This is SO funny !!!

stratmanx · Post by **stratmanx** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 4:44 pm

A few of you have seen me post before.

What is so funny for me is that being a guitar player, and mainly in a lead role for close to 20* years now, I have my new (old) Ric 4003.

Anyhow, Superbowl Sunday. I could give a flip about the game, I have no comprehension of sports. So I go to a close frineds house to spend the evening and kinda show off the Ric.

all during the game I'm playing the thing, just hammers, pulls, runs, etc, etc. And all this thru a cheap S#$%T Gorilla guitar amp !

The commercials come on, and I'm jamming to them , the halftime comes on, and I'm right there in Shania's stuff (Boy, didn't she look GOOD ???)

I don't know how many times he starts laughing his *** off and asks me, "When in the hell did you decide to start playing bass ? And how did you get that good that fast "

I guess it's because as a guitarist I have no comprehension on how to "Play" bass properly. I've been told that Rics weren't good for popping and slapping, but that never got thru to me.. I'm just doing it !

As an acomplished guitarist for a long time, and still holding down a lead guitar role in a local memphis band, I come home and just spend the night with the 4003.

It's just so unique, and like finding another voice..

I'm laughing my butt off typing this, because as Jerry said, "Who in the hell would have thunk it ???

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 4:58 pm

Better tell the bass player in your band to practice more or else he won't be able to keep his position heh heh!

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 5:14 pm

There are bass players who get very defensive when a guitarist plays bass well. You don't know the divine secrets of the brotherhood, etc. etc. I have always been amused by this. The only proper way to play is the way that gets the job done.

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 5:20 pm

All jokings aside, Dave, that's very true.
Everything should be done only to serve the song(s) well.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 6:22 pm

A lot of bass players are content to plod along slowly and moronically ...

Also some guitarists get threatened when a bass player can play faster and cleaner than they can ...

I love freakin' out them guitarists ...

stratmanx · Post by **stratmanx** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 6:26 pm

I totally agree with Dave AND Paul..

Yeah, I've encountered resistance, and all of that, but the thing is, I have NO clue how to play bass traditionally..

What I require of a bass player is no where near what I do. I wanna hear Mr' Jamerson, Carol Kaye, or Duck Dunn. I want a solid foundation locked in tight with a drummer who paves a smooth expressway for the guitarist to roll over.

And here I am, a stupid ignorant goof doing the Entwistle / Clarke, Pasturious thing without even knowing how I got there. But for some reason or another it works..

It is SO wierd, but after so many years playing guitar, it's like another language, and learning ALOT of four letter words !!

I just hope the magic stays for a bit, and my band members are tolerent.

BTW, Our bassist is a wonderful jazz guitarist. He is in love with my Les Paul and plays the dickens out of it after practice. it is so odd, as I have it set up for hard rock with the electronics and action..

So as to pissing him off, No, T-Bone Shavonne is one of the nicest guys in the buisness..

iamthebassman · Post by **iamthebassman** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 9:46 pm

Yikes!

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue Jan 28, 2003 4:40 am

It really isn't too hard to play bass ... play the root note of each chord ... sort of like a rhythm guitar playing one note at a time .... blues and country have a few riffs you need to learn ... rock songs sometimes have a few signature riffs ...

But the really good bass players all have a sense of melody and improvisation ... Geddy Lee, Paul Macartney, ... also these guys usually play other instruments as well ... Sir Paul started out on guitar ...

rob · Post by **rob** » Wed Jan 29, 2003 6:24 am

I've always felt that it is a good thing to play more than one instrument. Especially the bass. What if your bass player quits? Who's going to play? Guitar players are a dime a dozen. Bass players are a bit harder to find. I'm sort of doing the opposite. I mostly play bass, but occasionally like to strum chords on my 330. I'll never know when it's going to come in handy.

rickfan63 · Post by **rickfan63** » Thu Jan 30, 2003 1:45 pm

To me a good bass player is one who can play in the pocket with a drummer and make a rock solid rhythm section, and still play good melodies. You don't have to be fancy or fast(though that can come in handy at times). I've played over 20 years and that philosophy has always worked for me. I also started on guitar then put it down to play bass because that's where my heart was so it does help to be able to do both.

aristeas · Post by **aristeas** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 11:31 am

Here's a quote from a Keith Richards interview on bass playing and bass players -

"GW: A lot of Fifties rock and roll records had upright bass.

RICHARDS: Oh, all the classics are upright bass and a 4/4 jazz drummer. Swing, you know? That's how it was until the advent of the electric bass, where the worst guitar player in the band would be relegated to the electric bass. Since he wasn't so good, he'd start pedaling eighths: dum dum dum dum dum. And so the drummer stopped swinging and started to play eighths on the hi hat to play to the new instrument, instead of swinging 4/4. So already you start to loose the roll.

GW: So that's how rock and roll became rock?

RICHARDS: Yeah. But what about the roll, baby? I want the roll. F*ck the rock. I've had enough of it."

Speaking as a bass player who now plays lead guitar - what matters is being competent enough to play what you want, to get the sound you wan't - i.e: not having to restrict yourself to boring root note 'thumpa-thump' 'cos you aren't good enough to play anything better.

I'm currently sitting in on bass for an alt country outfit and being able to swing it makes all the difference - syncopation, that's the critical difference.

Cheers, LK