Bass player exclusion

[PaulWarning]

as with full bands, some acoustic acts are good some not so, we've tried a couple of 'stripped down' shows, drummer with cajon, acoustic guitar, me on turned down bass (can't really see the point of acoustic bass if you're going through an amp), we didn't enjoy them and won't be doing any more.

I do open mics and a very occasional gig (usually charity, so no money) with me on acoustic guitar and vocals and my partner on snare, hi hat and crash, they work better or maybe expectations are lower lol.

I do think acoustic guitars and bass sort of cancel each other out because acoustic guitars are bassy anyway 

[Baxlin]

Going back to the Portuguese bass-only band, he is brilliant, no doubt, and he is playing a bass guitar, but he’s not really "playing bass", IMO.  

From his chord shapes, he could have it tuned to the top 4 strings of a guitar, rather than the bottom four, and play ukulele chord shapes?

Having said that, I wish I was even half as good!!

Edited May 23, 2018 by Baxlin

[Barking Spiders]

15 hours ago, ianrendall said:

I think this is accurate.

For the record, I hate ‘acoustic nights’. Usually some over-earnest scrotter with a beard and unbuttoned lumberjack shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a Jack Daniel’s tshirt underneath playing ‘his take’ on classic rock numbers. 

+ 1 here. if not some earnest beardy hipster then it's some born again, fey new age girlie with gossamer thin vocals strumming one chord a minute on her nylon string while warbling some Joni Mitchell

[thepurpleblob]

A lot of pubs around my way are turning into pseudo-restaurants. They have less space (dining tables = money) and don't want full bands while people are eating. 

[Dad3353]

2 hours ago, Barking Spiders said:

... it's some born again, fey new age girlie with gossamer thin vocals strumming one chord a minute on her nylon string while warbling some Joni Mitchell

I'd pay to go to such gigs..! Nostalgia, you see. 

[Cuzzie]

Get a 12 string bass, and have the duo as the bass player and singer, no guitarist, use a singular sound beat buddy for a rhythm section if you need it, small combo amp, or into the PA, job done

[Cato]

It won't be long until there's a backlash against the current trend for sensitive types with acoustic guitars singing slushy ballads.

It's been absolutely done to death over the last few years.

[ricksterphil]

It's the way things are going certainly and round our way there are a LOT of acoustic om nights. A lot of the bedroom warriors need to learn how to project a song and entertain an audience, but I've seen some stand out performances from singer/guitarists or on one occasion a ukulele duo!  If it keeps live music in places that would otherwise not bother, I think it's a good thing as long as the quality is there

[Len_derby]

As the nature of venues change, and the way people want to listen to music changes surely we adapt to it as musicians? Either that or bow out.

As a balance, there's tons of events calling themselves 'festivals' (with a broad range of quality) that have emerged in the last 10-15 years. Plenty of opportunities for full bands that didn't exist previously.

 

 

[Ghost_Bass]

On 23/05/2018 at 08:48, Baxlin said:

Going back to the Portuguese bass-only band, he is brilliant, no doubt, and he is playing a bass guitar, but he’s not really "playing bass", IMO.  

From his chord shapes, he could have it tuned to the top 4 strings of a guitar, rather than the bottom four, and play ukulele chord shapes?

Having said that, I wish I was even half as good!!

That's the point i was making. He's a bass player and plays the traditional way in bands but if he didn't got out of his way to learn how to play like that he wouldn't have been ofered the gig. It's one of those rare cases where the bass player can take the place of the guitar for the acoustic duo by learning how to use the bass as a harmonic instrument.