Session basses and the Low B

[lamarjones]

Hey Janek, just a little clarification about the fender thing....

Do producers look more for a vintage fender thing, or do they all work? Does a Fender P bass with a bridge j get you as far as you need to go on the 'fender' sound usually? These guys definitely DONT want a fender clone? Say a Lull P or a Celinder J or something like that?

Thanks man, and reading your section has been a huge list for me lately, or at least put things into serious perspective.

You know, while I am at it....one other question.......

Is it worth it?

You stated somewhere that at the top of your game, a sideman for E. Clapton can do 25g a week, but there are tons of monster players, and I am wondering if being personable, having a good image, and having great chops and good music theory and comprehension skills, normally will that lead to a comfortable carrer in music?

Just want to know, my parents said a big NO to music school due to financial themes, so I did the computer thing and just gigged as much as I could considering. I have always wondered if I would say the same to my kids (whenever I fertilize somewhere), but honestly, how often can someone actually make a decent living off of it?

I figure you are in a pretty decent point, but did you have a bit of luck getting where you are, or is it mainly hard work and what not?

[janekbass]

Lamar,

thanks for your post.

about the fender thing.....

it all depends. I have a mexican P-bass right now as a loaner while I wait for new P and a J Relic basses to be delivered from Fender.

I had the cats at the fodera factory set it up and it's amazing to play. I can get such a great sound out of it, I've ened up playing on some cuts in the studio this week for a japanese pop thing I'm doing. So sh*t, if you can make what you have work, do it. Serious producers will be able to tell the difference between a crappy one and a vintage one. And the vintage ones are just that much nicer to play. More vibe, better tone, more sustain. just better made instruments. So if you have the optioin to own one or play one, always go for that. I do. I'm getting a couple of the re-issue "relic" custom shop basses from Fender which I'm really looking forward to playing in the studio, and maybe with Jem on her next tour if it's right for the music. They are just as nice to play as the vintage basses, and easier to get hold of. I have a deal with those guys, so it's easier for me to get hold of that stuff, but they're very available to the public if you have the bread.

as for the second question....


it's worth it if that's what you want out of the music you're playing. If your goal is to make money, then you can make money. Absolutely. You can make money just playing in a good wedding band every weekend. I have friends who take home $1200 a weekend which ends up being over 50k a year without working more than two gigs a week. There are the super high end gigs like Eric, and they do pay a truck load of money. You do have to work your ass of for years and years and push yourself into the absolute top 10 players in the world to be eligable for that sort of gig, and for that payscale too. Players who get the serious money aren't just getting it cos of the gig they're on, they're getting it because of who they are and what they've done.

The clapton gig right now is Willie Weeks on bass and Steve Jordan on Drums. Two living legends of modern music who have carved stellar careers for themselves over the past 30 years. This sort of gig doesn't come along when you're 22, unless you get very lucky, or are so very specific in what you do, that you're the only person for the gig.

making yourself the only person for a gig can be useful too. It'll mean it's very hard to replace you, and that you'll get the call to do the gig time and time again. When you're reliable and a good person to be around, people will remember that. They'll always want to work with someone they trust, can depend on at all times, and that can play the hell out of their music.

I am starting to get to a nice point in my career right now, yes.

But realize this. I don't want to be super dark or be all "look at how much I suffered", I'll just tell it like it is.

I have gone without many things over the past 8 years of living in the US. I left all my family and friends behind in the UK, I lost several relationships due to commitment to my career, I have been broke and starving hungry on more occasions than I care to remember, and I've been seriously depressed about the scene, and how few gigs there are, and how little work I was getting despite the fact that I could play great.

These are just a few of the things you might encounter when you're making music your life's work. I've signed my life away to this artform, and I'm not cutting any corners or selling out along the way. i want to stay true to my art, and I take it very seriously. there are times when I could have taken a day job so as not to eat cans of tuna and drink water to survive. but in the long run, it served as such a motivating force, to suffer a little, that it's pushed me harder than I could ever have hoped for.

I wake up every day and go in search of something new. I transcribe and write like it's going out of fashion, and when I pick up my bass I play it like I will die as soon as I put it down again. And that my last perfomance is the only thing that anyone will remember.

it's a pretty extreme attitude to have, but it's similar to those who have come before in this art and done great things. I hope one day I can reach a level where I feel I've accomplished something, made a difference in the music scene, and helped as many people through music as I possibly can. And not only through music, but to help people with music if they need it and would like me to. It's such an open, giving, loving and healing thing, that there is nothing else to do with it, but share and be open. If anyone is comin out to the 55bar tonight to hear me play with stern, I hope this is something that comes across in my playing.

Easy,

Janek

[janekbass]

I forgot to Add Adam Freeland's record "now and Them" that I played on. Got to be my fav recording that I've done so far I think.

Easy,

Janek

[lamarjones]

On top of all you got going on, its amazing that you have the time for such well formed responses.

Thanks a ton!!!

[janekbass]

hey, my pleasure.

[SmittyG]

Originally Posted by janekbass

when I pick up my bass I play it like I will die as soon as I put it down again. And that my last performance is the only thing that anyone will remember.

Janek,

I think that is the single most inspiring thing I have ever read on a musician's forum in my life. That really made me think. Thanks for taking the time to share your life with us.

[Basshole]

Yeah, that got me too. That's a damn strong level of committment. Respect, yo.

At 45 I'm sorry I never threw myself into anything that hard...

"I coulda been a contender..."

[janekbass]

We can all be contenders.

Steve Gadd (although he was playing from a young age pretty hard) never really started getting the bigger gigs and making a big name for himself until his late 30's. It's never too late.

[Phantasm]

A question, can someone give specific models of Neve, API, Manley, etc. DI/Preamps that they commonly take to studio gigs?

I know that the Avalon U5 has been mentioned. I see most of these manufacturers have DI's that are under $1000 but hovering around the $500-$800 range.

[Basshole]

Originally Posted by janekbass

We can all be contenders.

Steve Gadd (although he was playing from a young age pretty hard) never really started getting the bigger gigs and making a big name for himself until his late 30's. It's never too late.

Thanks for the encouragement, Janek, but alas...it can be too late. I have arthritis (PA). I lose a little bit more movement every day. I can still play most young kids into a corner, but I'm most definitely not the man I used to be...

Take this as advice, kids; Don't squander your gifts. If you really love music, treat it like Janek. I wish I had.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

A question, can someone give specific models of Neve, API, Manley, etc. DI/Preamps that they commonly take to studio gigs?

I know that the Avalon U5 has been mentioned. I see most of these manufacturers have DI's that are under $1000 but hovering around the $500-$800 range.

Anyone...?

[janekbass]

here are some typical pieces of gear I use in the studio, and if I had the bread would consider buying to put in my rack one of these days...


API - 512c $1600

API - 3121+ $2795

API - 205L $595

API - A2D $1995

Avalon - VT 747 SP $2495

Avalon - VT 737 SP $2295

Manley - Mono Tube DI

Manley - Dual mono tube DI

those are a few of the things.....

EAsy,

Janek

[Phantasm]

Thanks!

[mstott25]

Originally Posted by janekbass

Bassist4life:

...there are cats who bring a truck load of basses to a session, and says that he brings at least four himself. But in the next sentence goes on to admit that it'll be the fender on at least half the sessions. Smitty: it's not so wild when you think about it. When you take into account the history of the instrument, the fact that fender basses are the most recorded basses ever, and the fact that people just don't know about too much else in the relatively short amount of time electric bass has been recorded. The simpler the better as far as I"m concerned. From a playing and a producing standpoint.

Janek

Just caught this thread, and I realize that everybody is kind of past this point by now, but I did remember something I read Willie Weeks say in an interview and I wanted to share it real quick:

"I used to go into sessions with different kinds of basses, just trying out stuff, and the sound I was getting was pitiful. I thought, Why can't this sound good? It's just bass! So I started searching for a bass that had a good, solid, simple sound, and I ended up with Fender. The only time I drifted away from Fender was when I was with Wynona [Judd]..."

Q: Do you do any EQ'ing on your bass?
A: "I turned it up, and that's it - these days I like the stock Fender sound. I said to Joe, "Man, why does it sound so good?" And he said, "I'm just basically letting the instrument speak."

This last question was in reference to recording for John Scofields tribute to Ray Brown "That's what I say". Basses Willie Weeks used: Reissue Fender Precision and Jazz basses and Ampeg Baby Bass. (Bass Player August 2005)

[janekbass]

which is exactly what I said in the first place. Willie Weeks being the current bass player for Eric Clapton will certainly garner much more respect for saying it, but it's still the true rule of thumb for session bass playing.

Easy,

Janek