Boy, do guitars gig the limelight.

[scalpy]

Got the annual Panto run this week. (oh yes I have) 80% of it is on bass, 19% is trying to get the audience participation going and there is one 8 bar guitar solo in a ballad. All I hear is guitar solo this guitar solo that.

It was the same when I was playing in an originals band trying to avoid getting a proper job. I could probably count the number of new people who talked to me after a gig on one hand. I did two gigs on guitar and met my wife!

Why are people so massively biased towards guitar? It can't be just the frequency range they occupy surely?

[skidder652003]

cos you look a tool throwing shapes on a bass...

[Geek99]

Because, as equinox put it in their documentary, the electric guitar can move the spirit.
Bass merely moves their bowels; which do you think the audience find preferable ?

[acidbass]

It could be worse - you could be a keys player talking about how bass guitar gets all the glory.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1481096118' post='3189600']
Got the annual Panto run this week. (oh yes I have) 80% of it is on bass, 19% is trying to get the audience participation going and there is one 8 bar guitar solo in a ballad. All I hear is guitar solo this guitar solo that.

It was the same when I was playing in an originals band trying to avoid getting a proper job. I could probably count the number of new people who talked to me after a gig on one hand. I did two gigs on guitar and met my wife!

Why are people so massively biased towards guitar? It can't be just the frequency range they occupy surely?
[/quote]

The way I see it, is you have two choices:

1. Switch to guitar

2. Stick with it safe in the knowledge that playing music as a band is more than the sum of its parts and it's the ensemble that is important, not any one individual musician.

Besides:

1. IMO the real heroes of any piece of music are those who wrote it in the first place

2. It's panto, not high art. Take your money and quit whining.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1481099163' post='3189614']
cos you look a tool throwing shapes on a bass...
[/quote]

You might look like a tool throwing shapes while playing the bass, but I look f***ing awesome! ;-)

[Billy Apple]

I've not found this. I've always got enough attention to make me happy.

[Happy Jack]

Have to beat 'em off with a stick, me.















No, not really.

[EliasMooseblaster]

[quote name='acidbass' timestamp='1481100806' post='3189628']
It could be worse - you could be a keys player talking about how bass guitar gets all the glory.
[/quote]

Meanwhile, on PianoChat:

"Honestly, if my left hand were detachable, I wouldn't bother bringing it along, the way he hogs the limelight in the lower register..."

[ezbass]

Guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, it doesn't matter, the person front and centre, grasping the mic always gets the majority of the kudos, regardless of talent or even looks. 'Twas ever thus. On the up side, as we as bass players rarely get any compliments or recognition, when it actually happens it means so much more.

[Geek99]

I got recognition once, female audience member came up to me and told me the bass sounded immense and totally awesome

[12stringbassist]

I played in a band with a quite young guitarist. The amount of fuss he got from the crowd was unbelievable. It never got to me at all that he got more fuss, why should it? My problem was that he had a very limited set of tricks, was generally inaccurate and totally lazy about learning technique and point blank refused to learn any new songs, unless his dad (the drummer) bullied him into it. It was like going to the museum every gig.

I think why a guitarist gets the limelight is that they are playing some version of the melody of the song, that sticks out, at people.
I just think it's better that someone in the band gets attention than an audience ignoring them.

[BrunoBass]

My covers band includes two very capable guitarists but (not blowing my own trumpet or anything) the band member that gets the most comments at a gig is little old me, the bass player. I'm at best an adequate bass player but people regularly mention my playing and sound. I'm not a show-y, flamboyant player but my playing is quite 'up front' in the band sound and people seem to like it! I'm happy with that! It's nice to get positive comments.

Edited December 7, 2016 by PaulGibsonBass

[Cosmo Valdemar]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1481101032' post='3189633']


It's panto, not high art. Take your money and quit whining.

[/quote]

Wow.

[Monkey Steve]

also, "solo"

In my experience most punters notice the singer first and can put up with some pretty ropy performances from the rest of the band without noticing, but in the rock/metal world whoever does the guitar solos, as long as they sound reasonably competent, gets a disproportionate amount of attention even if they are at best very average musicians. No awareness that often solos can be pretty simple compared to what the other musicians are doing.

Hence the massive egos attached to all singers and lead guitarists.

[scalpy]

To clarify, I'm happy bass playing, I don't mind being unnoticed, I do 80+ gigs on bass, all of my work repeat bookings pretty much. With this particular job however I was observing and commenting on how the two instruments are treated by the public. I was wondering why. That is all! (As an aside though my attitude to Panto is a pound earned doing that gig is the same as a pound earned playing jazz or a session or whatever and deserves as much attention. Buys my Christmas presents for another year.)

[barneyg42]

My band, girl singer and guitard hubby get it all!! Only time I get talked to is if another bassist is in the house which is rare. One time though I remember a guy coming up afterwards talking about his guitars etc essentially boring me to tears when he made a comment that really stood out for me, "your playing was excellent and you make it look so easy, at one with the bass! Fantastic!" That really stuck with me because although I'm not a great reader and don't practice a lot when I think about how I'm playing I realise what he was saying!

[Cosmo Valdemar]

[quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1481118495' post='3189839']
(As an aside though my attitude to Panto is a pound earned doing that gig is the same as a pound earned playing jazz or a session or whatever and deserves as much attention. Buys my Christmas presents for another year.)
[/quote]

Quite right. I'd love to have a gig like that!

Some quite unpleasant snobbery rearing it's head on here, completely unnecessary.

[razze06]

Try bringing a double bass to the gig, and suddenly you get more attention than you may want...

Edited December 7, 2016 by razze06

[skidder652003]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1481101074' post='3189634']
You might look like a tool throwing shapes while playing the bass, but I look f***ing awesome! ;-)
[/quote]
maybe I should widen my legs a bit......

[SICbass]

[quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1481118495' post='3189839']
(As an aside though my attitude to Panto is a pound earned doing that gig is the same as a pound earned playing jazz or a session or whatever and deserves as much attention. Buys my Christmas presents for another year.)
[/quote]

I work abroad where they don't have the Panto tradition and I'd love to do one. Panto rocks!

[TrevorR]

[quote name='SICbass' timestamp='1481132294' post='3189943']
Panto rocks!
[/quote]

"Oh! No, it doesn't!!!!"



Taking our little 'un to his first panto this year.. can't wait!

[Grangur]

Imho Most of the folk in the audience don't understand the bass. The funny thing is they dance to the bass all night, but think it's the guitar that is producing the sounds.

[Huge Hands]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1481186615' post='3190277']
Imho Most of the folk in the audience don't understand the bass. The funny thing is they dance to the bass all night, but think it's the guitar that is producing the sounds.
[/quote]

Being not the most attractive fella, and not getting many girls at gigs, I used to wind guitarists up with a drunken theory along these lines - I'll try and keep it clean and a lot less sexist macho speak for this thread, but my argument was along the lines of:

"The bass player makes the audience move, and groove, and gets their private bits all tingly. They look up and see a guitarist shredding on his knees or a singer screaming along and assume that is what is doing it, so they go after them.

So every time you get the girl (or guy), you owe it all to the bass player!"

I'm not sure I believed it myself even back then, but it used to wind the egotist ones up a bit!

[leftybassman392]

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1481100407' post='3189625']
Because, as equinox put it in their documentary, the electric guitar can move the spirit.
Bass merely moves their bowels; which do you think the audience find preferable ?
[/quote]

I suspect the answer to that one could be age-dependent.