For me, there are only two things I don’t like about playing bass.

1. Its boring playing by yourself. Sure, I practice to recordings, work on sight reading; work on technique and tone, etc. But it’s boring most of the time. If I’m playing for my personal enjoyment, mostly I’m playing guitar or piano. Of course, playing with others is a total hoot.

2. The gear is dang heavy. I envy guitar players’ dinky amps. I long for the day when technology allows us to make inflatable bass amps. And my gigging amp is only 67lbs, which is small as bass amps go. But the band still calls it “the beast” because it’s a pain to move around.

What about you? Anything else you don’t like about being the bass player?

The only real negative I can think of is if I play guitar, sometimes I feel like I'm going to accidentally rip the strings off.



Beyond that... :confused:

I don't like the fact that it's hard to get a good sound live and that most of the times it's horrible (from my experience of playing live and concerts I've been to). I also don't like that many ppl don't enjoy or even recognize bass because of this.

There is less choice in buying a bass or bass amp in the <1000 euros/dollars range than there is for guitar, although there's still a lot of choice.

And like you said, I play my guitars a LOT more when I'm playing by myself, although fretless can be very fun to play by yourself.

I also hate it that mostly you have to have a really good amp, and EQ it well in order to really hear yourself, and not just a boomy sound that drawns out everything else. At least with me this is the case, I find it easier to hear myself playing guitar in my band than playing bass (generally, now it's more or less the same)

Oh and most people think bass is easy or at least easier than guitar, but I really think playing bass, and for sure fretless is way more difficult in a band setting, at least when you're not only playing root notes.

That said, I LOVE playing bass :D

I don't like the fact that it's hard to get a good sound live and that most of the times it's horrible (from my experience of playing live and concerts I've been to).I haven't had that trouble. EQ and enough watts fixes most things for me...

But I can see where a bad live sound, or not being able to punch through, would drive you nuts.

i don't like it when people ask why i'm playing chords or why my bass has 5-strings

Basically I don't like some of the non-controllable stuff that comes along with bass playing. For example, some musicians I encounter will play down the role of a bassist (saying they could easily master the instrument, thinking that the bass should never be played too "busy", etc.). And of course there are the constant volume wars with guitarists.

all them strings..

I hate not being able to hear yourself, and the bassist vs. guitard arguments as to which is better. They annoy me sooooo much.

Good thread idea.


Let's see here. Apart from what was already mentioned:

- I hate how the weight of the instrument makes it hard to play for extended periods of time (just seems to drain my energy so that 2 hours is the longest I'll ever practice when alone, except for rare exceptions).

- I hate that not only I can't (or at least don't think I do - hard to tell from the stage) get a good live sounds, but that OTHER bassists I see live often have a bad live sound.

- I hate that so much time is required to learn all the different techniques that I really would like to learn... apart from regular finger there's normal slap, double thump, pick, two-handed tap, fingerstyle with thumb incorporated, etc etc

- Oh, and like someone else said, the technique is NOT transferable to guitar. I can't play guitar for the life of me.

The only thing I hate si that my fingers are quite short and a lot of things are a bit of a stretch. I've learned to make do, but playing would be easier with some longer digits.

I hate how the weight of the instrument makes it hard to play for extended periods of time You're right! I had forgotten how much I don't like the weight. I had a chiropractor tell me I really needed to switch from shoulder to shoulder during long gigs. So I do. I can play just as well with the bass slung over my right shoulder. And I think I've seen a strap that works over both shoulders?? Hafta look into that...

I hate that not only I can't (or at least don't think I do - hard to tell from the stage) get a good live sounds, but that OTHER bassists I see live often have a bad live sound.Again with the live sound issue? I gotta believe that's a solvable problem. Maybe you guys with bad live sound just need to switch to a Jazz bass. [Ducks for cover] Maybe that's why I've never had a problem (that I know of) with live sounds. A Jazz has the right blend of thump, growl & "pop."

i don't like some of the selection of basses in the <$1000 price range. what i mean is most basses in this price range are rather standard body styles. i've been gassing for a Fernadez Vertigo or Ravelle bass, but they don't do that. i've found some great non-standard body styles that i love from Lecompte, but of course, it's a Lecompte and it's out of my price range.

that said, i do own two jazz's, and will soon own two P's. so i'm not unhappy. i'd just like more variety.

I agree that the bass is boring to play by myself. For me, it's NOT a solo instrument. I have to have some other music to play with. Guitar is a much more entertaining instrument to practice on solo.

The weight of the instrument doesn't bother me, but the weight of the speaker cabinets does. Guitar players have it much easier there, too.

I hate the fact that other "musicians" (mainly treble and keybord players) have an opinion on how a bass has to sound. I am very direct to them and let them know that I am nobody else but myself and just as I tell nobody to pick up their other guitar or keyboard, I prefer to make my own choices and accept the consequences. They always admit at the end that I was right (I pay attention to the sound needed for the gig and choose the proper bass)

for me, it's the relative costs of instruments, strings, and amplification, as compared to guitar, or even drums, for that matter.

I've been able to get by, with a cheap guitar, and cheap amplification, but that never, EVER cuts it, when playing bass.

my wallet hurts :rollno:

It's difficult to get a good live sound.
Bass equipment is very expensive - especially since I live in Denmark.

Those are the only things that bother me. I've found that I don't mind people asking about my 5 strings... I just tell them that it's an extra low string and then they say "Oh, cool." To be honest I don't see what the problem is with that. They don't know what instrument you're playing, so they pluck up the courage to ask you. They're giving you an oppurtunity to educate them and open their minds up to the realms of the 5 string bass --> queue really stupid music.

But seriously, it's just a question. Though I'll give you guys that I haven't been asked that many times. However I still don't see it ever becoming "ever-so-tiresome" as some of you guys/gals say it is.

weight of the bass, but guess I could get a lighter one! It just sounds soooo good.

The only thing I hate si that my fingers are quite short and a lot of things are a bit of a stretch. I've learned to make do, but playing would be easier with some longer digits.

+1
Also a +1 to people telling me that bass is easy... who have never even touched one before! They are amazed when I tell them what the scale length is :p :bassist:

Being asked to turn down because the guitar player is only blowing peoples hearing in their right ears instead of blowing their hearing in both their ears, ya know the bass takes up too much "sonic" space for some guitar players...JK all you Guitfiddlers :hiding:

Its boring playing by yourself. Sure, I practice to recordings, work on sight reading; work on technique and tone, etc. But it’s boring most of the time. If I’m playing for my personal enjoyment, mostly I’m playing guitar or piano. Of course, playing with others is a total hoot.

A lot of people seem to be posting this, and they all seem to be guitar players. The investment I'd recommend: a boomerang (or other looping device). It's awesome, and it allows you to lay down a bass line and some chords and then just let that play and throw down some sweet melodies...but even before I had that I never had that problem, so here's a solution: don't approach it (when playing by yourself) like a guitar. Don't go for chords or shred, just play the bass. I can see playing basslines as boring (as that is mostly root notes anyway), but to me playing by yourself isn't just practicing. Have fun improvising--to me its infinitely more fun on the bass. And always, if what you're playing bores you then step up the difficulty level. Challenge always increases interest.

for me, it's the relative costs of instruments, strings, and amplification, as compared to guitar, or even drums, for that matter.

Let's analyze the cost of rigs for the metal band I'm in:

Me - $900 (what you see in my sig, minus the 4x10 but plus the Eden D210T I'm getting...certainly not a high end rig but it works)

Guitar 1 - $1200 (or so, a Peavey XXL Head into a Mesa 2x12)

Guitar 2 - $1200 (or so, same head into a Vader 2x12)

Drums - $2400 (and he got this DW kit quoted to him for that much at a guitar center when it was really worth $3500...but he still go it for the quoted price)

As far as instruments go, I hear ya (but only slightly) IMO higher end basses cost more than guitars, but on the lower end of the spectrum (even Schecter, which is more middle range) the guitars are more expensive. One of the guitar players in said band has a Schecter Hellraiser 7-String which ran him 700-800...their highest-end 6 String (Stiletto Studio)? $650 (or something like that)

I hate that not only I can't (or at least don't think I do - hard to tell from the stage) get a good live sounds, but that OTHER bassists I see live often have a bad live sound.

This mystifies me. I LOVE my live sound. I typically LOVE other bassists' live sounds too. Either your equipment is crap or you just haven't spent enough time with your eq, because to me this doesn't seem that hard. What I do hate about playing live (mentioned earlier) is the constant volume wars w/ guitarists. But recently I realized what this problem stems from-having two guitarists in a band. They don't seem to realize that there's two of them and one of you...until you point it out to them, and in my experience they realize that. Recommend to them (and everyone in a small electric ensemble situation, really) to have two channels: one for lead and one for everything else. All three of us in one of the bands I'm in do this (I use my overdrive as a solo boost) and it works really well. Really well.

I hate three things about playing bass:
-the above (volume wars)

-Bands where when you join they simply play there stuff and expect you to just look at their fretboard and play the root of the chord in whatever rhythm they're playing. It's painful as a bass player because you just wind up plugging away on the root and making tenative attempts to venture out because you don't know the exact key the song's in.

-People that think the bass is too high in the mix on recorded stuff. This *almost* never happens, so I was really mad when someone said this on our myspace (different band) about our latest cd: "I like the new song, but I would mess with the mix a bit. The guitar(s) are far too low in the mix."

-oh and a fourth: general ignorance about the instrument

but realize these aren't things I hate about the bass, it's others' perceptions of the bass

www.myspace.com/transsyberia to decide for yourself (I agree with them on that *one* of the guitars is way too soft, but definitely not both)

pick slides
that's what i don't like about playing bass. when i played guitar, i was all about pick slides.

also, the way it ounds when you play all the strings open on a guitar. and how if you have a lp or sg you can have feedback and use the switch to have it go in and out.

For me it would have to be these:

1.) The cost of Bass equipment. I have spent so much money on my stuff only to be blown away by a peavey 210 combo amp from a young guitarist.

2.) The Weight and non portability. I am currently looking to add a 210 to my rig to just use that for small stuff, but dangit if any bass stuff is not heavy. I mean Neodymium is starting to catch on and Praise the Lord!! It's still a bit heavy especially when combined with a 35 pound head and a protective case.

3.) General Ignorance/lack of respect/lack of musical expression. Enough said.

4.) Difficulty in solo work. Not practicing by myself, personally that is a fun groove fest wank off time. But at times when the whole band just drops out and I am expected to solo. I am a SUPPORT instrument I can't do the fancy shmancy stuff that our guitarist does. But I am very thankful that they allow me to do it as it forces me to grow.

Never really understood people saying it's boring playing bass solo personally. I find pretty much every aspect of playing fun, including trying to master cool sounding solo stuff :D

Two things. One the cost of strings when replaced with any kind of frequency. And all you "I haven't replaced my strings since Jesus was ten" people just keep it to yourself. And, two, I spend a ton of money, time, blood, sweat and tears trying to get a unique tone that is exactly what I want my bass to sound like, only to have Joe Sound Guy throw a Berhinger D.I. on the floor and say, "Here... Plug you guitar into this..."

Two things. One the cost of strings when replaced with any kind of frequency. And all you "I haven't replaced my strings since Jesus was ten" people just keep it to yourself. And, two, I spend a ton of money, time, blood, sweat and tears trying to get a unique tone that is exactly what I want my bass to sound like, only to have Joe Sound Guy throw a Berhinger D.I. on the floor and say, "Here... Plug you guitar into this..."

I'll second the price of strings. Especially when GC sells 10 sets of Guitar strings for $30 and I have to pay $20+ for one set.

As for the live sound thing... I do run live sound too. Being a bass player, I have received many, many compliments on how the bass sounds in my mixes. UNLESS, the bass player is clueless and has a cagillion watts and uses them all. Then they'll be lucky to even be in the mix as I have to bring the rest of the band up to his volume level.

Every one who is having issues with their live sound.... make nice with the sound guy. Always ask, DON'T TELL. He doesn't tell you how to play bass, don't tell him how to run sound. :rollno: If he is "worth-his-weight", he'll do you right.

Just my .002 worth.

-Mostly the same stuff thats already been stated, plus..

1. Can never seem to get the same speed on the bass I've developed as a lead player

2. The fret wear is really annoying, yet seemingly unavoidable

3. My left hand wears out fairly quickly when playing bass 'at speed'

1. Can never seem to get the same speed on the bass I've developed as a lead player

2. The fret wear is really annoying, yet seemingly unavoidable

3. My left hand wears out fairly quickly when playing bass 'at speed'A recovering guitar player, eh?

1. If you can play as fast on the bass as you can on the guitar, Jaco is going to look up to you from heaven. And bodybuilders will envy your fingers. The physics of playing those fat strings are just a lot harder than playing slinkies.

2. Fret wear? Stop playing chrome round wounds! I've been playing my '73 Jazz since '76, and don't have noticeable fretwear.

4. See #1. Its those fat strings...Working out with a squeeze ball will help a bit.

Bass equipment is very expensive - especially since I live in Denmark.My guess is that's a Denmark thing. I see giggable basses for US$600 and under, and giggable amps for $600 and under. And maybe as littel as half that, if you buy used. Can't be much more more than guitar...and maybe about the same.

Of course, the GASers here spend $$$$$$.

The fact that you cant do solo gigs in a bar or cafe' I write alot of lyrics and sometimes I wish I could play more than one note at a time on the piano or play guitar.
I dont get bored playing alone much because I love to create new bass lines.
And I don't have much trouble with the ignorance factor because my band was really happy to get abass player and we dont have a lead guitarist so I get to do a lot of fill and flair.

Always ask, DON'T TELL.
I think if a sound guy's throwing a D.I. your way you're perfectly in the right to tell, not ask. Sorry if you're a guy that does that but that's just IMO.

The fact that you cant do solo gigs in a bar or cafe' I write alot of lyrics and sometimes I wish I could play more than one note at a time on the piano or play guitar.

Learn chords. It's simply your style that is holding you back from playing solo in a bar or cafe--plus if you learned how to effectively play solo while singing you'd probably get a better response doing it on bass vs. just being another solo songwriter playing a guitar and singing...or purchase a boomerang. This same tool that makes playing solo by yourself more interesting can make playing solo in front of others more interesting too. Not to mention infinitely cooler and more mind blowing...

I don't like how I can play an hour-long set, standing pretty much in the center of the stage, and even sing lead on 3-4 songs, and then have people not recognize me afterwards. I will be standing with the rest of the band, and get into a conversation about the show with someone from the crowd, and after a few minutes you can practically see a light bulb go on over their head and they say "Oh! Are you in the band?"

I don't think it's my stage presence, as I do move around quite a bit and interact with the crowd. I guess bass = cloaking device.

I think if a sound guy's throwing a D.I. your way you're perfectly in the right to tell, not ask. Sorry if you're a guy that does that but that's just IMO.



But you can say, I'd rather you mic the cabinet or, please take the D.I. off of my (insert manufacture/model number here). For instance, my Sansamp RPM has an effected out. I just ASK the sound guy to take it from there vs a D.I. off of the bass.

Just remember, it IS the sound guy that has your band's sound in his hands. Go ahead, act like an a$$ and see how you sound. :ninja:

Just play nice, that's all I am suggesting. :smug:


Just my .002 worth.

I don't think it's my stage presence, as I do move around quite a bit and interact with the crowd. I guess bass = cloaking device.LOL! I hear ya, bro. I tell ya, we bass players get no respect.

1. Everything is expensive as said before.

2. Other bass players I talk to give me crap about my lack of huge equipment and think I cant play because I dont have a trace elliot. (I only actually own a practice amp because Im in college and a big amp would only serve to drain my wallet and tick everyone on my floor off.) I borrow equipment for live play. Gear snobbery drives me totally nuts.

3. The fact that I cant play guitar very well because you cant fingure jog on it.

4. Acoustic Bassis are totally worthless.

thats about it.

acoustic basses aren't worthless

and you put three twice

and actually, u can finger jog 32nd notes on a guitar, it just takes practice.

I hate that when someone asks you to play something and you have o explain why it sounds nothing like the song cause your following the kick drum ect ect

Love playing bass first off, but I hate it when the guitar player makes a mistake and immediately everyone looks at the bass player thinking that we made the mistake. Especially when its a 3 piece band with an "exclusive" lead singer. I hate that look.

I hate having to stand still on a small stage while the guitards at least get some swinging room with their smaller axes.

I hate being asked to regurgitate an improvement an ex-bassist made to a cover line, because "thats what the other bass player used to do".
Then again, I heard the new bass player in my last cover band threatened to quit if they didn't stop asking him to play lines the way I did, and hearing that felt good :D

I hate telling people I play bass and them dismissing it by asking if I play any real instruments, or being told it's easy.

HI

The lack of care taken by soundmen at shows. Total morons. They just get a signal and say ok. Meanwhile, they take 5 minutes eqing guitars which they will never get to sound good because the idiot guitarist is using a 7 year old POD. Totally hilarious

Rob

i don't like some of the selection of basses in the <$1000 price range. what i mean is most basses in this price range are rather standard body styles. i've been gassing for a Fernadez Vertigo or Ravelle bass, but they don't do that. i've found some great non-standard body styles that i love from Lecompte, but of course, it's a Lecompte and it's out of my price range.

that said, i do own two jazz's, and will soon own two P's. so i'm not unhappy. i'd just like more variety.

+1

There are many more models of guitar to choose from at that price point.


I also think bass players don't get nearly the variety of bass amps (especially tube amps) that guitar players do. :spit:

Speaking of that, I saw a Custom Shop Relic Fender Strat today at a local music store for $1100. Hell, I nearly bought it and I can barely play guitar. I have a Custom Shop 64 Jazz Relic that I bought new and I paid $2600 after taxes for it. I am going to do a little more research from my buddy at the store about that strat, but it just showed up the other day and this store isn't a used instrument type of store.

You're right! I had forgotten how much I don't like the weight. I had a chiropractor tell me I really needed to switch from shoulder to shoulder during long gigs. So I do. I can play just as well with the bass slung over my right shoulder. And I think I've seen a strap that works over both shoulders?? Hafta look into that...


Planet Waves Dare Guitar Strap

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Planet-Waves-Dare-Guitar-Strap-360634-i1276496.gc


See the Bass Bigotry thread for my gripe.

The worst thing is the **** I cop from friends about it being the easiest instrument. That and the type of music I play is pretty repetitive.

I play a warwich thumb which is very heavy- I had a motorcycle accident a couple of years ago and broke my right collar bone (ouch )

I hate it when my strap ( which goes over the broken bone ) makes a mark on my collarbone that looks as though the bone is coming through ( again )

Mind you whatever pain it causes me I absolutely love the tone I get and could an do play for hours!!

Cheers

Bob

The worst thing is the sh!t I cop from friends about it being the "easiest" instrument. That and the type of music I play is pretty repetitive.
Ohhhh .... grrrrrrr! That comment poured cold water all over my whole body. :hmm: I think if one of my 'friends' were to say that to me, that might be a good reason to re-examine the relationship for any further value.. boy that was cold! :scowl:

4. Acoustic Bassis are totally worthless.

Are you talking about Acoustic Bass Guitar or Double Bass?

For me, there are only two things I don’t like about playing bass.

1. Its boring playing by yourself. Sure, I practice to recordings, work on sight reading; work on technique and tone, etc. But it’s boring most of the time. If I’m playing for my personal enjoyment, mostly I’m playing guitar or piano. Of course, playing with others is a total hoot.

2. The gear is dang heavy. I envy guitar players’ dinky amps. I long for the day when technology allows us to make inflatable bass amps. And my gigging amp is only 67lbs, which is small as bass amps go. But the band still calls it “the beast” because it’s a pain to move around.

What about you? Anything else you don’t like about being the bass player?


1. Being disrespected within the band context. Don't know why this happens so often. They just look at the bass as the "easy instrument" and don't really think of us as musicians?

Love playing bass first off, but I hate it when the guitar player makes a mistake and immediately everyone looks at the bass player thinking that we made the mistake. Especially when its a 3 piece band with an "exclusive" lead singer. I hate that look.Yes, you have elloquently stated my bass pet peeve. I used to argue the point, but no one ever really believed me. You feel like an innocent man on death row.

The best way to get rid of that problem is to get in a band with players that don't make mistakes, or as few as is humanly possible.

I'm in a band now where that issue seldom comes up. It still does every great once in a while and I say "oops, sorry".

Playing with keyboard players who insist on playing in my register with their left hand.

Bass is not the best instrument for a solo gig. I know someone has already responded to this, but in my opinion, while amazing things can be done on the bass as a solo instrument, other instruments are better suited to solo work. I'm not talking about the ability to play great solo pieces, I'm talking about getting hired to play for a couple of hours as a soloist.

Dead spots. My Pedulla 6-string Thunderbass is the only bass I own that doesn’t have any noticeable dead spots. There are some weaker notes if you go looking, as with all basses, but I don’t notice them ever when I play. On the other hand, every bolt-on bass I’ve played has bad dead spots, typically around the 5th to 7th frets of the G string. Trouble is that I prefer bolt-on basses and the dead spots drive me crazy. I own three Fenders. I love the tone, but hate the dead spots. It’s like falling into a black hole. If you land there on a ballad and need that note to ring, you’re just screwed.

I can’t complain about lugging gear. Compared to keyboard players and drummers, we’ve got it easy.

Seems like everything cost twice as much and it's at least twice as heavy compared to guitar. I think I'll play the triangle in my next band! Guitar players always want to put their grubby little meat beaters on my upright!

Falling into the cliches of bass playerdom. I try my hardest to not do that. Also, the fact that my car doesn't fit my upright.

1) Singing and playing at the same time. It's totally kicking my ass and driving me nuts. My band is pushing me pretty hard too, they want to get one of the guitarists of the mic because he can't sing a lick.

2) Acoustic electric bass guitars and feedback. Did a gig on Wednesday and first the low G would feedback, made playing a specific track with a half note held G an absolute bitch to play. Then the open E would begin ringing, when my solos came up I had to constantly mute the string so they ended up sounding crap. :spit:

3) People talking to me while I'm playing. This happens when I'm DJing too. Last gig a guy walks up to me and starts talking right during my solo. Hello? You're standing right over the friggin amp, can you not hear that?

4) Volume wars with the guitarists. The PA kicks the crap out of my little tilt back, so I start distorting when I turn up to keep up. I got a new tilt back, so we'll see if it keeps up better.

Power/$ is cheaper in guitar world, obviously because it requires less power to make a guitar loud than a bass loud. You can have a loud as hell guitar rig for $300. Used Crate GFX1200H ($99) into a B52 4x12 ($200). But when it comes to quality/$ they're about even.

This is just an example, as stereotypical as possible (what you'd see in 90% of bar gigs) not including effects. Just simple instrument, amp, cab.

Guitarist:

Gibson Les Paul Studio - $1200
Marshall JCM2000 Dual Super Lead 100 Head - $1400
Marshall MC412 - $600

Total: $3200

Bass:

MIA P-Bass $1000
SVT-CL - $1600
SVT-810E - $1000

Total: $3600

The guitarist telling you to tone it down during his solos because "No one listens to the bass and drums anyway". Oh sorry axe god would you like quarter note roots with that kick in the balls. Plus I had and intriguing conversation with a soundman one night because I stood on the "wrong side of the stage", he explained to me that all good bassist stood on the hi-hat side as I like to stand on the ride side of the drums. Actually I like to stand anywhere as long as its on a stage.

Also, the fact that my car doesn't fit my upright.Oooh, yeah. Its hard enough to fit an amp in a normal car. An upright is much worse. I use a minivan with an easily folded rear seat (a Previa.)

But you can say, I'd rather you mic the cabinet or, please take the D.I. off of my (insert manufacture/model number here).

That's telling, not asking...I didn't say be an ass about it just don't back down on it.

Playing with keyboard players who insist on playing in my register with their left hand.

When we first incorporated keys into one of the bands I'm in all the guy did was mimic the rhythm guitarist 90% of the time...while dropping his left hand into my octave. Infuriated me. But it's an easy problem to solve-the question "why am I even in the band if you're covering the notes I'm playing" pretty much settles things. Now our keys sound great and add a lot of the depth to the music.

I'm still maintaining that you people that are whining about cost are just not looking hard enough...or are stuck on brand names. Do you need to get an ampeg to be 'legit' as a bassist? No. My rig works for me fine and the entirety of it cost me >$1000. All because I shopped around. I know, it's tricky. The same for basses too-do you need a p-bass or stingray to sound good? No. I know this is blasphemy, but somewhere between $200 and $500 that you spend on those two basses (new mind you; the older ones are far, far superior) are purely for the brand name. What I will agree with that's been brought up is that there's far less selection for bass than for guitar...which is where the real problem lies.

you need thick strong fingers :(

what i dont like is lugging my gear. even though my cabinets are lighter than the guitarists' cabiets.
i dont have any problems otehr than that.
except the odd person saying things about all bassists being failed guitarists and bass being easy and stuipd. but thats got nothing to do with me playing bass.

Load-in
Load-out
:ninja:

Things I do not like about playing bass. This is a fun one.

1) bass strings cost a fortune.

2) When people think I play bass because I am not intelligent enough to play guitar.

3) Acoustic bass guitars sound like poo within the context of my acoustic group. So I am forced to use my electric bass which now means I need my amp instead of just using front of house.

4) Being the bass player isn't nearly ass cool as being the guitar player.

What I dislike MOST about playing bass . . . is all of the (wasted) time it takes to get from gig to gig . . . when our band is "on tour", I tend to sleep a lot, out of boredom. On planes, in buses, in vans, whenever . . .

The 1 1/2 to 3 hours (straight) that we're on stage DO make it worth while, though.

Being asked to turn down because the guitar player is only blowing peoples hearing in their right ears instead of blowing their hearing in both their ears, ya know the bass takes up too much "sonic" space for some guitar players...JK all you Guitfiddlers :hiding:

Yes, the guitard blowing my ears out is one thing. I also hate how they don't like you to do runs because it gets too busy. I really hate how you can't drop even one note without it being noticeable while the guitarist can take a whole phrase off if they want to.

When I'm carrying my upright, "Bet you wish you woulda played flute, instead of that big monster.":rollno:

I hate those kind of comments.

I guess the only downside is lugging the rig around, but I don't have any complaints, really. Nobody ever put me down for playing bass and the more I play, the more I'm into it. I don't have any guitar envy - I could learn guitar, but that would take time away from playing bass.

I have never gotten any negative comments from guitarists, but if I did, I expect that I'd just laugh in their face.

What I dislike MOST about playing bass . . . is all of the (wasted) time it takes to get from gig to gig . . . when our band is "on tour", I tend to sleep a lot, out of boredom. On planes, in buses, in vans, whenever . . .

The 1 1/2 to 3 hours (straight) that we're on stage DO make it worth while, though.
This.

getting stuck in the "dogsbody" role in an original band-

having guitarists giving you boring/pointless vocal parts to sing- and then nitpicking over you not singing them right,
and suggesting what clothes you should wear at a gig,
and what bass you should get for visual effect-
eg. "you should get a Rickenbacker".

not putting up with that again, unless I'm on good wages....

It used to be how expensive the strings are! I'm sure many people will agree us bassists get ripped off!

Strings. Bust one, change them all. No justice

When I tell people I play bass, being asked 'Oh, did you try guitar first then and give up?'

Also sound engineers. Luckily, the one we use is also a bass player so he spends a bit of time on me. Most I've worked with spend an hour ensuring the guitarits and his 200 different sounds all come through crystal, then asks me to play for about 12 seconds without touching a dial with 'yeah, that's alright'.

No it's bloody not.....

I used to be a guitarist, but I manage to do ok with most stuff complained about here. I load in and out in about 15-20 minutes by having multiple small cabs. Strings are expensive, but the sheer amount of material used compared to guitar strings justifies the cost. I am nice to soundmen, and politely request to use the DI out on my head rather than a cheap box...have never had this request turned down. I have a pretty good tone in the mix, and I have pretty much free reign to do what I want within the context of the song. Back when I played guitar, I used a PRS Custom 22 which is heavier than some of the basses I've owned so the weight isn't a huge issue. My amp isn't a flyweight, but both the guitar players in my band use all-tube combos and I used to as well. I'll take my bass amp over those, thank you!

I guess my biggest complaint is that I leave blood and sweat all over the stage (figuratively speaking... well, only about the blood, I do sweat) and I know I am heard because I see people moving in exact proportion to what and how I'm playing, but I am still invisible to the audience most of the time. After the show, I get 1/10 the compliments of our lead guitarist and thats on a good night (he IS a good guitarist though). Some folks don't even realize I'm in the band. Ignorance about the instrument by the general public is really frustrating, especially when your kill yourself during a show and no one notices.

Having to buy new strings to keep the zing.

Expensive strings, it kills me as im in the red and nearly living on streets as it is.
But no-one can ignore me on stage, if I see any photographer who has been asskissing the guitarist I just make sure I grab some limelight :D

+1 on the money. As far as the bass, mostly my fault for getting hooked on Dingwall. But then again, I'd have a whole flock by now if it weren't for DW's high prices. For amps, for sure. Given that a 100 watt guitar amp is about as loud as a 400 watt bass amp, we're all screwed.

+1 on the string cost. Again, mostly my fault for using DW. $50 a set, or $35 with that sweet deal at Bass Central. Still, a little more expensive than guitar strings.

+1 on the sound guy stuff. You can spend your whole life finding YOUR sound, only to have a sound guy tell you to go direct and turn down while he spends forever getting the guitarist his tone.

+1 on the weight. Goes back to the amp stuff. We need a lot more to be heard over a guitarist.

+1 to being the guy nobody notices.


We all could complain all day about the problems with being a bass player. I just know that, at least for me, playing bass is life. Not playing guitar, not playing keyboard, not singing, not drumming. Playing bass. I sure can gripe about it, but I hope there never comes a time when I get that taken away from me.

There is nothing I don't like about it. It makes me feel whole, like spending time with my family does.

4) Being the bass player isn't nearly ass cool as being the guitar player.Sad, but true. That's the price we pay for holding down the low end. But...and I know I am heard because I see people moving in exact proportion to what and how I'm playing,That's the payoff. We control the dancing! The force is with us!

1- the cost
2- Dealing with other musicians, cause every musician has an agenda
3- Making a living- If i could pull down the same amount of money playing what I want, instead having to these side gigs just to pay the bills (wedding,church,corporate gigs)

1) +1 on singing and playing. Sometimes it's quite a process to get the two independent. It's called counterpoint, singing one line and rhythm and playing another.

2) Tearing down at the end of a gig. We play for free, we charge for setting up and tearing down our equipment.

3) The occasional 'bass is easy to play' attitude.

4) I hate the initial stress I feel when having to come up with a new bass line. The bass line is generally so important to how a song sounds that I feel a lot of pressure to get the feel right quickly (which I don't always accomplish). Some times it takes a few misses before I start to get it right.

5) OTOH - I love being the one most people don't notice! :) The power you have over the entire feel of the song is great! Between you and the drummer the control is close to total! Bwahhaaahaa! :cool:

:bassist:

I don't like how I can play an hour-long set, standing pretty much in the center of the stage, and even sing lead on 3-4 songs, and then have people not recognize me afterwards. I will be standing with the rest of the band, and get into a conversation about the show with someone from the crowd, and after a few minutes you can practically see a light bulb go on over their head and they say "Oh! Are you in the band?"

I don't think it's my stage presence, as I do move around quite a bit and interact with the crowd. I guess bass = cloaking device.

How big is your bass dude?

I guess the only downside is lugging the rig around, but I don't have any complaints, really. Nobody ever put me down for playing bass and the more I play, the more I'm into it. I don't have any guitar envy - I could learn guitar, but that would take time away from playing bass.

I have never gotten any negative comments from guitarists, but if I did, I expect that I'd just laugh in their face.

+1

I hate the fact that if my guitarist or keyboard player does a solo, as simple and easy as it is, they get ooohed and aaaahed all night but if I do this amazing solo and played every note on the fretboard no body even knows it ever happened. No body loves the bass player.

Is being told that you're just too busy. I pride myself on being able to tell if I'm getting the most out of a song without killing the feel, so to be told that you're just playing too much is MADDENING.

"Come on, can't you just aid in the fallacy that all bass players suck and only play bass because they have no musical talent?"
:::MUST....KILL......GUITARIST:::

Fortunately, that hasn't happened too very often. It helps that all the bands I have been a part of in the past (and one I haven't!) have inquired about me coming back. Nice ego stroke.

To the guy(s) who says he doesn't get noticed: If your neck isn't sore the next day after a gig, you haven't put enough show in your show. :D

It costs me $75 for a pack of strings for my 7 string bass. a pack of strings for a guitar? $5.00 for a decent set.

It drives me nuts. 400 watts of power for a bass amp is needed for a gig. 100 watts is fine for the same size of gig for a guitar amp.

I dont dislike anything about bass, besides gas. I love playing solo bass, so I'm never bored playing alone, and the times when I'm usually most happy with my sound, are when I'm jamming or gigging.

I must admit, I do hate the cost of strings the most.

I don't like other bass players who whine about how they get into volume wars with other instruments. I also don't like to hear other bass players complain about not getting any recognition. Sensitive egos? Geez, it's like a room full of guitar players (or trumpet players, heh).

Seriously though, my only gripe about playing bass (and it's a minor one), I've never met a guitar player who has had to fix their amp or speakers as often as I have had to. Even when I was a guitar player in a former life, I never had to repair my amp. As a bass player, I've had to fix EVERY ONE of my cabs at LEAST once. I've also had to repair two amps (one combo, one head), and the bridge pup on one of my basses crapped out on me. Best part of all of this? Techs who fixed my equipment say, "it's just normal wear and tear. You didn't do anything wrong."

Ten packs of guitar strings- 30-50 $,
1 pack of bass strings for a 4 20-40:crying:

always get laid last after a gig :( though thats probably more because of my looks haha

Aside from not having enough money to pay for all teh GAS I seem to get?

NOTHING!




dcr

excellent thread...
The things that I don't like would be...
It's a physically demanding instrument, especially if you're a little underpowered which is hell. But even practicing alone I strain my wrist and get achy and tired.
It can be difficult, or expensive, to get a good tone. Lets face it, those frequencies are not easy to amplify. Which brings me to my speaker cabinet, ouch, I'm too old to lug this thing around any more.
It can be hard to play anything interesting by yourself. Sometimes I'm in the mood for solo bass but the real deal for me is the interaction of the rhythm section.

always get laid last after a gig :( though thats probably more because of my looks haha

At least (s)he's nice enough to do the whole band. That says something about your victims, er partners, endurance. Or possibly the rest of the band. :bassist::bassist::bassist:

I must admit, I do hate the cost of strings the most.

It certainly gets worse with 5+ strings...here in the UK I can pay anywhere up to $60 per pack! Luckily my 5er is new and so I shouldn't have to change the strings yet.

At least (s)he's nice enough to do the whole band. That says something about your victims, er partners, endurance. Or possibly the rest of the band. :bassist::bassist::bassist:

hahaha she'd have to be a trooper for that

When I'm carrying my upright, "Bet you wish you woulda played flute, instead of that big monster.":rollno:

I hate those kind of comments.

I play tenor sax and people say the same thing...

And I really hate the cost of strings. I think someone already mentioned the 10 guitar sets for $30 deal at Guitar Center. And then I have to pay that much for 1 5-string set! I also hate not being able to play chords that don't sound like mud.

cost of strings. havent changed my strings in 6 months

boredom whilst by myself.

I always looks forwards to jamming with my band, always hoping the drummer remembers his recording device so I have something to work on during the downtime.

Otherwise I play normal guitar, and I don't have the want or money to play that seriously, so little progress is made by myself (unless of course, the beforementioned circumstances).

oh yes and as just mentioned, not only the cost of strings, but the difference in sound quality of new vs old strings on a bass. My guitarist buys 5 packs of strings a go and that does him for a year. I buy one pack and make them last half a year if I can (boiling etc). My guitar strings are a year old and compared to some fresh strings on a guitar they sound fine. Bass strings after 2 months sound super flat and dead after 2 months. The difference is huge.

Of course, theres also the fact that all these things I go through to get the perfect tone (like, the difference in punchiness of new vs old strings is huge, and imo makes a huge diff on some of the songs we play), I don't think ANYONE outside of bass players who have been playing a few years notices or gives a crap about such a thing. The song would sound completley horrible with a super smooth tone, but no one cares enough to notice.

Thats where your money goes. To hopefully entertain people who wouldn't notice the diff between a 15 watt practice amp (besides volume) and a 1000 supermegawatt amp.

Such is life.

Finally finding the sound I've been looking for in a cabinet and having the beast weight almost 225 lbs, and not being able to move it up/down stairs by myself without hurting myself. I might be dumb enough to own a cab that weighs a ton, but I'm not dumb enough to hurt myself moving it.

Mmm. I would have to say bassy guitarists. Sure it sounds good in your bedroom by your self, but with the band there are other instruments too. Your excessive bassy tone makes me take all the bass out of my tone to try to balance the sound. Then I have to turn way up to be heard. Then I get "oh you are too trebly"

Small hands and a lack of good Fenders to accommodate them. I love the sound but it hurts trying to go 1 finger per fret near the nut.

the amount of bass gear like if you walk into a music store there is allways going to be 2 or 3 times more gear than bass. and i love effects and i would be nice being a guitarist not being scared about the effect doing the pac-man on your low end, every time i walk over to the effects at the music store my head is fill with the sound of WAKA WAKA WAKA!!! :crying:

Well since I'm in a prog metal band, the stuff I play is about the same level difficulty as my guitardist, which is to say, flashy.
We both got new instruments (7 string for him, 5 for me), and he pulls out some intense new riffs that sound great, and expects me to emulate them....but it doesn't matter how I eq it, 16th notes at 160 bpm in 7/8 time all on the low A (we tune down one step) will not be heard, or just sound muddy.

+1 for expensive strings

Plus having underage girls hitting on me, and having to politely explain that just talking to them could somehow land me in jail.

+infinity on music stores who have enough guitar gear to feed a 3rd world country and forgetting to have anything decent for bassists.

i dislike watching bass players who are better than me...its discouraging... but i understand i just need more years on me ahaha

and ..when i tell my guitarist friends about pedals i wanna try and they look at me with a blank stare....

Frets !

Not a problem except when I get invited to sit in and don't have one of my own basses with me. :p

You're right! I had forgotten how much I don't like the weight. I had a chiropractor tell me I really needed to switch from shoulder to shoulder during long gigs. So I do. I can play just as well with the bass slung over my right shoulder. And I think I've seen a strap that works over both shoulders?? Hafta look into that...

Again with the live sound issue? I gotta believe that's a solvable problem. Maybe you guys with bad live sound just need to switch to a Jazz bass. [Ducks for cover] Maybe that's why I've never had a problem (that I know of) with live sounds. A Jazz has the right blend of thump, growl & "pop."

i do agree with the jazz bass idea. (runs and joins you under cover!!! :hiding:

I hate that I am not a better player, with better memory for material and that I don't possses more skill.


Besides that, I hate when your nusts itch and you stop to scratch them, and there is no one to cover you (like with a 2nd guitar).........

in spite of all of that.....I LOVE playing bass, or trying anyway.

Every now and then, someone even comments that I suck slightly less than before...So I must be improving to some degree. I'll take that.

The fact that you cant do solo gigs in a bar or cafe'

Speak for yourself, I've done many solo gigs in cafes

i hate that i am still not good at it yet

i dislike watching bass players who are better than me...its discouraging... but i understand i just need more years on me ahahaI'm just the opposite. I love watching a great bass player. It seems like I always get good ideas from watching them. That's one way to get better.

Speak for yourself, I've done many solo gigs in cafes No way. You mean just you, and a bass? Solo in a cafe? This I've gotta see or hear. I mean I believe it can be done, but I just can't imagine it. You've gotta post a clip or vid.

My aching back!

I hate the fact that if my guitarist or keyboard player does a solo, as simple and easy as it is, they get ooohed and aaaahed all night but if I do this amazing solo and played every note on the fretboard no body even knows it ever happened. No body loves the bass player.

Signed,
Paul McCartney

:smug: Sorry, couldn't resist.

I can't think about anything I don't like about playing bass. If I could I probably wouldn't play it as much.

well to things:

1. All my mates play guitar and they think bass is easy but i keep telling the that it's not its actually sometimes harder but they don't believe me.

2. the size of the neck and frets i only have very small fingers so i move my hand alot which is annoying.

but still i wouldn't ever change instrument

:bassist: Rock On Callum!

Yeah, and I hate the prices of the amps, I mean a 100 watt combo amp for Bass cost like at least 200 euro more than a 100 watt guitar amp

Signed,
Paul McCartney

:smug: Sorry, couldn't resist.

haha legend

i don't like it when people ask why i'm playing chords or why my bass has 5-strings

Lol.

The best was "So whats the difference between that and a guitar?"

I don't like how much it takes to get a good sound as well.

But one thing I do like is, we dont have to hide behind effects to sound good. ;D

I do not like how heavy my equipment is. The bass I play is a G&L Tribute L2500 at a metric ton and a 4x10 cab at 70lbs that does not fit in the trunk of my new car.

I could go neo speakers and was talking to a friend last night about my choices to restructure my rig. Lighter and two cabs.