What makes a bassist a "hack"?

[Kamrin]

Title pretty much says it all.

What exactly is a "hack"?
What must you do or not do (or not know) to become a "hack"?

I ask this because I do not wan't to become one.

 

[Clipped]

If you have to ask...

Kidding. I have no idea since I probably qualify.

 

[A.K.]

Not being adequate to the most basic tasks of playing bass guitar in an ensemble.

 

[hdracer]

Overplaying badly

 

[esa372]

...short for "hackneyed", meaning "banal" or "trite".

Lacking power to evoke interest through overuse or repetition;
Drearily commonplace, and often predictable.

 

[FretlessMainly]

Or possibly not short for hack, as in the past tense "Man, you hacked that tune to death." Think Lizzie Borden here. Lacking power to evoke interest through overuse or repetition; drearily commonplace, and often predictable isn't necessarily interesting for the most part (check out the bass line to Killer Joe; it's ticks most of these boxes, but it ain't no hack part), but to me, it doesn't denote a true hack. A true hack has nothing interesting to say, but somehow manages to blurt out something in a poorly-timed, poorly-phrased and poorly-cognizant of tonal center manner. Bottom line, it takes more than being pedestrian to be a hack. You've got to really suck. At everything.

Put another way, by your definition, Adam Clayton or Michael Anthony could be viewed as a hack, while it's unclear as to whether Sid Vicious could be viewed as a hack. By my definition, it's pretty clear that Adam Clayton and Michael Anthony should not be viewed as hacks, but Sid Vicious should be viewed as a hack. I'm not arguing the validity of either position (or even whether either are/is not a hack), only that my definition has an element of objectivity to it that is lacking from yours.

 

[hrodbert696]

It's a colloquialism, so I wouldn't go with plain dictionary definitions. I react to another bassist as a "hack" when I feel like the guy isn't putting in the effort to make the music excel, he's just phoning it in cynically so that he can collect gig money or feel like a rock star or whatever. Simple playing doesn't make you a hack if it serves the song. But not bothering to get the nuances or hooks of the tune right and just playing the bare minimum does.

The occasion that comes to mind for me was watching a bar band cover Blondie's "One Way or Another." The whole hook of that song is the little chromatic runs between B and D on the verses, nothing fancy. The guy didn't bother to play them, just played B, then D, then B again, etc. The whole thing just sounded dead and lifeless, and this was a guy with lots of experience in gigging bands. That, to me, is being a hack. Sorry if I just insulted anyone here who does the same thing.

 

[SteveHeissner]

Wearing a costume to your gigs.

 

[RJHall]

Spending more time on this forum than playing/practicing.

 

[brianrost]

Not being adequate to the most basic tasks of playing bass guitar in an ensemble.

Pretty much says it all...bad time, bad tone, out of tune, can't play even simple songs without screwing them up.

 

[friendlybass]

Spending more time on this forum than playing/practicing.

Do I get an exemption from that one because I work graveyard shift security and this is the only interesting thing to do?

 

[Phalex]

A hack gets paid at a higher level than his or her talent and skill would seem to dictate he or she should, much to the chagrin of more talented, lower paid bass players.

 

[friendlybass]

I dunno, a guy who talks a great game and can play all the licks solo mode but when the time comes they can't actually play.
I dunno when you say hack I think bad doctor or contractor, where they show up and due to a lack of knowledge or care they do more damage than good. Hard to think of a bass equivalent

 

[Roland GR 88]

Don't worry Kamrin, you won't become one, you've already been one. You're lucky to have not recognized the hack stage as it passed by.

 

[bolophonic]

According to half of TB, you just need to play with Van Halen or U2 to qualify.

 

[scottfeldstein]

Someone who has no or very limited understanding of music theory. Someone who cannot read music notation. Someone who barely knows scales, arpeggios, etc., and who relies upon simple patterns to emulate his more learned cohorts.

Someone exactly like myself

 

[Ric5]

Title pretty much says it all.

What exactly is a "hack"?
What must you do or not do (or not know) to become a "hack"?

I ask this because I do not wan't to become one.

Anybody who can't play with a pick.

 

[Ric5]

Someone who cannot read music notation.

Paul McCartney doesn't read music

 

[joebar]

Anybody who can't play with a pick.

that person is called a p-ack

 

[scottfeldstein]

Paul McCartney doesn't read music

And I guess I might be ok with calling him a hack. And I say that with love and also some irony: being a hack doesn't mean you aren't good. It isn't synonymous with "bad." It simply means "untrained" or "unsophisticated." I mean, I like my music. So do other folks. I'm not "bad." Neither is Sir Paul.