endorka

I thought it was brilliant, quite a few surprise tunes such as "Natural Science", "Entre Nous" and "Passage to Bangkok". They seem to have updated a lot of the tunes from the original versions. Nice. Neil Peart was outrageously good. Also, Geddy Lee used a bass for one instrumental song that looked like one of those Jaco clones, and sounded the best out of all the basses IMHO, it has a huge fat clunky funky sound. Does anyone know what this bass is? Jennifer [url="http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com"]http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com[/url]

If you can't tap well with one foot, try the other. Some people find one foot easier than the other. Jennifer [url="http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com"]http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com[/url]

[quote name='gilmour' post='66230' date='Sep 27 2007, 12:54 AM']Sorry but I really can't agree with the advice to just rake. Just soudns like taking the easy option to me. I know that there is "no such thing as correct technique" but when you rake it not only screws up your timing but can be really detramental to your playing in the long run.[/quote] I'd say there is nothing inherently wrong in taking the easy option if it works for you... I think either technique works well for some people and not for others, e.g. I rake plenty, and it doesn't have an effect on my timing. Which technique I use may depends on the particular bassline, oddities can creep in with either approach sometimes, although my default is to rake. Strictly alternating usually feels strange to me - if the finger is already on the string from the previous pluck, why not just use it again to save time and energy? Jaco advocates the rake on one of his instructional videos... Jennifer [url="http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com"]http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com[/url]

[quote name='cheddatom' post='64792' date='Sep 24 2007, 03:19 PM']I don't really like this idea...that I should be striving for consistency. I'm striving for variety, originality, and fun![/quote] I think you misunderstand me. When I advocate consistency, I am not saying that every note you play should sound exactly the same: I am saying that every note you play should be under your control and should come out sounding the way you want it to. Elimination of variables helps you achieve this. Jennifer [url="http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com"]http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com[/url]

A large part of achieveing proficiency on a musical instrument is the striving for consistency, both in tone and your ability to perform. It is not always possible to control the sound of a venue we play in, for example, so elimination of as many variables as possible is a key to achieving this consistency. As you have stated, the length of your fingernail affects your tone; it also affects the way you play, as a nail scraping past a string will offer some additional resistance. If your fingernails always stayed the same length and never broke, this would not be a problem, but... this is not the case. So, you basically have two choices; maintain a consistent nail length the easy way, which is that suggested by Jean Luc, i.e. keep them trimmed back. This is the method I choose; there are many styles of bass that demand a fat sound best produced by only the flesh of the finger, in any case. In my experience, long fingernails just get in the way, both on the left and right hands. If I want to get a sharper attack from notes, I can do it by plucking closer to the bridge, for example. The other approach is that taken by classical guitarists, which is too keep your nails consistently long, in which case, welcome to the world of limp handshakes, the manicure set in your bass case, faddy diets, the diva huffs when you break one, and sneaky visits to the manicure booth in Boots where you hope your mates won't spot you :-) Jennifer [url="http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com"]http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com[/url]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='60720' date='Sep 15 2007, 07:58 AM']What's interesting here is that everyone seems to be placing their ramp between the pickups but quoting Gary Willis who's ramp goes between fingerboard and the pickup.[/quote] That's because Gary Willis' basses have only one pickup, whereas most other basses have two. [quote]My ideal bass sounds come from plucking btween the 24th fret and the neck pickup (much closer towards the bridge and the sound becomes too 'hard' and seems to be all initial click and no bassy sustain), so for me the GW model seems to be better.[/quote] I think the bass sounds great there too - more of the fundamental note is present, and it is possible to get a tone that shares some characteristics of a double bass. Where I find I have to be careful playing this way is is that it doesn't always work well in a band context - the sound can come across as woolly, whereas playing between the pickups may sound odd when the bass is on its own, but the hard, clicky staccato sound you mention can sit well in a mix in some types of music. The problem for some of putting a standard ramp between neck and pickup is that it pretty much rules out slapping and popping, although I believe some players advocate using a modified ramp in this area to assist with popping. I've left the ramp off this area for this reason, and tend to pluck between the 22nd and 24th fret to get a similar sound, with the fingerboard serving as the ramp. Jennifer [url="http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com"]http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com[/url]

[quote name='Rich' post='60598' date='Sep 14 2007, 08:59 PM']Yes, I think it's more important that the ramp matches the pickups rather than the f/board.[/quote] In my opinion, I would suggest the opposite - one of the main points of the ramp is to provide a consistent height below the string to ensure that you do not dig in too much when plucking the string. If the height varies too much from string to string, as it will do if the ramp is flat, then this aspect of the ramp is significantly diminished. You will be able to dig in more on the inner strings than the outer ones. On Gary Willis basses, the pickups have a radius that matches the fingerboard, as does the ramp, which I think is the right approach. Pickups with a radius are difficult to find, however, so on one of my basses I put a very shallow ramp over part of the pickup; it looks terrible, but played and sounded like a dream. It allowed me ideal thumb placement for "floating thumb" technique - I didn't have to lift the thumb far at all when moving it across strings. Jennifer [url="http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com"]http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com[/url]

[quote name='frank' post='60637' date='Sep 14 2007, 10:47 PM']1. would it be wise to play a 5 then move on to 6[/quote] If you want to play a six then go for a 6... if you want to play a 5, go for a 5. Either way you will be confused for some time. [quote]how many of you still play 4 or keep one around for certain gigs[/quote] I have a 4 string I use for teaching purposes, but I have only used it for gigs a few times in the last ten or more years when my six string was getting repaired. I was able to play it no problem at all. I also use a 4 string EUB for most of my current gigs - swapping between 4 and 6 is not a problem. [quote]3. is there a certain amount of pressure when you walk into a gig or new band rehersal with a 6 do people expect you to be a monster player or do they even notice[/quote] I've never noticed this pressure - my focus is on playing the music well and making a connection with the other musicians. Sometimes they notice an unusual instrument, sometimes not. However, they usually always notice whether you play well or not. So, it's not the instrument, whatever it is, it is how well you play it that matters. [quote]4.whats the general time frame from getting the 6 to gigging it[/quote] It depends on how much time you spend practicing. The sooner you get gigging with it, the sooner you'll get used to it, but you may have to be prepared to go through of phase of not playing as fluently as you are used to. [quote]5.some of the bands i play with do covers that are tuned down a half step so im hoping having the extra range will leave me in a position where i can use standard tuning all the time no matter what the guitars are doing does it sound strange to play like this or does it depend on the song[/quote] The six works well for this - the extended range is fantastic, especially if you are transposing on the spot. I've never needed to use any tuning other than standard with my six string. Jennifer [url="http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com"]http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com[/url]

Roughly speaking, I play it something like this, if in D minor; Verse - |: Dm7 Em7 :| Bridge - |: Gm7 | Dm7 :| Gm7 (stop) A7 (stop) Chorus - |: Dm7 G7 :| Gm7 A7 Jennifer

[quote name='d-basser' post='54130' date='Sep 2 2007, 11:39 AM']tis what i play at the mo, nice bass but will need a good setup when it come, passive electronics are a little guff so it is a bit of a project bass. the only real downside for some folks is that it has a really tight string spacing, i love that cos i have small hands but some people like more room[/quote] I love my Peavey Grind 6! I ordered it from Thomann for a price similar to that mentioned earlier. I agree with d-basser's points above, I had to do a bit of setup work when it arrived, and I eventually replaced the pickups with EMG CS's, and as a result it sounds, plays and looks like a dream. With these modifications in place, it is unquestionably the best bass I have ever owned. Should you choose to do so, as I have, you can set it up to be a real shred machine with an incredibly low action. Jennifer [url="http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com"]http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com[/url]

[quote name='skywalker' post='41802' date='Aug 6 2007, 08:57 AM']What does everyone else think, should I be persevering and learning on to use open strings, playing without open strings, or changiung my teacher??[/quote] I use open strings frequently, and don't see a problem with it - the notion that you can't control the length of the note is incorrect, as this can be done by muting the string with the plucking finger (or other fingers) of the right hand. Using open strings is common on double bass since the finger stretch is so large, that below the 12th "fret" you can only finger three notes in sequence without changing left hand position, e.g. F F# and G on the E string. The use of open strings means you can expand that to four notes, e.g. E F F# G, and almost get a full chromatic scale in each position. The result is that you can play just about any walking bassline without shifting the position of the left hand. This also applies to bass guitar whether you use 1-2-4 or 1-2-3-4 fingering on the left hand; in either case your note possibilities is expanded by the addition of open strings. Open strings are also useful as a bounce point for shifting left hand position, i.e. playing a note on the open string gives you time to make a large shift with the left hand. In saying that, there are some limitations on open strings, for example it can be difficult to get vibrato with them, and they may sound a little different than fingered notes, so for those reasons I would try to avoid them at the end of a phrase, or in the middle or a very slow phrase. Other than that they are fair game... I sincerely doubt if most people would be aware of the difference between a fingered or open note when you are playing medium to fast lines, especially if you are playing with other musicians. Jennifer [url="http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com"]http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com[/url]

[quote name='chrkelly' post='41475' date='Aug 5 2007, 03:40 AM']Stay well clear of the NS Design. Its a great instrument but in a class of its own. It sounds absolutely nothing like a upright as you know it.[/quote] In my experience, that's a bit strong - while it doesn't have the resonance of a real DB, I've been gigging for around six months now with the entry level NS WAV4 and the feedback I get is that it sounds like a DB amplified through a pickup when played pizzicato, and like a DB through a mic when played arco. For gigs when a drumkit is involved it does a damn good impression of a real DB, and I've even used it for a couple of classical works, with impressive results. As long as you stay away from the magnetic pickups and use the piezo only in "arco" mode, it shares many of the characteristics of a DB sound. If you use other combinations of pickups and the "pizz" setting, it will tend to sound like a large fretless bass. Using proper DB strings and proper DB technique also helps. I have a "free jazz" clip recorded 2 months or so after I received the NS; since then I've raised the height of the strings and improved my technique, so it sounds more like a DB now than it did when I recorded this clip; [url="http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com/audio/BassSolo.mp3"]http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com/audio/BassSolo.mp3[/url] Jennifer [url="http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com"]http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com[/url]

[quote name='Funkmaster' post='32875' date='Jul 17 2007, 09:32 AM']To be honest - I'm looking forward to seeing if I survive![/quote] You'll be fine, the hardest thing is remembering where you were the day before. Jennifer

[quote name='muya' post='32731' date='Jul 16 2007, 09:18 PM']Broken Hearts, from 1st Living Colour "Vivid" album. Muzz Skillings on bass[/quote] Oh yeah, that is an excellent one. Truly melodious. I liked that solo before I played bass... before I even realised it was a bass solo. Jennifer

[quote name='Clive Thorne' post='31349' date='Jul 13 2007, 03:51 PM']I suppose an alternative would be to replace the the machines with light weights, but how much difference would this make?[/quote] I looked into this once, and depending on the weight of your current machine heads, the answer can be "quite a bit of difference". Machine heads can be pretty heavy; given that they are effectively on the end of a lever, this effect of this weight will be multiplied. I'd suggest taking one off your bass and weighing it, then compare this weight to the weight of the lightweight ones that are available (specs are listed on the websites) and you can make an educated guess about how much difference it would make. Say you managed to reduce the weight to 50% of the original, you could get an idea of what this would be like by removing two of your original machine heads and seeing if the balance has improved. Jennifer

[quote name='Alun' post='32083' date='Jul 15 2007, 02:50 PM']There's nothing worse than the whole band stopping[/quote] I dunno... while I'd prefer to have some light accompaniment, I prefer no accompaniment to an overpowering one. It can be a bit disconcerting to be swinging full pelt with the whole band at triple f, then all of a sudden you are on your own in a jazz club in total silence with 100 punters watching you, and you somehow have to follow all that has gone before. Quite often my response is to deconstruct the whole thing and make use of the silence by playing very sparsely and quietly, maybe even a bit slower, and then graudually build on this. It's a tough call, but I don't think you can follow the full band in this situation by trying to play more of the same. Am going to check out this 12 string guitar thing... Jennifer

Blue Monday by New Order...

[quote name='Bald Eagle' post='31972' date='Jul 15 2007, 01:59 AM']So, to cut to the chase Endorka your saying a 4 string bass mainly does the job :0)[/quote] Hehehe, it is something I have a kindof "split brain" thing about. I can gig fine with a four string bass, indeed I have done so for the last 5 months or so since getting my EUB, which only has the four standard strings. It works just great for walking basslines, funk and whatnot. With the added depth of the notes produced by the EUB versus a bass guitar, I don't really miss the low B string. I do however miss the high range of the six string for soloing though, it has to be said, and a six string tuned E A D G C F is a very effective way of dealing with the issues I mentioned in the previous post... just watch the jaws drop as you hit that F an octave and a half above middle C. Jennifer

[quote name='Alun' post='31867' date='Jul 14 2007, 06:23 PM']I've done a jazz gig with a 7 string guitarist - very weird having walking bass suddenly appear under your bass solo [/quote] I've had that happen to me too, although with a regular 6 string guitarist. On the whole I don't like it, as I find it very difficult to find a register on the bass that allows me to "speak" over the guitar when it is doing this, even on a 6 string bass. If you solo above the 12th fret, you are likely in a similar range to the walking guitarist, so welcome to the world of semitone clashes and general mud. If you go below the 12th fret, you will be reduced to an indistinct rumble and the guitar will predominate no matter what you do. I get quite fussy about what people do to accompany my bass solos... it is so easy for another instrument to steal the show from the bass, so IMHO quiet and understated accompaniment, at least to start with until they figure out the direction you are taking, is the thing. I have been advised in the past to go the route of the volume pedal, but I don't really want to. Another mouth to feed and all that. [quote]Speaking of extended range guitarists, there is a 12 string ( all single strings, no double courses) in Guitar Player this month. Mad![/quote] Can you remember how it was tuned? Jennifer [url="http://www.jen.clark.btinternet.co.uk"]http://www.jen.clark.btinternet.co.uk[/url]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='30787' date='Jul 12 2007, 04:20 PM']Are there many Extended Range Guitarists out there?[/quote] I did a gig once with a 7 string guitar guy - we were tearing up funk and jazz standards like "Have You Met Miss Jones" and "Nardis", total shred style. It were great. Jennifer

I've been using my NS WAV on all my jazz gigs over the last four or five months, and it has been received very well; there is definitely a lot of the "what's that" factor, but in a positive way. I think most of this is because it does actually sound quite like a double bass - I believe the pickup shares some similarities with the Realist one you mention. Alun, you are right that for some people it is the look that counts; in my experience the image conscious have all been very happy with the appearance of the NS. Jennifer

There may be something else at work here - I have sometimes found that raised stages will increase the low end, but this increase may only be apparent to those on stage. So if you adjust the settings of your amp so that you get a good onstage sound in these circumstances, it is likely that your amp will sound thin and/or quiet to the audience. In my experience, the best way to get a consistent sound is to not rely on variable methods of bass reinforcement, such as stages, walls, corners etc, but to have an amp and speaker setup that will produce enough low end by itself for most, if not all, of your gigs. My approach to your situation would be to raise the speaker off the floor on a milk crate or chair to get it away from the effect of the stage, then adjust your settings from the audience perspective rather than the stage perspective, which in this case would involve adding more bass in the EQ. If you do this without raising the speaker off the floor, your onstage sound will likely be booming like crazy. Jennifer

[quote name='nick' post='26215' date='Jul 2 2007, 08:45 PM']...to be honest I'm finding it genuinely difficult to think of a really bad bassline....Maybe I'm missing the point(?) [/quote] I don't think so, I too am finding hard to think of a bassline that it is actually bad rather than just bland. This may actually be down to quality control on the part of record companies; I've been told that when a band is signed, the first to go are generally the bass player and drummer, if they can't cut the mustard. If the bass player is a fundamental part of the band you also get the situation where he doesn't actually play bass, e.g. Sid Vicious. Jennifer

[quote name='dlloyd' post='25893' date='Jul 2 2007, 10:27 AM']The basic concept is simple. It's fairly easy to come up with a fairly convincing walking line. It's more difficult to improvise a walking line that stays interesting past the first chorus.[/quote] "Interesting" is not really the priority in walking in my opinion, as interest and excitement will often be provided by other musicians - drummer, soloist, singer, whomever. As others have hinted in this thread, the priority when walking is to swing. Even if you are playing pretty "boring" notes, if you swing, if you have good time, rhythm and energy, people will love it. As long as you are more or less laying out the harmony and not making total howlers, you'll be ok. The general belief is that a bass player who can make simple quarter notes really swing will almost always be hired in preference to the guy who is making more advanced note choices, but doesn't swing as well. In other words, walking is mostly about feel. Simple is often better. Initially at least, you have to believe, really believe, that you are the foundation, the heartbeat of the band, and that other people will take care of the interesting stuff. Once your walk is swinging, you can start thinking about making it interesting :-) Also, don't be seduced by those who tell you that you must do more "digadidums", skips, triplets, or whatever you want to call them. Swinging the quarter notes well is far more important. Jennifer [url="http://www.jen.clark.btinternet.co.uk"]http://www.jen.clark.btinternet.co.uk[/url]

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='22848' date='Jun 25 2007, 08:11 AM']I got the Argos one on Saturday and it's fine for the job - at a stretch it would even double as a stand for my combo as the platform is angled a few degrees off the vertical.[/quote] Great minds think alike, I do this all the time, it raises the speaker from the ground almost as much as your average milk crate. Used in this capacity, it also allows for a fast getaway at the end of the gig :-) The pneumatic tyres are the business IMHO! Jennifer