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Hello all. I'm a new member here, but an old fan of the genre. Im having
a bit of trouble though. Im trying to get a group going, and I'm looking
for any good books or tips on surf music theory and/or some surf bass lines.
Any help would be appreciated....
Hey Sam,
There's everything to be found on surf guitar and not
a whole lot about bass. Check out the files section
of this group's site and you'll find a copy of an
article entitled "Surf Bass" from Vintage Guitar mag I
think which gives a good overview of what it was like
in the old school, nearer the dawn of the electric
bass.
Even though things tend to be done a certain way there
isn't really a formula. Surf basslines run from the
very simple to the surprisingly not-so-simple (at
least to me sometimes). Doing a half-step hammer-on
the root seems to be pretty common and is something
that most people will be able to identify as vaguely
"surfy." There are several bass players here besides
myself, but I only play a few surf tunes in my band,
so hopefully they'll chime in.
Richard
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Just some comments for the Surf Bass thread:
Surf Bass players suffer the Rodney Dangerfield syndrome most of the
time, but in reality as in most music, the bass is the lynchpin between
song structure, rhythm and overall tone. You better be holding down the
groove because you're the guy holding it all together. An interesting
observation about bass playing I make is: the better you play, the less
you are "noticed" and the attention gravitates to the guitarist and
melody (as it should). But when you screw up or stop suddenly, they all
look at you crazy-eyed. Funny how that is, eh? Perfection or die, you
bass scum!
I know that Fender PBass with a Bassman or DualShowman might serve you
well for the authentic "classic" Surf bass tone, but I believe modern
Surf bassists can carry it to many new limits. I think you are free to
experiment with a wide variety of new instruments, gear and tone.
In my 8yr old group, The Tube Sharks, I play a Peavey Accelerator with a
David Eden head through Bag End Speakers. More modern, less trad.
Although I chose the Peavey for its "fit", (I'm shorter and have smaller
hands than many) it also is able to closely replicate a PBass in tone if
needed. I use that on some songs. However, since The Tube Sharks are a
3pc, the bass must be more musically prominent at times. In that
process, I am able to achieve what I call that "ballsy" tone through the
Eden head- a meaner, crisper sound. You can hear it on our recording of
Ghostriders on the KFJC Battle of the Surfing Bands Phil Dirt Tribute
CD. Works well on songs like Road To Rincon and Surfrider, too!
Recently, I've been playing a short-scale Danelectro Longhorn. Good for
doing Link Wray stuff.
I'm well versed in music theory, but almost never use sheet music or TAB
unless it helps me decipher a bass line so I can play it. Otherwise, I
will take it right off the record by ear if a cover (e.g. Walk Don't
Run) or write my own if it's an original. And naturally, if the
guitarist doesn't tell me the key, I throw the usual hissy-fit or even
something physical at him. It's a good thing I play guitar too and can
recognize what the guitarist is doing because once the jerk starts
playing and spacing out, it's too late and too damn loud in the room to
ask "WHAT KEY ARE WE IN?" :-)
I certainly make generous use of the "hammer-on" style especially in a
trio format, as it help maintain surf styling and compliments the
drumming.
I sometimes do glissandos, (off the G or D-strings) especially after
coming off the V ("five") in a turnaround to "fill" the dead space or
support a drum roll.
I love simple but fast I-III-V or I-IIIm-V based lines which are fairly
simplistic, but also enjoy working out some complex lines as well, which
I did in our version of Dark Eyes. Naturally, your writing depends on
the song and the music the band is trying to produce.
Those I look up to? We have a plethora of "advanced" bass players in the
Surf genre. One of my favorites is Jeff Turner from Pollo Del Mar who
plays a fretless Fender Jazz Bass with their progressive styles - very
cool! Mike Sullivan (R.I.P.) formerly of Slacktone impressed me on the
5-string. Pete Curry probably is my number one Surf bassist for trad
tone with LS and The Halibuts. I like Brett from The Pyronauts for that
physical, break-a-string, in-your-face hard-driving playing. And
Catherine Gray of The Space Cossacks would get my nod for talented
spot-on female Surf bass player.
Oh yeah, thanks to our ever-present Jeff(bigtikidude) for getting me to
break my silence on this list...whatta guy!
bIG wAvE Dave Becker
Bass, The Tube Sharks
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Richard [mailto:]
>Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2005 12:18 PM
>To:
>Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] Surf bass lines and music theory
>
>
>
>Hey Sam,
>
>There's everything to be found on surf guitar and not
>a whole lot about bass. Check out the files section
>of this group's site and you'll find a copy of an
>article entitled "Surf Bass" from Vintage Guitar mag I
>think which gives a good overview of what it was like
>in the old school, nearer the dawn of the electric
>bass.
>
>Even though things tend to be done a certain way there
>isn't really a formula. Surf basslines run from the
>very simple to the surprisingly not-so-simple (at
>least to me sometimes). Doing a half-step hammer-on
>the root seems to be pretty common and is something
>that most people will be able to identify as vaguely
>"surfy." There are several bass players here besides
>myself, but I only play a few surf tunes in my band,
>so hopefully they'll chime in.
>
>Richard
>
>__________________________________________________
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>.
>Visit for archived
messages,
>bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
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>
Check out Urban Surf Kings bassist Crash Flagg on "Surf vs the
Flying Saucers" CD. He plays a lot of counter-point-ish lines to
fill up the trio sound.
Mike
Dave, I have that KFJC Battle of the Surfing Bands disc, and I think
you've got the most bad ass bass tone on that
whole CD. It stands out from all the other bands...very unique.
BN
Dave Becker wrote:
>In my 8yr old group, The Tube Sharks, I play a Peavey Accelerator with a
>David Eden head through Bag End Speakers. More modern, less trad.
>Although I chose the Peavey for its "fit", (I'm shorter and have smaller
>hands than many) it also is able to closely replicate a PBass in tone if
>needed. I use that on some songs. However, since The Tube Sharks are a
>3pc, the bass must be more musically prominent at times. In that
>process, I am able to achieve what I call that "ballsy" tone through the
>Eden head- a meaner, crisper sound. You can hear it on our recording of
>Ghostriders on the KFJC Battle of the Surfing Bands Phil Dirt Tribute
>CD. Works well on songs like Road To Rincon and Surfrider, too!
>Recently, I've been playing a short-scale Danelectro Longhorn. Good for
>doing Link Wray stuff.
>
>
Sam:
I'v been "on bass" for over 25 years now. Althought there
is very little out there as far as written surf bass tab or
surf bass theory, I would tend to agree with the comments
from other bassists on this list who have offered replies
to your inquiry. I've learned the great majority of the
"surf bass" I know mostly from listening to everything I
could get my hands on. I think the main objective would be
to become "a good bassist" no matter what the genre or
style. A good bassist is the "glue" that unites melody and
rhythm into a single coherent musical statement.
I have found many good general "bass theory" books out
there that can help you with chord theory, modal playing,
scales and other junk like that. Ideally, you need to know
what the other musicians around you are doing in order to
be an effective bassist.
As far as equipment goes, here's my list:
Gallien Kreuger 800RB biamp head into
1965 Fender Bassman 4X12 Emminence loaded cabinet (lows)
2001 home-made 2x12 Celestion loaded cabinet (highs)
MIJ Fender reissue '51 Precision bass (you know, the
"slab-body" Telecaster looking bass)
Danelectro MIK reissue Six String Bass (super twang!)
I do have a 1965 Fender Bassman tube head, but it usually
stays at home in the studio. It has a great warm tone, but
I am nervous dragging my "baby" around to gigs. The
Gallien Krueger has plenty of power and crisp clear
tone...and it's rugged as a Jeep. I use a Blue Tube pre-amp
pedal to add a little tube warmth and crunch to my tone.
I am absolutely in love with my '51 p-bass reissue...the
only bass I ever played that sounded/felt better than this
bass was a REAL 1953 original Fender P-bass that an old
girlfriend owned...she probably pawned it by now!
The Japanese Fender reissues are an amazingly great deal in
my book.
The Danelectro Bass 6 is a cool bass for recording...I use
it like they did back in the old days of Carol Kaye...it is
great for that treble-y "tic tac" Duane Eddy bass sound...I
layer the Dano6 on top of the Fender bass line
rudiments...often times, I will add a touch of reverb to
the Dano6 tone for that super-surf bass twang!
Often, I utilize surf guitar tab/sheet music to get a
general idea of the chord progression or harmonies of a
song and then I go from there to figure out a bass part.
Ultimately, you'll develop your own sound and style on
bass. There's tons out there to listen to...old LP records
and a bunch of CD reissues...plus there's tons of "3rd
wave" groups out there producing killer reverberated surf
magic.
I think a great place to start would be to pick up any of
the Space Cossacks CDs...their bassisst, Katherine, really
nailed the bass tone and technique. I was fortunate to see
her play live once...she tore it up!...I had to get her to
sign my program in permanent ink...she's dead-on "surf
bass"...
Also, one further suggestion...the "Play Guitar With the
Ventures" series of LPs and CDs has some cool tab-like bass
music included...check it out.
I started out in the 1980s listening to John Entwistle of
the Who and Mike Watt of the Minutemen and Flea of the RHCP
and the jazz legends Ron Carter and Oscar Pettiford...but I
always ended up spinning all my old surf LPs whenever I
practiced alone...anyway, eventually, I found my niche and
ended up here at Surf Guitar 101...so my final advice would
be to simply find out what you like, strap on the old bass
and go for it...
reverberatedly yours,
Dave P
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Dave P wrote:
>I am absolutely in love with my '51 p-bass reissue...the
>only bass I ever played that sounded/felt better than this
>bass was a REAL 1953 original Fender P-bass that an old
>girlfriend owned...she probably pawned it by now!
>The Japanese Fender reissues are an amazingly great deal in
>my book.
Dave,
Couldn't agree more! Although I don't own one, I get to play one when I
sub on bass with The West Coast Rollers. Bassist Al Cantey uses
flatwounds on his and gets just tremendous booming tone for the Jump
Blues and instrumental rock they do.
bIG wAvE Dave
BW Dave:
The 1951 P-Bass (Tele-Bass) has such a simple
straightforward design. The neck has a hefty radius and its
solid maple...it's "meaty". And the "slab" body is also
mighty hefty. The through-the-body string system seems to
work well too. It all combines to produce a wonderful bass
tone. Even the one single coil pickup is cool...it's placed
midway between the bridge and neck position...it seems
ideal for both finger style and pick style playing.
Leo Fender really did groundbreaking, almost zen-like work
when his team designed that bass back in 1951. Changed the
course of electric music forever.
-dave p
--- Dave Becker <> wrote:
>
> Dave P wrote:
> >I am absolutely in love with my '51 p-bass reissue...the
> >only bass I ever played that sounded/felt better than
> this
> >bass was a REAL 1953 original Fender P-bass that an old
> >girlfriend owned...she probably pawned it by now!
> >The Japanese Fender reissues are an amazingly great deal
> in
> >my book.
>
> Dave,
> Couldn't agree more! Although I don't own one, I get to
> play one when I
> sub on bass with The West Coast Rollers. Bassist Al
> Cantey uses
> flatwounds on his and gets just tremendous booming tone
> for the Jump
> Blues and instrumental rock they do.
>
> bIG wAvE Dave
>
>
>
>
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