Advice for aspiring Studio Players or anyone that wants to "Go Pro"

[chimp]

Thanks for this thread i have given my future serious thought and have still got 2 or more years to think it through.

Count my vote for this to get "stickyed".

[HeavyDuty]

Originally Posted by Blackbird

Good post. I think it would work better in Miscellaneous of General instruction, since the "Basses" Forum is about, well, basses.

Misc, I think. Moved.

[mariner]

Tomixx,

Great stuff! It's always great to read the stories that back up the words o' wisdom...

I've been a professional for the last 15 yrs, unfortunately not a musician. Life took over and music became a hobby for me. The one thing that rings true in what you posted, when people are paying you to do something, if you expect them to keep paying you, you had better approach things professionally.

Word of mouth is also very powerful and if you upset one person, chances are your reputation will precede you.

Take to heart, o gentle readers, the fine words of advice here. For this is what makes TB so great in that professional musicians leave here the tools for the next generation to absorb and grow.

Bravo...

[20db pad]

This is brilliant. Now, if I only had seen this 15-20 years ago.

As I mention from time to time, younger TB members should cherish and respect this hard-won, empirically based know-how. This is the real deal and simply wasn't available for everyone at no charge before the popularity of the world wide web.

[masmasbasso]

Originally Posted by James Hart

GREAT THREAD!!! Thanks Tommixx!

I learned that early on too... 7/8ths of the ears that hear the tracks we lay down couldn't even pick the bass out! They'll tell you somethings missing if it's weak, but not know what.

Best thing to do it play what the song needs... boost and support the emotion and dynamics of the "Singer". If it's pop, rock or jingle.... that is ALL that matters. Every whole note, half note, etc needs to be played with the attitude and confidence of your "showcase" solo. There are no boring lines, just boring players.

The average listener might not appreciate your efforts if you part is more supportive, but the people that write the checks will really appreciate it. That's what matters to me since I have a to pay off my house with those checks.

There is room for the Jaco's and extended range bassists of the world as solo, jazz, prog rock or fusion artists, but session players rarely need to wield those chops.

Also learn to read at a workable level. I don't see much of it except for kicks written in every once in a while, (except for jazz gigs) but it is so easy to make charts with Finale and Sibelius that you will come across some written ideas.

My reading chops got a little weak after my time at the University of North Texas, but I got called for a gig with a jazz steel drummer named Gregory Boyd, who is also a great singer/songwriter, but he wrote out most of the bass parts. There were some crazy funk lines that I had to read on the gig. There were only about 20-30 people there and one of them was Roscoe Beck. He complemented me on being able to pull it off and was glad he wasn't called for the gig. I went home, licked my wounds and started reading again.

[jokerjkny]

Originally Posted by tommixx

Thanks,

Sadowsky flats are my favorite and it seems they are becoming the favorites of a lot of other players based on what I see in the studios.....they actually have a surprisingly good slap tone......they are a bit brighter than the typical flat and the sound to me is a bit more dynamic than the usual thud you think of when you think flats.....

Peace,

T

Peace

yea,

was never a flats guy until i tried them on a friend's P. Roger pwns tone.

only a matter of time before Roger starts making his own custom cables..

[tommixx]

LOL Joker.....

Thanks for all the comments guys....I'm sorry this thread got relegated to the Miscellaneous area but OH well it ain't my site..

Peace,

T

[HeavyDuty]

Originally Posted by tommixx

LOL Joker.....

Thanks for all the comments guys....I'm sorry this thread got relegated to the Miscellaneous area but OH well it ain't my site..

Peace,

T

There's no caste system to the forums here, except maybe for Tab or DB Rosin. It's a better fit here - Basses is for technical discussion.

[Superdave]

Personally, I'd stick it in General Instruction.

[rusty]

Excellent post Tomixx! It's the best I've read in a long while on TB Thanks for sharing

[Zirc]

Interesting read. I'm glad someone on TB is active in the music industry. However I was expecting a different thread. Sounds like this is for hired technician bassists.

I know with bands, it's a little different. For example, a good sound is EVERYTHING, no matter what the cost. Rule number one is to record a song you can NOT make excuses for. If you're making excuses about your recording, you should have spent more time/money.

Sounds like people hiring fill in bassists don't really care about the sound quality that much.

[tommixx]

Thanks guys,

I know with bands, it's a little different. For example, a good sound is EVERYTHING, no matter what the cost. Rule number one is to record a song you can NOT make excuses for. If you're making excuses about your recording, you should have spent more time/money.

You would be surprised how many big name "Bands" hire me and other pro players to play the parts that they are credited for on the albums and force me to sign a non-disclosure that I will not tell a soul after the fact.......

Sounds like people hiring fill in bassists don't really care about the sound quality that much.

Actually the reason that I (and ALL the other pros I know get hired is BECAUSE of my playing and my TONE) When someone pays my rate you can BET that ALL they care about is that the part is played perfectly and sounds as good as it possibly can sound......


Peace,

T

[nicoli]

Originally Posted by Zirc

Sounds like people hiring fill in bassists don't really care about the sound quality that much.

Uh, I think you may have missed the point.

I'm by no means on the same level as some of the other pros who have posted in this thread, but I'd fully agree that in my experience being a team player and easy to work with have got me more paying gigs than any fancy chops or massive amounts of gear have.

Show up on time, know the stuff you should know, and have an easy going and aim to please attitude. Make sure your gear is setup and working properly and have backups of everything you'd need backups of and/or tools for repairs. It's all pretty simple stuff really - part of being professional in your field.

[Zirc]

Originally Posted by tommixx

Thanks guys,




You would be surprised how many big name "Bands" hire me and other pro players to play the parts that they are credited for on the albums and force me to sign a non-disclosure that I will not tell a soul after the fact.......



Actually the reason that I (and ALL the other pros I know get hired is BECAUSE of my playing and my TONE) When someone pays my rate you can BET that ALL they care about is that the part is played perfectly and sounds as good as it possibly can sound......


Peace,

T

Ouch, that's like being in the CIA. The Will story is what made me think that that cared more about time restraints instead of sound quality.

Did you say you owned a studio of your own?

[tommixx]

Nicoli,

The reason I posted this info here to begin with was because people constantly ask who know me and see me in sessions.....you my friend are absolutely right!! There is no SECRET to it, it is all common sense combined with ability, agility, and stability......that is THE SECRET.....that's all there is to it........almost....you still have to out yourself in a position to get the breaks...but the key is to put yourself out there and be ready and able to pull it off when the break comes!

You GOT it....Right on!

Peace,

T

[Zirc]

Originally Posted by nicoli

Uh, I think you may have missed the point.

I'm by no means on the same level as some of the other pros who have posted in this thread, but I'd fully agree that in my experience being a team player and easy to work with have got me more paying gigs than any fancy chops or massive amounts of gear have.

Show up on time, know the stuff you should know, and have an easy going and aim to please attitude. Make sure your gear is setup and working properly and have backups of everything you'd need backups of and/or tools for repairs. It's all pretty simple stuff really - part of being professional in your field.

Yeah I'm just in a different field in the music industry.

[tommixx]

yes, I own my own my own studio, but it is fairly modest by comparison to most of the places I have worked in the past......a LOT of my session work is still in other cities and other studios.....unfortunately, the "Big" studios are for the most part struggling to survive.....everybody uses pro tools now for better or for worse and it is killing the "old guard studio system"........the last remaining manufacturer of analog tape closed down a couple months ago!!!!! There are people who are trying to help save the company but once they close that is IT....NO more analog tape period......Hit Factory NY, Cello, Royaltone(was bought by an artist and turned into a private facility), and Muscle Shoals Studios have ALL closed down in the last 60 days alone (these are just some of the more "famous" studios there are countless other lesser known places that have folded).......

Peace,

T

[Zirc]

Haha my next question was going to be do you have Cubase or Protools on your home studio. We are going to be constructing a digital studio within the next few months and I'm thinking about Cubase because of the compatibility with everything. I hear Protools requires Protools hardware.

[tommixx]

My rig is Pro tools...cubase is good and I know people that use it for certain things....most of the people that I know who have Pro tools have a complete system but there are some who use the software with other hardware (typically laptop based rigs though)
I would not recommend doing a Big system with Pro Tools unless you are going to go with the Hardware for that system....time is too precious for me to take chances with incompatibility issues....

Peace,

T

[Zirc]

Haha, thanks for all the answers!

Why do you like Sadowsky? Is it anything like a Fender Jazz? Looks almost identical, so one can only assume...