How would you describe your playing style?

[IamGroot]

Musical, or....

Introspective.... When you lookward inward to your soul, you will see me grinning back, playing my pink Hello Kitty StingRay wearing Flea's sock.

 

[rocu]

Flailing sometimes

 

[BassJeesus]

Clank and fills and chords

 

[Woofer]

Delightfully tacky, yet unrefined.

 

[Kun2112]

I hit the strings like they owe me money.

 

[gmarcus]

I used to play trumpet and was a big Miles Davis fan. They said he could make the silence scream. On Bass its all about spaces in the right places for me.

 

[soulstew]

KR
Jordy

What I aim for is "solid," "locked-in" and often "driving" (which does not mean rushing). Timing is king. The wrong note smack on the beat is far less destructive than the right note placed sloppily just before or after the beat. Rhythmic subdivisions are extremely important--it's not enough to just hit the one and three on the money. Your fills and pick-ups also have to be in time with the high-hat and other instruments that are hitting those sub-beats as well.

Groove is sacred, and the root and fifth are holy, especially on beats 1 and 3 in rock, country, blues, r & b and lots of jazz. When I'm playing in the cocktail trio with vibes and sax (no drummer) I include more things (usually major or minor thirds) that emphasize a certain feel or emotion, but try to never compromise the rhythmic foundation or interfere with the soloist. Generally a less-is-more approach, but not fanatically so. Some of my heroes (Cogbill, Jemmott, Jaco, Pino) are very busy at times in ways that establish incredible grooves, so it's always a challenge deciding whether a busier line will enhance the groove or just bog it down.

Whether I accomplish those aims, of course, is another matter and probably more for others to say, not me When I listen to recordings of gigs, I often wish I'd kept it even simpler. Some of the busy lines I've chosen sounded like they established wonderful grooves at the time, and on playback it was clear they were bogging things down:-/

 

[packhowitzer]

Loud

 

[Pings Bass]

groove-oriented, with expressive flourishes that sometimes go "outside", but always come back in hard on the one.

 

[Freight Train]

Bombastic. Play every note like you're mad at someone. Which I've done since 1969 after first hearing Chris Squier. I thought it was so cool that even on slower, moodier stuff he'd be clanging away full distort-o.

 

[13bass]

Not sure, but I hear, "don't worry, you'll get it eventually" a lot, so there's that.

 

[Darth_Linux]

Rhythmic. Percussive. Intentional. Sensitive. Intelligent.

 

[sonic 7]

I play very poorly very well.

 

[Claymore]

Pedantic yet uneducated.

 

[tree_trunker]

Sloppy...need to practice on technique.

 

[jmon]

Full pounding solid grooves with the kick drum. One half of a great rhythm section.

 

[HADEPHOBE667]

I detune my $180 squire to hell, retune the strings by ear, and never change them. They end up having a clanky and loose feel, and I play them with my RIP Audie Pitre bass pick. I usually follow a drop a guitar riff, which makes the bass riff a lot easier to recognize. I add subtle things to the bass riff, that the guitar riff doesn’t have, to be more nuanced. I solo when the guitar does, but I make sure to keep the groove consistent when doing so. My bass solos are improvised collections of my typical bass riffs. I occasionally strum, making detuned and distorted chords on the higher strings. The uber-specific details here may sound like misguided bragging, but I’m purposely highlighting how amateur I am; it’s quite the opposite.
I’m like, so humble man, like, really humble.

 

[HADEPHOBE667]

I play very poorly very well.

Love it!

 

[edencab]

sloppy, stumbly, missed notes, uneven note volume...a real mess ....although my brother who is an awesome guitar player/teacher/performer once said he is envious of how locked in with our drummer I am

 

[Eidolon0274]

I'm frequently described as "too loud". Part of me is deeply apologetic, but I continue to be too loud.

Maybe this year will be different.