scalpy

I ended up on bass via the tried and trusted route of being a brass player first (McCartney, Entwistle, Flea, ahem, me) then trying guitar then realising that no bands in my area had a bassist and it would be straight-through to fame and fortune if I started the four string wonder.

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1333631258' post='1604549'] The way I look at it is that rehearsals are for rehearsing and the pub/club afterwards is for drinking. Of course,I'm sure for many people the social aspect of being in a band is one of the most important things (maybe the most important?),but for me rehearsals are for working on new material and drinking doesn't help.Likewise at gigs-I'm assuming that most of the people here don't need a drink before going to work/school/whatever....same thing. [/quote] Bang on. Drives me nuts and does the whole profession a disservice. Ever tried to get car insurance as a musician? They'll bleed you dry as history attests to hyped-up chemically enhanced musos crashing at 3 in the morning coming back from gigs.

It's a fantastic resource having so much information available about the physics and what should work and what should not. There is the fun factor though as well. Technically the cabs I'm using now are much better than my old Hartke 410 but at times I really miss just being young, immature and bashing out basslines without worrying about dispersion or off-axis frequency response. That cab was more fun. If you play well and the band's good the music'll do the work. Get the cab that puts the biggest grin on your face.

I know this thread has gone cold but I was chatting to our Spanish Spanish teacher yesterday and as a confused Aguilar owner checked with her how to say it and her summation was Ah-gee-lar. That's what I'll be sticking with. Or aggies.

I agree with Jack White. Don't trust anybody who doesn't like Led Zeppelin.

We do lots of the typical soul stuff and stuff in a soul type vein, Poker Face, Ring of Fire and Single Ladies and the like, but the male vocalist has decided that he wants to do a ballad and that Lionel Richie is a soul artist. I don't mind mixing genres but this is probably a step too far!

Ever so occasionally an old American Hartke XL will crop on here, and be around £100. Those are the ones to have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pws0ITGyogo First time I heard Floyd, 13th birthday present.

+1 to Billy Cox and Noel Redding too, and Jimi was no slouch either, evidenced by All Along the Watchtower, as if the guitar playing wasn't enough! Could I nominate Johnny Colt as well from the Black Crowes? Can't have a tight but loose band without a tight but loose bass player!

Probably the trickiest thing you'll have to negotiate is G&L's infamous tacky foam that holds the board in place. Stickier than beelzebub's bogies!

I'm looking at getting one as I'm doing 4 or 5 theatre gigs a year, and the scores often drop below E. Some of the charts are double bass where it seems common practice to have some sort of drop facility and the bass guitar charts seem to presume you have a B to be honest. Other shows are make up something off the piano part and it sounds stupid jumping octaves during runs etc. So a Lakland DJ5 or Stingray 5 are causing GAS at the moment, the trouble is I need to do a few more shows a year to pay for one!

DB112s too obvious?

Isn't it just a question of how the music affects you? For instance- I can't see the appeal at all in the female cast of Hollyoaks at all but that New Girl is something else! The frequencies are in alignment! That's how I feel about music too, some types of jazz (bebop and the like that my music college peers all stroked their chins to) irritates me into another dimension yet I can listen to anything Booker T related until the cows come home. That music has resonance for me. I thought musicianship, not being a player, was about being able to generate that resonance with your listener, and we have to accept that as musicians we slowly become more articulate and able to understand the language of Wooten et al whilst the complexity of those players (musicians?) becomes impenetrable to people who are used to the immediacy of simpler yet just as effective music. Technique doesn't equal good musicianship, nor does complexity etc. I wish I was articulate enough to sum this up in a short post, but to me that's why someone like BB King is a great musician, he can say what he needs to in 3 notes- not 30.

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1329942304' post='1550205'] I'm not mad on Dirty Loops, but I've got to say that guy is an incredibly impressive player. [/quote] Ditto, wish I had his hair, sorry, technique.

I liked it.

Hmmm, does my back pay go on one of these (DJ5 Skyline Blue) or an engagement ring...? Decisions decisions....

We call it gunting. A contraction of Gig Hunting and it's about as pleasant as it sounds. Go direct to venues as much as possible and book small ones to pack out rather than halls that look half empty with the same number in. Promoters will be chasing profit so need to you to prove you bring in a crowd. I do organise a few gigs a year and I've just booked one band just because they've got 3000+ views of a song on youtube (big news round our way) and are regularly in conversation with those leaving comments, it's reassuring. Don't book too many gigs and if you do get some go all out on treating your crowd that you've diligently assembled to a new experience each time, pull that off and promotors will come looking for you. My old band got blacklisted by many a London venue for impressing the promoter with a good recording then not bringing the punters through the door. We were interested in music but forgot promoters are in the music business.

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1329646280' post='1545149'] Whilst I try to keep some original lines the same for authenticity, i can also understand why some bassists choose to do something totally different... It's hard to be creative and push things forward if you stick close to the original all the time. We as musicians also seem quite hypocritical about covers. If a covers band move away from the original it's seen as a sin, but if an established act decides to do a totally different cover of a song, everyone raves about how great it is. Why can't a covers band have that freedom too? [/quote] Agreed. Also, you can so easily look up the original artist and see them doing many different arrangements of their songs. We all know Jamerson was a demi-god but he played it fast and loose with his lines live. When he was no longer around Marvin Gaye didn't even attempt to make the new guy follow that part. My band want the audience to feel we are credible so sometimes we go for as accurate as possible, sometimes we simplify and sometimes off on a tangent. If you want to do note for note join an orchestra.

California Girls- The intro chord sequence is divine. The Rite Of Spring (LSO Claudio Addado???)- I know it's a bit passe nowadays but I still love it. Gallows Pole off Led Zep 3- Bring on Bonzo All Apologies- Nirvana- How to hit a chorus. Obviously this is a great thread and I could go on for days

It's not what it's how.

Obviously sound first, but I'm not one for that kind of body shape with that neck- it just smacks of teenagers photoshopping their ideal woman together, never as a good as they'd hope. A good instrument just feels good, the character has to be complete. If it's in sunburst- even better.

1 DB112 ain't that heavy- you know it's the way forward