Critique of a bad bass solo. lol

**Eric Perry** · #1 09-25-2009, 04:23 PM

Hey all,

I just found this clip. It was from maybe 5 years ago or so. My old band Crush did a Dave Matthews version of All Along the Watchtower. In the middle, the sax player, the guitarist, and myself all did a solo piece, totally off the cuff and freestyled. I remember right around this time I read an interview with Muzz Skillings who talked about his bass solo in Living Colour's Broken Hearts. He said for that solo, he threw everything to the wind, and just played, without care for theory, note placement, etc., and just let it flow.

I'm apparently not as good at that as him in attempting such a feat!!! Haha. This piece has many sour notes etc. Oh well. Anywho, curious what y'all think. I chopped off the whole beginning and cut right to my solo through the end of the song.

Opinions, regardless how ugly, are welcome....

http://www.supload.com/listen?s=uV66uT

CrispyDelicious · #2 09-25-2009, 04:30 PM

I only noticed one note right at the end that sounded sour. Honestly - good job.

Joe Gress · #3 09-25-2009, 04:37 PM

YOU SUCK!!!

Just listened to it. Pretty damn cool if you ask me. Very laid back grooving type solo that isn't just a bunch of wankery. Fit's the song very well if you ask me. Where you running some kind of effect? It sound a bit like a filter or wah.

VroomVroom · #4 09-25-2009, 04:38 PM

Sounded good to me...I dug the playing. The tone was a little dark, which made it difficult here and there to catch what you were doing (to my ears, anyway) but I liked it. Great tune, and the Dave Matthews characterization was very cool. Smokin' drummer too..great snare sound, and that wicked single-stroke fill he tossed in was sweet.

**Eric Perry** · #5 09-25-2009, 04:42 PM

Wow. Thanks guys! When I first heard it after we recorded, I wasn't thrilled. Since digging it up yesterday, I did kind of dig it a little more.

Joe, There is a wah on it. Morley PBA-2 bass wah. Probably some OD as well.

The drummer was SICK to play with. One HELL of a jam drummer.

**Eric Perry** · #6 09-25-2009, 05:54 PM

Any other input?

gahpg · #7 09-25-2009, 06:26 PM

I'd only say what Barney Gumble would say.

5StringBlues · #8 09-25-2009, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gahpg

I'd only say what Barney Gumble would say.

We shoulda stayed at the bar and shot some rats?

**Eric Perry** · #9 09-25-2009, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5StringBlues

We shoulda stayed at the bar and shot some rats?

Or BUUUUUURP???

J. Crawford · #10 09-25-2009, 06:32 PM

I liked it.

Lots.

**Eric Perry** · #11 09-25-2009, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Crawford

I liked it.

Lots.

Very cool. Thank you.

That band did a great deal of DMB stuff, and I was big into Stefan at the time (still am, actually). I was tinkering with the wah a lot back then. Listening now to that old stuff, I was way too heavy footed with it. I wish I had learned better foot control.

5StringBlues · #12 09-25-2009, 06:37 PM

Dude! Funky like a Safeway chitlin!

**Eric Perry** · #13 09-26-2009, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5StringBlues

Dude! Funky like a Safeway chitlin!

phatphillss · #14 09-27-2009, 08:22 AM

I liked it. If it felt right when you played that night than your got your answer on to do it more or not.

I liked the wah stuff you were doing, with the speed.The drummer definatly helped.

HogieWan · #15 09-27-2009, 09:09 AM

Can we get the whole track? The whole group sounds great!

**Eric Perry** · #16 09-27-2009, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HogieWan

Can we get the whole track? The whole group sounds great!

Thanks! I only have maybe half of that song. Not sure why. The whole beginning is MIA. Most of it is composed of solos by myself (which you heard), the sax player, and the guitarist.

I do have a bunch of other songs from that same night, if anyone would like to hear them.

**Eric Perry** · #17 09-28-2009, 09:36 AM

One last bump before this thread is layed down to die....

**john turner** · #18 09-28-2009, 09:54 AM

i would have liked to hear the lead in, tbh - what is going on right before the solo would put it more in a frame of reference. in fact, i wasn't really able to get a feel for it until i heard the last bit, returning to the song.

considering that, i thought it was very good - you're pretty tight with the drums, your effect you were using was interesting and yet not overpowering. it sounded a bit haphazard, which was sort of a bummer, and went outta key in spots, but all in all a more-than-decent effort, given the stated premise (the muzz skillings quote about the approach).

that being said, if it were me (and i love solos, especially off-the-cuff types) i would have learned one of jimi's original ones and done it note for note, specifically -because- a) this song is so well known as his signature song, and b) this rendition (The dmb version) is so different. this song, to me, is so heavy with emotion and meaning, that i would have -had- to do that, and not just because those are jimi's parts, but because, to me, they say everything in the song that there is to say.

in general, i want my solos (i have quite a few in lord only songs) to be communicative statements, conveying as much meaning and statement as they can, ideally as much as the lyrics themselves. that means that the meaning and lyrics of the song are going to have a direct influence on how i want to solo in it.

but yeah, that's not a bad solo, not at all - it's really a good one, imo.

**Eric Perry** · #19 09-28-2009, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john turner

i would have liked to hear the lead in, tbh - what is going on right before the solo would put it more in a frame of reference. in fact, i wasn't really able to get a feel for it until i heard the last bit, returning to the song.

considering that, i thought it was very good - you're pretty tight with the drums, your effect you were using was interesting and yet not overpowering. it sounded a bit haphazard, which was sort of a bummer, and went outta key in spots, but all in all a more-than-decent effort, given the stated premise (the muzz skillings quote about the approach).

that being said, if it were me (and i love solos, especially off-the-cuff types) i would have learned one of jimi's original ones and done it note for note, specifically -because- a) this song is so well known as his signature song, and b) this rendition (The dmb version) is so different. this song, to me, is so heavy with emotion and meaning, that i would have -had- to do that, and not just because those are jimi's parts, but because, to me, they say everything in the song that there is to say.

in general, i want my solos (i have quite a few in lord only songs) to be communicative statements, conveying as much meaning and statement as they can, ideally as much as the lyrics themselves. that means that the meaning and lyrics of the song are going to have a direct influence on how i want to solo in it.

but yeah, that's not a bad solo, not at all - it's really a good one, imo.

Very cool. Thank you, John. I agree with everything you say, except learning one of Jimi's solos and emulating it. Should I have learned some of his, and utilized them for inspiration in my approach? Definitely. I wanted to try and avoid replicating anything though. I totally agree with everything else though.

Thanks again!

**john turner** · #20 09-28-2009, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric Perry

Very cool. Thank you, John. I agree with everything you say, except learning one of Jimi's solos and emulating it. Should I have learned some of his, and utilized them for inspiration in my approach? Definitely. I wanted to try and avoid replicating anything though. I totally agree with everything else though.

Thanks again!

heh, well i guess that i should have qualified that. being that it would have been on bass and he does a lot of ornaments and stuff that are a lot easier on guitar than on bass, it would have ended up substantially different.

i guess my point was that, for me, i would have had to been close enough to capture the feel and sense of those solos, along with close enough that even non-musicians would have recognized them, if they were familliar enough with the song.

but yeah, you get my point.