Clips of my new band.

[s4001]

I'm signing up for a prog tribute band. They seem to be great players. I'm auditioning soon, but the guitarist was kind enough to send me a couple mp3's of them that I could add my bass to. Pre-audition audition, if you will.

Anyway, before my morning cup 'o joe, I laid these down. See what y'alls think.

Tom Sawyer: http://home.earthlink.net/~s4001/Tom%20Sawyer%203.mp3

Long Distance Runaround: http://home.earthlink.net/~s4001/long%2 ... nd%202.mp3

FWI, it took quite a few takes to get the Rush tune anywhere decent. It never sounded 'right.' I recalled that Russ Ryan (Ged's bass tech) said that the majority of his tone comes from the insanely heavy attack that he has so I gave it a try. Sure enough, the next take had the right 'feel.' It still has a fair amount of my signature slop, though.

[rickenbrother]

Sounds very good Scott, I just in the Tom Sawyer clip, the bass could have had a bit more presence in the mix. Which Rick(s) did you use?

[beatlefreak]

Sounds great!

[cassius987]

To be fair about "Tom Sawyer" the bass tone on that entire album is really pretty farty and weird--compare it to Signals, the follow-up. I think it'd be hard to emulate Ged's tone on Moving Pictures with any accuracy without doing something WRONG to your amp or speakers.

[s4001]

It was tough to get presence in that one. I think new strings are in order. I didn't post it, but I recorded one with my cheapo SMV Jazz and it actually sounded pretty good.

[cassius987]

Post the Jazz clip so we can compare. It sounded like you were struggling on the solo section--the response, especially the first microsecond of every note, just wasn't there. You aren't doing anything wrong per se, I just mean it sounds forced.

Thoughts
*Are you having an easier time playing the Jazz over the solo section?
*Are you trying to EQ the Ric using conventional EQ rules--I don't think they apply here. You might want to give it some more upper mids.

Btw, "Long Distance" sounds much, much better. Props.

[s4001]

Little bit of both. There's not much time to move between position changes. The first couple takes really spotlighted the difficulty of the riff. The old strings tend to accentuate the 'clank.' I don't have the storage allotment with my isp to post another song. Any free hosting recommendations?

[cassius987]

I remember learning "Tom Sawyer" a couple years ago and that riff is a little challenging, especially when you jump the whole thing up a fourth--for some reason my fingers didn't like that. I would woodshed with it until you get completely sick of it, then take an entire day off. The next time you play it it should be really fluid.

[s4001]

Recording it is a completely different animal than playing it live, that's for sure.

[rickenbrother]

Recording it is a completely different animal than playing it live, that's for sure.

Even when a song seems easy, recording it can be a challenge.

[cassius987]

I have to agree with you guys. My only 'contribution' to the magazine Bass Player was a tip about recording yourself practicing--because you catch a lot more mistakes when you play it back than when you're first hearing it.

That said, as a result, you become much more precise.

[falconfixer]

This is all very good discussion!

I have been attacking these songs for decades and each time i try i have a different feel as i approach it. Even playing with different rigs affect the outcome. From a fan stand point? Even the Band doesn;t play it note for note each time - that is why we love 'live albums'. I guess i say all that to say: you may be trying too hard. relax.

And good luck with the audition!

[s4001]

http://home.earthlink.net/~s4001/02%20T ... er%205.m4a

Thanks for the comments. I decided to sound more like myself on this one. It's definitely fun to play around with it. Modern technology is great!

[bobcat]

I'm liking the tone you're getting! Recording tracks is certainly a whole different animal from playing live in a group, and you do a really good job of "fitting" into the already-existing band setting. It might be worth noting that a couple of the riffs you're playing in both songs are different from the originals, though I'm sure that's intentional; the whole band is actually playing a "simplified" intro riff on "Long-Distance Runaround". The tone you get there is spot-on though . . . are you using a pick or fingers?

[s4001]

Fingers only. I really dislike playing with a pick. I can, but it just feels odd. Thanks gang!