Breakfast / Lunch Report ----------> Monday October 17, 2011

[jwebsmall]

Monday:

G&L: Back to Basses

With the recent resurgence of the Motown sound (think Rafael Saadiq or
James Morrison) suppose a local cover band invites you to play a grooving bass
( your ASAT and Legacy skills could perhaps be used in a pinch as backup and
thus a plus on your audition.)

http://www.raphaelsaadiq.com/us/video/stone-rollin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDUWe4rmU38

But you've never played bass before so you start researching the different
G&L basses to pick one for the gig. Which bass do you decide to run with?
(pun intended).

If you are already a bassist perhaps you could recommend one for the
rest of us - please tell us about your bass playing rigs and gigs.

I have no idea what the pros and cons are of 4 versus 5 string for example.
Are the humbucker basses like the L-2000 more suited for a modern groove?
I got the impression a single coil bass was best for those vintage bass grooves.

Recently I wanted to record a bass track for a song I was writing. I didn't know
anything about basses or whether I would be any good at it. So I bought a new
tribute SB-2 (in black) hoping to nail that vintage Motown sound. I also got a
book on bass playing:

Building Walking Bass Lines by Ed Friedland

I figured if I got into it and showed promise I would get another G&L
bass perhaps a USA L-2000.

What G&L bass(es) do you have or would like to have?

Would the Korina ASAT bass sound as good as it looks?

Several things are encouraging - one is that vintage sounds
are coming back into fashion again. Vintage artifacts in a modern
re-interpretation of by gone sounds seems to be a hot ticket these
days. Also I see a lot of requests on craigslist for bass guitarists to
audition for the local bands. I'm hoping I can get up to speed and pass
an audition for a hobby band that plays out twice a month perhaps.
I failed several auditions for guitarist already. But if the guitar players know
as little about bass guitars and walking bass lines as I did a short
time ago there may be hope yet!

Non G&L: Lunch?

Let's start with breakfast. I had a swig of
Bragg's Brown Apple Cider aged in wood. Whew.
After that routine I'm usually not interested in
eating anything until lunch time. That's my
daily routine by the way. I'll have an apple when
I get back from my mountain bike ride to the chiropractors.
I'm leaving now for my 11:15am appointment.

I'm really into varieties (of apples that is). Today I'm
going to have a Fuji. Yesterday it was the standard golden
delicious apple. My philosophy is if you aren't hungry enough
to be interested in eating an apple you aren't really hungry
enough to start eating for the day! (People generally don't
invite me out or over to eat - I wonder why?) At 59 I find
if I drift away from the apple routine I start packing on weight.
When I go back to at least one apple a day the weight starts
to come back off but it gets slower every year to take back
off.

My day job is writing software so I sit on my bottom for at least
8 hours a day. When I worked more physical jobs I would eat
more. If I worked on a farm I would eat a huge breakfast for
sure and be starving by lunch time.

Now that I've ruined everybody's lunch please clue me in
on what I'm missing.

I hope everyone has a great day!

[sirmyghin]

G&L basses, well, I am going to be an oddball and say they aren't really my thing. They are well built, play well, but overall the neck is a bit thin (l-2500 anyway) and I was not feeling it. Pickup type means little to me, I can get any groove out of any bass pickup. I gravitate towards having an onboard EQ, as those are wonderful things. If I were going to buy another bass right now I would want a stingray6 (EBMM, but does not exist), as I love me some sting rays. There are no cons to 5 strings, but if you are not going to use the range why bother? I play an Carvin LB75 currently, and if I was not looking for more strings, as I work on touch style with respect to my bass, I am pretty apathetic to the bass market. What I have does what I need very well. As far as advice for playing bass, there is a lot more to do than play roots and follow guitarists, if you want the music to be interesting that is. That is what separates the men from the boys and subbing in guitarists

[jwebsmall]

Did Leo have a hand in designing the MM basses also?

A bassist I played with once had his degree in music and specialized
in harmony theory. Wow was he good. He made my crappy guitar
playing sound better. Some how he would add in 2nds, 4ths, 11th's
etc. in counter point runs and augment the groove and it was just
awesome. It always helps to jam in a band where everyone is better
than you - makes you begin to think you are alright until you have play
on your own again.

Is anyone thinking of ordering the Korina ASAT bass?

How do you pick a bass player to play in your band?

[Kit]

I have not ever heard music from the 2 artists you mentioned. I have seen the name Rafael Saadiq somewhere but have no idea what kind of music he plays, James Morrison I have never heard of, but I liked both the pieces you linked to. Thanks for turning me on to something new. There does seems to be a kind of Motown revival specially with several female singers from England over the last few years.

My bass story is almost exactly the same as yours. I had tried recording myself back around 1982 with a cassette 4-track. In 2004 I moved to using a digital 8-track. When I started getting back into recording I needed a bass so I bought a Fernandes 4-string for $170 from MF. It turned out to be very nice to play and sounded quite good. It was a good instrument to learn bass on but I spent very little time on it, since I can't even spend much time on guitar playing. A few years ago I found a great deal on an L-2000 and I sold off the Fernandes about a year after I got the G&L.

I play in a hobby band. The only advice I can give is to keep meeting new people to play with. Eventually you will meet a group that can stay together and have fun playing with. Since you can play both guitar and bass, that gives you even more flexibility.

I love songs driven by good bass lines. My hobby band plays the following songs because I love to hear the bass in them:
"Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello, "The Trick Is To Keep Breathing" by Garbage, "Come Together" and others.

I like apples myself but I don't eat it much. My son likes apples too and we usually buy Galas.

Kit

[jwebsmall]

I love Gala apples too. I should pick some up this week.

I just heard of James Morrison myself this past week and I was shocked
he was a young guy. I think he nails that Motown sound from the 60's.
It's encouraging to me that some vintages sounds are coming back in fashion.
It means a lot of what we know is going to become relevant again.

Rafael Saadiq reminds me of Smokey Robinson with the glasses borrowed from
Buddy Holly. His swing is just great and his band uses ASAT and Legacy clones
(you know the F... brand clones. . His stuff is perfect for ASAT dominated
cover bands. That's why I brought it up.

I wish I could write songs like this. I'm actually writing some songs for a young
artist that is being developed in Nashville now. They don't like anything I wrote
well enough to do but they said keep sending us stuff because you seem to be
improving.

One artists I'm a huge fan of is Robyn from Sweden. Only the melodies of her songs
are vintage otherwise her band is all 21st century synths. I wish I could write this
kind of stuff too.

Her current hit is "Call Your Girl Friend" and "Hang with Me".

http://www.youtube.com/user/Robynmusic?blend=1&ob=4

[youtube]Nv644ipg2Ss&feature=relmfu[/youtube]

She is a comic riot:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Robynmusic? ... 4UHNhVSrEM
[youtube]x4UHNhVSrEM[/youtube]

She's been around for a decade and not going anywhere. But she started playing the London
club scene and got together an all synth band (and 2 drummers) and now has a signature sound
and has started to take off. She opened for Katy Perry's tour earlier this year.

I think getting the bass is going to help me though. I also bought a drum pad practice
stand. You can't hear the rubber pads and it's not an electric/digital set. It's just the
stand and pads for the "snare" and 2 toms and has the kick drum pedal back stop.
I haven't gotten into that yet though I did watch one DVD on drumming. It's so hard
to start all over again on another instrument working painfully through the clumsy
motions. I'm horribly rhythm challenged and I feel like I'm struggling through rehab.
But I was so impressed by a couple of drummers who learned to play guitar that I
thought hey I'm willing to try anything to try to improve. I live in a small apartment
so I can't play a real drums (even if I could) or the neighbors would be complaining.
I play my guitars and bass plugged into the computer and DAW.

[blargfromouterspace]

Basses

I know very little about basses. All I know is that I like the sound of a single pickup Precision more than anything else out there. I've played with guys who use Sting Rays and Jazz basses, and they don't do it for me the way the Precision does. If not a P-bass then a double bass would be nice. For amplification you want two Ampeg SVT-300s on top of two 810 cabs .


My band The Spokesmen play soul revival music. Check it out if you're interested, link is in my signature.


Lunch
Cider is alcoholic here and not usually a breakfast drink! I'm guessing this is another word with a different meaning in the US. Then again maybe not....
Love the Fuji apple, it's my favourite.

[Philby]

Hi John,

Apples: I'm a fan of the fruit, not so much the litigious company. I grew up in Tasmania which used to be the apple orchard of the British Empire, so I've eaten at least 2 apples a day for my whole life. You can't beat a crisp new season's Golden Delicious IMHO. Red Delicious and Pink Ladies are favourites as well. It's sad to see many apple varieties disappearing because they don't present well on supermarket shelves. Gravensteins and Cox's Orange were some of my favourites but I haven't seen them for at least a decade.

Basses: I tried out an L-2000 when I was in the market for a bass but didn't like it at all. I felt like a kid playing my Dad's bass. Everything was big, heavy and uncomfortable. I couldn't get my head around the active electronics and complex circuitry either. I ended up walking out with a Japanese Fender P-bass. It was comfortable and I could get a decent sound from it straight away. If it was good enough for James Jamerson, it was good enough for me. Sometimes simplicity just can't be beaten. I used to play bass on a couple of songs in my former band, but I wouldn't call myself a bass player by any means. The drums and bass are the engine room of popular music and it's unfortunate that good bass players don't get the acclaim they deserve, at least while they're alive. James Jamerson is a perfect example of that.

I had a listen to some of your songs and I think you're not far away from getting some published. I can definitely hear that you're improving and your home production is getting better too.

[darwinohm]

John great start. I read it this morning but did not have time to reply.

I am primarily a bassist. I believe that being both a guitarist and bassist is helpful in that you really develop a feel for how they interact and compliment each other. I like to use other than root notes in many places and counterpoints to the lead work.

I was initially a Fender Jazz bass guy. Years ago I had a 66 Fender Mustang bass. It was a good recording bass, very sweet direct. I then got my first F Jazz bass. I then trded it and got anther with the 18v electronics. I was always looking for more from the JB. Then I bought a used Stingray 5 with defective paint, cheap and thought that would be a good way to try 5 and MM. I loved it. I then bought a new 5 HH and am very happy with it. I use flatwounds and have used Rotosounds semi rounds. I always settle back to the flatwounds. A year agoo I picke up an L-2000 Fretless 4 and it has tone. So, I have been doing research here and on the Bass Forum and have pretty much determined that I will go with an American L-2500. I will leave the regular wounds on it and use it as a primary with the Stingray 5 HH with flatwounds as backup. I will keep the F Jazz bass, in case I need, for recording. I have mixed felling about letting the Fretless go but I do not have room for more guitars. So, thats my story.

I believe that some of the old sound will come back. It is a new discovery for the young crowd and it has a beat. We still pack 'em in to hear the 50/60s R&R with vintage country mixed in.

I like apples and tend to buy them in the winter. I missed lunch today but am no worse for it. I do like 5 string and use the low B whenever it is appropriate. I also use the 4 string at times. I would be happy with an L2000 if I could find the right wood/color.

I was in the computer business from its infancy and retired after 37 years. I repaired hardware, then became a operating systems internalist and also worked with microcode. I also worked as a systems analyst for a few years near the end but specialized in system performance. The users liked that. Thanks for stepping up John.-- Good evening to every one. I did have a good day. I took some old Sunn 15" speakers in for reconing and repaired our PA. More stuff sitting in the garage!-- Time for a cold one I would think. Anyone second that?-- Darwin

[jwebsmall]

I've been enjoying Jamie's songs for the last few months already. Great stuff.
I'm listening to Don't Ask Me to Stay right now as I'm typing - one of my favorites
of yours! Jamie's headstock straps caught my attention some time ago also. There
should be several good stories worth song treatment behind your Avatar!

Tasmania looks like a great place for a mountain bike vacation!
My tribute SB-2 has single coil pickups and two volume controls,
one for each pick up. It's perfect for what I'm trying to do at this
point. James Jameson was a fantastic bass player. And Bob Babbit
was is too (he's been sick lately I heard).

I was in the 9th grade (14 years old) when my school buddy and
I went to see Smokey Robinson and the Miracles perform at the
Carter Barron Amphitheater in Rock Creek Park in D.C. (that was in 1966
I think and they played there again the last time in 1972 but I was in the
army by then). What a show.

I had bought my first guitar that summer in 1966 at Montgomery Wards department
store for $39, an Airline arch top. I really wanted an electric but couldn't get one
for that price at least not new. By high school I had played a few gigs and my
school locker was 2 lockers away from Nils Lofgren. He didn't know me from Adam.
He had a great band back then that played for some of our school dances. He had
his white strat and would take it with him every day at school. And on breaks between
classes he would sit in the hall playing (unplugged) his guitar before the bell rang to be in our next
class. The brother of one of the guys who briefly played in Nil's band then was in
my band. But this brother was a fantastic guitarist and my buddy and I weren't very
good. The brother would skip school and play all day on his guitar at home. When we
would come over after school he was down stairs playing to the record player when we came
in. He played by ear and was fantastic. We would marvel that he could play along to
all the hits back then and have figured out the guitar parts. We didn't have F. GDecs
then or programs to crack a track or slow it down. Unfortunately the brother killed himself before getting out
of high school. We didn't realize he was in trouble then because he was very quiet but not moody. My buddy
never got over it. I ran into him on facebook a year ago and he had kept his brother's guitar - never
played it and never sold it. I stopped playing guitar when I was drafted
into the Army. For same reason I never played after I got out. 4 years ago
my main customer (I call him my boss since his checks make my day) asked me to
pick out a guitar for his teenage daughter. I shopped around and bought her one
(a Dean import - I didn't know about G&L or how good G&L tributes were then otherwise
I would have gotten her an S-500) and kept it at my place until Christmas so she wouldn't
find it in her dad's house. Well I got it out and played it and when she finally got it I decided
to go get myself a guitar. That was quite a few guitars ago. I only allow myself two electric
guitars at once since I don't have a place to keep them. When I find one
I like better than what I have I sell one and get the new one. That's the acid
test! It took me a while to discover G&L and it was actually through the BBE pedals
that got me to take a look at G&L. I was sold on my USA Legacy the
moment I picked it up. A G&L guitar has a feel like no other brand.

When I failed the auditions for the local bands I thought what am I going
to do with these guitars? So I started writing songs. Within 8 months
I had a publishing contract from a small record label but they went broke
before any of their artists cut it. Doesn't say too much for their taste in
music! So I've since concentrated on learning song writing skills but haven't
got lucky again. Actually I know nothing is good enough but I'll keep
trying and I do see gradual improvement. At any rate it gives me
something to think about other than work - it's a great hobby. Who
knows I might get lucky if I throw enough spaghetti against the wall
a strand may stick.

[jwebsmall]

Glad to hear from Darwin. I was hoping Darwin would post!

I was thinking the 5 string bass would be good for playing with people
playing in drop D tuning on their guitars. That way you wouldn't have to
drop tune the bass but could just kick over to the 5th string on the bass.

I go all the way back to punch cards, briefly did 360/370 assembly language
programming, wrote an assembler for an HP mini computer, did COBOL, Fortran
etc. went on to PL/I, Pascal, Smalltalk, C, C++, Java, Ruby, Ocaml, Lisp, and now
I'm doing mostly PHP these days. I"m sure a miss a few languages. But that was
after I taught electronics in the army, worked as an electronic technician for NASA,
the Associated Press, and my favorite job of all time working for 3 years at Heathkit
repairing their radio amateur gear and computer kits. I saw the hand writing on the wall
with the micro miniaturization and large scale integration circuits and the consumer
electronics industry was already moving off shore to Asia then so I continued working
and put myself through college at night with a degree in computer science (and minored
in accounting and also had 18 credits in math). No wonder I didn't have time to play music.
Since then I've been published (as a ghost writer) by McGraw Hill, worked in Canada briefly and
lived out a suit case for many years traveling and coding. I don't have any plans for
retiring - can't afford to. I've been in business for myself since the late 1980's and
the competition from programmers in Indian and eastern Europe keeps my paid really
low. I could earn more if I went to work for government but I find it challenging to
compete with these offshore companies and I don't have many expenses. I've blown
a lot on guitars this last 4 years but I think I'm pretty much over GAS once I get my
G&L Legacy. I'm torn between making #2 guitar an ASAT or Invader. If I could shred
well it would be the Invader in a heart beat but the ASAT is probably more practical
for more styles of music.

[bassman]

Man you have covered a lot of subjects, but back to the question of what bass to recommend for a beginner:
I would say that you can't go wrong with a Tribute SB-2. The two pickup combination will give you all sorts of sounds. The bass pickup is actually humbucking, since that is the way the two coils are wired together.
A Fender Precision bass is also a humbucking pickup even though Leo couldn't call it that back in '57. The single coil Precision is what Sting currently uses, and the single coil pickups are on the early Precision basses and Telecaster basses of 1968-1972.
Neck sizes are all over the place and I cannot tell you what will feel big or small to your hands until you try out a bass. Active electronics are used more by bass players because bassists are forced to counteract more room acoustics than guitarists. It's just the nature of the frequency range of a bass. Multi-string basses are fun to play but you have to keep all of those extra strings quiet when playing and that can add up to a lot of extra work leading some of us bassists to stick with 4 strings.

I love my L-2000s I have both a Tribute and a USA version of this bass and I can't say enough about a L2Ks versatility and range of tones.

BTW Leo Fender did design the first Music Man basses as his company CLF Research, was contracted to design the Stingray bass and Guitar by Forrest White and Lloyd Chewning, the visible owners of Music Man in 1976.

[sirmyghin]

. Multi-string basses are fun to play but you have to keep all of those extra strings quiet when playing and that can add up to a lot of extra work leading some of us bassists to stick with 4 strings.

Don't let this guy scare you (although I am sure he plays quite well), muting is very simple. There is a technique called 'floating thumb' that I apparently developed to some extent, you just move your thumb around over the lower strings to damp em. I just use B E or A as thumb rests, depending where I am playing and have the body of my thumb resting elsewise. Works splendid, noise is never an issue and the movement becomes so natural you don't need to worry about playing accross strings or it slowing you down. Thing is it took getting a 5 to make me learn how to do it . Muting was less crucial prior, it seems.

[Kit]

Just like Philby I found you web page and listened to the songs you wrote. You have talent as a songwriter, keep at it if not to make it, but just for yourself. Some of your songs reminds me of Crowded House, which, in my opinion, wrote some of the most accessible but distinct pop songs. But you have your own style, and it shows.

I make up music which have been strictly instrumental. I don't like music which is too straightforward, but I don't know that I succeed in that when I write.

I listened to Robyn. I found her to be good, but the couple of songs that I listened to do not set her apart from many other female songwriters. Some of my personal favorite (and I have a very long list) songwriters in female-fronted bands are Bjork, the Cardigans, Goldfrapp, and many others.

This is a Cardigan's piece which is close to a perfect pop song:

[youtube]sUBb4P2clO0[/youtube]

Goldfrapp actually does songs along the same lines as Robyn, many in the electronic dance vein. This is a different kind of song from her which I find to be one of my favorite melodic ballads:

[youtube]XsP6uRJbeyg[/youtube]

Kit

[jwebsmall]

The Capital Blues ensemble looks and sounds really cool.

http://www.myspace.com/capitalbluesensemble

I like "Every Dog has his day".

Bassman must be Brian Carey.

Are you still play Le VILLAGE Sunday nights?

Le VILLAGE 301 595 7345
11436 Cherry Hill Rd.
Beltsville Maryland

I bet it sounds even better live!!!

[jwebsmall]

This is a Cardigan's piece which is close to a perfect pop song:

[youtube]sUBb4P2clO0[/youtube]

Oh I love this Cardigan's song. In the chorus her voice reminds me of Sheryl Crow but I like this more.
Thanks for letting me know about this band!

Goldfrapp actually does songs along the same lines as Robyn, many in the electronic dance vein. This is a different kind of song from her which I find to be one of my favorite melodic ballads:

Another winner!!! The instrumental bridge towards the end reminds me of the theme song
from the James Bond movie "you only live twice" but it is more graceful and emotionally moving.

It may be hard to believe but I haven't owned a TV since around 1980. Now with the internet
that's no big deal because I see so much on line now. The convergence of media is nearly upon
us. But I was so busy traveling and working that I literally missed all pop music for the last 30
years until like Rip Van Winkle getting a guitar woke me up. Then I started playing catchup
listening to everything I could come across and still am today.

Synth sounds are so dense harmonically that it hogs the mix space of a song if you aren't
careful. I draw an analogy to trying to play chords on a heavy metal guitar - it's just too
much - too dense it turns to mud. So electronica tends to have arpeggios to give the song
animation that is normally achieved by melody. But then you run into the problem of being
trapped in arpeggiation loops- they are so dominant it is disruptive to move into a transition.
It's very hard to break out of a dance loop. Lady Gaga achieved this by using splashes of
synth sounds that were not arpeggios per say and this gave her space to break out and
transition into her melodic choruses. In 2008 that was very innovative for urban dance pop.
Up to that point hip hop and rap was mostly lyrical continuous conversation over loops.
The reason I found Robyn interesting is her synth arpeggiations are programmed to introduce
transitional melodic components that allowed her to escape into choruses. Her synth
players have found way out of the arpeggiation trap. Goldtrapp goes easy on the
arpeggiation so you hear more of the chord progression in the verse which allows the
escape/transition into the chorus. Sound designing synth patches takes the patience of
monk and it just too time consuming to fuss with unless music is your day job.


I have a book shelve full of books on songwriting. But the best one I have found to date
has no music theory in it at all. It's Murphy's Laws of Songwriting.

http://murphyslawsofsongwriting.com/

Even if you aren't writing songs if you want your band to get an indie hit on youtube this
book is going to make it far more likely to happen. If I ever write something that sells (not
likely) it will be in no small part due to having read this book! BTW I have much better
stuff coming, what you heard are flawed structurally, lyrically, genre characteristics etc.
things I couldn't hear before. It takes a long time for your ear to really hear what's going
on.

Another trick I learned is to write up the back stories of the songs you like. And compare
your song's back story to a hit's back story. Very quickly you will see/hear what you
are doing wrong. I don't mean that you are copying the music of the hit song. You are
learning deep structure this way. In other words you are discovering design patterns of
the deep structure of a song and comparing it to your flawed structure. All of a sudden
you can identify how your compositions are lacking. This process is iterative and like
peeling an onion every month your ear becomes keener. You learn things like the
chorus comes in between 45 and 60 seconds. Outside this window you run into problems.
Intros on average come in at 13 seconds. Today short intros are better on average because
of media players and people clicking through. Rhyme patterns (if if the lyrics don't rhyme)
have to groovematically change their scheme between verse and chorus. Verse lyrics
are conversational and show but don't tell. Chorus lyrics are emotional interpretation of
the story and not conversational. More conservation less melody, less conversation more
emotional more melody. The hook and the nut are different in song. The hook and nut
must be the same lyric but hook is the sound byte emotional interpretation of the song
but the nut is the essence of the moral of the story. A song has to invite the listener
into the song immediately into the conversation so he/she can identify with it (the difference
between showing and telling in the lyric). But it has to also immediately raise the expectation
in the listener. This is the tension that carries through the song. The only thing a person is
going to hear on the first listen is the hook. So the hook has to hook them but by the
time they listen 7 or 8 times they will have decided whether they hate or love the song.
Most all of us think lyrics aren't important. I know I did until I really started studying this
stuff. If lyrics aren't important then more instrumentals would climb the charts. You've
seen the rock concert DVD's and the people are singing the words. So if the lyrics
aren't extremely streamlined and moving it song along like a mystery page turner you
are are going to loose momentum. Sorry to get off on a rant. I haven't even scratched
the surface and I'm still learning new things every week. Whew - I guess I'm more passionate
about this than I realized. Sorry to run on - I'll stop. But please get Murphy's book - it's
the starting point that can save you years of trial and error.

[willross]

I dig the music. I was in a "Neo Soul" group for a few years and may try to reunite the band one more time...

There is a Bass at BBros that I've been looking at. Maybe. Although, I may be a bit too hyper to hold the line...

Apples? The U of M breeds many varieties. So, a lot of apples around here too...


Cheers,

Will

[jwebsmall]

I've been admiring Will's photographs of geometric design
using inspects. The patterns are beautiful.

http://www.palaia.net/m/l/will_ross/

I keep searching the photo for a hidden hyperlink
to Will's band but I haven't found it yet.

[willross]

Hey, thanks. I have more shots of the house & property, but that one seems balanced enough. I have a few hundred photos that I've yet to scan and do anything with, including Florida Monsoon clouds and flower close-ups too. No links to music up there for now. I'm shopping for a deal again so more material will go up after the Grammy's in Feb. A search for "will" or "william ross" should turn up a few bits...

I dig that axe of yours; Fullerton Red?


Cheers,

Will

[jwebsmall]

Yes it is Fullerton Red with a #1C neck.

I picked it up at the dealer and couldn't put it down.
I traded 2 F_ clones for the USA Legacy and the Tribute SB-2 bass.
Never looked back.

Sorry to be so stupid. I found you:

http://www.williamrossmusic.com/

This is so beautiful. I'm going to listen to this while
I work writing software!

[bassman]

. Multi-string basses are fun to play but you have to keep all of those extra strings quiet when playing and that can add up to a lot of extra work leading some of us bassists to stick with 4 strings.

Don't let this guy scare you (although I am sure he plays quite well), muting is very simple. There is a technique called 'floating thumb' that I apparently developed to some extent, you just move your thumb around over the lower strings to damp em. I just use B E or A as thumb rests, depending where I am playing and have the body of my thumb resting elsewise. Works splendid, noise is never an issue and the movement becomes so natural you don't need to worry about playing accross strings or it slowing you down. Thing is it took getting a 5 to make me learn how to do it . Muting was less crucial prior, it seems.

I am not trying to "scare" anyone. The question was what bass to rec. for a beginner!
I am very well acquainted with "floating thumb" but don't expect a newbie to get it or be able to use it without a bit of practice.
Muting strings is always an issue on any bass. I don't care if its a three string bass, you have to mute open strings to play cleanly and it becomes more work on multi-string basses but some bass players are noisier than others because they don't bother to mute.

[bassman]

The Capital Blues ensemble looks and sounds really cool.

http://www.myspace.com/capitalbluesensemble

I like "Every Dog has his day".

Bassman must be Brian Carey.

Are you still play Le VILLAGE Sunday nights?

Le VILLAGE 301 595 7345
11436 Cherry Hill Rd.
Beltsville Maryland

I bet it sounds even better live!!!

Le Village closed down right after we played there twice, with a raft of permitting violations but it was fun to play there while it was open.
The band sounds Great. We are playing at the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt MD. on Dec 2.

My first name is Bill, not Brian BTW.