risingson

Funny this guy at my gig tonight asked me about my Lakland, but he was also quick to point out before he asked about it how many basses he had and what kinds they were without me prompting, like some kind of pissing contest. To be honest I don't care about what kind of bass/amp/cab I use. I own an Eden rig but would be just as happy using something a third of the price if it sounds good and suits the venue I'm playing, e.g. Tonight I used a Fender Rumble 350 and it was more than sufficient and sounded absolutely fine. Bottom line is that gear is nothing if you're not a good player.

[quote name='4000' post='1320038' date='Jul 29 2011, 08:20 AM']The only thing that ever prompted me to have LEDs as fretmarkers (and I've had 3 basses with them) is so I can see where I am on a darkened stage! Nothing to do with attention seeking. It actually really helps you know....[/quote] I was just joking I was in fact toying with the idea of doing it for a time back in the days when Stuart Zender was my bass hero

[quote name='Doddy' post='1319702' date='Jul 28 2011, 08:11 PM']You can get a lot of dynamic range when slapping. Contrary to popular belief,you don't have to hit the strings as hard as you can in E minor. The problem is that lots of people don't seem to realise this. It says more about the player than the technique.[/quote] I understand but you are definitely dynamically limited when slapping, after all the necessary force required to get the desired attack from the note is more substantial than when playing with your fingers. Often the impression of dynamics comes from the space that the good players leave in between what they're playing. Case and point would be F Washington's groove on 'Forget Me Nots'. It's a bass line that breathes instead of being clogged down with the kind of rhythmic nonsense that other players you hear in shops on a Saturday afternoon like to play for everyone to hear.

[quote name='kevin_lindsay' post='1319714' date='Jul 28 2011, 08:24 PM']Everyone has their own reference ppiints. For me, it's always been Pino Palladino. Saw him live on New Years Evw 1981 and it changed my perception of how fluid a bass player could be. And, even though he's now a friend of mine, I am still inspired by his playing.[/quote] + a zillion Kev (you need to hook us up sometime! He's my bass playing hero). Also love Adam Blackstone.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1319627' date='Jul 28 2011, 06:47 PM']ha ha.!!!!. love this..[/quote] Don't get me wrong, slapping is fine but only when it's done properly. My personal issue is that it kills all known dynamic intricacies stone dead, but it has it's place and I do sometimes like to use it myself.

It's the MacDonalds of bass playing. Impressive how quickly it fills you up but ultimately violating.

[quote name='silddx' post='1319604' date='Jul 28 2011, 06:28 PM']There's always that little bastard on your shoulder that screams "you boring twat" in your head when you've you've played something unmusical and purely technical. This bugger is always there and it's wise to listen.[/quote] Some bass players seem to suffer from the idea that they'll be forever under-appreciated and have to compensate. I think it's the same mentality that you describe here that drives people to put LED's in their fretmarkers. After all no one can be accused at the end of the night to have not paid attention to you as your fretboard has been lit up like a Christmas tree for the whole evening!

I now want a Sadowsky again as well Wayne, after being a little underwhelmed at a few models I've played, I had a go on an MV-5 the other day down in Camden that blew my face away. Also after a very particular '63 P-Bass I played in Stockholm a few weeks back, hands down the best P I've personally played. Steep asking price unfortunately.

[quote name='algmusic' post='1317715' date='Jul 26 2011, 10:17 PM']Not quite, I never said all technique and no soul. If you have good technique it can help you achieve what you play from your heart with less effort. Most of the time the simple things are things that make a difference in music, just because you have been taught something complex, it doesn't mean you play exactly that, you interpet the technique for what you have learnt to play what comes from the heart. I'm self taught for serval years, then I got some technique down and I found the missing pieces to play the simple things well and to improvise better. On a gig, the theory, technique is almost forgotten and just play what feels good and sounds right, but the technique is what helped you get there. Also I think people think people like Bowie just play and then it's there.. they have 100's of ideas and use only one.. it's all really a form of technique trying to understand what works.[/quote] I agree almost completely. It's just that sometimes after a certain point, technique becomes redundant in the wider picture of performance. I have practiced technique on the bass for years and have worked hard to get it down for the same reasons you describe, but my point is that with a Bowie record or a Beatles record, two artists I consider to be greatly influential, the mistakes and sometimes lack of technical ability colour the track and give it the idiosyncrasies that make it unique. I like good technique, but sometimes in some cases musicians who have practiced good technique are actually quite uninteresting to listen to (in my view at least). Example: Toto, a band of the tightest L.A session guys going. I like listening to some of their stuff because of their technical competency and the fact they've written some very decent tunes, but prolonged listening often makes me think that they're too tight. Their music can lack character because of it, and this isn't helped by the fact the production values are so highly polished either. I'm in general agreement that technique allows you to move forward as a musician and express what you feel on an instrument with increased ease, but it's not the be all and end all.

A lot of misinformation flying round this thread The short and tall of it is this: I've used a number of different kinds of jazz basses as a gigging musician for the past 5 years and never have I once had a problem being heard, on stage or off. If you're having problems being heard, adjust your EQ, that's what it's there for. If you've been a P bass user then playing a jazz bass live will come as a bit of a shock to you, but you'll soon get used to it. The jazz bass, just like the P bass, is a great design and they both have their merits.

I've opened my ears to a lot more folk style music recently since my attention has come to playing guitar more and more. Aside from that I've never dropped a style of music in exchange for a different kind as such but like a few people have mentioned, my taste in music has evolved an unbelievable amount since I started playing bass 10 years ago. I tend to be a bit of a sponge when I listen to music and have a voracious appetite for everything.

[quote name='algmusic' post='1317452' date='Jul 26 2011, 06:48 PM']but you'll be limited by your technical ability to play what you want at some point.. it's why we practice[/quote] Of course, but you don't need brilliant technical skills as a musician to get across your point. Just look at David Bowie. Good technique is enough. Brilliant technique is great but past a point it detracts the focus away from the music and all of a sudden what could have been a nice night at the theatre becomes a night at the circus.

[quote name='algmusic' post='1317452' date='Jul 26 2011, 06:48 PM']but you'll be limited by your technical ability to play what you want at some point.. it's why we practice[/quote] Of course, but you don't need brilliant technical skills as a musician to get across your point. Just look at David Bowie. Good technique is enough. Brilliant technique is great but past a point it detracts the focus away from the music and all of a sudden a night at the theatre becomes a night at the circus.

You don't need technique to be musically minded. John Lennon said "I'm an artist, and if you give me a tuba, I'll bring you something out of it".

My rule: if it sounds good, then it doesn't matter what it's made of! Different kinds of wood do sound different and I do have my preferences but I doubt any of the audience I play to will be able to tell the difference anyway.

[quote name='lobematt' post='1315977' date='Jul 25 2011, 05:25 PM']Yeah by session I don't mean just studio, I basically mean people calling me up wanting to give me money to play my bass! Which I know is far down the road and very hard to come by but I know it's not impossible.[/quote] The guys I know working as professional musicians are working practically every night down in London and around the country. None of them apart from one or two are working on only one gig. They do functions, studio work, dep work, reading gigs, they fly all over Europe and the world in some cases to get to where they need to be. It is incredibly hard work and sometimes for little in return. Unsociable hours. You need the drive and determination to get yourself out there and make yourself known to people asap.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1315998' date='Jul 25 2011, 05:34 PM']But then you must consider that everyone doesn't like the same things. I love Status Graphite basses, I always have and I consider them 'the best' at what they do. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who dislike headless basses, dislike the graphite sound, dislike the image etc etc. So what works for me doesn't work for everyone else. However, I've played plenty of high end jazz basses though typically they are not what I'm after. Looking at it objectively, Sadowsky basses have always struck me as average as far as jazz basses go. Surely a case of different vinegar strokes for different folks, as Roger has had order books filled out for his basses over 20 years now. But they've never really impressed me.[/quote] You've summarised what I've been in agreement with all along... it's personal preference!

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1315953' date='Jul 25 2011, 05:02 PM']But then you could say the same of any high end bass builder; they are in business because people pay for their instruments.[/quote] I think it has less to do with that and more to do with [u]why[/u] such big names are buying their instruments. I know of many high-end bass brands but I can't think of many with such an extensive and varied artist roster. My point is that the names that keep cropping up who have bought Sadowskys are people that have been around for years and are quite frankly the least likely musicians on the planet to buy products that are 'average'. Walter Becker for example: probably one of the biggest audiophiles in popular music and notoriously one of the most demanding people to work with. Sonic clarity and perfection mean everything in his music. You think he'd be okay taking average gear to the studio and to live performances? Something doesn't add up there. Couple this with my personal experience of Sadowsky as a company and the 'average' argument just doesn't really work out.

[quote name='lobematt' post='1315779' date='Jul 25 2011, 02:45 PM']I'm in the process of putting together a musicians CV complete with demos, youtube links etc, with a view to get some session work out of it. My question is though, who would I be best off sending it too? Would it be labels, management companies, studios, all of the above or someone else entirely? Cheers![/quote] I think that whilst what you've put together is a good idea, work as a session musician comes from climbing the ladder and demonstrating in a practical environment that you are capable, reliable and a friendly person with whom people will want to work with and recommend. In fact more specifically, the only person they'll want to recommend ever again. Networking will ultimately be the thing that gets you work. Ask producers if you can sit in on up and coming artists so you can get a feel for what is required as a studio musician. There are people who will need musicians for dep work on T.V and for studio dates as well, expect the cash to be minimal to non-existent but being reliable and diligent with these kinds of people will earn you more and more work. And definitely get your reading together!! A lot of stuff I've seen recently has been chart work, but even still you don't want to give anyone the excuse to call someone else. Have every base covered. And good luck EDIT - just noticed you're based in Liverpool. You been down to see what's happening at Parr Street at all?

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1315829' date='Jul 25 2011, 03:29 PM']Well, it's not my fault Sadowsky makes an average product! [/quote] Definitely not the opinion of many of the world's greatest bass and guitar players unfortunately. Will Lee, Mike Elizondo, Walter Becker, Dave Bronze, Marcus Miller, John Patitucci, Daryl Stuermer, Willie Weeks and that's just the tip of the iceberg really! As far as I'm aware (with the probable exception of Will Lee and Walter Becker) endorsements from Sadowsky don't really exist, which means that these very capable and longstanding pros are investing their money in a product that they like. Not liking a product is one thing, but I doubt anyone could argue that Sadowskys are an average product.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1315817' date='Jul 25 2011, 03:20 PM']Depends how you are recording. If it's multitrack and you've got good separation of instruments, and the overall "vibe" of the track is good then play through to the end and go back and fix your mistakes. It's just as bad to make all the other musicians play the bits that they've already done right over and over again because you screwed up.[/quote] I agree on both points and for different reasons. As much as I enjoy overdubbing after the drums and a basic keys track has been put down, it's always nice to capture a truly 'live' performance of an entire band in the studio as well. It becomes less of a draw to be overdubbing endless takes of instruments and allows you to to stand back and actually be subjective about what you've just recorded, mistakes withstanding.

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='1315328' date='Jul 25 2011, 01:29 AM']I'm just bout to upload our latest track to our Facebook page which is in my sig. I had to do all the mixing myself so forgive me for it's amateurness. Personally I'd rather sound a mixture of Rage, Midget and Mad Capsule Markets, and I'd say my Writing style is similar to the bassists of all three. I just don't seem to be very consistent in how well I would play, and hearing how bad I played over the weekend put another downer ontop of the fact that I wasn't totally happy with how the sound engineer insisted we set up and the recorded sound from my rig was pretty naff. It was one of those days that just didn't go aswell as it could of.[/quote] Cool, I'll check it out. In the meanwhile, relax a bit. Just enjoy playing music for what it is, and most often you'll be your own worst critic if you'll pardon the cliche. Take practical steps to resolving your issues like getting your timing together with a metronome and making sure the notes you're choosing are the right ones at the right time. Most people would rather hear a bassist play one or two correct notes a bar as opposed to two right notes and 7 wrong/badly chosen ones. Simplicity is sometimes the key, and I think once you can realise this then it can be easier to sit back and enjoy the music that you're playing.

Enjoy bass playing for what it is, don't overcomplicate things and let the music breathe by not overplaying and creating space for the rest of your band. They should be just as aware of not overplaying as you should too, it's not just a bass player thing. It's really easy for people to offer advice here without necessarily knowing what kind of player you are and what kind of music you're into. Got any live material to share of your band or artists you particularly enjoy?

[quote name='Norm' post='1314169' date='Jul 23 2011, 08:02 PM']Had a trip to deliver some of my wife paintings to a new gallery in london a couple of weeks ago. Got it done early so made a 1st time visit to the bass gallery. Went in & was blown away, just couldn't take it in! Too many basses, amps & everything. Couldn't try anything, just wandered around like a twat for a while then left. Same used to happen to me in record shops, I'd go completely blank & leave without buying anything. The only thing I remember was a sweet old trace v6 valve head just inside the door! Felt like a right dickhead! oh well I'll have to go back again with a written shopping list. Cheers, Norm.[/quote] I was kind of the same, my girlfriend said my eyes lit up like a kids would on Christmas day. I took the plunge though and tried a few things out, and they couldn't have been nicer about it really.