HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass
Subject: Re: Amp info?
From: doug@baton.ccit.arizona.edu (Doug Wellington)
Date: 6 Oct 1992 08:16 MST  
Distribution: world,local
Organization: University of Arizona
Keywords: Bass Amp
Summary: ADA is easily switchable
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    

In article <1992Oct6.124851.1@sara.cc.utu.fi>,
 jhaukioj@sara.cc.utu.fi (Jussi Haukioja) writes...
>I'm planning to buy a new amp in a couple of weeks, but haven't made up my mind
>yet on which one to get. I'm considering buying either a Hartke or a Trace
>Elliot combo (maybe a Dynacord wouldn't be out of the question, either). I was
>wondering if anyone had any experience on using one of these with an upright
>and an electric plugged in at the same time. I'm doing theater gigs using both
>basses, and changing the settings while you switch basses doesn't look good on
>stage (and results in a worse tone quality, since you can't check the sound).
>I've been using a separate eq on the electric for this, but the best solution
>would be an amp with built-in eq for the other input (or for both). I
>understand that both Hartke and Trace Elliot have combos with this kind of
>equipment. 
>If anyone has done what I've described above with either of these amps (or some
>other one in the same price range), I'd be very grateful for  the information.

If you don't mind having a separate preamp/amp/cabinet, which I think adds
flexibility, but does involve carrying around separate pieces, look at the
ADA stuff.  The ADA preamp is MIDI controlled and has quite good control over
EQ.  The nice thing about that is that all you do is step on one button on
a MIDI control pedal (or other MIDI device) to change parameters from one
bass to the other.  I have seen Victor Wooton play live (Flecktones) and he
uses a pedal to change his ADA when he switches from fretted to fretless bass.
Two more of my heros, Les Claypool and Steve Bailey, also use the ADA rig.
Victor actually had the preamp and amp in a small road case, and was playing
through both an ADA cab and an SWR.  Sounded great!

Good luck choosing,
-Doug
From: doug@baton.ccit.arizona.edu (Doug Wellington)
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass
Subject: Re: Slap Style
Summary: Get The Slap Bass Program and some light stainless strings
Keywords: Slap it 'til ya go blind or deaf!
Date: 30 Sep 92 22:47:00 GMT
Distribution: world,local
Organization: University of Arizona
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <1992Sep28.213843.22786@qualcomm.com>,
 dweber@crow.qualcomm.com (Dan Weber) writes...
> 
>   I need some help learning the slap style of playing: I recently
>  Joined a band and there are some parts that require slap bass; the
>  problem is that I play an old Gibson EB-0 bass with fairly high action
>  and narrow neck width making my attempts at slapping very poor sounding.
>  Are some basses better suited at getting a good slap tone? Is a wider
>  neck better (easier to hit the strings without hitting anonther)?
>  If I can't get it to sound right they've been talking about letting the 
>  computer do the slap parts for me! (How humiliating!)
> 
>  Frustrated and not wanting to buy another bass,
> 
>  Dano

Forget Stu Hamm's video, get The Slap Bass Program from Video Progressions.
It's by Alexis Sklarevski, the bass columnist for Guitar Player Mag.
This is _THE BEST WAY_ to learn how to slap.  After you finish this video,
then get Tony Oppenheim's _Slap It!_ book.  The video will give you the
foundation to handle the patterns that Tony has written out.  (My
personal favorite is probably example 3 on page 25...)

The important thing to realize is that you can't learn to slap in a day.
Take your time and play slowly and deliberately at first.  Watch the
string noise and make sure that you get a nice solid thump when you
slap with your thumb and a nice solid crack! when you pop.  Try slapping
and popping octave patterns at first.  Use your first and fourth fingers
to fret some octave (say C) on the A and G strings.  Use your second
(middle) finger to mute the E string.  If you flatten your first finger
slightly, it will mute the D string.  You may also be able to mute the
D with your third (ring) finger, but I just let mine hang out next to
my second finger.  With the proper muting, it doesn't matter if you
happen to hit two strings with your thumb, which you will probably do
when trying to slap without looking.  (Well, *I* did...)

Another big thing for me is the strings.  I used to use nickel strings
with 45,65,85,105 and 135 for the low B, but they didn't work very well
for slapping.  Then I switched to stainless strings going 40,58,80,102,135.
What a difference!  Having that 40 makes it so much easier to pop,
even though my fingers seem to stick to the stainless strings more.
If it matters, I'm using Ken Smith strings. (It's the only thing from
Smith that I'll buy.)  I may even try a 35 or 38 G next time too.  It
sure is amazing what fifteen bucks of strings can do!

Well if they do use the computer, then "Book 'em Dano, Bass Abuse One!"
(Sorry, couldn't hep m'self! ;-) )

Slap yourself silly!
-Doug
From: harden@acsu.buffalo.edu (Alex Harden)
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass
Subject: Re: Billy Gould - Faith No More
Date: 4 Oct 92 19:44:02 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: UB

alee@nyx.cs.du.edu (alex lee) writes:

->I just bought the new Faith No More album, "Angel Dust" and I have really
->grown fond of the style of their bassist, Billy Gould.
-> 
->Does anyone have any info on the guy, or better yet some TAB from the
->Angel Dust album (I have 'A Small Victory" already) or their last album,
->"Epic"?  This guy is great..  a cross between Cliff Burton and Les
->Claypool.  Give it a listen and I'm sure you'll like it.

not sure about the tab [although i'm sure 'epic' has been tabbed in a 
magazine], but i would suggest a good way to learn is just to listen to the
album and play along; the guitar line sometimes doubles the bass line, so you
can usually hear everything that's going on.  a few i've learned [or trying to
learn] from the new album are 'land of sunshine', 'smaller and smaller', and
'a small victory' [yes i cheated and got the tab]

hope this helps.

-- 
alex harden-------------- "some are born to rule the world to live their
harden@acsu.buffalo.edu--  fantasies; most of us just dream about the things
v409epk3@ubvms.bitnet----  we'd like to be" - peart "losing it" 1982
From: hl27+@andrew.cmu.edu (Haw Juin Lin)
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass
Subject: Re: Slap Style
Date: 6 Oct 92 00:59:04 GMT
	<1992Oct5.180304.23109@col.hp.com>
Distribution: world,local
Organization: Freshman, CIT general, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA


 friedman@col.hp.com (John Friedman)
>Primus SUCKS!!!


<grin>

Les Rules. 



Merlin
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass
From: merk@unislc.uucp (John Merk)
Subject: RE: Singing and Playing
Organization: Unisys Corporation SLC
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 18:41:49 GMT

I've just started doing this and thought I'd share my approach.  The first
thing is to know both parts very well, independently.  Then, add them
together.  I play mostly in original bands and have to come up with my own
lines.  Typically, I'll already have the bass line down, so I add the vocal
by listening to a tape of the song, singing with it.  After figuring out 
my vocal part, I listen to how it relates to the bass part, where is it
similar? different?  OK, now I forget about the similar parts and go over 
the differing parts again.  Is the difference melodic or rhythmic?  Personally,
I find rhythmic differences to be the most troublesome, so I concentrate on
them.  How many bass notes before the next vocal note? vocal notes before the
next bass note?  I also try to find clues like the word that I sing that also
marks the beginning of a phrase on bass.  Only after I've completed these 
steps do I pick up my bass and actually try doing both together, slowly at
first, then at tempo listening to the tape.

Hope this helps.  Enjoy!

John
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
John C. Merk                                 E-mail: merk@unislc.slc.unisys.com
Unisys Corporation                          
322 N. 2200 W.                                             Voice: (801)594-6756
Salt Lake City, UT 84121                                     FAX: (801)594-6708
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
From: rost@rgb.dec.com (My name is Brian Rost)
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass
Subject: Re: A Learning Experience
Date: 5 Oct 92 21:42:42 GMT
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation


In article <9210040316.AA13306@moeng2.morgan.edu>, glenn@moeng2.morgan.edu (D. Glenn Arthur Jr.) writes...
>Has asked if I'm good enough to play for a musical he's
>involved in.  I said I didn't know, but if he'd get me a 
>copy of the score to look at, I'd tell him.
> 
>Fortunately, I've been learning to read bass clef lately.
>Unfortunately, this is a recent development and I am not 
>good at it yet.  Okay, I'll try to cope with that...
> 
>Wow.  Lots of flats in the key signatures.  There's one 
>piece in C, one in G, a few in F, and everything else has 
>at least three flats in the key signature.
> 
>I knew I wasn't a terrible _well_rounded_ musician, but 
>I hadn't realized there was this particular hole in my
>experience -- I'm not used to playing in flat keys.

Here's a situation that shows how limiting it can be if you can't read music. 

I got in a similar situation where I was invited to play in a big band and was
handed some charts with *no chord symbols*.  The guy who was vacating the bass
chair told me he didn't use the charts, he can't read, but made up parts by ear
(!!!) during rehearsals.  

There's more to the music biz than rock and funk, and in most of it reading is
a prerequisite.  I am painfully aware of the many musical opportunities closed
to me because of my poor sight reading.  It's like not knowing how to read or
write English.

As far as playing in flat keys, get together with some horn players, they
*live* in the flat keys. Working on some old R&B or jump tunes will get your
chops in the flat keys together *fast*.  Nowadays I'm comfortable in all keys
as a result of playing in a band with horns for six years.  

					Brian Rost @rgb.enet.dec.com

					508-568-6115

	****************************************************
	*						   *
	*  The above does not reflect the opinions of	   *
	*  my employer.					   *
	*						   *
	*  If music is outlawed, only outlaws will be      *	   
	*  musicians.					   *
	*						   *
	****************************************************
From: bobdavis@mighty.viewlogic.com (Bob Davis)
Subject: polytone mini-brute speaker question
Originator: bobdavis@mighty
Keywords: speaker
Organization: Viewlogic Systems, Inc.
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 20:15:09 GMT


A good friend of mine has a polytone mini-brute which he's used for
a very long time.  Lately it's been rather lacking in output capacity,
and I suspect the elderly, worn driver is the culprit.  I checked out
the power amp and power supplies and everything seemed peachy (except
for a grounding problem and related buzz, which I fixed).

I understand that polytone is out of business.  If anyone knows who,
if anyone, is supplying parts for polytone, that would be interesting.
Also, if any folks have tried alternative 10" drivers in this (rather
small, sealed) box, that would be of interest.
-- 
Bob Davis -- bobdavis@viewlogic.com
"Gumby for President (Write-in candidate, No-Bogosity[tm] Party)"
From: rost@rgb.dec.com (My name is Brian Rost)
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass
Subject: Re: Les Paul Signature Bass
Date: 28 Sep 92 13:18:57 GMT
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation


In article <90587@netnews.upenn.edu>, jhyatt@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Jason Hyatt) writes...
>I've been playing a Gibson Les Paul Signature Bass for a while now.
>It's got one soap-bar-type pickup and a semi-hollow body.  I bought 
>it real cheap used.  I recently saw my same bass in Guitar Magazine's
>buyer's guide list priced at just over $1500.  Are the older models also this
>valuable?  Please clue me in on my bass.
> 
>Thankx

The last specimen I saw sold for $300 and it was in cherry condition, too. 
Personally I think that Gibson is wacko reissuing the LP bass and coming up
with new variants, since the LP basses are probably the least desirable Gibson
basses.  Particularly at $1500!!!

					Brian Rost @rgb.enet.dec.com

					508-568-6115

	****************************************************
	*						   *
	*  The above does not reflect the opinions of	   *
	*  my employer.					   *
	*						   *
	*  If music is outlawed, only outlaws will be      *	   
	*  musicians.					   *
	*						   *
	****************************************************
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass
From: alee@nyx.cs.du.edu (alex lee)
Subject: Billy Gould - Faith No More
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Distribution: usa
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 92 04:31:53 GMT


I just bought the new Faith No More album, "Angel Dust" and I have really
grown fond of the style of their bassist, Billy Gould.
 
Does anyone have any info on the guy, or better yet some TAB from the
Angel Dust album (I have 'A Small Victory" already) or their last album,
"Epic"?  This guy is great..  a cross between Cliff Burton and Les
Claypool.  Give it a listen and I'm sure you'll like it.
 

Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass
From: mojo@reed.edu (Treacle, mostly.)
Subject: Re: Drummer seeks advice from bassists
Organization: every place is the same every place is the same
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 23:11:54 GMT
Distribution: alt

In article <mcampbel.718327006@eola.cs.ucf.edu> mcampbel@cs.ucf.edu (Mike Campbell ) writes:
>I've heard from people that I should
>start with guitar, then move to bass.  I don't really want to do this, since

Hmm.  I don't think that playing electric guitar (in a band, I mean) would
be of much help in learning bass.  However, I learned a whole lot of stuff
about chord construction while playing solo acoustic guitar, which was
really valuable when I switched to bass.

I think I'd suggest that you at least get or borrow a cheap acoustic, and
learn to play it enough to experiment with chords and progressions.  It
doesn't take long.

>2) If I decide to go with this, should I get a book and start plinking, or is
>an instructor the way to go?

The obvious answer is "whatever works."  I imagine you'd want an instructor,
or at least a bass-playing friend, to get you started in the right direction
on fundamental stuff.

>3) What should I do about eqpt?  Should I go whole hog and get a nice bass rig,
>or something that "will do" on which to learn.  I favor the latter, again for

Me too.  For one thing, you can do a whole lot with a cheap bass rig---I got
my bass for $125 at a pawnshop and am still playing it...Also, it would be
sort of unpleasant to spend a lot of money on a high-quality setup, then
find yourself developing a style for which your equipment was totally
unsuited (thrash-funk on a Gibson, or some such).


I think you've got a great idea.  I barely play drums at all, but from what
I can tell, the two instruments can cross-fertilize a whole lot, to the
benefit of both.

	NT
-- 
/^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\
| It's worse than that,  {      Nathan Tenny      }  Acme Hedgehog Inserters  |
| it's physics, Jim!     {        mojo@reed.edu   }  Implementation Director  |
\^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^/
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass
From: lrm28@cas.org ()
Subject: Re: J-Bass vs P-Bass pickups
Organization: Chemical Abstracts Service, Columbus, Ohio
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 12:17:20 GMT

In article <1992Oct1.065217.15178@panix.com> rdr@panix.com (Reuben Radding) writes:
>In <92274.105647KXN2@psuvm.psu.edu> KXN2@psuvm.psu.edu (Karl Nordstrom) writes:
>
>>Whats the difference between the Fender Jazz's and the Precision's pickups?
>
>The Jazz's pickups are humbuckers (two coil) as opposed to the
>twin single coil pickups on the P-bass. Both J and P style p[ickups
>use polepieces. The Jazz "neck" pickup is roughly in the same position
>as the pickups on a P-bass. Many people like the sound of the P and J
>pickups in combonation. (P in front--as normal--J in back) I like stock
>P-basses and J-basses, and the combo also. Each bass is different.
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Reuben Radding           "Eliminate the ninnies       |

Just one correction.  _Fender_ Jazz pickups are single coil.  The two are
wired out of phase, which makes them less noisy.  It works the same as a
Fender Strat using two pickups.  The Precision pickup is a humbucker.

I second the sound a P-J setup can give.  If you have room, add a mixer
to actively mix the two pickups.  It makes a workd of difference.
-- 
Luke Mayercin  lrm28@cas.org  "Why does ear wax taste like it does?"
Chemical Abstracts Service is not responsible for these comments.
From: mojo@reed.edu (An ole crab was I ere I saw Barcelona.)
Subject: Re: Slap Style 
Organization: Those Meddling Kids!
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 01:06:50 GMT


I have a Gibson EB-2, and even with an active pickup I find it pretty much
impossible to slap with.  I can use a slap sort of technique for accents,
but it doesn't get the canonical slap-bass tone at all.

I think it's mostly the body construction---hollow bodies tend to increase
mud levels, which you don't want when slapping.  If your EB-0 has its
original pickup, I imagine that would be sort of a hindrance too.

People who actually slap a lot seem to like P-basses and copies.

	NT
-- 
"A ginger beer plant is sort of like Azathoth." -James Robinson, Amorphous Mass
                                                 and drummer extraordinaire
Nathan Tenny                     mojo@reed.edu
                                 tenny@euclid.uoregon.edu
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass
From: mlaurenc@world.std.com (Matt Laurence)
Subject: Info on Carvins?
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 05:03:27 GMT

Hey there, fellow bottomphiles!

I've been away for this group for a while, and I have come to 
the conclusion in this period that it is time for me to start checking
out 5-strings. I've also digested a lot of info and have come to the
conclusion that active electronics might be a good thing (my Bass
Collection is just too soft for my liking - a preamp would really
do the trick). Anyway, in this department, the Modulus or Alembic
is what really tweaks my peak, but since those are but expensive 
pipe dreams, I'm looking at the Carvin LB-75. Bass Player seemed to
like it alot (well, it's 4-string brother the LB-70) and called it
a best buy, except for the lightly less exciting high-end tone. But
Now Carvin claims to have fixed that with better pickups, and their
"sale" is on until Decmeber. So I'm considering dropping the $700 for
this model. Does anyone know anything about this bass? It's kind of 
unfortunate they are only avilable direct from the factory - makes
it kind of tough to try one out!

Any comments, experiences or other suggestions would be great.

Matt

P.S. Of course, if anyone has a good Modulus out there for 
under $1500, let me know!

From: ohashi@hpkidmb.kobe.hp.com (Yasufumi Ohashi)
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 12:23:37 GMT
Subject: Re: Weak Fingers
Organization: YHP KID Marketing, Kobe Japan
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass

>   Well thanks for the advice on buying a beginners bass. I have taken heed of
>all your suggestions and found the bass for me. I've had it for two days now
>and are practicing madly. However, my fingers are too small! I'm having a real
>struggle keeping those strings down. Is this a common beginners complaint? Will
>my fingers stretch and strengthen? Any advice on fingering and technique would
>be appreciated.

First of all, check your left thumb position.  The thumb must be placed on
the back of the neck.  Many beginners grip the neck, so they cannot hold
the string perfectly.

When the finger is holding the string, the thumb must be is placed
on the back of the holding finger.  This figure shows it.

     RIGHT THUMB POSITION                   WRONG THUMB POSITION
            i  m  r  l                           i  m  r  l 
            v     v  v fingers                   v     v  v 
_______________v___________ string     _____________v__________
---------------------------            ------------------------
               ^
             force          neck
               v                        ^  thumb (wrong position)
---------------------------            ------------------------
               ^  thumb 
                (right position)

Anyway, the most significant is practice and practice.
I'm practicing based on diatonic scale.  These are my practice pattern.


Pattern 1
G ---------------------------------------------------------4-----4-
D ----------------------------------4-----4-6--4-6-7-4-6-7---6-7---
A ----------4-----4-5---4-5-7-4-5-7---5-7-----7--------------------
E --5-4-5-7---5-7-----7--------------------------------------------continue

    
Pattern 2 (Hanon)
G ----------------------------------------------------------4-------
D ----------4-------------4-6-4---------4-6-7-6-4-----4-6-7---7-6-4-
A ----4-5-7---7-5-4---5-7-------7-5-4-7-----------7-5---------------
E --5---------------7-----------------------------------------------

G --------4-6-4---------4-6-7-6-4-----4-6-7-6-4---------------|
D ----6-7-------7-6-4-7-----------7-6-----------7-6-7---------|
A --7-------------------------------------------------7-4-7---|
E ----------------------------------------------------------5-|


Pattern 3
G ||.------------------4---4-7-6----------------------.||
D || ------------6---6---6-------7-4-7-4--7----------- ||
A ||.----4-7-4-7---7---------------------5--5---5-----.||
E || --5--------------------------------------7---7-4- || repeat


Cheers!
--
Yasufumi Ohashi
Yokogawa Hewlett Packard, Ltd.
Kobe Instrument Division
Kobe, Japan
Xref: sparky alt.guitar.bass:1456 alt.guitar:8418 rec.music.makers:9881 misc.forsale:27394
From: ttesta@dempr0.enet.dec.com (Tom Testagrossa)
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass,alt.guitar,rec.music.makers,misc.forsale
Subject: BRAND NEW Rickenbacker basses w/cases FOR SALE, 4003/S-$699, 4003-$795
Date: 28 Sep 92 15:38:57 GMT
Reply-To: ttesta@dempr0.enet.dec.com (Tom Testagrossa)
Followup-To: alt.guitar.bass
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard, Ma.


	Neither one of these basses has EVER been played! (I'm not a bass
player!)
      Both of these basses were ordered by a friend who unfortunately
      was not able to pay for them (even at a very GOOD price!) 

			    	FOR SALE
    	BRAND NEW Maple-glo (natural) Rickenbacker 4003/S bass (Mono, Dot
    inlaid fingerboard, no binding) Includes hard case and warrentee!
    	The price is $699, case included!

    				also FOR SALE
    BRAND NEW Jet-glo Black Rickenbacker 4003 bass (Stereo, triangle inlaid
    fingerboard) Includes hard case and warrentee!
    	The price is $795, case included!

	(That's nearly $100 less than most music stores will sell one for,
    and probably as close to dealer cost as you are likely to get...)


    	Shipping within the U.S. can be arranged...
    Contact me via E-mail if interested...
From: aaron@minster.york.ac.uk
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass
Subject: Re: Slap Style
Date: 6 Oct 92 08:24:07 GMT
Distribution: world,local
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of York, England
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]

Haw Juin Lin (hl27+@andrew.cmu.edu) wrote:
: Les Rules. 

But he doesn't really slap per se, more strums hard
(or at least that is what it sounds like to me and it
 is the only way I can emulate the sound)

	Aaron Turner	aaron@minster.york.ac.uk
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass
From: whale@leland.Stanford.EDU (Stephen Schmidt)
Subject: FAQ
Organization: DSG, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 18:47:12 GMT

thanks to all who comment on the new FAQ version, especially Nathan Jannete
whom I can't thank in mail because his address bounced :)

-- 
Steve Schmidt			<><		   whale@leland.stanford.edu
I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist
indoctrination, Communist subversion, and the international Communist
conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids!
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass