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02-08-2006, 11:33 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Phoenix, AZ | | | COUNTRY BASS HELP
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Playing in a country band right now. Gear is a Stingray 5 and a 350 w 4x10 Hartke cab & head. Looking for tips on playing country bass and eq'ing my sound. FYI: I know nothing about country music/bass (hey c'mon, a gig's a gig, eh?).
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02-08-2006, 12:03 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Florida | | | I find that less is usually more with country music and in a broader scheme, music in general.
Walking lines go down well, I-IV and I-V patterns also get the job done well. You can even try laying down a vibe like in Garth Brook's "Two Pina Collada's"
As for the tone, most country I've heard and played has always had a big fat bass tone to it, with less emphasis on the highs, hi-mids, and to some extent, low-mids.
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Last edited by cassanova : 02-08-2006 at 07:48 PM.
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02-08-2006, 01:13 PM
| | Registered User
Endorsing Artist: David Eden Amplifiers / Rob Wave Custom basses | | Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Athens, GA | | | Honestly....
You should probably listen to some country to get a feel for it. I do have a good book somewhere that breaks down some basic country lines. I will see if I can find it.
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02-08-2006, 03:00 PM
|  | Registered User | | | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by WordIsBorn79 (hey c'mon, a gig's a gig, eh?). | Don't feel like you need to apologize for playing country music.
Some of the best musicians you could ever hope to work with play country.
To do it and do it properly is one heck of a lot more difficult than it appears on the surface. |
02-08-2006, 03:42 PM
| | | | here's my advice...
1) Get plastered before the shows. Country is boring unless you are totally drunk.. and even then, its only good in small doses.
2) Listen to David Allan Coe (The Underground Recordings). Some of the finest lyrics and music ever put on wax.
3) Buy you a belt buckle. |
02-08-2006, 06:35 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Goldsboro / Raleigh NC | | | Stay in the pocket and play the least amount of notes with the most meaning possible! I play country, didn't think I'd like it so much, but I love it. I've played with some of het most amazing musicians I've ever met!
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02-08-2006, 10:43 PM
|  | Holy Ghost filled Bass Player Moderator | | Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Heber Springs, Arkansas | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by cassanova I find that less is usually more with country music and in a broader scheme, music in general.
Walking lines go down well, I-IV and I-V patterns also get the job done well. You can even try laying down a vibe like in Garth Brook's "Two Pina Collada's"
As for the tone, most country I've heard and played has always had a big fat bass tone to it, with less emphasis on the highs, hi-mids, and to some extent, low-mids. | Good advice. The major pentatonic scale is your friend too, but don't use it too much.
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02-08-2006, 10:49 PM
|  | Total Hyper-Elite Member | | Join Date: May 2000 Location: Groom Lake, NV | | | All of the above, and remember to put that big, fat glissando down to the last note, which should be on the B string somewhere near the nut.
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02-08-2006, 11:30 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Austin, TX | | | One of my last columns in BP dealt with playing country, don't remember which issue.... but it explains about the typical "lead-in" lines that take you to the various chords in country 1, 4, 5, 2, & 6. Oh yeah, the modern stuff might go to other chords, but traditional country rarely goes anywhere else (well MAYBE b7). Anyway, look for that one. |
02-09-2006, 12:13 AM
|  | Supporting Member | | Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ohio | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by Jingle_W_Clark here's my advice...
1) Get plastered before the shows. Country is boring unless you are totally drunk.. and even then, its only good in small doses.
2) Listen to David Allan Coe (The Underground Recordings). Some of the finest lyrics and music ever put on wax.
3) Buy you a belt buckle. | My nomination for "redneckest" post of 2006. |
02-09-2006, 05:23 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2003 Location: Kraków, Polska | | | The requirements for a country bassist are:
1. Strong backup vocals
2. No more than three fingers
3. Driver's license for the tour bus
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02-09-2006, 03:27 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Leander, Texas | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by Jingle_W_Clark here's my advice...
1) Get plastered before the shows. Country is boring unless you are totally drunk.. and even then, its only good in small doses.
2) Listen to David Allan Coe (The Underground Recordings). Some of the finest lyrics and music ever put on wax.
3) Buy you a belt buckle. | Naw sugar...
That'd be...
"Git you a belt buckle!"
Cherie ;-) |
02-09-2006, 03:51 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Grand Prairie, TX. | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by edfriedland One of my last columns in BP dealt with playing country, don't remember which issue.... but it explains about the typical "lead-in" lines that take you to the various chords in country 1, 4, 5, 2, & 6. Oh yeah, the modern stuff might go to other chords, but traditional country rarely goes anywhere else (well MAYBE b7). Anyway, look for that one. | September 2005 page 82. My instructor actually went over this with me in one of my lessons. It's a great lesson to start on. If you have a fax machine I will fax you the page. By the way Ed great lesson too.
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02-09-2006, 06:38 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Seweracuse, NY | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by tbone0813 September 2005 page 82. My instructor actually went over this with me in one of my lessons. It's a great lesson to start on. If you have a fax machine I will fax you the page. By the way Ed great lesson too. | Do you have a scan of this?
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02-09-2006, 07:12 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Grand Prairie, TX. | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by BurningSkies Do you have a scan of this? | I have it scanned in PDF format. If you want it I can email it to you.
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In Christ,
Tommy |
02-10-2006, 07:05 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: NJ | | "Alright Guys Rawhide in G, 1,2, 1,2,3,4"
That phrase will get you out of any bad situation at a country gig. 
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Last edited by buzzbass : 02-10-2006 at 10:49 AM.
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02-10-2006, 09:52 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Austin, TX | | | Great! I'm glad somebody found it. Pass it around. Country bass is simple, but deceptively challenging. It has to be perfect. I always bust my jazz students by making them play country. I figure, if you can't play a perfect country bass line, you're missing the whole point of being a bass player. That doesn't mean you have to LIKE it (I do) but you should be able to do it.
Yee-frikkin'-ha! |
02-10-2006, 12:19 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: PA | | | 1) Git-r-dun |
02-10-2006, 01:23 PM
|  | Deteriorating faster than I can lower my standards | | Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Frederick MD USA | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by txbasschik "Git you a belt buckle!"
Cherie ;-) | And then try not to gouge up the back of your bass with it! My Precision has a mirror image map of West Virginia on the back. But the back still has more paint left than the front does!
And try to be a little less drunk than the bandleader is, if you want to keep the gig. 
And don't say anything negative about the President on the mike. The Dixie Chicks still haven't recovered.
Almost forgot: play some Skynyrd!!!!!!!
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02-10-2006, 05:58 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Manchester NH | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by Jingle_W_Clark here's my advice...
1) Get plastered before the shows. Country is boring unless you are totally drunk.. and even then, its only good in small doses.
2) Listen to David Allan Coe (The Underground Recordings). Some of the finest lyrics and music ever put on wax.
3) Buy you a belt buckle. |
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