The lost art of simple bass lines

[thegom]

Hi,

Playing with my band at a number of venues all over London I always aim to see the other bands as well.

No matter what the general vibe of the evening is , whether metal or indie rock, whether a pub or the 100 Club, I think there is an obvious trend to complexity in terms of bass playing..

There was a time when the Young Brothers explicitly looked for a bass player who played simple and steady root note lines. Then came the curse of the technical bass playing, even if in an indie garage band bassists want to sound like Jaco..!

I think the bass should always compliment and support the song, this might mean complexity from time to time but simplicity is king!

If you play more notes than the lead guitarist you play the wrong instrument, baby...

Opinions?

Cheers

C

[Coilte]

James Jamerson's lines were not exactly simplistic. They could be quite complex. Yet very few would say that his playing did not support the music.

It all depends on the musician's interpretation of the music and how he goes about conveying that interpretation.

A great bassist will know when to hold back and when to let it rip, depending on what the music requires. Yes, sometimes with
bass, a little is a lot, but that should not be the hard and fast rule. The music should dictate this.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

When I did a lot of my early gigs , I was playing mainly root notes only. This worked for quite some time .
Eventually, what I found was the more bands I joined(or applied for), the more they wanted.

Fashon in the 80s had something to do with that as well IMHO ( flea, clay pool , Hamm)

Even in songs with keyboards in , I was expected to know them.
Having said that, the more we play, the more we get involved

[Grangur]

Isn't it "horses for courses"?

John Entwhistle didn't do simple either, and Pete Townshend wasn't complaining much. (Ref: DVD "An Ox's Tale)

That said, if the band is playing classic blues, then your job as a bass player is to drive the groove; the OP's point.

[Kiwi]

Simple bass lines aren't lost. They're everywhere.

[Hobbayne]

I must confess I find simple basslines boring . We do a cover of ACDC's Overdose which bores me rigid, so I stick a few bits in it here and there to break up the monotony

[thegom]

Ok, the original post was a little provocative... I certainly enjoy even very complex bass playing in the right places. My point is more that everyone seems to only appreciate complex lines nowadays. I think to play a simple bass line can often add more to a song than an overly complex one.

So that's the simplicity appreciation thread!

[BassBus]

[quote name='thegom' timestamp='1380822680' post='2231167']
My point is more that everyone seems to only appreciate complex lines nowadays.
[/quote]

Youtube might have something to do with that. Janek Gwizdala has commented on the subject. The only clips of him playing on there are the 2 minutes of him playing at many miles an hour with a hundred notes per bar. [I e[size=4]xaggerate[/size][size=4], obviously] No-one sees the hundred gigs he did last year on a P bass.[/size]