Wow, this is a holy Vlog Janek, I think I'll see again many times and share with a lot of people. I love your honesty and I'm so happy to have met you in real life in Budapest, you are exactly the same as in this videos. Thanks for sharing your stories and ideas!
Can’t wait to meet you Janek! Can’t express how inspiring you’ve been to me and thousands of so many musicians all over the world beyond just playing our instrument. I appreciate you!
Thanks for the video! I checked out your music on bandcamp, and listened to The Union all through, and then bought the album as well...great piece of music! Really enjoyed it.
Watched from beginning to end. Really taken in by your narration. Been following for about a year, and thought this was the best vlog yet. Very compelling points made.
Really appreciate the honest feedback and suggestions Janek. I think your perseverance is what influences most of us out there starting out from the bottom. great advice. Much appreciated!
A bass player friend just showed me this video. I subscribed, because you speak the truth and offer a lot of value. And you seem like very down to earth & humble guy. Great video, I'll be watching more!
Thank you as always for sharing your knowledge, Janek. As much as I have been inspired by your approach to music and the bass, it is content like this which really energizes me to get proactive with my goals...like a great cup of coffee!
Hi Janek! I never ever comment on videos, but I feel like I should on this one. I ve been a professional Dj for the past 22 years, I am 43 now, and I couldn t relate more with the intro of this video... I ve been on the top of the world, twice, but in the past 2 years I ve been struggling to pay my bills... Even tough I do most of the stuff you mentioned in your video it s always good to have someone vouching for what I am trying... Working hard and most important, being true and passionate about my kind of music. As you may probably know, there are many sub genres in electronic music and the one I like isn t really popular at the moment... But I ll keep real to my music, I ll work harder and be patience because I am sure things eventually will get better. Thanks for this motivational video, really appreciate. Peace
As well as being a fine musician, your enthusiasm, consistency, and curiosity are a real source of motivation. The invaluable insights that you share through your hard work are very much appreciated, you’ve really helped me in developing my own career as a session musician here in China. Keep it up, Cheers!
Excellent video, Janek, thank you for sharing your stories and insights on this. Imho very honest and sincere advice, and not only for professional musicians! 🙏🏻
Love it, I know for me my curiosity as a bass player kind of plateaued at a point because for me as I got into playing more technical music on the local level I noticed the only people interested were other local musicians so I got much more into production and songwriting. A weird thing is I was not a pedal guy for 20 years, now I love using pedals. Pedals for me make things fresh again. Like a new voice without having to start from scratch on a different instrument
Hey Janek! Great advice as always, thanks so much for taking the time to do this. I always appreciate your honesty and positivity. You continue to be a huge inspiration in my life as a musician and as a person.
Wow. That was one amazing speach. Thank you for beeing so honest and open. It really gives me the motivation to work harder and stay strong on my beliefs. Cheers!
Amazing man, thanks for all the information and passion! Hope someday I'll have a great career and life as whole that you accomplished! Hugs from a Brazilian living in Barcelona!
Wow! That trio album is not gonna come out? Would you elaborate on that? Tim and Dennis are world class... Did you figured as the session progress things wasn’t working? I’m baffled...
Hey dude, you signed my arm in Manchester with the Reynold's group! Just wanted to say it meant a lot, and it's healed over nicely now. I was glad to catch you for a second, and hopefully I'll get chance to have a proper hang with you at some point. I hope you're well buddy, and hope to see you around. Peace!
Thank You Janek, Always inspired and happy to see a new Vlog. Been following your philosophy since your column in the back of the British bass player magazine. Currently a desk job in London however have a cunning plan involving music (BASS) thanks to your inspiration. PEDALS. If you had to take 1 outboard pre-amp/DI/Swiss army knife on tour which would be the best tool..
Hi Janek, pedal questions: what was your biggest influence for starting to use pedals, both in compositions and for other artists? What are your go-to aspects that you look for when trialing a new pedal?
Blimey ! You were really on a roll there! And it's all good - really ! So can I take it that you're next recording will be available on Cd ? Brilliant ! I'll be the first in the queue for the signed copy and make sure we all know which of your many many basses you used on each and every track ! All the very best mate!
Hi Janek.You lay down some great advice and inspiration. Thank you. Pedal question: Explain how you went about reproducing a sound you heard. What were the steps and troubleshooting you did to figure out the right combination of pedals and settings.
Hey there Janek, recently my main project has been expanding my pedal library and building my ideal pedal board. I’ve been doing my best to get something close to a synth sound and have had some success but the issue I keep running into is the placement of certain pedals. For instance where to put the modulation pedals and also what order to place different modulation pedals. I’ve been playing with the placement of my mxr phase 95 and my mxr envelope filter a bit and while I like the sounds I’m getting I’m not fully content with the chain as a whole. If you could talk a little bit about modulation pedals and how you organize them in your pedal board that would be awesome! Also just wanted to say this is a great video, keep up the good work!
Wow, tis is a super interesting, privileged insight into the level of thinking and planning that somebody at your level goes through. My mind is actually a bit blown! At 38 I wish I'd been aware of this 20 years ago. Now feeling like a lot of these ships have sailed, if I'm honest. You really highlight the importance of establishing a culture of hard-work as part of your identity. Conversely, it's also very possible to establish a culture of excuses, laziness and generally being a bit lost! Is it ever too late to steer the other way?
Q for the pedals, and I asked this on FB... octave pedals, OC-2 vs all the others. octaver vs octave or OC-3, MXR bass octave deluxe, 3 leaf octabvre. Bit crushers, what's out there, and why does TC not make one? Sub Synth, is the MeatBox it?
Hi Janek! My name is Álvaro, I'm from Mexico and I'm a huge fan of your music and blogs. I have a question. How do you manage being a perfectionist? I mean, music related perfectionism. Last week I found myself really bummed because it took me a while to get this transcription right and then another couple of days before I could play it correctly. I understand this whole thing is a process and that the key to be where you are (at least in a music sense) is to work hard, but some times I can't stand not being that guy who plays perfectly and has an amazing ear. It's harder when I see my teacher being awesome in all that stuff you know? Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough and it sucks. So, how have you managed to go through that? If you have at all. Sorry if my English is a bit awful... have to work on that too. Have a great day! Thanks for the blogs and for sharing your music!
Hi Janek, I'm an amateur musician and I love his books because they take a different approach to most of the books I see. But I would like to know if you intend to do something by approaching the rhythmic question .... thanks rodrigo.
Pedal question: What should be the best pedal board for clean and ballanced tone for a passive jazz bass + octaver? preamp-compressor-octaver? What are the best price/quality brands for that? Thanks!
Hey Janek , thanks for this insight. Pedal question: what do you think the essential effects are that a bassist needs? There’s a lot of options and a lot of fun sounds but I feel like they can’t be used all of the time as that would be effects overkill! What are the effects that you can use the most and would be considered essential for all bassists? Thanks!
Opinions on preamp pedals/power amp pedals? What octave up effect do you find sounds most "natural" on bass, I have a Boss Super Shifter, but it starts to sound glitchy with my bass. For the money (under $150), what pedals or brands do you think are overlooked, and give you a good sound? A bassist interested in moving into more experimental genres of rock and metal, what pedals would you recommend getting, and where should I put them in my signal chain?
Excellent video....so much that warrants comment but for me, as it always has been, it's about ones 'personal dream' which is regardless of anyone else if we allow it & secondly re 'time'. The universe is full to the brim with it & there's enough time for everyone to fulfill their personal dreams but only If we allow it! Best wishes as always..;-))
PEDAL class Question: Tips and thoughts on preserving a clean, MINIMAL noise set up, and how to trouble shoot and minimize a noisy bass pedal board. Thanks, Janek!
Wondering if you or John have ever used a bass with a midi pickup (Roland GK, Godin Synth Access, Victor Wooten's FretTrax) to trigger sounds, software synths, etc?
Hey man, love your videos. I was trying to mimic your right hand technique but if I keep my wrist as straight as yours, I end up touching the strings with the right side of my finger tips which feels unnatural. Just wondered if you could talk about this in more detail one day? Either way, thanks! :)
Pedal Question : There are many gigs I play that don't require pedals ie: a natural clean sound is most appropriate, but, I WANT to use pedals. Which pedals would you suggest can benefit a natural clean sound without making it inappropriate? I know it would include eq, compression etc but I'd love to hear your approach.
Regarding pedals. How to handle gain staging between them. Any good tips to use a pedal board with several basses with different output without having to tweat all pedals (I use the volume knob, is there any other way).
*Pedal Q:Hello Janek and John I'm starting a new project of electronic music with a friend of mine which is a drummer and we are massive nerve fans and drum & bass lovers.I want to start building a pedalboard for this project... do you have any advice on some essencial pedals to make that kind of sounds? Like the onces that john does with expression pedals like if it was the cutoff from a synthesizer.I also have a lot of doubts on how to create crescendos... Thanks!
Great video! Did you change the colouring scheme? Pedal Q: Assuming that you could only buy one pedal every 6 months what would be the order that you build your collection?
Would you care to tell how much money you were making selling your own Jazz records? As for me, I only lost money that way. It is my feeling that it is almost impossible today to earn any money with recording and selling your own albums unless you belong to the top 10 (5?) selling artists (Hancock, Metheny, Jarrett, etc.) but in that case you obviously wouldn't have to do it on your own.
Enjoyed the video and I’m sure people found it insightful, however Janek, I don’t think you need to explain every detail on what you do to make a living. Wish you hou could find time to post daily again! Thanks
Most bass-players wear a beard. Only John Patitucci, Joe Hubbard (his beard is on his head), and - sometimes - Janek doesn't. Result: They are not so famous like the others. To become a famous male bass-player: Wear a beard! To become a famous female bass-player: Wear a long beard, too, like the dwarfes do. ;-)
that the most positive 37 min 20seconds ive watched in a long time, thank you janek ..... rob
Wow, this is a holy Vlog Janek, I think I'll see again many times and share with a lot of people. I love your honesty and I'm so happy to have met you in real life in Budapest, you are exactly the same as in this videos. Thanks for sharing your stories and ideas!
Can’t wait to meet you Janek! Can’t express how inspiring you’ve been to me and thousands of so many musicians all over the world beyond just playing our instrument. I appreciate you!
Thanks for the video! I checked out your music on bandcamp, and listened to The Union all through, and then bought the album as well...great piece of music! Really enjoyed it.
Great stuff Janek!
Watched from beginning to end. Really taken in by your narration. Been following for about a year, and thought this was the best vlog yet. Very compelling points made.
Really appreciate the honest feedback and suggestions Janek. I think your perseverance is what influences most of us out there starting out from the bottom.
great advice. Much appreciated!
i think you are my best daily motivator! Thank you for posting videos like this!!
Your words are solid gold! Thank you Janek
Thanks so much Janek for the in depth video, took notes and everything! All the love, keep doing you!
A lot of useful stuff in there. I will have listen again and add some notes to my bass journal. Thanks for taking the time.
A bass player friend just showed me this video. I subscribed, because you speak the truth and offer a lot of value. And you seem like very down to earth & humble guy. Great video, I'll be watching more!
This my be the best vlog entry yet. So much great advice beyond being a musician.
Awesome. Thank you for this vlog Janek. I really needed to hear this. Came in clutch!
Thanks janek such a humble person.
Well said Janek, love watching these videos of you and others before getting into the practice room.
Thank you as always for sharing your knowledge, Janek. As much as I have been inspired by your approach to music and the bass, it is content like this which really energizes me to get proactive with my goals...like a great cup of coffee!
Hi Janek! I never ever comment on videos, but I feel like I should on this one. I ve been a professional Dj for the past 22 years, I am 43 now, and I couldn t relate more with the intro of this video... I ve been on the top of the world, twice, but in the past 2 years I ve been struggling to pay my bills... Even tough I do most of the stuff you mentioned in your video it s always good to have someone vouching for what I am trying... Working hard and most important, being true and passionate about my kind of music. As you may probably know, there are many sub genres in electronic music and the one I like isn t really popular at the moment... But I ll keep real to my music, I ll work harder and be patience because I am sure things eventually will get better. Thanks for this motivational video, really appreciate.
Peace
As well as being a fine musician, your enthusiasm, consistency, and curiosity are a real source of motivation. The invaluable insights that you share through your hard work are very much appreciated, you’ve really helped me in developing my own career as a session musician here in China. Keep it up, Cheers!
Excellent video, Janek, thank you for sharing your stories and insights on this. Imho very honest and sincere advice, and not only for professional musicians! 🙏🏻
Love it, I know for me my curiosity as a bass player kind of plateaued at a point because for me as I got into playing more technical music on the local level I noticed the only people interested were other local musicians so I got much more into production and songwriting. A weird thing is I was not a pedal guy for 20 years, now I love using pedals. Pedals for me make things fresh again. Like a new voice without having to start from scratch on a different instrument
Hey Janek! Great advice as always, thanks so much for taking the time to do this. I always appreciate your honesty and positivity. You continue to be a huge inspiration in my life as a musician and as a person.
Thanks Janek for the insight. I was looking forward to that trio record! Hopefully those guys are down to hit record again.
A very relevant conversation for all musicians around the world. Thanks so much for all these amazing videos Janek! Much love from India.
Wonderful vlog, could have listen to this for hours and not got bored. Nice incite on your life and commitment to your craft.
Great video Janek! Thanks and greetings from Poland.
Very very very interesting bro! Bravo!
Thank you Janek that is very inspirational!
Wow. That was one amazing speach. Thank you for beeing so honest and open. It really gives me the motivation to work harder and stay strong on my beliefs.
Cheers!
Really great video - thanks for doing this Janek!
Amazing man, thanks for all the information and passion! Hope someday I'll have a great career and life as whole that you accomplished! Hugs from a Brazilian living in Barcelona!
Awesome video, Janek! Thank you!
Janek's book is great....
fantastic Janek!
Thank you Janek, this was super inspiring!
Thank you Janek. Wonderful, honest information, as always!
Thank you, my friend.
Wow! That trio album is not gonna come out? Would you elaborate on that? Tim and Dennis are world class... Did you figured as the session progress things wasn’t working? I’m baffled...
GREAT content, much appreciated Mr. Janek Godzilla 😀
Masterpiece of a video, great advice, thank you Janek!!
Great information Janek. Thanks for this and you honesty.
Hey dude, you signed my arm in Manchester with the Reynold's group! Just wanted to say it meant a lot, and it's healed over nicely now. I was glad to catch you for a second, and hopefully I'll get chance to have a proper hang with you at some point.
I hope you're well buddy, and hope to see you around.
Peace!
Thank You Janek, Always inspired and happy to see a new Vlog. Been following your philosophy since your column in the back of the British bass player magazine. Currently a desk job in London however have a cunning plan involving music (BASS) thanks to your inspiration. PEDALS. If you had to take 1 outboard pre-amp/DI/Swiss army knife on tour which would be the best tool..
Hi Janek, pedal questions:
what was your biggest influence for starting to use pedals, both in compositions and for other artists?
What are your go-to aspects that you look for when trialing a new pedal?
man thanks you are an inspiration
Blimey ! You were really on a roll there! And it's all good - really !
So can I take it that you're next recording will be available on Cd ? Brilliant ! I'll be the first in the queue for the signed copy and make sure we all know which of your many many basses you used on each and every track !
All the very best mate!
THANKS Janek
Thanks, JG!
this video is a good companion material to the book! get it!
the trio album not coming out is just too sad........ gotta find that video again
Thanks for rhe insight janek and for all the inspiration!
Hi Janek.You lay down some great advice and inspiration. Thank you.
Pedal question: Explain how you went about reproducing a sound you heard. What were the steps and troubleshooting you did to figure out the right combination of pedals and settings.
Hey there Janek, recently my main project has been expanding my pedal library and building my ideal pedal board. I’ve been doing my best to get something close to a synth sound and have had some success but the issue I keep running into is the placement of certain pedals. For instance where to put the modulation pedals and also what order to place different modulation pedals. I’ve been playing with the placement of my mxr phase 95 and my mxr envelope filter a bit and while I like the sounds I’m getting I’m not fully content with the chain as a whole. If you could talk a little bit about modulation pedals and how you organize them in your pedal board that would be awesome! Also just wanted to say this is a great video, keep up the good work!
Thanks Janek for this great insight!
This was great. Thank you!
Great video Janek, thank you for sharing your experience and what worked best for you 👍
Wow, tis is a super interesting, privileged insight into the level of thinking and planning that somebody at your level goes through. My mind is actually a bit blown! At 38 I wish I'd been aware of this 20 years ago. Now feeling like a lot of these ships have sailed, if I'm honest. You really highlight the importance of establishing a culture of hard-work as part of your identity. Conversely, it's also very possible to establish a culture of excuses, laziness and generally being a bit lost! Is it ever too late to steer the other way?
please! ask john about his signal chain, and what is a great portable DI to use for synths
Great Vlog as always
Thank You for Sharing.....this is Great content
Q for the pedals, and I asked this on FB... octave pedals, OC-2 vs all the others. octaver vs octave or OC-3, MXR bass octave deluxe, 3 leaf octabvre. Bit crushers, what's out there, and why does TC not make one? Sub Synth, is the MeatBox it?
Hi Janek!
My name is Álvaro, I'm from Mexico and I'm a huge fan of your music and blogs.
I have a question.
How do you manage being a perfectionist? I mean, music related perfectionism.
Last week I found myself really bummed because it took me a while to get this transcription right and then another couple of days before I could play it correctly.
I understand this whole thing is a process and that the key to be where you are (at least in a music sense) is to work hard, but some times I can't stand not being that guy who plays perfectly and has an amazing ear. It's harder when I see my teacher being awesome in all that stuff you know? Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough and it sucks.
So, how have you managed to go through that? If you have at all.
Sorry if my English is a bit awful... have to work on that too.
Have a great day! Thanks for the blogs and for sharing your music!
Honesty
Best vlog ever !
Hi Janek, I'm an amateur musician and I love his books because they take a different approach to most of the books I see. But I would like to know if you intend to do something by approaching the rhythmic question .... thanks rodrigo.
Pedal question: What should be the best pedal board for clean and ballanced tone for a passive jazz bass + octaver? preamp-compressor-octaver? What are the best price/quality brands for that?
Thanks!
I did make it that long into the video and I thank YOU! :D
Yes!
Janek Gizwhileygodzilla, Heard that guys a beast on the bass
Hey Janek , thanks for this insight. Pedal question: what do you think the essential effects are that a bassist needs? There’s a lot of options and a lot of fun sounds but I feel like they can’t be used all of the time as that would be effects overkill! What are the effects that you can use the most and would be considered essential for all bassists? Thanks!
Opinions on preamp pedals/power amp pedals? What octave up effect do you find sounds most "natural" on bass, I have a Boss Super Shifter, but it starts to sound glitchy with my bass. For the money (under $150), what pedals or brands do you think are overlooked, and give you a good sound? A bassist interested in moving into more experimental genres of rock and metal, what pedals would you recommend getting, and where should I put them in my signal chain?
Excellent video....so much that warrants comment but for me, as it always has been, it's about ones 'personal dream' which is regardless of anyone else if we allow it & secondly re 'time'. The universe is full to the brim with it & there's enough time for everyone to fulfill their personal dreams but only If we allow it! Best wishes as always..;-))
And it does suck that the trio album isn't coming out thats disappointing
How do you use compression to effect your sound. Your favorite envelope filters
PEDAL class Question: Tips and thoughts on preserving a clean, MINIMAL noise set up, and how to trouble shoot and minimize a noisy bass pedal board. Thanks, Janek!
Wondering if you or John have ever used a bass with a midi pickup (Roland GK, Godin Synth Access, Victor Wooten's FretTrax) to trigger sounds, software synths, etc?
Nice vid, sir. Was that Bimhuis engineer Ron? He's a good dude, let me sleep on his sofa when we played there last year.
A Janek biography?!
Hey man, love your videos. I was trying to mimic your right hand technique but if I keep my wrist as straight as yours, I end up touching the strings with the right side of my finger tips which feels unnatural. Just wondered if you could talk about this in more detail one day? Either way, thanks! :)
Janek Godzilla; you HAVE to put that on some Merch!!!!!!!
Pedal Question : There are many gigs I play that don't require pedals ie: a natural clean sound is most appropriate, but, I WANT to use pedals. Which pedals would you suggest can benefit a natural clean sound without making it inappropriate? I know it would include eq, compression etc but I'd love to hear your approach.
Jeremy Trenwith throw on a chorus and make everything sound super 80s lol
Regarding pedals. How to handle gain staging between them. Any good tips to use a pedal board with several basses with different output without having to tweat all pedals (I use the volume knob, is there any other way).
*Pedal Q:Hello Janek and John I'm starting a new project of electronic music with a friend of mine which is a drummer and we are massive nerve fans and drum & bass lovers.I want to start building a pedalboard for this project... do you have any advice on some essencial pedals to make that kind of sounds? Like the onces that john does with expression pedals like if it was the cutoff from a synthesizer.I also have a lot of doubts on how to create crescendos...
Thanks!
is any pedal can help me to get a moog keyboard sound in my normal electric bass ?
Great video! Did you change the colouring scheme? Pedal Q: Assuming that you could only buy one pedal every 6 months what would be the order that you build your collection?
Good question
Can someone tell me the abridged version of this video?
Janek Godzilla hahahah but yeah I need to get my shit together today. Going to start transcribing something I’ve been putting off for a while :)
Please , can you add Close captions ?...(English). thanks!
I noticed a spelling mistake on the back cover : "reocrding artist". I guess you noticed it too:p
What about health insurance for musicians?
Obamacare....LoL
I would kiss you if I could. I simply loved it.
Would you care to tell how much money you were making selling your own Jazz records? As for me, I only lost money that way. It is my feeling that it is almost impossible today to earn any money with recording and selling your own albums unless you belong to the top 10 (5?) selling artists (Hancock, Metheny, Jarrett, etc.) but in that case you obviously wouldn't have to do it on your own.
Enjoyed the video and I’m sure people found it insightful, however Janek, I don’t think you need to explain every detail on what you do to make a living. Wish you hou could find time to post daily again! Thanks
Most bass-players wear a beard. Only John Patitucci, Joe Hubbard (his beard is on his head), and - sometimes - Janek doesn't. Result: They are not so famous like the others.
To become a famous male bass-player: Wear a beard! To become a famous female bass-player: Wear a long beard, too, like the dwarfes do. ;-)
Joe Hubbard (his beard is on his head) ... man that made me laugh !
PLEASE, SOMEONE WHO CAN TRANSLATE WHAT HE SAYS IN SPANISH. THANKSSSSSS