If you are always playing every song exactly as it is on the record, then who is playing the bass?..
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Thoughts on the bass "over-player"
- Thread starter QORC
- Start date
but that's the point. I've listened to guys playing well known songs that have a particular, even if not busy bass line, and literally could not stick to it in any appreciable way. Did this guy "serve" the song by ignoring the way Tom Petersen plays "Surrender" by adding runs all over the place, pretty much after every 8th measure? I thought it sounded awful.
John McVie (Fleetwood Mac) doesn't get a lot of bass-love, and yeah he mostly kept it pretty simple, down in the mix. A pulse often times (think Dreams), but just because someone can play Stu Hamm runs way way down the fret board, would it improve The Chain? Doubtful. Sometimes the best bassists are the ones that restrain themselves. Leave spaces. Honor the original bass line and tone.
I like what the guy said above about "mud and listener fatigue." I think that's well-put. I mean, this guy was so talented. I mean, he was SICK on bass. And I got fatigued from listening to his over-playing, and shook my head by him unable to stay very close to the original bass line on very well known tunes. I think he crossed the line. And it was like every song. Not just one or two.
There's a fine line between "tasteful" improvements to a song, and ruining a song by showing off your Jaco-like skills instead of closely staying near the well-known original bassline.
John McVie (Fleetwood Mac) doesn't get a lot of bass-love, and yeah he mostly kept it pretty simple, down in the mix. A pulse often times (think Dreams), but just because someone can play Stu Hamm runs way way down the fret board, would it improve The Chain? Doubtful. Sometimes the best bassists are the ones that restrain themselves. Leave spaces. Honor the original bass line and tone.
I like what the guy said above about "mud and listener fatigue." I think that's well-put. I mean, this guy was so talented. I mean, he was SICK on bass. And I got fatigued from listening to his over-playing, and shook my head by him unable to stay very close to the original bass line on very well known tunes. I think he crossed the line. And it was like every song. Not just one or two.
There's a fine line between "tasteful" improvements to a song, and ruining a song by showing off your Jaco-like skills instead of closely staying near the well-known original bassline.
hmmmm...so that's why I sometimes see the big blank boxes in my threads? Previous blocks? LOL
yes it works well. but doesn't have to be announced about the whom, when and why.
I would buy that for a dollar! Then again I'm a fan of the darker-sounding prog bands.
Gary Thain is my favourite busy bass player. His work on Uriah Heep Live in Birmingham (1973) is amazing (even if the songs are a bit naff). Sadly, he died in his 20s from drugs. Check the album out if you haven't heard of him.
+1 on Gary Thain, "Easy Livin'' is a great example of a "busy" bass line, It does however fit the energy of the song & works perfectly against the chainsaw guitar chords. It's GOOD busy!
If you're gonna play busy, at least play notes that fit. Some of y'all (not y'all personally) just play randomly busy notes just because you're bored or trying to be uber creative. If you're not looking for perfection then carry on but don't expect everyone to dig it. Be proud and own it! 
This. There are always going to be emergent geniuses that come along and break the rules for everyone. In today's world, I'm thinking of guys like MonoNeon but there have been Jacos, Squires, Geddy... taking the instrument and making it something slightly different than expected because they are geniuses who are able to put a new twist on something.
Guess what? There's a reason you can count those guys on one hand. Genius is rare.
Most of us are never going to be Jaco or MonoNeon and the most we'll ever do is copy what they created. Most of us still need to prioritize according to how what we do works with the music we're playing. There's still a job to be done here and there's still a primary function of this job that's completely defined by the type of music you're playing.
You playing in a RHCP tribute band? Go for it. Play like Flea. If that's your job, you NEED to be able and willing to do that. But not every situation you're in as a bassist calls for that kind of playing.
Every time these types of threads/questions arise the same theme eventually emerges in the responses.
To paraphrase...
"None of us are Geddy/Jaco/Victor whomsoever, so don't go getting above your station...
"Just learn to make a reasonable fist of Mustang Sally and be satisfied with your mediocrity..."
What a load of crap. Everybody has the right to play whatever they want and to find ways to express themselves through music. For some that may well be banging out some tired old classic rock tunes as long as they get to dress up and play a signature model. For others that will mean exploring the boundaries and capabilities of the instrument, or testing their interpretative or compositional skills to, or beyond, their current limits.
There is nothing wrong with either approach. Nor with any other, for that matter. Peoples' goals in, and visions of, music are as personal as their fingerprints. Who are any of us to tell someone otherwise?
To paraphrase...
"None of us are Geddy/Jaco/Victor whomsoever, so don't go getting above your station...
"Just learn to make a reasonable fist of Mustang Sally and be satisfied with your mediocrity..."
What a load of crap. Everybody has the right to play whatever they want and to find ways to express themselves through music. For some that may well be banging out some tired old classic rock tunes as long as they get to dress up and play a signature model. For others that will mean exploring the boundaries and capabilities of the instrument, or testing their interpretative or compositional skills to, or beyond, their current limits.
There is nothing wrong with either approach. Nor with any other, for that matter. Peoples' goals in, and visions of, music are as personal as their fingerprints. Who are any of us to tell someone otherwise?
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I also play guitar.
Years ago I concentrated on playing bass like a bassist. The low end to lock in with the drums.
I have a friend that his son plays Bass and my buddy thinks the kid is awesome.
All he is doing is Jimmy Page guitar solos on Bass.
No JP Jones on the Zep tunes.
He is missing the point.
Years ago I concentrated on playing bass like a bassist. The low end to lock in with the drums.
I have a friend that his son plays Bass and my buddy thinks the kid is awesome.
All he is doing is Jimmy Page guitar solos on Bass.
No JP Jones on the Zep tunes.
He is missing the point.
They have the "right" to do this? it's actually a legal "right"? I think everybody can attempt to express themselves through music and their instrument, but I think if you want to be successful, and not fired, you play within the context of your band and of the song. You might add to a iconic bass line, or even subtract. Embellish. But I'm not sure their is a legal right to play whatever you wish. If you ignore your band and their wishes as to how you play, and do whatever you wish on any instrument (or vocal part), you run a great risk of sounding bad. Exhausting people with long wanking bass solos. Looking like a show-off wanker. And of being replaced in your band.
While I don't disagree that some covers are "old and tired", I don't think that's necessarily license to do whatever you wish on bass. You can make an "old and tired" classic rock tune sound "muddy, busy and incomprehensible" merely because you wish to put your personal "vision" on to a song.
who is the arbiter of what's too much (or too little) bass in a song? Your band. Your client (the venue). Your customer. Not you except as part of the collective band.
You want to explore your vision, bring along a 10W battery operated amplifier and play outside next to a coffee shop with your guitar case open, hoping for dollars and quarters. Create and record endless originals that nobody will buy in your basement. Nobody can stop you from implementing your vision then.
Me, I'd rather please my band, my client and my audience, in addition to myself. it's more fun and more lucrative.
There's a difference between a bass player playing a lot of notes, and a guitar player playing bass.
I play a lot of notes, but never lead bass. My biggest inspiration is Phil Lesh. He and I (he to a much larger extent) tend to think of a bass line as something that starts at downbeat, and end with the outtro, instead of repeating every 4,8,16... bars.
I play a lot of notes, but never lead bass. My biggest inspiration is Phil Lesh. He and I (he to a much larger extent) tend to think of a bass line as something that starts at downbeat, and end with the outtro, instead of repeating every 4,8,16... bars.
lots of notes and straying for the "original" recording. If you want band in a box go buy it. I didn't spend time on lessons to play what someone else did. I play for me and I do what I feel and hear, that's why I play. Note for note guys do that generally because they can venture off the path and know what their doing. YMMV 
Old and tired covers, huh? Well, sometimes clients ASK for all those old and tired covers. we aim to please. While we generally play the music we like we stick to Top40 tried and true singalong/ dance-able songs. And we enjoy playing them. I absolutely enjoy being a cover band bassist. I play basically what was on the original record and I may embellish but never wanking. I appreciate all the bass players that do their own thing and yes, y'all have the absolute right to express yourselves any whichaway you desire. Make music. Be happy.
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They help with neckdive. SomehowI have D and G strings on my bass. No idea what they're for...
Then there’s the Subhumans’ Grant, who can play awesome AND you can hear him...I play in a punk rock cover band, and we like playing stuff for the real punk fans out there, not only for people who accidently listened twice to The Offspring on the radio when "Pretty Fly For a White Guy" came out.
Because we aren't "another rock cover band", I do my best to play the songs as close to the originals as I can, so does everyone in the band. We also try to do the same with main vocals and harmonies. We are four singers in the band. That helps a lot.
This is sooo true for a lot of punk records from the 80's and 90's. They also happen to be horribly muddy.
Yeah... what he said!!
And...I’ll play it in any key I want !! Or with a capo!! Only applied on two strings!! Yeah!!
As Bruce and Dick were personal friends of mine back in the 80s, I can attest that they could/can all play really well, and in a multitude of styles beyond the punk...
