How to tell a bassist is good?

[Watchootognbout]

I agree. I know of a bassist who is a great funk player but, insists on slapping and popping in songs that don't call for it.

Are they HIS song?Did he write them?
If he did,then the slapping is appropriate.
They're his songs.
If he didn't,well.......

 

[Watchootognbout]

I listen to very technical music (technical death metal, progressive metal and rock, jazz, fusion, and classical), so I understand where you're coming from, but musicality absolutely trumps technicality. Without musicality, all you'll be able to do is run up and down scales. You may be able to play 16th notes at 200+ bpm, but you'll never create a coherent piece of music (at least not consistently). With all that said, technicality allows you to tap into musical ideas you might not be able to without the chops. Personally, I'd rather listen to music performed by compotent musicians (those with chops and musicality) who use technicality as a sort of dynamic, instead of those who make only simple, straightforward music/convoluted attempts at music.

(coff,coff)Bill Dickens(coff.coff)

 

[fearceol]

Nonsense!!

Does that mean that..
Michael Manring
Anthony Jackson
Jimmy Johnson
Mark Egan
Dave LaRue
John Myung
Gary Willis
Sean Malone
Adam Nitti
Patrich O'Hearn
Alain Caron
Tom Kennedy are not good bassist?
None of the music I listen to has people groovin' and dancin' in the isles.

Remember!
We're not all trying to play the same music.

C'mon...lighten up a little. Did you not notice the smilies ? Of course you are correct in what you say, but I'm sure you get my drift. In case you did'nt...my point was that if the band are groovin'..rockin...' ...smokin'...rippin'... (insert your own verb here)...then the bassist is doing a good job.

 

[Cole Louis Allar]

One way to tell if he is good is see If his name is not Cole Louis Allar. If not then you should be good!

 

[MVE]

If I like what he's playing...

 

[stringthrough]

A bassist, or for that matter any musician is great when he/ she fairly consistently makes music "magic"; meaning through a combination of note selection (or silence), groove and sound they elevate the music beyond a series of notes and into something that excites the listener.

 

[G On Bass]

You see a bassist ON STAGE. What are you looking for to determine he knows his stuff or not?

Fast slapping?

This is, IMHO, the absolute most non-factor in assessing the competency of a bass player. In many cases, it is the sign of an incompetent one trying to hide an overall lack of ability (especially with the kids these days).. There are lots of horrendous bass players out gigging, and many fantastic bass players not working as often as they should.

Regardless of genre, for me it all has to do with whether or not he or she is playing lines that fit the song, in time, with the right tone while looking comfortable doing it.

 

[ManOnEarth]

I don't judge anyone unless they're looping their baselines and fiddling with their pedal board for half the song.

If you're the entertainment, be entertaining.

 

[lbbc]

If the audience is grooving....the bass player is grooving...all I need to know. I don't care about gear or image (just peripherals). I don't want to hear a virtuoso, I want to hear a tight band (any genre)

 

[hsech]

His tone, volume and how he fits in to the overall sound of the band.

 

[gln1955]

If the band sounds good, the bass player is good because without a good bass player, a band is gonna pretty much suck. On the other hand, if the band sounds bad, the bass player may be good and everyone else may suck. In that case, the bass player really isn't good, since he should know enough to play with a better band.

 

[ZBirdV8]

I'm not sizing him up. I'm enjoying myself. The only time I knock other musicians is when they look like they don't want to be there.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Sometimes bass players get gigs because they are easy to get along with but, not necessarily good players. I have seen this in many instances.

Depends on your definition of "good". To me, 90% of the bass parts aren't exactly rocket science, and knowing how to play nice with others is a big part of being a good and professional musician.

 

[trevcda]

Go to the bar. Order a beer. Drink said beer with your back to the band and listen to him play. This takes the gear he using, the fact that he's over-weight, the ridiculous facial hair style he's sporting, the leather cape that he thought would look cool and the look on his face like he might vomit at any moment, all out of the equation. When you've finished that beer, you can know make a fair assessment of the skills of that bass player. If he does something incredible enough to make you turn around to see what he did, take your beer and go enjoy the band. And give him a pass for any of the other indiscretions mentioned above.

 

[39-Bassist]

A bassist will only be as good as the drummer will help him to be. What I mean by that is if the two of them are in a groove and the audience enjoys the music, plus no bad notes help, then the bassist is as good as he needs to be. (at this point of their musical career)
A bad bassist = not in the pocket, no groove and bad notes played.

 

[redhed]

Tone, Groove, and Phrasing..

 

[Fxpmusic]

I've done hundreds of gigs after a few beers. No issues if you really know the material, just don't overdo it. I once played an entire third set lying on my back onstage. Drunk off my a$$, fell over halfway through the first song of the set. Good times...

This dude ^. That's how you can tell.

 

[electracoyote]

"Tasteful" and "appropriate" are highly subjective.

Indeed they are, as are the sentiments expressed in just about every post on this thread.

I agree. I know of a bassist who is a great funk player but, insists on slapping and popping in songs that don't call for it.

Looks like at least a couple of people get my meaning.

 

[jmlee]

This is TB; everything is either/or. Usually the people talking about musicality trumping technique have neither.

Ouch! That's more pointed than is called for, bud.

 

[hobosong]

You see a bassist ON STAGE. What are you looking for to determine he knows his stuff or not?

Fast slapping?

I've never seen or heard any of my favorite 10 bassists slap. Slapping usually counts as a negative in my book