3/4 and 5/4 and there’s a solo Minimoog passage. Prog might not be too far off for me!

The psychedelic funk collective I play in released our 1st 45rpm vinyl this week. We did a limited edition of 5” clear vinyl lathe cuts plus digital downloads for the non-physical-format folks. The lathe cuts sold out in a few hours. I was expecting them to take weeks to shift as we’re only a studio concern and have zero live following. Next time tho we will press more physical copies 😎 The little 5” lathe cuts turned out to be a winner. I thought we’d be saddled with unsold copies forever 😂 https://dimerecordsfrance.bandcamp.com/album/pool-phase-hashisch-scene Hope the next ones go okay too. Btw, nobody seemed to mind that we used a cassette 4-track to make a record with. Or a cheapo Squier Jazz bass. If we can do it, anyone can! 😎

I’m going to give Yes a full go this weekend. In chronological order too. I love OG British psychedelic music so I reckon their 1st album might be a good starting point. My “way in” if you like. If I can “get” Yes, then Genesis and Gentle Giant and stuff like that might be accessible to me. Would love to “get” Prog and I am determined to overcome my caveman tendencies when it comes to music. FWIW I’ve always loved the artwork on their albums, and I know the musicians are amazing. Hoping I can unlock the music and finally fully enjoy the kind of 20 minute epic side-long musical odysseys that have been off- limits to me so far. Wish me luck, prog lovers 😎

Nice! I almost went for a Comp stripe Mustang myself, they look great 👍

Ha, challenge accepted! When I get time to do it I’ll post it up in the recording forum. I already recorded a ska version of “Behind My Camel” by The Police, and a King Tubby / Augustus Pablo inspired take on “Fools Gold” by the Stone Roses. Daft instrumental ska versions of unlikely hit records is my bag, baby 😂

If Yes had recorded “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” in a Sound Dimension-esque ska style I’d have been all over it like hair on a gorilla. Well, a sweaty gorilla. In Asda pyjamas. Might have to power up the 4-track and do it myself.

It might only be “Roundabout” that I like? Might have to do an Open University prog degree and try them again 👍