Why does the bass player still stand in back?

[Thegrandwazoo]

When I play electric bass, I'm usually as out front as the next guy or gal, though I do like to be relatively close to the drum kit if there is one. Honestly, I usually move all over the stage and could be pretty much anywhere at any given time unless I'm singing harmony. When I played upright (old time string band stuff, now I use a fretless Tacoma Thunderchief and virtually never do so on stage) we all crowded around a condenser mic for the non-bass instruments and vocals, I used a clip-on condenser for the bass and therefore logistically kinda had to bring up the rear (and sing really loud). Nowadays (even before the plague) I do nearly all of my playing at my house, so we all just kinda wind up wherever.

 

[NortyFiner]

Bass player in back because our awesomeness is like a flashlight beam. The farther back we are, the wider our projection.

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

That's probably because we bassists are shy, modest people, concentrating on music instead of limelight.
As for me I come up front when I'm also singing lead, which not happens very often. Otherwise I tend to the second line if you will, to keep closer to a drummer and to observe the whole band, but to be seen by the band to give them some signals.

 

[40Hz]

Well I like to stand next to the drummer's high hat so I can groove with the drummer better. It also helps to see what he is doing so I can better time hits and changes that happen.

^This.

I don’t care where I stand as long as I have a clear line of sight to the hi hat.

 

[staurosjohn]

"What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows..."

I’m adopting this as my ‘life-stanza’ (can one have a life-‘stanza’?!?)

 

[Rabidhamster]

Sure, but why would the BL be preconceived to think the bass player should stand in back? Many of them are. It's definitely their prerogative, though I wonder if the logic is

 

[Jazz Ad]

 

[RichardW]

I'm always at the front of the stage with my band's two guitarists--but I also do a lot of both lead and harmony singing.

 

[rtslinger]

Surely I do not fit into the stereo type

 

[darren1970]

I'm always up front in our three-piece punk / alt-rock band. Partly cos I'm lead singer ( although myself & the guitarist both sing ), partly cos I was sick of being "the ignored" band member and partly cos I'm an attention whore

 

[mcnach]

I hit a Google photos search on the word "stage" today for an unrelated reason - lots of gig pictures came up that I haven't looked at in a long time.

Like a lot of bass players, I'm standing in the back in most of them.

If you're the kind of player who wants to stand in back, chill, and play - sure. No need to rationalize or justify. But maybe some of you, like me, have decided that the fact you play bass should not, on its own, banish you to the back wall.

In fact, in my groups, keyboardists go in the back (they can't move) along with any player who needs to use his or her iPad or sheet music at the gig.

Me, I want to be up front interacting with the crowd - like I sometimes get to on this stage, where I guess I'm in the front and the back at the same time:



Anyone else abandoning the "bass in the back" rule?

It depends entirely on the band, size of stage, and your role in the band (do you sing too?). I don't think it's about pushing the bass to the back. Personally, I like to be close to the drummer a lot (I move about, but I spend a lot of time close to the drummer and my amplifier onstage) which means spending time close to the back.

If someone feels pushed back or not appreciated or whatever jokes we often hear about bassists, it's really a reflection on you, in my opinion: you make that happen, or not.

 

[MJ_Sotti]

I stay back because I want to. I stay by the drummer. Guitar players and singers can go stand in the front. I don't want anything to do with them anyway. Unless the singers a female, because they walk on water.

 

[cheapbasslovin]

I certainly CAN stand in the back and largely blend in, but unless me rocking out is going to distract from the show (unlikely in the <5 piece bands I frequent) I prefer to be dancing and interacting with the audience.

 

[RumbleMan3]

My guess is because that’s where the drumkit normally is. I always set up next to the drummer. My focus is on me and the drummer, I’m listening to the drummer and making sure I lock in with him. I don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. We make sure we set the pace, and everyone else can go along with us. But whatever pace the drummers going at, I gotta be right there with him. If I try and lock in with the singers or the guitarists and the attention I pay to the drums gets drowned out by trying to lock in with the others, I notice things get sloppy. If we want to sound tight, we all just let the drummer do his thing. Whether he speeds up a little or slows down a little, we do the same, we just all follow him and as long as we do that we sound tight!

 

[stevecaronna]

Better Real Estate in the back and plenty more room to move around.

 

[chadds]

Before hammer and nails were invented to secure the front rim of the bass drum into the stage, the bassist kept it from sliding with his leg. So in the back you stay.

 

[bassburner]

Because I'm the one who's tallest.

 

[retslock]

It’s where I prefer to be.

 

[G On Bass]

If I am not doing harmonies, or if I don't have a lot of people coming to the gig, I don't care as much where I stand. I use a vertical 210 most of the time so I can hear myself wherever. But, if I'm doing harmonies and/or have people coming to the show, I need to be where I can see the singer and other harmony singer to better sync with them and where my friends/family can see me. Not to mention the hassle of vocal monitoring in the back.

In my 5-piece band (2guitars/vox/bass/drums) if there's room on the stage for 4 across, I'll go up front, if not, I'll share with the lead guitarist and come forward as need to sing my parts, then back up. But I will not hide behind a guitarist on a stage 'big enough' for 4 across solely so the vocalist can be dead center. Stage politics are one of the many reasons I like trios.

 

[swarfrat]

The 810e's block the view otherwise