when performing in a band or whatever. what do any of the double bassists here do. (as in spin it around stand on it etc.). i'm curious to know what other bassists do.

Anyone caught doing any of that crap within sight of me will have flat tires on their car when they get to the parking lot after the gig.

The above not posted in haste.

Originally posted by the_witchdoctor
when performing in a band or whatever. what do any of the double bassists here do. (as in spin it around stand on it etc.). i'm curious to know what other bassists do.

I had my original endpin replaced with a heavy-duty mechanism that looks like an endpin, but is actually more like a shock absorber. With this apparatus, I can put one foot in the cutaway on each side of the bass and start jumping up and down as on a pogo stick when the song gets really heavy. The chicks dig it, but it's kinda hard to play complicated songs while doing this...definitely more of a technique for "Billie's Bounce" than "Donna Lee", if you get my drift.

I don't do it all the time, though - for some strange reason I often experience car problems after using this technique when I play in New York...:confused:

Well there is a guy doing a broadway show that plays with a woman kind of sitting in the cutaway of his DB. He claims it gives the bass better balance, I would try it buy my girl weighs 400 pounds.

I had a refrigerator and a small oven installed in my DB. My trick, I can cook dinner for 4 while playing Mr. P.C.

Ed, I give the brother xx-tra credit playing in the half position with the bass at the angle with the babe on top. I'm wondering if that baby, the bass that is, broke on stage? I noticed the bassist played another bass after that scene was over when I saw the show.

The show was Swing, I don't know though, if it closed or not.

A word of caution here...
That rubber tip on the end pin causes friction which can slow down the spin. So I played one night with the tip off, on the spike. The spins were going great on the first set, but I had this uneasy feeling that my arm positions were changing. Half position felt like first position, etc. At the end of the set, I found my bass had screwed itself into the wooden floor. In fact, I took my break with the bass standing up by itself. Indeed, the bass was actually lower, and so were my arm positions. Everybody thought it was cool to see the bass standing by itself, but at the end of the gig the rest of the band was really pissed because I took so long to pack up. I couldn't get the bass out of the floor. I considered loosening the wing screw and lifting the bass off the end pin and coming back the next day with some tools to unscrew the pin from the floor, but the owner went crazy over the liability of having a trip hazard right next to the juke box. One of the guys scrounged up a pair of pliers, but I really gouged the end pin. I got home late, my wife was annoyed, wouldn't buy my "Honey-I- accidentally-screwed-my-bass-into-the-floor" story. So, take a tip (no pun intended) from someone who's been there. If you're going to spin, be careful. Use the rubber tip on your endpin when you spin. Of course, if all you care about is showmanship, you can spin on the spike. A real musician, on the other hand, uses a rubber.

Originally posted by Don Higdon
A word of caution here...
That rubber tip on the end pin causes friction which can slow down the spin. So I played one night with the tip off, on the spike. The spins were going great on the first set, but I had this uneasy feeling that my arm positions were changing. Half position felt like first position, etc. At the end of the set, I found my bass had screwed itself into the wooden floor. In fact, I took my break with the bass standing up by itself.

Man, I HATE IT when that happens! That used to happen to me all the time, but then I found the solution: I balance my spins. What, you say? I said I balance my spins - if the first one is clockwise, then the second one will be counterclockwise, etc., so that the bass never actually has a chance to screw itself into the stage. Get out, you say? Nope....it really, really works - try it on your next gig.

Before that, I always had to take a Lazy Susan to all my gigs and place my endpin on that while playing. It worked well, and I actually got greater rotation speed because of the reduced friction between bass and floor. I might still be doing that had I not come up with the POGO PIN idea, which renders the Lazy Susan obsolete.

Good luck, fellow Psychorockerz!

You know, I use to use the Lazy Suzan. It was kind of cool because I would keep candy and nuts in it while I played so that during a gig when I would get hungry I could just reach down a grab a nibble. I had to give the Lazy Suzan up though, I started getting vertigo every time I spun and started playing in tune, can't have that you know.

I don't think you guys are taking me seriously.

Should we?

Originally posted by Don Higdon
I don't think you guys are taking me seriously.

Oh, Ye of Little Faith.

Originally posted by Chris Fitzgerald


I don't do it all the time, though - for some strange reason I often experience car problems after using this technique when I play in New York...:confused:
LMAO, good one Chris.:D

As an encore, I'm planning on having several small children leap out of a secret opening in the back of my bass and do cart-wheels across the stage at the next spring concert.

i think slowly but surely...u will all be picked off by ray parker...

;):eek: ;)

Naw -- I love the sarcasm. I didn't choose the humorous route as I had the (only) bass that I played for the first 15 years destroyed in this fashion (at least it's my best guestimate from the damage done as I wasn't there to see the event) and still hold that whole thing a bit close.

ROTFLMAO!!!

This is the funniest thread I've read in ages! :D

This one I actually stole from Ted Nugent, The Motor City Mad Man, but it is really a great show stopper.

Toward the end of the evening I have someone light the tip of my bow on fire (it helps if you soak it overnight in diesel fuel). At the same time, I slightly loosen the tension on my G-string, and I am talking about the one made by D'Addario. I then use the G-string as a bow and launch the flaming arrow/bow into the back of a section mates bass. With a little planning, you ideally have someone spray lighter fluid into the f-holes of the chosen target bass prior to the show.........then just stand back and enjoy.....now that's entertainment. You absolutely bring the crowd to their feet!!!!

I find that it provides a great ending to Handel's Fireworks Music.

Tim,

Remind me to never have you as a section partner again.

Mark

100% uninamity on a jazz-standard request? Granted, the magnitude isn't mentionable, but the percentages are great!

Tim, man, that was a bass burner :D

so then... what else is there to do with a bass? cuz in the next marching band season, our theme is jazz, and whats jazz without the double bass? i'm playing it in the pit (maybe asking if we can get a trumpet and trombone or a few other instruments to play the show standing next to me, and doing all sorts of cool flashy stuff). its gonna be hard doing the spin thing--the pick up on the bridge has a cord hooked to the amp. and i'm not sure my endpin would hold me if i tried standing on it (in which case, i should have someone look at it for me, and tell me if i need a different endpin or a totally different bass). but... if u have any cool ideas, it'd help alot.

I have seen a few players pick up their DB and play it like a BG. That is always entertaining :rolleyes:


Even better, I saw some guy on TV the other night who had an alluminum bass with headlights mounted in it. That sould make for a great show!!

Chas

Phil Smith mentioned the bassist who performed with the female sitting in the cutaway of the bass. My question is, does anyone know how to contact her? I'd like to start auditioning talented ladies to sit on my bass (I did say BASS) for special occasions. 18-25, and due to the low position of my endpin and certain issues with center of gravity, the must posses a larger than normal "upper half".

You care and attention are greatly appreciated in supporting this unique creative project.

Originally posted by ConTraBajisTa
so then... what else is there to do with a bass? cuz in the next marching band season, our theme is jazz, and whats jazz without the double bass? i'm playing it in the pit (maybe asking if we can get a trumpet and trombone or a few other instruments to play the show standing next to me, and doing all sorts of cool flashy stuff). its gonna be hard doing the spin thing--the pick up on the bridge has a cord hooked to the amp. and i'm not sure my endpin would hold me if i tried standing on it (in which case, i should have someone look at it for me, and tell me if i need a different endpin or a totally different bass). but... if u have any cool ideas, it'd help alot.

"so then... what else is there to do with a bass? "
Think about stickers, CTB!

Do a search using "stickers" for the search word.

Pkr2

Originally posted by Robert Sabin
Phil Smith mentioned the bassist who performed with the female sitting in the cutaway of the bass. My question is, does anyone know how to contact her? I'd like to start auditioning talented ladies to sit on my bass (I did say BASS) for special occasions. 18-25, and due to the low position of my endpin and certain issues with center of gravity, the must posses a larger than normal "upper half".

You care and attention are greatly appreciated in supporting this unique creative project.

To answer Robert's question the dancer's name is Caitlin Carter. And to answer an earlier question, the bass player-Conrad Korsch plays a Kay bass for the onstage dance thingy and then plays a different Kay on the bandstand. To answer the next question, yes I am embarrassed that I know this...

Well, for a serious answer....

There's a guy in a jump band called the Crescent City Maulers that I saw climb up on his aluminum bass, one foot on the shoulder, one in the waist cutout. He kept the pin all the way in so he could balance the bass on the pin and one of the lower ribs. He did tell me that he used to do this with ply basses too until one exploded while he was standing on it. :eek:

Ronnie James Weber, formerly with little Charlie and the Nightcats, does the typical rockabilly spins plus lying down on his back with the bass on his stomach, but much more interesting is flipping the bass upside down (headstock on the floor) as well as flipping up over his shoulders and playing behind his head ala Hendrix. BTW, Ronnie is a really good player though admittedly most of the inebriated audience probably are more impressed with his tricks. :rolleyes:

Apologies in advance to those offended by such stuff ;)

How about lighting the damn thing. I can't believe this thread.

Shouldn't this be taken over the the Slab side or something?

Originally posted by Ray Parker
I can't believe this thread.

Shouldn't this be taken over the the Slab side or something?


Nah...over here, this thread is special - over there, it'd be just like every other thread. Besides, put it over there, and you'll get a bunch of the obligatory "I lIkE tO sLaP mY bAsS wItH mY nIpPlE rInGs WhIlE hAnGiNg UpSiDe DoWn FrOm ThE rOtAtInG dRuM sTrObO-rOtO rIsEr" answers.

Chris,

How long did it take to type this. "I lIkE tO sLaP mY bAsS wItH mY nIpPlE rInGs WhIlE hAnGiNg UpSiDe DoWn FrOm ThE rOtAtInG dRuM sTrObO-rOtO rIsEr"
A little too much time on your hands.....of did you just do a copy/paste thing.

Mark

Originally posted by DATEDBLADE
Chris,

How long did it take to type this. "I lIkE tO sLaP mY bAsS wItH mY nIpPlE rInGs WhIlE hAnGiNg UpSiDe DoWn FrOm ThE rOtAtInG dRuM sTrObO-rOtO rIsEr"
A little too much time on your hands.....of did you just do a copy/paste thing.

Mark


I just copied and pasted it from one of the current BG fIeLdY worship threads. :)

Hey, all,

I wrote a little application that will translate normal text into the 'Slab' style so that we needn't waste so much time teasing the teeny-boppers. I'll get an URL posted to the (yet to be created) install file if anyone is interested pretty soon. Hell -- mebbe I can sell it to the youths. Perhaps I should have written it so that it would unravel their drivel. Cool idea. I'll consider this for the full version :)


Here's an example of what this little application can do:

HEY, AlL,

I WroTe a LiTTle AppliCAtiON thAT wiLl tRaNSlaTe norMal TExT INto THE 'SLab' sTYLe So THAT wE NeEdn'T WaSTe So MUcH TIME teaSiNg tHe teeny-bOPpers. I'll GeT aN URL posteD TO tHe (yET TO be CrEAteD) iNStAll File IF aNyONE IS iNtEReStED PrETTY Soon. Hell -- mEbbe I can seLl it TO thE YOUTHs. PerhAPs I ShoULD HaVE WRitTEn IT so thaT it wOulD UNRAvel tHEir dRiVEl. COoL IdEA. I'Ll cOnsIdER tHIs for THe Full VErSIoN :)

Originally posted by Ray Parker
Hey, all,

I wrote a little application that will translate normal text into the 'Slab' style so that we needn't waste so much time teasing the teeny-boppers. I'll get an URL posted to the (yet to be created) install file if anyone is interested pretty soon. Hell -- mebbe I can sell it to the youths. Perhaps I should have written it so that it would unravel their drivel. Cool idea. I'll consider this for the full version :)


Here's an example of what this little application can do:

HEY, AlL,

I WroTe a LiTTle AppliCAtiON thAT wiLl tRaNSlaTe norMal TExT INto THE 'SLab' sTYLe So THAT wE NeEdn'T WaSTe So MUcH TIME teaSiNg tHe teeny-bOPpers. I'll GeT aN URL posteD TO tHe (yET TO be CrEAteD) iNStAll File IF aNyONE IS iNtEReStED PrETTY Soon. Hell -- mEbbe I can seLl it TO thE YOUTHs. PerhAPs I ShoULD HaVE WRitTEn IT so thaT it wOulD UNRAvel tHEir dRiVEl. COoL IdEA. I'Ll cOnsIdER tHIs for THe Full VErSIoN :)


And Mark's worried that I have too much time on my hands?


JAYWALKER,

That's pretty good, but your program needs some tweaking. The caps thing should be straight up alternating caps, LiKe ThIs. NoT oNlY ThAt, BuT iF u WaNt To ApPeAr 2 B hIp, U sHoUlD aLsO mAkE uR pRoGrAm AuToMaTiCaLlY mIsSpElL KeY wOrDs Or SuMtHiNg LiKe ThEy Do In ThErE pOsTs B4 uLl B aBlE 2 sElL iT 2 tHe MaSsEs 4 A pRoFiT.

AsIdE fRoM tHaT, iT's A GoOd IdEa...JuSt KeEp At It, AnD u'Ll GeT tHeIr In No TiMe.

There is always this page. http://rinkworks.com/dialect/

The moron setting gets close but not perfect.


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Cuz dis f'um is biewebuhd by bassists of all ages, duuhhhh, all posts must be suitaggle f' biewigg by young teens. All profanity must be c'plete cobehed wid astehisks, duuhhhh, or substitititid wid "@%$#" symbols. If you do not mask profanity in your posts, duuhhhh, modehators resehbe de rite t' delete de post. If what you habe t' say wuddn't be suitid f' network TB, don't post it hehe.


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If I got serious about it, which I won't, I could set it up so that the user could select different options so the Slabization would be adjustable, etc. I quit the computer biz, though, so unless someone made me a good (great) offer to finish the application I wouldn't expect too many fancy enhancements. I only had 30 minutes or so to burn and thus did.

Oops...

IF I Got sERIOus ABOut it, wHiCh I woN't, i coULd seT iT UP So THat tHe USEr COuld SeLEct DiffeRenT OPTIONS so THE sLabizatIOn woulD be aDjUSTABLe, eTC. I qUit THE COmPuTeR bIZ, ThOUGh, so uNLess SOmEOnE maDE mE A gooD (GREAt) ofFEr to fINish tHE aPPliCatIoN i wOuldn't exPECT too MANY fanCY eNHANCEMentS. I OnLY hAd 30 mINUtEs or So To bURn AnD THUs dID.

That's great man, but I, as a slabber, know that you need to change some of those S into Z. Just a little tip.

I'll make note of that on the laundry list for the next release :)

Because I played electric bass before I played DB, I one day, after I'd had a few realized that I could pick up my 7/8 scale DB and play it like a bass guitar, on my knee while standing on one leg. I then proceed to do a stupid electric bass style slap lick, actually slapping it like an electric, with my calcified thumb, for a little while, all the time standing on one leg with the bass on my knee.

Keep in mind i'm 6'7", and I trained in a martial art that allowed me to be able to balance like that for long periods of time. I would definately be sure of your ability to safely pick up and put down the bass in a one-legged position to do this. And being a tall lanky bastard doesn't hurt either. No, I've never hurt my bass.

Specifically, study the golden rooster stance if you wish to try this.

I have not yet tried to tuck it up under my chin and fiddle it, but I have seen a cello player do it.


- Con Trabajo.


BTW- Yes, I really can do this trick. And anyone seen near my tires will will see other useful applications of that stance. ;^)

Oh, and before I get flamed by a sig line, I should add that sometimes it's funny as hell to try and be hip by being unhiply hip, that can be part of the joke. Maybe I listened to too much Zappa.

When working a theme park country band, I use to play the finally note holding the bass upside down over my head. (cheap ply ofcourse)

I also did the obligatory bass over the knee and play like a guitar routine.

Dizzy Galespie was a proponent of such clown-like behavior on stage to "get over" with the part of the audience that just wanted entertained and not particularly music loving.

Dave

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
when performing in a band or whatever. what do any of the double bassists here do. (as in spin it around stand on it etc.). i'm curious to know what other bassists do
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What do I do??? I play the bass... AND if I'm not having to watch a guitar-player's chord changes on a song I've never heard before, I also try to smile. It's good for the audience to see, whether you mean it or not. .:D

Onstage, I am always plugged-in, or mic'd, and spinning the bass would be a disaster in either instance... I don't relish the idea of using my upper bout as a baseball bat, to see whether I can knock a $400 microphone out of the park, or ripping my Bass-Max pickup out of my bridge wing, either one.
__________________________________________
I know that some Rockabilly players spin their basses and jump all over them, but many of them are specially braced inside, and they often have "Bumpers" on the face & back edges, to keep from breaking and chipping them. If you get your foot squarely on the actual side, instead of it stretching between the edges of the face & back, you'd better be a 4'8" woman, who's skinny.

The only practical way to avoid damage in spinning, and still be amplified, would be to use a wireless setup, with the transmitter strapped securely to the tailpiece, by nylon tie-wraps, or such. You can get 14" or longer black ones at Home Depot.

When do you plan to have time to spin? End of a song, only??

Any song where spinning wouldn't be grossly out of place would be going far too fast for you to stop playing and get into a bunch of theatrics.

BANTHOSEJUGS:

You see, many of us play clasically, so we have lots of breaks in the music to spin our basses.

Plus we don't have to deal with being tied to any form of sound transduction, other than the good old acoustic variety.

Nothing brings the classical erudites to their feet, like an engaging bass section.

Now that's entertainment!!!!!

You see, many of us play clasically, so we have lots of breaks in the music to spin our basses.

I never listen to Classical, so that must have slipped my mind. Sorry about that!

Does the conductor have some signal for "Spin the Basses", or do you guys just ad-lib?

I hope you're not going to tell me that he looks at you meaningfully, then gives his head a couple of 360-degree rotations, like in "The Exorcist"... ;)

If, indeed as you say you have never played classical music, then how did you know the international symbol? Huh?:D

Or are your just a closet classicist? Come out jugband, see the light!!!

The most impressive trick I did was once when I was in a middle of a wedding gig. We had played five sets already when this crazy idea suddenly came to my mind...( god knows where I got that ),
but after considering it thoroughly during one more song, I decided to give it a honest try.

So, I actually plucked the next string after the thickest one, I am not sure what it´s called but I once heard a drummer call it A-string. And I actually played a NOTE on this string!

It was very strange and frightening, and after that I was so exited I had to stay for a few beers after the gig. Which of course led to my wife not buying my "I played a note on one of those funny extra strings on my bass"-story when I came home late that night.

Of course she did not let me play another gig for a while, so I did not have a chance to try it again. Right now I´m thinking to give myself another chance to possess this exiting bass trick again.
The legend of my Trick was spread very quickly among the music scene -- and has really helped me to get jobs after that.

R2

PS. This was of course with BG, I wouldn´t even dream to try something that tricky with DB.

Originally posted by jugband

Does the conductor have some signal for "Spin the Basses", or do you guys just ad-lib?
OBVIOUSLY (sniff) you don't play in a classical section. You spin when the principal spins, silly. And in the same direction, otherwise it looks terribly unprofessional,

Spoken as the true professional that Mr. Donosaur is.

One time at a gig I took the little spike thingy at the bottom of my bass and stuck it in the foot of the guitarist. He let out a high pitch scream and a foutain of blood shot up! The crowd loved it!
Strange though, I never get called for that gig anymore.:confused:

I've seen video clips of an Aussie band called The Living End, where the bassist climbs up on the shoulder and bout while in the middle of a song.

If ya didn´t know Mr. Fugua does that all de time.
He´s got a secret band called
The Night Of The Living Ed

R2

Sell the bass and get a job in a circus if this is what you want in concerts. Of course it's showbiz but music comes first, the showtricks come later. You'll get your own freaky ideas on your way to your musical/technical"perfection".

At the risk of being flamed, I play in jazz bands, and behave myself. I also play in country/rockabilly bands, and I definitely "go for show" there. I have a German carved bass, an AKG UHF wireless setup, and am not adverse to spinning it, lying on it, straddling it, throwing it up in the air, lying on my back with it on top of me, and having my foot up in the waist (though I will definitely never try to stand up on it - that would be tempting fate). I only do this when I'm on carpet, and when there is plenty of room to move around. Fortunately, I do not live anywhere remotely near NYC, so hopefully will never have my tyres knifed by a certain individual, although some of the dives I play in have that as a distinct possibility anyway!