uncle psychosis

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1363080722' post='2007906'] If the consequence is that a small number of people who only ever wanted to use Basschat as a cheap alternative to eBay decide to stick with eBay, that's their problem. [/quote] Yes. But a lot of people came for the marketplace and stayed for everything else (the epic thread discussing all these changes was littered with people saying that they'd signed up to sell something and stuck around). I'm not sure that simply dismissing the potential loss of new members as "not our problem" is the wisest move.

[quote name='sblueplanet' timestamp='1363024617' post='2007169'] I think a yearly subscription is fine if it means becoming a full member with all access etc. I do think however, that to place an individual ad at £7 is steep, especially if it fails to sell and also remember that ebay have free listing weekends every month, with no sale, no fee. Im sure many will start using the ebay option for smaller item sales. In fact, many items often end up there as it is the biggest online marketplace. [/quote] I tend to agree, unfortunately. [quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1363027500' post='2007248'] I agree that some members might switch to ebay, but in so doing they would simply be enhancing the profits of a global multinational rather than supporting a community from which every member (and a lot of 'guests') benefit. They might save a few bob, but at what cost to an otherwise free repository of knowledge and goodwill. [/quote] But only 4% of us have donated after selling (full disclosure: I have donated to the site but not directly after selling stuff) so I'm not sure that supporting the community is very high on people's radars I hope I'm wrong, tbh. I love Basschat, its a great resource and the amount of effort that goes into running it must be huge. But I bet there are a *lot* of regulars who only joined in the first place because they wanted to sell something, then stuck around once they saw how good it was. I can see new people looking at the fees, comparing them to eBay, and deciding not to take a punt on the forum. It'll be a real shame if that happens. I'm sure that the marketplace will continue to be a good resource for many of us. But I do suspect that lots of the smaller, more generic items like common pedals (especially if they appeal to people other than bassists) may disappear whilst the more specialist/obscure stuff remains. PS if anyone wants to buy my Deluxe Memory Man (listed a few weeks back now) I'll happily make another donation

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1362700197' post='2003737'] As someone who has never knowingly heard a song by the Deftones which album would you recommend I check out? [/quote] around the fur. One of the all time best metal albums.

[quote name='Wil' timestamp='1362693318' post='2003600'] I might give it a spin soon. I liked Adrenaline and Around the Fur, White Pony really didnt grab me though.... [/quote] +1 Diamond Eyes is also absolutely cracking. I haven't heard the new one yet but I've heard nothing but good things.

I acquired a BB414 recently. Astoundingly good for the money. My *only* complaint is that I need somewhere to put my thumb and the pickups are the wrong shape for me to comfortably use them as a thumb rest. I'm quite tempted to add a thumbrest (or just get a 415... )

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1362583126' post='2001678'] After several e-mail conversations I went along on Monday night to meet a guy to discuss playing for his band, I was under the assumption it was a covers band but it turns out he's writing his own material anyway I thought that would be the end of it but after listening to the CD of tunes he gave me I liked the material and have offered to go along for an audition. So my question is, what's the etiquette, should I slave away listening to the CD and work out the songs or as I have limited time available for practising is it acceptable to ask for chord charts to work to? I've exclusively played covers for the last 20 odd years and that has just been a case of deciding what recorded version to do and searching for the dots or TAB. [/quote] I would ask for the chord charts. The worst that happens is that he says no. I would also ascertain: 1. Whether he wants you to just learn whats on the cd or whether he wants you to come up with some original lines 2. If the latter, find out from him whether he has something specific in mind---they are his songs after all (if he says no you get brownie points for asking) 3. Probably worth finding out at this stage whether the band is "some guys playing his songs the way he wants them" or whether the band is "a collaborative effort with input from all of us". Being up front about this now will save friction and perhaps disappointment later. I play in two originals bands---in one of them I get a bit more creative freedom than the other, but I don't mind at all because everything was made clear up front (and I like the songs / band members) As to how many songs you should learn, it depends on how tricky they are. I would probably just ask him outright how many he expects you to learn before the audition. I'd personally say that more than 40% of the audition process is on how you interact with the other guys, making a few enquiries about what they want both shows a willingness to cooperate as well as giving you a bit of an opportunity to scope them out (if their replies are nonsense do you want to get involved?).

Whenever I see footage of early RHCP gigs I always wonder "how did a band who looked so stupid ever make it so big?"

Go with the LS-2. Life is too short to obsess over the (mostly) snake-oil that is true bypass.

I've been listening to Eels a lot recently and its giving me serious gas for a short scale Danelectro.

The absolute safest way that I can think of would be to do it via eBay, but you'd have to be prepared to pay fees to do so. You'd both set up an auction and allow "offers". You both then offer the other an identical amount of cash, equal to the value of the basses. You do it through offers so no-one else can bid and screw up the trade! Both of you then pay the other, and post the basses. Technically, you've both bought a bass, so you get all the usual paypal/ebay protection. However, this isn't full proof, and it'll cost you real money (fees). I'd personally be very, very wary of trading high value items overseas. You'd really want to do your homework on the other guy. The other way to do it would involve both of you shipping to a third party that you both trust 100%. Once they receive both basses and all is well they forward them on to you. Again though, costs effort and money.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1361989426' post='1994136'] Take it back to Tesco and DEMAND a refund! [/quote] erm...ok?

[quote name='Chop' timestamp='1182872984' post='23625'] Try King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown by Augustus Pablo. Wonderful stuff I love dub reggae... [/quote] This, this, this. When people compile their "best reggae album" selections this is always, always on them. And quite rightly. "Super Ape" by Lee Perry / The Upsetters is another dub classic that always makes the "best album" lists. Doh: Note to self, check dates on threads...

At the risk of enraging the lefty community, I have to admit that I've never understood why left handed guitars/basses exist. You don't get left handed pianos, clarinets, flutes, violins, cellos, etc so why do you get left handed guitars? When you start learning, both hands need to learn a new skill, and I've never understood why it matters which way round you do it. If cellists and violinists can manage, so can guitarists/bassists, surely? NB: For the pedants, yes left handed orchestral instruments exist, but they are so rare as to not count

Thats one of the best gear comparison videos I've ever seen---good variety of styles, returning to each instrument, "realistic" lines---great stuff. Worryingly, the only one I actually liked the sound of was the P. The rest were far too clangy and twangy. Its definitely confirmed my suspicions that I just do not like the bridge pickup sound on most basses!

[quote name='lastnotleast' timestamp='1359732594' post='1959569'] Does anyone know what hardshell case will fit my Yamaha BBN5? The GB20 is discontinued and I cannot locate one anywhere. Contact has been Made to Yamaha CS asking this very question. Assuming they respond, I may return to answer my own question. [/quote] I'd be very surprised if it didn't fit in a Hiscox STD-EBS. I've got a Yamaha TRB1005 and a BB414 and they both fit in mine.

[quote name='BassBod' timestamp='1361488819' post='1986644'] Well, mine is on an expensive Overwater/Harvest bag. Apart from the dodgy zip its on great condition! [/quote] Depending how old it is you could try contacting the manufacturer? Some companies will replace things like gig bags if you ask them very nicely!

After reading this thread I too contacted Hiscox about a guitar that didn't quite fit---same result, a big envelope full of extra padding! Top marks

This really is the best bass I've ever played. Only selling because I'm utterly skint. ... Would consider a trade for a 5 string stingray, with up to £200 your way.

When working out things like this I use audacity and do the following: 1. Slow it down significantly 2. Use the pitch shift and put the whole thing up an octave. This makes the bass line really `jump out' of the mix at you.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1361042481' post='1980342'] All those saying they don't lend or borrow rigs obviously don't play at the lower end of the originals bands circuit. For a start most of the time the stage area is tiny with little space left once you've got a drum kit and 2-3 sets of amps up there. Stick another band's amps in front and they are left perched on the edge of the stage. Add a third band and it's simply not going to happen. Also at a lot of the venues there isn't anywhere off-stage to store gear that isn't being used at the moment. And when you've got a maximum of 30 minutes turn around time between bands, it's just not practical to swap over more than drum breakables and maybe one guitar amp. No matter how well rehearsed your band are at doing this you have to assume that the band on before will be terrible at getting their stuff off stage. Remember that it's all about entertaining the audience. You need to get set up and playing as quickly as you can. And TBH even though a lot of the band we play with (and indeed ourselves) have a fairly "energetic" on-stage presence, everyone is pleasant and helpful when it comes to making sure that the evening goes well for both those playing and those listening. [/quote] +1. At most of the gigs we've done insisting on using our own gear would have resulted in 1. long delays between bands 2. Pissing off the engineer / promoter and not getting asked back. However, we always make a point of asking in advance what backline will be available (so we know what we have to bring) and if the promoter is a bit vague about it or says that nothing is provided then we contact the other bands to see what we can arrange. It probably also helps that both myself and the guitarist have the right bits to plug straight into a PA if we really have to.

[quote name='Russ' timestamp='1361184507' post='1982262'] No. FLAC and high bitrate MP3 are still 44.1KHz but are lossless (FLAC), or less lossy with less artifacting (MP3). FLAC is the same as a CD. High bitrate MP3s are still not as good as a CD. [/quote] If you increase the bit-rate of MP3 enough then no-one can tell the difference when compared to a cd, and you don't have to increase it very far before anyone other than audio geeks would care about the differences anyway. [quote]Vinyl junkies aren't as much of a dying breed as you think, they're just becoming much more genre-specific. There's still quite a lot of people out there who are buying the high-end turntables, top-end speakers, etc, but they're mostly listeners of classical, jazz, reggae, prog rock and some kinds of dance music. [/quote] Well, yes. But people that are "into" jazz, classical, and reggae probably aren't the people who are out there downloading everything instead of buying it. The problem for the record industry isn't the people who are "into" music---because we're collectors who'll probably always buy stuff, in whatever format---but the people who used to buy the odd thing here and there but have now just stopped.

[quote name='Russ' timestamp='1361142702' post='1981929'] There are plenty of people out there who are audiophiles and who still value sound quality over convenience - where's the super-high-resolution audio medium and the hardware to reproduce it? [/quote] Like Flac or high-bitrate MP3? [quote]All they need is a popular and well-respected musician to record an album using this new format, whatever it may be, make it amazing, and then watch the hardware and albums fly off the shelves, the same way Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits sold millions of CD players back in the 80s. And I suggest they make it an analogue format - vinyl for a new generation. Something that can't be reproduced properly through a computer - despite digital music existing for over 30 years, many vinyl junkies still maintain it doesn't sound as good. [/quote] Vinyl junkies are a dying breed (and they're demonstrably wrong that digital doesn't sound as good, but thats another debate). People aren't going to buy new hardware to buy a new album anymore. They just won't. CDs flew off the shelves because the benefits of cds over vinyl were obvious to everyone---smaller, harder to damage, etc. The benefits of some new format over what we have at the moment will be very technical and not very accessible to the public---they just won't care.

This old chestnut again. Illegal downloading is not stealing. It is illegal, and you can argue that its morally wrong (I think it is wrong), but its not stealing. If you say its stealing, then you're factually wrong. And people who are factually wrong generally tend to lose arguments. I buy an absolutely shedload of records, but I've also bought a lot of those on the back of someone giving me a mixtape or copy of a band's work. Its a tricky area. Personally I think that the hyperbole and nonsense the likes of the RIAA comes up with with regards downloads does a lot more harm than it does good for musicians---they say things like " we predicted that we'd sell 11 million copies of the new Britney record, we only sold 4 million, the other 7 million lost sales is entirely down to downloads...". When you have morons fighting your corner you're bound to lose. Interesting to see Spotify get mentioned. Personally I think Spotify is brilliant for listeners but an absolute disaster for musicians. It lets people legitimately listen to your music, but you'll be damned if you ever make a penny from it. For me, being on spotify is a bit like a big fat sign saying "we really aren't interested in you paying us for our music". That doesn't make it ok to just download it, but its hard to argue against downloads when loads of artists are voluntarily signing up to a service that means that they are, essentially, giving stuff away for free.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1361068176' post='1980687'] I know this thread is pretty old but... I needed to ask. Was this with the black Jazz? [/quote] Yes. I bought some of those glow in the dark dots but I never got round to using them.

Now, technically they're not a 3-piece...BUT the fourth member only sings/tambourines/melodicas so I think I can get away with posting it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8P40WfRELU fantastic bassline, the breakdown bit in the middle is outstanding.