Aspiring Session Bassist

[KeithKlaxwell]

Yes, the reasons are often fickle why producers frown upon boutiques. You won't change their opinion and they're the boss so time to cater. With a great producer they'll still let you do your thing playing wise, more than acceptable compromise for those boutique lovers. And once you've developed a deep relationship with a producer you can sneak in a bass you like on a tune occasionally.

[JimmyM]

I'll tell you this, though...whether all I had was a high end Fender 5-string copy like a Xotic or some $150 Beatle bass knockoff, I'd still be out there playing and getting my name known. I'd be saving to get a decent Fender or two, too, because they're the only basses accepted anywhere in the world for any kind of music no matter what it is. But a great player is a great player, and I can think of many bassists who had no problem getting steady income without ever touching a Fender. Having said that, it always seems like the ones who do a lot of sessions and don't have the FU money to demand to be hired because of their name have a Fender or two hidden away for such times.

[KeithKlaxwell]

I agree with you, Jimmy. Though if someone is really hard up they can land a MIM P for $350 and find someone who would let them pay $50 monthly payments if they must. If it goes that far though it's more likely the player simply isn't interested in Fenders.

[Marty Forrer]

Would I be correct in thinking that LA, NYC and Nashville would be the worst places to try and kickstart a session career? I'm thinking from the point of view that there's probably 100 other bassists trying to do the same thing in each of those places.
If moving is not an option, then I think JMJ's idea of online work warrants a good deal of investigation. There are unlimited numbers of garage bands out there doing home recordings, and often, with all due respect, the bass player just aint gonna cut it. This could possibly be a good marketing angle. Just throwing the idea out there.

[Roy Vogt]

Nashville is a bit different than LA. I had a good friend who moved to LA in the late 70s with Cher's Band and started trying to network and get sessions. He told me that the first question he would get is, "What's your image?" LA has always been more about Show Biz in that regard, from what I can see as someone who just goes there and gigs from time to time.
Nashville has seen it's share of instrument fads among session players. I remember getting a Steinberger in the mid-80s because all the engineers wanted that piano bass sound and they were really clean. Tylers, Pedulla fretlesses, Smiths, Spectors, Modulus and Warwick have all had their hot moments. Right now, Musicman, Lakland, Sadowsky (PJs get a lot of love here) and Rob Allen are much appreciated as well as Chopper Anderson's Alien Audio basses. Vintage Fenders have always been here and never gone away, but I've seen a lot of fads in 3 decades as well. Right now it's fashionable to have one or two old and funky 60s basses (Beatle Bass, Epiphone Jack Casady, Univox, Danelectro, Jerry Jones or the like) for Hipster/Singer Songwriter/Americana gigs. If you play Double Bass you're golden, if you can slap it like a Rockabilly guy or 'Grasser you're platinum.
When I first got here all I had was an Alembic Series I (which was OK since Jack Williams was using one on Jerry Crutchfeld's productions for Barbara Mandrell and Sylvia) and a fretless Ibanez. In short order I added a 66 P with a J pickup and a Musicman Stingray 4. I feel like I would have been better served networking with songwriters and producers and tweaking my gear to get what was needed, honestly.
I always advise my students to have these basses when they graduate if they are looking to play on Nashville sessions:
Fender P or J
Some sort of modern 5 string (lotsa low notes on all that Country Pop)
Upright Bass
Fretless (optional).
After 30+ years anyone who calls me knows and trusts what I can do for them. I can pretty much play anything I want, but it's really important to have a sound that fits. I tell younger players that often people will make up their minds about them in 15 seconds or less and no one knows who they are so having a familiar bass like a Fender is a really good idea for them.
Again, I'm not totally doing Top 40/Rock/Alternative in LA. It's a different thing there. I can't tell you when the last time I tracked through an amp was. It's all about doing things clean and quick here, for better or worse.
It's interesting, we've been talking about "Pro Level Basses" on the Nashville Bass Hang Facebook group, and it's interesting to see all the observations. Still, it can't hurt to have at least one FSO (Fender Shaped Object).

[pbass2]

Originally Posted by Marty Forrer

Would I be correct in thinking that LA, NYC and Nashville would be the worst places to try and kickstart a session career? I'm thinking from the point of view that there's probably 100 other bassists trying to do the same thing in each of those places.
If moving is not an option, then I think JMJ's idea of online work warrants a good deal of investigation. There are unlimited numbers of garage bands out there doing home recordings, and often, with all due respect, the bass player just aint gonna cut it. This could possibly be a good marketing angle. Just throwing the idea out there.

Try 1000 other bassists! Doesn't mean it's not worth giving it a go though.
But I concur that these days, even if you're active playing in bands, touring, and getting some sessions, it's imperative that you also be able to record yourself--that you become savvy working in a DAW that enables you to, at the very least, track your bass for remote sessions. It's been going on for a quite a while now. For example I work mostly as a composer here and I hire guys remotely all the time to track drums, horns, strings, whatever, who actually live just across town! They're set up to track their respective specialty at their home studio at any time, all dialed in--the right mics, outboard, etc. Bassists actually have it pretty easy--you can set up a decent rig to track bass fairly cheaply (I feel sorry for drummers
Then beyond that you'll inevitably get more into things like engineering, producing, mixing/remixing, whatever---all critical skills in this day and age to have at least a basic working knowledge of for any musician IMHO.

[JimmyM]

Yep, being a total package is the way of today's musician.

[mackb12]

People respond to vision, identity, strength of personality, and confidence of approach.


JMJ[/quote]


Dead on, great advice. I wish someone had put this to me that precisely 20 years ago. Just placing yourself in this mindset will also help you grow as a musician by leaps and bounds. Bravo!

[Roy Vogt]

Originally Posted by mackb12

People respond to vision, identity, strength of personality, and confidence of approach.


JMJ

Dead on, great advice. I wish someone had put this to me that precisely 20 years ago. Just placing yourself in this mindset will also help you grow as a musician by leaps and bounds. Bravo![/quote]

I agree. So much of being a successful player has nothing to do with your gear and ability but with your "inner game". Confidence is invaluable.

[VanillaThundah]

Originally Posted by jmjbassplayer

It just is what it is. The fact is: those tones are more recordable, reliable and classic than anything, period. So at least its a bias based on some degree of truth, not just unfounded prejudice.

+ 1000

Justin makes an excellent point...you have to look at it from their point of view. If their recording engineers know how to mix a Fender P-bass but not a Fodera, they aren't going to spend the extra time and money for you guys to figure it out and get the track finished. Efficiency is the name of the game in a session situation...they want it done clean and quick.

Perhaps you can EQ it to sound exactly like a Fender P or what have you, but typically they don't know you from Adam and they likely get tons of guys who claim to know how to make it fit the bill only to have them fumble around for far too long or giving them something unusable for the track.

[justinDbass]

Originally Posted by jmjbassplayer

Getting your name out there would probably first be achieved by establishing yourself as a great, reliable, flexible, cool to hang out with live side musician. Most studio people in LA come from that first.

+100 brojillian

I moved out to LA in 2007 and scoped all the guys around me who had a similar vibe like Kaveh Rastegar, Joseph Karnes, Nick Rosen, Edwin Livingston, Dave Wilder, Ethan Phillips. They certainly aren't the show off kinda guys you see in the r&B jams at the FEDERAL in the valley, but solid professional players who know where the bass fits. Hell, Ethan was the one who encouraged me to pick up an old Japanese knock off PBASS in Tokyo cuz it sounded better than the PBass I had at that time.

Get to know your fellow bassists and hang out with them too! Talk bass, drink beer!

The thing i learned from them, do the gigs, then hang out, always show up on time, be easy to work with, friendly, NO EGO.

I played by these rules, and started getting session work, then left the country for 3 years to propose to my current wife in tokyo, just came back to LA and lo and behold, people are calling me again offering me work.

Be cool, reliable, solid, and get to know your scene.

If you wanna play bass on film soundtracks, get to know the composers and the ever elusive studio session contractors.

Don't let people talk you out of it saying there are 1000 other bassists doing the same thing. 80% of them are doing something wrong anyway... (Focusing on gear, practicing that Pattitucci/Wooten/Myung solo, complaining about how there aren't any paying gigs)

Be reliable and personable and you'll get gigs filling in for your heroes like JMJ!
(I'm always one removed from JMJ and Flea...doh!)

[TopBillinBass]

Thanks for everyone's advice! It's looking more and more like I'll be making the move out to LA in the late summer/early fall. I'm lucky enough to have a good friend out there who has an uncle with a studio in Granada Hills. He's been kind enough to give me advice and point me in the right direction in terms of contacting other musicians who are established in the scene.

[KeithKlaxwell]

How exciting!

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by TopBillinBass

Thanks for everyone's advice! It's looking more and more like I'll be making the move out to LA in the late summer/early fall. I'm lucky enough to have a good friend out there who has an uncle with a studio in Granada Hills.

Knowing folks is half the battle, bro. Still got to go in and kill on the producer's terms, but if you don't know people, you'll never get hired.

[AngelCrusher]

This is a great thread. i have been a hired gun for labels and now am a session player and experienced everything in the OP. Producers want a guy who can make it feel good in the mix and is a cool guy to work with.

I do a lot more R&B and rap sessions now as I got to do shows with high profile rappers. I find that in these sessions if you pull out a nice 5 string, people will get excited (as long as you can play the snot out of it).

Agree with the post that says have a Fender P and a modern 5 string. That combo is going to get you through about any gig possible. Rock guys are more narrow minded about bass. This goes for on the road or in studio. I got around this by being a better player than they were used to, but being very humble and doing exactly what was asked of me.

Basically everything said in here is correct. I see a lot of guys in this forum buying expensive basses and I think its great. But if you want to be a pro, be prepared for a different mindset. Rock tours are humbling if you are a bass player. Nobody cares that much about you unless you are being a PITA, and you don't want that type of attention.

Anyway, I think more people should read this thread. It is dead on accurate.

I would add that you can make a name for yourself outside of LA. It worked for me just fine. You just have to netowrk..be cool and find the right producers and bands to work with. Help your fellow bands..have no ego. I guitar teched for a band for their showcase even after knowing I was about to be in a national act. No ego is key!

[SteveC]

So, maybe I should keep my Geddy Lee around for people who don't want me to play my Roscoe's...although I'm not an aspiring session player, I do play them on occasion.