Jimmy "Flim" Johnson

[JimmyJ]

Hey Steve,
 
Thanks for the comments.  No, I don't have any transcriptions as such.  Any charts that I used would have been in my own shorthand just to help me remember the tunes.  Really just scribbles which often don't even indicate major or minor, just the bass notes.  
 
That's amazing you were at THAT gig in 1987 to witness the grim look on my face and the worried looks of my bandmates.  No, I have no recollection what I did with that temporary axe.  I then owned another Alembic for a time - maybe a Spoiler? - until I could get a Series replacement.  That was a sad moment and I often wonder what the heck could have happened to that old bass......  Check your attics!
 
Jimmy J

[pace]

>>>Mike, not sure yet if I'll be on that tour, it's still in the formative stages.

[JimmyJ]

-Mike,
 
That would put you in CT?  I'll pass your contact info on to Allan's manager but although I'm not sure I will be there, the tour's routing is probably already organized.  The Iridium in NYC is the linchpin of those tours and they usually pass through Piermont, NY, Norfolk, CT, and/or North Hampton, MA, on the way to and from Boston.  
 
Anyway, if I'm on the tour I'll have to give you a holler..
 
Jimmy J

[gbulfon]

Moderator moved post to appropriate category  
 
(Message edited by keith_h on July 02, 2010)

[pace]

Yep, We're in CT right on the 95 corridor. The theater is on par with the Infinity in Norfolk, as far as the size and caliber of acts passing through the area http://www.katharinehepburntheater.org/. But, if you end up on the tour and you take that northern route, I'll make it a point to catch you either in Norfolk, or the Iron Horse....  
 
-Mike

[JimmyJ]

-Mike,
 
Yeah, nice venue - maybe a bit too nice.  Ha!  I was just talking to somebody else about this ... it's rare for Allan to play in a proper theater setting for a couple reasons;  
#1  He is generally more comfortable playing clubs.  I think he is a bit less nervous if he thinks the crowd is drinking...  I love when the band plays halls and think it's a great way to take in his music, but that's just me.
#2  Unless it is a guitar festival, or there is a guitar player on the board of directors, these venues are not likely to know who Holdsworth is.  Musicians come out of the woodwork to hear him play but for the general public it's pretty esoteric and thus not an act that has a big draw, if you know what I mean.  Still, some of these small theaters are game and it's really cool when it works out.
 
As I said, the dates for this upcoming fall tour are already fixed so it won't happen this time.  But I will pass that link to the manager so he can see it as a future possibility.  And I'll let you know if I'm making it when we figure it out.
 
Many thanks,
Jimmy J

[pace]

Thanks for giving it some consideration Jimmy,
 
I hear what you're saying on all points, that's why we have a liquor permit and allow drinks in the hall!  We're also able to move the first 5-7 rows out and make way for cabaret style seating, or even a dance floor to make things less stuffy.  
 
Believe it or not, our director is more than receptive about the possibility (Allan's Soft Machine association?!?)~ but you nailed it~ promotion would have to pursue a couple of different avenues to get the musician's musican crowd out of the woodwork....  
 
thanks,
-Mike

[bigredbass]

Jimmy:
 
Here in Nashville the argument seesaws back and forth among guys who record a lot:  Really high action (to kill as much action/fingerboard noise as possible) or a normal to low action (and hope your technique is just not noisy) for your recording basses in the cartage case.  What do you do?
 
And can you recommend some good 'bass' headphones?
 
Thank You,
 
J o e y

[JimmyJ]

J o e y,
 
That's interesting, I never thought of doing that on purpose...  My basses are all just set up as I like them, which I would describe as med to low action.  Nothing rattles unless I play hard and then that becomes part of the sound.  I only adjust if the weather moves them one way or the other.  The graphite fretless has no truss rod and thankfully doesn't move.
 
Are the cats in your town still bringing their own LA-2A compressors and such to dates?  Pre-processed line level straight into the board?
 
I'm no help with the headphone question either.  I tend to be happiest with a flat response as opposed to the more hyped variety.  I don't bring my own to studios.  
 
Thanks for asking!
Jimmy J

[bigredbass]

It's all over the board, depending on your rank:  New guys show up, plug into the little passive DI and keep their mouth shut.  Senior players bring everything, my favorite being a friend that plays through a WW2 Bogen tube PA head, modified to bypass the power section !  I'm out of that stuff (never was really in, actually), so you'd probably know better than me, I'm sure.
 
Everything is so digitally processed now, it's a wonder you couldn't bring a fretless and pitch correct it.  I hate the vocals, you hear those high harmonics and the three-part harmony that is utterly linear like a keyboard, no wavering vibrato at all.  Oh well, I've become a curmudgeon.  Shame on me that I remember when you had to be able to play and sing without computers.
 
Thanks, Jimmy.
 
J o e y

[tbrannon]

Joey,
 
Pitch correction for a fretless?  Where do I sign up?!!  LOL...

[bigredbass]

Jimmy, I can relate a story I do know of personally:
 
A late friend was a fabulous fiddle player, a 5-string fiddle no less (only man I ever saw who could play TRIPLE stops in tune (!) on a violin).  Did some song demo sessions that went downtown to the label.  Songs went in the round file, but the staff producer wanted to know 'what box is that guy using' to get that fabulous fiddle sound.
 
Well, Jim would only record with his orchestra grade fiddles:  Serious violins, no pickup, different than his stage fiddles which were padded for feedback, pickups, etc.  He'd record his parts in a small, hard wall room with his C414 AKG, and that was all.  He thought great tone + great mic was all you need.  Little reverb at the board, done.  So the label sends a guy out to watch him cut, who followed his signal path across the room, thru the wall, and behind the console, only to climb out and say 'He's NOT using ANYTHING!'.
 
A few weeks later Jim's on a session and he keeps hearing these great-sounding string pads from the keyboard guy.  The guy smiles and thanks him for the compliment, then thanks Jim, as it's HIM sampled from previous dates.
 
J o e y

[JimmyJ]

J o e y,
 
Yes, for those of us who have been on the scene for (a-hem) a while, the art of recording has reached a crazy state.  It's all just tools though, the machines aren't very creative on their own.  It turns out the Arp String Ensemble didn't end all string dates and the drum machine didn't make drummer obsolete after all...
 
When I work on a track for somebody at home I use it all - comp several takes, nudge my notes around, etc.  Still my sound, my notes, my choice to line them up better with the kick, etc.  Yes Toby, I've even requested the engineer tune a fretless note or two after the fact.  It's all just tools.
 
There are so many stories like this one about your friend the fiddler.  I was once overdubbing bass on several tracks for a young producer who, late in the day, asked me why would anybody want to record more than one musician at a time?  Sigh.
 
Funny about the Bogen pre!  It's probably the same circuit as our F-2B anyway.  Ha!
 
Jimmy J

[jacko]

Toby..
Pitch correction for a fretless? Where do I sign up?!!
 
They're called frets ;-)
 
graeme

[tbrannon]

Graeme,  
 
But if I use the fretted bass I'm left having to hum, Mwaaaaah into the microphone....   =)