Kongo

I recently finished off my P-bass project with a BadAss II. I to don't rate standard bridges...you have to keep moving the E and G-string saddle back into centre as they go off and also the springs behind the saddle rattle...Annoying when you play unplugged. It's up to you. Either go for the Geddy Lee or build your own. I'd go for the MIM Jazz personally as you could overhaul it completely...But if your a BIG Geddy Lee nut you may want a Signature. But if it's only for the bridge...they don't cost much you could get a MIM Fender and go from there. P.s. what 'Ray you got cause...I'm in the market for one.

[quote name='Zoe_BillySheehan' post='479745' date='May 5 2009, 11:01 AM']I've never really got into Wooten much, im not sure why. yeah the neck on the Attitude is big, i'd love one, but i have all of.. £14 quid, and some money for a provisional driving license (£50 quid! madness...) The anxiety thing.. is just really sh*t, i'm not completely sure why it hit me. theres a few reasons that it could have been down to, but its just frustrating. Hoping to get back to school in sept (well 6th form.) But Sheehan gave me the motivation to keep playing bass, cause at one point, i lost the motivation to do.. well everything really. well i love Geddy Lee, his playing style is amazing. and ive never really been into Jazz, but this girl has made me see it differently 'Tal Wilkenfeld' she tours with Jeff Beck. I was watching a live Jeff Beck gig on telly, and she is amazing! Im also like some bassists that havnt got all the technical ability, but a really solid playing style, likw Duff McKagen (guns n roses, velvet revolver, loaded) and nikki sixx... well.. just look at him haha yeh yeh hes 50 now! and as for the kinda music im into.. Mostly classic rock! Motley Crue, guns n roses, hanoi rocks, new york dolls, kiss just to name a few. but all sorts of stuff dotted around the place... classic punk, metal and whatever else catches my fancy im quite open minded about music now. oh yeah, and Rush are amazing. yourself? Z x Edit: oh jesus. how the hell did i forget to mention John Entwistle around here? eeek...[/quote] Being a Teenager never helps...From the age of 14 - 19 I was pretty bad...it still rears it's ugly head now if I'm not careful. WHen the band before this fell appart for instance and I became a working drone...I fear faliure alot, in life, relationships, in bass, in whatever I do. That is one part so...don't feel alone. There are more out there that are the same. But...let's leave that be...BASS TIME! Happy days! I am influenced on alot of old heavy metal from the 70's - 80's and classic rock. My dad is a HUGE Queen fan so I grew up listening to Queen passively over 80% of the time. But these days I'm more metal...From Iron Maiden to Canibal Corpse. I prefere grooves and rhythms to all out thrash and speed...Ironic for a Sheehan fan but that's different than having 2 guitars widdling fast lines all the time. Fear Factory is a good example. From music college I got into groove playing because, like most bass tutors, it was pushed. Over time I find this was a waste as I was lying to myself...I ain;t a funk bassist...I mean I can groove...no no I'm heavy all the way and Bass is a powerful instrument. Now I play my P-bass more than my 6-string Ibanez BTB (although I love the range). I feel more inclined to to tried and tested basses and am pondering a Stringray...But they are so expensive! I'm not all for techneque either. I still have a soft spot for Slipknot, the first modern metal band I got into and Paul Grey, for the most part, plays with a pick and follows the guitar...This is easy and fun to play...pick included. Tim Commerford also was a BIG influence on my playing in past. Sometimes it's good to kick back and play easy...Too much technical play can make you look at your instruments like gym equipment. I too like Geddy Lee's playing and more recently, Tony Levin the "Bassists bassist", again only because I came back to the Rock side of things. I really must learn some Rush and King Crimson...I've got some records to spin so I might do so soon. Not sure what else to say. You love Sheehans playing as much as I do, if not more.

[quote name='Zoe_BillySheehan' post='479587' date='May 5 2009, 12:39 AM']I've been in a few bands where all the guitarists care about is themselves, aslong as there turned up to 11, nothing else matters! lol. I've been to see Sheehan quite a few times, when Vai played with G3, a couple of clinics, with Vai twice more, Devils Slingshot etc. I've been in touch with Sheehan since i was about 12 (he sent me a birthday postcard), hes my biggest influence ever really. and at gigs, he recognizes me, from stage etc, and after gigs. it still completely blows me away, its mental :| i'll copy and paste this from a thread a while ago.. will save typing lol. Quote: its awesome how much time he makes for his fans. I was doing a presentation in school about him, and i emailed him, and he made me a voice clip saying 'hey this is billy sheehan, welcome to Zoes presentation about myself' etc was amazing. but over the past year and a half, ive been going through a load of crap with anxiety. I ended up being really down, not being about to go school, gigs, band pracs, play with my band, go out with my friends. and i ended up just really demotivated.. its been pretty sh*t and he rang me up while he was in Birmingham, because i wasnt able to make it to his bass clinic. I actually missed the phone call and he left me a voice mail, could have just kicked myself afterwards haha. saved the voicemail though But it was amazing, defiantly the motivation i needed to get back into playing music again, and it worked BIG TIME! Z x[/quote] Yeah he's ALL for the fans it's amazing. He's sposed to write all his Emails personally but after reading that I can beleive anything. It's cool he called you up...Damn that's like your on Billy's mind...That's hardcore! I've never had chance to meet him it sucks...but I will one day, he's a true bassists but better than that, a down to earth guy. I used to be big on Wooten but in his clinics...it felt like he was saying to everyone "I do this but you shouldn't...You should hold only a groove and bow to your guitarists...But I won't I'll be doing all this flashy stuff...but you shouldn't" and after that I felt a little...cheated...Like it was pointless learning his stuff...Maybe he didn't mean it that way but after that I decided that I was gonna focus on what matters musically so I left Funk behind kinda. But Sheehan's different. He does say on everything, like his DVD that you should take what he does and do it your way and not to copy but that's it...Then he'll show you and give advice. But no matter how much I practise...That SPEED of his hands is just silly! And the neck on the Attitude II is NOT thin! It's fatter than my P-bass I'm sure. Well I hope you have the drive still to go out there. Man, Anxiety hit every member in my current band over the years...One still feels that way but he's warming to band life again. All it came from was being downtrodden by a few bands we used to consider friends...And we did so much for them too... Anyways, you should continue to play and better yourself. You have good gear too, it'd be a waste if you never used it...And Billy Sheehan as your guardian angel..Now THAT'S worth playing for! What other bassists / genres you into?

[quote name='Zoe_BillySheehan' post='479574' date='May 5 2009, 12:09 AM']lol you've said the same thing that i say about his 3 albums. "It's great. I didn't like Compression much...it wasn;t his best start...But Cosmic Troubadour was GREAT!" and thats awesome that youve learn addicted to that rush, you should make a youtube vid! and yeah thats the problem with only the 1 pick up and distortion, you really do need the 2 channels to pull it off like he does. and yeah, love Niacin! haha the wife is amazing!!! but yeah i see what you mean, but i guess thats why its got so much character its great having someone to talk about sheehan with! haha Z x[/quote] Makes a nice change from talking about Wooten. I can relate to Billy much more and actually use his techneques in my own playing instead of just using them because I can...or something. It's people like Sheehan that have put bass on the map...IN a place where it was not likely to be...but then back in the 70's - 80's bass was a big part of metal and I aim to keep that true in my band...Luckily the guitarists are my friends and are very open minded...Which is good. Being told to turn up by a guitarist...well it makes you feel important to say the least. I love his work but more over as well as being a great bassists he's great to listen to. I didn't go the Vai gig 3 years ago...My friend did and he met Billy! He went to "fetch them some picks" and they thought he'd done a runner...But he returned, gave out picks, signed stuff, had photo's took and stayed for a chat...Very humble man...And prob the only Scientologist I like LOL! I have thought about putting 2 channels into my P-bass but I risk copying his Wife and Attitude bass'. I could really use 2 channels on all my basses really for splitting frequencies but then I'd need double the amps so no LOL! Having 2 channels from P and J style would be a good idea, though I'm sure many have done so. It's nice talking to a likeminded bassist for a change...You start to feel alien sometimes if your not talking Funk. Here it seems is different.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='479533' date='May 4 2009, 11:10 PM']Stop pretending its not jazz. Plenty of people here listen to jazz, nothing to be ashamed of. Here at least.[/quote] For sure, Mathcore has Jazz influences...but more Bee-Bop I'd say. (hard-bop more like lol!) But this Jazz is better on my ears...but only when taken in small dosses...As said, there are no vox. I prefere DEP for Mathcore.

[quote name='Zoe_BillySheehan' post='479553' date='May 4 2009, 11:38 PM']aw wow! yeah i'd love to see pictures!!! you'll have to do a review on it too! Yeah, i'm a big can of precisions, i'm after a white one, preferably a Japanese one. I play a Fender Jazz bass Special, its got a p-bass body, jazz neck, with J and P pick ups (seymour duncan quarter pounders) and its Japanese. i love it Yeah, i love the Advanced bass DVD. What do you think of his solo stuff? you heard his latest album 'Holy Cow'? Billy Sheehan mentioned in Classic Rock mag this month that hes thinking of doing a solo tour, playing stuff from his 3 albums, with some david lee roth stuff too. damn.. that would be amazing and i'm soo excited about this Mr. Big reunion, I so hope they come to the UK!! Z x[/quote] I pre-ordered Holy Cow and it came last week. It's great. I didn't like Compression much...it wasn;t his best start...But Cosmic Troubadour was GREAT! Sheehan got me intot he P-bass tone, of which I hated with a passion for years...Now it's one of my favs. But Holy Cow is great...you can really hear his dual pickups better in this one...you get the distorted high end but then absolute SUB at the same time! I'm looking forward to the Mr. Big reunion too...I hope they come to the UK but I know American bands like to do a "World Tour" which means the US only...LOL! Shame if they didn't come. I'm almost finished learning Addicted to that Rush after finally sitting down to learn it...It ain't easy and I currently suck at pinch harmonics...plus having only one pickup you have to be careful with the distortion so it doesn't become too tinny. Got any Niacin? His groove stuff on that is great and shows any haters up with the fact that he CAN groove...I mean he always has done to be honest. He's done the most oddball bass stuff ever and uses distortion and pinch harmonics and neck bends...Yet he has ALWAYS held the biggest low end you'll ever hear. Looking at his first bass, the "Wife" and how stage battered and horrible DIY it was makes you feel safe doing a project build lol! If he scalped his fretboard with a Dremel power tool and used a hammer and chisel to put in that Gibson EBO at the neck...Then your safe with a soldering iron!

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='479541' date='May 4 2009, 11:19 PM']Yeah, I'm used to playing 5-strings with 18mm string spacing, so it was like trying to play bass on a Stratocaster![/quote] LOL! Taking lessons from Reggie Wooten now are we?

I tried looking for such a tutor a few years ago...I don't think they exist. We all love to funk I guess but too many tutors just focus on jazz or funk and that's great, but like said here...Where are the bassists from hell? Someone else posted it here...Learn from Billy Sheehan and others like him. Buy music, DVD's, try to learn licks etc it's the only way BUT use them as you would...beleive me there are many Sheehan clones on YouTube and that's great for showy stuff but on record people will think it's Sheehan. Learn from and use it your way. I watch your vids anyways before coming here. A thing about the 3 fingers...All I can say is use it all the time. Even on 8th notes instead of using 2 fingers use all 3, that way it becomes second nature. I alternate mine though from ring, middle, index back to middle and repeat but that's something you just find yourself. Sheehan goes ring, middle, index repeat but he does it ALL the time. I just don't think you'll find one...I havn't...but maybe we should focus on getting better at it and then becoming tutors of it ourselfs. If noone else will teach then we will. p.s. you got Blotted Science? Webster does some tasty work there!

[quote name='Golchen' post='479518' date='May 4 2009, 10:56 PM']I need to change my vote! Haven't touched my Status since I bought a Fender Reggie Hamilton Jazz, and it feels like 'the one'.[/quote] Nice! Pricey but nice. Glad you found home...I find it very hard tracking down "The one".

[quote name='beerdragon' post='479425' date='May 4 2009, 09:34 PM']That was different, i couldn't listen to the whole seven and half, just not my thing.[/quote] LOL he beat me to it...That's the best Warr Guitar player I know. I'm not surprised, that's Mathcore, it takes a bit and with no vocals it's even harder but it's all rock n roll to me.

[quote name='Zoe_BillySheehan' post='479472' date='May 4 2009, 10:14 PM']Hey! you're going to be a good addition to this forum, you're good at talking! lol awesome influences Z x[/quote] Oh hell...So at least there is Sheehan love here...Thank god...You usually got shot down in flames with comments like "Try getting a more musical influence" but...He IS a musical influence...and bass genius! So there be shred bassists here too? My life changed when I watched his Advanced Bass DVD...Compression? Genius THAT'S what I was missing! I've just finished my first bass build, a P-bass with a DiMarzio Will Power driving it...I'm posting pics soon so take a look. It was made with my 3 P-bass influences in mind: Billy Sheehan, Steve Harris and Phil Lynott. Anyways, it's always good to meet likeminded bassists and yeah, I guess I like to talk bass ALOT LOL!

Nice "pain-free" pickup too. ONly problem I have with MM pickups (older ones anyways they seem to have changed it now) is that the part where it sticks out for the screws cause your thumb to burn after resting on it a while. This one doesn't have them. Very green LOL! How's it sound? About the controls...Maybe a Q Parts chrome dome with a Pearl top [i]might[/i] go with the checkerboard.

I'd imagine number of frets would be a factor? slapping on the 20th fret will be narrower than slapping on the 24th fret. What goes round as narrow spacing? I've used so many now I'm used to them all. Are we talking 16.5mm?

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='479331' date='May 4 2009, 08:04 PM']A friend of mine used to describe my action as one whereby a person with a top hat on could limbo dance underneath the strings - slight exageration perhaps?[/quote] I'll never look at the distance in height between last fret and string the same way again!

[quote name='Toddy' post='478834' date='May 4 2009, 11:10 AM']Hi Gang,,,, Have heard OLP mentioned a few times on here,,, I know where there is a brand new Tony Levin Sig for just a tab over £200,,, havent plugged it in ,,,but seems to play really well.. Should I snap this one up?????[/quote] OLP don't make basses no more (correct me if I'm wrong) so I'd buy it. I'd like one myself to try a Stingray at a reasonable price but I can't find em. I'd like an OLP MM32 (5-string HH model). So yeah, buy it. They retailed for about £320 new I saw once. If anything it's active so it's ripe for mod ideas.

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='479311' date='May 4 2009, 07:51 PM']For sale section?[/quote] Not yet but I could...I'll need to take pics. It's had about...8 hours use in band and very little home...Does need a new onwer... If anyones interested I'll put it up.

[quote name='ironside1966' post='479024' date='May 4 2009, 02:56 PM']How do people feel about modern university education in music and music technology? Have you got a better job out of it? Did it give you the skill to earn money in the music business? Did it give you the skills or just a leg up? If you employ musicians or engineers what do you think of the emerging students? Is the standard university dependent or is it across the board?[/quote] I've got certificates, Diploma's and Advanced Diploma's...The journey of education was worth a lifetime and I'll never forget the fun I had being around likeminded musicians going on about music all day every day...But now I'm a car trimmer...oh the irony...I won't give up though! But by my saying I don't feel qualifications give you an edge. Of course, someone else may have better luck. Of course, the city you live in might also be a factor.