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Have you played keyboard bass?
- Thread starter darwin-bass
- Start date
As a pianist first and foremost, a LOT of my bread-and-butter/earning-money gigs required me to cover bass parts. The trio I gigged full time with for two years (back in the early 80s) was me on keyboards, a drummer, and a horn player (and we all sang), so I was playing keyboard bass 6 nights a week at least. I actually used to enjoy doing that very much.. at the time I was using a MicroMoog for bass, a Yamaha PF something or other followed by a Korg SGD for the piano sounds, and a PolyMoog followed by a Korg Poly6 for horn, string, and synth hits and pads. I loved the fat sound of the MicroMoog and the ability to grab a knob and adjust/tweak stuff on the fly (although I didn't enjoy it pitch-drifting with no notice... I learned to play in two different keys quickly!). I started doing left hand bass after being inspired by various Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea LPs I had, and one of my college classmates used a MicroMoog with his keys/guit/drums trio to cover bass. He was great at it, and I figured I wanted to do that, too.
Fast forward - still have great respect for B3 players; that's the real deal. Nowadays, however, I wrestle with the guilt I have playing LH bass and putting a bassist out of work, especially in the past couple years as I've become more serious about being an actual bassist. While it's nice, as a keyboard player, knowing that the bassist and the pianist (when both are me at the same time) will ALWAYS be playing the same changes, it's not the same as having another musician to feed off of, and just feels a bit more sterile and contrived compared to playing with a great bassist. On the other hand, I'd rather play LH bass than work with a mediocre bassist; nothing kills a gig like a bassist playing wrong changes, getting lost, or floundering around the beat.
Economics are economics, I guess. Not sure if I'm addressing your question or not, actually. Let me try again, more succinctly....
"Have you played keyboard bass instead of bass guitar?" - yes, extensively.
"Why?" - Initially because I thought it was cool and fun, but mostly because of economics the past three or so decades.
"What did you think of it?" - I MUCH prefer a real bass and a real bassist, as long as they are very good players and musicians. I'd rather play LH bass than play with a less-than-professionally-competent bassist. I'd NEVER play a gig playing just a bass keyboard; if I'm not tasked with playing other keyboards, too, I'm playing a real bass.
Fast forward - still have great respect for B3 players; that's the real deal. Nowadays, however, I wrestle with the guilt I have playing LH bass and putting a bassist out of work, especially in the past couple years as I've become more serious about being an actual bassist. While it's nice, as a keyboard player, knowing that the bassist and the pianist (when both are me at the same time) will ALWAYS be playing the same changes, it's not the same as having another musician to feed off of, and just feels a bit more sterile and contrived compared to playing with a great bassist. On the other hand, I'd rather play LH bass than work with a mediocre bassist; nothing kills a gig like a bassist playing wrong changes, getting lost, or floundering around the beat.
Economics are economics, I guess. Not sure if I'm addressing your question or not, actually. Let me try again, more succinctly....
"Have you played keyboard bass instead of bass guitar?" - yes, extensively.
"Why?" - Initially because I thought it was cool and fun, but mostly because of economics the past three or so decades.
"What did you think of it?" - I MUCH prefer a real bass and a real bassist, as long as they are very good players and musicians. I'd rather play LH bass than play with a less-than-professionally-competent bassist. I'd NEVER play a gig playing just a bass keyboard; if I'm not tasked with playing other keyboards, too, I'm playing a real bass.
Not sure if this qualifies but many moons ago with my first band we played a lot of Rush, Zep and Pink Floyd. I had a Roland XP-60 keyboard with Roland PK-5 MIDI foot pedals and Alesis QS6. For the Rush and PF I used it mostly for pads and normal keys. But for the Zep I found myself controlling bass sounds on the foot pedals (like a church organ) for songs like Trampled Under Foot, The Rain Song, Kashmir, I Can't Quit You Babe and I'm Gonna Crawl. Looking back it was a fun challenge to pull that stuff off, but these days I am sure glad I don't have to haul all that keyboard stuff around anymore.
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i did, for a spell, back in the late '70s, early '80s. it was a part of the schtick for several bands in that 'era'. i had different keyboards, though a mini moog was my go-to. i've always played piano, so it wasn't a stretch, but i'd rather play one ax these days (and bass it is!)... it's just easier for this player.
Interesting ...
I'm not a piano player. I played synth bass (Novation Bass Station) for a few months for fun. I loved the sound but felt it worked best with synth-based music rather than piano / guitar based. My normal church gig is all piano / guitar driven and the bass guitar seems to fit better.
But, my bad L hand prevents me from playing 5 string comfortably and a small bass keyboard would be one easy way to get the low notes, plus a different sound/texture.
So to answer my own question, Yes I've played it but decided to stick with "real" bass. For now.
I'm not a piano player. I played synth bass (Novation Bass Station) for a few months for fun. I loved the sound but felt it worked best with synth-based music rather than piano / guitar based. My normal church gig is all piano / guitar driven and the bass guitar seems to fit better.
But, my bad L hand prevents me from playing 5 string comfortably and a small bass keyboard would be one easy way to get the low notes, plus a different sound/texture.
So to answer my own question, Yes I've played it but decided to stick with "real" bass. For now.
Yes, I've done it. It's fun, and IMO a real synth is needed to really nail the sounds. I gave it up because its more gear to schlep and it adds an extra layer of complication with amplifying and EQing, dealing with multiple channels in the rig, etc. For what I do, mostly playing in different environments all the time and some truly challenging load-ins & outs, simplest tends to be best.
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Keys/workstation Yes. Floor board like Taurus, No I have not.
What appeals to me is sequencing some bass so I can grace people with my siren song.
I also use my bass to trigger my station. MIDI fun.
What appeals to me is sequencing some bass so I can grace people with my siren song.
I also use my bass to trigger my station. MIDI fun.
My current band is doing a lot of 90's hip hop, so for about half of our setlist I'm playing synth bass (Moog Subsequent 25).
It's a lot of fun, but a lot more to carry and setup.
What used to be a 10-15 minute load-in & setup is now about double that. The older I get the slower I am too, so there's that.
It then carried over to my church band where I have a Novation BassStation-II (not near as nice as the Moog), but that I keep setup, for laziness sake.
It's been something I've wanted to do for a long time, but opportunity/fear/gear held me back.
I've enjoyed learning how to dial in synth sounds, and getting used to playing keys again (I used to do some in my late teens).
It's a lot of fun, but a lot more to carry and setup.
What used to be a 10-15 minute load-in & setup is now about double that. The older I get the slower I am too, so there's that.
It then carried over to my church band where I have a Novation BassStation-II (not near as nice as the Moog), but that I keep setup, for laziness sake.
It's been something I've wanted to do for a long time, but opportunity/fear/gear held me back.
I've enjoyed learning how to dial in synth sounds, and getting used to playing keys again (I used to do some in my late teens).
I played in a midi duo for about 15 years (stopped about 12 years ago).
I tracked lots of bass parts on a keyboard do I could play “guitar” solos on the upper register of my 6 string bass. I don’t play guitar at all.
I’ve always wanted to play synth bass parts live, if the song required it, but that never happened. Gigs are very light (my choice) these days.
I tracked lots of bass parts on a keyboard do I could play “guitar” solos on the upper register of my 6 string bass. I don’t play guitar at all.
I’ve always wanted to play synth bass parts live, if the song required it, but that never happened. Gigs are very light (my choice) these days.
It's one more tool, and frankly, a LOT of patches on synths are far beefier than any tone a bass guitar can produce, or can combine a range of tones and integrated effects it would take far more work to sort of emulate on a bass guitar instead of pushing a button on a keyboard.
I played pianos for years so it's no hill for me to climb.
I played pianos for years so it's no hill for me to climb.
When I'm not playing in my electric piano jazz trio, I'm playing with my roomful of synths, and one of those is a Moog Subsequent 37. I play a lotta bass on there. What I always am struck by is how I will sometimes execute something rhythmically on the keys a lot more competently than certain things on the bass, likely due to the nature of the hand mechanics of it all.
I bought a Moog Sub Phatty a couple years ago to incorporate into one of my band's live show. This is an all-IEM band with no amps on stage, so as-is I can get by with my gig bag, pedalboard, stand, and a wardrobe bag. This makes for an easy one trip load-in. Adding in the Moog would necessitate another stand, and the Moog itself, which isn't too bad in its carrying case, but would make for two trips or needing a gear cart. As a result, I've never been motivated enough to get better than "just okay" at it.
I am primarily a guitarist, but I bought a MIDI keyboard controller for use in home recording with a DAW. At first, I was recording bass parts using a a bass guitar sample, but the sound and feel were unsatisfying, so I bought myself a bass. I had not played bass for decades, but I have really enjoyed picking it up again — and it sounds WAY better.
I currently use a moog subsequent 37 and had a little phatty before (now for sale). Both are fantastic and a great addition to the basses.
Yes, on this tune. One of mine but I wanted an acoustic sound as opposed to my hofner. It worked out okay.
I never combined it in a live thing as a bass, like -the only bass-.
I play synth bass every synth gig.. but alongside when someone else plays bass
Korg MS-20 mini is relatively cheap and it's analog that's what I use...
If you can get a vintage MS-20 or MS-10 that does crazy bass.
In general the MS series is considered a bit lo fi by synth folk compared to Moog, Sequential etc... but I find the Korg to be much more mix-friendly, it's color blends effortlessly with most other instruments... which is always the problem some synths, can be too "from another planet"..
I play synth bass every synth gig.. but alongside when someone else plays bass
Korg MS-20 mini is relatively cheap and it's analog that's what I use...
If you can get a vintage MS-20 or MS-10 that does crazy bass.
In general the MS series is considered a bit lo fi by synth folk compared to Moog, Sequential etc... but I find the Korg to be much more mix-friendly, it's color blends effortlessly with most other instruments... which is always the problem some synths, can be too "from another planet"..
Due to injury I really couldn't play proper bass guitar or upright for a few years. Actually had to sell the upright and long scale basses. So I decided to try keyboard bass. Turns out I can play with both hands, equally, which kind of blew my mind. I have stuck with it, even though I'm getting back to playing bass guitars it is invaluable now.
Have produced a lot of dance and EDM type stuff at times so synth bass is pretty much required for a lot (most) of that. It simply works better than BG. I always try and shoehorn bass guitar in where I can though
In that music it's usually used to jump out in funky/retro way a la Daft Punk, etc.
One thing I never do though is use synth or virtual bass to sound like a real BG, because...I can play the real thing! I use a synth to sound like a synth.
In that music it's usually used to jump out in funky/retro way a la Daft Punk, etc.One thing I never do though is use synth or virtual bass to sound like a real BG, because...I can play the real thing! I use a synth to sound like a synth.
Played an SH-101 Roland with Andrew Gold and Gary Wright for some TV shoots. This was "Bridge To Your Heart" with Andrew. Just can't fake some songs on real bass.Yea, this is a bass guitar forum, but still I wonder.
Have you played keyboard bass instead of bass guitar? Why? What did you think of it?
If you haven't, why not? Inquiring minds want to know
Not exactly the question, I think, but I play in a trio (others are guitar and drums). Sometimes I play bass, sometimes I play keys with a LH bass part. For example, we do "Louie Louie" and I have a cheezy bass sound in the LH and an electric piano sound for my RH.
