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How high do you wear your bass?

How high do you wear your bass?

  • Chest.

    Votes: 86 22.5%

  • Waist.

    Votes: 172 44.9%

  • Balls (best descriptive place word, but female players also can vote!). ;)

    Votes: 100 26.1%

  • Knees.

    Votes: 12 3.1%

  • Other (please specify).

    Votes: 13 3.4%
  • Total voters
    383
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#181
i havent read every post in this thread, but from what i've read so far, it seems a lot of bassists start with the bass as low as the strap will allow and slowly move the bass higher to a place they find more comfortable.

i voted balls so i guess that means i havent progressed enough to move my bass up higher yet. not that im gonna go home and adjust my strap so that it's as high as the bassist from Rage Against the Machine wears his bass in their music video for testifly, but maybe i'll try it a little higher. :)
 
#184
I like it at my waist (belt buckle on the upper 1/3 of the body), with a slight up-angle on the neck. Very comfy and natural.

As far as looks go, given that most of us either do or hope to perform live, this seems to me to be a perfectly valid concern. Case in point: how many TalkBassers have plunked down $$$ for a AAAA figured maple top, gold hardware, exotic hard woods, or other such extravagances? I think Jaco may have been the last jazz player to hang a beat up piece of wood around his shoulder (although I'm looking forward to being wrong, because it'll be interesting to see).
 
#185
Originally posted by lump


Yeah, it took me a coupla days to figure it out, but now that I'm on a five I had to hoist it up about two inches. I was having a hard time reaching the B, especially with my pinky above the 10th fret or so. Good bye rocker, hello fusion geek. :D

Then again, if I were a real rocker, I wouldn't be using my pinky. Or playing above the 10th fret...;)
Click to expand...

I listen fusion, and i wear my bass high, and i never thought of myself as a geek. ;(

Well i sometimes wear my bass on my sternum, and sometimes between my chest and belly. I think wearing the bass low looks goofy (plus i don't want to mimmick anyone's style). I never tried wearing my bass low. All of the metalhead/punk rocker kids i know don't really make fun of me. I guess that is because i care less on appearance and more on sound quality. I was about the only kid in the school (there was one other dude) that listened to fusion, so i have a lot of friends that are into classical. It is funny that a poll about wear bassists wear their basses turned into the battle between jazz snobs and metalheads (i guess that makes me a jazz snob, and proud of it!!!) Well, i'm going to have to quote jaco to explain what types of music i listen to, "If it's good, i dig it!!!"
 
#186
Originally posted by kezekiel
I like it at my waist (belt buckle on the upper 1/3 of the body), with a slight up-angle on the neck. Very comfy and natural.

As far as looks go, given that most of us either do or hope to perform live, this seems to me to be a perfectly valid concern. Case in point: how many TalkBassers have plunked down $$$ for a AAAA figured maple top, gold hardware, exotic hard woods, or other such extravagances? I think Jaco may have been the last jazz player to hang a beat up piece of wood around his shoulder (although I'm looking forward to being wrong, because it'll be interesting to see).
Click to expand...

That beat up peice of wood was a 1962 fender jazz bass, that is a nice bass. I think that bass looked/looks (i don't know if it was murdered, too) nice. It has the nice wear and tear. It kinda shows this bass is worn in to prefection.
 
#195
Originally posted by chaoslord
Christ this is gonna get me nailed but I can't sit back and watch the name Jaco being thrown around either.

Jaco's most "inspiring/best/whatever you wanna call it" work was in many's opinion "Portrait of Tracy" correct ?

I listented to it awhile back and it blows, it's a bunch of seemingly random harmonics, half of which don't project very well and seem to have been missed. Plus it follows no groove or anything that I consider to be musical.

If you like him great many people do. But if Jaco is the end all and be all of Bass playing then I better switch my instrument now because to put it bluntly, I think he sucked.
Click to expand...

I don't think you have really listened to jaco. Either that or you don't appreciate music. IMO, jaco was the most talented bassist ever. Can you play as well as jaco? can you be as much of an impact as he was? Can you be as much as an innovator? I definately find jaco's music musical. You should listen to "Donna Lee," the rest of his debut album, and then i'm sure you'll have a different attitude towards jaco.

read this victor wooten quote:
"It amazes me when someone comes along and so visibly and powerfully effects the world and everything that happens in it after his arrival. We all effect the world in some way but not many have done it in the way that Jaco has. The world of music is changed forever because of this great man. I don't believe that there is a bass player playing today that has not been influenced by Jaco, Whether he/she knows it or not.

To be a genius U must be "out of your mind" and there is a fine line one must walk between "being in" and "being out" of your mind. There is also the thin line between having and losing control. Jaco was known to lose control from time to time. We find these traits in most of our heroes. Einstein, Beethoven, Mingus, Monk, etc. I believe this to be a blessing in disguise because being able to walk on both sides and combine the energies from the two is what makes these people stand out. This is a necessary ingredient to being the genius that Jaco is.

Because Jaco lived life to the fullest, stretched the limits, erased boundaries, dove into unknown territories, succeeded, failed, always came out smiling and much more, he has given us a precious gift. The gift of his life. This is powerful. We can now use his life choices to determine our life choices. This expands way beyond music. I know that if Jaco had not lived life "exactly" as he did, I would not be the person and musician that I am today and will be tomorrow. Again, I say, This is powerful!

I was never blessed with the pleasure of meeting or seeing Jaco play live but because of his wonderful friends, family and music. I feel that I know him well.

John Francis Pastorius III, U are a part of all of us. I recognize, appreciate and thank U for all of your precious gifts. Bless Us All and Please.....Save me a seat!

peace,

Victor Lemonte Wooten

peace, vic 04-16-01"
 
#196
Now, while I don't agree with Chaoslord (he'll come around sometime :D), why exactly does he have to be BETTER and MORE INNOVATIVE than Jaco to has his opinion be valid?

Every time someone challenges the society's "established" opinion does everyone respond with "Well, are YOU better? Can YOU make a song better than XXX, let alone even play XXX?"? What does that solve and/or prove?

Just because I don't like Ken Griffey or Alex Rodriguez doesn't mean I can steal mon...play baseball better than them. :D
 
#198
i should have stated it "Can you imagine of being that innovative..." I think that would have worked better. I can't beleive chaoslord couldn't find a grove in jaco's music. Listen to "Come On, Come over." does it get anymore groovin' than that?
 
#199
I think POT has a valid issue with what Chaos said. I think you do have to be as good, or as innovative or superior to somone in one way or another in order to issue a statement such as "Jaco sucked". You may not have to even know how to play bass to say "I don't like anything Jaco did" or "I wish Jaco hadn't ever picked up a bass.", but to say he sucked, you better be able to back that up. In order for me to say Testaverdi sucks, I'd better be able to say "here, I can chuck a football better than that."

If someone says someone sucks, I say let me see you do it better.
 
#200
i put my balls but its a little higher?
i dont look like a goof so its all good.
and when i find my self playin somethin where i need a lot of pressure from my fingers...i angle the bass to more of a vertical position so it feels like an upright.:)
 
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