lowdown Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 [quote name='ambient' timestamp='1436469333' post='2818462'] After spending the last 3 years studying music. Having to learn ridiculously hard stuff where the whole thing is just the technique, and having lessons every week off people who's whole thing is technique, but have no idea about being creative. I'd rather hear a bassist playing music, and being creative, the whole playing fast, or slap or groove thing just bores me so much. [/quote] Just been listening to the tracks on your website (through headphones). Excellent and very, very relaxing. Great stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 [quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1436471201' post='2818489'] Just been listening to the tracks on your website (through headphones). Excellent and very, very relaxing. Great stuff. [/quote] Thank you, and thanks for listening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 (edited) [quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1436468322' post='2818449'] But it's so boring! What is this obsession with the honky bridge sound? Give me a bass player who looks cool, has an aggressive sound and isn't obsessed with doing a thousand licks per song. JJ Burnell and Duff McKagan spring to mind... [/quote] I suppose it depends on your musical taste. I find JJB quite tiresome to be honest. The mid heavy sound is what makes the bass heard rather than consigned to an inaudible background hum and whine. My worry these days is who in pop music (other than players from 25 yrs ago with a few exceptions from 10-15 yrs ago) is going to inspire a new generation of bass players. Pop music seems to be populated these days often by barely audible bass with a sound focus on subs rather than mids, often played in a plodding style - in other words, unlike rock and roll, rock, 70s R and B or 80s pop, the bass appears to not have any importance. Part of this is caused by the appalling mixing which occurs often - the pinnacle of this for me was listening to a big band play Glenn Miller stuff on BBC recently and for the first time ever I could hear a rythmn guitar (it was electric) - more prominent than the bass mind - on a par with the horns. The bass drum was as loud as the bass - the cymbals were also loud - totally inaccurate and just about sums up how much music these days for me is ruined by daft mixing. I heard Mark Ronson's latest single - an 80s throwback with synth bass - the bass is ok in the mix but an analogy would be with the toned down reggae served up in this country in the 60s on the basis our ears couldn't take the bass levels in the authentic stuff - of course that changed over the years but it seems to be where we are in pop these days. I admire these guys with great technique - if it's linked to great feel and musical skill in terms of note choice and groove it can enhance music significantly - basically what many players have done over the years. Including JJB in my view. I'm afraid I don't share the current love for indistinct thin plodding bass parts - such as much of the stuff served up at Glsstonbury. It just suggests to me the players don't have much skill as musicians and little say in the crappy mixing which occurs - or maybe they're using the wrong instruments. Back to my original point - how will kids be inspired to take up the bass with the current state of affairs? Edited July 9, 2015 by drTStingray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Riva Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 [quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1436468322' post='2818449'] But it's so boring! What is this obsession with the honky bridge sound? [/quote] It's an age thing. The older you get the closer to the neck you play. It's the law. I'm currently plucking over the seventeenth fret.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 [quote name='4 candles' timestamp='1377805655' post='2192219'] my question........ have we reached the pinnacle of instrumental/solo/technique bass playing????? [/quote] No...the instrument is in it's infancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilp Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I'd rather listen to John Paul Jones playing The Lemon Song or Ramble On than any of this sort of stuff. Yes, technically incredible, but what purpose does it serve? Technique, for me at least, is a background process. It's what you use to make a non-musician want to get up and dance, without necessarily knowing why. Someone once told me bass solos are like a dog walking on its hind legs. The surprise is not how well it does it, the surprise Is that it can do it at all. The person who said that was a bass player... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LayDownThaFunk Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 [quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1436471617' post='2818497'] I suppose it depends on your musical taste. I find JJB quite tiresome to be honest. The mid heavy sound is what makes the bass heard rather than consigned to an inaudible background hum and whine. My worry these days is who in pop music (other than players from 25 yrs ago with a few exceptions from 10-15 yrs ago) is going to inspire a new generation of bass players. Pop music seems to be populated these days often by barely audible bass with a sound focus on subs rather than mids, often played in a plodding style - in other words, unlike rock and roll, rock, 70s R and B or 80s pop, the bass appears to not have any importance. Part of this is caused by the appalling mixing which occurs often - the pinnacle of this for me was listening to a big band play Glenn Miller stuff on BBC recently and for the first time ever I could hear a rythmn guitar (it was electric) - more prominent than the bass mind - on a par with the horns. The bass drum was as loud as the bass - the cymbals were also loud - totally inaccurate and just about sums up how much music these days for me is ruined by daft mixing. I heard Mark Ronson's latest single - an 80s throwback with synth bass - the bass is ok in the mix but an analogy would be with the toned down reggae served up in this country in the 60s on the basis our ears couldn't take the bass levels in the authentic stuff - of course that changed over the years but it seems to be where we are in pop these days. I admire these guys with great technique - if it's linked to great feel and musical skill in terms of note choice and groove it can enhance music significantly - basically what many players have done over the years. Including JJB in my view. I'm afraid I don't share the current love for indistinct thin plodding bass parts - such as much of the stuff served up at Glsstonbury. It just suggests to me the players don't have much skill as musicians and little say in the crappy mixing which occurs - or maybe they're using the wrong instruments. Back to my original point - how will kids be inspired to take up the bass with the current state of affairs? [/quote] Tell me Royal Blood isn't helping newbies pick up the bass for the first time, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 (edited) [quote name='neilp' timestamp='1436510964' post='2818658'] I'd rather listen to John Paul Jones playing The Lemon Song or Ramble On than any of this sort of stuff. Yes, technically incredible, but what purpose does it serve? Technique, for me at least, is a background process. It's what you use to make a non-musician want to get up and dance, without necessarily knowing why [/quote] I agree entirely - but JPJ on those songs is all about technique and feel. Interestingly, there's nothing like a bit of slap bass or fretless to liven up non musicians - I have found its generally some musicians who object. Bass and drum breakdowns in songs in the disco/funk days was an oft used trick, with each other instrument entering one at a time after - lots of Bernard Edwards/chic examples of this especially live. No one stopped dancing - in fact they probably focussed on what was making them dance even better - so bass solos are not all bad in my view!! Edited July 10, 2015 by drTStingray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 (edited) [quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1436515714' post='2818691'] Tell me Royal Blood isn't helping newbies pick up the bass for the first time, [/quote] Agreed - I had Muse with Chris Wolstenholm in that category as well. But they are exceptions - kids starting to play will generally get the 'sit in the background with a smiley face EQ and play a Precision with flats' mentality - as if it's 1960 again. A far cry from Royal Blood and guaranteed to put them off! Edited July 10, 2015 by drTStingray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtcat Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 [quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1436471617' post='2818497'] My worry these days is who in pop music (other than players from 25 yrs ago with a few exceptions from 10-15 yrs ago) is going to inspire a new generation of bass players. [/quote] The mass of great players on the internet i guess. Are they doing anything wildly innovative? Most aren't but bass is really benefiting from the exposure it gets on youtube and similar sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobthedog Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 (edited) I get a sense, no science or fact behind this, that bass playing is changing in as much as there seem to be more players soloing bass and appealing to the masses alongside people like Alex James becoming "celebrities" in their own right and the bass being played more and more like a lead guitar. This perception may just be down to better media per post 35 above. but either way, I see a surge in exposure which should help take up. Edited July 10, 2015 by Bobthedog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 reached the pinnacle of bass playing, hell no. have we reached the pinnacle of bass making.. YEP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Pinnacle of bass making? I'll tell you in 50 years, OK? Pinnacle of bass playing? Bwahahahahaha!!! You've gotta love people who come out with stuff like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1436605034' post='2819417'] Pinnacle of bass playing? Bwahahahahaha!!! [/quote] +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky Dunky Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 There will likely never be a pinnacle of bass playing, because there will always be someone who comes along with a fresh twist on an old theme or a new idea or someone will push the boundary. There will always be innovation from somebody, somewhere. There will be heydays for the instrument and hiatus periods, sure - somel say the instrument peaked with Jaco, some say no, Jaco started the birth of modern electric bass and gave birth to a new wave of innovators. I'm sorry, the notion of 'pinnacle' has already been dismissed in this thread enough times without my twobob'sworth. But my opinion is only that of one man, and not particularly interesting, therefore if that's my twobob'sworth, maybe I should get change back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 [quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1436622151' post='2819611'] ...if that's my twobob'sworth, maybe I should get change back. [/quote] On this forum it's more usual to offer an opinion worth 2p, so your opinion is definitely too valuable. To the tune of 8p. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 For me the pinnacle of bass playing had been reached by 1973. Clever playing and "circus bass" techniques are impressive and are quite interesting, but are ultimately useless in my playing environment. My 9p. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Riva Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1436622722' post='2819616'] For me the pinnacle of bass playing had been reached by 1973.[/quote] 1973, eh? I don't suppose it's any coincidence that Suzi Quatro first appeared on Top of the Pops in that year doing Can the Can.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Ahh. . . Can the Can. . . leather jump suits. . . . . it was a great year. I used to drink in the Raven at Stamford Brook with Mike Chapman, about 5 years before this. He was a penniless singer/songwriter trying to make his band Tangerine Peel famous. Just look at him now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Riva Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Aye, not sure I was ever the same after seeing Emma Peel in a leather catsuit in the 60s Avengers as a kid. By the early 70s I'd just about gotten over it and along came Suzi Quatro.. As a kid I (and my mates) scrutinised every single little thing on a single. Every word on the label was picked over. 'Chinni Chap' has stayed with me to this day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb13.bass Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Speaking as someone who is close to that pinnacle myself..[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Good grief![/font][/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1377825385' post='2192485'] Can't be the pinnacle....he’s only got 4 strings! [/quote] I once heard Anthony Wellington tell students that 5 is easier to play than 4 and 6 is easier than 5. The reason being that you don't need to move about the neck so much. This discussion is interesting. If the peak of violin playing has yet to reached after 400+ years, it would be amazing/disappointing if some 30ish year old guy could attain that on the electric bass when that version of the instrument is only 50ish years old. What is worrying is the future for bass if, as I suspect, most recordings of contemporary music are made with bass from a drum machine. Or am I wrong on that? On the matter of the OP. I heard lots of. Notes but I didn't hear any clever use of rests that can make your heart and ears pick up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 If there's any admiration for the bass playing shown in the video originally posted, it would be only justice to give as much credit to the drummer, possibly at his pinnacle of endeavour, too..? While it's not a style I'll be putting into the car for long journeys, I can readily accede that they're both very fine technicians. An excellent 'showcase' for an aspect of their repertoire. Well done, lads. Is that the height of human achievement on those instruments..? Yes, until the next fellow comes along to put it, in its turn, in the shade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Given the original post is two years old now, it's amazing that in that time no one has surpassed his abilities... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 (edited) [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1436622722' post='2819616'] "circus bass" [/quote] Excellent name for it. And it's telling that 'circus bass' is usually played by a Clownhole. My 3p. Edited July 13, 2015 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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