uncle psychosis

Depending how portable you need... I use a DI box and then plug my bass into a small mixer. This allows me to blend in signals from my hifi, PC, etc and also pass the whole thing back into the PC for recording. Its a very flexible setup that sounds great but its not very portable which might be an issue for you.

Disco Sucks had more to do with the socio-political makeup of Disco than it did the sound of the records. Music made by black men and popularised in gay clubs was never going to go down well with conservative white Americans.

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1375728766' post='2164885'] I find by the end of some particularly loud gigs, my hearing is shot and what started out as a lovely fat deep tone has degenerated into a horrible honky middy, trebbly racket with no bottom end. Its a bit disconcerting cos i think its the amp or cabs but it's not, its my ears have fatigue. I've tried wearing AC plugs (which i use for rehersals and are great BTW) but for gigs, the excitement and dynamics of loud music get lost and I can't stand using them. The soloution? Everybody turn down of course but the guitarist is an idiot and doesn't want to loose that "sweet" spot at a particular volume...."sigh".... [/quote] damage your hearing enough and you'll lose "the excitement and dynamics" of live music completely. Wear ear protection.

Most times I've tried instruments in shops the staff have checked the instrument was in tune etc before letting me loose on it. I understand it's hard to keep your stock in a+ condition all the time but it only takes seconds to make sure that the instrument a customer is trying is in decent nick.

I actually blame the musicians instead of Fender for a lot of this. If the Chris Squire bass doesn't sound like his, then why did he let them put his name on it? Too many players go for the lazy option and clearly don't really care about the spec of their signature models. Contrast with Johnny Marr, whose signature guitar features all sorts of non standard things that he specifically requested.

Get some really cheap and nasty soap and use it to wash your hands before the gig. Cheap soap really dries out your hands. It won't stop you sweating completely bit it may help.

Why so restricted by the jack position?

I've always fancied a zvex ringtone.

To be honest, I flicked through it in one of their shops a few months ago and decided it wasn't worth a fiver!

Thats a cool video. Great work. I love the band outfits. I would agree that a shorter cut might be a good idea as well though.

Thanks guys. I think the answer (for me at least) is to try and play softer than I have been, but not outrageously so. Hopefully in the next few months I'll be able to get back into some lessons and get some face-to-face advice.

Hey guys I'm working on my fingerstyle playing. I'm aware that my technique isn't great so I'm really trying to focus on it and I've been aware for a while now that I pluck too hard with my right hand. I'm happy with the sound I get this way but I think its holding me back a bit technique wise as well as making it really hard/tiring to play fast repetitive lines---any kind of joey ramone style line is just too hard (stamina wise). So, I've turned my amp up and am attempting to play softer, and I seem to be getting good results. However, I've also noticed a lot more finger noise and string noise (which is to be expected with more volume on the amp). My question is...how light should you go in terms of touch? I don't want to end up going too soft and end up with untameable string noise, effects pedal noise, etc from having the gain on the amp too high but I don't really know how to go about working out where the "sweet spot" is. Any tips?

[quote name='Ant' timestamp='1374177039' post='2146209'] we toured recently with a welsh band called Exit_international who have two bassists and a drummer, check them out [/quote] we played with them in Glasgow, really liked them.

Thanks! They look like just what I'm after. Cheers!

[quote name='Ticktock' timestamp='1374187142' post='2146375'] Guys, thanks for all the replies. I am at the start of a journey, I feel better about playing now than I ever did and since time passes quickly and life is perilously short I have a want for something nice to play on. I understand the logic of baby steps and " Working my way up" to a custom made instrument but I feel like I've wasted 20 years or so by not playing. [/quote] My advice of "don't go custom" isn't based on working your way up to a nice instrument. If you can afford a nice instrument then you should get one and (rightly) enjoy playing it. However, if you get a custom bass without being 100% sure of the spec there is a danger that in a year or so, as you get more into playing, you'll decide it isn't really the perfect bass for you. Anything custom tends to have horrible resale value and that wouldn't be a nice position to be in. So, you should definitely get yourself a great instrument - and quite rightly so - but if I were in your position I personally would be looking at of the shelf models, and probably second hand. Anyway, with your budget there are some outrageously good deals just now. Enjoy the journey :-)

Why are you specifically looking for a five string player? It seems an odd requirement. Like the tunes by the way, hope you find a good player

It always seems to me that there are lots of guitarists (and some bass players) who genuinely think that knowing some theory will somehow inhibit creativity. I think these people think that players that know theory are constantly thinking "right this is a Dm7 chord...so erm...right...what do the textbooks say I can play again?". The reality is that its not like that. Having a proper grasp of music theory is to music as spelling and grammar are to language. I don't conciously need to think about how to spell words, form sentences, or punctuate properly---it happens so quickly that its completely natural. Thats the end point of learning music theory---knowing what you're doing without thinking about it. To the OP, don't get too bogged down in it. There's a lot of stuff to take in at once, so don't get too disheartened if you feel overwhelmed. I'd start with learning about the major scale and go from there.

Hey folks I'm trying to improve my playing and I'm looking for some good online lessons. I need something to structure my practice around. Ultimately I'm interested in funk/jazz style playing but I don't want to specialise too much. I would describe myself as being an intermediate pick player but a beginner at fingerstyle (what I really want to focus on). I want to get back to having proper lessons at some point but I can't really afford them just now. Any recommendations? Ideally a series of things that I can work through gradually.

Thats a very good version, and it must have been very emotional for them all. A good tribute. But, on a different note, I have to admit I've never seen the attraction to Stairway. LZ have dozens of better songs in my opinion.

To be honest, I wouldn't recommend a custom bass for someone in your position. You may find that your idea of your ideal bass changes quite a lot as you get back into playing. Buying a custom bass and then changing your mind about it is a great way to lose a fortune. To be honest, your budget is so good that pretty much everything in that range will be a very good instrument. Get yourself to a good shop and play as many things as you can and see what jumps out at you. Also, in the current market, if you have that kind of money to spend, there are some seriously good second hand bargains out there.

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1374018841' post='2144406'] I think we have a semantics problem here. What are you calling frequencies?[/quote] Frequencies are frequencies. I'm specifically referring to the complete harmonic spectrum of a sound. When you play a note on the bass guitar you don't hear a single frequency, you hear dozens all piled up on top of each other. [quote]Two basses can be playing the same note with the same EQ (same frequency curve) and sound completely different.,[/quote] Yes, because the[b] time-varying harmonic (frequency) spectrum of the instruments is different. [/b] [quote] If the bass has an inherent "frequency difference" then it would be a matter of adding or subtracting frequencies but that's never the case. Tone is also in the wood and the electronics, even the shape of the bass will be a factor. You can call it ALL frequencies but that's misleading IMO. [/quote] In terms of sound produced all that wood and electronics and shape of bass do is to alter the variation of the harmonic spectrum. This is how modelling amps and guitars work. Its not semantics, its basic physics.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1373918185' post='2143203'] Yeah, she was great there. That's a really good set they have. Love Swastika Eyes and Come Together especially. [/quote] Swastika Eyes sounds great on that video. I saw Primal Scream just after XTRMNTR came out and they were absolutely incredible. The new stuff just seems a bit tame in comparison.

Finally watched this. Thought it was one of the best live performances from a "pop" band that I've ever seen. Brilliant. Kimberly Davis deserves to be a star in her own right---"I Want Your Love" in particular was incredible.

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1373985133' post='2143852'] yes -- harmonic spectrum . i.e. "timbre." [/quote] which is all frequency information. Saying timbre is nothing more than frequency (like xilddx did) is correct. Timbre is variation of frequency information.

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1373984653' post='2143838'] Huh? Of course it does. An "A" on a guitar and a "A" in the same register on a trumpet have completly different timbres while sharing the same frequency of 440. [/quote] They share the same[b] fundamental [/b]frequency. They do not share the same harmonic spectrum. A large part of the perceived timbre differences are down to the (frequency) differences in spectral content.