Time to face the music

[guitars247]

I was in a band where the bass player was dying to step up and play lead so I swapped with him. It was a LOT of fun.

I have to agree with the people saying to do it simple. I have always loved the playing style of Roger Waters. Very simple and exact. I love when he does the root/octave hits (like Careful With That Axe, Eugene, as a perfect example), how he will play a counter melody sometimes, holding the root/octave even during subtle chord changes. Even his more flourishy stuff (see the descending line he does in the 4/4 section of Money) is still pretty simple.

Alot of my bass playing when I am recording a song, I have found, is actually a variation of something I have heard Roger Waters do.

Have fun with it!

[pseudocat]

Have fun with it!

Oh, heck yes! I've been enjoying this waaaaay more than I thought I would have. I kinda wish I'd gotten on board with it 10 years ago, to be honest.

It's interesting to me that I used to focus a lot on lead playing, scales, modes, melodic phrasing, etc., then about 5 years ago, I got fascinated with really stoking my rhythm playing, and now bass. I've still been playing a little guitar now and then, but bass is taking up 95% of my practice time.

I got my bass rig together, too: a GK 600 head, with 2 Acoustic 4x10 cabs. Not the most sophisticated rig out there, but it gets the job done.

And I've started a fretless project...

[flintpunk]

I'm glad I saw this thread because I'm in a very similar boat, Pseudocat. BTW, Pseudocat is the perfect name for a guitar player trying to be a bass player!

As you guys may have read, I too am a guitar player playing bass in my new band, Ms. Behavin'. I've had a bass on hand for many years and have occasionally thumped around on it until now. At this point, I still feel like a guitar player who is playing a bass. I don't feel like a pocket-type bass player at all. But what is really interesting about the whole thing is that my "style" seems to really fit with this band. We only have vocals, one guitar, bass, and drums, so there is a LOT of room for creative interpretation.

The stuff I enjoy playing the most are the ska songs we're doing. During those songs, the guitar goes into the off-beat ump-Chunk, ump-Chunk and the bass carries the melody. They are an absolute hoot to play. Two that come to mind are No Doubt's Spiderwebs and Sublime's Santeria. I suspect that most Reggae music would similarly be a lot of fun for a bass player.

I've also really enjoyed blending the rhythm guitar and bass parts on the songs that have 2 guitars in order to fill in voids left by the absence of a second guitar.

The way our band is set up, it's forced me to develop my own style of playing bass and it's been fun and challenging. Isn't rock and roll supposed to be about breaking rules anyway? I play with a pick and I suppose I always will. I'm not comfortable using my fingers and I prefer the tone I get with a pick.

Oh yeah, for gear I've got an old Kustom 200 bass amp that looks and sounds like brand new running into a Peavey 1x18, 2x10 cab. My current bass is an old 80's Dean mini-explorer type bass with Duncan Bass lines p'ups. The bass sounds really good to me, even after giving it my best set-up, the playablility is a little off. I started looking around for a new(er) bass and I found a major online retailer that was selling a new, scratched and/or dented Tobacco Burst P-bass for $846 shipped. I bought it and after a couple days when I hadn't received a shipping notice, I called them to find out why. They dropped my order because the item was out of stock. I raised hell with them for about 45 minutes and they finally offered to give me a brand new (not scratched and/or dented) P bass for the same price. I guess it pays to stand your ground when you know you're right. That bugger should be here on Wednesday. I'll report back then!

[MMP]

Oops. double post.

[flintpunk]

Ya know what...nevermind. This deserves it's own thread! (sorry)

[pseudocat]

Update (with rambling)

After 5 months of focusing almost entirely on bass, I think I may be starting to get a handle on it, and I'm having a lot more fun than I imagined I would.

I mentioned in my original post that the long scale was pretty tough. I've gotten real used to it, though -- I picked up a Gibson EB-0 reissue in GC the other day, and it felt uncomfortably small. I do have to spend a fair amount of practice time just "working out," running scales and doing exercises and the like. I find if I don't, the instrument fairly well kicks my butt when I have a long band practice.

I've landed two regular gigs: one in a 70's and 80's R&R cover band; and another, playing fretless in a folksy indie-rock band doing originals. They're both a lot of fun.

I've been working on my bass clef reading, and on walking and arpeggios. I've also picked up a little bit of slap technique, but I don't think it's really my cup of tea, honestly.

I still pick up my tele once in a while, but I think I need to set it up for heavier strings now.

It's been a fun journey, all in all, and I appreciate the words of encouragement I've gotten here.

I guess old dogs can learn new tricks...

[chuckocaster]

good to hear menudo. glad things are working out for ya. sounds like you got it down. from here on out you won't be without a gig, every band needs a dependable bass player.