bass players: how do guitarists play bass wrong?

[tuffteef]

your so not rock and roll by making this thread

[The4455]

One thing guitarists do wrong is try and play slap bass that's the worst. I can actually play "slap bass" and I don't even use it in songs that mutch adn I am a bass player, what makes you think you can actually make it work? PLay bass with a pick, especialyl girls.

[Fuzzy Picklez]

Oh.
Forgot to say.

Slap is for assholes.

[tuffteef]

Oh.
Forgot to say.

Slap is for assholes.

lol bass

[Mudfuzz]

what happens when you try to bass like a guitar when there is already a guitarist
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM8sK7Uww38[/youtube]
pay extra attention at 1:40 on

Wow. That was just frustrating to listen to.

I have a hard time not thinking he is doing that because J wanted him to... From what I remember from interviews J was very particular about a lot of stuff like what amps, pedals Watt used and made him play with a pick which he hadn't done in 15 years or somthing I've seen Watt a bunch of times and he was always great

[smile_man]

I have a hard time not thinking he is doing that because J wanted him to... From what I remember from interviews J was very particular about a lot of stuff like what amps, pedals Watt used and made him play with a pick which he hadn't done in 15 years or somthing I've seen Watt a bunch of times and he was always great

His pick attack does seem troll as fuck.

[Mudfuzz]

I have a hard time not thinking he is doing that because J wanted him to... From what I remember from interviews J was very particular about a lot of stuff like what amps, pedals Watt used and made him play with a pick which he hadn't done in 15 years or somthing I've seen Watt a bunch of times and he was always great

His pick attack does seem troll as fuck.

I always really find it funny when guys that never use a pick and put down pick players try to play with a pick and fail...

[metalmariachi]

Mud said it best, it’s the rhythm.
Being able to lock in the grove with a drummer is essential.

With bass the spaces in between notes are as important as the notes themselves.
Often guitarist and a lot of bassist will play too many notes.

A lot of beginners try to play exactly on the beat, or with the kick.
Sometimes you want to be ahead or behind the beat, or have the kick separate from bass notes.
Slapping, wanking and bazillion 16th notes gets old very quickly

The great thing about the bass is it can also play the melody or a percussion line with equal ease.

I always really find it funny when guys that never use a pick and put down pick players try to play with a pick and fail...

I couldn't play with a pick to save my life.
MM

[Mudfuzz]

With bass the spaces in between notes are as important as the notes themselves.
Often guitarist and a lot of bassist will play too many notes..

This is so beyond right on!

I couldn't play with a pick to save my life.
MM

Ah but you also don't go around putting down pick players so you don't get hit with irony
I can't tap or do fast slapping... maybe if I practiced at it...

[Gearmond]

mudfuzz got it right.

bass is glue, not sparkles.

and we can't go on about lead bass without mentioning The Ox.

for me, the best bassists play for the song, and bring it higher somehow. simple rock song that barely requires any fills? play the fuck outta it. nice little funky number? fills = mini solos. be terse and precise.

my idols for bass are the guys that can either do that, and still bring their own presence to a song, or guys with a more melodic approach that don't break out of the context of the song. a lot of african bassists do that for me. shifting melody with lovely percussive/harmonic accents that never get in the way of the song because it works with the percussion and the melody.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux9768ny6K0[/youtube]
when they start jamming around 3:30 you can just feel how tight he's playing with/inbetween the rhythm of the drums and the melody of the sax

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEZF_bBD58I[/youtube]
normally Mbappe is a bit too showy for my tastes, but he always seems to be terrifically tasteful in the studio. listen to the subtle volume shifts for fills and transitions

for a more lead style playing, the classic:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dlN55SoF4Q[/youtube]
the thing about lead bass to me, is that its what most people actually play. bass GUITAR. by which i mean guitar playing that should be tempered by the traditional role of the bass. so you have a melodic counterpoint to the vocals, and a rhythm that locks in with the drums (triplets at 3:20 just fucking KILL for me). what i like in particular about The Real Me is the call and response nature of the whole thing. (sidebar: is it just me, or did Townsend and Entwistle just get better with age?)

but anything i want to do, learn, and express on bass can be summed up here:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSXRvgFea-0[/youtube]
something supernatural was going on with that trio.



greg lake once said to never play when the snare hits. dunno if its true or not, but it sounds like good advice.

also Portrait of Tracy at 500bpm would be horrendous.

[snipelfritz]

what happens when you try to bass like a guitar when there is already a guitarist
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM8sK7Uww38[/youtube]
pay extra attention at 1:40 on

Wow. That was just frustrating to listen to.

Fuck y'all I <3 Dino jr.

And to whoever said the difference is that bass is a rhythm instrument, so is guitar. It takes the same restraint and rhythmic sensibilities to play rhythm guitar as it does bass. The only differences between a rhythm line and a lead line are entirely subjective. John Paul Jones mimicked just about every riff that Jimmy Page played, and he was certainly a riff-heavy, "lead" guitarist.

[Jwar]

I play heavily with a pick. Didn't used too, but started playing more Tool and had to figured it out. Now I almost always play with a pick regardless of what I'm playing. I do use finger style a lot too, but mostly a pick. I never slap. I used to slap when I thought that was how you play a bass. You know, when I was like 15 lol. Slap is made only for people who are damn good at it, if not it sounds just awful. I'm no Flea or Les Claypool, so I leave that to the experts.

[unownunown]

Fuck y'all I <3 Dino jr.

And to whoever said the difference is that bass is a rhythm instrument, so is guitar. It takes the same restraint and rhythmic sensibilities to play rhythm guitar as it does bass. The only differences between a rhythm line and a lead line are entirely subjective. John Paul Jones mimicked just about every riff that Jimmy Page played, and he was certainly a riff-heavy, "lead" guitarist.

yeah, it's subjective, but it's mostly contextual.

I always really find it funny when guys that never use a pick and put down pick players try to play with a pick and fail...

I couldn't play with a pick to save my life.
MM

me neither.

[jfrey]

The bass is an entirely different instrument than a guitar. Most people just see it as a lower guitar with fewer strings. What they don't realize is the effect on style that a change in the playable range makes.

That being said I think few bass players (and fewer guitarists) know how to play the bass as a unique instrument. The bass supports and ties together, but it also can be a powerful driving force, and add incredible dynamics.

Also, slap is simply a technique and as such isn't inherently good or bad. The type of music you're playing determines how you will articulate the groove. And being able to do this with a measure of versatility may mean knowing slap, finger style, picking technique, etc. What you decide to use must fit the situation. Then, if you are really good you can break out of that - occasionally, and tastefully.

[CBA]

It takes... restraint

THE GOLDEN AND FINAL RULE OF MODERN MUSICIANSHIP




C