I play bass, too...

[the_SLOP_king]

So my guitarist in my band is also the guitarist in another band. Their bassist decided he didn't want to play bass and instead, wanted to play drums. Rob asks me if I was interested in playing bass for his other band, a fairly well established (since 1987!) and well known local thrash metal band in Atlanta. I agreed. I got 2 weeks to learn 6 songs and we had the gig tonight. It went well. I'm not used to playing bass. It's...different. Too much thickness in the strings. Too much mass...not enough finesse. I feel like I gotta beat the {censored} out of it to make noise with it. The bass I played is actually my bassist's bass from my other band. It's an Ibanez Ergodyne, I think. With the active preamp and all that. But I ended up playing through a Kustom head with an Ampeg 8x10 cab. Maybe it was a 6x10. I dunno. I was half buzzed and couldn't really understand the bassist in the other band. At practice, I would play through this weird 200 watt bass tube amp with 2x15's. It's so weird how many different combinations of cabs they make for bass.

 

Anyway, the gig went very well. Everyone in the band likes me and I'm guessing I will be also playing bass. Anyone else here play bass? Hahahaha, anyone have any good beginner tips on how to play bass?

[StankNasty]

stretch the {censored} out beforehand

 

if you want genuine thump, pay attention to the bass drum - when the bass & bass drum hit at the same time, people die

 

if there's only 1 guitarist in the band, when he solos: play octaves if you're playing in the lower registers or power dyads if you're in higher registers to help fill things out

[the_SLOP_king]

There's 2 guitarists. That makes sense though. Cause bass usually plays the root and 5th, while the guitar carries the melody on the 3rd's and 7ths. Most of the bass lines are already pre-written out, so that definitely helps out. They've got like 23 or so songs in the vault.

 

Man, there were times when I got lost tonight, but for the most part, everyone thought I did pretty good. I'll keep that in mind though. I forget that about bass. See, cause I'm usually thinking like a guitarist...moreso about the melody instead of the rhythm. Even my approach to bass is jacked up because of this. But it worked out though. It's a thrash band so in certain songs at certain parts, if you just ride an open E, you're still hitting more correct notes than incorrect notes...hahahaha.

 

That's mostly what bass is, right? Rhythm?

[StankNasty]

{censored} leads

 

play rhythm

[Valtiel]

I started out as a bassist, thats why I have no patience for guitarists that complain about how heavy their "heavy guitar" is.

 

The best way I heard it described was the bassists job is to sonically glue on to the bottom of the guitars to make them sound bigger and rhythmically glue to the kick drum to make it sound like one instrument. Obviously there is way more that can be done in, on, and around this but that is the foundation. Too many bass players (myself formerly included) would get caught up in "playing something cool" on the bass without any regard to whether or not it served the song. Its not a deal breaker if the guitarist meanders because you can still have a solid statement with a strong foundation (bass and drums) but when your foundation starts wobbling all over the place it becomes a slippery slope. Robert and Dean DeLeo are my favorite example of the perfect guitar/bass relationship.

 

Its also nice to look at frequency real estate from a production perspective, it helps with live sound as well. If the guitarists play with more of scooped heavy tone then fill in the midrange they are leaving out, if they are pretty balanced or heavy on the midrange grind then back out of that area and focus on filling in the low end. If the guitarists are diming their bass them tell them to GTFO of your space.

[Wookieslayer]

Same here! Joined my buddy's band on bass and it has been a learning process but it is indeed fun. Can't wait to do a show! Need to get a Sansamp or something lol.

[bassred]

I started on bass at 16 years old and still play it, but added guitar playing about 10 years ago ( learned chords to make jamming easier, then got really serious bout it about 5 years ago)...

 

You have to have two completely different brains... When I grab my bass, I'm all about the groove and driving the tune along with the drums/rhythm section (with a little fun when it is called for!) When I grab my guitar, it's all about sparkle and shine.

 

I love both equally

 

As far as tips, practice, practice, practice! your fingers will get used to the big strings. Stretch/warm up well before playing a show, so you are prepared for the longer reaching that is playing bass... I keep my upright bass out in the corner so I can grab it and play it a bit any time I want, that really helps my hands stay in shape for anything I might throw at it!

[vbshredder]

I've played bass in as many bands as i have as a guitarist, actually just had a gig last night as a bassist. Sometimes i enjoy it even more - locking in the with drums is highly satisfying, and when I hit a killer roll/fill together for a change it definitely gets me amped up. I love the mix of percussion and melody that playing bass offers.

[46&2]

Clips or its some bugera bass {censored}.