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Double Bass Bluegrass bass arco?

#41
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#42
The John Allan clip (the only one I listened to so far) he's playing more of a violin line (can harmonise with the fiddle or even act a bit as lead.

This is in sharp contrast to the traditional "washtub" style quarter note pulses that you so often find in bluegrass bass.

It can be argued if this is really "bass" at all (not the instrument, the part)

But... I like it. :)
 
#44
Jason Sypher said:
If it's played on a bass, it's bass playing ;). Check out the others.
Click to expand...

It's OK to be a screwball some times and do things that aren't "strictly bluegrass". Sure root + five is the basis for what we do but some times when the moon is bright and the boys are getting a little weird and all of a sudden you're playing a Pink Floyd tune or whatever what's the harm in whipping out your bow? Our lead player has basically thrown down the gauntlet and told me he wants to hear me playing with a bow, just because he always wants something just a wee bit off the bubble.

Specifically we are working on "How Deep the Father's Love For Us". He wants me to take it somewhere beyond thumping along in time. Since we don't have a fiddle player right now that's what they want out of the bass line. Shoot, I might even get to drop in and play some of the melody if I behave myself and don't soil the carpets.

The worst that will happen is you'll be know as "that guy". The one who can and will thump along endlessly if he has to, but would rather be keeping it weird and wonderful.

I'm not very good by any standard. But I'm willing to push myself way past where I'm comfortable. Playing with a bow is part of that.
 
#45
Specifically we are working on "How Deep the Father's Love For Us". He wants me to take it somewhere beyond thumping along in time. Since we don't have a fiddle player right now that's what they want out of the bass line. Shoot, I might even get to drop in and play some of the melody if I behave myself and don't soil the carpets.




I love to play an almost "cello-esque" type of bass line to this song. Long flowing low notes weaving through the chord structure. Play with it and enjoy!
 
#53
I don't have any vids to offer - but the first band you mentioned: Hot Buttered Rum: Their bass player is Bryan Horne and he is great at Arco. Another Bay Area bassist to look out for is the amazing Joe Kyle Jr. He currently plays with Howell-Devine on Arhoolie / Smithsonian records and does a lot of live shows. He was also in the Waybacks and is a kick ass slap. arco and melodic bassist.
 
#54
longfinger said:
Edgar Meyer does this..



You'll be able to do this in 2 weeks! ;-)
Click to expand...

I moved to the heart of Bluegrass country a little over 5 years ago. I've tried my hand at bluegrass but find that I get push-back when I try to step much out of 1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1-5-1...and don't stay within the first five frets from the nut. :(
 
#55
I forgot about this thread and that I was added to it. I'm with PC, who at the time said that's "pretty good" but that he "hears a lot of problems". Truth be told by this time I think it's easiest and perhaps most musical to perform fiddle tunes completely solo without anyone accompanying the bass. In a solo setting there is more opportunity to us double-stops and glanced open strings to create a totally separate layer of harmony and rhythm than the actual melody line. In a great studio with a proper mic and acoustics all of this can really pop out of the mix and be heard and felt. I still duet with people now and then and I feel like it's getting better with time. One major change for me in the last year has been using solo strings and a more soloistic set up on the bass. My bass completely changed with the solo strings and the lower string height and almost immediately sounded quicker, deeper, more precise and more resonant. Everything I'd been fighting before became much smoother and more musical. Now it's difficult to want to pick up the bow in standard tuning because in the back of my head I know how much better it could be with my bass in solo tuning.

This is another old clip, standard tuning and regular strings. It's still clunky to my ears now but it's a step up from the post from years ago. And one can hear a fiddle tune as a live duet. Rhythm and drive are so important and I think we got in sync after a few passes and you can hear a hint of the possibilities in this set up. I remember the sound people were totally trying to get the balance right while we were playing as we had no soundcheck which was distracting but hey, that's live performance...Maybe this is a little better, payed a few years later.

 
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#56
Or this one which has a few decent moments but is still a few years back. (Since all these were taken I've since switched to solo tuning for fiddle tunes on the bass which was a game-changer and helped me produce a much clearer tone than before. It was harder back then with the higher action and thicker strings.)

Part of the difficulty I have with these tunes is that I don't want them to sound classical AT ALL. As much as I love Edgar and the others, the voice in my head, the one I'm trying to produce is not in any way classical. If anything it's closer to say a country Slam Stewart than Gary Karr. It's become more popular to bow the bass, including fiddle tunes and such now that players are being trained as a rule and not coming up self-taught. It's a slippery slope. A player needs a lot of control to express with the bow on the bass which you can get by studying classical, but then you are likely to be rhythmically in a different place than a folk musician. I'm working at cleaning up my technique more now as I record and get ready to present my music.

 
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