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Favorite bass compliments

#181
During the 70's I did quite a bit of roadie work just so I could hang around bands. I schlepped for a jazz/prog group who we shared management with.The bassist was a living breathing Jaco clone,fantastic player. At one of our early gigs into the really good club circuit he returned the favor by running lights for a week. I was mortified to stand in front of him playing the crap we played,and not very well at that stage I might add. He just kept telling me hang in there and practice,you'll see a change. Jump ahead 4 years...We're playing THE CLUB to be in at the time. I see a guy at the bar with his head nodding in approval.During our break he comes over and says,"somebody's been shedding!" He compliments my playing,stage presence and singing as I'm standing there with my jaw dropped to my chest.To have someone who's ability I'll never scratch say that is one of my best music moments.
 
#182
Our drummer is the only pro in the band, and is insanely talented - done some very high profile studio session and tour work as well as playing solo (as an electronic dance act with lots of drum-triggered samples). He complimented me as being his favourite bassist in the team to play with (I'm the 'junior' player of three) as I keep it straight and lock in with the drums. He also complimented my new bass (and I guess my playing on it)... well, I'm taking it as a compliment... by saying I got an almost fretless sound from it. I'm taking that to mean a smooth and mellow tone on the more melodic parts, rather than terrible intonation.
;)
 
#183
A guy who I grew up with who was my go-to-drummer said "I'm definately being in a band with you when we're older, you're great at writing music". That didn't happen, I haven't spoken to him in a few years now which is a shame, but remembering that makes me want to give him a call...
 
#184
I have a few,

I think the best one i've got is looking at my 5 months son when playing and he makes a big smile.

My wife told me once, i hope you will do with me like you do when playing bass....... (silence)..... :eek:

A drummer told me.... Man that thing you do is really groovy... i love it.

The singer of my actual band tells me, the note that you've done makes vibrate my heart.... do it again.... Ehmmmm, BOOOOOM, awww God i love it.... again!!!.... well.....

You are the first bassist that doest play a lot of notes..... And also the first that puts the right notes on the right time....

and a drunk girl who said...
You rock..... are you single???
 
#185
I was playing a show in downtown Philly as a very young bassist; I couldn't have been more than 16-17 at the time. I think that was my peak because I was obviously ahead of the curve, but have not advanced musically much since then. Haha

Anyway. Was playing this show where the crowd's average age was pushing 26, which was like ancient to me. We rocked.

After the show an older guy, maybe even...30, came up to me and said that my playing style was some of the most "professional" he had heard/seen. The way he said encompassed both the sound and the image I was projecting. I really took that to heart. (and did naught with it!)
 
#186
After every show, I usually get one "bass guitar" geek that will approach me and make a positive comment about my playing. I always appreciate that since I'm just an average in the pocket weekend warrior. Many years ago I was invited over to a drummer and guitarists house just to do a little garage rock jam. They were roommates and used the jam to invite over a couple of attractive girls to hang out. Between the songs, you could hear the girls talking about how great the bass player is. After the jam ...again the girls were telling everyone about how great they thought that the bass player was. I felt a little uncomfortable since the roommates were trying to impress the pretty ladies with their awesome musicianship and I was just the "wingman" bass player. Having the hotties fawn over my bass playing wasn't part of the plan. Probably why I never got invited back for a 2nd jam.
 
#187
SirGrotius said:
....After the show an older guy, maybe even...30, came up to me and.....
Click to expand...

Geez, I hate being an older guy (37). I've heard it said that inside every old person is a young person wondering "What the heck happened?" :eek: Maybe you can tell me once YOU get there! :) :bassist: But I digress...

This past summer we performed at one of our organizations' larger churches for about 800 youths. The building was a very large, rectangular-shaped concrete/brick box so you can imagine the gym-like acoustics. Still, our sound wasn't bad; I was playing through their Mesa Walkabout Scout and a Mesa 2x15 cab (read: far less highs/agressiveness than I like). I dialed it in as best as I could.

The sound man was an engineer, quiet type (you know - the kind who really know their stuff). We played several times for them over three days and after our last set he said that my bass tone was very good. Considering the aforementioned and other challenges I haven't revealed his compliment made me feel good - must have done something right!

Another one was last night at my own church seeing my bass mentor, best friend and sound man's "thumb's up" after dialing us in (being my friend makes him that much more critical!) It felt good to groove as a band again after: a) not playing since mid-September and therefore, b) all of us being very rusty, and also c) the pre/post preamp switch on the bass amp's DI was causing a horriffic buzz in the PA. Had to just send pre-preamp signal to the house, but only small adjustment was needed at the board. There, a compliment to my bass!

Great thread...
 
#188
I have a couple that I found particularly funny.

I was trying out some new basses at my local shop one day. Doing the typical trial routine, I was covering all the bases: fingerstyle, slap, tap, and some chords. And all of a sudden some guy comes out of nowhere and says "hey, take it easy, Evan Brewer!"

....I WISH.

The other one that made me really laugh was a compliment(?) on my EB/MM Bongo. "Man! That thing is ugly as hell, but it sure sounds good!"
__________________________________________________________________________

Actually, just thought of another one that's really superficial, but still made me stoked. A girl I was dating at the time and her friends (who were literally models) came to a show I was playing. After our set, my then girlfriend told me about how all of her friends were raving about how "good I look when I play." Hahaha
 
#189
mboogiemanusa said:
After every show, I usually get one "bass guitar" geek that will approach me and make a positive comment about my playing. I always appreciate that since I'm just an average in the pocket weekend warrior. Many years ago I was invited over to a drummer and guitarists house just to do a little garage rock jam. They were roommates and used the jam to invite over a couple of attractive girls to hang out. Between the songs, you could hear the girls talking about how great the bass player is. After the jam ...again the girls were telling everyone about how great they thought that the bass player was. I felt a little uncomfortable since the roommates were trying to impress the pretty ladies with their awesome musicianship and I was just the "wingman" bass player. Having the hotties fawn over my bass playing wasn't part of the plan. Probably why I never got invited back for a 2nd jam.
Click to expand...


You DO know why, don't you? You were tickling their.....ummmm...cooters.....most girls like that, y'know....

Back in the early '90s, I played in a band that had a house gig at a dinner club. The stage was very small, so we were closely packed on it, and my bass cabinet was in solid contact with the back side of a half-circle booth right next to the stage. Amazing how many cute girls sat in that booth....and how many of them I got lucky with....I called it the "cheap thrills booth".
 
#191
My favorite compliment on my playing was from an older, salty, seasoned dude from a local band who told me I sounded like Jack Bruce. I laughed, and said thanks. Didn't know what else to say!

I also love it when, at practice, the guitarist stops playing because the drummer and I are playing some odd things together. He says he gets dizzy when I use my delays sometimes.
 
#192
A few. Last year, I filled in for one of the four stage bands that goes on really short tour to the annual school jazz festival. I'd been playing electric for four weeks before we left. We did a "set" (I don't think you could call it that) at a retirement home, and after our set, the bassist from the top band asked me how long I'd been playing, because I "played like no-one (he'd) ever heard before". He said I was freakishly good... I think he was just being polite, but it was a real confidence booster. Also, it's always nice when the sax and bassoon teachers compliment my sound after we do a performance :p
My favourite, though, was from my bass teacher. He's a weird guy :rolleyes: and he made me play Jaco's version of "the Chicken". I managed to sightread it perfectly (biiig fluke) and he said "Wow, kid, I wish I had your talent. You could be big!" while making explosion motions with his hands an opening his eyes as wide as they went, so they looked like dinner plates. Again, he was being polite, but it was one of the funniest compliments I'd ever received!
 
#193
Best compliment i've gotten would be from a sound man, we had been doing a multi band show and at the sound man during the break and comes up to me and says i am a bass player too and you have a best bass sound i have ever heard. i saw you playing with the band last year and i have been trying to copy your sound since, i really love it. i've gotten compliments on my playing but since i feel most of my sound comes from my style and my hands i think that was the best one.
 
#194
The best compliment I had was from a bass player from other band that was going to play after us. He said that my sound was really good. It was quite shocking, because it was only our second gig, I was playing with one of those Ibanez that come on a starter pack (no I wasn't a kid I just start to play after 20 :P), I was playing in his amp and he had a MIA Fender JB.
 
#195
My power trio was at a party thrown by Stone Free. I got up to jam with them while my bandmates were in another room, and as we rocked out they came back in to hear who it was that was killing it on bass. The look on their face when they saw me up there was priceless...and although they never said a word, I still take that as the best compliment I've ever gotten. I also learned how addicting and fun it is to back up a world-class guitarist, and I will never forget it.
 
#198
Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference betwee a genuine compliment and someone who's just trying to be nice. While playing in a jam in NC a couple of years ago, a fellow jumped up on rythym guitar and was killing it behind me...couldn't help but notice. Don't know what the song was, but when we finished, he said something like, "You play really well, or you just play enough to play good." I'm an old geezer and don't play much anymore, but when I discovered this guy plays in one of the best high profile bluegrass bands out there, I took it as a compliment. I always thought I knew enough to play enough to sound just right, and to stay out of the way of the other musicians, so I guess I was right. BTW, all these guys, 15 or 20 of them throughout the nite, were all better than me on their instruments, so it really felt good. Made my nite.
 
#199
Two of my favorites:

First pro band. I'm all of 18 playing with guys in their mid 20's. Did a showcase gig at the Roxy in LA for some music industry folks. Got a letter from a label expressing some interest. The A&R gal who attended the showcase wrote on it:

"Your Bass Player has the COOLEST look. Give him this (213) XXX-XXXX." Wow! I felt 10 feet tall and bulletproof. [and even better after I called her number!].

The other was just a couple of years ago. I had some pickups rewound for one of my basses at Real Guitars in San Francisco. Was sitting in the back with Gary Brawer, demoing the bass and doing some fine-tuning on the set up. Just playing some riffs: fingerfunk, slap. Then I pulled out a pick from my pocket and and was jamming away. Voice from behind says: "Cool dude. I love it when people get funky with a pick." Turn around to say "thanks" and its Bobby Vega! Don't know if I can ever top that one.
 
#200
I might as well join in the bragging, haha.

After being a volunteer counselor at a summer camp we had a big closing set (me, guitarist and the volunteer drum instructor) a guy who toured with a bunch of guys in the 90s (and who also runs the camp) said that I was one of the best bassists he's heard in the area.

Also my string bass teacher (though im aware he's almost completely ignorant of electric bass) said he really had no one to advise I get bass guitar lessons from because there wasn't really anyone he could think of good enough to teach me.
 

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