gjones

[quote name='ChrisF' timestamp='1360427297' post='1970218'] Hi all, My (cheaper end of the market) bass sounds ok acoustically, but when I plug in to my amp it sounds terrible. The amp is a very nice Peavey (my mates).... so Im thinking that it must be the pickup, which was about £20 quid on ebay.....and the fact that I dont have a pre-amp. Am I on the right track?? And which pickup and pre-amp would you guys recommend ?? I play rockabilly/punkabilly with some very loud guitarists ( how do you get a guitarist to turn it down??? ) and a drummer who would give Animal a run for his money cheers....Chris [/quote] You could buy a Boss GEB-7 graphic equaliser which is much cheaper than most pre-amps but does the business. I have one and it allows me to tweak my sound exactly how I like it. They cost £80 new and £40 secondhand. Here's a link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDA-kip-G8A

I'm sure it's a great bass as the standard Squier was fantastic value for the money. I don't think there is a standard Squier between the affinity and VM range anymore - at least I didn't see one advertised the last time I checked the Squier website.

As far as music is concerned, we all go through phases I think. Sometimes you just need a to take a holiday form a certain type of music or band.

[quote name='Daniel C-J' timestamp='1360327590' post='1968643'] Hey guys! Recently I had my beloved stingray stolen from me, heart braking as it was, a month has passed and I haven't been able to track it down on either gumtree, ebay or local pawn shops... I'm biting the bullet and having to buy a new bass. I've always been set on the stingray as I loved the tone for slap and funk ect (infact this time round i'm gonna try and find a 2eq one for growlier sound) and just felt SO right under my fingers, but are there any other basses I should consider looking at before I go for a stingray? Was considering a Jazz bass (have played them quite a bit) but my heart keeps taking me back to the stingray! Any advice is really welcomed! Dan [/quote] Where do you live? Put a picture, of your bass, up on basschat and basschatters in your area can keep an eye out for you. I recommend posting a message on facebook for people to look out for your bass too, as it gets shared around pretty quickly. A band, up here in Edinburgh, had the guitarist's stratocaster nicked and it was found down in London, a couple of weeks later, after he posted a description on Facebook.....so it definitely works.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1360282254' post='1968198'] Inti \ Antiloco is on a life skills sabbatical and won't be around for a while. [/quote] He's on the naughty step.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1360272968' post='1968011'] It's great, innit? That guitar he uses is so bizarre. It's so 'un-JJ Cale'. Crazy guy. [/quote] It's a casio. It was some kind of synth guitar made back in the eighties I think.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1360266949' post='1967865'] I nearly stopped reading this thread when I saw what it was becoming... but I'm glad I did not, because this that you wrote relates a bit to a conversation I was having with another BC member a couple of weeks ago when he visited my town and he came to a gig of mine. He is an engineer, and loves music and bass in particular. I started out towards engineering but I became a biologist, and I love music and bass in particular these days. The conversation we had was about how professional musicians must feel about us non-professionals discussing their field. I can only imagine it can get tricky. I am not sure how I would feel if I joined a conversation of "weekend-molecular-biologists". But I know how I feel when I read what some people who know a little (but not much) write about subjects I know a fair amount more than they do, and I can see their errors. It happened yesterday, for instance, when a colleague of mine received a chapter in a "book" that some guy wrote about human disease and cancer and diet in the western world... The guy clearly is no biologist, has no medical training or scientific training of any kind in fact... I was *annoyed* before I reached the second page. His lack of unerstanding was so vast that it would just not be reasonable for me to discuss it (I just don't have the time for it)... and had he been in front of me, I think he could have probably felt I was just an arrogant scientist belittling him because he does not measure to the standard I hold myself to. Hmmm. I can imagine a professional musician feeling similarly "unimpressed" by some of the ramblings of us, largely untrained non-professionals. Am I on the right track? I think this gets complicated because we are talking something we call "art". If we talk mathematics, physics, chemistry... we can be right or wrong and be certain about it to a reasonable extent. Biology is a bit "fuzzier", as we know a great deal, but there is a lot more that we don't know, and we work on the data we have, making assumtions and interpreting results... and next year's results can tell us that a certain "truth" we hold today, cannot be true for we found data that contradicts it. But we can discuss things using discrete hard data. But how do we discuss art? How do we discuss music? On the one hand, there are theoretical aspects or harmony etc that one can use. I know very little. My brother, however, trained for years and is a professional... Because I am interested in all things musical, I have been present when he and others were discussing the whys and hows about a certain composition my brother made... and it was quite amazing for me that there was a lot more behind the music than I had at first imagined, when I listened to the piece being played. For me, music is emotional, above anything else. That is enough for me (it just would not be practical for me to dedicate the time that would be required for me to learn so much that I should learn). But emotion is only one part of it. Other people can understand the music way beyond the level I can. And that's ok. I can accept that wholeheartedly. It does not feel good if someone puts me down, however, because I am stuck at that mostly emotional level. Why? It's a beautiful part of music. But, like I said above... I can see how someone who studies music a lot more deeply and makes it his profession (his life, in many ways), can feel exasperated sometimes with people who do not take the time and effort to study music and still carry themselves (or are seen as carrying themselves!) as "artists". It's a tough one, 'though, because art, music, generates passion. Something that connects with us so deeply at an emotional level, and makes us passionate about it... well, belittle someone about it and he is going to jump and bite your jugular. If I play a simple ska song, with no more than 4-5 chords and very simple bassline patterns... it makes me feel good. I enjoy it. Many others enjoy it. Then I hear the trumpets and saxophones doing their thing (a professional would have a better name for "doing their thing" and could appreciate some clever interplays better than my simple "makes me smile" emotion), and wait until the trombone comes in and sits between the trumpets and the bassline... When it works, it's beautiful, I enjoy it and people dance like mad to it. Great. I can imagine that from a purely musical point of view, that ska song can get boring before it's even started,, for some. I can understand and accept that, and I don't have any pretensions to create any great music... because I know my limitations very well. I enjoy music the way I can enjoy it, with the tools and knowledge I currently have. I admire those who go beyond that and can produce something more "elevated"... and just because I cannot understand the ins and outs it doesn't mean I cannot admire it and appreciate it to some degree. Obviously, my "review" about such a piece is not going to be of much use to that creator, as our levels are so mismatched... But I can still enjoy it, perhaps, in my own way. Is it necessary to call me ignorant (even if it's true I am not very knowledgeable, so I guess I am ignorant to some degree), a clown (because I enjoy the fact that others enjoy and are entertained by what I play), and a whore (because I take money for it)? You call that to one person... and they may respond or ignore it. You call that to a whole group of people... and you are going to get sparks flying. I have always tried to surround myself with people better than I am, in everything: when practicing judo, when playing guitar, when learning science... That's what pushes you it helps you improve. For that reason, I wish we could have a hundred people with your knowledge, ability and experience in this forum. I think that makes this place richer. I also want the "weekend warriors" who do not know what a chord is but have been playing bars for 20 or 30 years, for they have other things to contribute. And bedroom players of all skills and ambitions. And the gear geeks who know everything about the nuances between different envelope filter pedals... and those who are not very good players and don't know music, but are good at the electronics of things that can produce musical notes. I am sure we all know our place, something I think you criticised earlier. You do have a point, I concede, about people talking about things they do not understand as well as they think they do... but if it happens I am sure it's motivated by passion, a passion for music, that I hope you could relate to even if most don't pursue it as deeply as you have. And I wish you could accept that and not have to be condescending towards them (us)... I am not sure what you gain from contributing here, but you must obtain something or you would have left already, and I have been in the past annoyed at the way you say things (usually not so much the real content, but the form) but even with that I can see that you have something that could be of interest for me, even if I do not study music and lack the ability to comprehend music's finer details... I do listen a lot more than I talk, and read a lot more than I write. That's ok by me. My question to you: - in my ramblings above (sorry if it seems to jump a bit), have I touched a bit of why you say the things you say? - if the answer is yes, is it possible to say them without sounding so hostile? Obviously I do not want to and it would be too arrogant of me to try to change the way you are. But if it were possible to communicate your thoughts in a less confrontational manner, I know quite a few of us would rather enjoy having you around, for you clearly have a lot to offer... and I hope you find here something that's also of interest to you (most probably not from me, granted). Peace? [/quote] Very admirable but I fear you are talking with the voice of compromise and reconciliation I think your intended recipient does not speak the lingo. Let's wait and see........

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1360222572' post='1966797'] Don't feed the troll... [/quote] +1

Hope you find someone. If not l expect I'll get a call from Gaz.

[quote name='Chaos Daveo' timestamp='1359970592' post='1962540'] Hello all, I've not really posted up much since I joined so wanted a bit of help and advice, overall I have always played using tab and the like doing a metal rock style.I have now been doing a blues band with my best mate(which I'm finding a breath of fresh air) and been really stepping out of my comfort zone and getting walking bass lines down. I was wondering a decent blues warm up routine from the seasoned blues player's out there and what can help me earn my chops a bit. Also is it me or is it really hard to find blues forums and the like..have a good one and thanks in advance [/quote] As far as Blues forums are concerned here's one. I know it's in Scotland but it's a laugh all the same [url="https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#!/groups/452938594741914/?fref=ts"]https://www.facebook...741914/?fref=ts[/url] And buy this album it's all you really need to get started [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBEuJFSW95k[/media] Oh and buy this too [url="https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#!/JocksJukeJoint?fref=ts"]https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#!/JocksJukeJoint?fref=ts[/url]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1359991356' post='1963078'] The Geddy Lee neck is very , very skinny by any standards . Some people find it a bit to skinny . There can also be a problem with stability on necks that have so little wood in certain cases , and the very thin neck probably contributes slightly upper-mid - forward to the sound of the bass . The neck on the Geddy Lee is noticibly slimmer front to back than the neck on Geddys original 72 Jazz Bass that the Signature model is based on . I would recommend trying before you buy , if possible . I an not a big fan of these basses , but some other folks seem to love them . [/quote] +1 This is what I found when I owned one. The one I had was faultless.

Jeff Beck (to stretch me) The Rolling Stones (for the groove) The Waterboys (I just like the tunes)

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1359585518' post='1957259'] Another for the Carlsboro Stingray here. Only mine was a 100w head with separate speaker cab. It was the most toneless, lifeless waste of components I have ever had the misery of hearing. I hated the bloody thing. [/quote] [quote name='Gazm' timestamp='1359585546' post='1957260'] Also a Carlsbro Stingray 150W through their 2x15 "Pro" cab. Utter sh*te, no low end whatsoever! [/quote] We've obviously been traumatised by our ownership of the Carlsbro sh*te in our youth. I think we should sue for compensation.

A Carlsbro Stingray 150w Bass combo. It's speakers were made of wet cardboard. I put a 5 string through it once at bedroom levels and the speakers almost turned inside out!

After going through 8 basses and 5 amps in the last 4 years I now have the one bass and one amp that will allow me to achieve the sound I have I my head. They're not top of the range by any standard but they do the trick. But without going through that buying and selling frenzy I would never have gained the knowledge that allowed me to be where I am now. I no longer have amp envy. [size=2]Although I still fancy a Stingray (it's a sound you just can't get from a Jazz however hard you try) [/size] [size=2] [/size]

I depped for a band. They supplied no set list which is just not professional. When I eventually got to the gig I said I could play 25 of the 40 or so songs. The guitarist says to me "Do you know any Neil Diamond'" and I said "nope". He then steps up to the microphone and announces " This songs by Neil Diamond". Duh! In situations like that I just turn my volume down, pretend I'm actually playing, smile, take the money and run.

[quote name='Leen2112' timestamp='1359416292' post='1954589'] We paid to get 250 copies of our EP......Is that the same? [/quote] No you'd have to buy them or download them on amazon or something for them to register (because there's no record shops left to buy over the counter anymore). I hope I'm not putting ideas in your head?

It's like buying 10,000 copies of your own single to get to No1. By the way Leen......... [b]DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT![/b]

Choose the one that has the best blend of ability and enthusiasm. One of the bands I'm in has a drummer who is both sh*te and not very enthusiastic but is the singers brother (so I we can't sack him). A good drummer is worth his weight in kebabs. So don't let a good one go, even if he/she is bald and fat and unattractive.

I know loads of singers who are still singing the same stuff they were grinding out 10 years ago. I don't know if it's a lack of confidence or just apathy. I don't know why anyone would want to go see a band that was going to trot out the same old stuff they'd been churning out for the last decade. I recommend you get him to come up with a dozen songs that have been written in the last 10 years that 'he' wants to sing. You can then learn them and everyone would be happy. If he can't be arsed to do that then you've picked the wrong guy.

I only ever play stadiums.....

Don't buy basses buy analog synths! I bought a monophonic Roland SH101 in the mid eighties for £50 secondhand. Now I see them on ebay going for up to £1000. Now that's what I call an investment.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1359227462' post='1951964'] Also all those Jedson, Columbus, Satellite and Hondos that you couldn't wait to trade in for the real thing! [/quote] Nah! As an impoverished teen in the 70s I thought they were naff and even now I still think they're naff. Certainly not an investment. 80s Arias and Ibanez basses, now that's a different thing altogether.

Back in the 80s I lusted after one of these but technology has moved on. It's probably got scratchy pots and is a bit scruffy so I wouldn't think you'd get more than £70 (and that may be pushing it). Maybe one of these guys would like to take it off your hands http://basschat.co.uk/topic/66952-old-school-hh-amp/

[quote name='eude' timestamp='1358933173' post='1947134'] The power section in the MiBass is a lot more up to date than the one in the Superfly, and greatly improved, and you never know, the one in the 2.0 might be different again, and further improved. I think you're right though, it's unlikely that a class D of that rating is going to match a bag ass solid state amp watt for watt. Eude [/quote] My MiBass 550 seems to be at least as powerful as my previous ABM 500 III.