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Am I overplaying?

#43
Manuel101 said:
Please show me exactly where I wrote that I wasnt overplaying. The second response said that the intro was distasteful and I wrote that I personally liked it. Last time I checked overplaying and distasteful are not the same thing so please at least be accurate in your assessment. I even wrote that this was not my (or the band's) best performance
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One example: several people have said that they think the glissandos are overdone. Your response was that, no, it is part of the style. I don't know the style, I can't say. But it does seem like you're arguing against anything that anyone says that is critical.
 
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#45
smeet said:
I don't know the genre, but the bass does stand out from the rhythm section. My take is that the tone of your Smith might be too modern - too cutting and growly, with too much sustain and not enough thump on the attack. To my ear that makes it sound a bit crowded even when you aren't playing too many notes. If your notes had more fundamental and less modern growl, and each note attacked and got out of the way (as opposed to sustaining so much), it would sound more like what I would expect.

Maybe what I'm describing is not the proper sound for the genre, but I still think what your uncle is reacting to is largely the tone, attack, and note length, not the number of notes.
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Wow honestly I never thought of it like that but you might be right. Most merengue bass players use yamaha basses particularly the TRB model (its the go to bass for this genre). I had one and would normally complemented for its tone but i sold it (still regret that). Check out the sound with the yamaha I would try getting it back but my wife would be pissed lol I already spent too much on basses
 
#46
LowDownHawkeye said:
One example: several people have said that they think the glissandos are overdone. Your response was that, no, it is part of the style. I don't know the style, I can't say. But it does seem like you're arguing against anything that anyone says that is critical.
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Hi, I apologies if I came across as an ass. But the thing was that I wasnt expecting you guys to address the glissandos so much (merengue bassist do in fact use it a lot), he actually complained about me playing chromatic passages between the chord changes he said nothing about the slides and glissandos. for instance when I was playing G and then moving to F i would play G, F# then F and vice versa.
 
#47
Guys some one said something about the tone of my Ken Smith clashing with the sound of the band. Does anyone else agree? I ask because I used to get complements about my tone when I had my yamaha trbjp1 I shared a video with the yamaha trbjp. Which tone fits the band better?
 
#49
Manuel101 said:
Guys some one said something about the tone of my Ken Smith clashing with the sound of the band. Does anyone else agree? I ask because I used to get complements about my tone when I had my yamaha trbjp1 I shared a video with the yamaha trbjp. Which tone fits the band better?
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I'm also not familiar with the genre, but I really like the band.

As far as the basses, I think they both sound great, but I'd say the Yamaha just has a tighter sound.

Best of luck!
 
#50
lfmn16 said:
Just my opinion, but if your uncle is the band leader and he says you are overplaying, then you are overplaying for his band. Part of being a working musician is being able to satisfy the BL.
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I wholeheartedly agree, but I get a little slack because we are family. In other bands (not owned by my family) I do exactly as told
 
#52
Jazz Ad said:
Your intro is really distateful. You play sustained notes that get in the way of the groove instead of staccato bursts that would reinforce the percs.
Oh and stop the glissandos they become annoying after a while.

Other than that you're not insanely noodly but you're standing out. We hear the singer, the bass and the rest of the band.
IMHO it is a mistake in this kind of music, where the listener shouldn't get but a steady hypnotic rhythm making him lose control of his feet.
I think you'd improve the song by playing less notes. One could say it is the definition of overplaying.
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Tact much?? Geez...
 
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#53
I like the Yamaha better, from what I heard in the youtube clips. Stronger mids, less flashy in the upper registers, and just seems to support the groove better.

As to the glissandos, I think they're cool, but would be even more so if you sprinkled them in more sparingly (less often). Kind of like hot sauce -- great stuff, but it gets monotonous with every bite.

I really dig the music and the band, though. Two thumbs up. I grew up listening to a lot of latin music, cumbia and cuban pop, and I really like what I'm hearing. It always gets me moving my feet.
 
#54
Arvin said:
I like the Yamaha better, from what I heard in the youtube clips. Stronger mids, less flashy in the upper registers, and just seems to support the groove better.

As to the glissandos, I think they're cool, but would be even more so if you sprinkled them in more sparingly (less often). Kind of like hot sauce -- great stuff, but it gets monotonous with every bite.

I really dig the music and the band, though. Two thumbs up. I grew up listening to a lot of latin music, cumbia and cuban pop, and I really like what I'm hearing. It always gets me moving my feet.
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Man you guys are going to get me in trouble with my wife I am going to have to get that Yamaha back. Oh well it's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission lol
 
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#55
Arvin said:
I like the Yamaha better, from what I heard in the youtube clips. Stronger mids, less flashy in the upper registers, and just seems to support the groove better.

As to the glissandos, I think they're cool, but would be even more so if you sprinkled them in more sparingly (less often). Kind of like hot sauce -- great stuff, but it gets monotonous with every bite.

I really dig the music and the band, though. Two thumbs up. I grew up listening to a lot of latin music, cumbia and cuban pop, and I really like what I'm hearing. It always gets me moving my feet.
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You know what I really appreciate your comment you pointed out an issue but you did it in a very polite manner. Some of the other guys said the same thing but they did it in such a way that sort of put me in the defensive and annoyed me a little
 
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#56
I see glissandos overused in many genres. Obviously I can't tell what everyone is thinking, but at times I have had the temptation to use glisses when the bass line seemed "empty" or lacking in energy. Over the years, as my confidence in my playing has grown, I have cut way back on them, as I've figured it out that space is an important element of groove, and not playing is sometimes the best way to create energy, or more specifically to create an anticipation of energy.
 
#57
NeckPickup said:
I see glissandos overused in many genres. Obviously I can't tell what everyone is thinking, but at times I have had the temptation to use glisses when the bass line seemed "empty" or lacking in energy. Over the years, as my confidence in my playing has grown, I have cut way back on them, as I've figured it out that space is an important element of groove, and not playing is sometimes the best way to create energy, or more specifically to create an anticipation of energy.
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You know some times we just get in a groove and kill it, we just smile at each other and play our asses of but this wasn't one of those times. Why? No chemistry I supposed. We didn't have our regular keyboard player and our percussion (except the guira) was different. After we finished this gig we all agree that something was missing
 
#59
Sounds good to me. If I were to make a suggestion, it would be to relax on the slides—you're doing a lot of them and they really stand out—they'd be much more effective if they were used sparingly. Just my 2 cents.
 

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