uncle psychosis

Train In Vain - The Clash

Do it. I'm definitely coming round to the "one bass plus a backup" point of view. Get one great bass and play the crap out of it

...because tonight I had one of the best musical experiences of my life. I went to this: [url="http://www.summerhall.co.uk/2013/nile-rodgers-and-indigo-night/"]http://www.summerhal...d-indigo-night/[/url] Which turned out to be really, really cool. Nile---just Nile, and his guitar---telling stories about his life and playing some music surrounded by an ever changing selection of pop art, some of which was created on the spot by an artist. A very small gig, probably only 200 people, and most of the audience were within about 30 feet of Nile so it really did feel intimate! Nile is a fantastic teller of tales and his guitar playing is just mindblowing when you hear it in isolation. He delved a little into some specifics on songs---for instance the reason no-one can cop "Get Lucky" is because what sounds like one guitar part is actually one rhythm guitar part layered with another single note guitar part, but done to sound like just one guitar. Or, despite "Dance, Dance, Dance", despite being in F major, the vocal melody never sings an F during the chorus. Oh, and mindlowing fact of the day? "Get Lucky" went to number one in half the countries on earth. Wow. The whole experience would have been special enough (I had a huge grin on my face from start to finish) but to top it all off at the end of the show I met the man himself. Needless to say I was a bit starstruck (what do you say to one of your all time musical heroes other than "thanks for the music, man!"?) but Nile was a real gent. Its on again tomorrow night as well, and all I can say is that if you're in Edinburgh and have any way of getting a ticket then beg, borrow, or steal whatever you need to do to get one.

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vinage-Brand-Bass-Guitar-/130917014444?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item1e7b431bac#ht_102wt_1399"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vinage-Brand-Bass-Guitar-/130917014444?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item1e7b431bac#ht_102wt_1399[/url] Collection only, typo in the listing title. Suspect it will go for peanuts, and Vintage make some great stuff.

Seems like a weird problem. The only thing I can think of---and this is a stab in the dark---is that with bare-metal strings you ground yourself when you touch them. With nylon strings, you don't. I'm wondering if you were picking up extra feedback because the big antenna that is your body was no longer grounded?

[quote name='Ian Savage' timestamp='1371575301' post='2115767'] Another MusicRadar user over here; yes, there is the occasional futile off-topic spat and argument over 'technique vs 'feel'' and suchlike, but on the whole it's a friendly place with (as Uncle says) some VERY knowledgeable people in a whole range of fields (I count amongst the ones I know personally two amp-builders/techs (one with a certain well-known UK manufacturer off the M1 in the south-east ), a couple of professional sound engineers/acoustics guys, a few pro guitar tutors and a fairly big music shop owner). Classifieds section is often rather drool-worthy too, worth a look. (I post there as 'thebeagle', by the way; don't THINK I'm on Uncle's ignore list yet ) [/quote] [quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1371575918' post='2115771'] I'm a mod on Musicradar. There are no instructions from up on high other than - bin the spam, bin the libel. Uncle can't ignore me as mods can't be ignored! [/quote] Haha, nah you guys are cool. I think.

A drop in the traffic was inevitable, and £20 for a years' worth of listings seems good value to me. The "problem" arises for the people who aren't perennial gear whores and who aren't regularly trying to shift stuff on, or for people who want to sell things that are worth £50-60 (like many pedals). As good as the BC market is, £7 for a possible sale is quite a lot in those circumstances. I personally think that the one-off fee is a little too high.

[quote name='rumour6' timestamp='1365502327' post='2040309'] 0116 Recurve Classic 5 fretless Can't believe I've not done this so far... picked the bass up last summer and still get overawed every time I pick it up. It's the easiest to play fretless I've ever owned and the new circuit ensures it's also the most versatile sounding. Alan and I have reasonably similar taste is bass sounds and playability options but here he's read my mind (OK, short read). The pix... [attachment=132079:Full F.jpg] [attachment=132080:Full R.jpg] [attachment=132081:Body F.jpg] [attachment=132082:Body R.jpg] [/quote] Thats amazing. I'm no fretless player, but a fretted version of that is pretty much my dream ACG aesthetics wise. Whats the spec?

How often you play is just as important as how often you change strings! I rarely change strings (once a year or so) but I don't play much more than an hour or two a week.

[quote name='Noisyjon' timestamp='1371558926' post='2115461'] But owned by Future Publishing so it [i]could[/i] be biased/manipulated for them & their customers/advertisers? [/quote] The only real moderation that occurs at MR is the removal of spam links and the occasional spat in the OT section. Future Publishing don't seem to push any kind of editorial content on the forum at all.

[quote name='mart' timestamp='1371551457' post='2115288'] The MusicRadar forum is not bad. It's certainly not full of teenage know-it-alls. And there are some genuine experts there - pedal makers, amp makers, and professional repairers. I'd say its main problem is that it is seriously gas-inducing. [/quote] I like musicradar. I've added two or three of the village idiots to my ignore file, but most of the guys over there are sound.

Have you had some lessons with a (good) teacher? Most wrist problems can be sorted out with (proper) technique. I used to get horrible wrist pains, because I was holding it all wrong. Might be worth getting a lesson or two before you jump on the new-bass roundabout again.

Nile Rodgers autobiography is one of the best I've ever read.

[quote name='tayste_2000' timestamp='1371113798' post='2109874'] I have the Behringer version and I'm going to pickup the Tech 21 version as soon as I can find space on my board, it is like the greatest stacking pedal ever, any other dirt you run into it just sounds way better. Seriously good and under rated pedal. [/quote] I also have the behringer one, I use it for headphone practice on my guitar. Didn't think to try a bass through it...

I'd love to try more bass strings but at upwards of £25 a set I can't really afford to :-(

I used to study this kind of thing for a living. I think there's enough evidence now to be fairly confident that (good) modern violins sound and play just as good as the antique Strads etc (And remember that Stradivarius wouldn't even recognise his own instruments now, with their modified bridges, metal strings, etc). However, musicians are still a very conservative (small c) bunch and to "make it" as a concert violinist it is almost expected that you will play an old instrument. Its a kudos/prestige/tradition thing as much as a musical thing.

Someone on another forum (probably musicradar) mentioned it.

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1371109290' post='2109797'] [b]Luthiers will not be buying the quantity of parts that the mass manufactures do[/b] and will be buying higher quality raw materials too both of which will be reflected in the costs. [b] Many of the hardware manufacturers have price points that lower dramatically at certain order values/quantities and these will never come into play for the small builders.[/b] There will also be the issue of financing the stock of woods that allows them to be thoroughly dry before use, and even allowing weeks for items like the neck to stabilise after the timber has been cut. [/quote] Well those two points agree with what I was saying! Simple economies of scale mean that anything "custom" or "boutique" tends to be more expensive, and thats before you consider quality. If every single ACG bass was exactly the same then they could make the basses a bit cheaper, but without compromising on quality. I'm not saying its a general rule, but its just something to remember. PS I'd love a custom ACG by the way

Nice work. Good guitars those, but the location of the pickup selector would annoy me!

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1371053510' post='2109219'] I completely agree on the double P route. My favourite layout, and the combo on my main bass. However, A PJ can also work very well indeed if the pickups are chosen well to complement each other. A nice, hot, hum-free J in the bridge position balances nicely (and noiselessly) with a vintage-type P pickup in the neck position. And as we're showing double P's, here's mine ! [url="http://www.ephotobay.com/share/aria-full-b.html"][/url] [/quote] I like that. A lot. Tell me more

The thing to remember with custom builds is that you pay a hefty premium for the "custom" bit. A large part of the fee you pay goes into making something specific to your requirements, not necessarily on improving the "quality" of the finished piece. Yes, you expect it to be good quality, but not all of the price difference between an off-the-shelf model and a custom model is spent on "quality", if you see what I mean. Personally, I'd love to try some really high-end basses (£2k +) and see how good they are. My Yamaha TRB feels like a fantastic instrument, I'd love to know what discernable differences there are on a really expensive bass.

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1370879631' post='2106784'] The guy who related this tale came from Basildon area, don't know anymore than that. [/quote] How well did you know him? The whole thing has something of a "cool story, bro" feel about it. If someone I didn't know told me that tale I'd be inclined to say it was made up / exaggerated. Either way, if you take an (uninsured) bass of that value to a pub and don't put it safely back in its case when you're not playing it then you either have a lot more money than me or need your head examined!

I don't know anything about those, but that is one of the coolest looking basses I've ever seen. I love it!

I can't say I find the arrogant dismissal of any instrument very cool and I find the constant put downs of guitarists on this forum just as tedious as the put downs that bassists sometimes get from guitarists. Playing the bass well is hard. Playing the drums well is hard. Playing the guitar well is hard. Playing one instead of the other doesn't make you better, it just makes you different.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1370782307' post='2105420'] . . . .and the butter adverts. [/quote] Indeed. Its quite telling that no-one is asking Emerson, Lake, or Palmer to do adverts