Terry - why play bass? Nobody hears it, nobody seems to care. Not sure too many people besides bass players care much about Jaco.

While I agree about being at the mercy of the sound guy when running direct through the PA, I still control what hear through my rig on stage.
 
And I assume you've never seen Jaco live. He used plenty of tone adjustment and effects on his rig. The bass might have been plain but his rig wasn't.

I'll second that Olie. Just watch him on Joni Mitchell's Shadows and Light DVD. He's back to his amp setup all the time. Also, during his solo, he's using a variety of effects including what must be quite an early looping device - I don't think it's as simple as a WEM copycat.
 
Graeme

Seen Jaco and I agree that many people will have heard of him except bass players..same as not many people would have heard of Valentino Rossi unless they like MotoGP.
The point is that is is great to have so many tone shaping options and since the technology is here because chips are so well made and pack so much in them it can be done but sometimes less is more.
I mean if Almebic made one ultimate tone control that did it all we would all have one

Seen Jaco and I agree that many people will have heard of him except bass players..same as not many people would not have heard of Valentino Rossi unless they like MotoGP.
The point is that is is great to have so many tone shaping options and since the technology is here because chips are so well made and pack so much in them it can be done but sometimes less is more.
I mean if Alembic made one ultimate tone control that did it all we would all have one

Adriaan said: Terry - why play bass? Nobody hears it, nobody seems to care. Not sure too many people besides bass players care much about Jaco.  
 
I don't know if your serious or were joking, it doesn't matter, but;
I say, well, if you play funk stuff and other musicians leave enough space in the mix, the bass becomes Number 1.
 
Nobody can argue to the fact that 98% of the time, you'll hear more bass on a Funk track as oppose to Rock track, IF you are not a bass player. Now, I am not ditching Rock, although Rock doesn't/never did anything for me, but if I was in a Rock band, I'd choose the Guitar, period!  
 
When we talk Funk or Jazz Funk, it's an other story all together, if you can't hear the bass, you can't hear anything then.  
 
Saying that, I know that there are many people who just can't play Funk, and when I talk about Funk, I am not talking about the smell, I am talking about the Groove, this thing that you have it or not.

Nobody hears the funk I play, but that's just because I'm not in a band right now.
 
Other than that, Terry seemed to be trying to pull some people's legs a little, so I thought I'd return the favour.

Well, I would like to hear some of it please, if you don't mind.

To honour that request I would first have to invest in some sort of recording equipment (gasp!). As much as I would want to humour you (uh uhm) that would be a rather frivolous expenditure at this time. My playing is just for keeping myself amused, then - so be it.

I am not sure how bad your financial situation is, but there is a nice little box that I can highly recommend for doing all that... it's the M-Audio Firewire Solo, that's all you would need, this box is self contained. I am not sure what you meant by humorous, but I wasn't trying to be funny at all, I am and was serious; may people play bass but very few can groove, so you mention that nobody hears the funk you play... but I wanted to hear it. I am not in a band personally, most people here in London play either rock or techno stuff. Sometimes I check link from people on Myspace... they tagged their music Funk, when i check out... there nothing Funk about it! So, these days, I am trying to find musicians with who I can share my passion.
 
You know, you say that your playing is to keep yourself amused, but with the right guidance and a tiny investment, YES I say tiny, because for someone who can afford an Alembic, the rest is peanuts to get started. I used to work in London for a big music shop call Turnkey, and I have helped many people to get started with they music setup, I used to visit them, advice and the hooks things up and so on... most of them keep going strong with their kit and some of them are pressing vinyls. So, when I read someone feels lonely musically, I like to help, hear what they do, establish their needs. you know...

lg71, I hear you loud and clear. Thanks for the kind thoughts. Just not enough time in the day if your commute is as bad a smine, and you have a family to come home to.

I too am a big fan of Funk. The problem is most cats think if it's slapped it's funk or if its funk it has to be slapped. This is just not true.  
I wouldn't call Flea a funk bassist although he does have a funk influence to his style And on the flip side Carol Kaye and Marvin Isley(earlier Marvin) played plenty of funk with out slapping.  
I love to slap and pop and two hand stuff , BUT it isn't a must to play funk.
 
How does this pertain to this thread?,HMM hmmm..
Lack of tone control creates a funky tone.
(last line is TIC)

Adriaan, if you ever consider going for it and need advice, as long as I am alive and kicking, I'll help.
 
Olieoliver, great to read what you said, I agree, slap is NO funk, slap is slap, period. Some guys slap very well, yet, they don't have the groove! I am NOT crazy about slap, although it depends who plays, it can sound nice (Louis Johnson). I prefer finger style, with occasional slap/pops, I don't have names to give really, I just listen to various tracks on the radio, and sometimes I spot some nice groovy bass lines... There many bass player out there, they don't have big name, yet, they can groove/funk big time. I like the old James Jamerson for example, it's not too Funky but I like it. So, for me, Funk is the groove, the syncopation, the vibe, the style, the missing notes, the crazy chromatic moves... Long live the Funk!

Leave it along Bro, the switches are what Stan uses,they are quicker for on the fly stuff. The CVQ adds a bit more air around the notes as previously discussed with you. It also adds/subtracts the attack. Most likely you will end up placing the CVQ's at about where the switch presets now exist. It's good to be at the top of the mountain but the view is just as good from here.