Bass innovations

What, in your opinion, is the future sound of bass playing? Is there one? If so, what is the current sound? Which players do you think are really innovating on bass at the moment?

What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? Have you found any new approaches to bass guitar that have blown your mind?

If there's someone or something you like, also say why!

[Sarbecue Boss]

I think bass tones in general are moving into two different categories, very hi-fi madern clean tones, and dirty old school thump and grit tones.

I don't really think anyone is innovting at the moment, since Vic got known in the bass community, there haven't been meny legit chnages to the way the instrument is approached.

I would like to see more innovation in the songwriting, not just in bass soloist, but overall(especially in bass soloists).

I would like to see less fast slapping solos. fast slapping=good, but i wanna hear your notes in your solo

Have I found any new approaches-not really, three fingers is getting pretty huge right now

Im really liking more guitarists than bassist right now
jeff beck, jan akkerman, micheal keene

I love to hear really great melodies over very moving chord changes. I never want to hear or play over another 2-5-1.

[Batman!]

I'm not current on the latest group of solo wizards, so I guess I'll have to watch Bass Day '09. IMHO, people like Tom Jenkinson aka Squarepusher are the current innovators of the instrument. The integration of organic and electronic as well as using bass as a lead seems to be an exciting area.

Other than that, I think we'll be forever grasping at the greatness of those who came before us. Which isn't a bad thing, since the newest generation of cats is developing uniquely from this pursuit.

Personally, I've taken a great interest in the usage of bass within 80s pop and soul music. It's not always a bass guitar, but the lines generally have an enjoyable groove and feel. Songs like "You're The One For Me" by D-train is a good example. I'm starting to hear current songs that use a similar style, so maybe that is something of a burgeoning trend. It'd be nice!

[bassistgook]

I'm trying some things I haven't herd anyone else really doing. First I'm running 3 tones through my cabs. 2 tube tones and 1 solid state tone. My guitarist and I are also working together in a few ways I haven't herd anyone else do. He only plays a 6 string guitar while I have a 6 string bass. We have found ways to make it sound like he is playing a 7 or like we have another guitarist. We think it helps set us apart from other bands to give us our own sound, and not just another band that sounds like someone else out there.

[Jehos]

I'm not convinced that ERB's have been fully explored, and there's still a lot that can be done with two-handed tapping like Jean Baudin does. Sure, we've got Wooten now, but Wooten is just an extension of the slap guys that came before him. What we need is another Les Claypool who is more the bassist in a band than a solo artist to blow the doors off the role a bass can play in a band.

Don't get me wrong, solo guys are great, but ultimately they're just wankers who have a backing band. Real innovation comes from the guys who can take the bass in a new and musical direction in a band situation.

[GrindYourMind]

The use of strong melodies over strong rhythms in a solo setting, not just flash but good quality solo playing (ala Jeff Schmidt, Manring, Wamsley) will be necessary in order for the Bass to be seen as more than just the fat guy in the rhythm section who speaks in grunts and doesn't know squat about music.

[HaVIC5]

Originally Posted by Jehos

I'm not convinced that ERB's have been fully explored, and there's still a lot that can be done with two-handed tapping like Jean Baudin does. Sure, we've got Wooten now, but Wooten is just an extension of the slap guys that came before him. What we need is another Les Claypool who is more the bassist in a band than a solo artist to blow the doors off the role a bass can play in a band.

Don't get me wrong, solo guys are great, but ultimately they're just wankers who have a backing band. Real innovation comes from the guys who can take the bass in a new and musical direction in a band situation.

So like Victor Wooten in Bela Fleck and the Flecktones you mean?

Really, I think what people call innovation most of the time on electric bass just amounts to flashy technical stuff, cheap tricks, and in some cases blatant misuse of a voice in an ensemble. The instrument hasn't had time to mature like many of the other instruments, and as a result, there have been a lot of immature approaches to music. Innovation should be saved for music and style, not one specific instrument. If you're forgoing the role of all the other instruments in the ensemble so the bass can have the spotlight in unusual ways, that may be innovative for the bass, but it sure makes for lousy music. And that's what we should always be worried about. Music, not bass.

Lets look at it another way. Do you think that people like Rostopovich, Yo-yo Ma and Jacqueline duPre are unparalleled greats in the history of the cello because they could play really fast in weird time signatures all up and down the neck using extended techniques and executing it all flawlessly? They could, of course, effortlessly, but that's not why they're great at all. They could just play one note and make it sing in a way that you KNEW it was them and only them playing that single note. Can you? Can any bassist for that matter?

I agree about the need for an entire-ensemble mentality to make good bass.

I think for me I really like players that are defined as much by what they don't do as much as what they do - I think bass is the ultimate instrument for compelling use of space, the only downside is that not all listeners are acute enough to pick up on when you're NOT doing something, so if you want to stand out, it's more tempting to try and show off.

Ultimately though, I think the players that really make waves are the ones that go for people's hips rather than brains - guys like JJ and Aston Barrett did this. I think for me the future of bass playing lies in the groove itself, rather than in the techniques. For example, if you just try and find new ways round old grooves, like funk, then you're in the past no matter what you do and it's a massively oversubscribed style anyway. But I think there is lots to do in terms of making actually new grooves - phrasing that is natural and succinct but moves in different directions to what people are used to. The sort of thing where you play very simply, and someone says 'You're phrasing is totally f**ked up, but it sounds great!' - that kind of thing I like.

In which case my favourite bass player at the moment is Ian Eagleson from Extra Golden, but he's the guitarist too! - But his basslines are very original and have a great percussive quality - also they are original within a style - in this case Benga.

[cowsgomoo]

Originally Posted by afromoose

What, in your opinion, is the future sound of bass playing? Is there one? If so, what is the current sound? Which players do you think are really innovating on bass at the moment?

What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? Have you found any new approaches to bass guitar that have blown your mind?

If there's someone or something you like, also say why!

I don't think there are many people affecting the sound of bass playing right now...

Wooten and co's audience can be summarised as follows: other bass players... those guys and their fans now have their own bass ecosystem which has very little, if any, relevance to music outside the 'solo bass star' world... this is not a criticism, but let's not kid ourselves that they're changing the future sound of bass playing outside anything but their own little sphere

I think that guy above had the right idea... bass guitar will continue to take a certain amount of influence from the timbres, textures, rhythms and note choices of electronic music... the fact that many modern records are pro-toolsed to an inhuman level of rhythmic accuracy will lead a new generation of players to imitate this... leading to a lot of boring, machine-like players, and one or two wonderful players who seamlessly meld the best of both worlds

[MEKer]

Dang, Sarbeque Boss--- You like Jan Akkerman? I thought I was the only guy in America who knew of him and appreciated his absolute guitar excellence. Outta Europe--Akkerman (Dutch) and Mads Ericksen (Norway)---are my absoloute faves. Love those guys. I have a great poster of Akkerman playing in Russia early 2008.