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Psych rock bass guitar?

#61
Stranger Danger said:
I went to quite a few Phish and Dead shows in the 90s. Trust me. They were plenty psychedelic.
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I lived through the psychedelic era and I've been to plenty of Dead concerts and a few Phish concerts as well. We didn't consider The Dead in the same category back then. And I still don't consider them now. Ditto for Phish which appropriated elements of the Dead sound and style and did it pretty well. Fine enough band even if they did strike me as being a little too self-conscious and trying just a little too hard at times. But they're still worth listening to and better than a lot of what was out when they were around.

But this is all just me. Others may see it differently, and I'm good with that.
 
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#62
Stranger Danger said:
Psychedelic rock-Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Phish and Widespread Panic are a few examples

Psych Rock-King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Of Montreal, Pontiak, Endless Boogie, etc


Vey different sounds.
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Okay, that's within the range of what I'd been expecting. A modern take on the psychedelic rock of the mid-to-late 60s. But not an exact copy or anything, also influenced by electronic moody music, heavy music, the Beatles, each other...

From quickly checking out those, I liked 'King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard' and 'Of Montreal'.

So, for the OP, if you have that kind of feeling in you, I think you can pretty much play anything that lets you express yourself that way.

If it were me, I'd play my MIJ Mustang. I have other basses, but that's the first one I thought of for my own take on this general kind of music. It wouldn't necessarily fit the heavier side of the genre, but then again I wouldn't be trying to copy anyone.

A friend of mine would play his translucent orange Jazz. Another friend (whose not really playing these days) would have played his seafoam green Jazz or later his Fireglo Ric (years before, he had a Mosrite, but that's more surfy-quirky in my mind — I guess the seafoam green Jazz was kind of a transition bass). Sometimes, at a friend's basement, anyone of us will play an Ibanez (not even sure what color it is) because that's what there and it's fine really, even though that absolutely wouldn't be my first choice vibe-wise
 
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#63
Bicycledaybass said:
Need to upgrade guitars. Looking at fenders but open to other's. What's a solid psych rock bass?(highly vague question bare with me) Im a fan of PJ pickups versatility. Looking at a new mustang not sure about short scale tho. Can't decide if I dig a P bass and steering away from a Jazz bass. Just looking for some opinions
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Epiphone Jack Casady or Gibson/Epiphone EB3 are decent for the genre and they have that nostalgic look from the psychedelic time period. Rickenbacker is prominent in psych/prog circles as well.
 
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#64
40Hz said:
I lived through the psychedelic era and I've been to plenty of Dead concerts and a few Phish concerts as well. We didn't consider The Dead in the same category back then. And I still don't consider them now. Ditto for Phish which appropriated elements of the Dead sound and style and did it pretty well. Fine enough band even if they did strike me as being a little too self-conscious and trying just a little too hard at times. But they're still worth listening to and better than a lot of what was out when they were around.

But this is all just me. Others may see it differently, and I'm good with that.
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Grateful Dead weren't just psychedelic but they were certainly partly psychedelic
 
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#66
Stranger Danger said:
Grateful Dead weren't just psychedelic but they were certainly partly psychedelic
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They had more the "wine, women, sex and let's all get stoned" party thing going than the hard core psychedelic bands had. The psychedelic crowd was more cerebral, hardcore revolutionary, and somewhat mystic. The Dead crowd were "more earth goddess back to nature groovin'" type folks. Much more mellow and laid back than the heavy, intense, and usually political mindset of people who were into The Doors for example. And those two very different vibes came out in the music.

But it's all kinda moot now. It was music for an era and it's now become a museum piece since it's totally divorced from the social context it emerged from. Today it's just tunes. But back then it was a whole lot more - and in ways difficult to convey if you didn't experience it for yourself. Music doesn't cast the spell or trigger the emotions it did in the 60s. We've got new sirens to respond to today. They're found in the voices on the web.

As L.P. Hartley so famously said at the start of his novel The Go-Between:
The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.
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#67
ProgressiveDoom said:
Terrapin Station is my favorite album, psychedelic?, I dont think so but pure genius?, I think so!:thumbsup:
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Love Terrapin. Love it. But yeah there's definitely a psychedelic element to it. No doubt in my mind. But I'm talking from the point of view of a person with a lot of experience with that particular subject. Not to say you haven't. I'm just saying it's there for me. It's all there really. That's why they were the quintessential American band of the 20th Century. They did it all.
 
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#68
40Hz said:
They had more the "wine, women, sex and let's all get stoned" party thing going than the hard core psychedelic bands had. The psychedelic crowd was more cerebral, hardcore revolutionary, and somewhat mystic. The Dead crowd were "more earth goddess back to nature groovin'" type folks. Much more mellow and laid back than the heavy, intense, and usually political mindset of people who were into The Doors for example. And those two very different vibes came out in the music.

But it's all kinda moot now. It was music for an era and it's now become a museum piece since it's totally divorced from the social context it emerged from. Today it's just tunes. But back then it was a whole lot more - and in ways difficult to convey if you didn't experience it for yourself. Music doesn't cast the spell or trigger the emotions it did in the 60s. We've got new sirens to respond to today. They're found in the voices on the web.

As L.P. Hartley so famously said at the start of his novel The Go-Between:
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I see your point. I'd contend that the guys in the band were consuming a LOT of psychedelics and I think to divorce that from what they were doing is really not reasonable. I've read lots of books on the band. Lesh's is probably the best of the bunch and there's a lot of that going into the music.
 
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#69
Stranger Danger said:
Love Terrapin. Love it. But yeah there's definitely a psychedelic element to it. No doubt in my mind. But I'm talking from the point of view of a person with a lot of experience with that particular subject. Not to say you haven't. I'm just saying it's there for me. It's all there really. That's why they were the quintessential American band of the 20th Century. They did it all.
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They are an amazing band with a variety of sounds I enjoy. What is your take on the In The Dark album?
 
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#71
Further to my take above as to what kind of bass would be most appropriate, after listening to the bands StrangerDanger mentioned and knowing what I do of somewhat similar modern bands, there's no need to get too retro. It's a modern music that's in the spirit of, not a revival thing like a barbershop quartet. In other words, no need for a Guild Starfire. However, if you want a Guild Starfire, go for it; I'm just saying that there's no need to get a reproduction Fool-painted SG or Phil Lesh's old bass or something if that's not what particularly speaks to you. Something kinda traditional-y like a P or a J, but not necessarily retro, would seem to fit. A modern take on traditional could be good too
 
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#72
Stranger Danger said:
Front to back classic. All killer no filler
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I was about 16 when that album was released and I was naturally into hardcore/metal and thrash but I'd seen the video for Touch Of Grey just once and I was intrigued, twice and I was hooked. Dont know what they did to make a young punk take notice but it surely justified the statement "something for everyone".
 
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#74
dmt said:
Further to my take above as to what kind of bass would be most appropriate, after listening to the bands StrangerDanger mentioned and knowing what I do of somewhat similar modern bands, there's no need to get too retro. It's a modern music that's in the spirit of, not a revival thing like a barbershop quartet. In other words, no need for a Guild Starfire. However, if you want a Guild Starfire, go for it; I'm just saying that there's no need to get a reproduction Fool-painted SG or Phil Lesh's old bass or something if that's not what particularly speaks to you. Something kinda traditionally like a P or a J, but not necessarily retro, would seem to fit. A modern take on traditional could be good too
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I justify my bass choices simply by using what best works for me. Ive used my precision for funky jazz, progressive, punk and doom. Strictly settings/tone preference for each genre. At least for me. Right now Im using an archtop for Stoner/Doom.
 
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#75
ProgressiveDoom said:
I was about 16 when that album was released and I was naturally into hardcore/metal and thrash but I'd seen the video for Touch Of Grey just once and I was intrigued, twice and I was hooked. Dont know what they did to make a young punk take notice but it surely justified the statement "something for everyone".
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It was the sum of the parts. Jerry was magic. A true genius. Not a word I throw around lightly. Phil can and still does play 3 hour shows and not play the root note of the chord on the one the entire night and it's still perfect and danceable. Bob was and is the most unique rhythm player I've ever heard. The Rhythm Devils are unreal. Mickey will play eleven measures of seven and Billy will play seven measures of eleven and they come out the other side together. Brent is my favorite keys player but they were all great. Touch was and is one of the great rock songs ever written.
 
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#77
Stranger Danger said:
It was the sum of the parts. Jerry was magic. A true genius. Not a word I throw around lightly. Phil can and still does play 3 hour shows and not play the root note of the chord on the one the entire night and it's still perfect and danceable. Bob was and is the most unique rhythm player I've ever heard. The Rhythm Devils are unreal. Mickey will play eleven measures of seven and Billy will play seven measures of eleven and they come out the other side together. Brent is my favorite keys player but they were all great. Touch was and is one of the great rock songs ever written.
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Classic!.
 
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#79
What's that in the back right?
noel-jimi.jpg
 
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