RhysP

[quote name='Rich' post='526046' date='Jun 27 2009, 04:21 PM']Yes, I've heard him come up with that before. He seems to be arguing that there's no point in learning something unless you're going to get paid for it.
Now call me a radical, but what's so wrong with playing or learning stuff for the [i]enjoyment[/i] of it? If getting paid was the be all and end all, I'd never get to play a note.[/quote]
That's not what he was saying at all.

He's always said that if playing a particular style (be it two handed tapping or whatever) is what you want to do then great, but the reality is 99% of bass playing work is in more traditional supportive roles.
He was talking purely from the perspective of people getting hired as jobbing bassists, not what you choose to play in your spare time or if you choose to take the solo bass artist path.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='525670' date='Jun 27 2009, 02:43 AM']Do they though?

Yes there are some talented bassists about who can do loads of clever and difficult stuff, but ultimately everybody else with a bass is busy getting busy with a band, and there's no place for any of that. So has the role of the instrument been advanced at all through their innovation?

Clearly a lot of bassists pay a lot of attention to people like Manring, Wooten, Marcus Miller, Jean Baudin, etc. but if nobody but bass players are listening to them, and bass players generally can't incorporate any of that stuff into what they do (which seems to be the case) then is all this boundary-testing ultimately a bit futile? Can we conclude that, while it's interesting for the individual involved at the time and other Bass Anoraks, it's pretty irrelevant for anybody else?[/quote]
I'd pretty much agree with you on this.
Jeff Berlin has said something pretty similar at clinics he's done.
Whilst agreeing that players like Sheehan, Manring (& lots of other flash buggers I can't think of now) are great players their material is only listened to by other bass players; It's a small self supporting market & always will be.
He then went on to ask people in the audience if they spent lots of time working on techniques such as tapping etc. & many said yes.
He then asked how many of them had ever got booked for a session or been called upon to at an audition to use these techniques and invariably the answer was no.

To me a lot of the stuff I see people raving over when bass players do it is just stuff that wouldn't get a second look if it was being done on a guitar. A perfect example was the clip somebody posted on here the other day of someone singing & accompanying himself on a bass playing a song he'd written. The first thing I thought was "Why?" The song wasn't, IMO, very good, his voice was decidedly average and if he'd been playing it on an acoustic guitar nobody would have given it a second thought. The bass in this instance, to my way of thinking, is being used for novelty value.

It's always entertaining ( for other bassists) to see a skilled player showing off, but at the end of the day the bass is required to play a supporting role in 99.9% of situations, and I for one don't have a problem with that.

The seller revised the auction midweek & changed the "buy it now" price from £550 to £599, which is a bit odd as he didn't sell it last week when it was on for £579.

[quote name='attackbass' post='524286' date='Jun 25 2009, 11:30 PM']Just speaking to my dad about it, and he told me about a time when he was younger he resprayed an mg with nitro in his garage with no ventilation or masks - he's nearly 61 now! lol. He's told me to stop worrying, as there are a whole lot of other things out there that are more likely to kill or injury me - like constantly touring in splitter vans/buses/airplanes and the alcohol consumption that goes with it!![/quote]
My dad was always telling me this or that won't harm you; smoking won't hurt you, drinking won't hurt you. He spent most of his life working with all manner of nasty glues, varnishes etc.
The look of surprise & fear on his face when they they told him last year, on his 79th birthday, that he has advanced & incurable cancer is something I'll never forget....

Pyramid strings are superb.
I've never used their bass strings but I used to use Pyramid Gold Flats on my Gretsch guitars.

[quote name='OldGit' post='523905' date='Jun 25 2009, 05:23 PM']In the unusual department they had a selection (a [i]selection[/i]!) of Zons.....[/quote]
Did they finally have any Legacys in or just the usual pile of Sonus basses?

It's evil stuff - be very careful! There's a reason why commercial spray painting has to be done in explosion proof booths by law. Wear a PROPER mask, not one of those poxy paper dust masks.

A good tip to help any spray you may ingest get carried through the body is to drink plenty of full fat milk before, during & after your spraying session. Apparently the emulsion (that's what milk is) traps the paint particles & you just sh*t them out rather than painting your insides.

[quote name='RussFM' post='523503' date='Jun 25 2009, 12:03 PM']I like Dan Andriano's bluey green one a lot more than the sunburst.

[/quote]
Seafoam Green! Now THAT'S a great colour for a bass!

[quote name='WinterMute' post='522981' date='Jun 24 2009, 09:27 PM']Sunburst isn't a finish a Geddy Lee Jazz should be available in...[/quote]
Sunburst is a finish that NO guitar or bass should be available in, especially fenders with their atrocious colour blending.

Someone once said to me "Fender sunbursts come in two types - Target or Sunstroke"

I clicked on this thread thinking "Please let it be ANYTHING but bloody sunburst".
Oh well.....

I'd admit that a lot of the Level 42 lyrics are pretty woeful, but no more than 90% of lyrics in general IMO.
Some of the very worst songs & lyrics I've ever heard are on the Stanley Clarke albums. He's a great player but most of his songs are bloody awful - I can't listen to them anymore because they just make me cringe.

[quote name='Captain Bassman' post='522140' date='Jun 23 2009, 10:33 PM'].....ember skies, seems so long ago...

Next line anyone??[/quote]
"You were standing on the quay, and you blew a kiss to me,
I was sad to go....."
:blush:

"Theme to Margaret" & "88" from "Early Tapes" are great, as is "Foundation & Empire" (12" B side I think).
"World Machine" is a great album(their best IMO), as is the "Early Tapes".
Some great stuff on "Level 42" & the "Pursuit of accidents" but there's some real dross on them too (let's not mention "Starchild", eh?).
The 12" of "Hot water" is great for giving your Hi-fi a high volume work out.
"Can't walk you home" is pretty good (B side of "The sun goes down" I think)
(It's a LONG time since I sold the Jaydee & listened to any of this stuff).

[quote name='solo4652' post='521474' date='Jun 23 2009, 09:53 AM']Anyway, I was surprised just how much difference a small change in the height of the nut made to subsequent neck relief/saddle height etc.[/quote]
A well adjusted nut makes an incredible difference to a bass or guitar setup, but it's one of the most difficult things to get right - you only get one chance & if you cut it too low it's back to square one.
IMO it's worth paying someone who knows what they're doing (and has the proper nut files etc.) to install & cut a new nut.

[quote name='Musky' post='14441' date='Jun 9 2007, 12:25 AM']They do precision pickups at quite a good price, and I've read the odd comment on various boards about how great they sound but I'm slightly worried that if they really are so good why more people aren't shouting about them.[/quote]
People don't shout about them because they haven't got the supposed kudos of a big US manufacturers name.
I've no direct experience of their bass pickups but I've used various Armstrong guitar pickups and they've all been excellent, just as good as your Duncans, Dimarzios, Fralins etc.

Allparts have got Fender 13 hole tortoiseshell pickguards if that's any use:
[url="http://www.allparts.uk.com/pickguards-backplates/pickguards-basses-fender-c-277_296_319_327_372.html"]http://www.allparts.uk.com/pickguards-back...19_327_372.html[/url]

The Geddy Lee Jazz is made in Japan (but it sounds Canadian ).
I don't think the tone varies that much from a standard similarly priced Jazz bass but the reason why so many people are using them is that the quality is consistently high, the neck is absolutely superb & the Badass bridge as standard is a major improvement over the sh*tty standard Fender bridge. It's everything a good jazz bass should be without the inconvenience of having to try dozens of clunkers before you find an OK one, which is what you usually have to do with Fenders.
I've said it a few times before but if you want a Fender Jazz bass the Geddy Lee model is the best one they make at any price point IMO.

[quote name='Zoe_BillySheehan' post='520601' date='Jun 22 2009, 11:20 AM']Girls can multitask

Z
x[/quote]

Touché!

I used to use extra light Superwound 30 - 90s on my Jaydee back in my pathetic funky white boy days.
The main reason I started using heavier strings was I found the extra lights a bit too bendy & floppy as I'd moved back toward playing heavier music with a pick & preferred the extra tension that 45 - 105s gave me. Soundwise I didn't really notice that much difference.

So long as you adjust the neck to compensate for the light strings you'll have no problems.

Geddy Lee & Mark King both used to use 30 - 90s.
Jeff Berlin is an advocate of using very light strings too.

[quote name='Rayman' post='512986' date='Jun 13 2009, 08:49 PM'][/quote]
Oooooh, Melissa! :wub:

But if the girl is playing the bass who's doing the washing up?

Pretentious name + arty farty promo film + no discernable talent = they'll go far.

[quote name='Bay Splayer' post='519540' date='Jun 20 2009, 08:02 PM']jesus christ

feel like you lot are giving me a right bollocking

s`pose i`ll give it a go though [/quote]
You didn't mention what sort of music you play, which makes a difference.
If you feel your current technique is limiting your ability to play what you want then changing it makes sense.
If you can play the sort of stuff you want with no problem then why change?

[quote name='Monz' post='518154' date='Jun 19 2009, 10:27 AM']....Get on the phone to stringbusters and explain my problem. Without missing a beat they offer to replace them but the guy also tells me this is not uncommon for La Bella strings........[/quote]
Did the guy from Stringbusters mean ALL LaBella strings or just the flatwounds?
Just curious as I've used LaBella Slappers for a few years now & I've never had any problems at all.

As far as instruments are concerned my biggest regret is selling my Chapman Stick a few years ago.
Somebody offered me twice what I paid for it, and in a moment of blind greed I accepted.

I've owned a few basses that I wish I still had, not because they were great basses ( they weren't) but purely because of how much they change hands for now.