The Funk

[quote name='alexclaber' post='486896' date='May 13 2009, 01:23 PM']Nowadays I'd lean towards just having one input and a pad switch - or designing a preamp with so much headroom that you don't need a pad at all.[/quote] Agreed! [quote name='alexclaber' post='486896' date='May 13 2009, 01:23 PM']There really is a lot of confusing terminology in the bass world, as my wife pointed out when I said (in reference to a Larry Graham youtube moment) "he's such a righteous slapper, look how he hard he spanks it".[/quote] Hah, so true!

[quote name='rjb' post='485604' date='May 12 2009, 09:05 AM']I like them for the same reasons that others hate them - thick neck profile, natural woods, rounded shape and, of course, the low-midrange growl.[/quote] Same here!

[quote name='urb' post='486701' date='May 13 2009, 10:24 AM']I think a common misconception with slapping is that it needs to be done aggressively or with force, but if you check out Marchs Miller or Alain Caron they slap gently[/quote] Agree 100%!

[quote name='alexclaber' post='486852' date='May 13 2009, 12:46 PM']Yes, really. You only need to use the active input if your bass is so loud that it clips the passive input - usually it does explain this in the manual but as no-one ever reads manuals why not label it 'padded input' or something along those lines? Alex[/quote] A lot of bass players wouldn't understand what "padded input" means - even though that's all it is! -10db padded input usually.

It sounds like you need to get your basic right-hand / left-hand technique sorted out. Get a good teacher for to show you in person - one lesson should be enough to spot all the problems and demonstrate the solutions. Then it's a question of going home and working on it for about 6 months.

Have a look at the Lehle products. Similar to the Radial products but built in Germany so (I think) comparatively cheaper. They do a couple of head switchers.

I'd like to compare one of their big valve heads against an Orange equivalent. They seem to be more powerful but I've never heard one, let alone tried one out.

Guys, thanks a lot for all of this. Rhythmically, I was always planning on trying to do one thing: swing without any syncopation. I get to syncopate to my heart's content with all the funk stuff. I'm going to keep having newbie questions so I thought I'll just post them as they come up. While listening to some of the classic recordings of those three tunes, I can hear some of the band bringing in the changes slightly ahead of the bar when it should happen. Am I supposed to follow that or does that undermine what they're trying to do?

I used to play with a really high action with real heavy strings. I quite like low actions now though but if I didn't play right up on the bridge, I'd get loads of unintentional clank.

[quote name='Oscar South' post='484430' date='May 10 2009, 05:57 PM']You use the best tools available for your trade, and what constitutes the best is an entirely subjective judgement.[/quote] Agreed. I'm still not sure what the concern was about using a compressor. On those classic records, the engineers would have used expensive studio compressors and limiters.

Valves -> natural compression.

[quote name='johnnylager' post='483995' date='May 9 2009, 08:25 PM']When are you sending him the cab?[/quote] Fantastic idea! Instead of one of those stupid "Congratulations - you've been entered for a rubbish competition and won" letters arriving through Larry Graham's letter box, he could get a massive cab smashing through his front door instead. [i]People ask me everywhere How I lost all my hair[/i]... Barefaced cabs - bald cheek!

Looked it up. Bonzo Dog Doodah Band!

I agree with Bilbo's assessment: even if you have a teacher, most of the learning or progress happens in your own time. I find it a lot easier to learn things when playing in a band - because they're almost immediately useful and applicable. I was self-taught for the first 5 years but I started getting frustrated when my friends would write more complex tunes and not be able to explain how the chords fit together. I then had 6 lessons with an American guy who'd played with everyone from Bo Diddley to Cypress Hill. He threw so much at me in those 6 lessons that it took me years to absorb it all. Great stuff. Very, very inspiring. Then real life got in the way and I haven't had a proper practice or learning regimen for the last 10 years. I've mainly been playing, writing for and leading funk/rock/soul bands in that time. Just started the whole process again with jazz. Suddenly all the books that have been sitting around unopened for years are open and being cross-referred to. I've had some great tips from the BC forumites too!

Congratulations!

I have BC's The Rinser's old Warwick Corvette Bubinga Fretless 4. It's superb! I've gigged it a few times. The first time, I took my sunglasses off when I realised onstage monitoring and lighting were almost non-existent. I'll never give up fretted though. I do love the slap.

Thanks for all the advice. It's all good stuff!

If you walk away in the black AND have fun I class that as a win.

[quote name='grumble' post='481548' date='May 7 2009, 12:17 AM']Can Blue Men Sing The Whites ?[/quote] Hah, I saw my friend Pete say that on the documentary about blues in Britain. Made me chuckle.

[quote name='dlloyd' post='482270' date='May 7 2009, 06:36 PM']Those are tricky tunes for a first attempt at jazz.[/quote] That's what I thought. Still, gotta start somewhere.

Thanks for the advice guys. Keep it coming!

Through basschat I've arranged to start jamming with a jazz drummer and guitarist which I thought would be a great intro to playing, as opposed to listening, to jazz. I asked them for 2 or 3 tunes for me to work on in advance of the first session. They've come back with [i]Scrapple From The Apple[/i], [i]Confirmation[/i] and [i]Lady Bird[/i]. 200bpm, chord change every bar, sometimes twice per bar. I thought I knew my areggios - but at that tempo, with so many changes, it turns out I don't [i]know them[/i] know them. How the hell do you boppers do it? I've managed to find a good site, [url="http://www.realbook.us"]www.realbook.us[/url], which has charts you can change the key for at the click of a button and which also play a basic MIDI piano accompaniment you can change the tempo of. I've got a week to absorb as much as possible from my [i]Patterns For Jazz[/i] book, practice my various arpeggios and practice the hell out of those changes. Any advice for a rhythm n' blues player taking his first steps in jazz?

Aguilar DB680 with a proper footswitchable effects loop.

It should be. Unfortunately I won't be there as I'll be in the studio!