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Is it weird to not want a solo?

#61
Thrill-House said:
I am glad to see im not alone in my lack of interest in bass solos. I play in a black sabbath cover band, and sometimes im asked to play the intro solo to NIB... but i really dont like it. I dont think it fits at all, so i dont usually play it. One time i did play it, and my drummer says "you should play it again... but with more feel".. and i just stared at him, because i had played it pretty much dead on. I think sometimes people have the impression that a bass solo is the same thing as a guitar solo... when really its not. Which is why i dont like doing them.

I guess im just happy being a great rhythm player. I also take comfort in the fact that without my bass playing, the guitar sounds like it has no balls! :bassist:
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That NIB solo is the most overrated pile of crap ever.
 
#63
Well Bass solos are quite unfair. Whereas we support the guitarplayer with our playing and really rock hard making him shine when it's our turn everyone turns the volume down and you're supposed to rock, when noone is playing a decent bass in the background. No wonder everyone is getting some beer, while the bass is soloing, noone else in the band is able to take our part.

Well I hate bass solos, and our guitar player knows it and make me do a solo every show. :(

Gruesse, Pablo
 
#64
palmann said:
Well Bass solos are quite unfair. Whereas we support the guitarplayer with our playing and really rock hard making him shine when it's our turn everyone turns the volume down and you're supposed to rock, when noone is playing a decent bass in the background. No wonder everyone is getting some beer, while the bass is soloing, noone else in the band is able to take our part.

Well I hate bass solos, and our guitar player knows it and make me do a solo every show. :(

Gruesse, Pablo
Click to expand...

I don't mind playing a solo on certain songs but a lot of them just don't need one. Besides, the front man just calls on me to solo out of the blue, never planned, and it's usually on a song that's so fast already that it just doesn't fit.
If they're gonna leave me out there bare-assed at least let it be a song of my choosing.
 
#65
Instead of "soloing", I just prefer to dip in and out of the melody in such a way that the bass stands out - like a Geddy Lee bass line where the bass drives the song and the guitar is there for color. I think it's cool to intro or play alone for a few bars because it forces the audience to recognize the bass. The key is, it shouldn't be for very long and it should "fit" the song.

Honestly, nothing frustrates me more as a member of the audience as when the bass player just kinda follows and mimics the guitar and everything blends together. In cases like that, why even have a bass player if all you can hear are guitar and drums? I'm not just talking about a bad mix, I'm talking about a boring bass line...

;)
 
#68
I enjoy taking a solo every now and then. I find it exciting and challenging to create new and creative solos. That being said, nothing beats laying down a rock solid groove and watching everyone else mesh together musically. I also play mostly funk, r&b, jazz, fusion jazz and bass solos tend to be more accepted and expected in those genres IME. Either way it never hurts to be prepared theory wise to take one!
 
#72
In that style of music it is unusual to get a bass solo stuck in there but, being an original band they maybe be looking for something that gets them noticed. Looking for an edge over the rest. I would suggest a solo of simply the guitars drop out and you play the songs basic chords on the bass with you and the drummer holding it up for one chorus than the rest of the guitars join you to punch it up it will work well and you look good and do not have to try to force some slap bass out of context solo.
 
#73
punkinfantry said:
bass solo, take one...
Click to expand...

i had to come here and report that i played the first part of this song at a party last night ... i was tired of waiting for the band to come play a few songs... i was ready to leave the party.

I cranked my amp... turned up the gain to get some distortion ... and played the first min or so ...

Drummer walks around the corner "Where'd you learn to do that"

and me = :D :hiding:

still though not at a gig ...
 
#74
fingerbun said:
I love solos provided they are tasteful. The challenge is that bass and drums are usually the foundation of many types of music, so you have to plan it carefully otherwise the guts drop out when we stop to solo. That means putting the solo somewhere it fits dynamically or having something else hold the bottom end.

Examples I love in the rock genre:

Alice Cooper - Gutter Cat vs. the Jets - YouTube (at the start)
Invalid Link Removed (solo at approx 2:33)
Paul Young - I´m gonna tear your Playhouse down 1984 - YouTube (I see the bass as the lead instrument basically soloing right thru)
The Angels - Marseilles - YouTube (3:35...short and sweet)
Click to expand...

I don't call that solo ... more like a breakdown. The Paul Young song I find it more like a very simple groove filled with a lot of little fills because otherwise it will be too empty.

I don't play rock, pop, punk or any other mainstream type of music, so maybe I don't have a clue of what will be considered a solo in those type of music. I think the bass is a very ingrate instrument except in prog, jazz and classical music ( those genre I really like ).
 
#75
Wow, I'm not alone! It sometimes pains me to admit it, but I HATE bass solos. I never take them live, never record them, and for the most part can't stand listening to them (one possible exception being Rich Brown...he's got the real s**t going on).

In my scene, I'm surrounded by truly excellent bass players who are also accomplished improvisers. I would rather listen to them sit in the pocket for years than listen to them solo for 30 seconds. I think it's a bit of a psychological defect (of mine, that is).
 
#76
I do two solos in the night Classic rock and Blues band I have one during The Thrill is gone and I have one during the end of Running down a dream The 1st is a simple blues solo and barely goes by noticed I feel. The second however I am at the helm rocking the place with the drummer going full tilt and when I am done they know I have stepped up to give them my all. I know I have their full attention and their appreciation when I am finished. How do I know? Because they are clapping and chanting my name. I just see it as another facet of me as a musician, writer and performer. It may not be for everyone but, if you do it and the crowd loves it? Give them what they want. If it falls on deaf ears than maybe you’re not working hard enough.
 
#77
I guess I'm in the minority as I love playing solos on bass. I'm not good enough to pull them out of my @$$, but I'll go home, create something, tweak it and ultimately end up with something that both compliments the song, and creates a nice build-up to our lead guitarists solo. I agree it does depend on the music though.
 
#79
My band has a tune where they wanted me to take an 8 bar solo, nothing too outrageous, so I worked up something that I thought would fit, and something I could make a few tweaks to on the fly, just to mix it up. I played it during rehearsal, and got good reviews.... :bassist:

The next rehearsal, it came up again, and while soloing, I realized my guys really don't know how to comp under a solo. :help: We are in it just for the fun of making music, and I'm the only (semi)trained musician in the band. I would try to help them, but I don't want to seem to be a know-it-all. I know it can be a fine line between education/instruction and arrogance, and I like 'em too much to risk pissing them off. :hiding: I also know, having been a teacher, that it is all in how you do it. I am content not going there.

The next time it came around, they actually forgot about my solo and kept on going, so I just smiled and didn't say anything. Haven't soloed since. Now, I don't know what this means - maybe they didn't like the solo, maybe they forgot, whatever, so I'm off the hook. :D

I'm very content, like many others here, just to lay it down and pick it up as an integral part of the rhythm section. No spotlights for this one. :cool:
 
#80
I'm anti bass solo, even worse is bass tapping and songs chorded out on bass but thats another thing. My band has one song where we all get a small solo, mine is eight notes, short and sweet and enough for me.
 

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