The Jam Room Blog Thread.

[mortlock]

so im thinking of picking up a sax..anyone ever play one..what should i know..i tried to play a friends once and i couldnt get it to make a sound..should i look into a few lessons.


i know what i want to do and i have a drummer lined up to do it. i might consider adding a bassist but thats optional at this point..first i need the sax..

please advise..

[RacerX]

I used to play alto sax in high school. It's not a terribly difficult instrument to play once you've learned the basics.

The most expensive thing you might need to do to a used one is replace all the pads over the holes, which can be expensive. As a result, I'd put good pads high on the list, right after tone. I have to admit I like the tenor sax's sound the best, and a metal mouthpiece will get you more bite and raunch than a plastic one. As to making the sound, it's all about getting the reed vibrating. Your emboucher (sp? it means how you hold the mouthpiece in yer mouf) needs to be somewhat relaxed, so don't bite down on it. Breathe to the belly, not the chest.

That's about all I remember. I graduated in 1979.

[Lumpy]

Learn circular breathing... the sax players who make the most noise are using circular breathing. It ramps your output way up when you don't have to stop to breathe.

[Jake]

I'm all for opening new horizons of self-exploration and all that -- but the saxophone, unless played by one of the all time greats (or if you're in Morphine), very much sounds like ear poison to me. Don't blame me, blame the wretched 1980s.

[I,Galactus]

so im thinking of picking up a sax..anyone ever play one..what should i know..i tried to play a friends once and i couldnt get it to make a sound..should i look into a few lessons.


i know what i want to do and i have a drummer lined up to do it. i might consider adding a bassist but thats optional at this point..first i need the sax..

please advise..

I've heard sax is a really good platform for noise artists (moreso than guitar or bass anyway).  I also really dig Bruce's playing in Yakuza. 

Not a lot of advice I guess, but best of luck in your endeavors!  Learning new things is awesome and can be lots of fun.

[MichaelZodiac]

They're great for musical farting as Nik Turners playing testifies.

[liquidsmoke]

A local cover band has a sax player. They mostly play rock songs and it doesn't work. They did an early Floyd set once and the sax basically ruined it.

[VOLVO)))]

The one that got away came back

[The Shocker]

Did you make sweet love to it or fuck the shit outta it?

[Jake]

JCM 800 > Sunn Model T

*ducks for cover*

[liquidsmoke]

The B string parts sounded way more quiet at the gig last night than they do at practice. Weird. Time for a thicker B string?

[Lumpy]

I saw Pilgrim last night (doom trio from Rhode Island). They plug straight into their amps, no pedals. Not even a tuner. Just plenty of clean power. Bass player had two big cabs, looked like the guitar player had a MusicMan head and a full stack. They sounded good.

[RacerX]

The B string parts sounded way more quiet at the gig last night than they do at practice. Weird. Time for a thicker B string?

Were you using a thinner B-string than in practice?

If not, why would you attribute it to string gauge?

[VOLVO)))]

Some rooms eat up some frequencies

[Lumpy]

It will definitely sound different in a club than it does in your practice room. Ask somebody who saw the show how it sounded - it can sound different to the audience than it did to you.

[liquidsmoke]

Same strings as practice. I'll ask some friends if they noticed what I did. The room eating up the frequencies is probably spot on.

[liquidsmoke]

I saw Pilgrim last night (doom trio from Rhode Island). They plug straight into their amps, no pedals. Not even a tuner. Just plenty of clean power. Bass player had two big cabs, looked like the guitar player had a MusicMan head and a full stack. They sounded good.

I have their album and am mixed on it although I'd still like to see them live sometime. I'm not that familiar with MusicMan heads and don't know if they feature extra on tap preamp distortion but am I right in assuming that you mean the tone was more tube overdrive like than super crunchy metal distortion? The album guitar tone is fairly metaly distortion sounding although it's not as high gain as most other modern doom metal bands.

Batillus last night sounded very tube overdriven vs pedal high gain and it worked very well for them. There were several moments where almost every head I could see in front of me was at least nodding to their mighty riffage. Nobody moshed. It was awesome. Just folks being overwhelmed by the sonic destruction.

[VOLVO)))]

That Pilgrim album is straight up Musicman overdrive, maybe a little push with a really transparent boost.

[liquidsmoke]

Ah. I think it's the cab micing that gives the extra gain on record, dealing with that lately myself for recording, had to adjust my tone a bit.

[Danny G]

In Ocean of Stars news things are progressing.

The sax player is doing great. He can also chart music and sight-read which proved invaluable when I met with him last week. Saved LOTS of time in showing him the Arabic 13/8 time bass solo I wanted him to play on sax instead. Trying to coordinate getting together with him and the drummer for tomorrow.

Also have a lead on a B3 player...! Holy shitballs! He is busy with a full time band (150-200 gigs a year) but looking for things to do in his off time. My girlfriend actually found him for me. Was well aware of my reputation in town and knew exactly who I am. We have yet to talk but in responding to my voicemail he digs the music and is interested.

This is getting very interesting very quick. With a B3 player I may not actually *need* a bassist and 2nd guitar player... But may need those two pieces for when he is out of town. 2 versions of the band could be really interesting!

In recording news have been demoing stuff out using GarageBand and making progress. Working on a new album and it'll be great to take my time on it, rather than bashing it out in 28 days and releasing it warts and all.

Also have part of an unreleased song that will be featured in a scene of an independent movie. Sweet! No pay but great exposure. Score:1 for independent unsigned artists!


Sent from a can on some string using Tapatalk

[JemDooM]

Sunn thats awesome you got your JCM back! Iv been through a similar deal but it didnt have a happy ending, gear becomes so sentimental though doesnt it!

Iv been working on writing stuff for years and now its finally coming together after what feels like forever, its been around 10 years since I last played a gig and now it looks like I'll be back within a few months and recording an album later this year, the studio is booked and im so psyched! iv gone through so many times where iv seriously doubted myself for taking so long, and for it taking so long for a band to take shape but now we have a full band and its sounding good, I can start to realise that I wasnt crazy or wasting my time for thinking I could do this

[Discö Rice]

Jumzi sighting! Holy crackers! Glad to hear it, lady!

[MichaelZodiac]

MusicMan related: I saw Arbouretum last week and the guitarist used a HD130 combo, a Egnater head (I'm guessing the 88W Tweaker) and an Orange 4x12. I was surprised by how heavy it sounded because their records don't really convince me that much but live, it was pretty good. Bassist used a simple Ashdown SS head, a 6x10 Ampeg and a Fulltone OCD for grit.

[Lumpy]

I'm playing in a Hawkwind cover band (doing the oscillator sounds) and I'm thinking about quitting. The original idea was described as 'we'll have two or three practices, and then play a show'. Strictly for fun.

Well, now we're on practice #7, and the dudes still don't know the songs (they know about 3 out of 6). Two of the guys have children and serious jobs, and are routinely canceling/rescheduling practices. It fucking sucks to sit there and watch these idiots hash out their parts, and they clearly have spent no time at home learning their parts. Also, we have to practice on Sundays at 11 am due to scheduling (and it takes an hour to get there on the subway). It's irritating to hear them joking around "heh heh, it's just Hawkwind" like the music is soooo simple and beneath them (and they can't even play it correctly).

All that wouldn't matter if they could rock, but they don't. Bass player can't drive the band at all. Since I can play bass too, it's like torture to see. And now they're talking about adding other music to the set (Pink Floyd) and maybe writing some originals. JFC... I don't wanna be a prima donna, but they are really stretching my patience.

[The Shocker]

Also, we have to practice on Sundays at 11 am due to scheduling (and it takes an hour to get there on the subway).

But that's church time!