My 4 Days at NAMM- Rickenbacker Content!

[johnallg]

They want to be secure, comfortable, and respected.

Okay, too much Oprah.....

[kiramdear]

Women- Go figure. What do they think??
Are they laughing, are they thinking about the new Rickenbackers, do they want shoes??? I GOTTA KNOW!
What DO Women Want??!!!

We want a guy who knows what we want





Meeeoooowwww!

[Elnjaybass]

Well, then..
If THAT'S the case-

I got a few ideas...


Time-tested, too!

[johnallg]

Women- Go figure. What do they think??
Are they laughing, are they thinking about the new Rickenbackers, do they want shoes??? I GOTTA KNOW!
What DO Women Want??!!!

We want a guy who knows what we want ....

Keep dreaming, and I mean that with the utmost respect. Almost all guys haven't a clue.

[kiramdear]

Good thing I already found a keeper

[Elnjaybass]

...Was with my #1 for 24! years (she passed; RIP Ilene; I still love you); and fate willing, have been with Nancy Lee for 6 years going on 1,000 more...

ANd in NO case did I or do I have the slightest clue of what they Want~!

It varies from day-to-day.

Ah, .....Women...
Can't live with 'em,...
can't trade them for a TR 4004Cii, at least not in the US of A!

[atomic_punk]

I guess I am lucky. My girlfriend bought me my Bongo after watching me drool over it in a store. Surprised me with it, came home one day and it was laying on my bed.
She does "get it".

[dog]

Nice pictures Tony. Those gals look like players to me.

LoL, agreed Ron, but at WHAT?!?!?

Well. They don't really look like bass players. Bass players I know have much larger guts. (speaking for myself, that is)

[ajish4]

Nice pictures Tony. Those gals look like players to me.

LoL, agreed Ron, but at WHAT?!?!?

Well. They don't really look like bass players. Bass players I know have much larger guts. (speaking for myself, that is)

LOL, I resemble that remark!

[woodyng]

someone,anthony jackson,maybe? once referred to slapping technique as "musical ketsup"... ....i personally like a little bit of it incorporated into melodic runs,but for too many punters,it tends to be just a rhythmic barrage that never ends and seldom fits into a song structure well.....some of your descriptions sounds like a mega version of a saturday afternoon at the local gc.....only they don't usually have l.a. starlet types running around....

[Elnjaybass]

Woody, AJ has spoken about how slapping is not part of his arsenal or approach; I believe Chuck Rainey is another pocket player who does not feel that incessant slapping is a determinant of the role of the Fender Bass...

Look what Larry graham hath wrought!


I slap- I have some basses that are slappers- My Tobias and my Sterling are slappers, my new beloved Laredo is not set to be- Heavier gauge OEM strings (I use Roto FunkMasters to really ring!) and pup placement, and overall vibe and tonality make the Laredo the PERFECT pocket groove bass guitar...for me. Don't want to slap w/ it; but I could!!

The overkill use of the slap is at it's worst, non-musical. I admire skilled slap players, the overall effect and output can be a tight, heavy intense groove, and can be enjoyable.
But too too much, and what was/is disheartening is the number of younger players who seem to feel that this way is THE way to play the bass- At the expense of not being skilled in scales, a linear approach, or a melodic composition-oriented way of constructing a musical bass line.
Shame.

Case in point- A 12-year old came to the FLEA bass booth; he picked it up, and proceeded to play/pose, incessantly slapping, while someone videotaped him- It even drew a crowd of sorts, as anything would at the Show-

I did not like it, I was not impressed with his skills, I think this young player would have done MUCH better to go home to his room, close the door, and PRACTICE- Practice and hone his slap technique too, but practice and hone his entire "holistic"
way of playing the bass guitar, and LISTEN! to a variety of stylistic approaches and technique...
Could he Walk?? NO.
Could he play a 12-bar blues pattern, even a basic one?? NO
Could he play over changes? NO
COuld he create and develop a pocket-oriented groove? NO
He COULD, if he took his thing to the next level- "ALL God's Chillun have talent", and he had his, but

Nope, too interested in being Flea. Lotsa luck with that, sonny.

Flea played at the show, a heavy percussive riff, he and a drummer-, he was good; he's got some musical background.
But I could easily listen to some other players do their thing....

I have no issues with choice, and I understand that this guy and others MAY grow-up, but even tho, at an "advanced" age I am still child-like and immature- Witness my Bass-buying habits! (It's cool; I earn the dough!)

At that age, I myself took it up a notch and tried to develop more than an MTV-type pose to playing the instrument of my choice--
Look at what Lee Sklar told me- Classically-trained starting at age 4- How about what He's manged to do career and music-wise?

It wasn't simply the 12-year old, he's a kid, but 20 and 30-somethings were in the same place.

And Ironically- Ironically- I veered away from the only Rickenbacker model known-to-me then; 4003- because I did not see it as a funk-capable instrument-
I DO perform a lot of R&B that needs the attack of a slapper, as well as the "darker" timbres of an old P-Bass or J-Bass.

No matter- I'm going to dial-in the 4003, and it's going to be a favorite.

Due tomorrow, and slapping non-withstanding, I cannot wait!