Members WynnD Posted March 2, 2015 Members Share Posted March 2, 2015 I like having a separate bassist. I've been the bass player with occasional keyboard playing while still responsible for the bass. Separate bass is still my preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gspointer Posted March 2, 2015 Members Share Posted March 2, 2015 I've wondered why a seeming preponderance of gear folks in bands happen to be the band's bassist? In my case it was simply my realization that a non singing mediocre bass player is much more in-demand if said bass player (me) owns a decent sound & light rig, and the means to haul and store the gear, and the chops to make it reliably function well. Well that... plus I was the one who seemed to have time on my hands during set-up and tear-down... like a minute or two to deal with my bass stuff. In my case my band discovered that the headphones we used as our only microphone sounded better plugged into the bass amp than either of the guitar amps. I became unhappy with this solution and began to rectify the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted March 8, 2015 Members Share Posted March 8, 2015 I've wondered why a seeming preponderance of gear folks in bands happen to be the band's bassist? In my case it was simply my realization that a non singing mediocre bass player is much more in-demand if said bass player (me) owns a decent sound & light rig, and the means to haul and store the gear, and the chops to make it reliably function well. Well that... plus I was the one who seemed to have time on my hands during set-up and tear-down... like a minute or two to deal with my bass stuff. I have noticed that as a rule of thumb, bass players seem to migrate to being sound people more often than other musicians as well. I have a theory. It's harder to tune a bass (than to tune a fish - oh wait a bass IS a fish - sorry I had to say that) than F.I. a guitar or most voices. Obviously we all use tuners today but still to hear that your tone & intonation is right is much more difficult for a lower register instrument then a higher one due to how long the "beat frequencies" are in relation to the musical term "cents". That said, I think Bass players (good ones) tend to have better ears or at least listen better. This in turn leads them to want to make the other instruments sound better too. I think you guys hear things to a finer degree than many other players. Again, this is not an absolute but rather a rule of thumb. That's my theory. Hope it works for you :-). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted March 9, 2015 Members Share Posted March 9, 2015 Kinda funny, IME it's a whole lot more important to not mess up the beat than it is to play the right notes on bass. I don't think most other musicians can even tell if you're off a fret or two on the lowest notes. They might sense something isn't quite right but they don't know what - and if you "catch up" it's quickly forgotten. But start feaking out about it and not playing the groove and everyone will know it's you <eek>. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Audiopile Posted March 9, 2015 Members Share Posted March 9, 2015 Kinda funny, IME it's a whole lot more important to not mess up the beat than it is to play the right notes on bass. I don't think most other musicians can even tell if you're off a fret or two on the lowest notes. They might sense something isn't quite right but they don't know what - and if you "catch up" it's quickly forgotten. But start feaking out about it and not playing the groove and everyone will know it's you <eek>. Generally I'm within a couple of frets (I think) of hitting the right notes most of the time... and well within 6 frets one way or the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted March 10, 2015 Members Share Posted March 10, 2015 ^ LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cappttenron Posted March 10, 2015 Members Share Posted March 10, 2015 I am seldom off by more than one string ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted March 16, 2015 Members Share Posted March 16, 2015 So what you play a wrong note. It's nothing to "fret" about. Relax and be fretless :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Audiopile Posted March 16, 2015 Members Share Posted March 16, 2015 So what you play a wrong note. It's nothing to "fret" about. Relax and be fretless :-) Actually, playing wrong notes is a good thing once you're capable of eloquent recovery. I have a theory concerning forgetfulness, being that the gift of forgetfulness is an evolved form of life. My cat (for example) is seemingly totally a creature of habit... she/it doesn't seem to forget anything... day in and day out it's all the same as far as she's concerned, and if it isn't, I hear about it... and life for the cat goes on, same old same old day in and day out... she wouldn't have it any other way as far as she's concerned. Me, on the other-hand, I forget all the time... probably couldn't remember my name if I didn't pack along documentation... and I see that as a good thing... because when I forget and gotta produce, I invent new stuff on the spot and somehow make it fit (recovery). "Where did you come up with that? um... I forgot what I was suppose to do." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 16, 2015 CMS Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 This reminds me of a summer patio party gig we played...we were promised there'd be a tent. There were two....one for the guests, and one for the caterer. Our "stage" was the patio, which was perfectly positioned if you wanted to install passive solar collectors there. Instead, we were the solar collectors. We of course do our best, and the audience seems to enjoy us, if from the tent 30 feet away. At some point in the middle of our Last Dance for Mary Jane/Dani California pair-up, Bob our guitarist is looking at me funny, then is blatantly staring at my bass, then is looking at me in horror. I'm looking down, don't see anything...and obviously I'm not hearing anything odd...until I finally notice that my A string has gone floppy...I felt it before I heard it. The heat was apparently more than enough to not just detune, but enough to make the string slip on the tuner. Did I hear it? Nope. Maybe I needed to turn up? Meh... This from the guy who hears the drummer's tom's are a bit out, the guitarist's B is sharp, etc. Do I hear myself? nahh..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Delmont Posted March 16, 2015 Members Share Posted March 16, 2015 I wish bands could live without bass players. You can never find one when you need one. But they make us sound good, so we're stuck. They've definitely got us where they want us. Sample? What's a sample? Oh! You mean ! I've gotta say, my hero is Jerry Garcia, and I even hate his sampling. It just ain't rock! Delwww.thefullertons.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 17, 2015 Members Share Posted March 17, 2015 I wish bands could live without bass players. You can never find one when you need one. But they make us sound good, so we're stuck. That's because they are all out doing sound for the bigger bucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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