What side of the drummer should the Bass set up??

[lindseyp]

Here are two 3-piece setups that seem to work well for a live band:
1. In Cream, Jack Bruce stood stage right of Ginger Baker's drums (to the left from the audience's perspective).
2. In Rush, Geddy Lee stands to the right of Neil Peart's drums (to the right from the audience's perspective).
Tell your guitarist to top those, otherwise the drummer and you decide.

 

[staindbass]

assuming the drummer has a normal setup with the hihat to his right, i think the musician with the worst timing should stand on the floor tom side. (*ahem* usually guitarists). it is much easier and quicker to look from the fretboard to the drummer from that side to watch for hits and visual clues.you only move your eyeballs. on the hihat side , your neck has to do like a 90 degree turn to catch a cue. johnny a.

 

[Munjibunga]

Right side. Your left ear goes to your right brain (creative side).

 

[Thumpinthenight]

You set up on the side where it is easy to pimp slap him.

+1 on that one.

 

[Thumpinthenight]

Okay... I took a rough poll here and (thanx for the replies, BTW)... Here it is: Stage Right side (or Floor Tom side)-16
Stage left side (or Hi Hat side)-13
Doesn't matter - 17.
I guess it is personal preference and "whatever works".
Thanks for the info.
I will show the "6-string winer"

 

[newwavefrank]

I stand right in front of the drummer (but I am also the lead singer). I have been an all sides over the years. I suppose being on the drummers left might tmake the most sense, but it shouldnt really matter

 

[walterw]

all the great 4-piece stadium rock bands put the bass player on stage right, the audience's left side. (zep, van halen, queen, the who, STP, extreme, etc.) the right side of the audience's view is given to the more glamorous guitar player.

i suppose U2 is the big exception.

for me (in my little non-glamorous club world), i play bass stage right in one band, stage left in another, and i play guitar stage left in still another band.

 

[bassophil]

HiHat for me, and whatever they like for all others

 

[brothernewt]

My singer's pretty hot... I usually set up on the side where I get the best view of her.

 

[s_mcsleazy]

on the left so i have have less chance of hitting his symbols with my bass

 

[Raymeous]

My dos centavos.

It doesn't really matter. Whatever works for the band is where you need to be. Do you really have a preference? If you don't really care, and the guitarist is getting weird about it just switch and end the drama.

However from a frequency perspective I would think that since the hi-hat side of the drumset is the hi frequency side of the kit, you need to be on that side while the guitarist (mid to hi freq) is on the floor tom side (low). If you do that then you wont have one side of the stage being bass heavy (floor toms and bass) and the other all high end and screechy (hats and guitar). This will also help relieve the usual frequency wars going on on stage.

 

[Feral Feline]

What side of the drummer should the Bass set up??

You mean there's a choice?

Stage left - my right side.

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+1 ???
The following handy diagram courtesy of [Invalid or Expired Link Removed].

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

assuming the drummer has a normal setup with the hihat to his right...

???
Most drummers I know are right-handed and the "normal" is the hihat to their left.
_______________________________

Most venues here haven't much choice as there isn't a lot of space for anyone. One drummer I prefer the ride side, stage right, to get away from that cracking snare (even WITH an earplug in my right ear when I'm forced by venue constraints to stand stage left). Another drummer who's totally in command of his dynamics and plays to the song and other musicians, I like being on his snare side for better communication.

REGARDLESS of right- or left-handed drummers, the few different drummers I've played with face a different way when they play and each one of 'em arranges their cymbols differently so I've simply had to go to the side that works for everyone. Or no one. One gig the stage was so shallow, we were literally lined up. When we arrived the sound crew / promoter / whoever had set up the bass amp at the opposite end to the drums. Stage left to right (audience's right to left): drummer, fiddler, rhythm guitar/singer, lead guitar/singer, me yards/metres away from the drummer. Yeesh.

I've read most jazz drummers' time-keeping is with the ride. Others here have already posted what the big name acts favourite sides are, but here's an excerpt from BassPlayer Magazine's interview with JPJ:

BP: "How did Zeppelin communicate onstage?"
JPJ: "There was eye and ear contact. Robert always used to tell me to stand up in the front. I used to play the first song up front, then I’d gradually edge my way back to my favorite position: just under the ride cymbal off the corner of the drums, where I could feel the kick. For improvised parts we would group around center stage with a lot of eye contact, and a lot of focus. That concentration is what made it successful. Anybody could take anything anywhere, and we’d all follow."

 

[ThudThudThud]

On small stages I like stage left. It keeps my headstock out of the cymbals.

Love it.

One strange thing is that I can't watch lefty drummers when I play. It's all too mirror image, and freaks me out...

On the audience's right is my preferred place.

 

[cap'n crunk]

If you're on the right side, it makes it easier to throw down a quick cymbal-crash with your headstock. Guaranteed to drive your drummer crazy.

 

[mid_life_crisis]

We are a 3-piece, guitar, drums & bass. Guitarist is on the left, of the drummer (facing audience), and I set up on the right of the drummer. The drummer has his set up with the bass drum angled towards me-(he just likes to play that way) , and the high hat to the left side. It works fine, but my guitarist insist, and constantly wines, that it is completely wrong, and that EVERY normal band has the bass to the left of the drummer. I just keep telling him we are not a normal band.. Is there some rule I am not aware of??

Show him a video of Cream.

Seriously, I'm too new to have any experience yet, but I imagine when I play with a drummer for the first time I'm going to want to be able to see him/her and my fretting hand at the same time, so to the drummer's right will make the most sense for me when the time comes.