How do other people describe your bass playing and what kind of bass player are you?

[silverfoxnik]

Morning all,

Going on holiday to the Isle of Wight for a week and before leaving later today I thought I'd post this question, just in case it hasn't been asked before as I've been mulling on it for some time recently?

Some years ago I was doing a gig in Worthing and a guy came up to me afterwards to talk to me about the band.. He started by telling me how great we were (which was nice to hear of course) and then he proceed to tell me about the strengths of the musicians in the band, starting with how great a performer the singer was, what a brilliant lead guitarist we had, how amazing our drummer was and how cool it was to have a keyboard player so we could be more be diverse with our song selection, blah, blah, blah, blah , blah... You know how it can be sometime after a gig...

Anyway, then he looked and me and said ...

[i]" Er...Yeah, and you're, you know, kind of really good because, well, no one really notices you or knows you're there. Which is good right, 'cos that's how a bass player should be, right? "[/i]

My immediate thought at that moment was to send him in the direction of the Foreign Office, but then afterwards, i remember thinking to myself:

[i]'So what kind of bass player am I? Clearly an invisible one! And more than that, how do people see/hear me as a bass player?'[/i]

Obviously, my dreams of being a stand-out, virtuoso kind of bass player took a back seat many, many years ago, but I thought I had made it a little further up the ladder than just being 'invisible!' Even if he'd have said something like 'solid', I'd have been a little happier.. In fact, the whole episode reminded me once of a drummer I worked with who said i was 'pretty solid as a player.'

So, my non too serious question is:

"How do other people describe your bass playing and in contrast to that, what kind of bass player are you or do you think you are?"

My answer to that of course is that I am described as 'invisible' , yet the kind of bass player I am (in my head that is) is that I am 'a creative and musical bass player, with good timekeeping'.

How did the two ever become so far apart??

Nik

[Conan]

I tend not to ask questions that I don't want to know the answer to...

[paul h]

Somebody once said to me "You're a great bass player...you're not too loud."

Other than that I'm not sure what people think of me. Most people seem to enjoy playing with me so I must be doing something half right at least.

I think of myself as a better band member than a bass player. I like to think I make good choices and play the right thing for the song more often than not. I listen to the band when I play and I adapt to what's going around me. Technically I'm not great but I can lock in with a drummer and support the song well enough.

^^^Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it

p.s. Enjoy your hols!

[Lozz196]

Aggressive is how most describe my bass-playing. I get told quite a lot at gigs that I`ve nailed the JJ Burnell sound/feel. As a bassist in a 3-piece punk band I try to make sure that whatever I`m doing fills up the sound enough so that on solos the oomph of the song doesn`t disappear. I`ve also been described by other musicians as being like a human metronome which to me is the biggest compliment.

[Japhet]

I try to be solid and tasteful. I know people don't really want to hear bass solos so I don't do them. A very occasional touch of slap is plenty but keeping the tempo is my main focus. When the band get introduced I'm described as being 'in the engine room' which is exactly where I want to be.

[scrumpymike]

My experience is pretty much the same as Nik's. If you're an attention-seeker, best not take up the bass - unless you're a blindingly talented virtuoso, which I'm not. (Mind you, not many bands have room for one of those.) My excuse is I'm a singer who plays bass also. Come to think of it, that's been the recurring comment from punters over the years: "How the f**k do you manage to play bass and sing at the same time!?"

[Shockwave]

Usually described as really off the wall. Musicians comment on my bass solos as being awesome. :-)

[KevB]

I doubt the majority of people who see the band really know what I'm doing at all musically. As long as the whole collective sound is good that's all that really matters. A bass player at an open mic once told me I was one of the most 'natural' bass players he'd seen but I didn't (still don't) really know what that meant.

[chris_b]

An American bass player told me I was "meat and potatoes". "Solid playing" is another thing I hear a lot, which I guess is pretty much the same thing.

I have been told that I have a great sound, but anyone with my gear should give up if they didn't sound good.

[Coilte]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1467275789' post='3082399']
"Solid playing" is another thing I hear a lot
[/quote]

I have been described in this way on occasion. I take it to mean, no frills, bells, or whistles, but can hold down a groove.

[steve-bbb]

nobody ever tells me so guess it must be something along the lines of mediocre and uninspiring

[FinnDave]

I once took a leak in the tween sets break and the bloke stood next to me asked me what I thought of the band. So I assume I don't make a strong impression when I'm on stage!

[uk_lefty]

My drummer tells me I am a "busy" bassist and he enjoys that because we push each other in to fills and stops. My singer says I drive the songs well and appreciates that every time I play something that doesn't have a simple riff it's going to come out differently. If I try to play the same baselines isolated at home then they aren't very melodic or musical but in the room with my band they somehow work.

[spike]

i was told recently by an audience member after a gig that my playing was melodic. I quite like that.

[MacDaddy]

"you flirt with your bass". This was said to me when I was much younger.

[Graham]

I got told last Saturday night that I was like Mark King, I'm not that familiar with Level 42, but I don't think I could be much further away! I suspect that as it was the end of the night, a few shandies had been consumed and he was the first famous bassist the punter could think of. Very gratifying to hear though.

I also got told once, at the same venue as it happens, that I was like John Taylor. I can see that one a bit more as whilst I'm not that into Duran Duran, I, like Taylor, am a fan of Bernie.

[NancyJohnson]

I think in 30-odd years of playing, while there's been much cooing over gear, I've had perhaps less than five comments about tone, ability etc; it doesn't particularly bother me as I'd doing this for myself more than anyone else.

I don't really qualify myself as being an outstanding player or this fantastic showman - I do what I do, I'm well-rehearsed and know what's required. I don't really ache for recognition in any respect as a musician, although as I've always done the bulk of the songwriting in virtually every band I've played in, a little nod from someone saying, 'Oh, I really liked the song that goes...' is by far the better compliment.

[b]Sorry, just editing here. [/b] A couple of weeks ago Bill Carter (Screaming Blue Messiahs) was at a gig we were doing. He did say I was a good player and asked if I lived close to him (for whatever that meant, but the answer was 'no'), which was nice.

Edited June 30, 2016 by NancyJohnson

[Norris]

I know that I always have room for improvement. I'd rate myself as "competent to handy" rather than virtuoso. There are a lot better bass players out there, but I do a pretty decent job in our guitar/bass/drums trio.

Any comments from the audience are usually met with a standard "thanks mate" and not allowed anywhere near my ego

[Agwin]

Many, many years ago I was told by the bass player of another band, “This is neither a compliment nor a criticism, but you don’t half sound like Chris Squire.”

I assumed he meant tone-wise, NOT ability!

Also, more recently, a member of the audience was speaking to me and our guitarist after the gig and he said, “If I’d have had to look round the room and pick out the two people that were going to be up there in the band playing guitar and bass I’d NEVER have guessed it would be you two!”

[lojo]

Midfield Anchor controlling the tempo and solid on the structure and dynamics , just like the English football team , oh hang on thought it was compliment

[ivansc]

Been told many times that I am "easily recognisable" as a player.
Drummer say I am the solidest bass player he has ever worked with.
Recent dep keyboard player said he "loved all those cool little melodies you have going on down there".
And since I used to break strings all the time but no longer do I guess I am more laid back than I used to be!

Who the heck knows? Trying no tto let it all go to my head, as ALL these comments have been made pretty recently. Maybe now I am in my seventies I am finally getting it right!

[Happy Jack]

I find people are too busy laughing to offer any comment.

[Nicko]

It would be great if someone occasionally recognised me as the talent in the band, and described me as f***ing awesome, but I fear it may be a long time coming.

As long as they say the band is tight I'm happy.

[silverfoxnik]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1467288844' post='3082535']
I find people are too busy laughing to offer any comment.
[/quote]

[silverfoxnik]

[quote name='paul h' timestamp='1467273828' post='3082356']
Somebody once said to me "You're a great bass playing with me so I must be doing something half right at least.

I think of myself as a better band member than a bass player.

p.s. Enjoy your hols!
[/quote]

Thanks!

Good point too; being part of the band and helping to make it as good as it can be, is the most important thing..