great bass definition from urban dicitonary

wcrocker33 · #1 02-23-2007, 05:18 PM

i found this on urban dictionary. it is pretty obviously written by a bassist.

bass guitar
Since most people here seem to be ignorant of what a bass is:

1) It was NOT "based off the guitar", it's an electric adaptation of the double bass which became awkward and increasingly less audible compared to other instruments in the earliest rock/jazz bands.

2) While easier to learn than guitar, it is far far more difficult to master. Anyone can sound cool playing the pentatonic scale and power chords over and over; it takes a great more deal of musical skill and talent to be excellent at bass.

3) On a related note "Anyone who plays guitar can play bass by default" is ridiculous. If you have no sense of rhythm and can't keep a beat, then you can't play bass. Hell, most guitarists I've met can't even play the bass without making the frets buzz their first few times.

4) Bass is a rhythm instrument, with a deeper more mellow sound. Guitar is melodic (or at least mostly used for such). To say bass is inferior to guitar is also stupid.

1) The advent of the electric bass guitar revolutioned new age music

2) A guitarist can sound "amazing" in just a couple years. I'd like to see anyone learn Victor Wooten's Classical Thump in just a couple of years.

3) "Whoa dude whats wrong with your frets? Why are they buzzing??" - Guitarist who thinks he can play bass

4) Have you ever heard a band with two guitarists and no bassist? It sounds like a transistor radio

ThumbFreak · #2 02-23-2007, 06:23 PM

Very Nicely Put.

markjazzbassist · #3 02-23-2007, 07:00 PM

i love it.

seanm · #4 02-23-2007, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wcrocker33

4) Have you ever heard a band with two guitarists and no bassist? It sounds like a transistor radio

bassko · #5 02-24-2007, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wcrocker33

3) "Whoa dude whats wrong with your frets? Why are they buzzing??" - Guitarist who thinks he can play bass

I like this one the most

Very nicely written though.

saxnbass · #6 02-24-2007, 03:29 AM

That's great.

James Hart · #7 02-24-2007, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wcrocker33

1) It was NOT "based off the guitar", it's an electric adaptation of the double bass which became awkward and increasingly less audible compared to other instruments in the earliest rock/jazz bands.

Sorry....

Double Bass is to Cello as Electric Bass is to Guitar.

A guitarist invented the precision bass so guitards could play it too

saxnbass · #8 02-24-2007, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James Hart

A guitarist invented the precision bass so guitards could play it too

LOL. Doesn't quite work out that way though.

vindy500 · #9 02-24-2007, 04:00 AM

leo wasnt a guitrist

saxnbass · #10 02-24-2007, 04:04 AM

Leo didn't play, really?

James Hart · #11 02-24-2007, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vindy500

leo wasnt a guitrist

Paul Tutmarc was.

vindy500 · #12 02-24-2007, 04:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James Hart

Paul Tutmarc was.

sure but leo invented it.. he didnt play, why do you think he put bridge covers on lol

saxnbass · #13 02-24-2007, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vindy500

sure but leo invented it.. he didnt play, why do you think he put bridge covers on lol

lol. bridge covers. Why was that anyways? I know the thumb rest/finger rest and pickup covers, but not the bridge covers. The jazz one had foam mutes, but that was later one, wasn't it? What about the P?

vindy500 · #14 02-24-2007, 04:20 AM

leo thought bridges and pups were ugly.

saxnbass · #15 02-24-2007, 04:23 AM

HAHA. No seriously, why?

vindy500 · #16 02-24-2007, 04:26 AM

James Hart · #17 02-24-2007, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saxnbass

Why was that anyways?

cosmetics and it was assumed it would reduce noise and interference (like shielding).

vindy, Paul had an electric bass sold by Audiovox

It was in 1937

Quote:

When Audiovox finally produced Tutmarc’s next invention -- the #736 Electronic Bass Fiddle -- the refined instrument’s main innovation was as a string-bass instrument designed to be held in the now-familiar horizontal position rather than the traditional vertical upright position. So because of its electrified nature, fretted neck (unlike upright basses), and truly compact size, this revolutionary instrument can be considered the world’s first solid-body electric bass guitar.

However, even though Audiovox sold numerous Electronic Bass Fiddles to Northwest musicians, the instrument was so completely ahead-of-its-time that it never succeeded commercially. So, despite the trail-blazing uniqueness of Audiovox instruments, relatively few were sold, no national distribution strategy was ever implemented, and Tutmarc’s contributions basically fell through the cracks of history. All of which helps explain why the Audiovox saga went missing in all of the early electric guitar history books, and other men -- like Fullerton, California’s Leo Fender (who first marketed his famously successful bass guitar in 1951) -- long received all the credit for “inventing” the electric bass.