gjones

I never touch the levels on a borrowed amp, when I'm playing with other bands. So that if the worst happens and the thing does 'blow up' I know it wasn't my fault. In fact, I was playing on a multi band gig recently (arranged by the bassist whose gear I was borrowing), and the speaker blew. I wasn't playing loud and hadn't touched the controls on the amp so knew it wasn't my fault. The bass player whose amp I was using, was quite philosophical about it, as he was going on tour in a weeks time and would rather have a speaker blow before the tour than during it. When people use my amp I will hang around and make sure they aren't abusing it. I have no problem with going on stage and adjusting it if the pre amp is sitting in the red or whatever.

Wasn't it the Ramones that said they knew they were getting better because the set that usually took them 45 mins was now only taking them half an hour.

Mike Scott from Adventures of a Waterboy is a good read. He can string a sentence together allright but if you're looking for sex, drugs and groupies this ain't for you. [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adventures-Of-Waterboy-Mike-Scott/dp/1908279249/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386012396&sr=8-1&keywords=mike+scott+waterboys"]http://www.amazon.co...scott+waterboys[/url]

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1386000447' post='2294468'] Not always economical that way though. Live drums take ages to set-up and record, if you do one or two tracks at a time you're paying for that set-up time over and over. The thing i always say to bands is book a practice room, get amazingly good at playing the songs, then come to the studio prepared for one or two takes. If you're on a budget, getting the tracks down live then overdubbing bits is the way to go. Set up takes longer but at least you get everything down. You can then get rough mixes of everything and take them away. Decide which ones you want to add overdubs to or mix down and just go and do those. When you have a bit more cash you can go back to the others. Writing in the studio is a decadance that few can afford these days. [/quote] It may cost more in the long run but you end up with better sounding tracks that you didn't have to compromise on because the clock was ticking. It's also a good way to audition the recording studio and engineer as well.

After many recording nightmares with various bands I recommend the following. 1. Only record 1 or 2 of your best tracks 2. Record and mix them to perfection 3. Pay the recording studio 4. If you're happy with the results record another 1 or 2 tracks and repeat the process until you have your album This way you can concentrate on getting the songs recorded and mixed as you want them to be, without compromising, and you don't have the worry that you'll run out of money before the final mix is done.

His playing is melodic and he's able to show his technical chops off as well without fret w***ing. I hate guitarist who just play scales incredibly fast - It's incredibly unmusical.

I used to use a Selmer valve PA head as a practice amp for a while. Sounded fine but not much low end.

They are very heavy too, as you can have 20ft of lead condensed into 4 or 5ft (because of the curls).

I bought a Fender curly lead 3 years ago. Took it home and it didn't work. Went back to the shop and they replaced it. Before I plugged it in I read all the bumf on the packaging from fender about how 'curly leads have changed' and that they 'don't 'suck the tone out of your guitar any more' etc, etc. So I plugged it into my bass and it sounded horrible. There was no high end at all and it sounded very muddy. I still have the lead but I don't use it any more. They sound bad enough with a bass guitar but I'm sure a guitar would sound horrible using one of these. Maybe the newer ones sound better I don't know?

I think the transpose button has been pressed on his tuner. He needs to read the instructions, and reset it, or buy another tuner.

Intonation at the bridge. If the intonation is out, the open string can be correct but the fretted note can be out by a lot.

It depends if she's pretty or not....

Over the years there's been a few opinionated a**holes on BC. They can be quite amusing. But they usually don't stay around for very long.

My compact took a long time to arrive but Alex did reply to my emails very quickly. I think it's all about managing expectations. Everybody who orders a Barefaced is aware that their cabinet will take a while to arrive. If it's going to take longer than expected then Alex should be proactive and contact customers if there's going to be a delay. They then have an option to cancel their order (most won't). I think it's the uncertainty that bothers people and not necessarily the timescale.

[quote name='Zampa' timestamp='1385761040' post='2292048'] I had Naproxin once, I was working at a hospital and gave mu back a bit of a pull...woke up in the early hours of the morning with a feeling in my stomach like I had swallowed a hot lump of coal!!...not for me. [/quote] After I had surgery for carpal tunnel, I was given this stuff for the inflammation. After 3 days of horrible indigestion at night, I actually read the list of side effects, realised it was the naproxen that was causing it and threw the stuff away.

Welcome! Hey, you took your time. Better late than never though.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1385715297' post='2291359'] Think the 80's was Fender's penny pinching era... Those extra couple of screws probably represented a cost saving... [/quote] You're right. According to my 'The Fender Bass - An Illustrated History', in 83 they changed the bridge on the Jazz to a 3 screw version. The P bass stayed as a 5 screw. If moving the neck a smidgeon didn't work, then best to take it to a tech.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1385632021' post='2290366'] That sounds like good advice to me. I'll give it a go tonight Thanks for that. [/quote] If, loosening the neck and pulling it into position doesn't work, you can put a small shim down the side of the neck pocket (a sliver of old credit card or thin plectrum). This will hold the neck in the correct position. It's pretty invisible and will permanently sort the problem out. I've done it myself and it worked a treat.

I've had that issue before and it's usually due to the neck not aligning 100% correctly in the neck pocket. What I did was loosen the neck, pull it into the correct position (it will only be a mm out), and retighten the screws. This usually fixes the problem permanently.

I would turn your bass volume to zero but jump about as if you're actually playing. See if anybody notices. If nobody does then your guitarists have hogged all the bass frequencies and your playing is superfluous to the overall sound. In which case I recommend you join a Level 42 tribute band, where your contribution will be appreciated.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1385115307' post='2284561'] Brief hijack...sorry... I set up my 50th jazz a little while back and adjusted the truss rod .I asked about it at the time and was told, right turn to tighten (less relief) and left turn to loosen (more relief). The adjustment is at the body end of the neck. I also have an 83 jazz that I may need to adjust but the adjustment is at the headstock.... Is it still right turn (clockwise) to tighten and left turn (anticlockwise) to loosen? Or does that change as the rod is the other way round? [/quote] Actually, although the truss on my precision neck, where the access is at the body, follows the rule that you turn right to tighten and left to loosen, my Jazz neck (which has access at the headstock) is the opposite way around. You'll be able to confirm that yourself, when you adjust the neck on your 83 jazz.

I like working with musicians that play for the song and can take constructive criticism. When I offer constructive criticism, I always have an idea how the song can be made better. There's no point just saying it sounds crap unless you can point out where the failures are and offer suggestions on how the arrangement can be improved. Once you're in the rehearsal room, bring up what the singer has said and get the rest of the band to offer up ideas to improve the 'groove'. Deconstruct the songs - start with the drums, then add bass, then rhythm guitar, then vocals. Along the way make sure you're happy with what each musician is doing before you go on to the next. Don't see criticism as an attack on your ability, see it as an opportunity to improve.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1385314936' post='2286778'] At the time, one of the ( many) problems that Fender were facing as a company was that their retailers were in a state of revolt because of the amount of unsaleable utterly crap products Fender were giving them to try and pass off to the general public . Fender dealers literally couldn't give these basses away in the early '80's , and Fender had to start offering special promotions and discounts to the dealers to get them to stock these and several other of their guitars at the time. They even ceased production for a while . If these have become sought after as being "vintage" then anything is possible. It's as if in thirty years from now Susan Boyle becomes seen to be a sex symbol. Not least of all from an aesthetic point of view, they have managed to take something as inherently beautiful as a Fender Jazz Bass and make it look ungainly by virtue of the bizzare "restyling" . Why tamper with perfection, and why tamper with it like that? Fender managed to make themselves look not just desperate but lazy and stupid, too. I remember when these basses were current , and they were the worst possible use of your money at that time. [/quote] I've always wondered why I never bought a Fender in the 80s when I started playing bass. I owned a Westone a Yamaha and a Charvel between 1984 and 1994. It never occured to me to buy a Fender. I assume it must have been because of the negative press they were getting at the time.

Since we're on the subject of Abbey Road, I only realised this week how crap the bassline is on Long and Winding Road. I listened to it for years and never noticed it until I read something on the internet about how Paul Mcartney let John Lennon loose with a Fender VI while he played the piano (bad mistake). It was one of the reasons why Paul was so pissed of when Phil Spector (over)produced the track and left John's bassline in. And here is the guilty party making a mess of a pretty simple bass part. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6AuKENgmLQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6AuKENgmLQ[/url]

I used to have a P/J with just a toggle switch. It sounded great but I would have much preferred a blend knob for more control over the blend. Recently I bought a master volume, blend, master tone loom from Ki0gon (John) on basschat, for my Jazz. I much prefer it to VVT as it's much easier to adjust live. Ki0gon's looms have screw terminals to attach the wires from your pickups, are pre soldered and take 10 mins to install.