Fast player but a little bit "cold" for my taste. I like the tone though. I prefer John Patitucci's version of the same composition.

I studied the Bach Cello Suite 1 o my 6 strings and it is great number for developing hands coordination and intervals recognition. ...and it is of course a beautiful piece of music.

I am not among the people that think that civilization stopped with the Precision bass but I respect musicians that think that a Precision bass is all they need.

A few years ago a saw Pino Palladino playing in a small club. He played the entire gig with an old Precision with flatwound strings connected straight to a small amplifier.

After Jaco Pastorius, it was the most inspiring bass performance I ever seen. The rhythmic was so tight you could build a house on it. His choice of note was superb and the tone was perfect.

I like to judge musicians from what they tell me. Basses are a tool. If bassist touches my heart with a Precision with old strings and plectrum I feel he deserves my deepest respect.

I am a very lucky man!! I just saw John Patitiucci live last night... I was sitting 3rd row front and center in a small intimate setting, approx. only 200 people at the show. I am just utterly amazed, and still processing what I saw last night. It was just him and John Cowherd accompanying him on piano for most of the night, with Ruth Naomi Floyd stepping in for a few vocal pieces. Beautiful show, just beautiful. Two masters at the top of their art. I feel like I got the opportunity to see something truly special in a unique atmoshpere. Just..wow!

Back to this little debate. What you said there Silent Fly I consider a much more appropriate way to post about a member of this forum. I consider that criticism, but not overly harsh, and here's why: First of all, as the very first post in this thread topic said, Bono is a member of this forum. I don't think its appropriate to not compliment someone on what is obviously a demonstration of serious skill gained through years of practice, before diving into a tearing down of what is wrong with what he did. We're all bassist here, with varying skills and probably very different tastes in music, but my opinion is that there should be a big effort to support each other. Careful constructive criticism is appropriate of course, but posting things like "completely misses the point of bass" after a full paragraph of ripping on him would probably never be said to his face. Which brings me to my next point, and what really bugs me the most about this.

Forums on the internet tend to be treated as anonymous, and therefore things that wouldn't be said to someone in person are flippantly posted for everyone in the world to see. Its another example of the lack of courtesy and respect we show each other as human beings in modern society. I imagine that it is entirely possible that what was posted about Bono would be said to him in person, but it would be done in a much more tactful and supportive way, and only after a period of getting to know him as a human being and musician.

I never said that Mewsie, or Todd, or anyone else wasn't entitled to their opinions (and in fact prefaced my first post with just the opposite) but I did say the criticisms were harsh. But perhaps I should have explained better that it was the manner they were written, not so much the content of what could be considered a valid opinion. Its got nothing to do with the fact that someone's opinion doesn't match my own. If Mewsie, Todd, Bono and myself were all sitting around a bar together, and the things written about Bono were said in the same way they were posted here, I would definitely call out what I saw as a hurtful, terse, and inappropriate manner of speaking.

Something one of my martial arts instructors used to say about courtesy:
Imagine that we're all carrying a 3 foot piece of razor sharp steel in a scabbard at our sides, then act and speak accordingly.

....for the sake of clarity, my philosphy is, if I cant say it to the persons face, I wont say it at all.
I will never claim to be a great player, however, we each have our personal "benchmarks". It's like discussing the "ultimate" car, some may suggest the 57 Mercedes gullwing SL and others may feel its the VW Beetle. Very different idea's, each respected by their admirers.

I'll drink to that Todd...well, tommorrow after I'm off shift anyway :|.

Gullwing? VW Bug? Are you one of those narrow minded d*****s who thinks the universe ended with dirty German engineered cars 40 years ago! :D
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Just for the record, I own a 1989 Mercedes 560SL convertible...its my other favorite toy after the Kingbass. God I love that car!


Oh yeah, I'm getting on the internet right now to purchase a Bach on bass book.

As a mechanic on high-end German cars for 10 years, I can but should not express publicly my opinion on said vehicles :D:D:D:D:D

i would say it to him. congratulations on omitting two very crucial words in your quote of me just there.

for ME it misses the point of bass. i see that it is technically good but it doesn't hit the spot FOR ME.



very possibly. good point well made, and taken.

bono, if you are reading, i apologise for any hurt or offence caused by my outspokenness. your playing is very good, but doesn't do it for me, i'm afraid.

Thanks Mewsie, it was classy to say that.
I didn't intend to become the etiquette police, but wanted to point out something I felt I'd have been remiss in not saying. You're right, I should have included your full text, sorry about that, and by no means do I think you have an invalid opinion, it was just the manner it was posted. I understand that the quickly written message on an internet board can also not always fully deliver the message, or things can get read into them particularly if opinions differ. Plus we don't all know each other personally here.
I'll have a double drink tomorrow for both you and Todd (hell, I'll probably add in an extra for myself too) :)

Cheers!

yeah, well, i have my moments, but don't you dare tell anyone, it'll ruin my reputation of being a miserable cow ;)

I didn't know about the miserable part. :P

you will do in a minute if you keep that up.

:P:P:P

Okay people, no need to behave anymore, Andre is back!!

Damn, I missed out on all the fun...

...BTW, to pick up on Rich's comments on BC, I would agree with the attitude towards pro players. I've tried to get them on board and the rude reception some of them have been given by particular BC members has resulted in me having to do a lot of behind-the-scenes diplomacy that noone ever knows about. Simply because I believe having more pro players onboard would be a good thing for the greater membership.

At the end of the 1st vid i grabbed for my Bach book,end of second my bass.At the end of the 3rd i put them both down and hit the replay and watched it again.thanks for posting these vids.Dont forget the amount of reading time alone it takes to really get this stuff down folks.Personelly I really like this kind of thing as it shows young and more experienced players alike whats possible if you just switch off the television set and go do something more useful instead.Loved it.cheers

I bought a Bach on bass book myself on Thursday (partly because of the vids and partly because my instructor recommended it). It is pretty challenging stuff, particularly for a beginner like me. Worked my way about halfway through Prelude 1 in G through the weekend and its been great sight reading practice. I've been lax in that over the years, between that and getting a better grounding in theory is what made me start taking lessons recently. Besides that, Bach its pretty music and all those sixteenth notes give the fingers a good workout.

Hm - okay. I don't seem to be the only one who got kicked by those vids.

Here's my version of the 3rd tune - still "work in progress", of course:

http://www.myspace.com/tonschmied

Some mighty fine stuff there!...Damn fine bass too!:)