The Predictable Bassist

[rtslinger]

I usually do some finger style funk line or a jazz walking bass line following chords in Autumn Leaves

like this

 

[stratovani]

First I'll play the classic bass line from Led Zep's How Many More Times, then I'll play Disco Inferno, then Rush's Hemispheres: Prelude, then some Tom Petty tunes I play with the TP tribute I'm in. Not all the way through, just enough to get a good feel for the bass I'm playing. Sometimes I'll just sit there and noodle.

 

[smperry]

Moved to Bass Humor

 

[David Grunigen]

I also bust out fred is dead, by Curtis Mayfield. Also "Love is the drug" - Roxy Music

 

[DwaynieAD]

normally go with a little blues line from my learn to play bass book. sometimes i go with:

no more tears or
rock you like a hurricane.

for a while i'd learn a new little famous song on bass that everyone would know before every show

Imperial march
mario brothers theme

yuna's theme from FFX is a pretty good piece of music

 

[nojj]

I usually don't mess around long while checking basses in the store.
Tight time frame, and gotta get back before the Mrs finds out I'm buying yet another one.
Some generic blues rock riffs to check the spacing, do some harmonics and taps/slaps, a note sustain check, a couple slides to see if [DEL]weasels[/DEL] frets will rip my flesh
check all the controls.
If I'm suitably impressed, maybe the bass part for Use Me Up, and a couple parts from a Renaissance solo I do sometimes.
That's usually when a salesman comes up and says. "OK, that's it son, your scaring the fish"

 

[marmadaddy]

Not set in stone, but ones that I've used:

Dock of the Bay to check the basic feel and fit. If it's not uber-comfortable playing that, it gets put back immediately.
Cygnus X-1 riff for basic tone assessment
various scales over a couple of octaves
ascending/descending riff from One Step Closer by Asia to get a feel for moving around the fretboard. It's just a Dmaj scale.
Crossroads riff - does it rock, how do the open strings sound and play
Crossroads solo - how is it for soloing
Eruption - how is it for going "wheedly wheedly wheedly"
various tapping riffs/chords - how useful is it for annoying purists

 

[Frank Tuesday]

Before plugging it in, I play a riff from one of my band's songs that involves me moving up and down the fingerboard and strings. If I don't like the neck/fretboard, the bass goes back quickly on the wall. Still without plugging it in, I rest my chin on the body and feel the natural sustain on open and fretted strings. If I'm not happy with it, back on the wall. Then I get a strap and play standing up. Bad balance: back on the wall. Only after that will I actually plug in the bass.

Sales folk usually look at me weird when they ask if I want to plug it in as soon as I put a finger on it, and politely reply, "Not yet." I figure electronics can be changed if I don't love the sound, but the other things are relatively permanent.

 

[Unprofessional]

When trying out a bass or other equipment, why would you not use and re-use bass lines or snippets that are familiar to you? These are your sonic references and you have a solid idea of what they should sound like in your opinion and how they should feel.
For instance, if I were trying to decide between two basses, I would certainly play the exact same line, riff or snippet on each and play each through the same rig and settings. IMO, you want to eliminate as many variables as you can that aren't connected to the bass itself for as clean an A/B test as you can muster in the store.

 

[DerTeufel]

I haven't been to a GC in a year..but some of the lines I will play are:

Orion (Metallica)
Peace Sells (Megadeth)
My Sharona

And whatever suits my mood at that point.

 

[FretNoMore]

This is shaping up to a nice collection of what bass lines everyone should know.

 

[jj4001]

I also bust out fred is dead, by Curtis Mayfield. Also "Love is the drug" - Roxy Music

Awesome

 

[Marial]

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

Yep, Barney Miller is my go to.

A few years ago you might have heard my sad attempts at the Chili Pepper's version of Higher Ground... I've since completely given up on slapping.

 

[4dog]

I cant be alone here,, Charlie Brown theme, peanuts theme whatever its called..lol havent yet had a guitar player chime in with me though....if it has a different name and ya know it.... help a guy out.

 

[Pandastylebass]

I cant be alone here,, Charlie Brown theme, peanuts theme whatever its called..lol havent yet had a guitar player chime in with me though....if it has a different name and ya know it.... help a guy out.

Linus and Lucy-Vince Guaraldi Trio

 

[dabaumtravis]

I usually do Seven Nation Army, Orion, some scales, and some random improv before buying

 

[jazz41]

The bass break in Freewill
Opening riff/main theme from Leave That Thing Alone
No Reply At All
Sultans of Swing

 

[JimmyM]

Actually I probably have a lot in common with you as I have played with the Platters and the Coasters...etc. but tried to be a Jazz player for many years. Haha.

LOL! Ya, that's all I do is try to play jazz. I can do most standards and stuff, but forget about "Giant Steps!"

 

[JimmyM]

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!"

Hate to tell you this, but apparently the copyright on "Happy Birthday" won't expire till 2030, though there is a researcher who claims it should have expired...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You

 

[jive1]

I tend to play various TV and Movie Themes when I try out a bass in public. The common ones are:

Barney Miller
Night Court
Bonanza
The Flintstones
Andy Griffith Show
Mission Impossible
James Bond Theme
I Dream of Jeannie