Bill Nelson - Glow World (Mick Karn on bass)

[The Ram]

Hello fellow bassists,

Just thought I'd introduce myself seeing as I am a newbie.
I am 19 years old, British and female. I have been playing bass guitar for about 10 months after having previously played rhythm guitar.

I also have completed (and passed) a music course I have been studying at college this year. I hope to get onto the higher level course, which would lead to a place at University where I would hope to get a music degree.

Eventually I would like to be a professional and successful bassist and songwriter in the future.

I have been a long time fan of John Taylor, the bassist for Duran Duran, and am not ashamed to admit that he and Duran Duran have been a massive influence on the type of music I write/play.

The main reason I have started this thread is because I have recently discovered a track by Bill Nelson called Glow Worm ( http://youtube.com/watch?v=G8Gqqb3IPmU ) which features Mick Karn on bass. I cannot stop listening to the song and was blown away by Karn's playing of the fretless bass. Trouble is I have never played fretless bass before and the sound is somewhat new to me (though I have heard John Taylor play fretless bass a few times before).

I can't seem to pick out the actual notes Karn is playing and can't tell if he's hammering, popping etc on certain notes. I would be very grateful if someone could take the time to listen to the track and tab it for me as I have really tried but just can't get my head around it. I do plan on getting a fretless bass once my memory on the fretted bass is good. Thank you for reading and nice to meet you all.

The Ram

[Hifiguy]

Welcome to Talk Bass, The Ram.

It's a delight to see more young women playing bass guitar and your influences show that you have excellent taste. Don't feel bad. I've been listening to Mick Karn for more than twenty years and still can't make out some of the things he does with clarity sufficient to play them back.

IMO, John Taylor kills, especially on "Planet Earth" and "A View To A Kill." With the sort of taste you show and your dedication to the instrument, I think you have a bright future as a bass guitarist. If you can master the fretless, you're a better bassist than I am, Gunga Din, and I've been playing for more than 35 years.

Please feel free to PM me off the board or check out my posts at the Alembic Culb (down this post). I saw BN in '77 I think, and he was magnificent w/ BB Deluxe). BN is one of the most under-appreciated guitarists of the last 25 years.

What do you play, bass and amp-wise?

Cheers and best of luck to you! May the bass gods smile upon you always, and please check out http://alembic.com/cgi-bin/alembic-club/discus.cgi

Paul
______________
1997 Alembic Stanley Clarke Signature Standard
1984 Tokai (Fender of Japan) Jazz w/Seymour Duncan PUs
1970 Hiwatt Custom 100 amplifier

[The Ram]

Hi Hifiguy,

nice to meet you

Even though I'm at quite a good level in terms of accuracy, speed and stamina etc I don't know much about bass guitars themselves, only the basic things every bass player should know (all the notes on a four string, five string, six string and also the names of each part of a bass guitar lol).

I am aware that different basses create different sounds but I hope to learn more about bass guitars soon. I know because a friend of mine (who also plays bass) told me that the bass guitar I am playing right now is a SX Stingray. I'm really enjoying using it as the action is low and the strings are slim so it's really easy to fret. The previous bass I was using (and my first bass guitar) was a Squier by Fender Precision bass which was great for me when I was just starting out but perhaps a bit "boring" for me now. The amplifier I'm using is just a small little thing Meridian SKAK10A Stage Pro. Nothing special. I've used bigger and better amplifiers at college but I've completely forgotten the names lol. I know the type of amplifiers a bass player uses affects the sound too.

I heard John was using an Aria Pro II for the first three DD albums. I love the sound of it and think it was particularly mixed well on the first two DD albums, being turned up high enough to hear but low enough so that it wasn't too much of a distraction. I think John's bass lines were one of the elements in Duran's music that gave them their identity. I only stumbled across the Bill Nelson track because I heard that one of John's influences other than the bass player from Chic (whose name escapes me now lol) may have been Mick Karn so I just youtubed him and randomly picked the Bill Nelson track. Loved it and now am obsessed with learning it if only I could!

I'll check out the link you've provided, thanks.