BassBomber414

A friend of mine is now the sole UK importer of Mbrace supports which fit on a microphone tripod. The idea of these supports is that your guitar is set up at playing position in the practice room / on stage and you just walk up and immediately play it without it being strapped to you. The benefits are quick change of instrument and less fatigue whilst playing as the guitar is supported. A great boon if, like me, you have a dodgy back ! www.shaungenesis.co.uk is the sole UK importer http://www.mbracestand.com/mbrace_home.html The USA site - will give you more information about the MBrace.

Colerne Gig is still ON Despite Swine Flu, Storms, locusts etc. (Rowsing chorus of Land Of Hope And Glory)

Thanks.

[attachment=30224:Band_Live_Crop.jpg]White Room are out on Saturday evening ,1st August (seemed a good date for an outdoor gig at the time of booking - about six months ago.) We are playing Sixties Blues Revival , Blues Boogie, Blues and about half the set Joe Bonamassa. Pig Roast, 3000W PA, Lighting Rig, Stage, Bass Pedals. There is also a Classic Gold type band playing - Tin Shack .If the rain holds off it should be pretty good,check my website for details UPDATE - And there we are - plenty of rain but 300 turned out, so pretty good really.

I was in the same position last night at a studio - they could not reproduce the punchy sound of my rig , so they miked up the amp and recorded that way - worked fine.

My band have just had some recording done at Nine Volt Leap Studios in Melksham Wiltshire. Dominic and Keith work quickly and efficiently , so much so that we layed down three tracks and overdubbed the vocals in four hours - including setting up and packing up.They also do mobile recording.We were doing a pub band demo - but if you want to spend three weeks doing one track they do that too. Now here is the good bit - these are young hungry entrepreneurs in there very early twentys - their rates are amazing. £50 for 4 hours - or £100 for 8 hours - then they will produce after you leave the studio The recordings were great as well. Perfect for our demo. You could record an album for the price of an Edirol. [email protected] [url="http://www.myspace.com/ninevoltleap"]http://www.myspace.com/ninevoltleap[/url]

[quote name='BassMunkee' post='276823' date='Sep 4 2008, 11:32 AM']Heroes - in addition to being one of my very favourite songs and a fine example of Frippertronics in action also has an excellent bassline in it IMHO.[/quote] Plus One for Heroes - not the studio track - the live version on their Far East Tour, it's on Vid. I don't know who the Asian looking Bass Man was but he was superb and the bass was cranked right up to become the feature of the track. Anyone tell me who the bass player was ?

Two kids at Uni have zapped the finances for two years. Which turns out to be a good thing on the GAS front. Circumstances have made me stick to the modest gear that I have and keep on 'tweaking' with the discovery that 'my sound' was in there all the time but it took me 18 months to find it. A little compression and relearning all the tracks using a pick helped. I now have the dosh to upgrade but do not feel inclined as I don't want to move away from the sound I have.

Weather Report - 'A Remark You Made ' from 'Heavy Weather' album. Cream - 'Spoonful' Live version from 'Wheels Of Fire' album, Jack Bruce jamming the lead with Clapton , magic.

Sarah , No point in saying don't be nervous. Travelling to the gig and setting up will probably be the worse time , once you start playing you will be withdrawing to a World that you know very very well and a strange calm may descend. When you emerge you will probably feel elated but have a really good idea of the areas you need to work on. Enjoy the buzz, you only do this once and after that, you should always 'play without fear' Best of luck.

I've worked in sales and these Bass Cellar guys are simply clueless.Sales are made on goodwill built up over years.Customers NEVER forget good service and generate more custom down through the years.Kids given a good play of the gear today could be buying their grandchildren instruments in the future from a favourite shop. If I was selling instruments my priority would be to , be friendly ,get the thing in their hands, make them feel relaxed, put the kettle on, compliment their playing and offer any advice they wanted.I would make everyone entering the shop feel welcome, money or not.There is always tomorrow's sale or a mate's. And; even though I've worked in sales ,good service still works on me. I went to Volkswagan,Ford and Honda for my last new car .Frankly ,there was not much to choose between the cars. But the Honda guy struck up a good rapport, chucked me the keys to a demonstrator for the day and fetched me coffee when I got back and we had a chat.All the staff were pleasant ,cheerful and helpful. I bought the Honda - not rocket science is it ?

Before I joined my covers band my hobby was writing and some of it couldn't have been too bad because it made the Poets' Library, Royal Festival Hall, London. I have a piece that was originally written as a song and might suit an 'originals' Indie Band.It has been previously published in poem form but I still retain all the rights.It has been carefully constructed so that all the parts are interchangeable to facilitate any musical construction of the song. It has an global warming theme. The deal would be this.You are a recording Originals Band. You like my lyrics and I like your band.You take the lyrics with the intention of recording them with your musical input.At the point that you publish I give you all rights of use of the lyrics in exchange for a named credit on the track list.You pay nothing.If it works, I would consider further contributions on the same basis. If anyone is interested I will mail them the lyrics.If I mail you the lyrics this does not constitute any agreement on either side and you would not be free to use them unless we had that agreement. Thanks

Tech , First of all I think your band shows very good potential and 'hats off' for the original material which shows a lot of promise. I wont hold back here ; hold on tight. VOCALIST - Very good , interesting voice that would suit Pop /Punk as well as 'Indie' - very reminicent of Debbie Harry (o.k. - ask your dad)The double tracking of vocals on 'Time' works very well indeed. BASS - Good , - no probs. DRUMS - Uninspired playing on a really 'dead' set of drums, or is that a recording shortfall ? Some unforgivable timing errors around the kit. GUITAR - Not great.Playing and content is pretty average. Solos are a bit clunky. Better on acoustic, the distorted rythmic chording on 'Time' mars a fine song. KEYBOARD- OK SAXOPHONE - In my opinion - surplus to requirements, for the sample material. GENERAL-For me,more thought should go into the arrangements.For eg ,I think the guitar work can be a bit 'busy' when the the vocalist is singing quite low key stuff.I think it is a question of settling for a mood for each track and arrange the track accordingly.Soft vocals = use more acoustic guitar ,maybe pick out the notes in chords( works well on a 12 string) hold off the trebly guitar chording etc., keep the the keyboards soft and well in the background.The strident full out vocal parts need a strong backing but I would save strong guitaring for solo breaks.I get the impression that everyone is chipping in their contribution, whether it is really needed or not.If you have aspirations to record take a look at succesful bands.That pop/punk sound that your band could do so well needs strong repetitive hooks in the songs(Listen to some Blondie hits) A band that handles quiet 'out front'vocals well is Coldplay. Love 'em or hate 'em their arrangements are exceptional.Plenty of light and shade required , and again using Coldplay as an example - lot's of space in the tracks , don't overwork them. Your trump card is your vocalist - let her shine.When she has some low key 'killer' lyrics let the band drop off nice and quiet and then wind it up again when she is done.I little more drama required.Have a listen to a band from around Cardiff (Sorry ) called Magenta - see how they use a female vocalist. [url="http://www.magenta-web.com/"]http://www.magenta-web.com/[/url] This is only one guy's opinion and everyone will see your band differently. Best of luck for the future.

Larriken , Make yourself listen to each track ten times without your Bass in your hands.Tap the basic 'time' with your hand or foot.(1 , 2, 3, 4 , 1, 2, 3, 4)Then follow the track whist 'reading' the tab and tapping the beat. On more complicated tabs you could get a guitarist to circle the notes that fall on the beat .This will help you learn it 'right' from the start. Play your track through with a metronome only and if you need to , set it slow at first until you can play the peice at real time.Get that foot tapping in time.Then and only then , play with the backing track. When playing with a band, if you can tear your eyes from your left hand, you might find it useful to watch the drummer. All the 'construction' of a track can be read from the drummer -not just timing - how he leads into a intro/verse/lead/bridge/ending.Have the drummer tap his sticks in time for 4 beats where you can see them as a prelude to each track.Buy him a pint. I finaly cured my timing problems when I got a Zoom B2 pedal and started jamming to the pre- programmed drum beats using headphones.This makes you concentrate on the beat which is a Bassman's priorty. Good Luck, and don't you give up , because one day soon ,you will crack it.

Welcome to Basschat - from a Rosbif. Nice gear , I have never seen a P bass like yours before. Your English is fine,but if you say 'for sure' everyone will think you are a racing driver ! Enjoy the forum.

Steve, Interesting review. At least you will hear your playing in all it's glory when you practice at home. Regarding the volume levels - You really do need 250w or 300w with a solid state bass amp to get over a Rock Drummer.My drummer uses a set of DW drums that are very very loud and it's difficult for a drummer to play at a reduced level as they won't get the same rebound effect from the skins. I won't say 'I told you so' , as I knew you would get lots of different advice. We live and learn. On the plus side ,at least you know your Yammy sounds good.

One piece of kit which comes close to your spec is..... Tascam MP3 Bass Trainer MP-BT1 - around £134 new via the net. This is a portable MP3 device which takes a normal phono input for your bass and has a line out for earphones/headphones or out to whatever. It's main function is to allow practice against an MP3 track. It allows you to enhance the bass , to work out a track or remove the bass so you can play that part yourself. It has banks of effects, a bass tuner even a metronome.You can slow tracks right down with no change in pitch for practice and insert repeat loops easily in parts of songs you wish to keep trying.It charges via the supplied USB or by a mains charger which is a standard 5v in DC charger connection.You could use your own effects between the guitar and this unit , but I have not tried this. If a song is recorded sharp or flat you can adjust the player to play in normal tuning. One slight problem for you is that it only has one 'line out' socket so ,if you are recording, you might need a split cable out so you can monitor on headphones. It's built like a tank and sounds great and I now use it almost exclusively for practice. It does not come with a mains charger (But a Sony PSP one fits fine) or headphones.You get better volume levels with decent earphones rather than a big pair of headphones.These work really well, Sony MDR ED21LP [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_ce/026-3136059-4251663?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=sony+earphones"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_ce/026...=sony+earphones[/url]

I heard Carmine Rojas play an ESP Standard Surveyor when touring with Joe Bonamassa - sounded very impressive.I take it you are aware that there is a range of basses badged LTD by ESP which are around half the price of the Standard ESP ? I've not heard these but they look a good spec for the money. The LTD has LTD on the headstock instead of ESP

Thanks to everyone who took the trouble to reply.There are lots of very interesting suggestions which I've had a look at ; but a big concensus for a Music Man Stingray. I would not ignore such a volume of advice and knowledge.After some further research ,a Stingray 4 string 3EQ HH in Natural Ash is on the list , the amp can come later. This is my choice - [url="http://www.thebassgallery.com/mmhh4string.html"]http://www.thebassgallery.com/mmhh4string.html[/url]

[quote name='Geddys nose' post='219253' date='Jun 15 2008, 03:44 PM']I'd say try another cab with your combo sounds like your struggling for headroom if there is no speaker out try this- [url="http://www.warwickbass.com/amps/amps05.htm"]http://www.warwickbass.com/amps/amps05.htm[/url] will look and sound quite good [/quote] Geddy N - This sub woofer looks like it's been made to do the job , looks interesting, thanks.

[quote name='SJA' post='219118' date='Jun 15 2008, 10:23 AM']another suggestion- keep your Yamaha but try using an amp with 12" or 10" speakers instead for more punch. a 2 X 12", 2 X 10" or 4 X 10".[/quote] SJA , Yes , this had occured to me.I think this Warwick combo probably is aimed at a Warwick Bass , apparently Warwick themselves use one of these when they demo Bass guitars. It's a subtle bit of kit and is a bit Hi Fi for my band, a real quality item.It appealed partly because it is light with the Neo speaker and has wheels/trolley handle.Probably what I need is a 2 x 10 combo, perhaps with a bit more grunt. I only bought it about 9 months ago. You've all given me plenty to think about , thanks.I might try some amps with my own Bass and take it from there.

Thanks for all your suggestions , keep them coming , I'm listening. The Stingray is interesting.The obvious build quality appeals but I've heard a few on You Tube and they have a very distinctive sound , which I like, but seems to lack the cutting crackle and growl that I need in my band.Or maybe they can be adjusted to that sound ? Although we are a 'Pub Band' (Pah ! ) our current drummer has a full set of top of the range DW drums which are magnificent but very very loud.So the guitarist is cranked right up as well , this means that my rig ( Yamaha BB414 and Warwick CL Combo 250 watts Neo single 15" with horn,Zoom B2 pedal set on A1- Hartke 3500 sound)is up against it.The Warwick sounds great at home but can sound a bit flabby with the band.I play with the Combo on flat settings but the sub sonic switch in and the 'high' switch in,the position switch on the BB414 set on both pickups and tone set to 7 or 8 giving a cutting , percussive sound that gets me in the mix big time but is then a bit lacking in the lows. If I back off the treble I have trouble hearing my own playing which is a problem for me as can't play perfectly from memory.We don't have monitoring - we stand in front of the amps.Is a Fender Jazz going to do the job ?? Maybe I'll just have to convert to the neck.I've thought about a secondhand Ric 4003 which seems like a beast. I know the obvious solution is to visit a music shop and try lots of basses but where I live the only local one charges top dollar ,is staffed by a lot of youngsters intent on showing off to their mates and having zero interest in spending any time whatsoever with any Grown Ups.Other music shops in the area tend to have two cheap basses hanging on the walls and make their money selling recorders to children.

I'm looking for suggestions for a future purchase of a mid- priced Bass for Rock, mostly played with a plectrum - I want plenty of punch and mids but I'm used to a precision neck, have large hands and fingers so don't fancy changing to a Jazz neck. My combo is a single 1x15" and has a tendency to sound a bit wooly with the Precision PUP of my Yammy BB414.However the Jazz PUP is at the bridge so tends to sound a bit thin.Anyone suggest anything ? Not looking to pay any more than £500 - £700 new/secondhand. Cheers,thanks for your time.