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Books about jazz composition…

Are there any recommendations for books about jazz composition? I am most comfortable with styles best described as standards, swing, or ballads.

I have composed multiple songs already and I think I need to learn more in order to keep progressing. I have a better than average knowledge of theory and harmony but I am not at the level of someone who has a music degree.

I would prefer hard copy/paperback, but would go with ebook format if needed.
If you’re at all interested in jazz arranging, there’s an excellent, now classic book by Chuck Israels. He has a newly released book too. He’s a former Bill Evans bassist extraordinaire.

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Mesa Subway 112 VS DNA DNS 112-N

Mesa, hands down. Current production, excellent quality and design, wide availability, strong warranty, available parts, many authorized service centers if needed, factory support, light, excellent sound, many satisfied users, superior resale potential. Standard Mesa emoji :)

DNA (Dead Not Alive). Pretty much opposite the list above. DNA :dead:

DNS (Did Not Survive). Ditto DNA :dead:
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Ibanez SR745?

What can you tell me about playability, the feeling of that thin neck, etc.
It's typical SR, so I think it's great. Whether you will or not, I don't know.
The bass has excellent specs and will be to the typical high MIJ standards.
As someone who has cut his teeth on P-basses (with a J-bass neck), how will the adjustment be (sound-wise and playing-wise).
I know I will like it, but I don't like FSOs and find them uncomfortable.
I have lots of SR experience, but none with those PUs so I don't know if you'll like them or not, not how they'll play with flats (I don't use them ). I have a mental note that the DX5 PUs are EMG40 sized, but don't quote me on that. Making the comment because I recall looking at another similar model with these some time back and thinking if I didn't like the originals, I could swap them out for EMGs, which I do like a lot.

Sorry not to be much help, but it's not a common bass. It's going to be a good bass though, and I'd snatch it up if it were local to me.

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My Fender James Jamerson Precision , Intonation issue.

I'll just repeat my suggestion because it's the only way to have the muting effect without intonation issues regardless of the string gauge:

Angle the foam strip so it follows the angle of the saddles, and place it so it touches the strings just ahead of the saddles. I promise this will either have zero effect on the intonation or it will make all strings equally sharper by a tiny bit, which you can fix by pulling back the saddles just a tiny bit.

Out.
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Double Bass Aquila Deep Red Guts - Anyone tried them yet?

They bow fine. If you can bow gut strings. Shifting feels pleasant, because the surface is very smooth. Be careful with white bow hairs though, the colour bleeds a bit. For me, a downside is, that they are only available as D and G. I prefer plain gut A. Lets see, if Aquila answers my request for a plain A someday....
FWIW, i use Nyman and a Carbow naturbow.
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Gauge Tolerance

Your calliper is probably accurate but I’d check it with a feeler gauge just to be 100% certain. It’d be interesting to know what different companies consider acceptable +/- tolerances.

I looked at the tolerances for calipers for this kind of thing and discovered that to get a useful guaranteed accuracy I'd have to pay way more than idle curiosity warranted. If I got 42 62 82 102 I'd think that the callipers were at least decently consistent, but in future either I'd be knocking .002 off every measurement, or adding .003.

Earthquaker Devices Blumes

Recent faves:

-----

- BB Preamp 1.5, compared to the Blumes, sounds dull and woofy both 9 and 18v.

- BlowerBox, compared to the Blumes, muddy and overly compressed, not enough range on the top end or gain knob, it's either not enough or way too much, even at 18v. Also missing that mid range punch that the Blumes has.

- Amptweaker Bass Blues Fuzz Jr, compared to the Blumes, it's smooth, and even running at max gain, it's still pretty tame, can't get the attack, top end bite, or mid punch of the Blumes, even with the mid knob cranked.

- Scorpion, incredible attack and clarity, prob the best I've ever tried, but I never got along with the EQ. Found myself constantly fiddling instead of playing. The Blumes has that same attack and clarity, but goes from cleanish boost to all out fuzz without any drama. Don't even need to touch the EQ, sounds perfect for me at noon on each of the settings.

-----

The Blumes has soo many tones inside. I can basically replicate/replace all of these pedals but with more clarity, MUCH more top end chunk, and a simple set & forget EQ. I don't usually find myself jumping between different modes on pedals, I like to pick one and live there. With the Blumes they all sound great and different enough to be useful.

It also cleans up very well with the volume knob and sounds great with with my SS and tube rig. Can't say the same for the others.

Truly shocked. I've had a BB preamp for wow.... probably 20 years now, few versions of the first one, and got the new one right when it launched. Really can't believe how good the Blumes is. Immediately knocked the BB Pre and Blower off my board, wild.

It has a fairly transparent EQ curve (can set it to 100% transparent switching on and off) but simultaneously clears up the muddy low mids on both my amps. Fantastic!!!

Excited to try this out with my guitar rig as well. Lotta folks have been saying how great it is for both bass and guitar.
I never could get the scorpion where I wanted it either. Loved a lot about it, but just couldn't keep it.

MXR Textures granular synth engine

Stupid question maybe, but I assume you have the Output Mode on Stereo by pressing the footswtich and turning the Regen knob full-clockwise? I didn't see you mention that step
Thanks for asking. Not a stupid question. (Certainly not coming from you!)

Yes, I did have that set. But I believe it to be irrelevant to 1. whether stereo audio is being output or not, 2. whether true stereo input is presented in place in output, and 3. via what cable(s).

To my understanding, that setting governs only how grains are distributed in the audio field, not those three items above.
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Peavey Blue Marvel for bass?

I have a chance to buy one of these Peavey Blue Marvel speakers locally and was wondering if it would be fine for bass use in a Hartke 1-15 cab.

Specs link

My other option is an Eminence Kappa 15".
Depends on the cabinet tuning, my experience suggests that the original Hartke driver will perform better in that box.

Also note that the Blue Marvel is ~300 watt rms driver, maybe less mechanically. It was not all that successful and was discontinued.
There’s more to bass speaker performance than stuffing a driver into a box.

DiMarzio Model P vs SD Quarter Pounder

This is the Tone Guide of the Model P. It has the high mid dump, and when you send the signal through something like a Tube Screamer, you get guitar like OD and distortion. The high mid dump is great for cutting through the mix. I like the low end as well which to me sounds tight and focused, and with a boost about 80hz you get fat and punchy tones.

Model P.webp

Markings for fretless

Yeah, that looks exactly like the one I bought.

They shipped it this morning & it will be here Wednesday, but it’s got to go coast to coast.

It’s not quite as flashy as the lovely emerald green Ibanez that I played at the local music store, but they wanted way too much for that one, especially considering that it had some minor damage.

I think it was a Sr500 series, and it did not have lines on it. Just some useless looking position markers.

Also it didn’t come with a case and I thought for the price that it was an extreme disadvantage.
You don't get a gig bag until you get to the premium level, and then it's a cheap bag.

I think you'll like the bass. It is super fast. May take awhile to figure out which setting you like on the 3-way toggle switch.

Olympic White Precision Home Build

No big changes visually the last couple days. I've been spraying the clear coats. I got one last coat today, before the rains fell. Along the way, I did put a couple small touches of the aged clear coat in a couple areas I felt needed a little more color and over the silver print on the waterslide decal. With the glossy clear coats I went little to none on the back of the neck, in the worn areas. The rest of it got four full glossy clear coats, along with the aged clear over most of it. I did shoot one coat of satin clear to the worn area on the back of the neck.

057 - Headstock Clear Coated.webp

I unmasked the fretboard and lightly sanded the taper on the rolled edges. I may hit the face of the headstock with one more coat of clear tomorrow. Today is too humid after the rain. I think two to three weeks will be sufficient before I level sand, thin the worn areas and polish the full thickness areas. After that I'll work on adding some light checking.

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