So what type of bass player are you?

[de la mocha]

Me? I consider myself a bassline player. I like to create groovy bass lines and "riddims". That seems to be my strong point, creating solid bass lines and grooving, nothing fancy, nothing god-like.

I can slap, I can tap a little, but my strength comes from laying down the fat bass line. I'm like Billy Cox with the band of Gypsies, or Eric Wilson, the bass player for sublime, even Tim C from audioslave. No virtuoso, not pushing any envelope, just a groover.

When I see these slapping, thumping and tapping guys, I feel bad sometimes. I feel I should be able to do that, and I can but nothing spectacular, just very average and basic.

I believe their are many types of bass players, too many kinds to make a poll. Some of the ones I've seen are:

THE GROOVY BASS PLAYER: That's me. Only the song matters, nothing else. No showing off my chops, just a few fills here and there, but mainly just doing my part and keeping a firm foundation.

THE TREBLE PLAYER: The guys who plays the four string guitar. You play the bass like a guitarist with the trebly tone, picking speed and shredding skills to match.

THE THUMPER: God bless those who can play the drum and bass at once!

THE TAPPER The one man show. With chords, tapping and chicken picking over the top funk, you are the modern day one man orchestra with your 32 string bass from hell!

There are a few more I've noticed from time to time, but my food is getting cold. So basically, what kind of player are you. I only consider myself average...

[Tbirdbassist]

Call me the Swiss Army Bass Player.

[roger winkler]

I fall into the groovey bass player slot. I like playing in the pocket and every now and then throw in a little extra thumps just to get the bands attention....like... hey guys, I AM THE ONE KEEPING THE GROOVE ON THE MOVE.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I keep the rythmn going, nothing fancy, nothing complex, just a good solid gritty bass line (solid-ish at least )

[Neb Maro]

I am the..."Yeah I can play bass as long as I have music in front of me so I don't have to listen to the guitar because I can't differentiate chords" kind of player. As soon as I can pick bass notes out of thin air and understand what the guitar chords are, I'll be a jack of most trades bassist.

[Indiana Mike]

A mediocre one IMO, my wife says I don't give myself enough credit but hey , I am being honest.I will say that I practice and play a lot so who knows where I'll end up.

[tplyons]

I'm with peter griffin. I'm okay, I do what the song takes. People think I'm better than I am but I'm never satisfied.

[Jazzin']

95% of the time, I'm a groovy bass player. The other 5%, I'm attempting to do the crazy thigns that Jaco and Marcus can do.

[Hyde]

Well, I guess of those four, I would be a groovy bass player with a bit of tapping and slapping thrown in. I would use the term "riffy" to describe alot of what I do. Think of the bassist from Protest the Hero or The Human Abstract, take away a decade of practicing, and you have me. I'll get there though. . .

[PIZZAcato]

Is it just me or do all of those descriptions sound like put downs except the groove one? Anyway, I think that you can be the icing and the cake at the same time... let me explain:
You can play a sweet groove line that you can remove from the song and it'll sound great on its own,
You can play a good bass line that moves fast and maybe sometimes has the exact same riff as one or more other instruments and keep the groove as well (ie, some funky stuff comes to mind),
You can thump a bassline that fits into the song perfectly too and its not like you're just playing all rythm and no pitch like drums (ie Mark King- Level 42's redo of Mr Pink) albeit the stuff that vic wooten does sometimes lacks the real feeling of musicality (no offense fans- just saying he could use a pause here or there),
You could also have a tapping line that could go under a guitar or other instrument solo (although this is a much less band useful technique IMHO) but tapping and sweeping makes for pretty cool solos sometimes... just ask Adam Nitti.
Finally I'd like to say that this post wasnt to attack your post but I felt like it attacked other styles of playing and I believe all styles of playing deserve a chance! And on the other thing, there is nothing wrong with doing nothing fancy! If you groove look a mother than play that bass!
And i guess to answer the original question I'm a kind of bass groover w/ fills and soloing sometimes but I'm not a strong soloist.

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by PIZZAcato

Is it just me or do all of those descriptions sound like put downs except the groove one?

Thinking the same thing.

[Bob Clayton]

Originally Posted by tplyons

I'm okay, I do what the song takes. People think I'm better than I am but I'm never satisfied.

+1

[The BurgerMeister]

i'm the type you can rely on to keep good time and play what's needed with a few tasty licks here and there. i've got a lot to learn, and i learn every day, but i have a solid foundation, a good memory, and can learn a song very quickly.

[Marcus]

Originally Posted by de la mocha

THE TREBLE PLAYER: The guys who plays the four string guitar. You play the bass like a guitarist with the trebly tone, picking speed and shredding skills to match.

THE THUMPER: God bless those who can play the drum and bass at once!

I find it a little funny that there seems to be some sort of negative connotation behind everything other than "groove" player. The world would be a much happier place if others were not so quick to cut people down that do not want to be relegated to playing behind the guitarist all night. That said, I like a little bit of both from what I listed but I won't do it in situations that do not call for more creativity on my part.

[Dash Rantic]

Originally Posted by peter griffin

I just like to be able to hold the groove , I am not a showman, as a matter a fact I am turned off by bass players who are. I have no problem with a tasty fill but to play lead bass all the time turns me off. If your good or great , you are , why have to showboat and try and prove it?

Because it's fun to do so?

-Dash

[All_¥our_Bass]

I do Treble/Groove/Tap, depedning on situation. Can keep a solid rythm, but will be melodic at the same time and tend to play very "full" lines. I like to mess with odd chords/scales and odd timing as well (yeah, I'm a progressive mofo, I don't shred, but I enjoy the unusual way of thinking).

[roger winkler]

To add to this thread a little more, I have a friend who is an awesome bassist. IMHO his only short coming is that he plays "lead bass" all the time. He is talented enough to easily make a decent living at it but he just doesn't know or want to "back off" during any given song. He is always asking me how his "sound" is from out in the audience and I tell him exactly what I think. The advice seems to flow through both ears with no stops in between. As far as the kind of bassist, he would fall into all the categories, including "LEAD BASS". And shame on me for being a bit to critical about another person's playing.

[Atoz]

My style tends toward playing quarter and eight-note countermelodies. I do not slap, pop, tap, nor use a pick; though I do play chords on occasion. Don't know where that puts me on the list. People seem to like it, so I'm not worried about it.

[keb]

I dunno, a little bit of everything.

[LAG]

I'm a groover.

Occasionally I get some thumb into it and maybe a little bit of pop, of which usually leads to admiration from my bandmates and from members of my church praise team. (I'm a white boy that really digs black gospel and funky stuff).

I love to get down like this, but try to keep it to a minimum. I don't want to be the center of attention, if ya know what I mean.

Man, I just want to play the groove thang with great feeling.