Randy P
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/08 14:46:33
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It's not that I think "everyone" is a moron.
http://www.soundclick.com/riprorenband
The music biz is a cruel and shallow money trench,a plastic hallway where thieves & pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side. Hunter S. Thompson
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The Maillard Reaction
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/08 15:09:53
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I went to school for visual arts.
I naively took a "theory for non majors" class at the Music School.
I was assigned the task of transcribing something so I choose a Louis Armstrong solo to work with.
I got most of it figured out but there was this one note or section of notes that was driving me crazy.
After a few days I figured out Louis was playing the very same note repetitively and that I had searched for a match every where but.
It was a powerful lesson and one I apply when playing bass.
best regards,
mike
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SteveStrummerUK
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/08 15:18:00
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rsp@odyssey.net
It's not that I think "everyone" is a moron.
It's a good idea if you want 3 or 4 wives though.
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drewfx1
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/08 15:26:13
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I found I had to think different conceptually when I picked up guitar.
It's not a matter of "simple" verses "lead"; it's a matter of where things sit in the big picture. A bass guitar is not the same as a guitar an octave lower and vise versa; it's a different instrument.
I always think of it in terms of Jimmy Page wailing (and posing) in the spotlight while JPJ is smiling at and grooving with Bonzo (but not necessarily playing "simple" lines) in the background. One guy's out front and on top of everything and the other's in the background playing either underneath or in the middle of everything.
 In order, then, to discover the limit of deepest tones, it is necessary not only to produce very violent agitations in the air but to give these the form of simple pendular vibrations. - Hermann von Helmholtz, predicting the role of the electric bassist in 1877.
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craigb
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/08 15:32:26
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SteveStrummerUK
Playing bass guitar is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman....
So Bapu might get arrested for being with Am?
Time for all of you to head over to Beyond My DAW!
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bapu
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/08 15:36:03
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jamesg1213
nailing jelly to the wall.
How did you know the name of my next prog piece?
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bapu
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Guitarhacker
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/08 17:01:53
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At the risk of being in the "moron" class.....
I've heard that many bass players are nothing more than frustrated guitar players who for one reason or another decided bass would be easier than learning to play 2 more strings and play chords and leads and things.....
I have known a few who did fit that category.
Then there are the ones who know less than nothing and somehow or another managed to learn the 3 note pattern to a RR or simple country song and that's how they play everything. By memorizing the notes and their positions. I played in a band with a guy like that too.... he owned the PA and the truck.... and he told me that he bought them so he would be "needed" in a band. He actually had a pretty good memory and I was able to teach him some pretty complicated tunes in this manner. In the end.... it worked.
Then you have the guys who actually know how to play... I mean really play the bass.
I have owned a bass or two in my time....and playing it, while on a basic level is fairly easy... to get it to sound good without buzzing the frets and sloppiness..... does take some effort.
My website & music: www.herbhartley.com MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface BMI/NSAI "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer "
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RobertB
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/08 17:29:18
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jamesg1213 When you know what you're doing, you can start to bend the rules.
I thank my high school art teacher, Mrs. Anderson, for driving this point home many years ago. Me: Why , oh why, do we have to do these stupid drills? Mrs. Anderson: So that when you spread your wings, you will know how to fly. She was sooo right.
My Soundclick Page SONAR Professional, X3eStudio,W7 64bit, AMD Athlon IIx4 2.8Ghz, 4GB RAM, 64bit, AKAI EIE Pro, Nektar Impact LX61,Alesis DM6,Alesis ControlPad,Yamaha MG10/2,Alesis M1Mk2 monitors,Samson Servo300,assorted guitars,Lava Lamp Shimozu-Kushiari or Bob
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Janet
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/08 17:49:41
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As I'm sure you know, I picked up the bass a couple of years ago because there weren't enough bass players around. Once I found the C, G, C, G bluegrass rhythm, I 'got it.' Fortunately I have some good bass playing friends who help me take it to the next level.
Funny thing is, there's another bass player around here that I really admire...he sounds amazing and I love what he plays. But when the leader wanted to play two bluegrass songs, he had no idea what to do. It was bugging me, so I played it for him on the piano. He said, 'oh yeah,' but still didn't get it. That's one time when I really wanted to take that bass from him and play it myself. Guess he's just to young to know that style or something. :)
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bapu
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/08 19:26:47
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What is this "play the bass you all speak of"? The bass plays me.  THIS is my son's favorite song about playin' the bass.
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sharke
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/08 21:27:00
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I think any Little Feat album is a good starting point to learn how to play bass tastefully.
JamesWindows 10, Sonar SPlat (64-bit), Intel i7-4930K, 32GB RAM, RME Babyface, AKAI MPK Mini, Roland A-800 Pro, Focusrite VRM Box, Komplete 10 Ultimate, 2012 American Telecaster!
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Moshkiae
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/12 15:02:45
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I went to school for visual arts. I naively took a "theory for non majors" class at the Music School.
Cal Berkeley has a course ... "Physics for Poets" ... and it was excellent! I finally got an A on a physics course! And that teacher ... became famous! And my English was terrible ... but I was right at home with philosophy and poetry!
post edited by Moshkiae - 2013/01/12 15:05:09
As a wise Guy once stated from his holy chapala ... none of the hits, none of the time ... prevents you from becoming just another turkey in the middle of all the other turkeys!
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The Maillard Reaction
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/12 15:09:21
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drewfx1
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/12 15:15:49
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☄ Helpful
I'm surprised that a thread on bass playing took this long to get to physics, poetry and philosophy. Or did everyone just know it was implied from the start? 
In order, then, to discover the limit of deepest tones, it is necessary not only to produce very violent agitations in the air but to give these the form of simple pendular vibrations. - Hermann von Helmholtz, predicting the role of the electric bassist in 1877.
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Rain
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/12 15:33:45
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drewfx1
I found I had to think different conceptually when I picked up guitar.
It's not a matter of "simple" verses "lead"; it's a matter of where things sit in the big picture. A bass guitar is not the same as a guitar an octave lower and vise versa; it's a different instrument.
I always think of it in terms of Jimmy Page wailing (and posing) in the spotlight while JPJ is smiling at and grooving with Bonzo (but not necessarily playing "simple" lines) in the background. One guy's out front and on top of everything and the other's in the background playing either underneath or in the middle of everything.
And then you have Paul McCartney, playing lead bass all the way through... ;) JPJ is an incredible musician. Granted he may have been the most quiet/spotlight-shy member in Zeppelin - but then again, when you're surrounded by Page, Plant and Bonzo, who wouldn't be... I'm glad I had the opportunity to see him w/ Them Crooked Vultures - I knew he was one of the greats, but there's nothing like seeing a master at work. The crowd gave him a (totally deserved) long standing ovation that night. That made up for the few dimwits screaming "Stairway to Heaven" in the audience. ;)
post edited by Rain - 2013/01/12 15:35:26
TCB - Tea, Cats, Books...
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craigb
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/12 16:10:22
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Rain
That made up for the few dimwits screaming "Stairway to Heaven" in the audience. ;)
Idiots. Everyone knows you're supposed to scream "Play Freebird!"
Time for all of you to head over to Beyond My DAW!
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Moshkiae
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/13 13:22:36
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drewfx1
It's not a matter of "simple" verses "lead"; it's a matter of where things sit in the big picture. A bass guitar is not the same as a guitar an octave lower and vise versa; it's a different instrument. That's one of my issues that makes a lot of rock music fall down the scale so far for me ... the bass is nothing but a support to keep something else going, and in essence, that is a very basic, and high school'ish music design for folks that are learning music instead of playing it and within a professional context -- which pre-supposes the bigenning stuff! You can look at a staff for ... Tosca, let's say ... with its 30 or so instruments and different things ... and that bass is not an octave lower, and neither is that violin an octave higher, or that simple ... 4 different violins are doing 4 different things, and I'm not sure that a rock'n'roller, can think outside the box and into a more diverse universe! Thus, what is "progressive" music, is the one that goes away from the simplistic and "beginner" level in musice to an area that spreads the ability of the instrument and the player. The only thing that a score/staff can't do or represent well, is the "attitude" and some of the vocals that the 20th century taught us ... how do you put in words on a score "sarcasm with challenge" (Jim with Light My Fire) as a nice example, or "poetic and dreamy expressive" (Jim in When the music is over turn out the lights) in a way that even opera never did or could ... and even the great MEN singers of the 20th century did not improve the norm or standard (in classical music), whereas the women saw a vastly improved standard by the women (Callas, Tebaldi, Nielsen) who challenged the status quo in opera singing, and made it even better. In the case of the women, it was more individuality than it was anything else ... and that goes well with what became the main thrust in rock music right after. I doubt I will ever get good enough to play bass with a high school band ... I have no delusions over that whatsoever ... but the history of the rest, is not about me ... and it is highly visible ... if anyone wants to put their glasses to it. Thus, again, hearing that one instrument ahs to support the other, is simply stated, very basic and high schoolish music learning and not what the "GREAT" groups ever did ... which was to improve and change the "basic" design and concept of things! We just don't seem to "get" that part!
post edited by Moshkiae - 2013/01/13 13:34:38
As a wise Guy once stated from his holy chapala ... none of the hits, none of the time ... prevents you from becoming just another turkey in the middle of all the other turkeys!
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Moshkiae
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/13 13:32:46
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RainJPJ is an incredible musician. Granted he may have been the most quiet/spotlight-shy member in Zeppelin - but then again, when you're surrounded by Page, Plant and Bonzo, who wouldn't be... I don't think he was that shy ... I think he had more on his plate, since he also had to play keyboards and then get the bass and then switch back and such, and the concentration was probably harder for him ... than the others ... Jimmy could play an extra this or that ... while Robert stretched ... "my love" to about 72 and a half seconds, which meant that JPJ had to stick on the keyboards longer, before making the quick change ... and so on ... in so many ways, he was the one that could not "improvise" a whole lot, compared to the others. Bonzo, I don't know what to say, as he was known to be seriously out of it several times, but the playing still came! Except once when he was replaced in LA by a roadie ... and it is on the bootleg "Bonzo's Birthday Party" (used to be 3 LP's), which all of a sudden lost a lot of energy ... in the last 5 or 6 pieces, that appeared they were just going through the motions!
As a wise Guy once stated from his holy chapala ... none of the hits, none of the time ... prevents you from becoming just another turkey in the middle of all the other turkeys!
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jamesg1213
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/13 14:18:57
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Moshkiae
drewfx1
It's not a matter of "simple" verses "lead"; it's a matter of where things sit in the big picture. A bass guitar is not the same as a guitar an octave lower and vise versa; it's a different instrument.
That's one of my issues that makes a lot of rock music fall down the scale so far for me ... the bass is nothing but a support to keep something else going, and in essence, that is a very basic, and high school'ish music design for folks that are learning music instead of playing it and within a professional context -- which pre-supposes the bigenning stuff!
You can look at a staff for ... Tosca, let's say ... with its 30 or so instruments and different things ... and that bass is not an octave lower, and neither is that violin an octave higher, or that simple ... 4 different violins are doing 4 different things, and I'm not sure that a rock'n'roller, can think outside the box and into a more diverse universe!
The point Drew was making Pedro, is that if you tune a guitar part down an octave, you don't get a bass line. It's a different instrument to a guitar and creates it's own space in the music. I don't think anyone's suggesting it's a 'lesser' instrument, each part is vital to the whole. Guitar, bass, drums and vocals, is a combo that has stood the test of time for rock music, it just works. Comparing rock music to an opera like Tosca is like saying an owl is more feathery than an ocelot.
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Moshkiae
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/16 12:26:13
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The point Drew was making Pedro, is that if you tune a guitar part down an octave, you don't get a bass line. It's a different instrument to a guitar and creates it's own space in the music. I don't think anyone's suggesting it's a 'lesser' instrument, each part is vital to the whole. Guitar, bass, drums and vocals, is a combo that has stood the test of time for rock music, it just works. Any combination works ... not just the "standard" rock music format ... but we are going around talking like those things never happened before ... and that IS something that orchestras do to 4 different violins, for example ... you're trying to defend a simplistic source of music ... with even more simplistic information ... because you don't believe music history has ever existed! Nothing is less than any other work ... but thinking that is the endallbeall in music, like so many folks here have a tendency to do ... gets ... you know ... I don't like to say that you guys know less or more than anyone ... I'm all for making sure rock music has its place in history ... but the legacy is not about one thing ... it's about spreading what was already in music ... wayyyyyy further than before ... just like it has been for 500 or 1000 years! So a bass player, decided to surprise the guitar player and tune down a song ... during rehearsal, and see what the guitar player did ... and the guitar player looked at the bass player, smiled ... and the guitar player flew on it ... and it became famous ... the guitarist was Stevie Ray Vaughn ... the bass players was interviewed about this in Bass Player magazine about a year ago ... it's nothing new ... it's been done a million times ... but we think it's novel that the guitar went down a peg or two! You might even say that ... it's tricks of the trade! Does it make a bass line? ... not necessarily, obviously! But it can make another line ... that might, or might not, be used, by a rhythm guitar (as we call it) or a 2nd, 3rd or 4th violin (as it used to be called) ... my only concern is that NOW, we are saying that YOU HAVE TO HAVE that bass line ... and you DON'T ... you just have to have MUSIC ... and if it works, it works, it won't matter what it will be called or what combination of instruments it has. Or what you do to the strings ... even using DIAPERS to damper the sound and get a different effect ... it's about YOU and your fooling around ... and having fun on it ... what it "is", is not important ... and is fun to discuss, I suppose and makes stuff like this sound bad ... and it's not meant to! Out of curiosity --- and I know nothing about "strings" ... wouldn't the strings be too thin to be able to handle/do the bass tones usually found on a bass guitar? I
As a wise Guy once stated from his holy chapala ... none of the hits, none of the time ... prevents you from becoming just another turkey in the middle of all the other turkeys!
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jamesg1213
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/16 13:13:24
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I'm not defending anything Pedro, I was trying to clarify someone else's post for you, because you appeared to have read something that wasn't said.
For all I care, a rock band can be made up of 8 bassoons and an African thumb piano. If it sounds good, I'll listen to it.
What I'm saying is, that there's probably a good reason why the basic rock band format has been knocking around for the last 7 decades and doesn't show any sign of disappearing.
If you'd like a recommendation for a great band with a very interesting blend of instruments btw, check out 'Bellowhead'. I'm not going to provide a link however, because I know you won't click it.
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craigb
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/16 15:00:14
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jamesg1213
For all I care, a rock band can be made up of 8 bassoons and an African thumb piano.
Man, I bet they don't get too much money each for a gig! Heck, you don't get much splitting the take between three people any more... 
Time for all of you to head over to Beyond My DAW!
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bayoubill
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/16 18:17:41
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OK I just picked mine up and played and
IT WAS EASY!
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drewfx1
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/16 21:42:17
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A thought just occurred to me.
If you're tempted to play "too much" when you pick up a bass you can try a trick I used to use to amuse myself during slow boring ballads at jazz band practice - play the bass line entirely with your thumbs (both hands).
It's also good for making your friends in the sax section crack up while they're trying to play!
In order, then, to discover the limit of deepest tones, it is necessary not only to produce very violent agitations in the air but to give these the form of simple pendular vibrations. - Hermann von Helmholtz, predicting the role of the electric bassist in 1877.
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Moshkiae
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/19 13:45:46
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If you'd like a recommendation for a great band with a very interesting blend of instruments btw, check out 'Bellowhead'. I'm not going to provide a link however, because I know you won't click it.
I listen to a lot of things, SPECIALLY, those given by the enemy!  Heck, I just got sent the new CD from the Djam Karet folks ... and you won't listen to that either ... and Gayle, after a large article I wrote on them that he thought was wonderful, kinda said it all for me ... they have no idea what key they are in, or what chord it is ... or what format it is supposed to take. It might start with an A, and end with a Z for all they know! You know what? ... it takes courage to be that open and crazy! It's much simpler to learn an ABC and go home with 50 bux! Welcome to THAT machine! AND, you obviously do not read a whole lot ... because you would know that if there is one person that appreciates the folk/folkrock/ and the English scene in that area ... it is the person that you think is a moron! And I have a bigger collection of these things than you can imagine! Hahhhhh ... what's the point ....
post edited by Moshkiae - 2013/01/19 13:53:46
As a wise Guy once stated from his holy chapala ... none of the hits, none of the time ... prevents you from becoming just another turkey in the middle of all the other turkeys!
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jamesg1213
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/19 13:57:17
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Moshkiae
Djam Karet Listening now to 'Old Soldier's Disease'..I like it. A cross between Oldfield and Focus. I shall investigate further, thanks for that, it's right up my street.
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Moshkiae
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Re:How hard is it to play the bass?
2013/01/20 17:32:40
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jamesg1213
Moshkiae
Djam Karet
Listening now to 'Old Soldier's Disease'..I like it. A cross between Oldfield and Focus. I shall investigate further, thanks for that, it's right up my street.
I absolutely love the guitar soundescapes in "Suspension and Replacement" and "Reflections from the Firepool". And you will know why I use the expression "dark clouds, no rain" so much! Their total ambient record with so many guests is excellent "Collaborator" ... and just yesterday Gayle sent me the new album ... "Herd of Instinct" ... and I have to tell you that this is the best thing I have heard by anyone in the part 5 or 6 years ... totally awesome and review upcoming when I get done gushing all over it! It's pure "progressive" in every sense of the definition, with unbelievable composition and work ... and above all ... just to show off ... NO COMPRESSION REQUIRED OR NECESSARY ... and the whole thing is just out of this world! Have to take a break and go listen to it again ... see you later! Can't even decide which cut is better ... the whole CD is top knotch! Only thing missing is Julibee's voice! And I think she would match up great with these guys!
post edited by Moshkiae - 2013/01/20 17:43:21
As a wise Guy once stated from his holy chapala ... none of the hits, none of the time ... prevents you from becoming just another turkey in the middle of all the other turkeys!
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