iconic

[quote name='thunderbird13' post='698655' date='Jan 2 2010, 12:26 PM']Although your anaology of a racing car driver makes sense ,it was mentioned above that theory helps with communication. Imagine a scenario where Micheal Shumacher tests drives a car and finds that the gear slips when he goes from 3rd to 4th gear, if he knew how a car worked how much easier would it to be to explain to the technicians what the problem was rather then just saying it doesnt work properly.


[b]exactly, sorry, something got lost in my explanation, a great talent and a working knowledege to communicate is hard to beat combo. [/b]


I go back to my earlier comment that the basics of major scale theory are quite simple and anyone can grasp the basics of scales and chords. My suspicion is that its the way its taught and the terminology that is the problem . In your example a E Maj 9 is made up of the 1st, 3rd,5th ,7th and 9th degrees of the E major scale - thats it - not that difficult

[b][b]Ya right again regarding how it's taught and the term', I had two piano teachers when I was young, one was a miserable old git who only played classical music when I had zero interest in it, and he poisoned my passion for leaning the theory.
The 2nd, well she was something out of an Ealing comedy, horn rimmed glasses, always drunk and thought Elvis was where music ended..."David Bowie, I even can't understand the the words, dear boy"

Also, for me music theory is just so very different from anything I have dealt with before...it's like learning a new langauge, possibly why so few can play well but get by on a real minimum of theory.

It's hard to teach well, I have had to do it in the past and even being paid very well to do it, always found it a chore. [/b]
b][/quote]

drawing from my Yamaha WR250F enduro bike suspension phrases

[b]creamy
plush
top end hit
low end grunt.......or was that the sprouts Christmas Day evening?[/b][i][/i]

[quote name='Protium' post='698630' date='Jan 2 2010, 11:48 AM']"angry wasp trapped under a glass"[/quote]


sound more like fret buzz to me

I'm sure I read somewhere that some very, very talented musicians can't read music, let alone understand the theory.....Mark King comes to mind?

Surely, the music came first then the theory came along to makes sense of it, to enable a tune to be played by someone who had not previously heard the tune...or to confuse everyone

I think of it as I do a car....you can be a fantastic F1 driver without knowing diddly squat about chassis dynamics, air/fuel ratio's, camshaft timing overlap etc....you can drive it to the limit by 'natural talent' and that is something you can't be taught, you either have it or you don't......but if ya lacking in some 'natural talent' I'm sure some engineering knowledge can help?

.....without blowing down my own exhaust, I used to a very good cart driver and I'm a reasonable enduro rider, but with very little driving talent to be honest....I can overcome this by my knowledge of engineering to some extent.

Anyway music theory?.....I'm still struggling to learn the notes on my fretboard, god knows when I get will around to breaking down an Emadd9 chord?

Well, so far in my limited time of owning a bass I have heard/read the following descriptions, there should be some sort of EEC STD glossery

in no particular order:-

[b]mellow
rich
soft
hard edged
full
empty
hollow
harsh
cold
warm
muddy
clean
bright
crisp
rounded
"with a cool top end twang"
fat
thin
funky
jazzy
classic 50's/60's/70's/80's sound....not seen a 90's yet...
velvety
vintage
modern
balmy
smooth
I even saw 'crunchy' for an Orange bass amp sound....
[/b][i][/i]
It can't be the easy trying to describe a sound by words but it's a shame someone like a wordsmith like Matt Johnson doesn't write reviews, I mean we would all know what this means "the distant noise of some drunken jazz band".....but then we would like to what the rig the bass played thru

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='697989' date='Jan 1 2010, 02:50 PM']Took the Jazz down to rehersals on wednesday night and played it through a Ashdown ABM and a Ampeg 8x10. It sounded quite good with the stock pickups. I usually use full neck and about 3/4 on the bridge with the tone around half way (better watch out, I`m begining to sound like a bass player).

Overall impression:quite good for the price, altough I don`t know how it would fare with the standard tuners and bridge. I`m gonna keep the stock pickups for now and the only other mods will be an upgrade for the pots and jack and mabye a Fender logo and a gloss finish to the headstock.
Here`s a couple of photos,

Jez
[attachment=39091:DSC01330.JPG]
[attachment=39092:DSC01329.JPG][/quote]


wow, now that's cool old vintage gasfire too!

How would describe the tone........there really should be a standardised glossery for tone....

What is a fair price for a TE 1215 GP12 circa 1999, decent nick, all working....are they the stuff of legends?

What are these 200 w or 300w?

[quote name='derrenleepoole' post='695905' date='Dec 29 2009, 08:39 PM']Why not an older Trace Elliot combo? They're built like tanks, even though small ones are heavy, you do get lots of omph for little financial outlay. There's a TE [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Trace-Elliot-1215-300-watt-bass-combo_W0QQitemZ110474871935QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL?hash=item19b8d0c47f#ht_500wt_959"]1215[/url] at 300 watts on the 'bay at the mo.[/quote]


Not wishing to jump your thread but also been looking at this old bus.....is that amp from 1999...the serial number ends something like 1199...I'm sure it had a buy it now price of £350 a little while ago?

....just asking as I'm not too clued up, but would something like a new Hartke be better value?

[quote name='mrcrow' post='697493' date='Dec 31 2009, 07:20 PM']started hissing...it didnt do it before...poirot here..

have you done any changes...bridge for instance...

or using it in a different venue socket etc


lots of reasons which may not just be the bass..[/quote]

well, you right Mr Hercule, I had swapped strings to new Rotos, then back to OE's and it started then, no idea why though?...put my Ernie flats on and no more hiss!

...my Yammy OE's have flats worn into them where they touch the frets I think they be worn worn out

[quote name='GonzoBass' post='697523' date='Dec 31 2009, 07:49 PM']Sounds like you need to run right out and buy yourself a new bass.
[/quote]


[size=7][b]It's obvious now and ya sooooo right, I will show your knowledgable reply to my wife as proof of the solution, what I need is a jazz, have a new one arriving tomorrow hopefully![/b][size=5][/size][/size]

on the string front good point, things do sound a bit flat 'n lacklustre almost like the strings are 'dead', I tried to fit my Rotosounds but had a drama with buzzing E string so went back to my Yamaha OE's, I think I'll slap my flatwounds on again

I bit of UB-40 'rat in ma kitchen' cheered me up before I went out last night....maybe a couple of days off will help me get my mojo back?

thanks for the tips guys, happy new year

Been teaching myself bass since March/April and thought I was progressing quite well,

But, these last few days I seem to be struggling to play songs that I was very happy with, it's hard to explain....I seem to be all [b]fingers and thumbs [/b][i][/i]...that doesn't read/sound right but I'm sure you know what I mean

Nothing I play sounds clean, bum notes, I can hear my fingers 'walking' around the frets and I'm getting stroppy with myself....and now my bass seems to have said [b]enough[/b][i][/i] and started hissing at me, see other thread!

Any recomendations, I knew learning bass was never going to be easy but I seem to be going backwards

The central heatings gone down and it's cold in the office where I play but surely it can't all be down to that...if temperaure=skill I would suffer 40c when it's fixed!

My Yamaha RBX-374 seems have started hissing, yes I know normally a hum or buzz, but this is more a high pitch hissing...it stops if I touch any of the control knobs or strings...

Any ideas, bad earth...are they earthed?

cheers

Be churlish not to post this oldie but goodiel I only bought it for the bassline....Buddy Hankerson on a bass that seems 6ft long?

...check out the tall blonde guy on the right, what a star dancer...that will be me come midnight :blush:





now this is proper a Buddy funk groove....



and a bit of fusion with a groove with Chuck Rainey on bass, Sadao Watanabe & Hiroshi Fukumura on trombone and sax



Ozone...was something to do with Teena Marie....don't know played bass on this but he is better than me!

Classic jazz-funk from Azymuth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjEXjy8thGM

Ohh man you made my day! What a great tune and one I had forgotten from my Robbie Vincent days...great bassline

These bass sure are popular,

I rang around all the usual suspects (one of the big boys having them as 'Squire') and the only guys to have one in stock were GAK in Brighton UK, great price too @ £224, + £10 delivery....there is a real spread of costs most expensive being £289 + delivery ...next delivery of these models due end of Jan 2010.

Found one s/h on a local ad' website for £180 'as new', the ad' was 3 days old but sold...that's a decent turnaround & even better residuals for a budget bass!

link to bass guitar review

[url="http://www.bassguitarmagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=124:squier-vintage-modified-jazz-bass-issue-34&catid=37:bassguitars"]http://www.bassguitarmagazine.com/index.ph...=37:bassguitars[/url]




Big Blocks? Extra grunt? BGM takes a look under the bonnet of the hot-rodded Modified Jazz Bass.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Fender Squier brand (named loosely after the string manufacturing company Fender purchased when it flexed its corporate muscle in 1965) has always represented Fender’s take on affordability with a sense of quality and vibe of the “real thang” – the Fender USA range. It’s a tough challenge and one that even within the Squier range allows prices to cover true starter budget basses running the Affinity banner or the instrument range we have here – the Deluxe series.

The Vintage Modified Jazz Bass replicates the 70s Fender basses with block inlays and binding, in this case black rather than pearl, onto a smooth feeling and slinky neck. All the regular Jazz Bass appointments are present. An offset soft maple body houses a pair of Duncan Designed single coil pickups (nerd alert: the pickup spacing, centre to centre is 3.6-inches and not the 70s correct 4.0-inch spacing) with exposed polepieces. A chrome control plate houses two volumes and master tone control whilst tuning and intonation is taken care of via four large cloverleaf style machineheads and a basic but sturdy adjustable bridge. The bass is a good looker – those 70s style details delight and the natural finish is applied over an evenly grained body.

The details both inspire and disappoint; luckily the good far outweighs the bad. On the plus side we find excellent finishing of both the gloss lacquered body and the matt finish neck. The fret ends are just short of the end of the plastic binding but sit over it rather than butting up to a slight lip as per the original basses. At £279 retail it’s a totally acceptable and (when it comes to refretting) reliable method. The set-up was buzz free and of medium height. A tad lower would be my preference but with a more easily accessible truss rod adjuster at the nut end, slightly tightening the neck relief would be a straight forward job.

The only detail that suggests we have a lesser instrument on review centres around the hardware and in particular the screws. Holding the machine heads to the headstock are screws which just with factory securing have already lost most of their shape. The intonation screws at the bridge also appear less than robust although adjustments were easily made in practice.

In use the instrument performs like its original brethren balancing slightly headstock heavy yet with a fast smooth playing ease that overcomes any thoughts of aching shoulders. The body cut-outs provide a natural playing stance when stood up and access to the top of the 20 frets is unhindered apart from the very last fret. This probably won’t be of concern to most players, after all, the Jazz Bass design has had its greatest success churning out hits below the 7th fret…


Sonically the upgrades make themselves clearly heard over an Affinity Series Jazz. Ambitiously we employed the Squier through our two valve head shoot-out amplifiers and whilst it was clearly the weakest link amongst the other top-notch basses we used it didn’t let the side down. As expected the neck pickup was rounded and smooth when soloed: a good candidate for vintage, fat grooves. It lacked a little warmth compared to higher spec basses but performed beyond its price tag. Back to the bridge pickup and the expected bite of a single Jazz pickup cut through. Again, some settings suggested a little harshness but only when compared to basses more than four times the price.

These days most inexpensive basses perform the starter role well and it takes something a little more special to get noticed. Very minor component issues noted above, the Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass delivers in spades. Its playability makes it easy for beginners or the more experienced and tonally it punches above what it’s price tag might suggest. A first bass, a decent upgrade or an expert’s second bass, this is a safe bet.

Adrian Ashton

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='695593' date='Dec 29 2009, 02:07 PM']Totally agree with you on try before you buy. I could have got mine a bit cheaper on the net but having read other threads I decided to try before I bought it. I can say that the build quality of mine is good with nicely finished frets etc. The body looks quite nice as well for a budget bass. I`m taking it to rehersal tomorrow night so I will find out how well the stock pickups sound at "real" volume.

Jez[/quote]


I really wanted to love that bass and it's good to hear that the quality can be better, like I said, this was a bad 'ern....

Please chime back, I soooo want that bass to sound great std...I'm still kicking myself for getting the hump and not playing it!

I popped into my local music shop yesterday to have a look over the VMJ they had in stock, they look so cool and a lot of guys seem to like them I thought hmm gota be worth a looky see and I was even armed with my flexible friend

I gota say I was so dissapointed by the build quality of the example I held, maybe the quality is variable, if so they may not be a bass to buy by mail order....I suspect you may need to look at a few and pick the best one...this one was the last puppy in the shop.

The example in the shop had some real sharp edges on the bridge which seems like a very cheap simple pressed steel item, there were rough ground edges on the fret sides too....it had audible unplugged fret buzz on both E and A strings and the action was set very high too, nothing that can't be sorted I suppose.....hopefully this VMJ was just a Friday afternoon one?

...I was so dissapointed I didn't even have a play, which I regret now....I know [b]lemonade[/b] money isn't going to buy a [b]champagne[/b] bass but looking at my Yamaha when I got back, that Squier screamed cheap build and the Yamaha is simply lovely.



I wish yamaha made an old school sounding Jazz

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' post='695029' date='Dec 28 2009, 06:32 PM']To generate the harmonic of the open string place your fingertip gently on the string over the 12th fret but don't press down. Pluck the string and immediately remove your finger. The string will produce a note that is an octave above the normal open string note.[/quote]


many thanks for explanation

you beat me to asking this question


....I still have the option on the Yamaha BB614 I have been offered ......but have been told by 2 guys I have never met (isn't the 'tinternet a wonderful thing!) that I will not notice much of difference [b]tonewise[/b][i][/i] between my RBX-374 and the BB-614...which I find a little strange but hey I'm very new to bass.
Both Yammies are active but mine uses 2x Humbuckers and the BB614 uses 2 x split coils+1 single coil soapbar, I love my RNX-374 but the sound is how can I say a little too 'bright' at times.

I want a 'funky' sound...if that it's possible to define that and if the only way is get proper jazz pups i.e. 2 x single pups then the Squier VMJ looks good to me.

I play a lot of Jamiroquai stuff and late 70's, 80's finger funk and this You Tube Squier Vintage Modified Jazz has THE TONE I long for...thing is, he has changed out the strings, to D'Addario's, and this " [i]All recordings are made with the Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass or my 5 string Stingray with Piezo.

Both basses go through the BBE Bmax into Motu recording equipment. Then in Logic Studio I've added a routing to the Art Digital MPA tube pre-amp with NOS russian tubes. Give a nice little dirt en saturation to the sound.[/i][b][/b]"

he may as well be talking greek, it doesn't mean a thing to me...would it effect the end tone of the Squier MVJ?

Here is the guitar in action, Runaway by Jamiroquai

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spYUJDgutkA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spYUJDgutkA[/url]

wow, many thanks for posting these vids, so it isn't all witchcraft afterall...........only some of it!

...regarding the intonation, what did he mean by open string and the harmonic using the 12th fret? Can anyone explain?

cheers

thanks for the prompt help guys...gota be the action, I simply thought that I could just swop them over, no probs with my Ernie Balls E string either.

I slapped (no pun intended) my Yamaha OE strings back on and all is well...don't really sound much different being round wounds too.

...ayone want some RotoSounds...3 mins use!

I have had some RotoSound Swing Bass 66 (100/80/60/40) strings for over 6 months sitting around, and thought I may as well fit them whilst waiting for Top Gear Bolivia to start...


...now my E string has terrible fret buzz.....my original equipment 6 month old, dirty and many, many hours old Yamaha strings have never done this, nor did my Ernie Ball flatwounds I had on for 2 weeks.....also these Rotosounds feel so rough to the touch.

I have never, ever set-up the bass from new...it has always played OK without tweaking out the box.....the original strings held tune so well too, maybe a slight 1/8 turn every now and then....

Any ideas guys

may help someone

[url="http://download.yamaha.com/downloads/service/search/product"]http://download.yamaha.com/downloads/service/search/product[/url]

The 374 is a double hum bucker 3EQ active, the 614 has Active Split Single-coil & Soapbar Single-coil pups.

Can anyone say what difference will I find sound wise? I'm hoping even punchier than my RBX which sounds great to me

Am I going to find any difference, are these two basses too similar to notice anything?

thanks for the help guys

thanks guys, could be a late christmas present afterall