The World of Computer Software

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ The World of Computer Software / World_Of_Computer_Software-02-387-Vol-3of3.iso / b / bl287.zip / BL287.TXT next >

Wrap

Text File | 1993-03-10 | 37KB | 817 lines

/ \ / / - _--__| / | | / \ ________--__- O --- ____ | | \ \ / \ =======/-/=======| |) O --- ___ \ | / / ======/-/=====================| |) O--- ___ | / =====/-/===================================| |) O--- ___ ====/-/================================================| |) -__ ___/_/ _|_ | _ ___ ___ __|__ _ \__ __ \ ___\_\\-_ | |_ / \ | ) __ | | | | / \ | | \ \\ \\\\\\\\\-_ \_/ | \ |-- |--< / \ | \_/ \_/ _ |\ \ | | \__ | \ \__/ | ____ \ o \/\ |_\ /\| \_ |___/ ____---\\\\\\| \ \ \ \ \_ /\| \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\--- \_ \ \ \ _/\/ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\------ \_ \ __-\\\/ ---\\\\\\\- Issue #287 February 3, 1993 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To post: Subscriptions, deletions, requests: bass@uwplatt.edu bass-request@uwplatt.edu (Bitnet: bass@uwplatt.bitnet) (Bitnet: bass-request@uwplatt.bitnet) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today's topics: acoustic 140 bass amp Mingus..Wah..Jazz Quadraverb.... BBE 'Picking' hand methods... SPACEsonics RE: Quadraverb again Custom Alembics Acoutic intonation problem. Eden 210T cabinet review, also Recording QY10 for sale BBE 411 opinion RE: Three Finger Playing; More Fretless Playing? Spector Bass Rickenbacker 4001 RE: Three Finger Playing Benefit concert An introduction and some stuff... BBE's and Three Finger Playing... underrated players,watt,claypool. Objectivity vs. Advertisement Dollars ---------------------------------------------------------- Administrative notes: I'm a bit behind in getting to some administrative questions, file requests, etc., so please bear with me for a while until I get things straightened out. Kevin Oh, and a belated happy Ground Hog's day. Rumor has it we've got six more weeks of this winter stuff coming, although you wouldn't know it by the 50 degree weather Wisconsin's been having. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 1 Feb 93 23:30:16 EST From: shinh@nmr-r.MGH.Harvard.Edu Subject: acoustic 140 bass amp Hi y'all, Thanks to all who have been writing about Ampeg V4B's to me. I finally found one to play through. It sounds really nice, but the size and weight really turned me off. I had no idea those amps were such backbreakers. I guess I'm used to the transistor age... Anyhow, I ended up getting this Acoustic bass amp from a friend of mine. The model # is 140. He claims it puts out 100 watts into 8ohms. (dubious?) There's 2 sets of controls, (vol, bass, treble) with 2 inputs each. One of the inputs has a pad on it, maybe something like 10db. Each set of inputs alos has a "bright" switch. So, I was wondering if any of my fellow BottomLiners play through Acoustic amps. There's an output on the back called "Booster Output," and I can't seem to make head or tails of it. Does anyone know what this is for? DOes anyone know how much power this amp puts out? I haven't bought the amp yet. I'm kind of in a "trial" period. -Shin ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1993 00:11:05 -0600 From: christen@herky.cs.uiowa.edu Subject: Mingus..Wah..Jazz I finally found the time to read one of the issues which piled up during the Winter recess at school. I was a little upset at reading about someone who doesn't care for Joni's MINGUS album. I first heard it at age 14, and I didn't care for it. At age 18 when I started playing I thought some of the songs were O.K. (Jaco who? Oh...is that a bass?...) Now after playing for 10 years having gone through the Jaco emulation phase (and many others), I find that the songs I used to skip over (Chair in The Sky, etc ) are now my favorites. Though I've heard that the critics also panned this record, I know it's a plain fact that she actually sings in tune on the entire record. And not only is she in tune but the phrasing and execution of complex harmonic lines (which I suspect old Charlie had a big hand in) makes it probably her best vocal recording. Let the critics try singing the melody to Dry Cleaner From Des Moines. With out a doubt the magic of the entire session revolves around Jaco. Everything else seems to be dubbed over the bass track. I seem to remember that many different players recorded tracks for this record, (including Stanley Clarke) but the Jaco tracks became the focus. Wayne Shorter's Soprano is wonderful, not to mention the horns on Dry Cleaner.(Jaco's arrangement!!?) I think that anyone who doesn't care for this record should listen to it on a rainy day a few times a year. Certainly you will learn to respect it if not become as enamoured with it as I have. Besides Joni's first record, (when she didn't always sing in tune) this is the only one I can stand. For the record, I dislike "New Age" music (including Pat Methany), which I think might be the pidgeonhole that some people might put MINGUS in these days. I've played just about every kind of music (no classical...zzzz) professionally; Jazz, Blues, R & B, Soul, Polkas, Zydeco, Rock, Metal,..., but currently play in a very Jazz influenced 70's disco/funk band. The guitarist sounds like Scofield/Stern, the Tenor player sounds like Rollins/ Coltrane, the Trombone player sounds like Fred Wesley...and I play as simply and funky as possible. Time and Feel are everything!!! Sorry this might seem long winded and egotistical for my first submission, but I feel very strongly about the record, and I think some biography is important to give some context to my opinion. P.S. Two things: I boil my strings with baking soda for 20 minutes, then with plain water for 20 minutes. I want an old fashioned "envelope follower" which opens AND closes unlike the new ones. (so I heard) If anyone has one of these, or a pre-'78 FENDER JAZZ for sale, let me know. I play a '64 JAZZ through a Hartke 7000. Marty C. christen@ccad.uiowa.edu ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 93 01:18:23 -0800 From: jimlynch@netcom.com Subject: Quadraverb.... The thing you gotta realise about any device that distributes the processing power of a single processor to a real time task or three is that the more tasks, the poorer the performance. Try the quadraverb on _just_ reverb or _just_ delay or whatever... Point is, if you tell the QV to do all its effects, bandwidth suffers. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: 2 Feb 93 08:40:51 EST From: Larry Stephens <LVS@rmgate.pop.indiana.edu> Subject: BBE FWIW, I talked to a local guy, who seems to know what he's talking about, and he gave me a technical explanation (which I have forgotten already) about why you shouldn't run the 422 (Sonic Maximizer) in the effects loop. The explanation of how it works in the last issue pretty well matches what the book says. I guess the advantage of the 411 is that you can run your bass direct into it without worrying about how to link it in (as you seem to have to do with the 422). I bought the 422 (which is stereo) so I could run my PA through one side. It does seem to clear up the vocals. A couple of days after buying the 422, I did some swapping (my Peavey TNT130 and Fender Bassman -> BBE383 preamp, QSC 300w stereo amp, and 2 Audio Centron PA speakers). The BBE383 has a Sonic Maximizer built in. I'm using the hi/lo out and running the hi into a KMD 150w amp and the lo back through the 422 for a little more processing -> QSC (bridged). I _really_ like the setup. The 422 effect is more subtle than adding flanging, etc., but the sound (using it) seems clearer to me. It's all in the ears of the listeners, but everyone who has listened since I bought this (and the new bass) say it's a fantastic sound... Larry Stephens 812-855-9758 Poplars 705, Bloomington, IN 47405 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IU NETWORK: STEPHENL@IUIS GOLD::STEPHENL INTERNET: STEPHENL@indiana.edu BITNET: STEPHENL@indiana ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 93 14:03 GMT From: Stuart Mawby <0005004069@mcimail.com> Subject: 'Picking' hand methods... In the last issue, Peter C. Norton questioned the usefulness/applicability of three finger playing style. I sort of had trouble with this one because I am assuming that you meant 'Picking' hand rather than 'Fingering'. I can only imagine trying to play with two fingers on the fingerboard!! I just wanted to put out there something said by one of my music teachers over the years: It really does not matter HOW you play it, rather is it comfortable, is it flexible, and is it effective. If you can make ONE finger sound fast, furious, bold, beautiful, mean, mellow and anything in between then by all means do it. (just to make this discussion easier...I am a righty) I play with the thumb, first, second and sometimes third fingers of my right hand. This allows an 'almost' fingerstyle approach. I feel that being able to use more fingers on your picking hand is very important. With more fingers available, you have more choices and you can do more things at once. Or, you could take John Entwhistle's point of view: If you can use all of your fingers, then you won't be out of a job when one or more gets cut off in a freak accident...... I am not making this up, that was one of his primary reason for learning all of his weird fingerings. - Stuart ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: 2 Feb 93 09:06:51 U From: Oz Barron <oz_barron@pharlap.com> Subject: SPACEsonics Ok, age set in. The amp I was asking about a couple of digests ago is Spacesonics. They're still a division of Polytone. Any info? Thanks! -Oz ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 93 10:18:27 EST From: rm@centerline.com Subject: RE: Quadraverb again In #286 rost@tecrus.ENET.dec.com writes in response to my posting on Alesis Quadraverbs : > Calling the micro series "analog" is incorrect. Some of the effects certainly > are analog, but the Microverb units are *digital*. Many of my friends > have had mixed rsults with Alesis gear, their quality control in the > past left much to be desired, but they were always good at quick > repairs or replacements so it's hard to fault them *too* much. Oh, the vagueries of the English language. I didn't say that the micro series was analog, I said that I had (still do) three of the micro series boxes, all three of which are analog- the Micro Limiter, Micro Enhancer, and Micro Gate. The MicroVerb is indeed a digital box, as Brian points out. And my personal experience regarding their repair work matches the experiences of those folks Brian mentioned- in the past, they *were* always good with repairs or replacements. However my most recent experiences with them as indicated in my posting showed them to be both very slow and very costly with repairs. As this is my personal experience with this company, it is easy for me to fault them a lot. On another subject, can anyone give me the phone number of Warmouth? I used to have their address somewhere and I've sent them a couple of requests for catalogs but have not heard from them. rm ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 93 10:08:54 PST From: Alan.Henley@EBay.Sun.COM Subject: Custom Alembics >I've finally decided to go for the 6-string experience, and I am considering >ordering an Alembic, preferably direct from the factory. Has anyone had >any experience in getting a custom Alembic direct, or did they have to >go through a music store (ie Guitar Center, Gelb)? What did you end up >paying for it? About two years ago, when I finally decided that I deserved a really nice bass, I got in touch with Alembic. They're located in Santa Rosa (about an hour north of San Francisco) in an industrial park off of Hwy 101 near Todd Road. After reviewing some brochures they had sent to me, I asked if I could come up and look/talk so I could get some ideas as to what I wanted. I made two trips and spent a total of about 5 hours there. What a real nice group of people! They walked me through the whole process of how they build an instrument, from selecting the wood through finish options. They also had some input on different options for the electronics. Finally, they had about twenty basses that were being readied for shipment that they allowed me to play so I could get a feel for what I liked and didn't like. As for going direct, they'll do it but they'll charge you full retail. They suggested that I go through a dealer (they recommended one of their larger distributors in the Washington D.C. area). That way, I would get a better price but still be able to talk directly to Alembic while the work was in progress and have the bass shipped directly to me when it was completed. Gelb Music also moves a lot of Alembics and can probably get you competitive pricing. Alas, as I continued my research I decided that Alembic was not quite what I was looking for. But it sure was a nice experience. Alan Henley ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 93 12:19 CST From: zipfel@ihlpm.att.com Subject: Acoutic intonation problem. I was recently recording with my Honer (sp?) professional acoustic, and I noticed that the intonation was *badly* off. When I'm just messing around by myself, I don't check that sort of thing, but when recording, the stuff sounded really off, and when I checked it, it *was* really off. The problem is, I don't know how to fix this. The bridge isn't adjustable. The only thing I can see to do would be to either try a different string gauge, or file down the plastic part on the bridge. Any suggestions? Is there hope? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zip Steelers in 93! | Illinois Basketball: More three point Bubby Sucks!!!!!!! | shooters than you can shake a stick at! 'I didn't lose, the Team lost' - Coach ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1993 10:56:07 -0800 From: Rick Auricchio <rick@taligent.com> Subject: Eden 210T cabinet review, also Recording I've had an Eden 210T 2x10+tweeter bass cabinet for about 6 weeks now, and have finally tried it out in a somewhat real situation. It's been reviewed in the Sept (Oct?) 1992 Bass Player along with the Eden amp, which I haven't tried. Anyway, the cabinet has 2 10s and a horn tweeter with level control, very similar to its cousin SWR cabinet. (SWR's cabinets used to be built by Eden). The Eden differs in that there's a full-width port at the bottom, about 2" high, which significantly improves low bass response. It weighs about 60 pounds, with large "Sessions" handles placed closer to the front grille than the back, for better balance while schlepping it. It doesn't come with casters, but I drop it onto a homemade dolly for moving. Power handling capacity is a whopping 250wRMS; standard impedance is 8 ohms but I special-ordered mine at 4 ohms. I'm driving it with TubeWorks electronics: a BlueTube II preamp and a MosValve 2x80w power amp. Using only a single channel the MosValve will push out about 110wRMS into 4 ohms. Initial use at a rehearsal (myself and a plugged-in acoustic with vocals) sounded good after some tweaks. I found that my Modulus Graphite fretted was a bit to snappy with its EMG pickups, so I rolled off the mid and hi a notch and kept the power up for better bottom. (As usual, it's always best to cut the frequencies you don't want rather than boost what you want more of.) This smoothed the edge off and things sounded nice even at reasonably low volumes. (I prefer to keep the bass controls flat.) Last week came the louder test. My usual guitarist, but electric this time, with a good drummer, in a 10x12 studio room. To make things interesting, we decided to play (of all things) old Cream songs. We'd never played with the drummer or in the room, nor had the guitarist used that guitar or the Roland Jazz Chorus 120 that was there. But what the heck...I'd never played "White Room" for real, and it's been almost 20 years since I first figured it out. The easiest way to run a tape was just with a standard stereo cassette recorder, with two mikes "thrown" around. One was waist-high about 8ft from the drums, the other on the floor (literally!) aimed at my cabinet from about 6ft away. Vocals and guitar would just pickup from the speakers in the room. We were astounded by the quality of the mix---all we did was set a level and play, so it was just luck. I was blown away by the bass in the mix. I was playing the Pedulla fretless, which adds a bit of thickness thru its Bartolini pickups; the power amp was up at about 4.5 of 10, so we were pretty loud in that little room. I'd remembered all the Jack Bruce bits from White Room, and the recorded bass sounds surprisingly like the original. That Roland guitar amp, which I'd never played against, had a decidedly Marshall sound which helped with the overall effect. In all, I'm very pleased with the Eden cabinet. It's light enough to move easily, it handles far more power than I intend to feed it, and it sounds very smooth with both basses. If I ever need more volume I'll just send the other channel into either a Hartke 210TP or my old Peavey 18. --rick ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rick Auricchio rick@taligent.com 408-974-4227 Taligent Inc. 10725 N. DeAnza Blvd. M/S SE/1 Cupertino, CA 95014-2000 USA "I don't have any solution, but I certainly admire the problem!" ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: 02 Feb 1993 12:13:49 -0700 (MST) From: Doug Wellington USGS <DOUG@Arizona.edu> Subject: QY10 for sale I want to sell my QY10 so that I can move up to the QY20. (My appetite for the bleeding edge can be your gain!) The Yamaha QY10 is a sequencer/drum machine/tone generator. The sequencer has eight tracks, eight songs and can store up to 6000 notes. It has 75 built in patterns that you can use in your songs, or just play along with. (Everything from country to fusion, with rock, pop, and blues too.) The tone generator has 30 voices, with organ, guitar, bass, strings, brass and a drum kit. Some are more useful than others. It has MIDI in and out ports, headphone and line out jacks, and is only about the size of a video tape. I have used it as a practice tool, as a drum machine, and even recorded drums, keys and strings on a song that has seen air play! I'm asking $250, which includes the Alexander publishing QY10 book ($25). I have all the original packaging. Email me at "doug@arizona.edu". -Doug ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1993 14:41:28 -0500 From: "Scott A. Clasen" <bass@wam.umd.edu> Subject: BBE 411 opinion Ihave a BBE 411 Sonic maximizer and here is my lowdown on it. I have an Alembic Essence 4 string which I run through the BBE 411 into a hartke 7000 and a genz benz 4X10 with a tweeter. When I first got the BBE I tried hooking it up through the line in's and outs and the effects loop on the Hartke, and ewven after adjusting the gain on the effects loop the sound was muddy and had less volume. I then hooked the insturment out on the BBE into the active input on the Hartke, plugging my bass into the insturment in on the BBE. When I did this, the sound came alive. My already great sounding bass sounded incredible. My bass which is small bodied,and therefore lacks a little beep bass, kicked when I turned the Low contour up. I turned the definition up and rolled a little treble off on the amp, and I was very happy! It has both a great slapping sound and fingerstyle sound. If you are the type of player who likes or needs a really bright,punchy,and kickin' sound I would reccommend this unit highly. By the way, does anyone know why the BBE sounded good plugged into the insturment in on my amp and pretty bad through the effects loop? In the manual it says that the BBE should optimally be used in an effects loop, but in my case this was far from the truth. Scott Clasen bass@wam.umd.edu ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1993 12:32:00 PST From: Graham_McClelland.Sthq@xerox.com Subject: RE: Three Finger Playing; More Fretless Playing? Re: Peter Norton's question about three finger playing - I started fiddling about with the three finger (i, m, a) technique afew years ago. I was gigging more actively then, and one day this paranoia set in - what if I lose the use of my index finger for some reason!?!. Stupid, yes, but it just hit me. I decided I was going to begin "training" the ring finger on my right hand as backup just in case (ominous thunder) the unthinkable happened. After my irrational fear subsided (when I quit the gig I was in at the time), I slacked up on developing the "i, m, a" approach. I still practice it from time to time but strictly from a technical standpoint - not one based on an irrational phobia. I never really developed it as a speed technique. Instead, I use it for fingerpick style playing along with my thumb (strictly for "noodling" at home - not in a band situation). Since I play guitar too, this style comes fairly naturally (accept for compensating for string spacing on bass). I feel this technique has helped my right hand tapping by improving what used to be sloppy dexterity in my ring finger. You shouldn't encounter any problems from playing with three fingers. Re: More fretless playing? - My wife is mainly a "popular" music listener so I'm exposed to music I might not choose to listen to on my own. Hearing some of new "middle of the road" stuff has brought to my attention the fact that there seems to be alot more tasty fretless playing being laid down for alot of these projects. Off the top of my head: Elton John, Richard Marx, the former Eagle drummer whose name escapes me, Wilson Philips, and several others who I can't think of right now either. I see this as an important development for the bass player's role in "popular" music because these fretless bass lines are more lyric and "up front" than some of the uninspiring stuff that has appeared on pop records I've heard in the past. Either the session bass players are getting better, or the people doing the hiring are getting more "bass literate". Either way, good bass playing is being heard by the "masses" and that's good for all of us. [Editorial finished...] Cheers... Graham graham.sthq@xerox.com ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1993 15:58 EST From: GRSARTIANO@apollo.davidson.edu Subject: Spector Bass There's an old 4-string "pre-Kramer" (jeez...I sound like a StratCat or something...) Spector Bass at Action Music here in Charlotte. $1800, natural wood finish, EMG pickups, neck-through. Don't ask me the model#, but it's certainly the best 4-string I've played in a while... E-mail me or call NC phone info for Action Music if you're one of the lucky few with the money and inclination... -- Gregg S. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1993 16:52:01 -0500 From: Mike Penner <mepenner@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca> Subject: Rickenbacker 4001 Hi! Two weekends ago I was in the local "low-end" music store here in K-W and what to my wondering eyes should appear but an old black Rickenbacker 4001. I played it a little and liked it. Last weekend I took my old (1988) Ibanez Roadstar II in and traded it and $200CDN for the 4001. I haven't had a chance to put new strings on it yet, but I _love_ it! It has that groovy "woody" sound (that's the only way I can think to describe it). Anyway, I'm posting to ask if anyone knows how to date such an instrument, and to ask if anyone knows of a good place to get a replacement pickup cover (this one's is gone). I think the bass is quite old, since it has a patch on the back where the finish has been worn away. Speaking of which, should I put some varnish over this to prevent the elements from harming the wood, or would that just be a waste of time? BTW, that "Jazz Club - Bass" disc _is_ fantastic, and I think "How High the Moon" is just great! Peace. -------------------------------------------------- Mike Penner (mepenner@undergrad.math.waterloo.edu) "Is funk aggression?" ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 93 14:43:25 PST From: Ives Chor <ivesc@microsoft.com> Subject: RE: Three Finger Playing I'd love to be able to play with three fingers if it meant that I could do cool triplet patterns. But I can't. My middle finger is (like most people's, I guess) about half an inch longer than my index finger. To accommodate this, I anchor my two fingertips on a string and rotate the rest of my hand about 30 degrees to the left. This tends to "even out" the length of my fingers so they have an even attack on the strings. Unfortunately, it pulls my shorter ring finger quite a bit away from the string, and it's not very practical for me to use it, except on big fat three- or four-note chords. I've often thought about using my thumb with my two fingers to play fast triplets, but I've never really worked on it. Stuff like this in A minor(all eighth-note triplets): ---------7-9------------------ ---5-7-------------14--------- ----------------14------------ -5-----8-----12--------------- or even all on one or two strings: -7-8-9-7-8-9-12-9-8-7--------- ----------------------10-7---- ------------------------------ ------------------------------ or I could work more on my alternating. Dunno about you guys, but I get in these ruts where R/L right hand finger patterns are hard to reverse. It's as if they're as much a part of the feel as the left hand. I guess they are, but you'd think they'd be easier to reverse, no? Ives ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 02 Feb 93 18:19:30 EST From: bluemuse@aol.com Subject: Benefit concert For anyone that is within driving distance of New London, Connecticut-- On Saturday, February 13, Rock For Life II, a benefit concert, will be held at the El 'n' Gee Club, Golden Street, New London starting about 8:30 or 9:00. *ALL* proceeds benefit the Southeastern Connecticut AIDS Project (SECAP). Bands donating their time include Blue Muse, Freudian Slap, Sins of Venus, and God's Green Teeth (with the possibility of one more band being added). Last year's show was a blast! Come out and support a good cause. (And if you do, say hello--I'm Blue Muse's bassist.) If you can come and need directions, Email me directly at bluemuse@aol.com and I'll send them right out. Thanks! --Bob Farace ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 93 18:43 CST From: UCSMCL@ucs.uwplatt.edu Subject: An introduction and some stuff... INTRODUCTION: Hello fellow TBLers! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Matt Loppnow and I attend UW-Platteville along with our very own TBL manager - Kevin. Even though I've been reading TBL for over 1/2 year, this is my first positing. I am a bass player, a singer, and a guitarist (a little better at the g-tar.) I have played (lead/rhythm/only guitar/backing vocals) in a classic/modern rock band in the Tri-State area (WI,IA,IL) for about four years. The reason that I picked up the bass is because I enjoy being challenged to incorporate interesting lines within the context of the rhythms and chord changes. I am currently starting to pick Kevin's brain for any hints and lessons I can get out of him. Overall, I consider myself a musician over confining myself to being labeled as a specific instrumentallist. ON TAB vs STANDARD NOTATION: I can see how people who read standard notation would be so defensive about its use because it takes more than a little effort to become proficient enough to put it to use. I also agree that by not learning standard notation, one restricts oneself to only being able to play memorized songs and songs with simple changes. On the other hand I also believe that tab can be very useful in figuring out parts that involve wild fingerings and open harmonics. Tab also allows players to use another player's interpretation of how a part can be played so they can work on fingerings that are not as comfortable as their standard patterns. ON AMPLIFICATION: Two points: 1) Take it easy on Peavey. They make some incredible equipment for an excellent price. My roommate uses a 2x15 Black Widow cabinet and it sounds awesome! Some people sometimes seem to slam Peavey for their poor reputation. Eg. someone once made the comparison: 1 SWR = 3 Peaveys (or something like that.) 2) I really enjoy everyone's product reviews. Keep those shopping sprees going and keep us informed! ===== =:) ===== ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 93 21:24:12 EST From: rrathgeb@ultrix.ramapo.edu Subject: BBE's and Three Finger Playing... Hi TBLr's, In regard to Chip Chapin's addition on SonicMaximizers: Yeah, What he said! Chuckle.... Honestly, that's what I should have typed but I used the words of the Sam Ash salesman who sold it to me and also told me that BBE was planning on discontinuing the 'maximizer line. Who knows? In regard to the BBE 422, I really don't hear a significant difference when it. I'm considering removing it from my rack and using it for recording instead. Any further comments, maybe I should rerout my signal? In reference to the post on three finger playing. Sorry, I don't remember who it was. I first started playing with two fingers and then added my middle finger over a period of time. In doing so, it now feels quite natural for me to play with three fingers and awkward with two. I found many licks much easier to play and my string skipping skills doubled. Just stick with it, I guarentee it will make some things easier. John Entwistle plays with four fingers! I haven't added my pinky yet but have thought about it. Don't worry about strict 1,2,3 sucessions-it's not that necessary as long as you can stay fluid. You ever hear Geddy Lee's quick "triplet" feel he sometimes adds to maybe one or two notes? This great sounding tool is easily accomplished after a little practicing using three fingers. Granted, I know there are many out there who can play that without three fingers but I know for me it became much easier. I also know those who will claim that three or even four is not necessary but it added a whole new style and new playing capabilities when I got proficient at it. Don't get scared of string skipping! The way I got the hang of it was that I hooked all other strings with my middle finger while anchoring my thumb on the next or required string and played normally. After a while you'll see that you have to move scross strings less because you can pluck a close string with your "third" finger and stay in the same position. IMHO, this has proves most useful. Now I play a flurry of notes but my hand barely looks likes it's moving! Stick with it, I'm glad I did!!! Good Luck, _ROB_ ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 03 Feb 93 01:39:23 EST From: "Gibby." <G704@NEMOMUS.BITNET> Subject: underrated players,watt,claypool. i'd like to start off with an introduction. i haven't posted in a while, so i thought it appropriate to say that my name is dave, and i play a left-handed ibanez EX series. left-handed basses are few and far between where i come from, so i am very fortunate to have a bass at all. i really like my ibanez, it makes no unwanted noises, either. now i'd like to get to my posting: is there any info on when the new fIREHOSE album is coming out. and i don't think that mike watt is underrated, considering that flea and the REd Hot Chili Peppers dedicated their "BLood Sugar Sex Majik" album to him. as far as fIREHOSE, i think that they are a very underrated band. or maybe they dedicated it to him BECAUSE he is underrated. Watt is truly a demi-god of fast riffs and alternative bass in general. speaking of demi-gods of alternative bass, PRIMUS is making another album, and on this one i read that claypool has a better grasp of his six-string, but doesn't use it for the entire album. i also heard that he is messing around with his stand-up electric more and more on stage. it's great to see diversity of the way his low notes are presented. any info on either of these release dates. underrated bass player of the week for me: Dave Blood of the Dead Milkmen. i like his pick style and two-string chords on "Eat Your Paisley" album. thanks, Dave. G704@nemomus.bitnet ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 3 Feb 93 08:57 GMT From: "William C. Ryan" <0003647569@mcimail.com> Subject: Objectivity vs. Advertisement Dollars Concerning the note from: ssriv@casbah.acns.nwu.edu, Though I haven't noticed a blatant disregard for objectivity in BP (I only had it for a year), I'm sure the concept of biting-the-hand-that-feeds factors into a reviewer's analysis. This was certainly the case (IMHO) for the mag "Stereo Review", where you couldn't find ANY criticism of any equipment. It made it hard to distinguish the reviews from the ads. Probably the best that can be hoped for (short of a "Consumer Reports" type of magazine) is something like the mag "Four Wheel Drive" (or something like that). No, they don't sell bass's with mud flaps or 33-inch mud tires. But when they test and compare vehicles, they make no bones about pointing out attributes which are unacceptable for a 4-wheel drive vehicle. However, they DO tend to harp about the vehicle's more positive qualities, almost making you forget the bad aspect(s). Unfortunately, there are few magazines which would contain reviews of BASS equipment, so finding one with objective reviews might be tough. Then again, we can't expect to find one which summarizes, "This Bass is a dog!", or "This amp isn't good enough to be a boat anchor!" Long live TLB! BRyan ---------------------------------------------------------- Anonymous ftp access for back issues, etc.: kappa.rice.edu (128.42.4.7) in the /pub/bass directory (Username is 'anonymous', password is your e-mail address. Try typing 'help' for more info once logged in.) _The Bottom Line_ is a digest dedicated to the art of playing electric and acoustic bass. It is distributed on a basis that coincides with the amount of material received, from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville, USA; Kevin Tipple, Erik Habbinga, editors Copyright _The Bottom Line_, 1993 The contents of _The Bottom Line_ are solely the opinions and comments of the individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the authors' managements or the digest management. The editors do not assume responsibility for copyright infringement of submitted material. *************************** End of The Bottom Line #287 ***************************