Earbrass

[quote name='davidmpires' post='850094' date='May 28 2010, 09:45 AM']Hi Tim Because I want to use my F1 more while i'm bandless and try some settings. But I might try your suggestion and connect the jamman to the H4 and to the pc. I'm experimenting at the moment really.[/quote] If I remember correctly, when using my MarkBass combo to record, I took a line from the DI out socket to the desk. This is before the main volume in the signal chain, so I could use the gain control to set the DI out level, and have the main volume at zero, hence no sound from the speaker, and no driving the power amp with no output load. Don't know if the F1 works the same way.

Started on piano at <6. Acoustic guitar at 12(??) (I had initially wanted a bass, but had been talked out of it) Electric guitar at 14(??) Bass at 17 Piano Accordion at 48 D/G Melodeon at 49 Never really regarded myself as much of a guitarist - it's a poor third (jointly with PA?) behind piano and bass. I have only ever played in bands (excluding schoolboy "jam-sessions") as a pianist or bassist. Mind you, my guitar playing is brilliant compared to my efforts on the D/G melodeon (an instrument, for those unfamiliar with its quirks, with quite a few notes "missing", and which plays different notes on the same keys depending on whether you're pushing or pulling the bellows!)

[quote name='Bilbo' post='849348' date='May 27 2010, 12:46 PM']Most of all, you need to be the best musician you can possibly be.[/quote] Without wishing to court undue controversy, I'm going to disagree with this a bit. Not that I've got anything against people being the best musician they can possibly be, you understand. It's just that I suspect that the most important qualities in a bass player have little to do with musicianship. Like being reliable - turning up when you're supposed to, with whatever gear you're going to need; doing stuff you've agreed to do when you said you'd do it, whether that's learning songs or printing off flyers. Being honest, friendly and constructive in your dealings with fellow band-members and others (fans, promoters, other bands, sound-people, bar-staff etc). Not having an over-inflated ego. Stuff like that. OK, if you have all that in spades and no musical ability, you're still going to be a sh*t bass player. On the other hand, if you have none of those qualities, you can be the greatest musician on earth and still be a sh*t bass player. If I had to recruit a bassist, I'd be inclined to pick the reliable, friendly plodder with limited abilities over the super musician who's a nightmare to work with. Just my 2p.

Strangely, my detailed reports on Atomic Kitten and the Pussycat Dolls seem to have been omitted.

[quote name='dougal' post='835389' date='May 12 2010, 03:59 PM']"I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg. Unisg the icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid, aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Aaznmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghhuot slelinpg was ipmorantt! See if yuor fdreins can raed tihs too."[/quote] I've seen this before, and it is pretty amazing. I can read it at normal speed, but I did misread the penultimate sentence as "Yeah and I always thought sleeping was important!", which doesn't make a lot of sense in context.

[quote name='Bilbo' post='835106' date='May 12 2010, 10:29 AM']What British Jazz has done it for you.[/quote] Carol Grimes - not perhaps so much for her recorded output (though there are some great tracks) but for the many fantastic gigs I've seen at the Vortex and other venues. Especially when her band has included pianist Janette Mason, who is a great player and composer on her own right. I especially love the work JM did with Robert Wyatt.

I'm getting some anomalies too; some tones don't sound at all on first playing (using Windows Media Player) - play them again and I can hear them. Like richrips I'm also getting the effect that some higher frquency tones sound lower then lower frequency tones. Managed to hear 20K OK. 21K is very faint. 22K nothing at all. I've just turned 50.

Lemmy (Hawkwind period) John Wetton (King Crimson period) John Greaves (Henry Cow)

For me, amps are like gas-boilers or cars - I need one, but I take no pleasure in the choosing/buying/owning. Would be much happier if there was always a decent PA/monitor system you could just plug into at every venue/rehearsal space. In fact, I think that should be the law. Lugging speaker cabs around is NOT what I spent years studying music for!

[quote name='parker_muse' post='824272' date='Apr 30 2010, 06:08 PM']It got my thinking. Do you really need to spend £££ to get what you're looking for? I've had everything i've ever needed and never spent more then £180 or so on more then one thing until now. Is it more a placebo to us rather then twice as good for twice the price?[/quote] I'm all for using the cheapest gear I can. However, extreme feebleness has forced me to compromise on this principle when it comes to amps - you just can't get cheap, loud [b]and[/b] light. I use a MarkBass CMD 121P because I can carry it without strain yet it has enough power for any situation I might reasonably expect to encounter. The moment Behringer bring out a <30lb giggable combo, though, I'll gladly trade down to that.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='829491' date='May 6 2010, 12:12 PM']Did Rafferty do any songs other than Baker Street?[/quote] You don't remember his classic "Tab needed please" - a heart-rending song about a guy having a hard time trying to score some acid?

Wow! Great job, and some tasty "bass-faces" too.

I suspect a lot of it is down to high blood pressure caused by reading the Off Topic forum of basschat.

I do have 2 basses, but they're both the same make and model. I keep them in different places, and I have 2 only so as to avoid having to transport one so often. So it's [i]almost[/i] like having just the one.

If I used picks, I'd always be losing them - I'm really crap like that. Finger-style is more natural for me - maybe because I've always been a far better pianist than guitarist?

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='808432' date='Apr 16 2010, 02:14 PM']That's my local branch (Lewisham)![/quote] Mine too! Bought my #1 Peavey Milestone from there about 5 or 6 years back - still my main bass. Not exactly "high end" though!

[quote name='bassmeg' post='806964' date='Apr 15 2010, 11:26 AM']A 78' fender jazz[/quote] That'd be long-scale, then. <sorry, couldn't resist>

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' post='804332' date='Apr 12 2010, 10:41 PM']Yeah, that's a Milestone III, just like mine AFAIK the I is a J copy, the II is a P and the III is a hybrid of both.[/quote] I've got two Milestone IIIs, and they have a longer top horn (which makes them well balanced, given the light weight of the body). [attachment=47326:Ms3R.jpg] No idea what a II looks like, but I think the IV is the same as the III but with a single P pickup instead of the 2 J pickups of the III. Quite fancy a IV, just to see if there's any significant difference in tone. Great basses.

Kimbara Jazz Bass Copy (Natural) - weighed a ton in its hard case, I recall. Never again. + Some kind of "Marlboro" (?) combo that I already had for keyboard & guitar. No idea what they cost - this was back in the 1970's. Probably paid more for the bass back then than I did for either of my current basses. Can't remember what happened to them, but they are both long, long gone.

Bass: cost £50 Rig: weighs 30lb Together, they go "whump" or "clang" on demand. What more could I need?

[quote name='WHUFC BASS' post='791908' date='Mar 31 2010, 02:01 PM']Quick rule of thumb, if you don't like listening to the music, chances are you won't enjoy playing it.[/quote] On the other hand, playing a style of music that you've hitherto not enjoyed listening to can lead to you appreciating it more.

I think it depends on where you are in your bass-playing "career", for want of a better word. When you've got past the absolute beginner phase, and can play a bit, I think it's a good idea to play with anyone and everyone you can, regardless of style or genre, to improve the basic skills of listening to each other and playing together. It's great fun to make music in a group, even if it's not your favourite style. Plus, playing bass by yourself can be a bit boring after a while. If you're already playing regularly with other people, then I think it pays to be more choosey, and focus on the projects that you think will go places that interest you. Just my 2p.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='790811' date='Mar 30 2010, 05:12 PM']I don't care what other people think as long as I'm happy with my gear [/quote] You don't care what other people think, yet you list all of your expensive/"prestigious" gear in your sig. Hmmmm.