Wed Sep 18, 2013 3:06 pm
Wed Sep 18, 2013 5:20 pm
Wed Sep 18, 2013 5:28 pm
Wed Sep 18, 2013 6:01 pm
Wed Sep 18, 2013 6:19 pm
I think the best bass players are guitar players
Wed Sep 18, 2013 6:23 pm
suave eddie wrote:I find just the opposite. Too many guitarists think they can play bass, and end up playing way too busy and missing the point--Bass is an entirely different mindset. Many guitarists can play a bass, but few are real "bass players".
Of course there are musicians who are not only good guitarists, but also grasp the concept of being a good Bassist.
Wed Sep 18, 2013 6:37 pm
suave eddie wrote:I think the best bass players are guitar players
I find just the opposite. Too many guitarists think they can play bass, and end up playing way too busy and missing the point--Bass is an entirely different mindset. Many guitarists can play a bass, but few are real "bass players".
Of course there are musicians who are not only good guitarists, but also grasp the concept of being a good Bassist.
Wed Sep 18, 2013 6:56 pm
suave eddie wrote:
I think the best bass players are guitar players
Wed Sep 18, 2013 7:53 pm
KenC wrote:Great LR, Jamie! How is the GK working out for you? I wouldn't call it your final rig yet, until you've tried and ruled out a really good compressor and a Moog lowpass filter.
Wed Sep 18, 2013 7:55 pm
Dick Seacup wrote:Oh man! When I was downtown with said 7yo son for his drum lesson last night, there was a high school kid playing his bass (unplugged) in the lobby. He was good, but I kept thinking, "Playing that many notes, that far up the neck is just going to get lost in the mix." Maybe he was a guitar player!
Wed Sep 18, 2013 8:58 pm
blargfromouterspace wrote:And that thing on top of the rack case is a compressor
Wed Sep 18, 2013 9:06 pm
Wed Sep 18, 2013 9:21 pm
That is super cool.KenC wrote:My 7 y/o is totally in love with his bass. This afternoon I caught him playing the intro to "Some Day We'll be Together" after he finished his homework. I'm still a bit baffled that he figured it out from memory, and in the correct key (A flat). I know I'm veering off-topic, but cut a proud dad some slack, OK?
Ken
Wed Sep 18, 2013 10:09 pm
KenC wrote:Is it the EHX one you mentioned before, or did you find something else? I continue to be very impressed by the BBE Opto Stomp my son is using with his Musicmaster.
bloodied_fingers wrote:I don't know anything about bass either. btw, what is that thing on the pickgaurd with two screws running parallel to the strings?
Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:15 pm
Thu Sep 19, 2013 12:10 am
Thu Sep 19, 2013 5:48 am
Thu Sep 19, 2013 9:37 am
Thu Sep 19, 2013 11:47 am
KenC wrote:I always cringe when a guitarist wants to try my bass. It's not so bad when I'm playing the upright - they attempt about three notes and then pass it back because their fingers hurt - but when it's an electric I know I'll be in for atonal and busy, with no hint of a downbeat. Lead guitarists are the worst, as they usually have the mindset (IMHO) of playing over the chord changes instead of through the changes.
I do think Darwin's statement is very true from another perspective: a good bassist should really know his or her stuff on rhythm guitar. The dexterity and technical skills may not be there, but there should be a strong understanding of how the song's chords fit together and how to go smoothly from one to the next. If a bassist isn't completely at home inside of the chords (including an instinctive feel for passing tones), he won't be able to do a good job of tying the changes together and moving the song forward.
I'd also suggest here that "too many notes" or fast playing isn't necessarily a bad thing. It all depends on the song and what the other players are doing at the moment. My personal rule of thumb is to do the opposite of the guitar player (especially the rhythm guitarist in a four- or five-piece combo). If he goes up high, I head for the bottom. Fast licks are going to get sustained bass notes under them, and sustained chords are probably going to get a quarter-note walking line tying them together. I once banned a rhythm guitarist from going below the seventh fret on hard rock songs and blues numbers - he was just muddying the mix up too much for me to do anything besides doubling his root notes.Dick Seacup wrote:Oh man! When I was downtown with said 7yo son for his drum lesson last night, there was a high school kid playing his bass (unplugged) in the lobby. He was good, but I kept thinking, "Playing that many notes, that far up the neck is just going to get lost in the mix." Maybe he was a guitar player!
My 7 y/o is totally in love with his bass. This afternoon I caught him playing the intro to "Some Day We'll be Together" after he finished his homework. I'm still a bit baffled that he figured it out from memory, and in the correct key (A flat). I know I'm veering off-topic, but cut a proud dad some slack, OK?
Ken
Thu Sep 19, 2013 3:01 pm
Thu Sep 19, 2013 5:04 pm
Thu Sep 19, 2013 5:45 pm
Philby wrote:
Flashy, look-at-me bass players that want to compete with the lead guitarist annoy me just as much as lead guitarists that think playing bass is easy. The bass players I enjoy most are completely unobtrusive. Same with guitar players.