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Have you ever been told...

#3
I was told that by by a few people when I just started playing bass. Probably had a lot ot do with the fact that I had been playing guitar for 15 years. It was the best stuff anyone ever told me cuz it turned me into a wanna-b bassist. And I made sure that's what I became.
 
#5
I sat at a set of drums once, while someone else was noodling on my bass and I began to kick off a little beat. I'd never played the drums before.

My friend says, "I didn't know you played drums". I said, "Neither did I". He says, "Sell your damn bass and buy some drums man. You're a lot better drummer than you are a bass player".

LOL! True story.
 
#11
I've got a buddy guitarists that insists that I play out too much, there is absolutely no reason a bass should ever play "more than backing track" role, hates it when I play chords, and absolutely will not accept it when I play anything other than the root of the chord he is putting out there (even when we do church music with several "G/C" or "D/A" chords).

There's so much musical potential lost with the bass in a strictly passive role. I lead melodies along, harmonize, chord, slap, whatever the music calls for. Simple fact of the matter is that he writes boring songs that have no appeal unless there's something interesting injected into them :crying:

The way I see it, the above average bassist who is varied and creative in his/her approach has the unique opportunity to shape the music into something a merely adequate guitar player cannot: Unique :D
 
#14
Ski3223 said:
I've got a buddy guitarists that insists that I play out too much, there is absolutely no reason a bass should ever play "more than backing track" role, hates it when I play chords, and absolutely will not accept it when I play anything other than the root of the chord he is putting out there (even when we do church music with several "G/C" or "D/A" chords).

There's so much musical potential lost with the bass in a strictly passive role. I lead melodies along, harmonize, chord, slap, whatever the music calls for. Simple fact of the matter is that he writes boring songs that have no appeal unless there's something interesting injected into them :crying:

The way I see it, the above average bassist who is varied and creative in his/her approach has the unique opportunity to shape the music into something a merely adequate guitar player cannot: Unique :D
Click to expand...

+10,000

Ski3223 said:
Hardcore bands.
:hiding:

ha, kidding. Sorta.
Click to expand...

LOL
 
#15
The drummer in the last band I was in said that. He was used to guys who pretty much stuck to root-fifth type lines rather than trying to insert a contrapuntal melody into a tune. At the time, it stung, but he later clarified to say he meant that he liked my playing.
 
#16
This past weekend at rehearsal our guitarist/bandleader told me he thought I played my bass like a guitarist. I didn't resent that one bit, that's my style of playing. When you play in a three-piece there are times when you do have to play busier bass lines, simply to fill enough sonic space. Of course I know when to back off and play simpler lines, usually when he's singing, but as a rule I like a busy bass line.
 
#17
stratovani said:
This past weekend at rehearsal our guitarist/bandleader told me he thought I played my bass like a guitarist. I didn't resent that one bit, that's my style of playing. When you play in a three-piece there are times when you do have to play busier bass lines, simply to fill enough sonic space. Of course I know when to back off and play simpler lines, usually when he's singing, but as a rule I like a busy bass line.
Click to expand...

Amen to that
 
#18
Ski3223 said:
I've got a buddy guitarists that insists that I play out too much, there is absolutely no reason a bass should ever play "more than backing track" role, hates it when I play chords, and absolutely will not accept it when I play anything other than the root of the chord he is putting out there (even when we do church music with several "G/C" or "D/A" chords).

There's so much musical potential lost with the bass in a strictly passive role. I lead melodies along, harmonize, chord, slap, whatever the music calls for. Simple fact of the matter is that he writes boring songs that have no appeal unless there's something interesting injected into them :crying:

The way I see it, the above average bassist who is varied and creative in his/her approach has the unique opportunity to shape the music into something a merely adequate guitar player cannot: Unique :D
Click to expand...
yes, that stuff does have its place. but I think the player must reach a very high level of maturity before they can employ that stuff appropriately. it's an easy trap to fall into thinking it sounds good because it makes you sound good (and who doesn't love listening to themself), but its too easy to forget that you're throwing off the music as a whole.

I use chords and slap very sparingly but it is cool when the place comes up for it. if someoen says you play like a guitarist that suggests you don't understand the role of the bass. it's entirely possible to have busy bass lines without playing like a guitar

the hands develop a lot faster than the mind, I find
 
#19
Splatts said:
Have you ever been told...that you play like a wanna-b guitarist?
I like hitting more than one string sometimes...nice harmony...but my wife looked at me and said that it sounded like a wanna-b guitarist!
This complete threw me off! So I was wondering if anyone else had similar experiences...so let the stories flow with: Have you ever been told...
Click to expand...

I play guitar like a bass.
I bring that guitar to life.
But after about five minutes of slaps, slides, and trying to get every harmonic I can out of the thing, it gets pretty old.
 
#20
I don't play guitar at all, so everyone says I play like a bassist, but in my 3-piece band I'm trying to intentionally configure a certain part of a song to sound like a guitar by doing guitar-like leads on bass. challenging - we'll see how it turns out. what effects might work well with that? it's garage/rock entwhistle-style material
 

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