Questionnaire related to the bass

[Jackp8149]

Hi
My name is Jack I am a bass player I play both bass guitar and string bass. I am currently studying the MA level in popular music. Part of the course requires that I do a project into an area which interests me.
I have chosen to research into the role of the bass player with the shift from the string bass to the bass guitar within the 1950s to present and including popular music styles. I was wondering if you could please help me by answering a short questionnaire in relation to this, to form a true opinion.
Thank you for your time and for helping me with this.

Jack





1) How long have you been playing Bass Guitar/String Bass for or both?


2) If you don’t play string bass/bass guitar have you thought of doubling up on either to get more recognition as a bass player?




3) Who are your favourite exponents of both string bass/bass guitar?




4) Do you think that both the bass guitar and string bass are important as bass instruments?




5) What genres do you think are important for bass players to listen to?



6) Do you think electric guitarists can learn to play bass guitar more than string bass?



7) Do you think bass can be used to solo as well as accompany other instruments?



8) Do you think it is important to learn to sight read?



9) What do you think of bass guitars such as 5 string/6 string e.g. as being an add-on to the bass players role?





10) What are your opinions on electric upright basses as a substitute for the string bass?




11) What is the best amp to use for bass guitar or string bass?






12) What pickups for string bass are the best for capturing the natural tone of the instrument?

[Marcus Johnson]

Good lord, Jack.... no offense, but these are very broad questions, each one of which merits its own dissertation. Taken as a whole, a series of twelve, it's a pretty daunting prospect to even try to frame a cogent response to your request.

Some questions are maybe too subjective; "what genres are important", "which pickups are best". Indeed, most of these individual topics have been discussed at great length in this and other public forums.

I'm not trying to discourage you from taking on this project. You might want to narrow your focus. And, maybe post it after the holiday season.

I do wish you well with this. I'll check in to this thread after the Christmas dust settles. I've been playing both basses for many years, so maybe I can help. If all you need is simple yes/no answers (like a poll), I could do a few right now.... but that would just be one old fart's opinion.

Edit; In looking again at your questions, it seems as though I could probably give a pretty quick answer to almost all of them. All I need to do is to rein in my tendency to yammer on at length about the bass.

[Treyzer]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Good lord, Jack.... no offense, but these are very broad questions, each one of which merits its own dissertation. Taken as a whole, a series of twelve, it's a pretty daunting prospect to even try to frame a cogent response to your request.


Edit; In looking again at your questions, it seems as though I could probably give a pretty quick answer to almost all of them. All I need to do is to rein in my tendency to yammer on at length about the bass.

What fun would that be? So much more entertaining when you "yammer on at length"?

[bass12]

I'm curious as to what you're trying to achieve by asking these questions. What exactly is your paper on? Also, some of your questions are "questionable". "Do you think bass can be used to solo as well as accompany other instruments?" This is a strange question. Bass can be used as both a solo instrument and an accompanying instrument - that is a fact. Are you asking if I favour the idea of bass being used as a vehicle for soloing? As someone who is in the middle of correcting a bunch of papers for a University course on popular music, I can tell you that you need to tighten up some of these questions. I'm not trying to be a jerk, I'm just trying to help.