BottomEndian

Thanks guys. Anyone else?

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='751781' date='Feb 20 2010, 01:57 PM']I think there are vastly different sounding black Russian muffs, going by what people say about them.[/quote] IME, that's true of a lot of Electro-Harmonix pedals. I've had two NYC Big Muffs set up to A/B, and they were noticeably different. I think they have quite wide tolerances in component values, so some pedals have "it" and some don't.

I'm looking at the rudiments of slap technique. I'll probably never use it in a band context, but it might come in handy one day. So I've been looking at various resources, talking to people and all that, and it seems that there are two schools of thought as to what to do with your thumb when you slap: [list=1] [*]Flick it onto the string and bounce it straight off again, back to where it started [*]Flick it sort of [i]across[/i] the string so it follows through and comes to rest on the next string [/list]I understand the second option comes in handy when you get into the world of double-thumbing (or double-thumping or whatever it's called), but that's a long way off yet. I've also noticed that Stu Hamm recommends it in his BGM column this month. So which do you do? And if you'd care to elaborate, why do you do it?

I've had a black Russian BM and I've got a Bass BM. I guess that tells you which I prefer! With the Bass BM, the Bass Boost mode is simply incredible in terms of the bottom end it kicks out, and it sounds great [i]on its own[/i] or against a drummer. HOWEVER... I still massively prefer the Wren & Cuff Pickle Pie B in a band context with dirty guitars. It's based around a kind of Big-Muff-ish sound but without the mid-scoop that's present on Big Muffs, so you can retain real presence in a band. Loads of bottom and a decent clean blend. Of course, it's about 3 or 4 times the price of a Bass Big Muff.

[quote name='silddx' post='751593' date='Feb 20 2010, 09:43 AM']Looking forward to reading about that funny looking thing on the cover.[/quote] Just don't look at the price...

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='751087' date='Feb 19 2010, 04:40 PM']Can't be doing with Jazz.[/quote] I was saving this for later in the series, but you might be a candidate for jumping ahead to this one:

I've strung TIs and Chromes through-body (except the B-string), and never had any trouble. La Bellas... I just wouldn't even try stringing them through.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='750827' date='Feb 19 2010, 01:05 PM']Has anyone got a tab for this?[/quote]

[quote name='dood' post='750810' date='Feb 19 2010, 12:53 PM']I don't think I could classify someones ability by the songs they play. I've seen bass players slay progressive tracks with feel and timing akin to taking a swipe with a baseball bat, yet watched a 12 year old make a fretless sing to the point of jealousy with his 'simplest' of lines - the lad just rinsed every ounce of groove and feel out of the line and he didn't appear to even realise it. - I would say the guy was destined for 'Something a Little Bit Special'.[/quote] Absolutely. Along with the ability to play insanely complex stuff, players need to develop the ability to [i]not[/i] play insanely complex stuff all the time. Sometimes all it needs is the root on the "1".

[quote name='WWRRSS' post='750806' date='Feb 19 2010, 12:50 PM']Whats below Novice?[/quote] I present the first in my series of studies designed for the Pre-Novice. This is called "Étude in E":

[quote name='Bilbo' post='750585' date='Feb 19 2010, 10:02 AM']Novice - some James Jamerson stuff (Can't Hurry Love, Get Ready, My Guy) Intermediate - some James Jamerson stuff (What's Going On, Heard It Through The Grapevine) Bloody Good - some James Jamerson stuff (Ain't Too Proud To Beg, How Long Has That Evening Traini Been Gone) Something a Little Bit Special - some James Jamerson stuff (live version of Ain't No Mountain High Enough, I'm Gonna Make You Love Me)[/quote] Woohoo! I'm intermediate! Where does "Bernadette" come into the Bilbo-patented Jamerson Bass Grading System (JaBaGraS™)?

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='750565' date='Feb 19 2010, 09:46 AM']I suppose it begs the question - Why do you want such heavy strings? The other thing to remember is that the heavier the string set, the more tension you need on your trussrod. Strings as thick as those mentioned will cause your neck to bow like a banana![/quote] I assume it's for down-tuning. If you brought a .200 string up to normal low E, it might well do more than just [b]bend[/b] the neck! I don't have a copy lying around here, but I seem to remember in this month's BGM there's an interview with Yves Carbonne, who uses a .250 for his low-low-B (octave below normal low-B on a 5-string). I guess a .200 would be good for around F# or something. (EDIT: VK jumped in with the info just above!) My SUB's tuned in fifths (C-G-D-A, just to be awkward ), and I've used the outer four from a heavy five-string set: 50-70-105-135. The tension's pretty high, but I play that bass hard with a pick, so it works beautifully.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='750533' date='Feb 19 2010, 09:10 AM']Honestly stop worrying. I've driven the same 350w PA cabs [u]hard[/u] (i.e. a whole 4 piece pub rock band inc drums) with a 1200w power amp (but never with anything going into clipping) for 15 years with not one bit of a problem, I've also used 200w bass cabs with 1000w power amps and conversely a 1600w bass cab with a 150w amp and so long as you listen to what the cab is doing you won't come to any harm. The odd fart/noise from your drivers and they are telling you something is working too hard and you need to adjust something accordingly... just use some common sense.[/quote] IIRC, power amps and bass amps tend to be rated quite differently for output. Power amps have very low THD, and they're designed to stay clean all the way up to maximum volume. Bass amps typically have higher THD at the power level they're rated at, and they're often designed to go beyond that level too. So they'll generally sound louder than PA power amps for any given power output rating because the distortion (which you probably won't be able to hear as distortion -- more of a "thickening") fills out the sound. I could be wrong about all this, but it's based on experience. I used to use a Tapco power amp into one of these cabs that M4L666 has (running at 800W into 4 ohms at full tilt), and it felt [i]nowhere near[/i] as loud as the Peavey Max 700 (running 475W into 4 ohms at full tilt, but in practice nowhere near full tilt). Even my 500W LMII (which is supposedly ultra-clean) absolutely kicks the ass of the 800W Tapco into the Barefaced Vintage.

[quote name='M4L666' post='750570' date='Feb 19 2010, 09:49 AM']The problem is finding 500w cabs, I guess. They seem to be working fine, but I'll keep my ears open. Ideally, when buying a new cab, I should go for the same or above wattage of the head, right?[/quote] I think part of the problem you've got here is that you've got 4-ohm cabs. If they were 8-ohm, you'd be much more likely to find a head that was perfectly within acceptable printed parameters with them. IIRC, if the head puts out 500W into 4 ohms, it'll put out about 350W into 8 ohms. The alternative is to find a head that's happy at 2 ohms with an output of 700W or less. Something like the Peavey Max 700.

You'll be fine. Don't push the volume up and everything'll be sweet. They might start farting a bit if you push up, but they're surprisingly abuse proof, those cabs. I should know!

[quote name='Musicman69' post='750160' date='Feb 18 2010, 08:33 PM']Im certainly no expert but it looks like its meant to be that way.[/quote] I'd agree with that. The fretboard itself looks flat; it's just the bottom edge of the neck that's been kind of chamfered off. Maybe it's supposed to look cool. Give it a couple of years though, and there'll be enough dust in that gap that there won't [b]be[/b] a gap any more.

[quote name='Tait' post='749734' date='Feb 18 2010, 02:26 PM']i think its really amazing how he can do that, i always thought being pitch perfect was impossible, but it's kind of made me wonder. even if it is possible, i think its unbelievably difficult and i don't think just anyone could do it, you'd have to have excellent ears and really really know the sounds well, like a blind person would.[/quote] It's astonishingly common in populations with "tonal" languages. Just take a look at the tables of data in [url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1377995/pdf/10441595.pdf"]the first article here[/url]. In the "conservatory" group, 18% of the non-Asian music students (and thus generally the ones using non-tonal languages) had absolute pitch (or "perfect pitch"). Pretty high, you might think. Then you notice that the "conservatory" music students from Asian backgrounds have an AP-prevalence of nearly 50%. Yes, they're highly trained musicians, so you'd expect a high rate of AP in both groups, but the cultural difference is pretty impressive. [url="http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1450"]This article from Language Log[/url]'s pretty interesting too, showing how pretty much everyone in the West misses the boat for developing AP.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='749516' date='Feb 18 2010, 12:04 PM']That neck is trucked..[/quote] As in run over by one? Looks it.

[quote name='Hit&Run' post='748956' date='Feb 17 2010, 09:13 PM']1) Would I need a different guage to my preferred roundwound guage? 2) I recall reading about TIs being a bit 'looser' feeling than the taut LaBellas. If I were to get some LaBellas, would I need to lighten the guage accordingly? 3) LaBella and TI seem to predominate the choices of many players. Does anyone use any other flatwounds? I'd seen a couple of references to rotosound and status hotwires; is there any more info on these, or any other brands like Picato, Elites, GHS, D'Addario etc..[/quote] 1) Try it and see. 2) See point 1. 3) I've tried TIs, La Bellas and D'Addario Chromes, and in a couple of cases I've had all three on the same bass. (Not simultaneously. That's simply too much to ask of one man.) Here are some thoughts of mine: Chromes: nice smooth surface feel, but a little too much "woof" and "click" (all low-mids and surprisingly bright tops) and not enough growl in the mids. Sensible flexibility, though. TIs: really sproingy, to the extent that I found they "dragged" a little under the fingers. Great sound, though. Really thick and full through the mids with an edge of bite to the top. La Bellas: not necessarily high tension [i]per se[/i], but definitely a stiff feel. Very strong fundamental, loads of bottom and mids, very little top. Sounds "dead" by comparison to rounds, but they've got a liveliness all of their own if the funk's in your fingers. Out of those three, the La Bellas win for me by a small margin over the TIs, just for the extra stiffness. I've never played the Status flats, but I've got a set of Status half-wounds on my SR5 fretless at the moment, and I think they're top-notch. Great value for money and made in the UK to boot! (As an aside, I've had D'Addario half-wounds on a couple of my basses, and they were so bad they made me want to stop playing and watch Neighbours or something. Truly awful-feeling strings IMO.)

[quote name='Tech' post='749026' date='Feb 17 2010, 10:11 PM']i recommended he listen to "ludovico einaudi"[/quote] I never thought I'd see those words written.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='748497' date='Feb 17 2010, 02:33 PM']Dm7 = Bi-curious[/quote] Bi-curious!? Sir, Dm7 is gayer than Liberace.

[quote name='ash_sak' post='748337' date='Feb 17 2010, 12:49 PM']I still advise you read Musicophilia, it's a pretty damn good book (That goes for everyone)[/quote] +1

No, not me. I think that form of synaesthesia's quite rare, compared to things like letters or numbers (or days of the week) having colours. That said, I do get a sensation of different "tones" and "feelings" (bright, dark, happy, strident, etc.) from different chords and keys, which apparently not everyone has. In fact, I agree with Nigel Tufnel that D minor is the saddest of all keys. No, seriously. An A major chord's bright and open to me, whereas Eb major's kind of solemnly smug. D minor's really sad, but A minor's just wistful. Hard to describe, but really useful at times. Chord extensions give me different sensations too (and usually combined with the associated feeling for the base chord too): maj7 = light, open, floating min7 = dense, thick, dark sus = sparkling