The Funk

I think the nearest audition/interview is in Ireland - or at least it was when my friend went there.

The Bass Cellar's alright for trying things out but their prices and service are a bit rubbish. Simone was helpful but I'm pretty sure she's left.

I suppose I should have said "comments, feedback, suggestions - all most welcome!", so please do share your thoughts, opinions, views and reviews!

I remember Endorka recommending 1-2-4 in the lower 5 frets. I mainly do 1-2-4 all over the place but I do the one finger per fret thing a lot too. I also keep my bass angled diagonally upwards. It means I can play with less strain in the right and left hand. Still not got my technique "right" though to be honest.

I've got some Beyer DT100s. Good but the DT150s are just that bit better.

You can record a mono recording with just one mic BUT instrument placement will have to be spot on before you record as it'll be the only way you have of setting levels. If you're using a dynamic mic (Shure SM57-type job) then you should consider upgrading to a decent condenser mic to pick up the room sound better: the best "cheap" option is the Rode NT1, which comes in at around £130. The other thing worth investing in is a decent mic preamp. Samson do a valve mic pre for under £70 (Samson C Valve). You could plug your condenser into that and the preamp into the laptop. If you don't have a budget for this at all then pay for a few extra mics for the rehearsal room and use one mic for the vocals, one for the guitar amp, and one mic for the room (which you say picks up bass and drums quite well). Then plug everything into the PA mixer that's in the room. Then plug out of the stereo output of the mixer into the mic input on your laptop (which is also stereo). Record the entire signal as a stereo track on Audacity. To plug out of the stereo output of the mixer into the mic input of your laptop you'll need two long guitar-type cables, a 1/4" jack Y-adaptor and a 1/4"-1/8" stereo jack adaptor. The Y-adaptor and 1/4"-1/8" adaptor might cost you around 5 quid and the extra mics might just cost you around the same for a session. So if you literally have a budget of ten quid, I'd do it that way. In Motown's studios they only used 3 mics total!

[quote name='BigRedX' post='49177' date='Aug 22 2007, 08:55 PM']Interesting points being made. Out of interest how many people here also write/compose songs/music as a major part of what you contribute towards your band as well as playing bass? I was never particularly bothered about cover versions, they were something that other bands did, and to be honest one of the things that drove me as both a writer and a musician was that there was very little music that was exactly what I wanted to hear, so I had to write my own if I wanted any more.[/quote] This is why I formed my own band where I write or co-write everything. Even though all my comments above show my respect for people who play in covers bands, I can only do that as a side thing to my own band. I treat the covers gigs as school time to really work on my playing, and my own gigs as the pay-off when I get to go out and have fun showing people what I'm all about musically. I just wish I had time to do more covers gigs to work on my chops!

If you can stick to the basic one finger-one fret rule, you shouldn't have to slide around.

You seem to be using your posts these days to fish for an amp endorsement!

Thought: sod that.

You could probably get away with a decent head and two 1x12 cabs (or a 1x12 combo with a 1x12 extension cab). The choice of manufacturer would depend on what kind of sound you're after. There are a lot of good solid state cleans out there - yet they all sound really different. I'll go do some research now.

My old drummer went there on a part scholarship. He graduated in 3 years. He managed to get through it and he learnt a lot there but he found it a bit soul-destroying - and it almost took all of the enjoyment out of music for him. EDIT: I should add that he was my drummer [i]before[/i] he went to Berklee. He was pretty damn good even then.

I remember when I was starting out (and when I wanted to be the best bass player in the world) I would get frustrated that my fingers weren't as long as Stanley Clarke's (ie. longer than legs) because I thought my limited hand stretch would limit my playing. Well, I no longer want to be the greatest bass player in the world but I've also realised that I was worrying about nothing. I play Warwick 5s without any problem. I prefer a smaller string spacing and thicker neck but that's about it. I can play all 4s without too much difficulty and with 5s I tend to stick to Warwicks. I've never felt the need for a shorter scale bass (although I recently picked one up to throw around the house).

[quote name='Rich' post='48909' date='Aug 22 2007, 01:01 PM']twunt[/quote] Good word!

[quote name='Johngh' post='48889' date='Aug 22 2007, 12:46 PM']I played in a NWOBHM band[/quote] A what now?

I do originals but I'm definitely not of the opinion that people who play in covers bands / back other artists are not proper musicians. Most of the time, I've found it's the other way around! In an originals band you can play whatever you like - and you can write the songs around your limitations as a musician. In a covers band you just won't have that luxury. The other trouble with many originals bands is that their sound is just a carbon copy of whoever the current big act is. So I don't see how that's got anything to do with expressing your artistic vision - surely, that's expressing someone else's!

It might be worth upgrading to a better one. It's annoying that they suddenly jump from around a tenner to around £65.

I don't see how we can help other than to say your tuner is buggered and it's time to get a new one.

MB Music in Bognor Regis. Nice guys. Got something from them once.

That's going to sound (and look) monstrous through the Nemesis 8x10!

Have you tried one of the Sandberg California JM 5s before? They're pretty cool!

[quote name='Tinman' post='48194' date='Aug 21 2007, 10:29 AM']a nice mellow sound but with lots of thump that would cut through 2 guitarists and a loud drummer[/quote] Is that possible?

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Two options: 1. Ring the distributor back and say you'll buy it for £525 - as that's the price the shops are quoting. 2. Ring the shops and shame them into getting off their arses. Tell them you rang the distributor direct and that they told you they've got plenty of stock.