• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

one band, 2 bass players?

D

Devo-lution

Jun 24, 2009
535
4
#1
I've been asked to play in a stoner/rockband yesterday. Sat in with them, had a great time. Really like these guys and really like their music. Line up is quite special though.

One guitar, two basses, drumcomputer...

When sitting in, this seemed to work for half the songs without messing things up too much (it's still stoner). A few songs, I felt a bit limited though.

So, what should I take in account soundwise when playing with another bass player? Any guidelines or such existant?

Funny though how the sound fo the other bass player differs :p.
he: Rick with steels and rowdy pick playing... sealed cab
me: ray with flats and smooth fingerstyle... vented cab
 
#2
I've often wondered, especially after watching one of those Rock N Roll Hall of Fame jams, why can they have umpteen guitar players on stage but only one bass player? You occasionally see bands with two drummers. But two bassists? Why not? I guess, of you two sound differently, like you said, it could work. Keep it up. You might be on to something!
 
#4
Devo-lution said:
So, what should I take in account soundwise when playing with another bass player? Any guidelines or such existant?
Click to expand...

Never did that in a band setting, but I've been wanting to. I have some ideas worked out, and had a bass player friend come over one day to give it a half a go. One of the things that jumped out, at least with the music I was doing, was that both bass players needed to be rock solid. This kid was a little on the sloppy side, and while it may have worked in a traditional band setting it really clashed with 2 basses.

In the stuff I was writing I was first and foremost trying to keep my mind and ears open and keyed in on the music as possible. Really listening to see whether things worked or not. I was also staying away from playing the same notes, using a lot of octaves, mixing styles (slap with fingerstyle), and trying to get some effects going here and there. With some distortion you can get some hooky rhythem parts happening that sound like guitars. Not sure how to upload mp3s but if I figure it out, I can post a demo where I think I incorporated all the above. It's a very unfinished song, which I really need to finish cuz I kind of like the vocal ideas I have for it. Which never got recoreded. Bla, bla, bla...
 
#5
Joe Nerve said:
Never did that in a band setting, but I've been wanting to. I have some ideas worked out, and had a bass player friend come over one day to give it a half a go. One of the things that jumped out, at least with the music I was doing, was that both bass players needed to be rock solid. This kid was a little on the sloppy side, and while it may have worked in a traditional band setting it really clashed with 2 basses.

In the stuff I was writing I was first and foremost trying to keep my mind and ears open and keyed in on the music as possible. Really listening to see whether things worked or not. I was also staying away from playing the same notes, using a lot of octaves, mixing styles (slap with fingerstyle), and trying to get some effects going here and there. With some distortion you can get some hooky rhythem parts happening that sound like guitars. Not sure how to upload mp3s but if I figure it out, I can post a demo where I think I incorporated all the above. It's a very unfinished song, which I really need to finish cuz I kind of like the vocal ideas I have for it. Which never got recoreded. Bla, bla, bla...
Click to expand...

Cool!

Hmm, what caught my particular attention was the challenge of finding sonic space between the other bass player and the guitar player.

S (other dude) mostly plays his E or A string and detunes to D. In my opinion, S is a "good sloppy player" in a way that it really fits the music. I am considered by my peers in the local scene to be "one of the most studio-like players they know... meant as a compliment and a point of criticizing at the same time".

Distortion seems to do great. One guy playing dirty, the other playing clean. Different playing styles also compliment. When he was gnawing into the bridge with his pick, I noticed that playing reggea-like on the neck gave a cool addition.
 
#7
ive been interested in this concept since ive wanted to put a band together as most of the guitarists in my town were either in bands or hard to work with and if i was going to put a band together i wanted to have something unique so the thought of 2 bass players was a good concept as i knew another bassist. the trouble (in my mind) would be finding a way to combine the 2 bass players since most bands dont have 2 separate bass parts i thought to have 1 bassist play the main bass parts and the other essencially would take the place of a rhythm guitar player. this is of course only an idea as im not even close to good enough to fill either bass part.
 
#8
i have done a bit of this & it works well if you can stay out of the way. I play an MTD with rounds & he plays a P with flats so we were very sonically different. but when playing we either doubled each other or he plays a bass line & i played chords. & i use some chorus so it sounds like an organ more than bass.
 
#10
I was in a band with two bassists in the 90's. I played distorted fretless & the other guy played like Flea--somewhat. I tend to play higher notes more like rhythm guitar, & he played lower. It worked really well (+ 1 guitarist & drums). I think it's appropriate for rock. I never understood why more bands didn't, especially after the Seattle era. I guess they'd rather tune down their guitars.
 
#15
Orchestras often have 4 basses but the reason being is to amplify the sound.
To utilize 2 basses demands a lot of thought and preparation before writing a final arrangement. Consider a basic riff. One bass plays that in the lower octave and the other can play it an octave higher, irrespective of the other instruments. Basic accompaniment for a 4 line verse: one can play a regular bass line, the other a harmonizing line. Duets:
Like two guitarists both can play written parts then complement each other in improvisation.
 
#18
I think I'd try to do it like "FreeBass" (one of Hooky's bands - 3 Bassists, 1 drummer): one is playing the low's, more rythmic orientated and the other one play's the mids/highs, more melodic orientated. Like this one: Invalid Link Removed
Haven't got the chance to try it out, yet. Need some other open minded bass player...
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back