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Band with two bass players
- Thread starter BklynKen
- Start date
We have THREE bass players in our trio. We just don’t play at the same time. . .
Yeah, I'm just trying to see how two basses can work together in a band.
That's really good advice. I played in a two bass band for a little while. I would play in the lower octave and stick to a simple root or root/5 line. The other guy would play tick-tack style further up the neck with some twang and reverb with a pick. So not only were we playing in different octave ranges, but also with distinctly different tones. It worked out pretty well. Eventually the band leader realized that one bass player makes a lot more sense economically speaking.
Others have tried it with limited success. But somebody is bound to figure out how to really make it work someday.
Maybe that somebody will be you guys.
Keep us posted on what you come up with.
Will do. Fortunately I'm not aiming for success.Others have tried it with limited success. But somebody is bound to figure out how to really make it work someday.
Maybe that somebody will be you guys.
Keep us posted on what you come up with.
Nathan East tours with his brother James on bass. It works for him so it's got to work for you.
James Brown and Little Richard both had two bassists when I saw them.
James' bassists did not play together all the time, Richard's did.
James' bassists did not play together all the time, Richard's did.
Will do. Fortunately I'm not aiming for success.
Not to worry. I’ve done mostly originals. And commercial success isn’t something I’m familiar with. Probably largely because of that choice I made.
But I’ve pretty much always been happy with the music I’ve played and the bands I’ve played in. And for me, that was enough, even if the number of people who were into it could easily fit within the confines of the average home’s master bathroom.
Like the Book of 40Hz says: You can do what you want; or you can get what you want. But it’s rare you’ll get to have it both ways.
My band has 2 bass players and a drummer. It's nice because the "guitarist ego" never comes into play. Now we just have to fire the drummer and add a 3rd bass player. 
It can work, just need to be careful with the arrangments, and volume. There's plenty of music with more than one insturment in the bass range (eg. almost every jazz trio in the world: bass, piano left hand, kick drum). You could easily trade roles, one handling melody, the other working harmonically (chords) and/or rhythmically.
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Why not? It is going to take some real creativity to get it going. One thing to watch out for are the “Woofs” you can get when low atonal frequencies collide.
Also, record and review a lot, making sure to track your progress, and don’t get down on your mistakes. Use these recordings to grow, and 20 years from now, you can have a lot of laughs, or a lot of what in the world was I thinking moments. Either is totally entertaining. Trust me.
Willie Nelson toured with 2 bass players through much of the 70s.
The Melvins have been doing it since their last album.
There have been several threads about this in the past, most of them have links and vids of various 2 bass & bass only bands.
Nobody mentioned Dumpstaphunk?!
Nobody mentioned Dumpstaphunk?!
Not to worry. I’ve done mostly originals. And commercial success isn’t something I’m familiar with. Probably largely because of that choice I made.
But I’ve pretty much always been happy with the music I’ve played and the bands I’ve played in. And for me, that was enough, even if the number of people who were into it could easily fit within the confines of the average home’s master bathroom.
Like the Book of 40Hz says: You can do what you want; or you can get what you want. But it’s rare you’ll get to have it both ways.
Totally agree.
Thanks. I tried searching, but I couldn't think of any specific enough search criteria.
