Bass Confessional

[cruzois]

I steal every thing I play from everybody I've ever heard
I let somebody play my flametop Smith without asking if they played with a pick(child abuse?)
I've played(w/the drummer)funk licks during polkas....people
broke their legs dancing

 

[FunkyMan]

I steal every thing I play from everybody I've ever heard

That's not a sin at all, especially in jazz!

 

[JimmyM]

ya, really. you're supposed to steal. all musicians steal.

 

[zachoff]

I've spent most of the night listening to Ryan Adams. Dude's awesome.

Yeah, stuff like this:

with no bass to be heard for miles.

 

[The_Low_Dude]

I listen to Melissa Auf der Maur because I think she's hot.

 

[AfroCubanFunkMa]

Forgive me...

- I love glissandos too much..
- My favorite go-to lick is the cro-magnon palm on fretboard thump..
- I only take long solos when I'm pissed off and need to get out some anger..
- I love guitars, in fact I think two guitars are one of the funkiest sounds on the planet when done right (see James Brown, Funkadelic, etc)
- I force polyrhythms where they shouldn't be..
- I sing harmonies in-key though they're not always the same harmony
- Lately I've been getting along well with caterers, at weddings and corporate functions even..

 

[codycaz]

I've never owned a Fender

Same here. On the Gas list.

 

[pie_man_25]

what constitutes a sin in bass anyway? Are there a ten commandments for bass? how 'bout the seven deadly sins? What about the Bass Criminal Code?

I'd like to see such stone tablets/lost scrolls/ancient tomes... or at least a .pdf

 

[iiipopes]

Forgive me for I have sinned:
I don't practice enough.
I actually modified a Rickenbacker 4002 by adding a push-pull to the neck pickup so the factory inline .01 capacitor can be either in or out, then wired it so the push position was out.
I avoid slap and pop as much as possible, even on songs where it might sound good.

 

[Jamestrouton]

Forgive me for I have sinned:

I don't change strings, Iv had my bass 2 years, and still have the stock strings. I don't even know how to.

I let my guitarist tell me what riff to play in covers

I print tabs and play along with mp3s rather than learn the tab.

I sometimes prefer to pick up my acoustic rather than bass.

I NEVER clean my bass.

Iv only ever owned one bass. (Getting a new one in the near future)

I used to prefer playing with a pick, and could play much faster and technical stuff with it. (then I lost it and learnt to play like a real bassist)

I didn't know the names of ANY bassists, untill my guitarist and drummer talked about them.

I went to lessons for 2 years.

 

[Nashrakh]

Forgive me for I have sinned

- I never play my fretless in tune
- I take ages to figure out chords by ear
- I know how to read bass clef but never do
- I haven't touched my bass once in the last two weeks
- I once blew a power tube and never replaced it
- At gigs, I like to go direct so I needn't haul my gear
- I canceled rehearsals because I was too lazy
- I never clean my basses

 

[caeman]

- At gigs, I like to go direct so I needn't haul my gear

This is not a sin! This is efficiency. REAL bass player don't need an 8x10 moving their shirt to know they are playing.

 

[erigod23]

I have more to confess...
I won't even consider more than 4 strings.
I think boutique basses look stupid.
Any bass can be made to sound good, so I'm more concerned with looks and fit.

 

[DenisKrestsov]

I dont get Jaco or Miller
I dont like slap for more than 5 minutes max
I believe the only bass you need is a P
I almost never change strings
I put a '51 P bass bridge cover on my 2008 Standard P (and i love it)
I cant read standard notation, and i dont really care
I only clean my bass really when i change the strings
I dont tune when im playing by myself
Some of my favourite bass players play very simple lines (like Gordon Moakes and Roger Waters) but i still like them far more than players like Jaco
I drop and damage my basses all the time

 

[Faderoktopus]

Oh yeah, and I occasionally flip my left hand upside down 'cause it looks cool. Even though it's more difficult to play like that.

 

[Fetusyolk]

i confess that one of the reasons i chose bass was because of how pleasing the back of a bass headstock/neck while strapped onto somebody is to my eye.

 

[redzebra6]

I too have sinned and do not care to change my ways

• although i have played bass almost exclusively for the past 6 years, I'm still love playing guitar
• I also look at guitar tabs to find the "outline" of a songs chord structure
• I honestly, REALLY do love playing a full scale bass, but always practice on my short scale because of it's playability
• I want another short scale
• I have no intention of trying to play slap
• I also have no intention of playing like Jaco, or learning his stuff
• I dislike the P/J setup, even though I have 2 basses with it
• everytime I see Les Claypool's bass, I can't help but think that it's technicaly plywood

I'm sure I can find more...

 

[redzebra6]

I forgot to add:

• I've only seen Ampeg amps, never tried them. even at the GC whor...umm...store
• I also play notes above the 5th fret. I even go above the 12th from time to time
• all of my basses have thumbrest, but I play close to the bridge
• people actually hear me, and know it's a bass note
• I do not wear a hat or sunglasses (or have a beard, or smoke a pipe, or dance around, or etc.,) when I play. I don't even look cool. But I do stand on one leg like a flamingo and make the world move around me
• I just lied. I do move a little to the music, but people think I'm stoned or drunk when I sway to the beat
• I enjoy listening to drum and bass, acid house, trip hop and jungle

 

[funkingroovin]

It's SOOOOO nice to know I'm not alone!! My Sins...

I refuse to play Brown Eyed Girl,Mustang Sally,or anything by Bob Seger.

I traded a Ric 4003 for a MIM P,and then sold the P for EXACTLY enough to buy a Rogue!

I still have the Rogue..I,too,enjoy 'off-brand' gear(but have a wall of Fenders?!?)

I HATE flatwounds and strongly dislike P basses,but my back-up is a flatwound P

I play bar chords more than my guitarists

I LOVE my ABGs,in fact,I happily traded a minty,vinty Fen.Jazz for a Michael Kelly

I prefer Solid State bass heads

I constantly polish that MichaelKelly(4a quilt top/back/sides)but think nothing of playing the 74 Fen.P w/a drumstick(neat tones!!)

Can't stand Wooten or Miller but can't get enough Claypool

I only use my index/pinky,unless fretting that 1/3/7(?) chord

I only use the bridge pup,and usually disconnect the neck pup just so I'm not tempted

Man! That's enough for now,don't want to chance unloading so much I end up with a conscience!!

 

[Martin89]

I learned the Seinfeld theme just so I could show people that whatever slap/pop lick I just did does not, in reality, sound like Seinfeld.