Just got back from baby's - ZZ Top

[Cyco]

Hi there..

Been searching for this tab for awhile, but seems impossible to find, so if any one here can help me, i would be more than happy..

Thanks

[SturmUndDrang]

Top Rules!! It's a damn shame nobody has bothered to help. Part of the tricky thing with this one is there are some overdubbed bass lines making it tricky to pick apart the main part. When the over dub drops out the bassline becomes more apparent. All the early albums are great before the synths and drum machines took over. El Loco is about as far as I get into. Got any others you're itchin' ta learn?

[Tassie Devil]

Are you kidding?
Can't you pick this up by ear?

[SturmUndDrang]

Hey tassie, if it's so easy, why not post us a transcription?

[Gif]

Cyco,

Here's a little headstart for you. I'm a bit too lazy to tab this all out, but see if this helps....with the proper timing, you'll have this in no time.

---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
3--33---33---33----0-1-3-----------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------

then to

----------------------------------------------------------------
--0-1-3----33---33---33-------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------

then back.........and so on....

the turnaround is

------------------------------------------------------------
--0--1---5----55----55----55---0-1-3----33--33--33--etc,
--------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------

this isn't quite perfect, but should help a little....there are a bunch of fancy fills and such that I didn't cover here....they're not that hard to get once you get going. (P.S., I don't usually write tab, so I apologize for the ****** tab job!!!) Good luck, hope it helps!

[t77mackie]

Yeah, this song is totally DIY. Just make sure your axe is in tune or you'll have all sorts of nightmares trying to train your ear. This version is in tune A440:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmkX84dVXUk

Good luck!

[SturmUndDrang]

Y'all are killing me. This is some great bass playing by Dusty Hill that has much more nuance than the oversimplified tab above. I'm pretty sure his bass is playing the root five, root sixth rhythm part you hear over the changes until about 1:44. After that point he uses lots of variation in his line going in between all the changes and some nice fills like at 2:28. If you're going to ignore the small things that make the part cool you mine as well just play whatever blues shuffle line you want.

[t77mackie]

I hear ya Sturm.

Here's how I see the situation. The song is a basic I-IV-V blues jam. So basically the bass line is going to be improvised and will be different every time you play it.

The subtlety and nuance has more to do with the player than the line itself. If we're looking to learn how to play with subtlety and nuance then practice time would be better spent learning your minor pents and jamming out with them.

Does that make sense? But then again, yeah, cool licks are good to come across.

[Gif]

Sturm,

Maybe you need to realize that not everyone is a born virtuoso. My tab may be oversimplified, yes. In fact I think I mentioned this in my post. Fact is, some guys are just starting out, and I thought it would be good to give him a place to start.....I'm betting your mother didn't give birth to Stu Hamm, Victor Wooten, John Entwistle, etc. YOU had to start somewhere too. I am trying to help a fellow bass player (who I'm guessing is just starting out) feel a little sense of "Gee, maybe I can do this, too". If it's not up to YOUR standards, then I'm sorry for your luck. With all due respect, I haven't seen you give him anything tangible to start off with......I'm not trying to start an argument here, nor post a note for note tab that he may or may not be able to keep up with....simply trying to give a newer player a little stepping stone (as I said in my first post).......Just my 2 cents.

[Deathblade Eric]

Originally Posted by SturmUndDrang

Y'all are killing me. This is some great bass playing by Dusty Hill that has much more nuance than the oversimplified tab above. I'm pretty sure his bass is playing the root five, root sixth rhythm part you hear over the changes until about 1:44. After that point he uses lots of variation in his line going in between all the changes and some nice fills like at 2:28. If you're going to ignore the small things that make the part cool you mine as well just play whatever blues shuffle line you want.

For the first section (to 1:44) I hear him doing something like what John B Sparkes is doing on this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7OCbeXy_5w

He's essentially playing a simple rhythm guitar figure up the neck - which I guess is what you meant by the "root five, root sixth rhythm part". Dusty's line sounds a bit more sparse, but that could be down to the mix.

As to the rest of it... I disagree. It's not that nuanced IMO, apart from a couple of nice fills that are based on the VI & bVII. I actually think it's a bit clumsy tbh - kinda like he's playing the 'whites', but it does fit the song like a glove.

Here's Buddy Whittington's take on it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSy9T5XDw-M

Still pretty faithful to the original, but it works just as well IMO.

The thing with Blues Bass is that its largely about building a vocabulary. T77's comment about "jamming out with your minor pents" is a good one as it'll help build that vocabulary, as will listening to a lot of players (not just bass) in the genre.

In short... Listen, mimic, nick bits & make 'em yours.

[AntzPnz]

Originally Posted by Gif

Sturm,

Maybe you need to realize that not everyone is a born virtuoso. My tab may be oversimplified, yes. In fact I think I mentioned this in my post. Fact is, some guys are just starting out, and I thought it would be good to give him a place to start.....I'm betting your mother didn't give birth to Stu Hamm, Victor Wooten, John Entwistle, etc. YOU had to start somewhere too. I am trying to help a fellow bass player (who I'm guessing is just starting out) feel a little sense of "Gee, maybe I can do this, too". If it's not up to YOUR standards, then I'm sorry for your luck. With all due respect, I haven't seen you give him anything tangible to start off with......I'm not trying to start an argument here, nor post a note for note tab that he may or may not be able to keep up with....simply trying to give a newer player a little stepping stone (as I said in my first post).......Just my 2 cents.

Well put !, we are not all at the same level a little head start can make big difference

[SturmUndDrang]

Ok I might have been a little over critical. I don't think the OP is checking this out anyway. He only has two posts ever and hasn't posted since December.
I agree if your just starting out, it helps to get some basic concepts down first.
But this is the tab forum not the general instruction forum.
I get hung up on trying to recreate a part exactly as it was recorded. Probably from all the time spent practicing classical music.