risingson

Touring is a good laugh, although you need to be prepared for hanging around a lot of the time which can be such a pain. I love seeing new places on the continent though, that's what's great about it... being places you're unlikely to have seen had you not embarked on a tour in the first place.

Yeh I really love his guitar playing. I think he can come across as very, very arrogant but I do believe he's quite naive about how to approach the press and consequently he's not reflected well. Also, if I started listening to music based on how nice a person was I think I'd get lumbered listening to Cliff Richard all the time. Blegh This is amazing:

[quote name='twowheeledwriter' post='929545' date='Aug 19 2010, 11:08 AM']Tonight our band is playing at the local naturist camp at Cap d'Agde on the south-east French coast. The venue is a bar at a naturist camp site. Cap d'Agde is well-known for it's naturist facilities and attracts people from all over Europe, especially Germans. I'm guessing that concentrating on playing the bass might be difficult when confronted with a naked/semi-naked audience. To answer the most obvious question, no, I will not be hiding naked behind my bass as I expect to be dressed, as will the rest of the band.[/quote] Just got back from this area, one of our friends almost accidently booked us on to that exact camp site! That would have been just awful. Weirdest gig was on the Mersey Ferry. It was awful, I was hung over and it was a particularly choppy night on the river. It was like getting re-pissed but without the alcohol, people were toppling over our monitors and it was all in all a horrendous night. [quote]Roof of Liverpool *mumbles* Cathedral. (Can never remember which is which-the big one, anyway)[/quote] It's the Anglican. That sounds like a great place to play, did you not enjoy it?

Sad, he was a seriously funky bass player!

It's incredibly sad to hear about the passing of such a highly respected member of a site I've come to enjoy as of late. Not had any contact with Si myself but judging on the testimonials of some of the posts here he sounds like a truly brilliant guy. My thoughts are with his family and friends.

[quote name='Doddy' post='928539' date='Aug 18 2010, 12:22 PM']I'm all for playing what fits the song,but playing essentially the same thing in every song makes me think that it's nothing to do with musicality. If a player like Will Lee or Nathan East was to play a simple root note line you know that it's because it is the best thing to play,whereas with someone like Adam Clayton I get the feeling that that is all he can do.[/quote] I can guarantee that Adam Clayton would be a more than capable bass player. People miss the point when they talk about players being limited by their technical ability, technical ability is completely irrelevant when you are one of the most successful recording and live artists of all time. In the grand scheme of things very few people that enjoy listening to popular music would be phased by a musicians perceived technical inefficiencies on their instrument. Like I've said before there are plenty of bands out there that sound brilliant because they are capable of making brilliant music out of what they've got. Who cares if Keith Moon can't play drums or if Lennon was a bad piano player? They're superb musicians.

What I think is sad is that I really love EB's, especially Stingrays, but it's just made me look at the company in a completely new light. Like you say there's no point in dragging it across forums, but stuff like that does get my goat!

[quote name='gafbass02' post='928254' date='Aug 18 2010, 12:35 AM']Last thing we need is a forum war, nothing good can come from it surely?[/quote] Probably right. It would be piss funny though.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='928231' date='Aug 18 2010, 12:09 AM']yeah for sure its natural to emulate your fav bassists...but i think its much more important to do your own thing...ive learnt loads of stuff and ideas from various bassists,songs etc....alot of stuff ive learnt also comes from listening to singers, horn players etc.. i have favorite bass players,but i dont want to sound like anyone but me...[/quote] But that's what I'm saying, I listened to Flea when I was 12 and wanted a bass guitar. Got the bass guitar, worked hard at trying to sound like Flea. Discovered a lot of other bass players, worked hard at listening to what they sounded like... 9 years down the line I've been fortunate enough to have brought myself up on listening to some great players that have changed the way I think about my instrument. Most people go that way if they have a voracious musical appetite like I have, and if they're stuck trying to sound like Mark King for the rest of their life that's their prerogative if it's going to make them happy.

Maybe someone should link this thread to the wall if anyone's got the bottle? Might make the forum fascists think twice about being such knobs in future. Or alternatively might just enrage them further... something I'd still like to see if I'm honest

I really loved the P-Bass I played, although I'm finding the prices of basses to be completely ridiculous right now (not just the Roadworn, everything seems painfully overpriced at the moment). I thought that the wear and tear on the bass looked quite synthetic up close, but none the less it was a terrific bass to play.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='928213' date='Aug 17 2010, 11:51 PM']No not at all..but it depends if they all wanted to sound like MK..at at the time that did happen..im old enough to remember...but no its a great thing..[/quote] Well I'm younger, and when I started out all I wanted to do was sound like Flea. Now all I want to sound like are people like Pino and Willie Weeks (I can keep dreaming I guess!). It's natural to emulate your heroes, but most musicians do that for a time before discovering other players that perhaps wouldn't otherwise be known to them before they took up the instrument.

Honestly, yes. I'm a Fender man through and through (although I love Sadowskys, Laklands, EB's, Alleva's etc), and there are a few brands that I turn my nose up at, particularly Ibanez's, although I'm completely sure that there are some excellent Ibanez basses out there that I'm missing out on. Conversely I really love really old, battered semi-hollows that often get accused of being one trick ponies. I can go both ways!

[quote name='bubinga5' post='928196' date='Aug 17 2010, 11:30 PM']i cant see what s ground breaking about L42...what has he done that is new? hes been doing the (great) same thing for 30 years... Julian, Lawrence, Randy are session musicians, they can play anything. Why do you think im dissmissing him????I dont think you understand what im saying..Im not saying hes an average player in his own right...but among a world of bassists and i mean hundreds of great bassists, i dont think hes special....like i said UNIQUE, but no better.. IMO for example, Victor Wooten is special because hes breaking new ground, trying different things there are lots of bassists as good as MK, but because they werent in L42 there not heard of.. by the way i have lots of L42 and was listening to them when they first arrived on the scene and do love them..[/quote] He inspired a hell of a lot of people to start playing bass, I can guarantee that much, loads more than the likes of RHT, Julian Crampton etc have inspired. And that can never be a bad thing right?

[quote name='BassMunkee' post='915898' date='Aug 5 2010, 01:10 PM']Four Tet - Hands.[/quote] Nice. Love Four Tet. Been listening to some great music from Luke Abbott and Bonobo.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='928064' date='Aug 17 2010, 09:45 PM']Agreed. The Tal bashing was pure stupidity. Regardless of her gender, she's an amazing player, and we should aspire to be like her.[/quote] Ahhh that's the part I really take exception to! It's fine not to enjoy a bass player but because Tal is female it suddenly becomes acceptable for some idiots I've seen to become incredibly sexist and suggest her level of success is somehow related to her gender. Bollocks. You're either good or you're not. I'm not an avid fan of her music particularly but people like Herbie Hancock don't pick any old bass player to play in his band. I've got to say I've read all of this thread and can't find one 'awful' bass player. It's just too vague a description

Looking forward to hearing the new album, been a big Jamiroquai fan for a long time. Had a masterclass with Paul Turner a while ago and he really is an incredible bass player, and a top guy to boot.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='928042' date='Aug 17 2010, 09:25 PM']How can you possible know what Tal is capable of??.... Shes young, and could no doubt could blow most away on here...she deserves a lot more respect that what you are giving her... Tal certainly does not plod along???? what were you thinking when you wrote that??..Or maybe you think your qualified enough to out groove her...i doubt it...Do you actually think Jeff Beck, Chick Corea, are that un professional, to hire some one they didnt think was up to the job?? You cant compare her to the likes of Victor Wooten, Feraud..[/quote] I think this post was made with a view to polarising people's views on stuff like this. I can't see what the Tal Wilkenfeld bashing is all about, I actually find her to be one of the few solo bass players I enjoy listening to, conversely I find Hadrien Feraud to be woefully boring to watch and listen to... more to the point though, neither of them are technically or musically challenged players, so neither of them are awful bassists. It's easy to say 'I don't like Peter Hook or Mark King etc.' if you don't like their music either, but it doesn't mean that they're not right for the bands they play in. Basically it's all nonsense, innit!

Eugh.... deeply disturbing.

Lovely! Want to do something similar myself really.

Don't like DRs that much at all, although they do frequently get put up there as the best you can possibly get, they're more expensive than D'Addarios for example which I prefer quite a bit more. Just me though!

Hearing Jaco Pastorius play Donna Lee after around a year of playing bass guitar. I couldn't believe someone could do that with an instrument I was so new to... didn't even think it was a bass at first!

Ahh that really hurt a lot of my sensibilities to watch! In the words of Alan Partridge, 'sorry, but that was just a noise!'. Jimmy Johnson and Alex Al are brilliant players, Flea has a humbleness to him that I love and I find him an entertaining and down to earth musician to watch, but the rest of it was mostly rubbish. Brian Bromberg should really buy a guitar and be done with it. It stopped being music pretty quickly and became mostly nonsense for the duration. Hope none of this offends of course, it's just my opinion.

Wow, what a terrible excuse for a managing director of a company. It's really frustrating to read as I'm a big fan of Ernie Balls and would have looked at getting one in the next few months, certainly, but honestly I'd think twice now. As far as I'm concerned, if you can't take a little criticism or speculation from prospective clients, then stop surrounding yourself with sycophantic arse-lickers and get out of the kitchen.