Shaggy

[quote name='wotnwhy' post='58871' date='Sep 11 2007, 06:22 PM']for me, gigging is a whole package. sound, look and presence are very important when live. if you play to a crowd like you play in rehersal they might as well buy a CD because they're not going to get much more from seeing you on stage. Performance in terms of looks and actions are as important as performance in terms of sound (for me at least. obviously not everyones views are the same). and so as you might have guessed. dressing up is a big part of playing for me. we have bin bags and boxes overflowing with dressing up clothes, and choosing what to wear before a show with the band can sometimes be almost as much of a laugh as playing! obviously, the venue being played and the crowd being played to are a big factor of whats to be worn. ranging from a bit of simple, plain style: to somthing a bit more outlandish for a bigger occasion to full on outrageous for parties and the like [/quote] Ah, we're back to "bassists in hats", one of the best threads ever!

[quote name='paul, the' post='58235' date='Sep 10 2007, 03:09 PM']Isn't there another instrument with a similar crazy horn but with a scroll?[/quote] I think that was an Antoria - they certainly did a guitar in in the late '70's which was a take on the Gibson "F-type" mandolin with the scrolly bits - could have done a bass version. Fairly sure there was an Epiphone too around the same time with a scrolled upper horn (oo-er missus!)

Thanks for all the good advice fellas - I guess I'll have to force myself to research the "Grolsch" method in order to further the science of Bassology (Newkie Brown tops no good?) failing which it's either the Schallers or the Dunlops. They do look like nipple clamps though don't they? At least I imagine so - I've never seen any. Honestly.

OK, it’s not the most exciting topic, but I’m currently building a custom Jazz 5-string, and after [*clears throat*] years of using humble strap-buttons thought I’d upgrade to strap-locks. Checked Allparts on-line and they do at least 3 types; Schaller, Dunlop (both push-release) and Gotoh (twist release). Anybody got any experience of these, or advice? Cheers!

Excellent thread - worth pinning? Only played two wedding gigs, and we probabaly made every mistake possible short of sh@gging the bride's mother...... Wish I'd read these pearls of wisdom first!

[quote name='jacko' post='57318' date='Sep 8 2007, 10:19 AM']Quick, pass the kleenex[/quote] Quick, pass the eye-liner - I'm in the wrong rhythm section!

[quote]When I said obscure...i meant stuff I wouldn't have heard before, not the ususal suspects like A taste of honey![/quote] Fair enough - you seemed to have just discovered Taste of Honey, so not sure what the "usual suspects" are to you. I'm in a covers band at the moment who do "Honk Tonk Woman" as an encore. As they've got male and female vocals I suggested "Gimme Shelter" as an ace Stones duet to do - they'd never heard of it. So you never can tell! OK, heard of these gems then; Let's start the dance / Hamilton Bohannon Shoot me with your love / Tasha Thomas Love sensation / Loretta Hollway Dance accross the floor / Jimmy "Bo" Hone You can do it / Al Hudson & the partners Delerium / Francine McGee Let no man put asunder / First Choice Contact / Edwin Starr Me and baby brother / War Blackwater Gold / The sunshine band Rock me again & again / Lynn Collins Starting too fast / Th HT's Brick House / Commodores Give up the Funk / Parliament Get the funk out ma face / Brothers Johnson Fire / Ohio Players Slide / Slave

Top bloke, straight as a stright thing, knows his hard-core Funk. Bought a Trace Elliot Twin-valve off him - cracking little amp. Looks like Neil Young circa 1972 but don't let that put you off.

[quote name='Gazm' post='57172' date='Sep 7 2007, 07:46 PM']That list reminds me of why I like punk so much and why it came about [/quote] Hmm, well it's a point of view, though not one I'd agree with. I started in a punk band, playing nothing but from '77-'79, saw most of the big names except for the Pistols - Clash, Buzzcocks, Damned, Jam, Banshees, Stiff Little fingers & loads of obscure ones. For me, being fairly apolitical, it got better as it got more musical, and I was lucky enough to see live the post-punk band that will always be my favouite music - Joy Division. A reaction against Disco it wasn't - Disco itself was a working-class black reaction against the self-indulgent turgidity of Soul in the early '70's (Marvin Gaye's "What's going on" album is sheer class, but you can't dance to it) in the same way that punk was an anarchic reation against a rigid establishment and musically aginst the self-indulgent turgidity of prog-rock and manufactured pop. Both genres were basically about ordinary "youth" having a good time to music that spoke to them and that they could dance/pogo to, and like all genres both eventually became pastiches of themselves. Both really had their "golden era" at the same time - late '70's, even though Disco became mainstream first. Personally I love any music that speaks to me, especially rhythmically, be it Bach, Beatles, or Bulgarian folk music. The set list above is for a commercial band, designed to entertain paying punters as much as possible. Yes, a few tracks are schmaltzy - but all ooze pure, funky rhythm with fabulous basslines - the entire audience invariably danced all through the gig, every gig. Hell yes I miss the frantic energy of those early punk gigs, but I don't miss the gobbing! Sorry to have gone on a bit.

Also The Jimi Hendrix Experience, ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble…….. Emerson Lake & Palmer……(OK, maybe not). Cream has to top the list tho’ It’s a great format when it works, and many times I’ve wished I could sing when looking for vocalists for bands. Back to the Police – is it all the hits, or any new stuff?

[quote name='bass_in_ya_face' post='55715' date='Sep 5 2007, 08:38 AM']Been trawling through some old disco stuff to listen to the amazing bass lines and discovered a very simple but brilliant bass line on "Boogie Ooogie Ooogie" by Taste Of Honey. It's really pushed high in the mix, real teeth rattling stuff and not muffled like a lot of disco bass lines tend to be. I've heard most of the Chic, Earth Wind & Fire, Wild Cherry stuff etc but can anyone recommend some more obscure stuff I may not have found?[/quote] That wasn't obscure, I think it might been ave been No.1 Best "obscure" track for me would be "Do wht you wanna do" by T.Connection. Groovy bassline, baby! I was recently in Disco/Funk band that refned its set-lit to what worked, and was; Hot Stuff Donna Summer Boogie Oogie Oogie Taste of honey iAn't no stoppin us now McFadden & Whitehead (FAB!) Blame it on the Boogie Jackson 5 Lost in music Sister Sledge Ladies Night Kool & the gang Boogi Wonderland Earth Wind & Fire Bad Girls Donna Summer Superstition Stevie Wonder Lady Marmalade Labelle Le Freak Chic That's the way I like it KC & the sushine band Disco Inferno Trammps Get down on it Kool & the gang Nutbush city limits Tina/Ike Turner Boogie Nights Heatwave (nice bass intro) Shame shame shame Shirley & Co Carwash Rose Royce Rock your baby George McCrae Shake your body Jackson 5 We got the Funk George Clinton/Positive Force Boogie on Reggae Woman Stevie Wonder (Marcus Miller did great take on original Moog bassline) Streetlife Randy Crawford/Crusaders Hope that helps - got tabs for most of above if u want! None techincally hard, but some tricky timings - you got to feel the groove! A MusicMan helps of course.

Saw them 28 years back. Still the best stuff Sting ever did, as with Paul Weller with the Jam - two of the all-time great 3-piece bands.

Am I allowed a second post on this thread? Bruce Foxton / Rick Buckler (Jam) - tight, no-nonsense, high-energy rhythm

Very old-school I'm afraid, but mine would be Keith Moon and John Entwhistle. Closely followed by John Bonham / John Paul Jones.

"Fantasy" signature bass; Mick Karn Wal Mk 1 fretless with tulipwood facings "Real" sig basses; +1 on the Pino Palladino Prec Lemmy Rick 4001

Re my earlier coment about fretless boards - has anyone here got a recent fretless 'Ray? The boards are Pau Ferro (I think) which I assume was chosen as being preferable to rosewood - any opinions? Every time I see a fretless 'Ray I want one! Back in he '80's I had a fretless Precision with a maple board (yes, like Sting's) - looked ultra-cool, but roundwounds took the lacquer off and chewed the wood in no time, besides playing very "dead".

Best Disco bassist? Me, for kitting up as the biker from "Village People"