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I love his music too. Always remember finally getting a girl called Maxine back to my digs on the day that i first heard "The Nightfly", which was a present from my dad. Even now years later when i hear the opening to the track "Maxine" it brings back memories of that summer back in the 80's.

Bad luck. Trouble with bands is that they are populated by musicians... On the flipside the best thing i ever did was not play for a while. Being away from it can sometimes teach you as much as being right up close. Funny how it works.

Maybe some kind of IEM? We have "educated" our drummer to chill out a bit at rehearsals and it works a treat. Personally, i luv playing quietly - its quite a nice trick to be able to keep it down and keep it groovy.

When we were looking for a new house one of the prime requisites (for me) was a front door that i could reverse right up to so that when opening the boot of the car i can move gear about without getting wet when it rains. Having achieved that i must say its lovely reversing into the drive knowing that its gonna take 2 minutes to unload and pack away. I pity you poor buggers with staircases and no off-road parking.

Quite envious of some of you. I can't remember the last time i did a gig that was more than 15 minutes from home. I know what you mean though as its a lovely time for reflection. Once home i find it impossible to go straight to bed no matter how late it is. Always seem to need an hour of wind down before i hit the sack.

Watching this thread with interest as i am taking my two daughters aged 5 and 7 up to "the smoke" for the first time soon. I am a Londoner but moved away years ago and don't go back very often so am unfamiliar with the attractions (not Elvis') Eye sounds good. As does the boat trip. Thinking about the Natural History museum? Planetarium? London zoo? edit for spelling...

Its an up and down journey for me. Sometimes the benefits seem obvious - other times the effort required doesn't seem to have much pay off. I have to do theory in small chunks as i don't have the stamina to suck up hours every evening. I can do about 45 minutes tops before my brain starts to drift off somewhere else. Funny thing though is that i have started to crave learning?!? If i spend a week without acquiring some new knowledge i get a funny pang that makes me open up the theory books???

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1329041945' post='1536261'] Maybe try it in a band situation before ditching it, Fenders have a strange habit of fitting in really well despite sounding a bit ordinary soloed. [/quote] ^ this Like you i have been down the "anything but Fender" route. Had a classic Stingray sounded amazing at home but wouldn't sit in the mix in some live contexts. Also had a weak "G". Had a great Lakland - similar story. In the end (after 25 + years) i got a HW1 with a pre-amp in. Hoofed the PuPs out and changed them for some more upmarket ones. Bang! Sounds and feels fantastic in a live situation. I'd say gig it before you make any decision.

The O' Jays - Back Stabbers

Please say "no"

[quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1328888738' post='1534423'] Agreed. The best example I know of this in practise is on the Donny Hathaway 'Live' album. Willie Weeks (superb throughout) takes a bass solo on the last track. He starts really simply, playing a basic groove and builds it from there. [/quote] What a great example. Its also really memorable, melodic with a slavish dedication to the groove. Its almost not a solo - just variations of a great bassline. The drummer plays his part too. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YWW8j6ICTU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YWW8j6ICTU[/url]

"I am expecting my period" is one that left me a bit speechless. It was a girl who said it but i didn't really know what to say to her. "My strings are too old" >?>? "My car is hanging off a wall" and it was. Literally balancing on a wall. "I have been arrested" All of these i can verify as being true except the first one...

[quote name='bass12345' timestamp='1328873827' post='1534040'] Then what about solo'ing ? How would you go about it - feel the notes or keep that 'Ive gotta use this scale' mindset ? [/quote] Let the space do the work. Like football they say let the ball do the work. Some of the funkiest things are in the silence between the notes. Soloing! Damn, just get a groove going first. If you really must solo start simple - maybe with the chord tones or key notes from the melody and develop it.

After about a year on 5s i realised that i prefer 4 stringers. The transition to 5 wasn't too painful and it did make me rethink some of the stuff i was playing. In fact the playing side was fine but the bass just felt like a freak. It was a lovely Lakland bass - just never felt right. I tried a couple of others too but 5 stringers never floated my boat.

I must be a soul-less individual as i don't think about gear once its gone. Same with my women-folk.

Never heard of it so you are wrong

All depends on the scenario. Most gigs i grab whatever is closest to the door at the time of departure. And yes, i have taken an empty hard case to a gig before Recording i choose whatever is needed for the project after careful consultation with the person paying the studio fees. Obviously its the Hamer All my basses are giggable and have an action and sound that i am comfy with - some weigh slightly more than others but we only do 45 minute slots so thats not a problem. I know what the person meant about the audience not listening. I think they meant that the tone of the bass is not foremost in most punters minds so probably isn't as big a deal as we might think.

Sometimes you have to face facts that you just weren't around when the original thing was happening and get over it. I love Johnny guitar Watson. Unfortunately he died and i never saw him. I can't imagine seeing a tribute version or ever wanting to because it would come nowhere close to seeing the guy that created all the stuff i love. I know JGWs performances were sometimes not brilliant but i'd rather of watched one of those than a perfectly copied version by other people.

I'm the other way round in so much as i would rather see a f***ed up performance by the original artists than a shiny polished tribute alternative.

Thats a lot of money for a tribute band whatever way you look at it. Price is always relative to demand though - if they can sell tickets for that price they will charge that price.

Love to try one of these. It seems to make a lot of sense. Silent Fly - nice of you to respond to all the questions.

Not to me but some fighting punters fell against a poorly balanced PA Cab that then tumbled upon them mid-fight. Needless to say we just carried on playing and watched the carnage unfold. Oh yeah, girl singer got in a fight with the bouncers in one place. Her boyfriend was being aggro'd by the bouncers so she just leapt on one of them off of the stage. Again we carried on playing.

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1328135430' post='1522620'] What you have done in theory [and you are not alone by any means] Is trying to Sync someone else's [published?] Music to your own new project/content etc. [that's the way Soundcloud digital ID will see it anyway] You would have to get [b]'A Master Use'[/b] license from the record company or Music owner[s] On another note Monetization through Youtube is becoming quite a good source of revenue, now that the various performing rights organisations have struck up deals and are collecting from Youtube. So yes its getting tougher to do what you want, although Soundcloud/Youtubes digital ID system is still pretty flawed at the moment. Garry [/quote] Thanks for the heads up. I'll stick to uploading original stuff or things way out of copyright.

If i am obliged to pay for some city twats screwing up the economy then i can find some spondies for helping a fellow bass player.

Just have fun. Learn a little each day and don't be too tough on yourself. Listen to lots of music and particularly what role the bass is playing. Listen to the timing and length of the notes as well as where they are on the fretboard and what they are called. If you record yourself now and in a years time see how much you have progressed. It'll either be a real motivater or you may want to top yourself There is some very good material on here. Look for the Majors Boot Camp that has some really good exercises and explanations to theory: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/74284-the-majors-bass-boot-camp-session-index-1-36/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/74284-the-majors-bass-boot-camp-session-index-1-36/[/url]