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I LOVE playing bass - do you?


mcgraham
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[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1317934303' post='1396527']
Sometimes I love playing the bass.

Other times, like tonight, when I'm trying to learn a song and failing bloody miserably (can't even work out the root notes ffs...) I just get totally pissed off and disheartened :)
[/quote]
What's the song mate?

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I have to admit playing the bass is great, my new Wal has just given me a real boost again and I'm loving it. I had a jam with the drummer in my band the other night, we've played together for 20 years, two old baldy fellas both wearing ear defenders years too late after being deafened by his ridiculously loud drumming and we just had the best time, I feel sorry for folk who don't have something that gives them this level of sheer fun.

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[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1317900816' post='1395916']
What i love is when the guitar and drums are playing and it sounds ok but a bit empty. Keys maybe coming and going as is sax and other stuff. Still sounds a bit hollow. But only when the bass has come in does the song sound whole, complete and start to groove.
[/quote]This..!!!

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[quote name='steviedee' timestamp='1317936215' post='1396545']
I have to admit playing the bass is great, my new Wal has just given me a real boost again and I'm loving it.
[/quote]

Getting a new bass always reminds me how much I love playing. Always got on ok with my Ray but recently fancied a change and got a Jazz and I cant stop playing it. I put in plenty of hours on the old bass but it never quite clicked with me. Genuinely cant put the new one down. It really is inspiring to get your hands on a bass that instantly feels at home in your hands.

Whether playing with a band or just practicing on my own playing bass just gives me something I havent found anywhere else, almost like meditation :) .

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Good drummers are the key for me.

If I'm playing with an average or below par drummer i just cant get into a groove and get very frustrated! Drummer has to be solid or it's just not fun!

I also love being in total sync with a drummer where you read each other almost subconsciously - creating stops, pushes etc without even realising! . . . Feels mint . . .

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To be honest I'm enjoying playing bass less than I ever have, although that's not helped by my disintegrating band situation. Am currently enjoying playing my Les Paul or acoustic at home far more. Of course that may change when I get my Rim bass; I usually find a new bass renews my interest.

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[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1317971080' post='1396710']

"You Just Keep Me Hanging On" by The Supremes. A James Jamerson classic. Just cannot get my head round it.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3bjMtqpGBw[/media]
[/quote]

Sounds like Ab Gb Eb E to me.

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[quote name='chaypup' timestamp='1317972161' post='1396717']

Sounds like Ab Gb Eb E to me.
[/quote]
[quote name='chaypup' timestamp='1317972549' post='1396721']
...Although this shows it as starting in A... [url="http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdVPE.asp?ppn=MN0064793"]http://www.musicnote...p?ppn=MN0064793[/url]

and this video as Ab.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkoEVKPyAlM[/media]
[/quote]

The version I'm trying to learn is in Ab. One of the problems is that the recording is slightly off-key---I suspect that some studio trickery has changed the final pitch a little bit---so it makes it harder to discern the pitch correctly. Its also so far removed from my normal comfort zone that I'm just getting annoyed and frustrated which obviously makes things harder.

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[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1317931154' post='1396478']
There is nothing like playing with a great dub tone with a great drummer is there, it's a very special thrill :)
[/quote]
Amen to that.

What I am trying to accomplish with my eq setting in combination with my bass's action/setup at the moment is radically different sounds depending on how I attack the strings. I'm almost there but I'm still trying to get it 'just so'. What I'm trying for is treble 'gospel' sizzle when I dig in or slap, but otherwise a big fat jazz tone when playing normally, and when I thumb the string near the neck it turns into that deep treble-less dub tone. I'm trying to see it in the same way a guitarist would set up their guitar amp to their preferred level of breakup to move between lower and higher gain levels just by pick attack.

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I'm finding the easiest (though not the cheapest) way to achieve that is with a low pass filter.
I can either have it so the expression pedal controls the cutoff, or I can take a lead from the follower into either the cutoff (so the harder I dig the more it opens), into the resonance (adds more "squeak") or into the amount (if I'm wanting a funky wah when I slap or dig in).

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I hate playing bass, I just get lumped with it because I always have a pen/pencil, I always have a toolkit, I always have spare 9V batteries, I always have a spare instrument lead, I always have a 4 way extension and I know how to do web pages. The bass playing is just a consequence of that :)

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I love making music, and bass is great, but I don't love it any more than I love any other instrument really. It has it's perks, but also in a band context it has it's downsides, occasionally I long to be behind a guitar, keyboard or even a drumkit.

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