Bass is 'easy'

[dbase]

The bigger the amps the better you sound.

 

[dbase]

The thing I like about bass is that it is the only instrument in the band that has a hand in virtually every sphere of the music-- melody, harmony, rhythm. I can't remember who it was, but I read that remark in an old bass player magazine from some bass god... but it rang true. Might have been Sting, now that I think about it.

Also, if bass playing is so easy, why is it so much easier to sing and play guitar than it is to sing and play bass? I think of Geddy Lee saying, after writing he song, he then has that terrible period where he has to figure out how he can play that bass part and sing those words at the same time, of live performance. It's a helluva lot easier to strum a guitar and sing than to play an monophonic single note line, unless it's an extremely simple line.

I've always admired Paul McCartney to be able to do that...

 

[tzohn]

There are no easy to learn instruments, they are all equally difficult.

 

[Plectrum72]

There might be fewer hurt feelings on the interwebs if people improved their reading comprehension. You would think with more generations eschewing face-to-face communication in favor of email, texts, tweets and other written forms of communication, comprehension would naturally rise to follow suit. Guess not.

 

[MDBass]

Film and television scoring does apply here in that it illustrates very well a general trend in the entertainment world, namely that there is no point in spending money where it is not necessary. Most people couldn't care less if a real string section is used on a song, so most producers are not going to employ a string section - even if a real string section would sound better. What's going to determine whether or not a real sample is used versus a re-made sample? Whatever is cheapest (as long as it is still "good enough" to sell the records). Look at pop records from the early 90s and compare them to what is being made today. The credit list of musicians is generally much shorter. Why? Part of it could be changing sonic trends but a big part of it is budget and the fact that listener's expectations have changed to the point where "less" is acceptable. The less the label has to shell out the better. Simple economics.

Again, based on actual experience with major labels and producers, the very broad strokes you're painting with aren't accurate.

Tracking/mixing an album and creating a TV score are entirely different processes, and it can be both faster and cheaper to have a player track a part instead of spending the time programming and editing the MIDI, especially for a present vocal-esque instrument like violin.

The bottom line is getting the song to sound right.

Maybe Vlad only produces cinematic tracks or EDM, who knows, but if he's trying to tell the OP that no one ever wants or needs real bass on their tracks due to the ITB tools available now he's very wrong.

 

[bass12]

Again, based on actual experience with major labels and producers, the very broad strokes you're painting with aren't accurate.

Tracking/mixing an album and creating a TV score are entirely different processes, and it can be both faster and cheaper to have a player track a part instead of spending the time programming and editing the MIDI, especially for a present vocal-esque instrument like violin.

The bottom line is getting the song to sound right.

Maybe Vlad only produces cinematic tracks or EDM, who knows, but if he's trying to tell the OP that no one ever wants or needs real bass on their tracks due to the ITB tools available now he's very wrong.

The bottom line is always money. If it can be done more cheaply and still sell, it will be.

 

[smeet]

All this butt-hurt is hurting my butt.

 

[MDBass]

This is not entirely correct...
In The Box originally meant entirely within a synth like an 808. It meant sequenced vs live.
Now it is ubiquitous for anything that is done entirely within the digital realm. The box is a computer of any kind.
It doesn't mean just mixing or just mastering.
It doesn't even have to mean a purely musical term. Engineers use the term for CAD testing designs.
Vlad was using it to mean he stacks synthesized sounds in a DAW/sequencer and doesn't track live instruments for his productions.

I realized that's probably what he meant after I posted, but since the term can mean a few things Vlad doesn't actually explain why he only works with vocalists; I work 100% ITB as well and track/mix a ton of live instruments.

 

[InspektorGadjet]

This whole thread is a misunderstanding backed by assumptions, speculation, and projecting.

While I commend the OP for offering his skillset, simply the guy just didn't need or want OP's bass playing services at this time. It happens.

The thing is, Vlad, also made concessions about using mocked up bass "unless 'starlike' quality and gear, or either complex funky genre is concerned." Obviously, he's not against live-instrumentation as he advised the OP to try other instruments. It's just a cost vs. convenience vs. final goal. And honestly, I don't think anyone knows Vlad's goal other than he works with Vocalists.

I said this about 3-4 pages ago, and no one seemed to really want to stop their bitchfest long enough to realize it. I literally made an account to end this tirade, and think I may not post here again after seeing 6+ more pages of this seething ******** and insecurity.

 

[MDBass]

The bottom line is always money. If it can be done more cheaply and still sell, it will be.

Exactly. You're creating a product to sell, and if your only focus is to spend as little money as possible your product will be suffer.

That applies to every business.

There's always a budget to consider, and being efficient in the studio and keeping as much capital available for radio, tour support, PR and merchandise costs is obviously important.

I'm not trying to argue with you, just offer the thread some insight based on real world experience with a variety of labels, studios, producers and bands/artists: even hobbyists on a shoestring budget will hire me to record bass on their tracks if that's the sound they want, and the last major label project I worked on spent over $2 million on the album before it was released with an extensive credit list.

 

[madbass6]

I've always admired Paul McCartney to be able to do that...