How To Make A Hit Pop Song Part 2.

Second part of the Brett Domino's course:

How To Make A Hit Pop Song

By Brett Domino.

Weird Bass #12

Orchid bass

by Rick Toone

How To Use Audio To Firefighting

In the everyday routine, listening, creating, editing some audio materials I don't think about that how many other way to using the audio.

Viet Tran and Seth Robertson - both of engineering student of George Mason University - created a firefighter unit that uses sound waves to separate oxygen from object on fire.

Tran and Robertson are spending about $600 of their own money to develop, they have built a portable unit which part is sound generator, amplifier, power source, speaker and focusing tube. It would seem to have great potential in attacking fires in a variety of situations. Sound waves are much cleaner than water, powder, foam and chemicals, there's no collateral damage to the surroundings.

They tried different frequencies but eventually the lower frequencies working much better.

Tran said :"It's low-frequency sounds -- like the thump-thump bass in hip-hop that works," but “music isn’t really good,” Robertson said, “because it doesn’t stay consistent.”

Let's see how working this thing:

Weird Bass #11

The Jupiter 

from the Jens Ritter Instruments

Pickups RITTER QUATTROBUCKER Pickup (Ebony Cover)
Electronics RITTER BA 4-Band (Trimpot Backside)
Hardware Gold, Chrome or Black Hardware
Gurtpins Schaller Security Lock Strappins
Tuners RITTER BT Tuners - Custom made by Gotoh
Nut Rendered Bone Nut
Bridge RITTER 3D Bridge + "Soundfin" String Attachment
Body Wood Mahogany
Neck Maple Bolt-on 3-Pieces
Fingerboard Ebony
Scale 35" (889mm) or 36" (914,4mm) on Low-B Instruments
Finish FUTURA (Frosted Black)

More info about the Jupiter here.

The Oscar Hansson Trio - Lost Bottles - Preview

The Shapes of Sound

We don't see these shapes and objects what makes the different frequencies in real life, but a little sand and water in this wonderful video by Nigel Stanford (directed by Shahir Daud) was a help to show these features in action.

Weird Bass #10

The Norton Wraith 5 String Tube Frame

Designed and crafted by Hugh M. Norton

Norton Mainframe®: Tube frame with radial wound carbon fiber tubes and machined anodized T 6061 aircraft grade aluminium for extraordinary tone and sustain.

Features: Neck / Mainframe assembly locking tilt (±27*) for individual preference. Movable and replaceable pickup modules.
Finish: Dark Red
Neck : Bi-laminate Maple w/Rosewood Finger Board
Nut: Aluminium 125/32"
Scale: 32˝
Radius: 12"
Pickups: Seymour Duncan® Basslines

More info: Norton Guitars

" You look like you're the best" The Duran Duran - Rio Isolated Bass

Last year the MusicRadar online music magazine asked their readers to submit nominations for the greatest bassist of all time, and John Taylor won the poll with a massive 30% of the vote. 

This result could two means:

1., The Duran Duran Fan Club mobilized the members to vote,

2., Everybody loves John.

Without a doubt Mr.Taylor is very talented  and one of the most underrated bassplayer. His groovy style bassline is one of the basic elements of the Duran Duran's music. 

You can listen that in the next track from the Duran Duran 1982's big hit:

It's a cool track, only little mistakes at 2:27 (seems like a cut) and another at 5:14.

Oscar Hansson Trio -The Raven's Day- preview

Another special preview from the forthcoming "Snowball Stores" album.

The Perspective Of The Pianist

GoPro Cam + Jason Pelsey = Insane view through the eyes of a virtuoso concert pianist.

Via Sploid

Weird Bass #09

Cordes EXP 1

Info: Krappy Guitars

How To Play The Music Of Andes - The Landscape Song

Just took a bunch of images from different peaks of Los Andes drew a five-line music sheet over them, and marked the peaks as notes. That's all.

The project is called The Landscape Song and was made by the ad agency FCB Argentina to promote Jeep's new high fidelity system.

via Sploid

Weird Bass #08

The Atlantasia Dualist 2 string

The Atlantasia Guitars and Basses Designed & Crafted by N. Hayashi (aka H.Noble) Nagano, Japan

Body: Canadian Hard Rock Maple

Neck: Canadian Hard Rock Maple

Fingerboard: Canadian Hard Rock Maple

Scale: ( 0f-b ) 864mm ( 34 Inch )

Winder: Atlansia Original Bottom Tuner　

Tensioner: None　

String nut: Adjustable Screw Nut

Fret: Fd Jumbo Sbb-215

Position marker: Side only 5mm dot

Pick-up: Atlansia original Arsx2

Tailpiece: Atlansia original (with Tuner )

Bridge: Screw type

Metal: Coating Gold

Control: 1v

More info: Atlantasia

I Like Noise - The Beatles "Helter Skelter" Isolated Bass

It's a very unique record because John Lennon is playing the bass on this track with a Fender Bass VI.
I know it's a legend but nobody knows exactly who and what and which instrument played on this song, because the song was recorded many times during sessions for The White Album in 1968.
I think it's Lennon (because McCartney's bassline has more melodic parts) but in a 1980 interview, Lennon said, "That's Paul completely... It has nothing to do with anything, and least of all to do with me."

On 20 November 1968, days before the album was released McCartney gave an exclusive interview for the Radio Luxembourg and he said about "Helter Skelter": "Umm, that came about just 'cause I'd read a review of a record which said, 'and this group really got us wild, there's echo on everything, they're screaming their heads off.' And I just remember thinking, 'Oh, it'd be great to do one. Pity they've done it. Must be great — really screaming record.' And then I heard their record and it was quite straight, and it was very sort of sophisticated. It wasn't rough and screaming and tape echo at all. So I thought, 'Oh well, we'll do one like that, then.' And I had this song called "Helter Skelter," which is just a ridiculous song. So we did it like that, 'cuz I like noise."

Weird Bass # 07

The Real Heavy-Metal Bass.

Stash Stainless Bass

Specification:

Pickups  custom made split coils with Alnico 5 magnets 
Weight 4.5kg (10lb) 
Body Stainless steel brushed.
Scale 34” (24 frets)
Neck Stainless steel tube acoustic 38mm dia (1.5”)
Frets H=1mm (0.040) W=3mm (0.118”) flat with rounded edges
Bridge stainless steel adjustable
Potentiometers 250K volume and tone
Tuners Gotoh type
String space nut = 8.5mm (0.334”), bridge 15.5mm (0.610”)
Jack Switchcraft
Country of origin Canada, Patent Pending

About The "No Room For Tears"

I wrote this song years ago, when I wanted to make a band with the brilliant Hungarian violin player Luca Kezdy. But the band didn't worked and I wanted to save this groove, that's why we play it now.
We played this song live many times with my previous band (deBORT) but this new recorded version (with my trio) is better than I ever thought.
This new version is inspired by the poem of Anne Kerdijk Nicholson.

A short quote from the poem:

"Until then we were immortal --
we drove up over the Parkway
the lights of his city blurred.
He had been younger than me.

They hold each other
and kiss, reciting
their front-door litany --
“Last chance before we come back,
they don’t like poofters out there.”


Here is the whole poem:
No Room For Tears Here

And here is the song:

Steve Lukather about Mike Porcaro and the Toto new album

Great article with Steve Lukather about Mike Porcaro and the Toto next album:
Smashing Interviews Magazine

Weird Bass #06

"Chicago Blues 1880" from the Rainy Days Instrument

Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil demands Facebook account back

What can we do if somebody takes over the control of our Facebook page?
Interesting article from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil demands Facebook account back

Pharrell Williams about the Blurred Lines verdict

via Billboard:
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6509350/pharrell-blurred-lines-marvin-gaye-based-on-emotion-video-interview

Weird Bass #05

Omni Bass by NS Design
More information: http://thinkns.com/instruments/omnibass.php

8 Things About The "Whole Lotta Love" Isolated Bass Track

8 Things About Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" Isolated Bass Track

1. John Paul Jones played this track on an 8 string bass (This is why the bass sound so thick)
2. The "G" note in 0:35. Is it a mistake or not?
3. I never recognized before the mistakes between 1:12 to 1:21
4. The finger-percussion after 1:50
5. The slide tones between 2:44 to 3:10 (I never noticed these notes.)
6. The "C" note in 3:25
7. The original ending-phrase. On the album this song ends by fade-out.
8. The tempo changes. He sped up, then pulled back, it's unacceptable in this Pro Tools and click-track area. (But who cares? This song is amazing, and almost 50 years later it's still full of energy, and I try to be so "bad" like JPJ.)

Listen to a little preview from the 'No Room For Tears' single

The 'No Room For Tears' single

Coming Soon!

Blurred Lines versus Got to Give It Up

The best article what I read about this case:

Did Robin Thicke steal ‘Blurred Lines’ from Marvin Gaye?

Weird Basses 04

Basslab STD Blue Fretles Bass

The 11 Best Practice Tips Ever

Transparent Clouds - The video

How Blondie Created ‘Heart of Glass’

Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein talk about ‘Heart of Glass’
Via WSJ

Weird Basses #03

Custom upright stick bass - via monsterbass.nl

The Great 4 Chords

How many song use the same 4 chords? How many well-known hit build around the I. V. VI. IV chord pattern? It's uncountable but the guys from Axis of Awesome tried to help for answering this question.

The Fluxing Uranus

J. Ashley on the Amazon review: "Clearly inspired by the novel by Adam Shadowchild. Can't wait to hear Jenny Starpepper and the Spitting Worm!"
The Fluxing Uranus is the opening song of my "Transparent Clouds" album.
The title "The Fluxing Uranus" is one of the book of the fictional author Adam Shadowchild played by Jeffrey Tambor in the 2011 science-fiction film Paul. The filmmakers Simon Pegg and Nick Frost wrote a whole bibliography for Adam Shadowchild. It has very pretentious science fiction titles (Prison Hulk 441, The Venusian Pangenesis, The Robot's Mistress), and I thought that this is a perfect match for this song.

Sunday Tension - The Video

In my life: Paul Gilbert

Great interview with Paul Gilbert on the Musicradar.

In my life: Paul Gilbert

Weird Basses #02

AMPEG Devil Fretless Bass AUSB-1 Sunburst 1968 

Kiyohiko Senba

I'm a huge fan of the experimental/avant-garde Japanese group the Wha-Ha-Ha. Kiyohiko Senba was a percussionist this band and it's his another project (he's the conductor):

All-Pass Filter

Last week I had a conversation with the brilliant saxplayer Gergő Kováts about the different audio filters especially the "All-pass Filter". We discussed why and how we can use this filter, the classic analog vs. digital contrary, etc.
I remembered later (because we were at an Belgian Brasserie ) that I have a composition where I used many filters. This is it:

TightTalk RecorderPlugin Reinvents The Cassette Recorder For Modern Use

TightTalk RecorderPlugin Reinvents The Cassette Recorder For Modern Use

Weird Basses #01

The Oscar Hansson Trio's Black Umbrella Single Out Now!