risingson

Me!

Nice guy isn't he? Got a signed poster off of him!

[quote name='lee650' post='513652' date='Jun 14 2009, 10:34 PM']Hi guys Louis johnson used a p bass early on, and had input in the development of the musicman stingray which he used on pretty much everything he did,(although i believe he used yamaha for a while) he shared bass duties on the micheal jackson records with bobby watson (from the band rufus) who used a 62 precision (on "rock with you") also he did the george benson stuff, as well as abraham laboriel who used either a p bass or a goya panther (very similar sound to a p). as far as i know bernard edwards used both musicman and BC rich eagle basses (both now owned by duran durans john taylor), but in those days as you correctly point out a precision was a session requirement, you cant beat a good jazz bass though!!! i love em!! al the best - lee[/quote] Yeh, I've seen clips of Louis Johnson playing Yamahas. Sounded great! Concerning Bernard Edwards, he did use Stingrays a lot, but I found this out about him from Marcus Miller's website: [quote]Yeah, Bernard was a friend of mine. We would run into each other in studios, in the street. He would give me advice about a lot of things. He told me not to move to LA (I didn't listen :-) I remember, around 1978, I saw Bernard on a Chic album cover with a BC Rich bass. It was white with this unusally shaped body. Anyway, the song "Good Times" was on this album and I thought it sounded so good, I ran out and bought a white BC Rich. I got it home and started playing Good Times...I'm saying to myself, "This don't sound like the record........." I met Bernard shortly after and told him I bought the BC Rich but couldn't get that cool sound. He said, "Man I didn't play a BC Rich on that album. I played my Fender Precision!" I said, "But you have the BC Rich on the album cover." He said, "Yeah, well the BC Rich looks good, so I take pictures with it!" God rest his soul......[/quote]

Haha, cool thread! Easy - Coldplay - Yellow Intermediate - James Taylor - Shower the People Hard - Stevie Wonder - For Once In My Life. Note for note, but nowhere as good as the original! Fun - Michael Jackson - PYT Insane? - I dunno about this one. I can play Jaco Pastorius's Opus Pocus note for note, but again, no getting close to the original

I'd take the Jazz bass matey!

[quote name='lowdown' post='513511' date='Jun 14 2009, 07:12 PM']I know Louis Johnson used a precision in the early days, But i thought he and Bernard Edwards were Musicman guys for the most. Might be wrong, and usually i am. Garry[/quote] No, you're right I was going to mention that! Louis did move over to Musicmans, but in conjunction with his P-Basses as well, especially on a lot of Michael Jackson and George Benson stuff.

[quote name='Bay Splayer' post='513499' date='Jun 14 2009, 06:57 PM']correctomundo[/quote] But that's my point... it's easy to settle on an opinion if you're only tried the particular gear you mentioned in one environment. Whilst you may have made a partially informed opinion of both amps, it isn't necessarily indicative of the quality of sound... environment has everything to do with how good or bad your amp will sound.

I would agree with you, but I think to them, they consider themselves a very big fish in a very small pond. There is basically no competition from anywhere else because they are way too specialist, so I guess to them it's not important how they price their instruments. They also come with a history of good service, which is nice to know if you're going to be spending a few grand on an instrument, safe in the knowledge that the dealers you bought it from have a good technical knowledge and good service.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='513128' date='Jun 14 2009, 07:22 AM']Blunt alert..... I hear this a lot and it's complete bollox. It'll take you half an hour to learn what the basic scales are, what basic chords and arpeggios are and another half an hour to learn to play them. This is pretty much 95% of the theory you will ever need, it's dead easy and will stop you looking like an idiot when playing with other people.[/quote] Yeh I would agree with this. Learning the bass should be like learning any instrument if you want to get good at it. Scales are hugely important and definitely shouldn't be viewed as a mundane task, they help you get your ear together, think about chord patterns and passing notes, and help your dexterity. Aside from that, I think it's easy to think that technical ability is the be all and end all of being a musician. It's really not. Slapping and tapping and whatever have their place but it's easy to forget that you are first and foremost a bass player, and have to have a good knowledge of how to keep things firmly rooted in a band situation. But I don't mean to be massively patronising about it, technique is very important... it's just that I think you shouldn't lose sight of the fact that your technique should simply be an extension of your theoretical and musical ability. You don't have to prove anything to anyone if you're happy with yourself as a bass player. You can be your worst own critic at times, but if you put effort into learning something then your skill as a musician will very much be an unspoken, but widely realised thing amongst other musicians that have heard you.

How close were you to the amp when you were playing? A lot of good amps won't sound good if you're stood right next to them, but will project a fantastic bass sound a couple of feet away, or more. Also the type of room you were in makes considerable difference, etc. etc. I myself have had the best monitoring results, i.e. how good my amp sounds up close, from environments that have minimal reverb and are inherently dead sounding, but I don't think that the audience get the best sound from that sort of environment, so really you need to be in a position where you will compromise how good the monitoring is on stage for you, and how good it will sound out front.

I think the Fender sound is a versatile one. It's pretty well known that you weren't even allowed in certain studios in NY and LA without a Fender bass back during the golden age of session musicianship. I'd still say that the P-Bass was probably used to cut more records back then, with Louis Johnson, Bernard Edwards and Freddie Washington playing them almost exclusively on all the records they played on. But there is something about a Jazz bass that just can't be beaten... such a rounded sound, everything you need about a bass just under your fingers!

Any musician that considers conversation concerning gear etc with anyone else aside from another musician that asks is probably a bit boring. Bassists I reckon are not as boring as guitarists in this respect!

I played one a while back and simply couldn't get on with it, the B string was not well defined, and the E suffered at the expense of the extra string, something that really annoys me about bad 5 strings. Played it back to back with a Lakland Joe Osborn 5 and a Darryl Jones 5, with limited alterations to the Ashdown combo's EQ I tried it through and there wasn't much of a comparison IMO. However, having said that, I'm a big Jazz bass fan, and I reckon I'd just struck upon a particularly bad one. I also had limited time with the bass, but I am of the opinion that a good bass can just be picked up and played with little to no adjustment. If it's the Deluxe Jazz, then I hear those things are supposed to be pretty great too, and benefit from the onboard EQ that they have. Hope that isn't too much of a downer for you, and I hope the gig goes well! I'm off to Hamburg in two weeks or so to play as well, I can't wait!

Anthony Jackson, Andy Rourke, and... Bobby Vega. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkKXDtKesR4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkKXDtKesR4[/url]

[quote]I always wondered who the bass player was on that record. Absolute groove monster and my favourite album of hers. Her studio efforts never seem to reach the heights of her live stuff. More due to the tendency of neo-soul producers to opt for the clean electronic sound rather than her I think; oh well[/quote] I think she amounts to a lot more live. I've been trying to find some footage of her playing at Dave Chappelle's 'Block Party' in Brooklyn with Braylon Lacy, he pulls out the sickest groove on his P-Bass, but I just can't find it! All the same, if anyone was interested then get the DVD, Questlove on kit for the whole thing just killing it.

Oops... just noticed this is in the wrong forum! Mods, feel free to move it over!

Been listening to 'Mama's Gun'... totally sick bass playing from Pino Palladino. Her most recent bass player, however, is something else! His name's Braylon Lacy, his feel and sound are just amazing. Old P-Bass and flatwounds are his usual recording choice. If you're into your James Jamerson meets hip-hop/funk, then you'll love it! Have a listen: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4bhKB1E6iY&feature=fvst"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4bhKB1E6iY&feature=fvst[/url]

It's annoying having a site advertise something that they claim to have in stock, but they actually order in from the distributor as soon as you've placed the order. GAK have been known to do this a lot, although I hear they're better now. I went to see them in Wapping to ask them a few questions, and actually they were quite helpful, even though it was only their offices. I can't comment on their customer service as a paying customer, however.

[quote name='edstraker123' post='508150' date='Jun 8 2009, 12:42 PM']I don't think it's a friction problem as the pain is not on the surface but as if the soft tissue inside had been damaged i.e. as if you'd hit your finger with a hammer (only obviously not as painful). Don't know why it would strike now though as I've played guitars and basses for many years and have not been playing excessively recently. I'm not aware of applying excessive finger pressure - certainly not to the extent of causing physical damage.[/quote] I'm no expert, but if it's really bad I'd say go and see a doctor. The nerve endings in your fingers could be triggering pain from wrist problems, and if it's as painful as you say, well I personally wouldn't risk it. If I don't warm up properly, my hands can seize up with cramp, but to be honest this sounds much worse. Hope you can get it sorted asap!

Is it muscle pain, or pain caused by the friction between your fingers and your strings? If it's the former, then I guess it might be worth assessing your hand positioning and also warming up before playing long gigs. If it's really bad I'd say go and see a doctor.

[quote name='Brother Jones' post='507727' date='Jun 7 2009, 08:32 PM']What I'm concerned about is the way that less experienced players seem to be using flats because they are easier to control...[/quote] What?? Your kidding, I've not ever come across a beginner bass player who yet knows how flatwounds work or what they are, let alone wanting to use them to control their technique. Everyone is entitled to an opinion of course, but I think that's a pretty inaccurate and rubbish statement if you don't mind me saying so myself

I love flatwounds but I can't merit using them on my primary bass right now... I need a bit of a rock grind, plus rounds have a bite that suits my playing well. In the near future though I'll use Thomastik flats on the Jazz bass all the time once I've got two basses!