New guy, primarily electric player

scullionj · #1 12-17-2007, 01:19 PM

Hey all, I've been prowling the forums for quite some time but I decided to actually register. I've played electric bass for maybe 6 and a half years, and upright for maybe 3 years now. I've played in big bands, jazz combos, pit bands, punk rock groups, noise bands, funk ensembles and a couple other groups that I honestly can't remember at the moment. I'm not a player interested in chops for the most part. I'm a firm believer in concentrating on getting the perfect sound and notes for a song, and nothing more. Even when it comes to soloing, I tend to try to avoid the strong urge to show off. I'd have to say that right now my 5 favorite bassists/accompanying albums are...

1. Justin Meldal-Johnsen on Beck's The Information
2. Carlos Dengler (a.k.a. Carlos D) on Interpol's Turn on the Bright Lights
3. Juan Alderete de la Pena on The Mars Volta's Frances the Mute
4. Johan Wohlert on Mew's Frengers
5. Chris Wood on MMW's Uninvisible

Talk to you all soon.

chuck stardust · #2 12-19-2007, 08:56 AM

Hello scullionj,
I think its cool that you play upright! I always wanted to try that. It looks fun, but man, I have small hands so I would likely have intonation problems! Welcome, I am new here also.

chuck stardust

scullionj · #3 12-19-2007, 11:30 AM

You don't necessarily HAVE to have huge hands to play the upright. One of the first people that really got me turned on to it was this little girl in my high school that played it. Due to the nature of the standard fingering method (Simandl), the large scale becomes manageable for pretty much anybody. I'd highly recommend picking it up someday, but one thing to keep in mind is that really the upright and the electric are two completely different instruments. A lot of people don't realize that and end up utilizing inefficient technique on their secondary instrument.

slingusahook · #4 12-20-2007, 04:12 AM

2. Carlos Dengler (a.k.a. Carlos D) on Interpol's Turn on the Bright Lights

Glad someone else appriciates Carlos D's work, he's a beast on that album, one of my favourite album's aswell, I think he's quite underated. Welcome to the forum

scullionj · #5 12-20-2007, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slingusahook

2. Carlos Dengler (a.k.a. Carlos D) on Interpol's Turn on the Bright Lights

Glad someone else appriciates Carlos D's work, he's a beast on that album, one of my favourite album's aswell, I think he's quite underated. Welcome to the forum

Heck yeah, dude. I remember the first time I heard PDA, all I could think was "This bassist. Is a BAD@$$!"

Everything about him has really influenced me, from his unique note choices to his style of dress and how he carries himself. He's an interesting guy.

slingusahook · #6 12-20-2007, 12:40 PM

He's badass, looking back, the stuff I'm playing right now is hugely influenced by him, obstacle 1 has gotta be my favourite song and bassline on that album.

Incedently I'm thinking about upright aswell now, i'm 16 so i figured it'd be good to start young and build up some good technique early even though my hands are friggin' tiny!