musicbassman

......and to rather demonstrate this, here's Michael League (Snarky Puppy) playing a 1952 Precision with a band called Forq.

Hello Blue, Glad you're recovering, but go easy, won't you ? I played my first gig in 1970, so am one of the old guard now. The most noticeable change over my many gigging years is how much the standard of playing for weekend warriors has improved. I picked up my first pro gig in 1973, and cringe now to think how inept I was at the time, - yet I was the best available to choose from for what was a well paid regular touring band gig. I still gig now, but just deps for covers/functions bands - I love the buzz of getting a last minute gig and sometimes meeting the band just half an hour before they're on stage, - and being a dep means I can completely avoid all the internal band politics. So, I pick up my bass every day and usually play for an hour or so - there's always something new to learn, even if it's just dissecting a little bass fill I've heard or trying out a few ideas. And there's always someone new to listen to - I've just discovered Doug Johns. I'll never play at that level but enjoy his mastery. Playing live is still a huge part of my life, and I expect you and I will be the same and only stop playing when we have to be carried onto the stage! 😊

Blimey, that really does sound like those early days of rock n roll .........

Hotel Coercion, more like. Sorry, but I watched this with an unhappy mix of admiration and horror.

Wait.........you were asking your guitarist to check the bass volume ??? That's like asking the fattest kid in the class to share their sweets..............

I would guess it just shows that they have zero understanding of the pivotal role of the bass guitar on those Motown tracks. Jamerson's bass was the colourful glue that bound the melody and rhythm together perfectly.

Well, it raised a smile. 😄

Oh no, surely we're not going down the tonewood vs tonewood rabbit hole again ! 😬

@mlauritsen, sorry to hear about this, but I agree with the other comments here. Maybe it would be interesting if you could give us BCers a list of songs so we can see what material you had to learn. Was it demanding to play, or maybe the bass lines required a bit of rearranging/ filling out/simplifying to suit the band line up, and you didn't pick up on this ? But, as others have said, pick yourself up, shake off the bad news and move on ! 🙂 👍

This is from a Join My Band page. No, I can't explain this, but maybe someone has a great future as a lyric writer for a surreal art rock band 🥺

@Cariboobass4,welcome to our strange world. All your bass are belong to us.

Jeez, that sounds as bad as Central London, (and in London the vehicle has to be ULEZ compliant also) Maybe it would be easier to hire a van + driver ? They can drop off the gear, and then disappear until you're ready to reload at the end of the evening.

Never mind the bass player's role in this, it's the guitarists you need to feel sorry for. Imagine - a guitarist remaining silent on stage for over four minutes ? Just about impossible. Most guitarists start getting twitchy around the two minute mark, and then by three minutes they lose control completely and can't resist having a quick widdle.

I'd stick to roots if I were you, as there's some bloke about to come on stage and ask if you could announce that there's still a few sandwiches left at the buffet, there's a taxi waiting outside for Pam, and can his dad sing Una Paloma Blanca................

Hmmm - that reminds me.......... my mother in law came to stay recently and forgot to lock the bathroom door one morning..................

OK, by that I mean : (assuming you're playing with two fingers and you're a right handed player) Damping with the right hand by immediately muting the string with the other finger than that which has just 'plucked' the string. - and also, at the same time immediately muting the string with the left hand by lifitng the finger slightly away from the fretboard as soon as the note has started to sound. I'm no expert at this, I do my best, but when it's done correctly (Joe Dart, indeed) then you get a very, very short percussive note - almost like a synth bass note would be if it had a very short decay. Doing either of these techniques in isolation doesn't produce quite the same 'bite' or 'crunch' to the note, methinks. I'm not suggesting that our Mr Dart is playing every single note like this, but certain phrases there are very clipped. He chooses his note lengths with great precision and that's partly why it sounds so good. (Other opinions about his technique are available) 🙂

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what perfect two handed damping sounds like ! The guy must have locked himself in a darkened room for five years to get that accurate. 🥺 👍

Wow! - thanks for posting this - looked this up on YouTube - I've never heard it before - absolutely unbelievable for 1972 ! 😊👍

I've worked in covers bands since the dawn of time. Well, nearly. You can get something out of most songs if you try hard enough. My personal exception to this is Let me Entertain You, but we all have our pet hates. And if you really can't extract any joy from a song, just enjoy watching the crowd enjoying themselves as the band plays, and smile. 😊

I wouldn't bother taking a spare bass with me to a regular gig - never had a passive bass go down on me in the rather too many years to mention that I've been playing. But I always take a spare amp head, as an amp going down right in the middle of a gig has happened just too many times.

Bass players, eh ? Sort out the leads Sort out the diary Set up the PA Drive the van Know where they're going .....lets face it, we're bl**dy brilliant ! 😁👍

The Young Once.........

Tim, my tongue was so firmly wedged in my cheek that I might take several days to recover

No, Cecilia was from Simon and Artfunkel's album Bridge of Sighs. You know, the one where the bass fill is played forwards and then backwards. Or maybe I'm getting confused............... too easy, these days.

In case you haven't seen this, this is from Clarky's status update - interesting replies.