Any of you dabble in bass?

[aeolian]

When I got back into home recording in 2002 I bought a cheap bass to use because recordings just don't sound right without a bass. I spent a little time learinging how to play it, but I really only play it when I have to make up a bassline to record.

Last week I decided to learn the song "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen. It took a few hours to get the chords and the guitar parts figured out. I then decided to also learn the bass parts. The bass parts are a blast! I must have played it 30 times along to the records so far, and it is a bunch of fun.

Any of you out there play bass too?

aeolian

[marnold***]

I was a bass player in a former life. I still think like one which is both good and bad. Now that I know a lot more theory, I can whip up bass licks like there's no tomorrow. Unfortunately, I don't seem to possess the same guitar lick skills.

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" has a cool pseudo-walking-bass line thing going on. "Dragon Attack" from the same album has some sweet bass work too, as does "Another One Bites the Dust"--one of the most recognizable bass licks ever.

[Tone2TheBone]

*raises hand* I too dabble in ze bass guitarski. Its fun playing favorite bass lines of songs you love.

[jpfeifer]

Yes, I like to play the bass too. I started doing this many years ago when I started to write music and do home recordings. I figured that I should get a bass and try to play my own parts. I learned a ton of things from doing this. I think that the bass is the most important instrument in the band, seriously. A good bass line locked in with the drums is key to making a song sound good. Without that key element you can't really fix the song no matter how good the guitar parts are. I think that this is partly why the Beatles songs were so catchy. When you start to listen closely to Paul McCartney's bass parts you realize how much they made their songs move. Check out "All My Loving" or even "Penny Lane" for some really nice bass parts. He even does some very cool things on "Something" because he has to fill up more space since the tempo is slow.

The other thing that I like about bass playing is that it can help you get a handle on your arpeggios. You can make really nice walking bass lines by stretching out arpeggios for each chord, then figure out ways to connect them so that you have smooth transitions. You can actually help your lead guitar playing by trying to be the bass player now and then.

The hardest part about playing the bass though is more of the physical part. It's a huge instrument with big fat strings and wide space between the frets, like playing a tree almost. It takes a while to develop a feel for it.

-- Jim

[SuperSwede]

like playing a tree almost. It takes a while to develop a feel for it.

Haha... Very funny Jim!
I have played guitars that had a similar feeling. A 175 isnt exactly smooth, and those big old Gretsch guitars really is far away from a Ibanez JEM in playability.
Speaking of basses, I really like the sound of a fretless bass. I have played on a fretless a few times, and its really fun. But rather hard to get the intonation right.

[Robert****]

I play bass, I even have 2 bass guitar students.

Fretless bass I love, but man is it ever hard to play well. Check out Jaco and Gary Willis for this style! Monsters.

[jpfeifer]

My favorite bass player is James Jamerson. He was a session musian for Motown and played on all the old Motown hits from Stevie Wonder, Temptations, Diana Ross, etc. I'm sure that you're familiar with this guy.

I really like the way he played because it wasn't very predictable. His bass lines groove but he didn't seem to play repeated patterns over the song. He seemed to weave in and around the chord changes in just the right way never repeating himself very much but always accenting the beat in a really nice way. I don't know how he did this but it sounds really cool.

I bought a DVD called "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" which is a documentary covering the legendary Funk Brothers, who were the group of session musicians that played at Motown on all of the old hits. They talk about James Jamerson quite a bit on that DVD. It's funny because these guys weren't given very much credit but they were a huge part of why Motown was so successful.

-- Jim

[aeolian]

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" has a cool pseudo-walking-bass line thing going on.

I believe you mean the Bb scale walk-down during the bridge. Yeah!

When you start to listen closely to Paul McCartney's bass parts you realize how much they made their songs move. Check out "All My Loving" or even "Penny Lane" for some really nice bass parts. He even does some very cool things on "Something" because he has to fill up more space since the tempo is slow.

I've been a Beatles' fan since 1964. I never tried to figure out the basslines you mentioned, but I did learn "Lady Madonna" and "With A Little Help From My Friends" a few years ago. Unfortunately I've forgotten how to play them now since I haven't played either for a while.

I've heard a lot about "Standing in the Shadows of Motown", I should check that out some time.

This is a fun thread for me.

aeolian

[t_ross33]

Count me in! I'm a bass player from way back, too. In fact bass was my first and primary instrument for most of my music "career". I picked up 6 string acoustic just so I'd have something to play at the ol' campfire.

Only started playing guitar (electrified) in a serious way about a year ago as the band I'm currently in already had a bass player lined up. Turns out he's a fine guitar player as well, so we have lots of fun trading back and forth for various songs. Adds an interesting dynamic to the show.

I'm loving playing guitar, but I still have a ball playing bass (that would be a bass ball I guess ). Had a little jam session with my buddies the other night and started slappin' and poppin' away during one song. Everyone's expression was kinda like I love pullin' that stuff out now and again!

Haven't tried a fretless (haven't been brave enough I guess), but I do like the sound - Jaco is inhuman. I have dabbled with 5-string though. I love the bottom end! Starting to play around with distortion and chorus a bit just for fun.

Favorites would include: Paul, John Entwistle, Geddy Lee, Flea, Victor Wooten (Bela Fleck & the Flecktones), Garry Lowe (Big Sugar)

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO!

Trev

[marnold***]

Favorites would include: Paul, John Entwistle, Geddy Lee, Flea, Victor Wooten (Bela Fleck & the Flecktones), Garry Lowe (Big Sugar)

Cool choices. To that group I'd also add guys like Rudy Sarzo (ex-Ozzy, Quiet Riot, Whitesnake, Dio, and a host of others), Steve Harris (Iron Maiden), Jaco Pastorius, Bootsy Collins (Parliament Funkadelic) and every funk bass player in the history of music, Sting (especially the riff for "Spirits in the Material World"), etc.

Even though I'm painfully white, when I hear funk, I've just got to move. The bass player is the show.

[Spudman***]

Man, I love to play bass on my own material. That way I can totally nail the groove I'm after and the melodic path of the song. However, I suck playing cover tunes on bass.

It is fun to play it from time to time though. I find that after a stretch playing the bass I approach the guitar just differently enough that I usually come up with some good new original ideas. It helps to change things up I guess.

[t_ross33]

Cool choices. To that group I'd also add guys like Rudy Sarzo (ex-Ozzy, Quiet Riot, Whitesnake, Dio, and a host of others), Steve Harris (Iron Maiden), Jaco Pastorius, Bootsy Collins (Parliament Funkadelic) and every funk bass player in the history of music, Sting (especially the riff for "Spirits in the Material World")

I totally forgot about Rudy Sarzo! Oh, the music of my youth I'm sure he was on the cover of every other issue of Bass Player back in my day. Love Bootsy, how can you NOT like that guy! Cool additions. That's why I put "would include" - I knew I'd forget someone or two.

Aww man, now I'm jazzin' for another bass... quite literally. You guys are hard on my GAS. Jumpin' over to the Bass Forum now....

[Carlström]

Yup I'm a bassplayer, started out just as you buying a bass to use for recordings. Still view myself as mainly a guitarist but it's bass i play in my band so i guess bassplayer is what i really am.

And huge Queen fan here, John Deacon is really a great bassplayer