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Ideal Bass for Bluegrass - Challenging Preconceptions
- Thread starter M-Mittlesteadt
- Start date
Bluegrass purists get upset about bass playing “pickup notes”. Stay away from them for your sanity.
My late father in law was a bluegrass and fiddle tunes lifer and a great guy. The one time I played with him and his bandmate he said “you play guitar Weird”. You know syncopations, counterpoint, dynamics….
You know, all the good rhythm guitar stuff!
Godspeed, Tim!
My late father in law was a bluegrass and fiddle tunes lifer and a great guy. The one time I played with him and his bandmate he said “you play guitar Weird”. You know syncopations, counterpoint, dynamics….
You know, all the good rhythm guitar stuff!
Godspeed, Tim!
Why? This ain't your dad's bluegrass band.
This is going to be a cross genre band rooted in bluegrass guitar, but that's where the similarity ends. The last thing I want to do is sound/play like a traditional bluegrass bass player.
Any genre's purists are, IMO, simply stuck in the mud. It's why every band around these parts are still playing the same old, worn out cover re-treads...the very reason I gave up playing.
Well, at some point you're not playing bluegrass but something else. The something else may be great, but if I take "Molly and Tenbrooks" and use a band consisting of two guitarists, an electric bass, and drums, and play it in the style of the Ramones, is it still bluegrass?
There are no hard lines no matter how much people want to draw them.
There are no hard lines no matter how much people want to draw them.
I play an Ibanez AGB200 in both my bluegrass jam and country band. I have LaBella nylon tapes on it and play thru either a Fender Rumble 15 (for the small jams) or Rumble 100 for bigger gigs.
That's what "labels" are for. If people ask what kind of music we play, the simple answer is...
"Yes!"
What's great about this arrangement is that we don't deal with venues that book bands. We set up the gigs ourselves, usually having multiple bands playing. We don't do it for the money. It's just about the music.
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If it's "bluegrass" it doesn't matter. Have fun!
If it's Bluegrass only a doghouse will do, and there best not be any drums, and ya better fetch a fiddler and a banjo picker. And lose a guitar or two, or one of em can pick up dobro.
(Bluegrass guys are some of the purest purists I've ever jammed with.
)
If it's Bluegrass only a doghouse will do, and there best not be any drums, and ya better fetch a fiddler and a banjo picker. And lose a guitar or two, or one of em can pick up dobro.
(Bluegrass guys are some of the purest purists I've ever jammed with.
)
Purists are just snobs in the "purest" sense of the word.If it's "bluegrass" it doesn't matter. Have fun!
If it's Bluegrass only a doghouse will do, and there best not be any drums, and ya better fetch a fiddler and a banjo picker. And lose a guitar or two, or one of em can pick up dobro.
(Bluegrass guys are some of the purest purists I've ever jammed with.
In my case, it's Blues purists around here, given we put on a huge 4 day Bluesfest Music Festival every year. If you ever want to hear the same song played 4000 times over come up and check it out. 
[Seinfeld's Kramer voice on]: "Oh yah...it's bluegrass alright and you better believe there is going to be multiple guitar players and a drummer" [Seinfeld's Kramer voice off]
In our case, it will be..."Come for the Bluegrass, Stay for the Music".
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I cut my teeth doing sound in the Midwest where "Blues" meant the likes of Koko Taylor, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Willie Dixon, etc. That's what I think of when I think of "pure" blues.
It was a shock moving to Portland, let me tell you.
If somebody grew up on the mean streets of, say, Eugene, Ore., I'm not much interested in how they think the blues should be played.
Coincidentally I'm auditioning for a bluegrass-adjacent Americana band, and it's absolutely, positively 100% upright. They cut their first record with a guy on electric but I guess he doesn't play upright. I'm working hard to keep my walking urges under control, and enjoying the earnest rootsiness.
There really is something about the sound of an upright with fiddle and banjo, and everybody loves the look.
There really is something about the sound of an upright with fiddle and banjo, and everybody loves the look.
As for me, there won't be any walking...I'll be running with seldom a root note to be heard (except in passing). But that's the beauty of creating music. It's whatever you make it to be.Coincidentally I'm auditioning for a bluegrass-adjacent Americana band, and it's absolutely, positively 100% upright. They cut their first record with a guy on electric but I guess he doesn't play upright. I'm working hard to keep my walking urges under control, and enjoying the earnest rootsiness.
There really is something about the sound of an upright with fiddle and banjo, and everybody loves the look.
Enjoy!
About 35 years ago I was invited to audition for a “bluegrass” band by a guy I knew from work. The core of their repertoire was Thelonious Monk tunes! Great music but way over my head at the time.
There’s been some bands who have mixed bluegrass with electric instrumentation over the years, especially in the jam band genre, they just never became mainstream.
Making music with other humans is special regardless of genre or instrument. I recently heard neuroscientist Larry Sherman in a panel discussion talking about the cognitive health benefits of learning an instrument, practicing music and playing in an ensemble.
Sounds like you're on a positive path here, enjoy!
Depends on what they play. Bluegrass doesn't have to be the trad lineup.
Bluegrass, because the three friends (all acoustic guitar players) started up a Bluegrass band. That was just the vibe they had going and they played Bluegrass festivals together. Sometimes as a trio, sometimes as a duo.
But they want to expand with more instruments, yet still hold onto that genre's vibe in some ways. If you listened to them, they sound like a Bluegrass band. Or at least they used to.
Serve the music
I think your whole outlook on bluegrass, gigging, and other musicians is completely wrong and misdirected. It sounds like your just putting together a small group to noodle around with though so no harm done. You do you.
I’m not opposed to anything in music, and know that a lot of labelling is just marketing, but the word “Bluegrass” actually means something. The more you know the better off you are, I always say.
“Americana” covers a lot.
This is Bluegrass:
And this is nothing against electric bass in bluegrass. Works great I think.
“Americana” covers a lot.
This is Bluegrass:
And this is nothing against electric bass in bluegrass. Works great I think.
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That cracks me up!
Serve the music? I did the whole gigging professional thing a long time ago.
I am done with that crap. It's MY call now and I'll leave the prostitution to the younger generation that actually need the gigs.
You know absolutely nothing about my situation because if you did you'd be jealous instead of condescending.
I'm creating something different for myself before I die.
