Hey guys, my band just finished getting the music video we shot in early February edited and uploaded. Now it's ready to be shared! This is our first 'pro' music video; we'd shot one previously on an iPhone which turned out nice, but this one just looks classy in a way that one never will.
It's a live off the floor take of an original tune I wrote (minus lyrics...). I didn't get a chance to fuss over tone; I was DI'd out of the amp (some pretty average GK thing), but it's surprisingly not bad. I had also hurt my back pretty terribly earlier in the week, so I was in some serious pain for the entirety of the shoot... but it was a price happily paid for a product like this!
Let me know your thoughts! Good? Bad? Awful? Ricks are only for prog, you moron? I'd just enjoy hearing back from everyone! And of course, I hope you enjoy it...
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I went to Bass pro shop and to my surprise they didn't have a single bass guitar.
Hey man that sounded great! I'm glad you posted this actually because I love the sound of a ric and I thought it worked well with your bands sound. Truth be told, I didn't think it would, but alas, I was wrong. Good work my friend, my only critique is that the song is too long, I checked out at about 3:30, it was starting to get a little repetitive, otherwise it was great, love the ric! If they made 5ers I'd be all over one!
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Awesome video. The Ric sounds great! Are you using flats? They have a nice thump but cut thru.
I don't know why folks try and pigeon hole a Ric as a one trick pony. I have found it has a wide range of tones depending on the strings, the pup settings and amp EQ. Your video is great example that 4003 is just a great bass overall.
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Hey man that sounded great! I'm glad you posted this actually because I love the sound of a ric and I thought it worked well with your bands sound. Truth be told, I didn't think it would, but alas, I was wrong. Good work my friend, my only critique is that the song is too long, I checked out at about 3:30, it was starting to get a little repetitive, otherwise it was great, love the ric! If they made 5ers I'd be all over one!
I certainly appreciate the kind words. Thanks for them, and for checking the track out. I'll be honest, I don't see many reggae guys with a Ric, but I tend to believe it's the bassist and not the bass which truly matters. And I can understand your critique; thanks for the honesty!
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Awesome video. The Ric sounds great! Are you using flats? They have a nice thump but cut thru.
I don't know why folks try and pigeon hole a Ric as a one trick pony. I have found it has a wide range of tones depending on the strings, the pup settings and amp EQ. Your video is great example that 4003 is just a great bass overall.
Thanks, man! I'm actually using almost the opposite of flats; Ernie Ball Cobalts! They were fairly dead, though. I had both pickups on full, with the neck p'up tone almost 100% of the way down, and the bridge tone almost 100% up. I find it's a good balance.
Indeed, a Ric is versatile! I thought I'd always swear by my P-Bass, but it just sits around these days while the 4003 gets all the love. I'd feel bad if I wasn't having such a good time doing it
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Very nice groove you guys have here. But, question, what does "reggae roots" mean? Isn't that just plain reggae? Anyways, I liked it quite a bit.
One thing I noticed: you (bass player) were shown in close up, like, once in the whole vid, but the rest of the band members had several close ups. Plus you were blocked almost all the time by the keyboard and guitar guys.
You should show yourself more, IMHO. You have a tight groove, good chops there and a pretty Rickenbacker to show off. I dug the tone of it, by the way. Bright and just right.
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Last edited by carlthegroover : 03-11-2013 at 04:04 PM.
I don't know why folks try and pigeon hole a Ric as a one trick pony. I have found it has a wide range of tones depending on the strings, the pup settings and amp EQ. Your video is great example that 4003 is just a great bass overall.
To be honest, I don't know why some people think there should be a best bass for any genre. As long as it sounds good, should we really care about the model and brand? Maybe our own axes, but why criticize what others use?
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Very nice groove you guys have here. But, question, what does "reggae roots" mean? Isn't that just plain reggae? Anyways, I liked it quite a bit.
One thing I noticed: you (bass player) were shown in close up, like, once in the whole vid, but the rest of the band members had several close ups. Plus you were blocked almost all the time by the keyboard and guitar guys.
You should show yourself more, IMHO. You have a tight groove, good chops there and a pretty Rickenbacker to show off. I dug the tone of it, by the way. Bright and just right.
Thanks, dude! Glad you enjoyed. I only classified it as reggae roots because we have some other, less strictly reggae-ish tunes. This was on the traditional, rootsy side, so I guess I thought I'd distinguish it? Trying to make it sound fancier/cooler than it is, haha!
As for my lack of presence in the video, it was because I was super-injured at the time of recording. Earlier in the week, I had slipped on fallen on some ice after a rehearsal, and in doing so sacrificed my body so as not to land on my bass! I could hardly walk, let alone stand and hold the bass, so I was leaning on the amp more or less immobile for the whole shoot. Sadly doesn't make for the most exciting video image... Normally I'm bouncin and groovin as hard as the rest of the guys! I don't begrudge the videographer a jot, even if I wouldn't have minded a little more face time.
And glad you were diggin the Ric! I love it to death, much to my P-bass's eternal dismay, haha I haven't played with a band that it wasn't appropriate for, yet
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Thanks, dude! Glad you enjoyed. I only classified it as reggae roots because we have some other, less strictly reggae-ish tunes. This was on the traditional, rootsy side, so I guess I thought I'd distinguish it? Trying to make it sound fancier/cooler than it is, haha!
I see. Well it does make sense that way. Either way, anything you use reggae or funk for is cool and groovy! I just happened to enroll to a new ensemble class at my music college, and those guys are playing ska and reggae. How cool is that? Just when I was willing to play that type of music more.
Pretty cool! You and your band rock. You have da riddim in you! And, yeah, it does sound fairly distinct from the tune in your vid. Both sound great.
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Originally Posted by sloppy_phil
As for my lack of presence in the video, it was because I was super-injured at the time of recording. Earlier in the week, I had slipped on fallen on some ice after a rehearsal, and in doing so sacrificed my body so as not to land on my bass! I could hardly walk, let alone stand and hold the bass, so I was leaning on the amp more or less immobile for the whole shoot. Sadly doesn't make for the most exciting video image... Normally I'm bouncin and groovin as hard as the rest of the guys! I don't begrudge the videographer a jot, even if I wouldn't have minded a little more face time.
Well, that explains it... except the part where you have almost no close ups, but maybe the videographer was having sympathy over your condition at that moment. As long as that's not you most of the times, it's all good. Just saying, because you have the goods to be in the spotlight just as the rest of your band, judging from what I heard.
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Originally Posted by sloppy_phil
And glad you were diggin the Ric! I love it to death, much to my P-bass's eternal dismay, haha I haven't played with a band that it wasn't appropriate for, yet
Yeah, that Rick kicks butt. I guess we all have one or a few basses we just leave there to collect dust. I just have two, but I love my J Bass to bits (not only my first ever bass, but also sounds pretty good, looks awesome, and I have finally managed to make it play like butter). I have my starter Ibanez displayed on a wall stand in my room, so it does look pretty there, but I don't really play it all that much. I'm seriously thinking about making it fretless or something, just to have a good excuse to pick it more.
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Last edited by carlthegroover : 03-14-2013 at 05:37 PM.
I will be hyper-critical since this really is so good. Two things stood out to me. For this song I think you should roll the highs off your bass just a bit more to give it a little rounder sound because that's how I like reggae bass to sound. It will be more Familyman stylee mon.
The other thing is - the guy with the red guitar needs to play more of a skank. He was playing twice as many chords as he should have been in his rhythm part. I think he should play a standard reggae skank rhydum on the two and four and it would open up more space in the song.
As I wrote, this is picking at nits because I liked it so much. I think these two details could help the sound quite a bit. I'm looking forward to hearing more from you.
Well, that explains it... except the part where you have almost no close ups, but maybe the videographer was having sympathy over your condition at that moment. As long as that's not you most of the times, it's all good. Just saying, because you have the goods to be in the spotlight just as the rest of your band, judging from what I heard.
Yeah, that Rick kicks butt. I guess we all have one or a few basses we just leave there to collect dust. I just have two, but I love my J Bass to bits (not only my first ever bass, but also sounds pretty good, looks awesome, and I have finally managed to make it play like butter). I have my starter Ibanez displayed on a wall stand in my room, so it does look pretty there, but I don't really play it all that much. I'm seriously thinking about making it fretless or something, just to have a good excuse to pick it more.
Well listen, I absolutely appreciate the kind words! We've been working hard, and it's finally getting to a point where I'm consistently satisfied with our sound.
I think doing something like de-fretting the Ibanez would be sweet! I'd love to have a fretless at some point, but it is *so* not in the budget right now. Just bought a new cabinet for gigging, which was a pretty serious priority. But alas, no new gear-purchases for a while!
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I will be hyper-critical since this really is so good. Two things stood out to me. For this song I think you should roll the highs off your bass just a bit more to give it a little rounder sound because that's how I like reggae bass to sound. It will be more Familyman stylee mon.
The other thing is - the guy with the red guitar needs to play more of a skank. He was playing twice as many chords as he should have been in his rhythm part. I think he should play a standard reggae skank rhydum on the two and four and it would open up more space in the song.
As I wrote, this is picking at nits because I liked it so much. I think these two details could help the sound quite a bit. I'm looking forward to hearing more from you.
Man, thanks for the honest opinion. I definitely appreciate, and was hoping for, a little bit of the 'hyper-critical' assessment.
I do agree about the bass tone with you. Coming out of the cabinet, it was big and fat, with far less top end, but we took a direct signal off the head; I forgot to account for the natural high-cut the cabinet provided in the direct feet. That said, I generally don't mind a fair bit of cut in my sound; I record the 4003 in stereo, so each pickup gets its own signal/track. The neck is big and fat like a proper reggae bass, but the bridge has a bit of grit so it's more articulate.
We thought about doing a traditional skank on this tune, but I wrote it with more of a ska vibe, kinda like some Toots and the Maytals. I was big into Sweet and Dandy when I came up with the parts for this track. To me, that's a just as integral and legit type of reggae guitar rhythm. But I still hear what you're saying. Thanks again for your opinions!
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I understand what you have written. The tempo of your song is almost exactly that of the Toots song so you have captured that vibe well and I certainly can't argue with that.
Something to consider is you can suggest to that guitarist to play the half-time skank in alternate verses or maybe just as a change on occasion. If nothing else, try it as just an experiment and see if you like what it brings to the song.
I write this because I was in a band that played some reggae and rocksteady tunes and I've seen the change something like this can bring to a song. In my case, we had a keyboardist playing a part like that and when they changed to a skank rhythm it opened up the song more and it felt cleaner. For our song, she played a skank when the guitar soloed and played the double-time pattern (like yours) otherwise and it worked out well.
As I wrote, this is just something to consider and I hope it helps the song.
WOW man just WOW. New fan here BTW! I had a different definition of roots reggae, but it was an awesome song. Really digged your tone too! Looks like EB Cobalts are my next string purchase loved the back up vocalist's energy as well lol rock on brother!
I've got a question if you don't mind. I've been trying to train my ear, and to me it sounds like the song is in C and E, but it LOOKS like the song is C and D (based on the guitarist and keyboardist) Help a reggae fusion brother out? :/
I understand what you have written. The tempo of your song is almost exactly that of the Toots song so you have captured that vibe well and I certainly can't argue with that.
Something to consider is you can suggest to that guitarist to play the half-time skank in alternate verses or maybe just as a change on occasion. If nothing else, try it as just an experiment and see if you like what it brings to the song.
I write this because I was in a band that played some reggae and rocksteady tunes and I've seen the change something like this can bring to a song. In my case, we had a keyboardist playing a part like that and when they changed to a skank rhythm it opened up the song more and it felt cleaner. For our song, she played a skank when the guitar soloed and played the double-time pattern (like yours) otherwise and it worked out well.
As I wrote, this is just something to consider and I hope it helps the song.
Cheers, man. I went back and listened to the track, and I'm pretty sure the guitarist is doing what you're suggesting in the choruses/B section. He's also adding some notes in there, but his skank went to the more open 2/4 kind. Either way, I really appreciate you adding your thoughts to the mix here!
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