When does a bass stop becoming a bass ?

[DrSpunkwater]

Originally Posted by darkstorm

In the 70 bass players like Chriss Squire and John Entwistle put bass more in its proper place. As a complete musical instrument. Those who think bass has to conform the very small box of "traditional basses role" are idiots imo. lol.

Aye, the bass is perfectly capable of creating interesting music and adding complex layers to a song just as any other instrument is. It's criminal to treat the bass as solely a supporting instrument rather than the powerful tool of destruction that it is.

[js1]

Originally Posted by hgiles

...When you need a second bass player.

I like this answer. A lot.

[Anthony Fury]

When you stop driving the song.

I think a good bass player can still drive the song even if he throws some chords or work beyond the 7th fret.

When you get out of the good shepherd seat and let the sheep drive the golf cart and the song goes to hell in a handbasket, you weren't being the bass player.

Remember, there was a LONG period of time where there wasn't even a string bass. The cello did the "bass" part. Look up Alberti bass and listen to the cello parts in your favorite string quartet piece. Is that a cello being a bass? You betcha. I can't think of a good example, but I'm sure there's something somewhere where the viola is the lowest instrument in a trio and has a "bass" line that it does.

Re. advancing techniques / instrument roles: What if nobody thought "hey, let's try and get these drums to play different pitches?" There'd be no talktimpani.com.

Edit:

Originally Posted by hgiles

...When you need a second bass player.

Exactly.

[JamesGoodall]

Agreed. At the same time,its very fun to do some subdued harmonizing lead work with the guitarists when the song comes down to a very low (we're talking mezzopiano to pianissimo here) dynamic. That's how I try to prove to everyone the "practical" use of my 11. Though I do for the most part stay on the F#-F strings. The groove is there when it needs to be, and I enjoy the higher registers when it doesn't

And solo work with an ERB always astounds me. One day I'll be there...one day.

[hsech]

My sixer is probably the high limit for me. I use the low B and High C on everything from Country to Jazz. I think any more strings becomes duplication.

[Buslady7803]

after 5 strings....

[SteveC]

I know it seems arbitrary but I think 4-6 strings is bass territory. I play 5's.

[Means2nEnd]

Most likely when there is a website dedicated to taking people away from the instrument, from practicing, studying, to deliberate and pontificate what boxes the original traditions should stay in and why what is out of the box is wrong.

Or maybe after I get one and mod it...

[Mr_Music90]

Well looking at these kind of threads, I would say any time people start to talk about it

Thing is, it doesn't matter how much strings you have, the concept still is bass guitar.

I wouldn't buy a bass with more then 6 strings, but many other do. And if it has 7, 8, 9, 10 or more strings, it's still a bass.

Now something else I'm very interested in, and I don't care if it's off topic : Why are there people that have the opion bass guitars shouldn't have or shouldn't ''be allowed'' to have more then 4 strings, that picks are for guitarists or ''that you don't need more then 20 frets, since bass guitars are for the low parts''..

See, this kind of things always lead to nowhere. Everything that makes a bass a bass (number of strings, number of frets, playing with a pick and such), it's what makes a bass guitar versatile

[Blue_Whistle88]

It's funny how pointless threads like this are. This site used to be a good source of useful information. Then it became common for people to spend more time talking about their instrument than actually touching it with their hands, and this site flourished. It is, generally-speaking, a rare moment that something pertinent to the art of actually playing is posted here, in plain view, and we all know it.

[WoodyG3]

When does a bass stop becoming a bass ?

A philosophical question that has no practical meaning in the real world.

[spade2you]

Originally Posted by Blue_Whistle88

It's funny how pointless threads like this are. This site used to be a good source of useful information. Then it became common for people to spend more time talking about their instrument than actually touching it with their hands, and this site flourished. It is, generally-speaking, a rare moment that something pertinent to the art of actually playing is posted here, in plain view, and we all know it.

Fortunately the mods keep things in check here. You should hear what guitarists think about these types of basses. I was banned by mods of a certain guitar site because the mods seemed to share those views, too.

[M.R. Ogle]

Come on, it's FUN!


Nobody outside our little bass-corner of the music world gives a damn about our "explorations expanding the boundary of the instrument" wanking, they just want to feel the low thump of those eight "money" frets.

(Gross generalization for humor sake, but there's a kernel of truth at the bottom, and we ALL know it!)

[Blue_Whistle88]

Originally Posted by spade2you

Fortunately the mods keep things in check here. You should hear what guitarists think about these types of basses. I was banned by mods of a certain guitar site because the mods seemed to share those views, too.

Yea, but posting pejorative comments and posting useless information aren't the same thing. Insults are moderated here but spam information isn't. People are allowed to write whatever they want here as long as it relates to bass playing, but the bigger problem that stems from that is that people spend too much time worrying and talking about things like this, that aren't real problems.

I know that no one except bass players really care about the details of our instrument, and while we can say "yes, but we're bass players, so it's our job to worry about those things", we SHOULD be worrying and talking about MUSIC.

There aren't nearly enough posts on here about music theory, technique, setups, music reading, etc. ~80% of all the posts on here are brand-related gear arguments; this website is not an advertising forum so why do we talk about semantic equipment details so much? Is it perhaps because most of the people on here don't play gigs, don't make recordings that more than a dozen people ever hear, and don't go out to support other bands? You guys need to divorce your instruments, as odd as that may sound.

[SactoBass]

Originally Posted by Blue_Whistle88

You guys need to divorce your instruments

But, my instruments and I have been married for so long, I could never afford the alimony payments.

[Tvrtko]

Originally Posted by ACNick

I was playing a show at a bar, and during one break a young woman approached me and struck up a conversation:

"You guys sound great! What instrument do you play?" She asked.
"I play the bass." I replied, which seemed to confuse her. "The bass." I repeated, pointing to the majestic jazz bass standing on the stage.
"Oh! The big guitar!" She said.

That is when my bass stopped being a bass, and turned into "the big guitar".

She was not interested in guitar. But, I think, it's too late now.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by Blue_Whistle88

There aren't nearly enough posts on here about music theory, technique, setups, music reading, etc. ~80% of all the posts on here are brand-related gear arguments; this website is not an advertising forum so why do we talk about semantic equipment details so much? Is it perhaps because most of the people on here don't play gigs, don't make recordings that more than a dozen people ever hear, and don't go out to support other bands? You guys need to divorce your instruments, as odd as that may sound.

umm...err...

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/search...rchid=15578791

[sikamikanico]

a bass instrument tends to belong in a family of instruments, where you have "tools" designed for a specific job - a violin for higher parts, a double bass for lower parts... or trumpet and tuba... guitar and bass guitar... right side of synth keyboard and left side of synth keyboard

in the end, instruments are only tools and we are musicians... the rest doesn't matter

[sponboy]

Originally Posted by DeMayunn

If the room isn't shaking, if your heart isnt racing with every THUMP THUMP, driving you crazy, moving you around and making you enjoy everything so much more, its no longer a bass.

Yes.

When a lady sits on your amp and doesn't have a crisis from the deep rumbling, that's when a bass isn't a bass.

[joebar]

bass is the instrument i choose to express myself on.
it is my piano.
it is a tool for me to learn and execute music.
period.