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Is having a "nice roll" underrated as a bassist?

@Cadillac_Mike : Roll = groove + presence. Many don't know what it is because they don't have it. Definitely underrated!

Always savor audience compliments, roll on, and enjoy playing!

Must be some kind of regional colloquialism. Maybe rural. Goes along with people calling an acoustic guitar a "box," or worse yet, a "guit-box." Gggrrr...
 
Swinging isn’t something every player does well or naturally. And I, too, have noticed that this includes players with far more training and knowledge of theory than I have. I think it allows me to punch above my weight class among the musical company I keep.

Count your blessings.
 
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Being able to coax sounds from a bass because one is able to play another stringed instrument and therefore familiar with the concept is one thing.
Being able to play the bass is another.

Furthermore, there are things like talent, ear, feeling and the ability to identify the role of an instrument in an ensemble.

I know quite a few people that have, compared to me, about a tenth of the time invested in practicing bass, yet surpass my abilities in some regards.
I also know a few people that have decades of practice under their belt, yet are unable to carry a tune without help.
 
Yes, very important IMO. No amount of flashy techniques will make you a great bass player if you don't have mastered the basics of a nice "roll". Or whatever you choose to call it... groove, timing, the ability to stay "in the pocket", control over dynamics... or as I like to call it, a nice "bounce". Yeah, that's even worse than "roll".:laugh:
 
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"Roll" or "Role"?
Either way, I'm glad that you have one.


Here is a picture of Esther Rolle...
ESTHER-ROLLE-HEAD-AND-SHOULDERS_.jpg
 
I'm going to guess, because I had no idea how to interpret that 'roll' thing either, but there IS a way...

The phrase 'roll with it' seems to get close. So habit, being relaxed about it, but not to the point of numbskulled insensitivity. Got to be some passion, or it isn't even music anymore.

Some people like risk and a bit of flash in a bass player, others want the sound to be like a safe and well-worn road. The best players seem able to do both at the same time, so there's skill, lots of practise, love of what's being done, etc. The biggest way to wreck that comfort of a steady groove is to overreach, to do too much, so some set great store in doing as little as possible while still maintaining that 'roll'. :) Personally that would bore me rigid but I can sort of see the point, but a good riff is more effective than working on a single note. Good ostinatos, ground bass, is a very old idea... When a player is comfortable with the mechanics of the instrument, and playing to its strengths, audiences get it, whether they know the instrument or not, they've nearly all heard it when it works, so they do know when it's working, or when it's not.

Last but not least, it's funny, that everyone knows what ROCK is, but not ROLL. :) So how exactly has 'rock and roll' been defined, all these years?!
 
Yes, very important IMO. No amount of flashy techniques will make you a great bass player if you don't have mastered the basics of a nice "roll". Or whatever you choose to call it... groove, timing, the ability to stay "in the pocket", control over dynamics... or as I like to call it, a nice "bounce". Yeah, that's even worse than "roll".:laugh:

Good description, but I see it as a 'base of operations'. Some good legato line can come out of it, and probably should, bass being the binding between rhythm and melody. Even in songs where it's not ostentatious, it's usually there. True monotony with nothing but subtle rhythm isn't very common. Usually only done deliberately, for its own effect (builds tension), and rarely for long.
 
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One night doing a live gig for my dad's band an audience member told me "you're a good bass player, you have a nice roll." That always stuck with me because I'm definitely not that flashy as a bass player. My dad who's a guitarist and I jam with a lot often picks up the bass and even though he's basically taught me everything I know about music theory and a way better guitarist than me; he can't even hold down a nice simple do do do blues bass roll like I can it sounds too choppy.

It just kinda baffles me how that works. Everyone thinks thumping on one note for the rhythm is like falling off a log and takes no skill but my dad who can play "Skuttle Buttin" note for note on guitar, can play a lot of surf and rockabilly stuff can't capture the organic roll I can get on one note.
I clicked on this only because I have no idea what having a "nice roll" could possibly mean in this context.
 
Google 'Rolling the Bass' not sure it is what OP was talking about in roundabout manor.

But it is a thing in production mainly Techno/Electronic Music

Outside of Tecno maybe kick/Bass [Just A note] that carries Eminem's 'Lose Yourself'

I do apologize for 'not' mocking OP's Original post to continue the Fun:(
 
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