Ugh, ***... Band without bass.

backline112 · #1 12-31-2008, 05:20 PM

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum.../t-281148.html

What really struck me:
MikeyE
If you're talking about the overwhelming majority of bass players, it won't make a difference. No one will even notice they're not there. I see very few bass players who actually contribute anything to the music. They're just sort of there taking up space. Certainly there are exceptions but they are few and far between.

I don't know if he's using sarcasm or what, but I find it difficult to believe there's people so... arrogant? dumb? ignorant?

Does the majority of people think that way of bassists?

baalroo · #2 12-31-2008, 05:28 PM

I would guess most people don't really think about that sort of thing in the first place.

bassrique · #3 12-31-2008, 06:52 PM

In some styles of music, the bass isn't important.

Having said that, the post you quoted is

Rocker949 · #4 01-01-2009, 09:43 AM

The Doors...not really one of my favorite bands anyway.

theshadow2001 · #5 01-01-2009, 10:31 AM

I'm sure a load of people think like that. However bass players will always have work, so don't be so precious. Who gives a flying frigg what a guitarist says on some random internet forum.

Of course you can have bands without bass but usually you need to have something else that will drive the lows. The best thing at doing that though is a bass.

dave64o · #6 01-01-2009, 11:16 AM

I have no problem with a rock band that doesn't have a bass guitar. If you write music specifically for the instruments you have then it should sound "normal".

What made me go "Huh?!?!" is seeing how many of the people who posted in that thread would talk about the bass guitar being useless but then described the lengths they'd go through to re-introduce that allegedly useless component back into their music. That makes no sense to me.

Joey3313 · #7 01-01-2009, 11:16 AM

A bass player can be the most useless and expendable member of the band.

Unless he's good.

sedan_dad · #8 01-01-2009, 11:25 AM

+1 Nice!

Oric · #9 01-01-2009, 11:44 AM

I'm not opposed to the idea of a band without a bassist - I love both the Doors and the White Stripes. There are several local bands without a bass player, but they haven't figured out the art of filling up the sound, so they sound somewhat empty. I love my instrument, but I don't think every band ever should have it, how boring would it be if every band had bass, drums, guitars, and vocals? We need a little variation.

fenderphil · #10 01-01-2009, 11:51 AM

nah, theres more trios without guitars than there are with out bass...

and i've seen more starving guitarists than i have bassists...

thats why theres so many guitarist converted to bass in the scene, lol

Dertygen · #11 01-01-2009, 12:35 PM

More evidence bassists get no love...

theshadow2001 · #12 01-01-2009, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dertygen

More evidence bassists get no love...

Deacon_Blues · #13 01-01-2009, 12:55 PM

My cousin is a keyboardist and bassist, and does gigs once in a while where he plays bass on his keyboard. It works for him. My brother can play awesome grooving basslines on his keyboard as well. Organists often play bass themselves on the organ instead of using a bassist. What I'm saying is that the bass guitar isn't replaceable, it all depends on what sound you're after. There's many bass instruments out there, and bass guitar is just one of them.

Anyway, that comment by MikeyE was the most ignorant/stupid comment I've read in a long time.

PhatBasstard · #14 01-01-2009, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocker949

The Doors...not really one of my favorite bands anyway.

Except they have bass guitar on almost all of their studio recordings (see Jerry Scheff among others) and occasionally used a bassist live.

Dertygen · #15 01-01-2009, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theshadow2001

LOL, who's crying?

chrisisnotevil · #16 01-01-2009, 01:20 PM

maybe some musicians see us as talentless fools who can't handle a "more complicated" instrument. their loss, not ours.

theshadow2001 · #17 01-01-2009, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dertygen

LOL, who's crying?

Not me. To play an instrument for "love" or recognition is the wrong reason to play that instrument.

mwiles30 · #18 01-01-2009, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocker949

The Doors...not really one of my favorite bands anyway.

True, but if you exclude the occasional session guy, they still had low end thanks to the keyboard player.

I too am a keyboard player, and there are times when keyboardists have to fulfill a bassists role. A bassless ensemble can be pulled off, but on the other side, I have yet to see anyone do it impressively (minus jazz organists).

Rocker949 · #19 01-01-2009, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhatBasstard

Except they have bass guitar on almost all of their studio recordings (see Jerry Scheff among others) and occasionally used a bassist live.

Yes, I know that. I'm just saying that anytime this question of a keyboardist playing bass comes up, the Doors is usually mentioned. So that "no bass player" concept tends to be identified with them. I'm just saying that I was never into the Doors in the first place. In my opinion, they're a little overrated and Jim Morrison got way more attention than he deserved. On the other hand, the same thing could be said about many, many other artists.

Rocker949 · #20 01-01-2009, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mwiles30

True, but if you exclude the occasional session guy, they still had low end thanks to the keyboard player.

I too am a keyboard player, and there are times when keyboardists have to fulfill a bassists role. A bassless ensemble can be pulled off, but on the other side, I have yet to see anyone do it impressively (minus jazz organists).

I'd like to point out that I don't have an anti-keyboard attitude. My mentor is essentially a keyboardist, although he can actually play about any instrument. Certainly he plays bass well enough to be in demand as a jazz bass instructor.