Came across a great bass player who plays both electric and stand-up, but really prefers the stand-up. Anyone have any experience with one of these in a typical surf/instrumental band?
Last edited: Jun 05, 2016 03:21:44
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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Surf Musician »
Playing surf/instro with a stand up bass?
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Joined: May 18, 2006 Posts: 521 
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Posted on Jan 25 2015 04:38 PM
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Joined: Nov 03, 2006 Posts: 693 San Clemente, CA 
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Posted on Jan 25 2015 06:13 PM
Might work with a balalaika...... Seriously, I'm more a traditionalist, so I'd encourage him to play an electric bass for typical gigs. —Happy Sunsets! |
Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3810 North Atlantic 
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Posted on Jan 25 2015 07:14 PM
Calgary's Ramblin Ambassadors play with an upright, and electric guitars. They sound great! https://www.facebook.com/theRamblinAmbassadors Rev —Canadian Surf |
Joined: Jul 09, 2010 Posts: 1153 Lillian Alabama
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Posted on Jan 25 2015 07:15 PM
Back in the 90's I had a standup bassist in a group called Voodoo Train. Enjoying the surf,sun and sand!! |
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Joined: May 18, 2006 Posts: 521
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Posted on Jan 25 2015 11:07 PM
We have been playing together in a trio format doing mostly 50's rock and roll / rockabilly, but we usually play 6 or 8 instrumentals throughout the night. I've always played with someone else on rhythm before, but so far everything sounds OK as a 3 piece. The stand-up bass really has big sound. |
Joined: Sep 02, 2006 Posts: 3166 Denver, CO
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Posted on Jan 26 2015 12:23 PM
There's video of Simon Chardiet of the Supertones playing upright. He doesn't always do it. Maybe not even frequently. |
Joined: Dec 16, 2010 Posts: 341 Chapel Hill, NC
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Posted on Jan 26 2015 12:56 PM
Hi Casey, I play with a stand-up bass player in a rockabilly trio. The band has a long history of playing instro/surf numbers, but probably in the 10-15% range of overall material. Our latest record features a few that are applicable to your question. El Mirage is a spag-western flavored instro rocker with heavy surf groove in sections. The upright mostly works for this song, but would likely have been easier to play on electric. I think the biggest concern was reduced sustain on the upright... the notes just don't ring like an electric. The linked recording shows the approach we took... basically cranking the upright part to sound more electric. Summer Set on the other hand is a laid-back surf instrumental that ebbs and flows dynamically and the upright sounds freakin' PERFECT. Couldn't even imagine it with an electric bass. So, I guess the moral of the story is that some instro/surf songs probably lend themselves more easily to upright or electric, but can depend greatly on the player and the style in which the song is performed. The other band I play in is a straight-up 4-piece surf combo and I couldn't imagine playing most (any) of those tunes with an upright in the mix. -murph casey wrote: — http://www.reverbnation.com/elmiragesurf "I knew I was in trouble when the Coco-Loco tasted like water!" -- morphball |
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Joined: Sep 02, 2006 Posts: 3166 Denver, CO
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Posted on Jan 26 2015 01:47 PM
That's a very good point. A lot of rockabilly bands have a few surf pieces in their repertoire somewhere. Usually not originals like this or terribly far from the surf top ten, but it varies. In Denver this is certainly the case, and I've seen stuff in this vein from Jinx Jones and Danny Harvey when they were in town. Apart from this, as far as Denver locals, a few years ago (no longer) there were a a number efforts sort of in the cocktail jazz to rockabilly range that regularly did instrumental material (even mostly instrumental material) with upright bass: Vibes on Velvet (aka Thighs on Vinyl), the Reacharounds, the Chuck Hughes Band (aka the Hillbilly Hellcats), or Mustang Lightning. The bassist was generally either Susan Phelan or Lance Bakemeyer. There's a lot of video of this on YouTube. Reaching back in history, the Original Surfaris as originally constituted didn't have a bass player. They recorded material before Jim Tran joined on bass, and I'm pretty sure some of this stuff includes bass, which was probably provided by the recording engineer, Ted Brinson, who played standup bass. He'd play bass for a fee if you needed one. For example, I'm not sure, but I think that might be him on their version of Tor-Chula. You can amuse yourself by listening to their recordings and trying to decide what you hear. |
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Joined: Sep 02, 2006 Posts: 3166 Denver, CO
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Posted on Jan 26 2015 01:59 PM
So, not surf, but: Thighs on Vinyl w/ The Perry Mason Theme The Reacharounds w/ Hotel Loneliness That's Susan Phelan in the first, and Lance Bakemeyer in the second. Otherwise it's Tony Nascar on guitar and Megan Wise on drums. Currently Tony is in the Jekylls (and still the Railbenders) and Megan and her husband Casey Miller tour as the Barnyard Stompers duo. |
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Joined: May 18, 2006 Posts: 521
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Posted on Jan 26 2015 06:18 PM
Thanks everyone for the excellent feedback and links - enjoyed listening to them all. Our all instrumental band is really kind of in the mold of the Ventures, mostly variety/pop instrumentals with covers of the widely known surf tunes and even a few originals. For our larger outside jobs would definitely go with the standard electric bass, but I can see the stand-up working at some of the smaller low-volume venues just fine. http://www.reverbnation.com/3rdwave2 Last edited: Jan 28, 2015 21:02:27 |
Joined: May 05, 2012 Posts: 351 Virginia Beach
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Posted on Jan 26 2015 11:16 PM
Stand up bass works great with certain surf for sure! I played with a guy for awhile who played stand up and it sounded very distinct. Liaka & the Cosmonauts have a few recorded tracks w Upright bass that sound very cool. Up right bass is not just for rock a billy. It is great for the small club venues too as it adds quite a lot of visual interest to the audience. |
Joined: Apr 21, 2006 Posts: 852 Connersville, Indiana, USA
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Posted on Jan 28 2015 03:17 PM
Phil of The Cocktail Preachers has been known to use an upright bass "a time or two." Check out their Photos page. —Fast Cars & Loud Guitars! |
Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 2063 Virginia, USA
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Posted on Jan 28 2015 04:36 PM
The Ultras, San Francisco surf band from the 90's, had a stand up bass. They still even have their 90's looking website up and running: Paul |
Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 25578 Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.
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Posted on Jan 28 2015 08:17 PM
Bhret Cole of the Pyronauts has played stand up bass from time to time. —Jeff(bigtikidude) |
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Joined: May 18, 2006 Posts: 521
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Posted on Jan 28 2015 09:03 PM
In the trio format the stand-up really fills out the bottom end, such a wide sound. |
Joined: Jul 05, 2006 Posts: 969
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Posted on Jan 28 2015 09:13 PM
not trying to sound like a dick or nothing, but who in their right mind would want to lug around a stand-up bass? |
Joined: Jul 31, 2012 Posts: 4053 Nashville, TN.
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Posted on Jan 28 2015 09:49 PM
We have stand up bass on three songs on our two records. Cheers, http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAcesMusic |
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Joined: May 18, 2006 Posts: 521
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Posted on Jan 29 2015 03:18 AM
The bass player who uses the stand up doesn't seem to mind carrying it around, it has a pickup and he plays it through a small amp. Playing bass is his only job, I think it gives him an edge in getting work. He does have a standard electric bass he can use if needed. Hey, I bring two Super Reverbs for our larger outside jobs, so he gets no sympathy from me! I do love the big smooth sound from the stand up. |
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 419 n.y.c.
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Posted on Jan 29 2015 10:24 AM
yes Simon does play the upright bass with the Supertones sometimes he also uses a 12 string bass as well but the thing about Simon is that whatever he uses he sound pretty much the same I personally prefer he use a Pbass with a pick but he is such an incredible strong musician that he can make it sound like a Pbass, in NYC music circles Simon is consider one of the best all around guitarist and was written up in Rolling stone as one of the best unknown guitars We go way back more than 30 years of playing in the NYC music scene and when he volunteered to play bass with us I was bit surprised because he was such a great guitarist, but he studied upright bass a juilliard and really wanted to play with us so I said yes that was 1996 if you find a great upright player who can play the electric bass as well he usually can do anything so yea if he can pull it off it can work in surf and or surfabilly Facebook pages theSupertones |
Joined: Oct 26, 2013 Posts: 45
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Posted on Jan 30 2015 02:39 PM
Funny...I was going to reply to the original poster and tell him "there's a cool surf band in NYC who use a standup bass in their stuff" and, lo and behold, you show up and post!
Tim, there's a great video of you guys on YouTube playing "Church Key" at Otto's and Simon is on a stand-up bass. Also several at that outdoor snack bar(?) near the ocean as well, where he's playing a standup bass. I think it sounds good too. I've always liked a solid, "thump-y" bass, electric or acoustic. It's the player more than the hardware. Always is. Last edited: Jan 30, 2015 14:43:57 |
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