Mykesbass

[quote name='benzies123' post='919576' date='Aug 9 2010, 01:20 PM']Well I appreciate the advice, but If I'm going to land myself in £20,000 of debt and spend 4 years studying I want it to be somewhere I know I want to be. Also the fact I didn't get in last year is not a very good indication of what will happen this year, the Trinity Jazz course only takes on one electric bass player a year. So it only required one very good player to take the spot from all of us, certain indications led me to think that I was very close to getting in - and that was then. Sorry if that sounded ranty or patronising, I was in a hurry [/quote] Ouch! Not ranty or patronising but I feel like I've hit a raw nerve - sorry! I did suggest as a back up, not as one of your first choices. Good luck with your quest, hope you get what you're looking for this time around.

Please don't take this as disrespectful - it certainly isn't intended that way, but, having failed to get in last time, are you not limiting yourself to some of the more illustrious colleges - would it not make sense to go for a couple of former Polytechnic type places that offer the right course as a fall back? My brother did a very interesting music degree - sorry, can't remember the exact course, but had plenty of Jazz and World Music elements to it, at the University of East London - sounds glamorous doesn't it but he really enjoyed it.

[quote name='Spike Vincent' post='910587' date='Jul 30 2010, 07:48 PM']Kim Wilde nearly ran me over once.[/quote] You just reminded me - I nearly ran John Hurt over once, just around the back of Shaftsbury Avenue!

[quote name='scottaylor' post='918856' date='Aug 8 2010, 05:02 PM']i wont be playing in a band as im now a criple and ortistic so i crap my self when i do jams at my mates gigs, i play coz i love sounds of serton songs, like you now some just sit in your soal and helps with the obessive side of ortisum[/quote] Having tried a few, I'd agree with the Squier CV suggestions - a lot of bass for £250 or so. Get playing on one of those and let's see if we can't find you some supportive musicians to jam with a bit further down the line - this forum has done some pretty amazing things lately

Put him together with a famous wrestling hold and you'd have Juan and a Half Nelson IGMC

Just in case anyone's interested - not mine BTW [url="http://brighton.gumtree.com/brighton/42/63567642.html"]http://brighton.gumtree.com/brighton/42/63567642.html[/url]

So, after years of trying to get something going musically since moving down to Sussex, I've got myself into a very busy RnR/Blues/Country band - 6 gigs August, 7 September, NYE booked - what happens on the second gig? - my scarcely used but 6 year old Yamaha BB500H just stops working. Bad news back from the tech, so, no time for online so I thought a quick trip to GAK would get me sorted. Excellent service, lots of good advice, but nothing less than an Orange Bass Terror at £469. All the cheapies out o fstock - shame 'cause the GK Backline 600H at about £230 looked great. So this morning, up at the crack of dawn, off to London - BaAss Cellar friendly and welcoming, but only an Ashdown MAG300 and the tiny Ashdowns that don't get a great reliability rating on here. None of the other Denmark Street shops stock any bass gear - they all say try Bass Cellar - great competition that!! Fianlly, off to The Gallery, and ended up, again after some good advice, with a Hartke which, despite being 250 watts was certainly extremely loud and made some nice sounds. Do we bass players spend so much time buying and swapping gear with each other that it isn't worth the shop's time to stock any bass kit? Oh well, semi rant over, better get ready for tonight's gig in Horsham.

Saw them at Pinnacle Records sales conference just before the album came out - they played in the Bierkellar in this dodgy Bracknell Ski Lodge style hotel for all the sales reps and assorted hangers on - they were great. Shared a lift with Skin the next day - should put that in the tenuous claims thread!

Anyone know a good amp repair person who can fix Class D type amps - took my Yamaha BB500H to a reputable (old school) repairer who said he didn't have a clue once he looked inside! Amp just stopped working mid set last Saturday.

Thanks for the replies - will be going for the new board and skilled luthier (only now my amp has died so going to have to spend on that first)

Oh, and great news about the bass

[quote name='mashup' post='915369' date='Aug 4 2010, 09:09 PM'].....well, apart from just fracturing my left thumb at football,[/quote] Really is time to change the user name!!!!!!!!!!!!

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='915286' date='Aug 4 2010, 07:30 PM']De-fretting an inlaid neck may produce potential 'buzz' areas on the lines of the inlays since the inlay material and the fingerboard wood are likely to move at different rates, so I personally wouldn't recommend it. It's possible of course to coat the board to offset this but I reckon you'll get a better result with a plain ebony board.[/quote] Thanks Doc, was wondering if it would give me any tonal problems, but hadn't thought of buzz.

OK, I have a big case of indecisiveness (if there is such a word). I'm really loving playing fretless but I miss the fifth string, so I'm going to turn my Cort GB75 into a fretless. Now, I know they don't have a huge resale value so I'm not going to worry about what a conversion will do to the price, its just, I quite like the look of it with the inlays. On the other hand, I'd quite like an ebony board. Long term I'm very probably going to get a new bass, now that I know what I want so not worried about fretboard wear. I'm also using Rotosound flats. Opinions please, de-fret or new board? Thanks in advance, Mike [attachment=55770:cort_bass_009.JPG]

The Rock Bottom Remainders - top selling authors with Amy Tan on vocals [url="http://www.seattlepi.com/pop/117835_remainders17.html"]http://www.seattlepi.com/pop/117835_remainders17.html[/url] Louis de Berniers - Captain Corelli's Mandolin - is a luthier.

[quote name='GarethFlatlands' post='912154' date='Aug 1 2010, 07:26 PM']When people ask me what kind of music I play, I'm going to start saying 'camp metal'.[/quote] Bit like Disney's "Camp Rock" what's going on there?

Where's the jam - so we can all avoid it!?

As a final back up, your brother should really report it to his insurers just in case in the worst case scenario you can make a claim.

A 1993 Taj Mahal album "Dancing The Blues" that I've had in a box for years, only rediscovered as looking for ideas for band. It's great!

Chris, I'm no expert, but my SWR (with the extra pick-up) sounds fine to me played through my Yamaha BB 500 head and a 10" cab. The electronics are all Fishman - pretty good reputation - OK, not up there with Schertler, but still pretty top end in the acoustic guitar world. As I say, not an expert, but do your amps (I see they're both Mesas) need some hefty driving? A lot of DB/EUB players go for smaller amps - one of the little GK's I recall are very popular. Is it worth trying it out through something smaller first? Cheers, Mike

[quote name='51m0n' post='910823' date='Jul 30 2010, 11:41 PM']Errr those 'no hopers', well I hate to break this to you, but a fair number of the chorus that weren't right in front of the camera (being the poor downtrodden 'no hopers') were kids from great homes who had been through Brighton's Music Service from the age of 5 onwards, I know cos I saw them do it, when I was taking Plux there too.... And funk may be hard to teach, but it can certainly be learnt. The trick is, as with any style, absolute immersion in it. I listened to noting but funk when I was exclusively playing in funk bands, and I was considered none too shabby. I'm not as good at it now, since I dont tend to listen to it nearly as much, but whatever I play it always has an element of funk in it, once you have it it cant be lost either. And slowing anything down makes it harder IMO. Any idiot can play stuff at warp speed and thus hide the mistakes in a flurry of plop. Thats how I get away with it [/quote] OK, but some of them that the programme highlighted were starting from a very low point (BTW I'm not making a comment on their social standing re the great homes comment), and the point was that Malone nurtured a feel/passioin for what they were doing, much like this mystical feel/groove needed to be funky.

Fretless (and keep the faith)!

[quote name='Linus27' post='910623' date='Jul 30 2010, 08:18 PM']Sure. Shuker is making me a custom neck for my ESP based on the existing ESP fretted neck. I did not want to get the ESP neck de-fretted as the bass is super rare and has sentimental value so if something goes wrong I am buggered. So the fretless neck will be pretty much the same as the existing fretted neck but fretless.[/quote] Thanks, I'll investigate his pricing. With the Cort it has a bound neck which I know most luthiers don't like de-fretting. Also I like the idea of keeping the original.

I still think you can teach "feel". Anyone seen Gareth Malone in his various BBC programmes teaching a bunch of no hopers to sing Opera? To me there's as much "feel" in that as there is in Funk. Sure, it's not all in the dots, but I think it is all about inspiring and coaching. It's not that some people were born with it and some not.

[quote name='Linus27' post='910579' date='Jul 30 2010, 07:42 PM']Hey Dave, If you can wait anything from 3 to 5 weeks until I get my fretless neck for my ESP, you can borrow my VMJ Fretless and compare. That way you can see if you like the VMJ and how you feel about fretless.[/quote] Can I ask where you are getting your neck - is it a custom build? I'm thinking of getting one for my Cort GB75 - I love my VMJ fretless but I need 5 strings otherwise I can't play in D or E!