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The things you hate they say about your playing

I haven't heard anything in awhile. I did play a volunteer gig once where the pianist who was leading the gig told me to turn down, and I barely had any volume going through the amp. I turned it off completely, and got the predicted "Thank you" from the pianist. The gig ended up being a joke overall, but what really ticked me off was somebody actually gave me an enthusiastic "Good job!" afterwards. That said, I haven't heard anything derogatory in awhile, or at least anything I've taken as derogatory, so I guess I'm not that horrible. :bassist:
 
ahhh..you beat me to it. I hear this one alot.

My answer: Because I don't own a fender.

Them: Well, why not?

Me: Because I didn't buy one.

Them: Well, most people have Fenders.

Me: Well, I'm not most people.

(dosen't make me mad just think it funny that some people are this way)


My response is, "Because Leo Fender sold Fender to CBS so he could go make the an even more excellent bass, and CBS could turn them into a mass produced mess. That said, I do have a Fender-made MusicMan...

Z
 
#1 Thing That Gets My Blood Seething:

"Why don't you play a Fender?" :spit::rollno::scowl::rolleyes:

Hoot-man!! Have you checked out the Percy Jones instructional videos on YouTube?

To bring this thread back around, my favorite is, "Why don't you play that line like (insert name - Tiran Porter, Paul McCartney, Chuck Rainey, Jaco) does?" When they say that, I reach into my back pocket, get my wallet open it, and stare intently into it. When they ask what I'm doing, I say, "Looking at my drivers license. And you know what? Amazingly, it doesn't say Tiran Porter (or Paul McCartney, etc.)!"

:D
 
Wow, I never hear anything like the stuff everyone's posted here... The only thing that I hear periodically that kinda annoys me is when, after a particularly bad gig (bad as in my playing was really awful and sloppy and full of serious mistakes and bad notes), someone says "you sounded awesome!" And I'm like "I was horrible tonight, I made so many really bad mistakes!" And they are like "ah, no one could tell; no one but you notice these things."
Great mysteries of the universe! I know exactly what you're saying! :D

Happens as a total band too. The band sounds like crap and ppl cheer!
Then sometimes I thinkin' "Wow! We're really cookin'!" Everythings great and bangin' on all eight and ya get to the end of the song and --- *silence*
"Thank you for that marvelous round of indifference."

I wonder if there has ever been a scientific study of this phenomenon?
 
My response is, "Because Leo Fender sold Fender to CBS so he could go make the an even more excellent bass, and CBS could turn them into a mass produced mess. That said, I do have a Fender-made MusicMan...

Z

After a gig, a guy askes me "What year is your StingRay?"

I reply, "I bought it new in 2000."

He replies, "Oh, too bad it's not a real StingRay...." :mad:



Same city, different night. Another guy says, "Your sound is great! How old is your SVT?"

I reply, "Bought it new in 2000."

He replies... you guessed it! "Too bad it's not a good one."
:confused: ***?
 
I've gotten plenty of "You should get a real Fender! Everything else is just firewood!" over the years. No, if I wanted a Fender I would have bought a Fender.

Several times when I've told a non musician that I play bass I get

Them: You mean like Flea?
Me: Sort of.

So I try to explain the difference between my playing style and his and give a small demo, which just tends to confuse them.

Them: So why don't you play like that?
Me: Because I don't care for slap and what I play doesn't call for it anyway.
Them: You should play EVERYTHING like Flea does, it's cooler! :spit:
 
Is it just bassist that get treated like that? Are we the only ones that get told how loud we can play, what to play, what not to play, and what instrument we should play? Also, get the blame when thing sucks?

I think I read the post here where the guy was getting screamed at by a female lead singer because he was too loud. He explained that over the course of the gig he had turned down completely, later disconnected his amp, then took his head out to the car (but all the while she still bitched about him being too loud.)

Other than being hired to perform a certain way, why do we have to limit our creativity? I have ideas, I like to express myself, I like to be heard as well. Why do I have to be the "red headed step child?"
 
them: i dont like your tone you should drop the treble and mid n boost the bass
me: yeah great idea then my basslines wont cut through and will sound like one big muddy note cheers for that einstien

them: blah blah blah EMG's blah blah blah best in the world blah blah blah EMG's blah blah blah EMG's in fenders blah blah blah only pro's use EMG's blah blah blah
me: i like seymour duncan's

them: dude flats are for jazz bass's not P bass's
me: i'll be sure to pass it on at the next Pbass meeting thanks
 
I've had no problems like these. I try to be unique yet tasteful in my playing. I have no interest in being a soloist or standout in the band, yet every gig people 'notice' my parts.

My band doesn't tell each other what to play, we adapt our parts around each other to make 1 complete song.

One particular original song is in B and I end with a nice confident low B on my 5-string. Each time we end that song both guitar players always smile and say 'love that low B'. I think the difference is that my tonal focus is on clarity of low notes and not overpowering mphphhphhphhphhphp bmmphphph hmmphphph of each note.

I've found that style, taste and selection of tone goes a long way in over-coming people's perceptions of playing, and basses played.

IMHO.



.
 
Wow, I never hear anything like the stuff everyone's posted here... The only thing that I hear periodically that kinda annoys me is when, after a particularly bad gig (bad as in my playing was really awful and sloppy and full of serious mistakes and bad notes), someone says "you sounded awesome!" And I'm like "I was horrible tonight, I made so many really bad mistakes!" And they are like "ah, no one could tell; no one but you notice these things."

The sad thing is, that is actually true.
 
Remember:

Wear your bass high, play with your heart;
Wear your bass mid, play with your gut;
Wear your basss low, play with your (well, it's different if you're a man or a woman).

Z

Punch line involving William Murderface in T minus 10... 9... 8... :hiding:

Knees? :P

seriously though, amount of times i've been told "dude, wear your bass at your knees, it looks SO much more rad"

I tend to mention music is about sound :P

One time I *did* try it, and was told "dude, your playing was really sloppy". i informed them it was because I COULDNT REACH THE STRINGS!! :mad:
luckily, it was just a jam session.

but god, i hate image obsessed teens

/end "highschool" now, please.

_Kar.
 
Is it just bassist that get treated like that? Are we the only ones that get told how loud we can play, what to play, what not to play, and what instrument we should play? Also, get the blame when thing sucks?

I think I read the post here where the guy was getting screamed at by a female lead singer because he was too loud. He explained that over the course of the gig he had turned down completely, later disconnected his amp, then took his head out to the car (but all the while she still bitched about him being too loud.)

Other than being hired to perform a certain way, why do we have to limit our creativity? I have ideas, I like to express myself, I like to be heard as well. Why do I have to be the "red headed step child?"

Well it's because we're all too stupid to play guitar. 6 small strings is just too complex for our little minds. We're unable to take the next step and become "real" musicians.

Yes, I've been told all this by people with a straight face, along with "All bass players are just failed guitar players". :spit:

That last one was really amusing because it came from some 16 year old kid with a $50 strat copy who was trying to play Enter Sandman and failing miserably.
 
them: blah blah blah EMG's blah blah blah best in the world blah blah blah EMG's blah blah blah EMG's in fenders blah blah blah only pro's use EMG's blah blah blah
me: i like seymour duncan's

Argh, I've heard that. "I just got active EMG's put in my guitar." "I'm getting EMG's put in so and so's guitar." "You ever think about getting EMG's?"

No, I'm quite happy with my Bartolinis.
 
I hate hearing a guitar player say "just follow everything the guitars are doing."

My response is: Ugh, what am I a robot? Bass guitar is NOT the same instrument as a regular six string guitar. And although following the guitar line can tighten a song it can also prove to make it sound very uniform if done too frequently!
 
This should be a sticky. Learning to accept a compliment gracefully should be required material for all musicians. I had to learn it slowly too. When someone says "you sounded great" and we respond with "oh, I was awful" we're either fishing for ANOTHER compliment (no really, you were great!) or insulting the other person (you don't know enough about music to know I played badly). Both are rude.

The polite response, as you said, is "Thank you".

+1

I know I have played gigs where I just BUTCHERED my work and folks enjoyed it... Ya gotta remember, on stage you are an entertainer, not an artist. Entertainers should be at least civil and, at best friendly and polite... So a simple "Thanks" for an "ignorant" compliment works for me.