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How do punk rockers do it?

#41
ERIC31 said:
Punk Bass 101 for me?

Dee Dee - Ramones
Klaus Flouride - DKs
Paul Simonon - The Clash
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I love all 3 of those bands, but Klaus(and Ray) didn't abide by the "everything has to be downstrokes" rule!! Yes, it does sound different, but a song like "Winnebago Warrior" would be impossible to play with only downstrokes, not to mention many of their other songs or most of the other early hardcore bands where speed/aggression were king!

I know the Ramones played this way but I believe in some part it was adopted by other bands because it looks cool,kinda in the same way Pete Townsend's "windmill" guitar playing was copied...it well, looks cool;)
 
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#42
I play punk but only use a pick on one or two songs. You don't have to use a pick, although the only punk bassists that I know that play fingerstyle are Mike Watt and Karl Alvarez. You have to give Karl a lot of credit for he played all of Tony Lombardo and Doug Carrion's basslines fingerstyle and they were both pick players. Any of you Descendents fans would know.
 
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#43
TheSlug said:
My band is going to play "Raise your glass - Pink" and i am wondering how punk bassists are able to play the way they do with their right hand. looks like they're strumming like a guitar player (the pick going past all the strings both down and up). Are they just muting the rest of the strings?
I just can't make myself belive that punk rockers are able to hit the right string with that kind of precision when their entire arm is moving like that.

I know this is not the most important question in the world, but when we're first doing a song with me hammering the root notes, I might as well look cool doing it :bassist::cool:. do anyone have an answer?
Look at Fat Mike (nofx) or early Mark Hoppus (Blink 182) recordings for examples,,, or this emoji-->:bassist::D
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I believe they hit the string with accuracy but muting the other strings with your left hand would help. Practice in the dark and you'll see after a few practices that it can be done.
 
#44
hrodbert696 said:
Pffft. I get out plenty. Learn to read.

I was talking about Mark Hoppus and Pete Wentz, the guys the OP was referencing. I've watched a lot of them, and 90% of the time they change position on the neck every time they play a different note. They don't play from string to string very much, especially when they're doing the big "strumming" motion the OP was talking about. I wasn't talking about all punk, or even all pop punk (Mike Dirnt is a different matter). Whole other thing from if you're talking about Bad Brains or something.
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Was just having a bit of fun. I read fine. The OP was referencing fat mike not Pete Wentz. Go figure.

Let's just agree that bad brains are next level.
 
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#46
You know what, thinking back, I used to do this practice: play downstroke open E string continuously for 1-2 minutes. Use a metronome set to 4/4, tempo slow as necessary to play clean. Then do the same with the other strings, even ones you know you won't use. I did this every day, it was a habit when I got off of work, I did not let one day slip by. It only takes 10 minutes but will make a huge difference.
 
#47
A lot of punk bass is picking hand technique. Harley Flanagan of the cromags is my favorite example of punk bass. But as always with punk you don't let technique get in the way of the energy of the song.
 
#49
Mantis Tobaggan said:
Whats a good pick to use? Size?
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I settled with the Blue Tortex 1.0mm pick as it's the same pick I use on electric guitar, mostly based on convenience. Having pick-choice as a constant allows me to better control the tone through techniques.

I don't really like the thin pick tone, and I can hear more pick scraping the strings due to my technique. I usually reserve thin picks for guitar strumming.

I don't have many thicker nor larger picks around, as I lose picks. Larger-sized picks are good to keep a better grip.

I also tried Felt Picks, but they have a specific tone that I'd use for other musical styles if I wanted a good punchy attack and an almost finger-plucking tone.
 
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#51
Basically you learn to mute strings with your left hand while strumming with your right hand. The same way you would play power chords on guitar. But if your only playing one string and one note you just gain accuracy in picking one string at a time. It may look like your hitting more than one string because its so fast but your not.
 
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#54
Spirit of Ox said:
I play punk but only use a pick on one or two songs. You don't have to use a pick, although the only punk bassists that I know that play fingerstyle are Mike Watt and Karl Alvarez. You have to give Karl a lot of credit for he played all of Tony Lombardo and Doug Carrion's basslines fingerstyle and they were both pick players. Any of you Descendents fans would know.
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There is one other fingerstyle punk bassist I forgot to mention. Kira from Black Flag and Dos, who is also Mike Watt's ex-wife. Now she's an Emmy award winning dialogue editor for Game of Thrones!
 
#55
TheSlug said:
looks like they're strumming like a guitar player (the pick going past all the strings both down and up). Are they just muting the rest of the strings?
I just can't make myself belive that punk rockers are able to hit the right string with that kind of precision when their entire arm is moving like that.
Click to expand...
More or less have it, at least as far as what I do when I am going for that vibe. Left hand muting being key. You'd be surprised at how accurate you can be though, with an Agressive right hand flailing about you can still hone in on one string fairly well. I never really thought about "how" I go about it though.
 
#56
two fingers said:
I get so tired of the same old "If you stop and think about it at all it ain't punk" routine.
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This!!

The Ramones thought plenty about what they were doing, as did the Pistols and The Clash, and any number of others that followed.

Another post in this thread mentioned that Johnny Ramone rejected any Dee Dee replacements who didn't use all downstrokes. I guess that means he wasn't punk, as he didn't have an "anything goes" attitude.
 
#57
Wow. I am overwhelmed by all the replies. I have practiced a bit on it, and by combining close to everything that has been said in this thread, I get it now. Thanks Everyone.

bolophonic said:
Downstrokes are great if you want to just go "doo-doo-doot" along with tabs all day. I just took a listen to the song in question and I can't figure out for the life of me how the chorus would require a discussion of what technique to use. The point is to "own" the song, not to play it exactly like someone else did it.
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The thing is, I play with my fingers almost exclusively, but this is the most partyish song we are going to play by now and i want this very simple bass part to look cool.
I was a huge pop punk rock fan when I was in my early teens (NOFX, Rancid, pennywise, Lagwagon etc.) so that has become my definition of cool.

Another song we are going to practice on next rehearsal is "Warwick Avenue":roflmao: I hope our singer has a plan for the setlist. Hehe.
Again, thanks to everyone contributing. You guys rock!:bassist:
 
#58
The previous (female) singer in my band wanted to do "Raise Your Glass." We rehearsed that song a lot. I used fingers to keep close to the original bass sound.

In terms of looking cool, you just have to believe in the song. Or at least fake that you enjoy playing it. Don't stand still. Dance. Move. Interact with your bandmates. Interact with the crowd to pump them up. Be dynamic.

I have an old embarrassing (will never been seen in public) band video that just shows me standing still. The excuse was I was singing harmonies so I had to stick near a microphone, but it still looked boring. The better reason is that I felt timid and shy on stage.

Regardless if you change your playing technique to picking, which will in turn change the tone, it's not going to matter much if you're still standing around and all that has changed is you moving your arm more.

Practice in front of a mirror, make a video of yourself, whatever... just take note if you find yourself entertaining to watch besides being heard.
 
#59
chungweishan said:
The previous (female) singer in my band wanted to do "Raise Your Glass." We rehearsed that song a lot. I used fingers to keep close to the original bass sound.
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My band has a female singer to, hence the song choices;). I thought about playing with my fingers, but then again, I kind of thought it wouldn't matter as much for that song.

chungweishan said:
Regardless if you change your playing technique to picking, which will in turn change the tone, it's not going to matter much if you're still standing around and all that has changed is you moving your arm more.
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Yes. I'm going for the whole jumping and moving and communicate with the crowd thing. I am very self aware on how I present myself on stage. I remember my first performance with a band when i was younger (a youth contest), I was so scared of looking like a fool on stage, so I just stood still concentrating. When I looked at the recording later, I was in so much regret that I promised myself to always be "alive" whenever live.:)
 
#60
mpdd said:
you kinda need a bass that has its strings are far enough apart to pick like that ime
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Nope, 19mm spacing on both my basses, I don't often do the full arm sweep pick, but when I do, the width of my neck and the separation between the strings is a non factor.

hrodbert696 said:
Agreed. True, I wasn't paying attention to Fat Mike.
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Right, this guy is the punkest person I've found on this thread, we in the punk rock community long ago stopped paying attention to Fat Mike...
 

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