"the bass is a guitar ... it is just a little cooler because it plays lower notes ..."
So true.
Anti - pick snobs
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
There are no rules for bass playing but you have to have some sense, if you'r driving other people nuts playing lead bass all the time, playing too loud or trying to lead the band you'll know about it when the calls stop, you'll get a few bass nuts from the audience complimenting you but drive the other musicians away eventually. There's an old story about some veteran Nashville guitarist who was jamming with this young hotshot bassist, the guy's tapping, wacking, playing chords, playing three octaves above E, finally the guitarist stops the session calls the hotshot over and says "Hey, why don't you and me go and get ourselves a bass player, we could probably go places" That was a true story by the way but don't remember who it was though. Every situation calls for something different, I try to be sensitive to what is going on around me. If I'm doing a blues gig I do not bring a 4001 with round wounds on it and crank the treble up and play with a pick for example. I know a guy who goes to blues jams around here and does exactly that, brings 8 string basses, upside down P basses, or other attention getting devices and cranks up the treble and plays with a pick etc., everyone groans when they see him coming. He's oblivious to it though because he's so in love with himself and so wonderful (in his eyes) that he can do no wrong. If people don't like him it is because they don't appreciate true pioneers, haha! This guy will never get anywhere in the blues world and will probably wonder why.
A bass can have many roles and it is my call to do what is called for in the situation. I like bottom, that's why I started playing bass, I do not play muddy but I have had people in the room feel the bass before, a lot of people like that believe it or not. I use flats and tube Ampegs, there is nothing thin or trebly about my sound, it is clear and punchy but stays down where it belongs IMHO. I go up on the neck but it still has bottom when I do, if the bottom falls out of a band they sound empty. I try to set my bass so it sounds good with the bass drum, it accents the bass drum, I play right with it. Incidently bass drums have notes, just that usually they are damped so much they just sound like a thud but they have definite notes if they are tuned right.
Early Ringo and McCartney were masters at playing together BTW. If you listen to the first few albums; the stuff they played out live in clubs a thousand times before they made it, they were really tight. When Ringo goes boomp, so does Paul.
A bass can have many roles and it is my call to do what is called for in the situation. I like bottom, that's why I started playing bass, I do not play muddy but I have had people in the room feel the bass before, a lot of people like that believe it or not. I use flats and tube Ampegs, there is nothing thin or trebly about my sound, it is clear and punchy but stays down where it belongs IMHO. I go up on the neck but it still has bottom when I do, if the bottom falls out of a band they sound empty. I try to set my bass so it sounds good with the bass drum, it accents the bass drum, I play right with it. Incidently bass drums have notes, just that usually they are damped so much they just sound like a thud but they have definite notes if they are tuned right.
Early Ringo and McCartney were masters at playing together BTW. If you listen to the first few albums; the stuff they played out live in clubs a thousand times before they made it, they were really tight. When Ringo goes boomp, so does Paul.
Well, yes, obviously, if you're playing something that asks for the bass to be locked in with the kickdrum, then you don't want a bassist who is playing on top of everything. At the same time, locking in with the drums is sometimes the LAST thing you want . . . it just really depends.
I must say, though, that if all someone is doing is doing crazy slap-pop stuff the whole time, I get tired of it very quickly. That's a personal preference, but I really think slap doesn't fit with everything, whereas I'm sure you could make a pick or fingers fit in any context with the right EQing.
Personally, I like the later stuff where McCartney is playing all sorts of weird stuff and Ringo is being creative. They're still "together", but in a different way.
I must say, though, that if all someone is doing is doing crazy slap-pop stuff the whole time, I get tired of it very quickly. That's a personal preference, but I really think slap doesn't fit with everything, whereas I'm sure you could make a pick or fingers fit in any context with the right EQing.
Personally, I like the later stuff where McCartney is playing all sorts of weird stuff and Ringo is being creative. They're still "together", but in a different way.
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revolver323
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Bob: I couldn't agree with you more about Paul & Ringo. That's the style I copied, and it serves me well today. I still get compliments about my ability to lock in with the drummer. When you can do this, there's no other feeling in the world like it. You anticipate each other's next move. And a lot of it has to do with the bass player's willingness to play what's necessary and the drummer's willingness not to throw in a fill very eight beats. They both "lay back," "leave holes" whatever you want to call it. Listen to Donald Fagen's news CD -- Freddie Washington lays down such a bass groove. It sounds effortless, but you know how much work went in to playing thatway.