We bassist are so under appreciated!

[somegeezer]

Ha. This thread is awesome. =D

 

[caeman]

Ha. This thread is awesome. =D

It's like reading in surround sound, with the number of simultaneous plot lines in this thread.

 

[Eric Albany]

The self titled album was released in 1991.

They recorded Kill 'Em All in NYC in 1983

Kill 'Em All was originally titled Metal Up Your @$$ but the record company made them change it

Slash has never been in Metallica, and frankly the thought of that makes my skin crawl

And you need to do more research.

I'm not talkin bout that one. Wasn't that one nick named The black album?

 

[Shakin-Slim]

Can this thread be closed? It's about nothing and it's going nowhere.

 

[Eric Albany]

Can this thread be closed? It's about nothing and it's going nowhere.

This thread won't stop till people stop posting on it, until it teaches its max number of posts, or when one of the admin people shuts it off.

 

[caeman]

Can this thread be closed? It's about nothing and it's going nowhere.

42.

 

[Shakin-Slim]

 

[Shakin-Slim]

This thread won't stop till people stop posting on it, until it teaches its max number of posts, or when one of the admin people shuts it off.

I was hoping a mod would read my post and close it. You don't need to tell me how TalkBass works, mate. And I highly doubt this thing will get to 1000 posts

 

[Eric Albany]

I was hoping a mod would read my post and close it. You don't need to tell me how TalkBass works, mate. And I highly doubt this thing will get to 1000 posts

You never know man. This thing could reach 1000, or not. We won't know until it stops or gets stoped.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

And a lot of the times, it's because of the fact that we do a lot of things that can make it hard to be heard properly. Mid-scooping, distortion (if used improperly) and other things can bury us in a mix. OR, we're heard, but the listener may assume it's the guitarist who did that part.

I had to check my tone. I was using too much distortion, so some of my lines were attributed to the guitarist. I stopped using my stompbox and people were able to tell the difference of who played what more easily. Before that issue, I was mid-scooping. Because of the lack of mids, I couldn't hear a thing I was playing. The lack of punch kept me from being heard.

Props on this point here, you have to be HEARD to be acknowledged. I don't have people knocking me down and saying im a bass god at shows, but people do compliment me on my gear and my playing sounding good (tonally and sometimes technically) from people who aren't necessarily musicians. People in general like the sound of bass, but just don't understand it fully...think of how many people like to turn their subs up in their car!

 

[bluesdogblues]

Eric, I think, perhaps you better learn sport (and not the team sports either) than music (instrument), much less bass..

 

[djero44]

Heh, there's no need to stop this thread, fragmented as it is, it is also entertaining!

I don't feel under appreciated as a bass player. I have more work than I can do, and get plenty of compliments on my playing. When you play well, you get noticed, although I should add that I have a fairly upfront style. I like the bass to be strong in a track, though not overwhelming of course. Either way Iwill not get the same attention as a frontman or lead singer, even though I sing too, but so what? If I was looking for that i'd be doing something else.

Although I think the thread is silly, there is some truth in your post. I too think it would be cool if more people really appreciated and understood the role of bass in music. I was a passionate musician for fifteen years and even played and recorded on bass before I really sunk my teeth into it and realized how deep the art went. To be honest it shocked me how little I realized about the bass and how it truly works with a band, though at that time I didn't have a lot of experience working in groups. Of course I knew who Vic Wooten and Flea were, that stuff is quite apparent, but the more sublime art of working underneath a whole arrangement is something that only bass players (and some other musicians) will truly get. It will probably stay that way too.

I do like the post where it is mentioned that if you want some attention then be active and engaging on stage. I love it when my friends say 'did you see that bass player? He was jumping all over the place, and he could play!'

 

[Eric Albany]

Several bands have a very dominant bassist. Korn is the only one I can think of off the bat. Almost every song Korn has put out starts and ends with the bass. By that I mean that you can heard the bass either as much or more than the guitar. And if any bassists from famous bands are looking at this, don't get caught up in your fame. It'll destroy you and make the band crumble. Nobody wants to see their favorite artists get caught up in the cycle of self destruction that is starting to become more common now days like what happened to Motley Crüe and that other band. I forget the name of the band, but I remember that it had a female lead singer and two brothers were in the band and they decided to leave so the band broke up.

 

[Eric Albany]

Guns N' Roses also broke up.

 

[champbassist]

I never feel under appreciated because my band mates (and pretty much any other musicians I play with) agree that you actually hear the bass not when it's playing, but when it stops playing

 

[fractiouslowend]

When I grow up, I wanna be a bass player.
Been saying it since 3rd grade =3

you can't have it both ways mate

 

[fractiouslowend]

We bassist are so under appreciated! We are always second or third to the guitarist(s)! I mean, why can't we be the most dominant sound in a song second only to the singer(s)!?!? It's un fair. And a lot of people don't know what the bassist's name is, but they sure as heck know the guitarists' name and the singer's name. It's drivin me crazy. Plus, we don't get as much respect as the guitarists do. Have you ever heard a kid say "When I grow up, I wanna be a bass player." No it's always "When I grow up I wanna be a guitar player." or "When I grow up I wanna be a drummer." or "When I grow up I wanna be a singer." Does any one else out there feel the same way?

won't the guitarist / drummer etc then have the exact same complaint but about bassists?

i'm trying to follow what exactly your complaint is, and it seems to me that your just whining cos you're not famous.

Bass should never be the dominant sound in a mix. No instrument should. Every instrument in the band should compliment each other and work with each other to create one cohesive sound. Sure the guitars may be louder, but they are a 'vocal' instrument, ie, their frequency range is similar to the human voice and this is why they are the most noticable and easy to use for melodic purposes, or 'hooks'.

If no one knows the bass player in a band, it's probably because he's not that interesting. To most non-musicians, the instruments that are not in the vocal range are usually the boring ones.

 

[Eric Albany]

you can't have it both ways mate

What is it with every one saying mate? I mean, I know there are people from all over the world on TB, but like 30 people have called me alone mate. I'm not offended by it or any thing I just wanna know where y'all are from. The media says that all Australians say mate, but they also said that George Bush wouldn't serve two terms as president, but he did. All I know is that you're from a European influenced country. Where are y'all from?

 

[Eric Albany]

won't the guitarist / drummer etc then have the exact same complaint but about bassists?

i'm trying to follow what exactly your complaint is, and it seems to me that your just whining cos you're not famous.

Bass should never be the dominant sound in a mix. No instrument should. Every instrument in the band should compliment each other and work with each other to create one cohesive sound. Sure the guitars may be louder, but they are a 'vocal' instrument, ie, their frequency range is similar to the human voice and this is why they are the most noticable and easy to use for melodic purposes, or 'hooks'.

If no one knows the bass player in a band, it's probably because he's not that interesting. To most non-musicians, the instruments that are not in the vocal range are usually the boring ones.

You can always hear the drums, an' the guitar will always have an easily recognized tone. Even if in the back ground.

 

[djaydjay]

You can always hear the drums, an' the guitar will always have an easily recognized tone. Even if in the back ground.

And if you'd listen to more genres of musique, you'd realise that metal/rock is one of the few were bass sometimes goes unheard.

Listen to some funk, ska, reggae, hip-hop, blues or jazz, and you'll realise that bass is not always in the background, but is even sometimes one of the "dominating" instrument.