What Makes a Great Bass Player?

[socialleper]

If there is one thing I've learned for TB it is that there is almost no consensus on anything. Bass players I think are brilliant are ripped apart and bass players other people fawn over I have no interest in.
So I guess qualifier 1 is "do you like them or their music."
Qualifier 2 is something like like "do they stand out from the field."
After that it gets murky.

 

[Sam Dingle]

I'm working towards being the bassist who can do anything so I would say:

right gear for a job. I don't mean a fender vs a fodera but I got a call to play slap upright bass this month. I have an upright setup for that. I got a call for fretless bass. I can do that. I needed a 5 string for a show i was doing. No problem.

Good attitude: If the music isn't killin are you bitching about it or actively trying to make it better?

Solid playing: This is super important. Can you physically play the music? I turned down a gig playing a musical with a ton of classical upright bass in it cuz I couldn't do it well. I lost an audition because my electric slap bass wasnt impressive. but importantly do you play with good harmony, do you have good intonation on upright or fretless, and is your sound and time solid.

Networking: The more people who know you the more you'll work.

Social skills: Can you be social or are you awkward. This goes into the above as well.

 

[cnltb]

What Makes a Great Bass Player?
restraint seems a big one here.

 

[azureblue]

one word:
Solid

 

[DavC]

listening .. ! while using your craftsmanship

 

[azureblue]

Being a great musician that happens to play bass.

This can't be emphasized enough. I run into too many great players who are not musicians. They are too busy playing their instrument to pay attention to the music. Essentially, they play in a musical vacuum. A musician pays attention to the song, the music and does what can be done to make the song everything can be. A musician listens to the other parts and knows them and how the arrangement works. Music is far beyond being able to wank on yer axe...

 

[T Bassman]

A bassisit who thinks as a musician, not soley as a bassist. Easier said than done!
Once you are interacting with others to create music, especially when recording, this always seems paramount to me. He/she with the broadest theoretical understanding seems to have the most to offer, and the most insight into what choices will be most successful, from my experience. There are lots of players with great chops Ive met who dont know how to navigate changes correctly and kinda get by on winging it and applying cliches from their ‘tool box’, but at a certain point of musical
sophistication these deficiencies ultimately outshine a great performance thats harmonically incorrect.
Im still working hard at this aspect of the job 25 years in, and am thankfully humbled regularly in my circles!

 

[Space Pickle]

you need to bring the boop boops

 

[Michael Schreiber]

I want a top 5 list please. Thanks

Can't offer top 5, but top 3 reasons to think "Wow!" for me are:

- Great solo skill, while not being technically perfect and emotionally boring, but musical or story-telling like Joey DeMaio;

- Enriching the song perfectly without sticking out yet nothing is missing, like Ian Hill does perfectly, IMHO;

- Supporting the song with sticking out on occasions and with reason; as Cliff Burton did on Metallica's Fade to Black

Each of these 3 make a great bass player, to my mind; all three together make a legend.
And yes, I only think "Wow!" when listening metal - when listening jazz, I am too busy trying to grokk what's going on
(Meant in a positive way!)

 

[Mr.Ace]

Round spectacles, and a beret. Possibly an ascot, and purple pleated pants.

 

[Whippet]

what do you mean by great?

tons of money?
endorsement?
number of the opposite or same sex seduced?
ability to play drunk?
on time to the gig?
not drunk at the gig?
can teach?
know the fretboard?
etc
etc

oh forgot to add.... plays a P bass?

 

[5thsand4ths]

Chromosome 4

 

[oranje]

Really listening.

 

[Watchootognbout]

If he plays someone else's music,he plays what's appropriate.
If it's his own music he does what HE wants.

 

[Rev J]

Good answer.

Thanks. I wish I could take credit for that one. It was from Victor Wooten.

C/S,
Rev J

 

[Rev J]

I just wanted to amend my post a bit as I remembered that Wooten stole that from Steve Bailey who added Tuning and Touch to that list. Tuning can be playing in tune on a fretless or simply being in tune with the musicians you are playing with having similar musical goals and moving the music in the same direction. Touch is related to technique but is more subtle and is also related to dynamics. To use a quote from Johnas Hellbourg,"If I am trying to get my friends attention across the river I scream. If I am saying something tender into my lovers ear I wisper."

C/S,
Rev J

 

[Dasgre0g]

This can't be emphasized enough. I run into too many great players who are not musicians. They are too busy playing their instrument to pay attention to the music. Essentially, they play in a musical vacuum. A musician pays attention to the song, the music and does what can be done to make the song everything can be. A musician listens to the other parts and knows them and how the arrangement works. Music is far beyond being able to wank on yer axe...

This guy absolutely gets it. Technique and chops Etc only get you so far. Just like 95% of the guitar players you meet, I would say 70% of the bassists also don't know when NOT to play or have a deep enough understanding of working conjointly with other musicians on the overall song structure itself, including parts they're not playing. Then again I don't get excited by the 3 million solo bass slap videos on YouTube and Instagram so what do I know?