dp
then there's our pal Les Claypool and his one-string Whamola:

image

sort of like what Dick Dale does playing drums on the bass as a novelty...a modern update of the venerable "washtub" design...

I always thought of Les Claypool as more of a fretless banjo player, personally.

The Exotics 1994-Current
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Ruhar
I'd also add that beyond bridging the rhythm/melody gap, my type of great bassist (surf or whatever) adds tension to a song. To me a song without tension is elevator music.

i wholeheartedly agree: tension and release...dynamics are key to a tasty bass line...

CaptainSpringfield
This is 100% waaaaaaaay off topic, but for the Les Claypool fans - check out Blind Illusion's 1987 album The Sane Asylum. It's killer thrash metal with psych leanings (seriously) and has Les on bass and Larry Lalonde on guitar.

Claypool is a great creative force... his contributions to the instrument are significant! Totally relevant to the topic at hand...

Staredge and I were chatting about bass playing last night...it's funny how often bass players have quite broad tastes in music...even the early surf bass dudes exhibited significant jazz, latin, western, swing, soul, rockabilly, pop etc influences...there is a deep musical well behind much of the so-called "simple surf bass lines"...

dp

jp
...I always thought of Les Claypool as more of a fretless banjo player, personally.

well stated: he does have a folksy down-home sort of style! Funny enough, Les still does a pretty decent job supporting his groups bass-wise...even though his stuff sometimes approaches "Geddy Lee"-style bass-wanking

Now I'm sure we'll hear from all the Geddy Lee/ Stu Hamm/ Billy Sheehan fans who appreciate that sort of wanking thing...

I was referring more to his clawhammer style of playing. He certainly is an original stylist, no doubt. I've seen Primus a couple of times, their music isn't my cup of tea at all, but he is a great entertainer. I did laugh my ass off when I saw his jam band mockumentary.

The Exotics 1994-Current
The Chickenshack - www.wmse.org
www.thedoghouseflowers.com
www.uptownsavages.com

elreydlp
Josheboys comment in Staredges thread made me think of guitarists who THINK they are bass players (I was one!). The three best musicians I've played in bands with were bassists. Give the low end some respect!

Yeah, and I was one of them! haha. I've always been a rhythm guitarist, so when I'd pick up a bass, I'd play it like a single note rhythm guitar and people would look at me and think "what a hack!" (or something worse, haha).

This conversation made me listen to nothing but the bass lines on several CDs last night, and the bassists were keeping it simpler than I would've kept it and often going in directions I wouldn't have thought of.

I guess before the next time I pick up a bass I need to research a bit of bass theory first.

So my next question is: Pick? Finger pluck? Thumb slap? Or cello bow with a monkey mask???

a moment of contemplation: St. James Jamerson, bass virtuoso...

I'm late to the party here. But, the phrase "playing bass like a guitar player" to me implies being less in tune with the rhythm/support function of the instrument. And to me that's the most important part of the instrument.

I love playing bass (first instrument, playing since '87) and no matter how long I've been playing or how much proficiency I have, I adore just doing the right thing for the song. Sometimes that's a 1-5 country two step and sometimes it's a full on walking line in and around the chords of the tune.

As for pick v. fingers, I've been a fingers player for nearly all of the time I've been playing. But, I have really grown to enjoy the sound of a pick and flatwounds with a good 15" speaker. That combination of "attack" on the front end, with a warm, pillow-y tail end sounds tasty on recordings.

Full length "Chases Lead to Crashes" available now - The Red Planets

Last edited: Aug 11, 2010 14:29:26

Thanks! We're totally on the same page.

dp
Gary, i really dig your post...but wanted to chime in on one sentiment in particular...

above all else, the bassist serves THE SONG...you capture this idea very well... the tune seems to call out for an appropriate bass line and approach... being sensitive to serving the song seems to me to be a hallmark of a fine bassist...

Full length "Chases Lead to Crashes" available now - The Red Planets

I think it is the most important part of an arrangement to create a bass line, because nearly everything depends on it. It is the foundation of the song, the basement on which all other parts depend if they don't want to crumble. In my opinion it serves at least three functions:

For me it foremost has to elucidate the harmonic structure of the song. The point is not just to play something that works with the chords, but to clarify the inner logic of the chord changes, to anticipate them and give them a feeling of necessity. In another thread dp has already mentioned the crucial role of leading tones to achieve this.

At the same time, the bass line has to react to the lead voice, especially in instrumental music: In most of the cases the bass can't just be satisfied to use default patterns to connect the chords, but has to work as counterpoint to the actual lead voice. But this has to be done subtle, because the bass should not distract the listener from the lead voice, but enhance the awareness for it.

And the third function is the groove, the bass has to push the song forward, build a tension, especially in the interplay with the drums.

And while trying to achieve these different task the bass player also has to be utterly dependable: He or she, when playing live and things go wrong, is the one every other member of the band should be able to rely on to get together again.

I think, playing bass is the most important and the least glamerous part of a well working band. And you have to be humble enough to accept the responsibility without being in the limelight and not trying to be another guitar player. And just for not sounding to laud myself: I'm not the bass player in our band; but I should laud her, because she really does a great job.

And for also throwing a name into the discussion: For me the greatest creator of beautiful bass lines was Johann Sebastian Bach. You can't beat him. Ever.

i second what mtkoltan wrote!! now i got to listen to some bach to hear what ya'll are talking about!

someone mentioned jack bruce earlier--i used to think he was the greatest but then i heard stanley clarke and changed my mind. now, 40 years later i think i was wrong. when i play bass, i sound like a guitar player cuz i want to rip and run on the thing. tension and release was mentioned too, as a blues guitar player i know how important that is in the blues. ok, i now see how it is applied to the bass.

now i see how i drove my bass player nuts all those years! lesson learned!!

real bass players come from somewhere else---they are from a totally different world. they should be much more appreciated than they are
for they are the foundation of any group's sound.

a beer for the bass players please!!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoying the surf,sun and sand!!