The Predictable Bassist

[lug]

Tuning. Every damm bassist does it. You won''t find me knuckling under to "the Man" and tuning just like everybody else. I let my basses express themselves with whatever tuning they have gravitated too on their own.

 

[ajish4]

My old standby is the riff of Heart of the Sunrise.

A big +1, then usually Sound Chaser, Roundabout...then, switch to fingers and do the bass solo from "I'll Take You there" or some other Motown tune.

Finally a mix up of Macca's Silly Love Songs, some Rush or ELP. Lastly, if I still like the bass at this point, I play Amazing Grace with some chords to see how the thing sustains.

I am guilty of playing Money while at church while I'm tuning just to see who in the room is cool.

 

[P Town]

if I hear another 13 year old butchering "tainted love", or "do you really want to hurt me" on a 7 string ibanez at guitar center, I'm gonna go postal....

As for me, I always fall back on royalty free stuff (I'm afraid of getting sued by the original artists). I'll usually slap a few lines from Happy Birthday, Home on the Range, or "he's a jolly good fellow!"

Sorry to tell you this Mr. J, but Happy Birthday, (To You), is NOT royalty free.

I have read that it generates a lot of cash for the owners.

I heard the interesting story of the two sisters who were the original rights holders on NPR a while ago.

 

[philvanv]

I usually play 6 pack by black flag or problem child by wasted youth...simple and they are both impossible to goof...

 

[jamminology101]

Barney miller, come on come over(jaco), a lil ramble on action and a lil slap

 

[Basstardus]

when in a shop trying a bass, I always play 2 or 3 last written songs in my funk band, always fingerstyle and I always do Runaway (Jamiroquai)
do some harmonics and tapping just to see if I can do it on that bass and that's it. I don't really do some generic predictable bass lines.

 

[Gorn]

I always find myself playing this part of something on any bass I plug in and play in a store. If I like the bass, I keep going.
|————————————————————————————————|—————————————7h9—10—9—7—————————|
|5—5—5h7—7—7—7/9—9~~~————————————|7———————————————————————10—9—7——|
|————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————|
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^


|————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————|
|5———————————6—7—————————————————|————————————————————————————————|
|————————————————5———————————7———|8———————8p7—5———6———————5———————|
|————————————————————————————————|——————————————8———————————————
(this tab copied and pasted weirdly, but you know the part I mean)

 

[Grissle]

Barney miller, come on come over(jaco), a lil ramble on action and a lil slap

Yep The intro to Barney Miller!

 

[FourBanger]

Cake version of "I Will Survive" to see how comfortably I can keep a rhythm going.
Ohio Players "Fire" to get a feel for string spacing
Bob Marley "Trenchtown Rock" to check the thump
Blur "Girls and Boys" for string to string balance and intonation
Folk Implosion "Natural One" to hear the fat strings high up the neck
Then I play a few basslines for Dr. Dre's Cronic 2001, not the radio-played stuff, just to confuse the staff.

You guys play silly stuff.

 

[123Fo]

Tuning. Every damm bassist does it. You won''t find me knuckling under to "the Man" and tuning just like everybody else. I let my basses express themselves with whatever tuning they have gravitated too on their own.

 

[123Fo]

What I can remember of the Lemon Song break. Then just some blues riffing. I have learned to resist
the urge to slap.

 

[Batman!]

RHCP version of Higher Ground. I've been guilty of that in past GC visits as well. I've since graduated to the Marcus Miller version.

 

[RED J]

I usually play the horn break in "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder.

Me too. turns heads.heehee. fun
http://youtu.be/qT-0r4p8Z60 (this is not me playing, just a vid from the tube.

 

[jblmusic1994]

Is this what bass players in general play, or what we personally play? Myself I play the riff from "Every Thing That You Do" by Wet Willie. It's somewhat obscure, but I was in a band with a conga player/singer who loved it. Or "Day Tripper" or the riff from "Cold Shot" by SRV.

I actually intended on it being what others play, but seeing what people play themselves is interesting.

 

[Doodaddy]

Whether it be in Guitar Center or at a venue, there is always that lick/line that the bass player will always do..

Some of them I can think of:
Play a generic slap/pop line in E.
Play "Money" by Pink Floydd

What are some other painfully predictable things that bass players do?

Hi I'm Doodaddy and that guy above is me.

 

[thump_dumpster]

lol, I have to shamefully admit i have a 3 song regimen when trying out a new bass.

"The Trooper" (obviously 'Maiden)
"Cosmic Girl" - Jamiroquai
"Pow!" - Graham Central Station

 

[schecter5string]

I actually intended on it being what others play, but seeing what people play themselves is interesting.

Well, we are "others" to you, are we not?

 

[nukes_da_bass]

Barney miller theme. So outdated now very few will recognize it

 

[Pandastylebass]

Over all, I think the bass line I have heard the most in the 20+ years visiting the stores has been (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth by Metallica.

 

[IanA]

Hysteria, crossroads, keep the faith... Slightly embarrassing!