Filling up the empty holes

[Norre]

Howdie folks,

I play bass in a blues(rock) band with one guitarplayer.
When the guitar starts soloing I sometimes have the feeling that something is missing ... like there are some empty spaces.
So I was wondering ... what do you guys do when it's guitar-solo time? Do you change your basslines or maybe add some double stops or chords to sound fuller? Do you play a "busier" groove? Do you add some overdrive?
Please tell me

Ciao,

KN

[stabbicus]

Originally Posted by Norre

So I was wondering ... what do you guys do when it's guitar-solo time? Do you change your basslines or maybe add some double stops or chords to sound fuller? Do you play a "busier" groove? Do you add some overdrive?
Please tell me

All of these are things I do. Just depends on the situation and the feel the song has at that point.

[elpelotero]

play a thick and meaty line on your fattest strings...that's what I do. It thickens everything up so there's no space.

[Infernal Affair]

Also if you play walking lines during the solo it fills up space nicely while still allowing a lot of breathing room for the solo.

[morf]

It really depends on the song and the solo. I usually turn down a bit (my volume) and do develop the line I played before along to the guitar solo to emphasize it. But like I said, can't do this for just any solo. My guitarist doesn't wank all over the place, his solos are slow and he likes to make each note shine, so it leaves me room for a lot of fun.

[FuturePrimitive]

I don't have a lot of playing experience but when I was in a band and things felt a little too open I would add a few chordal tones to the bass lines. Most of the music we played was basic root note stuff but adding a fifth (above or below) or an octave helped a lot to fill out the sound and was simple enough for me to do without thinking about.

[tZer]

I've see a duo perform at our local Train Wreck (guitar and bass) and the bass player does an amazing job of adding a 'drum-like' part to his lines to make up for the lack of drums. He does this by heavily emphasizing the down beats and letting his hand slap the strings either over the pups or on the neck to simulate the snare.

I feel like his way of playing in this setting makes a lot of sense! The bass line does not suffer in the least and you get what sounds like the essential parts that a drummer would play.

[jpsexton]

Originally Posted by elpelotero

play a thick and meaty line on your fattest strings...that's what I do. It thickens everything up so there's no space.

This is really good advise! I have played in three piece bands most of my life and I find that you want to stay on the fattest and open strings whenever possible. Pay closer attention to the bass drum and lock into his pattern.

[Phalex]

I tend to back off a bit. I make a conscious effort not to step on the guitar player when he's taking a lead. I leave all that room for him to use. The idea is that if I keep it simple, he has great latitude in where he goes during a solo and odds are we'll all meet up back at the right place.

[ryco]

Double stops (playing two notes at once) can work nicely here. Use with taste, of course. Fifths, sixths, sevenths (space wide), and tenths (octave + Major or minor third).

Sometimes getting a little busier helps, use of more dead notes, and percusive slap&pops, but don't over do - it's the guitarists solo after all.

[Norre]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll try some of that on our next rehearsal.