risingson

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1368141249' post='2073849'] Amazing how people can hear things differently. [/quote] Music would be incredibly boring if we didn't.

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Not a Maiden fan so I'm kind of indifferent to the second one (I can tell it's been ruined though), and the first one is really bad. The bass struggles to keep any time, let alone feel and is devoid of taste. Finally the 5/4 thing repulsed me. Not nice sounding, it's more like someone's attempt at being clever. [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Brutal honesty, but yer did ask![/font][/color]

Most people who struggle with open notes or purposefully avoid using open notes will have muting issues, something you won't struggle with when fretting because you can simply rely on your fretting hand to do all the muting. You can still mute open strings with your fretting hand but it can often be less effective than developing a decent means of fretting with your right hand. It takes work, Jamerson was excellent at using open strings (whether they were tonal or atonal) as stepping stones in order to get to places, typically playing 'through' an open string and landing on the one below as you often see upright bass players do. This makes a lot of sense as it was his background before he came to electric bass. You should be able to string passages and scales together with the option of using both fretted and unfretted notes depending on what the situation calls for. Practice out of F major as a means of getting this together to begin with, you have easy access to your major 3rd, major 6rd and your 9th on the A, D and G strings respectively.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1368098442' post='2073101'] Although I do have a bit of a soft spot for their caramel wafer things... [/quote] Aldi, dirt cheap stoopwafels, cup of Tesco gold coffee at home, job done. You'll be paying less money than Starbucks and getting a significantly better cup of coffee! Back to arguing about tax in a thread about strings.

I really like the Xotics too, great instruments.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1368034522' post='2072366'] Looks great... would have a P-bass neck rather than a J [/quote] I would have had a P pup as opposed to the neck J, but that's just me. The factory was eye opening when I visited. Nice guys, the fit and finish of the basses were unreal, the showroom was cool too. Tried every bass they had there.

Sadowsky's are nice, if you like Sadowskys. I've now gone slightly gone off them personally after wanting one for years, however the Will Lee model is really superb. That mid boost is a welcome addition to their already classic preamp. Then you've got Nordy, Xotic, Alleva Coppolo, maybe a second hand Celinder, Sei and Overwater over this side of the pond. Another left field option are Pensa NYC. I got totally blown away by a 5 string model I tried last month. Their preamp is great, 2-band EQ, nicely voiced with your standard push/pull active/passive and a really handy push/pull humbucking option that gives a really thick sound that adds a whole new dimension to the super J thing. So good in fact that I now badly want one. Currently that would be my choice.

[quote name='chardbass' timestamp='1368016236' post='2072043'] Not even that close to Prince to be fair but what he is doing is bringing performance and entertainment back to live shows- choreographed band routines etc which is a nod to Prince and his side projects and through Prince, James Brown. [/quote] Agreed on that one, that's really what I like about him as well. For us musicians it's at least a bit interesting to see him playing with a great band. I think people might be getting ahead of themselves with comparing him to Jackson though, that guy was an institution in almost all respects. Quincy Jones too.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1367953520' post='2071568'] I don't think he's that far off being a modern day MJ. [/quote] He comes way off the scale of MJ, it's not even comparable.

[quote name='daveparker123' timestamp='1367952304' post='2071541'] [url="http://www.guitarmagazine.co.uk/features/the-only-way-is-essex-the-ashdown-story/"]http://www.guitarmag...-ashdown-story/[/url] Says here they don't pay out for artist endorsements. [/quote] They might not pay artists to use their heads but I doubt it will stop them giving stuff away for free.

I like him for the most part, I think he writes a good song, although I'd wholeheartedly agree that his lyrics are sh*te - but then they've got to be, it's top 40 material so who can blame him. I don't like the fact that he's getting marketed as this new Prince/Michael Jackson-type figure though, because that he ain't.

[quote name='daveparker123' timestamp='1367951537' post='2071521'] Thanks for constructive feedback people. As far as I'm aware though, Ashdown don't offer artist endorsements. [/quote] They definitely do. They're the kind of brand that thrive on having big name endorsements, it's good business practice and nothing to be scoffed at at all either.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1367947787' post='2071459'] Always plenty of Orange bashers, and it doesn't bother me. [/quote] Fender too. And people weren't all too happy about finding out about the reality behind TC's wattage ratings and bashed them. Hasn't stopped me using either because I just don't care. It's easier not getting offended than getting offended I always think!

[quote name='daveparker123' timestamp='1367944531' post='2071377'] If Ashdown gear was 'wooly' 'marmite like' 'average' or 'disappointing' as I've read on here, why would bassists like Nate Mendel, John Entwhistle, Mark King, James Johnston, Adam Clayton, Pino Palladino and Guy Pratt buy it themselves to use on stage? [/quote] I doubt they buy Ashdown gear, it's likely given to them in order to extend the brand name to prospective customers. In the case of Nate Mendel it's obviously beneficial for them to extend their marketing to the U.S.A too. Players like Pino have also used Epifani, Ampeg and Phil Jones stuff, depending on who he's playing with and what part of the world he is in, he doesn't seem to be all that picky about amplification. I don't have a problem with Ashdown per se but I wouldn't use their amps, they don't make my bass sound like I'd want it to sound on stage and unfortunately I have found that the 'wooly' sound has been true of much of the Ashdown stuff I've used. I get that other people like it though, it's just not my cup of tea at all. You might not like my amp if you tried it out, so it works both ways.

Don't really care too much what anyone plays anymore! Used to when I was younger, now I don't, I'm probably just incredibly stubborn and know what I like. Right now it's the right blend of vintage and modern!

I found I could get on a lot better in series mode over parallel, it seems to kick the mids in a bit. The EQ as everyone has said is extreme on Musicmans, a little goes a long way and I virtually left my EQ flat the whole time I gigged with my 5'er, maybe a bit of bass boost here and there. Maxed out bass is extreme, you can really mess your bandmates up with a Stingray's EQ and the stage setup couldn't handle it, it saturated the stage completely.

Fair enough I guess, I wonder if he's been offered the Fender endorsement before? I'm guessing he has.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1367753201' post='2069000'] Nick, I've just started gigging with a TH500. I've never had a band gather around my gear and look at the amp before last night! They've asked me not to use anything else. [/quote] Tried a TH500 with the new Berg CN212 the other last week. Unbelievable.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1367597415' post='2067450'] If they don't agree then that particular 'bombshell' is going to lose me all of about 5 seconds sleep. I'm certainly not going to bore them to death by insisting they listen to obscure widdly sh*te or lecture them on how ignorant they are for not agreeing with me, comparing genitalia sizes and insisting that every note played is influenced by them. [/quote] It is a little frustrating to see people quite obviously throwing up the walls when it comes to some of the more very obvious important bands, writers/composers and musicians in history, kind of of like plugging your ears and singing because you're unwilling to change your opinion too - not that I've seen any of that in this thread at all but it does have a tendency to happen on here from time to time. I completely agree though, and in the case of Jaco (someone who I really loved when I was a younger player), it's very easy to see why people might not be at all keen to listen. His music definitely isn't for everyone, neither is his playing, tone etc. etc.

One of my favourite Beatles tunes, glad it turned out better than that demo! Love Ringo's drums on the Revolver recording.

Just got back from NYC having played the CN212. Not too clued up on technical specs and all that, plus I was sat in a shop at the time so you can never get a really clear picture of how an amp sounds. So with that all aside, it sounded unbelievably good at low to mid level.

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1367359059' post='2064796'] Did he write Birdland? I think he played on it, didn't he. [/quote] Might have had a hand in it but it will have been Zawinul who wrote it.

Great story, I'm sure he was capable of being a massive pain in the arse at times.

That tort pickguard was a far better choice than black IMO, it looks amazing.