The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Rickenbacker Basses => Topic started by: uwe on February 02, 2023, 10:28:15 AM
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J21h_mTXURQ
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That's an interesting video. They do manage to get some different sounds out of those Rics.
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I love a nice Ric. Never cared much for that bright prog rock sound they’re famous for , I bypassed the cap and put flats on mine.
Not bad thumpers.
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He's more annoying than any Ric.
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He's more annoying than any Ric.
All part of the grift.
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He’s managed to create a wonderful little home based business.
And schooled thousands on minor and major chords.
So I really admire that although I certainly do find him annoying too , at times.
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He's more annoying than any Ric.
I just knew he would rub you the wrong way! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: You never disappoint, Dave. :-*
But he does deserve criticism for saying that "it's the bass behind The Beatles, Rush, Yes and Metallica". It's also the bass behind these four iconic albums here for friggin' Chrissakes:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81b3TwFOmtL._SL1500_.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c5/Deep_Purple_Made_in_Japan.jpg/220px-Deep_Purple_Made_in_Japan.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/75/DeepPurple_WhoDoWeThinkWeAre.jpg/220px-DeepPurple_WhoDoWeThinkWeAre.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3d/Deep_Purple_-_Burn.jpeg)
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Someone posted this on TB last week or so. I couldn't get past the first couple of minutes when they clearly didn't know what they were talking about with regard to Rics. "Oh, you've got the newer one without the binding like the old ones". :rolleyes:
YouTube "stars" are almost always annoying to me. How many times can you watch someone pretend to be shocked or amazed? From some of the TB comments I read, Scott didn't used to be so much one of "those guys", but he's apparently ramped it up. I mean, I get it - we live in a world where the loudest voice wins. But it's still annoying. ;)
This is what I like my Ric to sound like, but I sometimes do the flatwound clicky/thumpy thing too.
https://youtu.be/6nmSLoCOo4Q?t=99 (https://youtu.be/6nmSLoCOo4Q?t=99)
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Nice.
Great tone and an interesting bass part...
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That's what a Ric with rounds should sound like! IMHO of course.
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I just knew he would rub you the wrong way! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: You never disappoint, Dave. :-*
A few weeks ago some YT "influencer" uploaded a comparison video to "prove" what were the best guitar strings, so somebody at TDPRI started a thread about it.
The best response in that thread was from somebody who said "He's just another internet putz. I never listen to internet putzes." :mrgreen:
That's what I think of Scott's Bass Lessons. He's just another internet putz with clickbaity videos.
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I'm glad he doesn't like Rics. I'd be worried if he did.
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I thought they both liked them in that video. They loved the sound anyway, especially the neck pickup.
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Someone posted this on TB last week or so. I couldn't get past the first couple of minutes when they clearly didn't know what they were talking about with regard to Rics. "Oh, you've got the newer one without the binding like the old ones". :rolleyes:
YouTube "stars" are almost always annoying to me. How many times can you watch someone pretend to be shocked or amazed? From some of the TB comments I read, Scott didn't used to be so much one of "those guys", but he's apparently ramped it up. I mean, I get it - we live in a world where the loudest voice wins. But it's still annoying. ;)
This is what I like my Ric to sound like, but I sometimes do the flatwound clicky/thumpy thing too.
https://youtu.be/6nmSLoCOo4Q?t=99 (https://youtu.be/6nmSLoCOo4Q?t=99)
Immaculate pick technique, Herr Heslin!
PS: You could give Adam Clayton lessons!
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Immaculate pick technique, Herr Heslin!
PS: You could give Adam Clayton lessons!
Thank you.
And NOW you're on to something! ;D
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The way it stands there leaning against the wall, is that a Kramer XKB-10?
(https://www.roadhousevintage.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/IMG_4998-scaled.jpg)
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Nope. SMB-2 Stagemaster. Bought new in 1982. De-fretted in the early 90s.
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The bass with the alu neck separating the men from the boys!
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The bass with the alu neck separating the men from the boys!
About 15 years back I vacillated for a half-hour on whether to buy a nice aluminum neck Kramer with a very pretty laminated body and dual pickups. Given my eventual dislike of heavy basses, I'm OK with having passed on it.
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About 15 years back I vacillated for a half-hour...
I hear you can get a cream for that, these days.
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Vacillation uber alles! :o
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:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
But we’re not even allowed to sing that part anymore (and for good reason too)! The first verse is now the former third verse starting with ”Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit”, i.e. "unity, rule of law & freedom”. Somehow, the Nazis never liked that part all that much.
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That's what a Ric with rounds should sound like! IMHO of course.
Yep. Great sound and I really like that part.
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He's more annoying than any Ric.
ain't that the truth! This guy annoys the crap out of me.
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I find his videos annoying for the constant fast edits and jump cuts. Bass lessons for Tok Tok youth, I guess.
I also think there is a bit of a grifting need to overly complicate studying the bass. You could approach it as simply learning music theory concepts and then bringing it to bass. Or you create a subscription-only twenty part course looking purely at slap techniques. I see too much of the latter, almost game-ifying the instrument.
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"Or you create a subscription-only twenty part course looking purely at slap techniques."
Even that could not advance my non-existent slap capabilities! And believe me I've tried. I remember asking my former bass teacher Lothar about teaching me some slap in 1979 and he laughed "There is nothing to learn there, just do it." Well, that never worked for me ???, I still sound like a strangled chicken whenever I attempt slaps and pops. I'm neither accurate enough to hit the strings properly (not even the E string) nor fast enough to get away from them in time for them to ring (same with tapping by the way).
But Lothar taught me the circle of fifths and lots of scales - for that I'm eternally grateful! My melodic and harmonic grasp of bass is great, it's just that no one gives a rat's ass about those skills! (No one has ever said to me: "Oh, you connected those chords wonderfully, Uwe, using root notes only sparingly!" or "That's really neat how you play a descending chromatic run of E, D#, D + C# to the E Major, B Major, E Major, A Major chord sequence of the Stones' Satisfaction bridge!")
To this day, it turns my stomach when someone says "Yeah, do a bass solo there!" and sees that as a synonym for a couple of random slap bass licks while the band stops playing. Yet when I go, "No, you guys keep playing and provide the harmonies and I'll solo a melody over it!", I get incredulous looks and a "But that's NO BASS SOLO!". :rolleyes: :mrgreen: People always think that I refuse to slap because I consider it beneath me and just want to be different, yet little do they know ... ;D
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I would put my name on the list of those annoyed by Scott's bass lessons. The past few weeks I've been getting emails from him every day telling me about getting the deal of the century on bass lessons. Even worse than that, I was once in the kitchen with You Tube on in the den. You Tube started playing one of his videos and I couldn't believe how much it irritated me. When I finally got out of the kitchen, I saw the video was demonstrating his top ten favorite slap techniques. No thanks. If he doesn't stop sending me videos, I'll just have to have them go to spam. I know he is making a living and all that, but I'm not sure how much I care right now.
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I don't have issues with his persona (he talks a lot, but it's all genial and pleasant enough to my ears, there is nothing mean about him either) though there are limits to how serious I can take someone who needs a rubber glove*** for his fretting hand. To me, fretting a bass is pretty much like a prostate check-up: gloves are for sissies.
***Scott Devine suffers from a neurological disorder called focal dystonia. It makes his fingers involuntarily and uncontrollably move. However, he came up with a solution once he noticed they don’t move when he’s touching them. He wears gloves to ensure they’re always in contact with something, so they don’t move. I was unaware of that and thought he had an allergy or something, so if that helps his playing, it's all good. He's a nimble player, but he also - forgive me - sounds totally "unrock" and pansy-playing to me, more Jamiroquai than Alan Lancaster if you know what I mean. :mrgreen:
(https://cdn.prod.www.spiegel.de/images/e1964469-85ef-4c51-a2f6-7b94babaadef_w1600_r1.50911194677466_fpx60_fpy20.jpg)
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I don't have issues with his persona (he talks a lot, but it's all genial and pleasant enough to my ears, there is nothing mean about him either) though there are limits to how serious I can take someone who needs a rubber glove*** for his fretting hand. To me, fretting a bass is pretty much like a prostate check-up: gloves are for sissies.
***Scott Devine suffers from a neurological disorder called focal dystonia. It makes his fingers involuntarily and uncontrollably move. However, he came up with a solution once he noticed they don’t move when he’s touching them. He wears gloves to ensure they’re always in contact with something, so they don’t move. I was unaware of that and thought he had an allergy or something, so if that helps his playing, it's all good. He's a nimble player, but he also - forgive me - sounds totally "unrock" and pansy-playing to me, more Jamiroquai than Alan Lancaster if you know what I mean. :mrgreen:
(https://cdn.prod.www.spiegel.de/images/e1964469-85ef-4c51-a2f6-7b94babaadef_w1600_r1.50911194677466_fpx60_fpy20.jpg)
I think it's the lack of rock bass that bothered me the most, too. He can play well, but he never plays rock. I didn't even realize I was subscribed to him. I thought I had unsubscribed years ago. But somehow that became reactivated and I've been getting so many emails recently. I've just now attempted to unsubscribe again. In his most recent email, he is asking for someone with a sales background to come work for him.
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Bass players like that have always existed: Even if they play something rock'ish, it just never sounds like they mean it. You need to have grown up with this stuff. OTOH, I have played with lounge oriented and funky bands and heard things said to me like: "You play really well, but every note you play cries out "RAAAAAWK!!!!"" And they were completely right, I can't help it. :mrgreen:
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Bass players like that have always existed: Even if they play something rock'ish, it just never sounds like they mean it. You need to have grown up with this stuff. OTOH, I have played with lounge oriented and funky bands and heard things said to me like: "You play really well, but every note you play cries out "RAAAAAWK!!!!"" And they were completely right, I can't help it. :mrgreen:
Even rock by so called second tier rockers (like Def Leppard) sounds pretty good to me. There is a sincerity to the playing of true rockers and it's like second nature when the music comes out. On the other hand, I have a friend who is a great musician and can play about any instrument. But no matter what he tries to play, everything comes out as country. He is proud of it since country is his preferred genre. I can't play country worth crap, though, no matter how hard I try.
https://youtu.be/xPMt_HQIpic
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I could never do a decent groovy and smooth C&W two-step bass - the kind of thing Randy Meisner does so well on Lyin' Eyes for example. I just never played that type of music often and long enough for it to become second nature to me. Whenever I attempt it, people think I'm taking the piss and then ask: "Ok Uwe, that's very funny, but what are you really going to play?"
I like the Leps but their version of the David Essex classic was a bit tame and curiously lifeless (always something the Leps have to watch to avoid).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckgGUhCuEJI
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Planting a two step is a unique feel , they’re big notes , and placement and duration have to be decisive , and felt.
For sheer bass fun there’s nothing quite like driving a bluegrass band with an upright.
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Yeah, that really describes it well.
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I could never do a decent groovy and smooth C&W two-step bass - the kind of thing Randy Meisner does so well on Lyin' Eyes for example. I just never played that type of music often and long enough for it to become second nature to me. Whenever I attempt it, people think I'm taking the piss and then ask: "Ok Uwe, that's very funny, but what are you really going to play?"
I like the Leps but their version of the David Essex classic was a bit tame and curiously lifeless (always something the Leps have to watch to avoid).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckgGUhCuEJI
The David Essex version is better, but I chose the DL version only because it sounds a little fresher compared to the other version which I've heard so many times through the years.
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Holger Czukay wore gloves to play bass before it was cool.
(https://i.imgur.com/HeiTePp.jpg)
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He probably had an allergic reaction since he needed it on both hands.
Or did he want to achieve a different, deader tone with it?
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He has a light, fluffy bass tone in the video so I guess it was for timbre. Jaki Liebezeit wanted less and less Holger bass in the mix over time! This maybe helped.