maxrossell

My thoughts are that if the Rockbass is the only one you've tried, I'd try a bunch of others before committing. Especially if the neck was a bit big for your comfort.

[quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='480129' date='May 5 2009, 05:25 PM']Is £100 for both too cheap? Maybe more if it can be shown to save money over two conferences.[/quote] Nah man, fifty apiece should get you something pretty decent. Look at Shure, Sennheiser and AKG, three brands which all do good and reasonably-priced stuff. There's other brands too, but I don't know as much about them although they may have some cool stuff.

[quote name='MythSte' post='480133' date='May 5 2009, 05:28 PM']Well! I got it! And I have to give a heads up to hw music for being the first music shop where I really felt valued. They had bumped the price up to 600 which really shocked me considering it's been there for ages. Anyway I mentioned I'd been in to try and but it once before and he instantly offered me the old price (490) with a fender padded bag and a £25 lead. What a guy! I'll get pics up tonight. I can't believe I'm finally the owner of a sunburst jazz, I must be growing up![/quote] Sweet deal dude. Which guy was it?

Only thing I know about this is that like with any mics, you pay for what you get. Not that you have to break the bank to get something decent, but a lapel mic for under a tenner isn't a particularly good investment. One of my uni tutors regularly gives talks, and he usually takes his own Shure lapel mic (I think it might be wrieless but I'm not sure), and he says it's great.

[quote name='phatkat' post='480027' date='May 5 2009, 04:08 PM']I tried adjusting the pickups and they are at their lowest setting.... its passive. G...[/quote] Sounds like it could be a pickup failure.

Yeah, I think for the whole grade thing it's gonna do sod-all to get you into a band (the only musos I've ever med who would hire someone on the basis of a grade were awful noodly prog-rockers - and they were sh*te). Experience, a good demo tape and the ability to impress at audition will always be more impressive to fellow musicians than grades. In fact, some might even be put off by a claim of having high grades.

[quote name='phatkat' post='479999' date='May 5 2009, 03:36 PM']I recently bought a Peavey Palaedium bass, nice guitar but a bit neglected, I cleaned it up and restrung it so it looks great sadly it sounds sh*t...!! There are a few issues, the strings play at different volumes at various places on the neck, the d and g strings get this harmonic feedback kinda thing going on around 11th 12th frets and will sustain forever....?? Whats going on with this guitar? G...[/quote] How close are the pickups to the strings? Is it an active bass?

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='479754' date='May 5 2009, 11:21 AM']I'm guessing you're an originals band! Try that with your own PA and add another 40 mins. [/quote] Yeah, pretty much. We've done gigs with PA hire too, and it does tack on another forty easy, if not more.

[quote name='dlloyd' post='479777' date='May 5 2009, 11:52 AM']I think the argument is that refusing to learn to read [i]can[/i] deny you some opportunities for expanding your horizons as a musician, so learning to read is a logical step if you want to avoid limiting yourself. Being 'limited' as a musician isn't necessarily a bad thing.[/quote] Well sure, I agree with you there. What I find interesting here is that theoretically at least, not reading music isn't the only way to limit yourself as a musician. Depending on how you look at it, there are hundreds of separate skills that anyone could learn as a musician, and from that basis you could argue that someone who doesn't know one of them is more limited than someone who does. You look hard enough at [i]any[/i] musician, I guess you could find something that they haven't learned that many others have.

That's brilliant, cheers.

Does anyone know where I can get some good tinted lacquer in rattle-can form? The neck on my Jazz has been finished with clear lacquer, and the maple has that very light, slightly pinkish appearance that you get on new guitars, like this: I'd like to make it look a bit darker and yellower, like a well-aged instrument. Quite subtle and all, just a more warm, ambery-type colour, like this: Anyone know where I can get that?

[quote name='dlloyd' post='479755' date='May 5 2009, 11:21 AM']I agree 100% that the ability to read is crucial if you want to pursue a course of academic study in music. I think it's bizarre that there are Universities that are offering degrees in music where reading is not compulsary... again, no personal slight intended towards Max.[/quote] This is the thing, though - the key here is that they [i]offer[/i] the degrees. By the time you get to university, you're supposed (in theory at least) to be smart enough to decide for [i]yourself[/i] what you want or need to learn, not to have it told to you like you're some thirteen-year-old who would rather be playing XBox than be there at all. Not that I picked the course specifically because it [i]didn't[/i] require standard notation, but had I wanted the course to force me to do it, there were others i could have chosen. And as I've oft repeated, the course I took did [i]offer[/i] standard notation training. Despite what some people here might say, it's entirely possible to be a functional, successful professional musician without knowing how to read standard notation. The course I took takes that into account. And ultimately, the fact that I didn't learn standard notation while on the course pales into insignificance compared to the massively useful professional skills I [i]did[/i] learn - which some others have been alarmingly quick to dismiss as being about as useful as knitting.

[quote name='dlloyd' post='479770' date='May 5 2009, 11:33 AM']You're wrong, as is anyone who presents this as a polarised issue. I'm pretty comfortable at reading. My sight reading for bass isn't stunning, as I don't use it often enough, but it's not terrible, and I'm pretty good at sight reading on other instruments. But far too many of the musicians who I consider 'great' were non-readers for me to dismiss non-readers out of hand. But I don't think any convincing argument can be made that they were 'great' [i]because[/i] they couldn't read, or that their 'greatness' is reasonable justification for having illiteracy as an aspiration.[/quote] But you've not contradicted what I've said. I'm not claiming that ALL readers think that everyone should have to read, and similarly I don't think [i]anyone[/i] genuinely has the viewpoint that there is some sort of [i]benefit[/i] to not reading. What I'm saying is that some of the non-readers are saying that it doesn't bother them that they don't read, and some of the most vociferious advocates of reading have made comments along the lines of you can't be a genuinely good musician if you don't read. That's what I seem to be getting from this argument.

Also, here are a few things that I have personally done and believe can make people improve [i]considerably[/i] as musicians, for fairly obvious reasons - Engineering, mixing and mastering multitrack recordings - Scoring films - Building instruments out of found objects - Arranging pieces for non-instruments - Arranging classical pieces for modern instruments - Writing and performing pieces on instruments you haven't learned to play - Sound designing As I said, all of these things have obvious musical benefits that I probably don't need to go into. Does it mean I think everyone should have to do them, and is doomed to mediocrity if they don't? Of course not. There are far better musicians than me out there who have done none of these things.

We're a four-piece (drums, two guitar, bass, two vocals), and it usually takes us about twenty minutes to load in and set up, and less than ten to soundcheck. We've learned from experience that the easier you make the job for the soundguy, the more likely he is to make you sound good. Plus we always find it really irritating when other bands take hours.

So basically what we've established here is that there are people who don't read music, see no reason for them personally to read music and enjoy themselves fine, progress, even have decent (sometimes brilliant) careers without reading music. And on the other hand, we have people who do read music and think that you can't ever progress beyond mediocrity without reading music. And who illustrate this point by dismissing everything that non-readers have ever achieved as mediocre, in one case dismissing entire genres as not requiring any musical skill. Correct me if I'm wrong here.

[quote name='rslaing' post='479327' date='May 4 2009, 08:02 PM']Having the ability to read and write music is a distinct advantage for a musician. As is being able to be able to read and write in any language. The non music readers don't appear to think so. For various reasons, varying from they have had other things to do to they have had no need to bother.[/quote] Sure, but that's not the same thing as claiming that not reading music gives us an [i]advantage[/i], is it. [quote]I will continue for as long as I live, to preach the benefits of a well rounded musical education and unless someone can convince me otherwise, I will retain my opinion. And I expect that whilst I do that, there will be many who will try to justify their own reasons not to advance their abilities. No problem. I certainly do not consider the ability to read music as making me superior to anyone, as you are trying to infer. It really is not that important. But as you can see, (without getting personal, or typing with full stops in between words to attempt to make my point), I feel very strongly about it, and will never understand why anyone who is a musician would not want to learn to read and have the ability to write music. Please do not attempt to ridicule people's opinions, just give your own.[/quote] Mate, I'll stop ridiculing your opinions when you stop having ridiculous opinions. Such as for instance that all non-readers are lazy or creatively limited, or not "REAL musicians" (quoted virtually verbatim from your posts). You see, that might be your opinion, but it's also firstly obviously false and secondly quite insulting to anyone concerned. And it comes across as arrogant, ignorant, condescending, and yes, elitist. Even though that may not be your intention.

Tim Commerford from RATM says that he sets his basses up with a seriously high action because he plays so energetically and he doesn't want the strings rattling around all over the place.

[quote name='rslaing' post='479290' date='May 4 2009, 07:39 PM']No, not elitist, just very opinionated, and those opinions are based on personal experience of many years. And no matter how you attempt to undermine my beliefs with irrelevant aspersions and personal attacks, you will not convince me (as others who have also commented) that not being able to read music is an advantage to a musician. I respect your opinion, but not your abuse.[/quote] Okay, deep breath: NO ONE. Is. Trying. To. Convince. You. That. Not. Being. Able. To. Read. Music. Is. An. Advantage. Seriously, you made that up all by yourself. And if believing that your membership to a certain group of people (e.g. people who read music) automatically makes you superior to another group (e.g. people who don't read music) isn't elitism, then I don't know what is.

From experience, remember to keep a good balance between theory/technique and playing for fun. I always tried to get people to show me what sort of records they were into so I could use that material to teach them, and that way they'd always be into practicing (with beginners, especially younger ones, the major ballache is always that they often "forget" to practice between lessons).

[quote name='rslaing' post='479276' date='May 4 2009, 07:34 PM']Moderate, moderator, moderation...forget the semantics. In plain english, anyone who is given the task of moderation should do just that. Otherwise it is not moderation, it's casting opinion and potentially an influence, and certainly not impartial "moderation"[/quote] And if this were the UN Security Council, it would probably be a big deal. Get over it, man.

[quote name='rslaing' post='479264' date='May 4 2009, 07:27 PM']Just my opinion................[/quote] ... Which makes you an elitist, man. Sorry, but there it is, right there. You're a massive, massive elitist. At least admit it, so it's perfectly clear to everyone that you're convinced you're better than the rest of us, and we can all get on with our lives.

[quote name='rslaing' post='479257' date='May 4 2009, 07:22 PM']Definition:- "a moderate is an individual who holds an intermediate position between two viewpoints, neither to be extreme or radical by those applying the term" Maybe your "job" title should be changed, because your contributions certainly aren't impartial.[/quote] That's "moderate", not "moderator". Amazing.

[quote name='rslaing' post='479217' date='May 4 2009, 06:50 PM']But stop being so prejudiced against people who can do something that you can't be arsed about.[/quote] Sorry, I missed this, this is classic. You got any more of this kind of thing?

[quote name='rslaing' post='479229' date='May 4 2009, 06:57 PM']I get the impression there is some inverted snobbery here - and it appears that it is you that is being judgemental.[/quote] Yeah, totally. I'm judging people who say that musicians who can't read are all lazy and creatively limited. How callous of me. Seriously, keep it up man. You're too funny.