Anyone play rock and pop on DB?

[randythoades]

Hi all, just a silly question to see if anyone plays rock and/or pop on a DB in preference over electric bass?
I have been learning DB (on an EUB) for 3 or 4 months (playing mainly blues and rock and roll) and enjoying it greatly, but currently splitting my playing time between my DB practice and jamming with friends using electric bass. I thought that maybe if I just did DB, it would help me progress quicker on the instrument and improve my intonation. We tend to play soft rock / pop covers such as Bryan Adams, Sheryl Crow, Eric Clapton, nothing too strenuous on bass so I figure I can modify my lines to fit around DB instead. Will broach the subject with the lads next time we meet...

It would also mean I could sell off some of my electric bass gear to fund the purchase of an acoustic DB (which is probably the real reason to be honest... )

Just interested to see if anyone else does or has done the same.

[TPJ]

Yep, we had a trio of acoustic guitar, DB and cajon playing Rolling Stones to Kylie. I never thought it would work but the crowds loved it. I think if you play familiar songs, your brain fills in any missing parts. It works well.

[randythoades]

[quote name='TPJ' timestamp='1390496895' post='2346064']
Yep, we had a trio of acoustic guitar, DB and cajon playing Rolling Stones to Kylie. I never thought it would work but the crowds loved it. I think if you play familiar songs, your brain fills in any missing parts. It works well.
[/quote]
Excellent. Just the thing I need to hear. Sometimes you think you must be crazy, but I think it could work for me too...

[Beedster]

Yep, we used to do a set of originals (alt-Americana apparently), and then a set of pop/rock, tracks we did included Fans (Kings of Leon), Round Here (Counting Crows), For What It's Worth (Buffalo Springfield), When You Were Young (Killers), Wild Nights (Van Morrison), Dancing In the Moonlight (Thin Lizzy), Bad Things (Jace Everett), You Can Bring Me Flowers (Ray Lamontagne), I could go on. I found a mag pickup at the end of the fingerboard made life a lot easier in terms of both amplifying the instrument and getting a sound that fitted with the tracks.

[Happy Jack]

But when say that you would "modify" your lines, be ready for some pretty radical modification.

IME trying to play electric bass lines, even simplified ones, on a DB frequently just doesn't work.The physical demands of the DB and the very different tonal qualities mean that you often end up playing something really quite different.

[Beedster]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1390499587' post='2346118']
But when say that you would "modify" your lines, be ready for some pretty radical modification.

IME trying to play electric bass lines, even simplified ones, on a DB frequently just doesn't work.The physical demands of the DB and the very different tonal qualities mean that you often end up playing something really quite different.
[/quote]

Ha ha, yes, our attempt at the Stones' 'Miss You' is probably a good example of the above

However, with the right strings, the right action and the right PUP it was nothing like as hard as I thought it would be to play some rock/pop. Wild Nights, which I imagined would be pretty hard to play, was actually surprisingly easy, and For What It's Worth was outstanding, actualy worked so much better on DB (I'm not necessarily saying it sounded good mind!). For me the key thing was that if I wanted the DB to sound like a [i]real [/i]DB, which for me would have meant higher action, mic or bridge PUP, different strings and a different style of playing, I doubt I could have done it. When we gigged the above set, the DB probably sounded more like a electric fretless (it was also going through a Walkabout), just looked a lot better

Edited January 23, 2014 by Beedster

[Cat Burrito]

I play rock 'n' roll on mine - Eddie Cochran, Elvis etc and periodically in my Americana band. So I guess I fit the bill here.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='BurritoBass' timestamp='1390500253' post='2346128']
I play rock 'n' roll on mine - Eddie Cochran, Elvis etc and periodically in my Americana band. So I guess I fit the bill here.
[/quote]

[URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Just%20Stuff/Music%20and%20Musicians/tn6L7qS_zps2d5ddf7b.png.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Just%20Stuff/Music%20and%20Musicians/tn6L7qS_zps2d5ddf7b.png[/IMG][/URL]

[Cat Burrito]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1390501107' post='2346147']
[url="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Just%20Stuff/Music%20and%20Musicians/tn6L7qS_zps2d5ddf7b.png.html"][/url]
[/quote]

Of course I regret that dress now!

[oggiesnr]

The Y Street Band in York play pop covers and use a double bass exclusively. DB, cajon and three guitars, helps that they can all sing as well. Their set includes Come and See Me, Another Brick in the Wall, Kiss and Down Under. Very good they are too

Steve

[Rabbie]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I am understanding the question differently here.
Any songs can be played on double bass of course. However the characteristics of the instrument are such that it has to be matched well to the rest of the band. If you are suggesting that your band will play in exactly the same way while you are just gonna unplug the electric and plug in the DB, it won't work at all. All the band formations that were suggested above take into consideration the characteristics of the double bass by favouring the acoustic element, or at least by re-arranging the songs cleverly. Of course you can sound like almost similar to an electric by lowering your action, getting certain strings and adopting a pseudo-electric right hand technique. But this will leave you with a wimpy tone and a heck of a big thing to carry around to gigs for no musical gain. Also, remember that playing DB at rock volumes is possible (I do it all the time), but it will take a hefty investment in equipment and learning to fight feedback. If your band understands how to make a feature of the DB by adjusting the arrangements, volumes and approach, you will be able to play anything you want and sound great. I hope this makes sense and i wish you the best of luck.

[Maude]

Exactly as Rabbie said .

We do covers of Daft Punks 'Get Lucky', Katy Perrys 'I Kissed a Girl' among a few other 'pop' songs but they are arranged differently for the bass, cajon, guitar and mandolin in the band.
They work really well with the instruments but if I did them as straight covers with drums and a couple of electric guitarsthere would be no reason to use the DB.

I understand what you're saying about using the situation for practice but I wouldn't switch solely to DB if it's a 'regular' band.

[Clarky]

Agreed with above couple of posts. My lot, All The Queens Ravens, have settled on me using an EUB (admittedly the vaguely double bass shaped Baby Bass) due to practical and logistic problems of carrying a full size dog house around Centtral London. Sounds enough like a DB to fool most people and doesn't feed back which is amazingly helpful given we are quite loud. We will always record with a 'proper' DB though

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0noHL4khCeM&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D0noHL4khCeM

[thisnameistaken]

I've done a few sets with a guy who throws in pop covers with his own slacker rap stuff and we've done tunes from Housemartins to Jessie J to Snoop Dogg with him on acoustic guitar and me on upright bass, both doing vocals. It helps if you're good.

If it's your main gig though it's a bit different. Your band might not appreciate the alternative instrumentation.

[randythoades]

[quote name='Rabbie' timestamp='1390509703' post='2346300']
Correct me if I'm wrong but I am understanding the question differently here.
Any songs can be played on double bass of course. However the characteristics of the instrument are such that it has to be matched well to the rest of the band. If you are suggesting that your band will play in exactly the same way while you are just gonna unplug the electric and plug in the DB, it won't work at all. All the band formations that were suggested above take into consideration the characteristics of the double bass by favouring the acoustic element, or at least by re-arranging the songs cleverly. Of course you can sound like almost similar to an electric by lowering your action, getting certain strings and adopting a pseudo-electric right hand technique. But this will leave you with a wimpy tone and a heck of a big thing to carry around to gigs for no musical gain. Also, remember that playing DB at rock volumes is possible (I do it all the time), but it will take a hefty investment in equipment and learning to fight feedback. If your band understands how to make a feature of the DB by adjusting the arrangements, volumes and approach, you will be able to play anything you want and sound great. I hope this makes sense and i wish you the best of luck.
[/quote]

Thanks for this. I realise that it is a different concept and you are right, this was probably the guts behind my question. I am just not sure how it would fit dynamically. I have physically played the songs at home on DB and trying to play the same lines doesn't quite work both in sound or feel for that matter, but in some ways that was my point. At the moment I prefer playing the DB over the bass guitar and wanted to almost pick one as my go to instrument, but didn't want to upset the dynamics of the band as they play off and relate to the electric bass. Rock and pop groups with a DB isn't something I have seen often, hence my curiosity. Perhaps this is a question I need to raise seriously with the others as it will have more effect on them than I perhaps realised at first.
I suppose I can take both to a jam and give it a try. Will test their skill as players (and mine) to see if they can cope with the dynamic change and see how it goes for a couple of weeks. I just like the idea of being different.

[randythoades]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1390517041' post='2346454']
I've done a few sets with a guy who throws in pop covers with his own slacker rap stuff and we've done tunes from Housemartins to Jessie J to Snoop Dogg with him on acoustic guitar and me on upright bass, both doing vocals. It helps if you're good.

If it's your main gig though it's a bit different. Your band might not appreciate the alternative instrumentation.
[/quote]

I am definitely not that good, that is one reason for trying, I want more experience of the instrument.... As you say, the band may not really like it though!!!

[Beedster]

[quote name='randythoades' timestamp='1390554621' post='2346645']
Thanks for this. I realise that it is a different concept and you are right, this was probably the guts behind my question. I am just not sure how it would fit dynamically. I have physically played the songs at home on DB and trying to play the same lines doesn't quite work both in sound or feel for that matter, but in some ways that was my point. At the moment I prefer playing the DB over the bass guitar and wanted to almost pick one as my go to instrument, but didn't want to upset the dynamics of the band as they play off and relate to the electric bass. Rock and pop groups with a DB isn't something I have seen often, hence my curiosity. Perhaps this is a question I need to raise seriously with the others as it will have more effect on them than I perhaps realised at first.
I suppose I can take both to a jam and give it a try. Will test their skill as players (and mine) to see if they can cope with the dynamic change and see how it goes for a couple of weeks. I just like the idea of being different.
[/quote]


It's pretty easy to make a DB sound like an EB through use of appropriate strings, PUP and amplification. You're spot on though, the key question is whether it adds anything. As the folks above have made clear, even in the most DB friendly genres, there are likely compromises to be made in making the switch, and those compromises build the farther away from 'DB-friendly' is your band's music.

However, there are no rules, this is music not science, so do what works for you.

[randythoades]

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1390554907' post='2346653']
It's pretty easy to make a DB sound like an EB through use of appropriate strings, PUP and amplification. You're spot on though, the key question is whether it adds anything. As the folks above have made clear, even in the most DB friendly genres, there are likely compromises to be made in making the switch, and those compromises build the farther away from 'DB-friendly' is your band's music.

However, there are no rules, this is music not science, so do what works for you.
[/quote]

Well, as a rock guitarist at heart I usually take the "this works for me, deal with it attitude.."
But as a reformed bassist I am much more of a team player these days so will accommodate with the needs of the band over personal preference to a degree. Also, with all due respect to them, but the two guitarists are at a lower skill level than myself and am not quite as confident that they can cope with a change... Granted, my EUB can sound like a bass guitar in some ways and some of the lines will fit fine on both instruments. I may try to take both and try to group the songs into sections of 4 or 5 so I can do DB for 15 mins, then guitar for 15 mins and so on.
From most of the posts though, lots of folk seem to have their doubts on the long term feasibility. I will reserve judgement until I see what the reaction will be when I ask the question next week. If it gets a lukewarm response I may not worry and purely practice the DB at home, even on the usual electric bass tracks.
Thanks for the input chaps!

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='randythoades' timestamp='1390554781' post='2346651']
I am definitely not that good, that is one reason for trying, I want more experience of the instrument.... As you say, the band may not really like it though!!!
[/quote]

Sorry no I meant if the act is good. I'm not particularly good either.

Beedster said it well though. Sometimes you can't directly reproduce a bass guitar part on the upright (either physically, or because it doesn't sound good) so you would have to compromise in some cases and your band might not like that.

[BobVbass]

Yes I play all sorts of songs on my DB you just have to change the dynamic of the bassline to suit - but then you know what I play already

[randythoades]

[quote name='BobVbass' timestamp='1390941636' post='2351649']
Yes I play all sorts of songs on my DB you just have to change the dynamic of the bassline to suit - but then you know what I play already
[/quote]
That is true, although "bassline" may be a bit of a strong term... How about "slightly musical orientated noise"? :-)
Not playing anything at all on DB at moment though, forearm pain back with a vengeance this week. Trouble is, it puts me back on development by having a week out, which is the main reason to try doing more variety...

[BobVbass]

I think the main thing with faster pop tunes on DB is the extra speed and drive you can get with EB is something you need to alter - on EB especially plectrum playing you can get buckets of drive very easily - lots of same note rhythm; with DB the harder playing dynamics mean you have to alter the bass line to longer sustained notes and perhaps adopt a more walking line approach - sometimes that turns into something special and sometimes not - either way, for better or worse, it changes the dynamic of the song. For slow pop songs there's no real difference in approach so I think the DB trumps the EB every time, the only time I don't use it in those cases is if I don;t have time to switch between the two.

With your forearm take it slowly and make sure you warm up first, start with slower songs too and build up your strength

[randythoades]

[quote name='BobVbass' timestamp='1391069781' post='2352801']
I think the main thing with faster pop tunes on DB is the extra speed and drive you can get with EB is something you need to alter - on EB especially plectrum playing you can get buckets of drive very easily - lots of same note rhythm; with DB the harder playing dynamics mean you have to alter the bass line to longer sustained notes and perhaps adopt a more walking line approach - sometimes that turns into something special and sometimes not - either way, for better or worse, it changes the dynamic of the song. For slow pop songs there's no real difference in approach so I think the DB trumps the EB every time, the only time I don't use it in those cases is if I don;t have time to switch between the two.

With your forearm take it slowly and make sure you warm up first, start with slower songs too and build up your strength
[/quote]

I have been trying a few of the other songs at home and some work fine on the DB but some I have struggled with. We are only doing friendly jamming so it is nothing serious, but I don't want to pee everyone off just for the sake of it. You are right that several of the songs have effectively just 8th note chugging with a pick and I haven't got into the mindframe of DB yet and not quite making the change to bassline convincingly. As Bob in particular knows, I tend to play bass as a rhythm guitar with a lot of rhythmical mutes and clicks, some of which I am hoping to replicate, but the vocalist is very much more of a singer/songwriter style so I think it would fit his style well. The guitarist is much more of a straight rock guitarist and I think that could be a problem... I should know, I am one!
I am trying to do warm ups, drink lots of water and take it slowly in blocks of about 20 minutes. But I am getting frustrated quickly and trying to push it. Then I have 2 or 3 days on EB and lose momentum on DB. Grrr...

[randythoades]

Well, took the plunge... took my EUB to the jam night instead of my EB. Low key affair with just 2 guitars and bass, no drums. Had a couple of new tracks to try out. Singer/rhythm guitarist wanted to start with a fast version of Whitesnake's Black and Blue. Sh*t! Very involved although easy bass line to play. Was like a train wreck.... We moved on.

Went through a couple of other songs: Sheryl Crow (Anything But Down), JJ Cale (Call Me the Breeze) and I started to settle and the chaps started responding to the DB rather than fighting it and it started to come together. Bryan Adams (When You're Gone), Kenny Wayne Shepherd (Blue on Black) and Tina Turner (Steamy Windows) followed and worked really well as I got far more comfortable. We went back to the Whitesnake and I changed the bassline and didn't attempt the EB line. We slowed the song down and made it more like a busking version, I did vocal harmonies and more of a walking bassline, very satisfying.
Plus, rather then just doing my rock and roll lines and playing something different, I managed a 3 hour jam with no arm pain.
I will have to gauge post-jam reaction but I may do it again!

[BobVbass]

Nice one! well done mate! Big tick in the box