gjones

Hype. I used to go see KT Tunstall when she lived in Edinburgh. I could see she had great talent but I was watching her playing in coffee bars, with her looper peda,l for 50 quid a gig. Then one day there's a cancellation on Jools Holland's show and she suddenly gets exposure to a UK wide audience. The next thing you know her album is a No 3 in the UK charts and it goes multi platinum around the world. Talent is not enough, it needs exposure. There's plenty of people out there who are as talented as KT Tunstall but they'll never make it big without a bit of hype. Just to jog your memories.....

I was once offered a 'Truckers Luv It' by Boz Burrell, from Bad Company. I declined.

I wonder why he plays with his thumb, damping the strings with his palm, all the time? It can be a good technique for certain types of basslines but can be limiting. He used to play with a pick.

Find another band. I can see the writing on the wall.

There is a bond between good drummers and bass players. If the drummer is crap, it's the bass player who suffers the most pain , I feel. The drummer, in my main band, plays with two other bands as well. He's been known to play 5 gigs in a weekend. He's popular for a reason. I love you Ritchie

Should not speed up or slow down. Play what the song needs and don't over complicate things. Play crisp and tight (too many drummers are sloppy). If they play a fill, they should play it like they mean it. And it should complement the song, not distract from the song. Listen to the bassline. Bass drum should sync up with the bass guitar not compete with it. They should be open to others opinions and not take offence when suggestions are made on how to improve the beat. Play dynamically. Be able to play quietly as well as they play loudly (they should be able to play with brushes?).

Players of double basses and fretless electrics play a lot of open strings, as it keeps your intonation correct when you're playing an unfretted neck.

Because of globalisation, eventually, wages will be equalised throughout the world. It's redistribution of wealth but not how Karl Marx envisioned it.

I like Deep Purple but I think they need to pack it in now. Gillan will do himself a mischief, trying for those high notes, one day.

16/15

But the good news is he does actually play guitar.

It's funny to think, that the head of Fender Guitars is a Scotsman, called Andy Mooney, from Whitburn, in West Lothian. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-himi-mooney-20161030-story.html It's in safe hands

I do recommend the sweepable mid control on the standard J Retro - it brings great clarity to the sound of a Jazz. I wonder if John East has a version with a tone and a mid control? Or would that be taking things too far?

My Jazz without a J retro is unthinkable to me now. I like the idea of that tone control.

Excellent! Remember to keep that bass nice and low

How'd the gig go?

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1510229502' post='3404760'] I know what compressors are supposed to do, it's just, maybe in my case, they don't seem to do a lot, once the overall volume is set the same. Initially I think wow that sounds better, punchier, but then I realise it's just louder. [/quote] I had a limiter like that. However I turned the knobs, I couldn't hear any difference.

I play in a Blues and a Country band and I can't say I listen to a lot of either. I have listened to a lot of Blues, in years gone by, but I think I'm all Bluesed out now (after playing in Blues bands for 25 years). I'd never listened to Country, until I joined a country band, 2 years ago. I've now listened to a lot of country songs to get a feel for the covers we play but I don't sit down and listen to Johnny Cash or Emmylou Harris, when I listen to music for pleasure. .

Compressors boost the volume of the quiet notes you play and cut the volume of the loud notes you play. It irons out the peaks and troughs of volume , from your amp, and makes you sound smoother and more consistent. Particularly good for slapping. Compression can also make your bass sound punchier. A downside is that any dynamics in your playing are lost, if the compression is set too high.

The drummer, who I used to play with, had severe OCD. It took me years to figure out why it took him 2 hours to pack his kit up at the end of the night.

I played in a small bar with my 1st gen Barefaced Compact on Sunday. The guitarist was playing through a Fender Pro Junior, so we were not that loud. There was another bass player there, who the band knew, and we got him up to play on a song. What a sound from that Barefaced cab. Not only was it a great sound but I got that punch in the chest every time he played a note. I can only imagine how good the newer (and I assume improved) cabs sound.

Play along with the vocal melody. Possibly subtle chords or a harmony. Imagine what Pino Palladino would play