Are tehre bands with two basses? Parliament/Funkadelic had two basses and I saw Ornette Coleman with two basses, but is it more common than this? If so, what roles do thery play: is one a lead, the other a rhythm guitarist. Any MP3 references. I envision a rock gorup with one lead, a "lead" bass and a rhythm bass.
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Two Basses in a band?
- Thread starter devermb
- Start date
Lead bass, rhythm bass, and bass bass. Spinal Tap did it 
In one of Sting's videos he's got two guys on double basses, but I don't remember the song.
In one of Sting's videos he's got two guys on double basses, but I don't remember the song.
Saw it only once, when the president of the company was trying to make nice with a foreign client. Had him sit in a full set with two basses playing. It was a train wreck.
King Crimson had a double-trio lineup in the 90s that featured Tony Levin on bass and stick and Trey Gunn on stick, which is effectively two basses (some of the time, anyway). The stick work by either could include bass pedal tones along with higher-register lines while the bass played a more tradtional role. Crimson, traditional? Sorry, lost my head there for a minute...
Shrum (defunct) (warning Metal content)
Shrüm - 06 - Tears of a Marionette - YouTube
Shrüm - 03 - Cybergod - YouTube
Shrüm - 06 - Tears of a Marionette - YouTube
Shrüm - 03 - Cybergod - YouTube
You can go anywhere you want with this! You can have one clean normal bass laying the foundation with the drummer, than have an effect-ridden beast bass playing lead lines for sure.
You could also have another bass in a slightly different tuning setup...or have one bassist maybe play more chords? And then maybe throw in an octave pedal or something...
Or run bass #2 thru a low wattage guitar head...or use a fender VI "bass" for bass #2...or use a bow on bass 2...
I'll stop. Happy sonic hunting!
I keep wanting to say just have one bassist and not worry about it, but then i think of bands with two drummers...two singers...two guitarists...multiple percussionist...and then I say why not and more power to ya.
You could also have another bass in a slightly different tuning setup...or have one bassist maybe play more chords? And then maybe throw in an octave pedal or something...
Or run bass #2 thru a low wattage guitar head...or use a fender VI "bass" for bass #2...or use a bow on bass 2...
I'll stop. Happy sonic hunting!
I keep wanting to say just have one bassist and not worry about it, but then i think of bands with two drummers...two singers...two guitarists...multiple percussionist...and then I say why not and more power to ya.
Their are many ways of putting together an arrangement that has two basses.
a few that I can think of
one bass providing a pedal point in the low register / the other playing in a higher register laying down a good riff that fills out the harmony
one bass providing counterpoint to the primary melody / the other laying down a walking line that follows the changes
standard tuned bass laying down either a riff or walking line / piccolo bass providing a more harmonic back up with a chordal vamp or a riff
these are just a few off the top of my head
as far as examples....well you mentioned Ornette (a personal have of my btw) I can't think of too many which is really just more of a reason to experiment and create your own examples
a few that I can think of
one bass providing a pedal point in the low register / the other playing in a higher register laying down a good riff that fills out the harmony
one bass providing counterpoint to the primary melody / the other laying down a walking line that follows the changes
standard tuned bass laying down either a riff or walking line / piccolo bass providing a more harmonic back up with a chordal vamp or a riff
these are just a few off the top of my head
as far as examples....well you mentioned Ornette (a personal have of my btw) I can't think of too many which is really just more of a reason to experiment and create your own examples
It works in an orchestra as the string bass section but with electric bass its a little too much IMO..... Still, to each his or her own...........................
