In your experience are bass players more knowledgable regarding gear and the related technical issues than other band members?
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Are bassists more gear / tech savvy?
- Thread starter darwin-bass
- Start date
Depends on the band member and the gear in question. Most guitarists I've worked with only had a one or two guitars, one amp and a ton of effect. I have only a few effects I rarely use, one amp and a ton of basses, but I also know a bassist that has a ton of amps, effect and only one or two basses. Then again I also know a drummer that switches his three snares between songs and has like 3 cymbal sets.
It's hard to generalize. Our drummer knows a ton about PA systems and he handles ours. I have some knowledge about it but not as much as he does. Our guitarist mostly wants to show up and play, which is fine. I definitely know more about gear than he does. But I expect every band is different.
Not in my experience. The majority of guitarists I know have sh*t ton of pedals and amps and effects. As for the majority of bassists, I know a grand total of two others, and they don't seem to.
At the very least guitarists in my experience know more about gear.
At the very least guitarists in my experience know more about gear.
Definitely. I meet guys younger than me all the time that have Doug Wimbish size pedalboards and know everything about what every pedal does, and even the electronic specs. In terms of bass guitar effects, they were not as big a thing back in the day as compared to now.
In the 30 years I've been playing I have always been the most tech savvy member. I'm actually surprised at how little most of the musicians I've played with know. Singers have been the worst, then comes drummers (do they count?). It's not really fair, I'm am uber geek, so music technology fascinates me. I also know just enough about electronics to be dangerous. I've built preamps mostly, but I also made a few gadgets to make my life easier. So, yes.
Given the role of bass player, it just doesn't seem like tech savvy is of primary importance. Just coming off a long communication with my drummer about the dozen microphone array and recording strategy for mixing his sound. He has all great points and I appreciate his diligence. I got nothing, other than straight in.
No, because the bass player is "assigned" to that role by virtue of being the crappiest guitarist.
So they de-mote him two strings, tell him to stand at the back of the stage by the neanderthal drummer. Then they yell the root chords at him.
(Flame suit on, GO!!!)
So they de-mote him two strings, tell him to stand at the back of the stage by the neanderthal drummer. Then they yell the root chords at him.
(Flame suit on, GO!!!)
I'm sure it's different everywhere, that said I still voted "yes". The drummer in my band knows drums and fiddles around with bass, but that's it. I can count my pedals on one hand and own three basses and three amps (one is a guitar amp). I'm knowledgeable on everything except drums, including FOH, analyzing, and setting sound at a basic level. The guitarists know how to play; our lead player is a soft spoken Philipino but can flat rip a guitar to shreds. I have to check how they set up their amps though when we play remotely.
YMMV...
YMMV...
The most gear/tech-savvy musicians I've known were guitarists, and good guitarists at that. I think though that the more time any musician devotes to their craft the more knowledgeable they become.
From my experience, yes. Most guitarist know they have a tube amp or solid state but couldn't tell you if they matched their cabinet to the ohms specified on the back of their amp. That's one you want to get right with a tube amp.
A lot of guitarists I know make our worst TBers look like minimalists when it comes to gear. Pedals, processors, etc.
I am pretty bad but my guitarists are worse. They do know what they are talking about though....
I am pretty bad but my guitarists are worse. They do know what they are talking about though....
Yes, but only barely. There's plenty of bassists out there who are lucky to figure out how to change their own strings.
I think the reason is that bass equipment tends to be more varied technically with any other instrument except keyboards perhaps. So bassists tend to learn more about watts, ohms, string types etc...
The vast majority of guitarists I've worked with almost universally know/believe they need a tube amp and different brands sound different, but they know very little about the workings or specs of the amps themselves other than the wattage but not real good understanding of what a watt is. And sure they have tons of pedals and know how to work them and what they do, but that's operational knowledge rather than technical understanding.
I think the reason is that bass equipment tends to be more varied technically with any other instrument except keyboards perhaps. So bassists tend to learn more about watts, ohms, string types etc...
The vast majority of guitarists I've worked with almost universally know/believe they need a tube amp and different brands sound different, but they know very little about the workings or specs of the amps themselves other than the wattage but not real good understanding of what a watt is. And sure they have tons of pedals and know how to work them and what they do, but that's operational knowledge rather than technical understanding.
SirMjac28
Patiently Waiting For The Next British Invasion
That's true.
A guitarist only cares about things like which Celestion speaker is in a cab and if it has "X" amount of tube watts . They really don't have to worry about crossovers, HPF/LPF, matching impedance, etc.
Guys on forums are more technically minded than those who aren't because they spend an inordinate amount of time talking about things that others may not care about.
Right now on a guitar forum there's a thread about how bassists don't care about tone or FOH and just give DI to the sound guy and move on.
At least you know you've got the singers beat, their forum is probably filled with hair care tips.
Right now on a guitar forum there's a thread about how bassists don't care about tone or FOH and just give DI to the sound guy and move on.
At least you know you've got the singers beat, their forum is probably filled with hair care tips.
I know a keys player who doesn't play in a band, he's an engineer (like me) and has an awesome collection of synths and organs, including an old Hammond B3 with 2 Leslie cabs. When it comes to (gear) tech savvy, keys guys can blow us away.
In any case, having lots of pedals doesn't make one "tech savvy", it just makes you a gear horder. If you can figure out how to properly use the gear you have though, now you're "savvy". In my last band my guitarist had only a wah pedal and the footswitch for his amp; meanwhile on my side of the stage I had a large pedalboard loaded with candy, most of which was for spacy special effects on song intros and breakdowns and stuff. In my current band none of us are using any pedals right now.
In any case, having lots of pedals doesn't make one "tech savvy", it just makes you a gear horder. If you can figure out how to properly use the gear you have though, now you're "savvy". In my last band my guitarist had only a wah pedal and the footswitch for his amp; meanwhile on my side of the stage I had a large pedalboard loaded with candy, most of which was for spacy special effects on song intros and breakdowns and stuff. In my current band none of us are using any pedals right now.
If you call plugging in a bass and amp and a couple pedals "tech savvy," then yes they are quite tech savvy on the whole.
