Pete Academy

Nearly Dan will be appearing at The Sands, Gainsborough on Saturday 20 June 2009. The Sands, The Old Town Hall, Lord Street, Gainsborough, Lincs, DN21 2DB. www.the-sands.co.uk. 01427 811118

I've tried all sorts of compressors but they all seem to squeeze the dynamics a bit too much. I've settled on a Boss LMB-3 Limiter Enhancer on lower settings.

[quote name='ped' post='508890' date='Jun 9 2009, 11:17 AM']Pete did you email us to ask if it was OK to post this? Just to let you know we hadn't checked the inbox for a while but I skimmed it last night and meant to reply to your email to say it was fine - apologies for not getting back to you before. I am looking forward to seeing Steely Dan on the 29th - I have seen lots of tribute acts before and often found them better than the real deal! Will definitely check you guys out soon! ped[/quote] Thanks Ped...you are a gent. Hope you enjoy the Dan.

[quote name='hubrad' post='508498' date='Jun 8 2009, 08:03 PM']Pre-booking needed? Not usually so at Roscoe. Any idea of cost?[/quote] It's usually well attended, so, pre-book might be advisable. About a tenner I think...absolute bargain!

Nearly Dan, UK Steely Dan tribute, will be playing at the New Roscoe, Bristol Street, Leeds, LS7 1DH on Sunday 14 June 2009. Tel. 0113-246-0778. www.newroscoe.co.uk

Unfortunately, slap bass takes a lot of practice to get right, especially in achieving a clean note with the thumb. I would just keep at it...you should get there eventually. There's another really good DVD out there, called The Slap Bass Program by Alex somebody. He goes into an amazing amount of detail. Most of the first part is spent just on the thumbing hand, so I reckon it will help a great deal.

The Nightfly album by Donald Fagen features Marcus Miller, Chuck Rainey, Anthony Jackson, Will Lee etc, and is a masterclass in playing exactly what the song requires.

[quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='504974' date='Jun 3 2009, 07:37 PM']+1 ...not just because he's one of my top inspirations for bass but he has to be defended on the bass changing comment. I've seen him play live a few times but watch a Bonnie Raitt video if you don't believe me. He goes from a Modulus to a Washburn electro-acoustic to a fretless or whatever because he's responding to the song and its needs for a different texture. The result is noticeable and complimentary.[/quote] I agree, the different basses will be noticeable on video, especially when it's been mixed properly. But in a live gig situation, that isn't always the case.

Actually Jacko, I never criticised his playing. In my opinion the bass changeovers took a little too long and made neglible difference to my ears. I would be the first to put him up there with the bass greats. I've nothing against people taking loads of basses to gigs. Personally I'm happy with the one bass I use. So there.

I saw hi playing with Bonnie Raitt many years ago. He was great, but had a load of basses, and insisted on using a different one for every other song. To be honest, they all sounded the same and he took ages to change over.

There is absolutely no need to spend four grand these days.

Take a look at Roscoe.

Amazing player! Anyone any idea who he is?

I can't believe the thread about Victor Wooten. He has no soul?! Have you seen the Bass Day 98 DVD? Have you listened to all of his albums? Or have you just watched the Youtube clips where he's 'shredding'? This kind of narrow-minded opinion seems typical of some of the members of this forum. This is a guy who was in a band supporting the likes of Curtis Mayfield when he was 6 years old. What were you doing at that age? Playing with toys, I imagine. He has the most awesome slap technique on the planet, so why not show it off once in a while? What do you want him to do at a trade show or clinic...play some rock and roll basslines?

I've just looked in the new Bass Guitar magazine and there's an Ampeg BA115 combo for sale, gigged once, for £200. Sounds ideal to me. Call Jeremy 07717 043498 or email [email protected]. Taunton area.

The bass player is Tom Barney, and I think that's an ESP bass. Awesome tune! Try to see our Steely Dan tribute, Nearly Dan. We gig all over the UK. See www.nearlydan.co.uk for gig dates.

There's no set rule for how much power you need, but I personally wouldn't go below 100w, and definitely at least a 15" speaker, as most 12" don't create enough bottom end unless you buy something really expensive. Sounds like you are playing rock or similar, so it's also determined by how loud your drummer is. If you have a decent enough PA system, you could use the backline amp as a monitor and let the PA do some of the work. You could go into a music shop and try a 50w 1x12" combo and it would sound pretty loud on it's own. Trust me, it will get lost in a band situation. In a nutshell, get the most power you can afford, as it'll give you more headroom and a cleaner sound.