TimR Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1429733631' post='2754483'] I said I kind of laugh ( wry smile ) if playing a standard riff in the shop context, and half of that is that we've all done it thinking it would impress, when it probably doesn't, especially if that riff is one you recognise when you were a kid learning to play these standards ...-and the other half is that the vast majority of musicians I know have an ego...as that is what gets them up on stage in the first place. Some may hide it better than others and some may not wish it to be a factor as they know where they are in their playing, but it is there in most, IME. Someone playing in a shop is nothing to do with my thoughts about what this place is for. [/quote] Kind of. But when I'm playing in a shop or at a band practice I'm not trying to impress anyone. I'm buying a bass or practicing with the band. If I'm on stage then I'm trying to entertain and maybe impress an audience. I don't think I've ever gone into a shop to impress shop staff. Seems a bit of an odd concept. Hence. I don't have a box of tricks to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subbeh Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 My playing isn't going to impress anyone in a part piece kind of a way, so I'm generally not busting out any flash stuff. A few scales up and down the fretboard, and a light bit of noodling of whatevers in my head at the time. Generally I just like to get a feel for the neck and how the tone/electronics colour the sound. Also nice just to get a feel of the weight of a bass and the balance. Being a lefty does mean it's pretty rare that I get the opportunity though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Runaway Sir Duke Brown Eyed Girl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ras52 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 [quote name='Subbeh' timestamp='1429798467' post='2755071'] Also nice just to get a feel of the weight of a bass and the balance. [/quote] Now this is a thing... I don't think I've ever tried one out standing up! Note to self to take a strap along next time - shopkeepers don't want the virginity of their straps-for-sale violated but they don't seem to have any used ones lying around for trying out basses :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky Dunky Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Lot of people here play Sir Duke. I have nothing to add to that comment, just an observation. Although, I think I should learn it. The only SW bass parts I have learned thus far are I Was Made To Love Her and I Wish. Two absolutely stonking lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 [quote name='TimR' timestamp='1429797479' post='2755058'] Kind of. But when I'm playing in a shop or at a band practice I'm not trying to impress anyone. I'm buying a bass or practicing with the band. If I'm on stage then I'm trying to entertain and maybe impress an audience. I don't think I've ever gone into a shop to impress shop staff. Seems a bit of an odd concept. Hence. I don't have a box of tricks to play. [/quote] But the other side of that is that we do play to impress... We play to impress to get in a band and we play to impress at a gig. Entertain and impress can be similar things here but music is also competitive in that there is only one bass slot open in a gig and you need to get it..? Auditions are all about that and in some ways you are selling your prowess in many other instances. At open mic and jam nights, you are often going there to network and get a gig. If you want to play with lots of people and you want the gig above the others, then impressing is going to be part of that. If I was playing in a music shop, I might make a contact or just get known by someone etc etc .... I can always turn down something if I'm offered in in the first place.... but conversely..? Of course, this 'intensity' has a down side, and the above instance might be part of that, but that is also is what drives you on over all these years so you have to accept the good with the bad... or that is how I deal with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 [quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1429740424' post='2754575'] +1 just for celebrate. I would play that just to cheer up everyone in the shop! [/quote] /coughGothcough/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Undead Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1429596621' post='2752895'] The first 90 seconds or so of[list] [*]Honky Tonk Women [*]Alright Now [*]We Will Rock You [/list] [/quote] Haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tullfan Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I normally choose a bass I like, plug it in and , without switching on, play acoustically for a while. If I like it, and I usually know straight away, without waisting anymore time, I buy the amp! ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blamelouis Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1429804355' post='2755153'] Lot of people here play Sir Duke. I have nothing to add to that comment, just an observation. Although, I think I should learn it. The only SW bass parts I have learned thus far are I Was Made To Love Her and I Wish. Two absolutely stonking lines. [/quote] I was made to love her is my fav Stevie Wonder song and stonking bassline. I first heard it on Standing in the shadows of motown when Marcus Miller played it. Sir Duke is a great line for getting round the fretboard and checking out the neck of a bass. Edited April 23, 2015 by blamelouis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1429804760' post='2755159'] ... If I was playing in a music shop, I might make a contact or just get known by someone etc etc .... [/quote] I think that's a very blunt tool. There's much better ways of networking than playing impressive riffs in a music shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 [quote name='TimR' timestamp='1429868867' post='2755701'] I think that's a very blunt tool. There's much better ways of networking than playing impressive riffs in a music shop. [/quote] Of course, but I did get asked if I would do bass lessons for the shop. I'm networked pretty well around here, IMHO, but these were new owners and I ended up giving one of them lessons... In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a goal, but that is the way that happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJE Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 I have given up worrying how a bass sounds to be honest. Strings/amp/room make a lot more difference to how my bass sound a lot of the time, and I know what a P, J, P-J, MM sound like, so the first thing I do in a shop is usually turn the amp right down so its hardly audible or I just unplug the bass straight away. I buy a bass because I like how it plays and how it feels to me. Some people think its rubbish but I like basses that are resonant acoustically, and feel 'alive'. I usually run through a few songs that I play in my bands, a bit of pop dance stuff or some old soul stuff. Last time I went to Wunjos I just played acoustically and then turned up and played a little bit of Heatwave and then some Cosmic Girl and that was me done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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