shoulderpet Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Hi All Wondering which bass players play in the upper register like Peter Hook. Have been learning What do you want from me by Monaco which has a fantastic upper register bassline by Peter Hook and it occurred to me that melodically the upper register opens up a lot of possibilities, after finding out if there are other players that are similar to hooky in there upper register work , thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 I am not familiar with Peter Hook, but Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead is known for his upper registry bass work - I play in a GD tribute band and, for example, 'Fire on the Mountain' can last for 15 mins without the bass going below the 16th and 14th frets on the G string, except for a passing F# on the 11th fret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 High-register playing is def not for me, but I do love that song by Monaco, which imo is made by Hookys bass-line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stylon Pilson Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 11 minutes ago, Lozz196 said: High-register playing is def not for me, but I do love that song by Monaco, which imo is made by Hookys bass-line. When I hum the chorus of that song, I find that it gradually turns into "When You're Gone" by Bryan Adams and Mel C. So there's that. S.P. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Me! The guitarist from one of my bands recently decided to leave and we decided not to replace him, so I've been using a Bass VI. I share the bottom end duties with the synth player, so when I'm playing in the upper register he's holding down the bass, and when I'm doing a more conventional bass line he's playing the melody. Works very well, and it gives plenty of sonic space for our fantastic singer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 What is this "upper register" of which you speak? 2 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 1 hour ago, Happy Jack said: What is this "upper register" of which you speak? I think they mean up there where the dust collects.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 1 hour ago, BigRedX said: Me! The guitarist from one of my bands recently decided to leave and we decided not to replace him, so I've been using a Bass VI. I share the bottom end duties with the synth player, so when I'm playing in the upper register he's holding down the bass, and when I'm doing a more conventional bass line he's playing the melody. Works very well, and it gives plenty of sonic space for our fantastic singer. That sounds cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 6 minutes ago, Bigwan said: I think they mean up there where the dust collects.... You've paid for all those frets, might as well use them from time to time! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted June 8, 2018 Author Share Posted June 8, 2018 2 hours ago, FinnDave said: I am not familiar with Peter Hook, but Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead is known for his upper registry bass work - I play in a GD tribute band and, for example, 'Fire on the Mountain' can last for 15 mins without the bass going below the 16th and 14th frets on the G string, except for a passing F# on the 11th fret. Thanks I will give them a listen If you are not familiar with Peter hook the below... Monaco -what do you want from me Joy division - Love will tear us apart New order - Sunrise 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 2 hours ago, BigRedX said: Me! The guitarist from one of my bands recently decided to leave and we decided not to replace him, so I've been using a Bass VI. I share the bottom end duties with the synth player, so when I'm playing in the upper register he's holding down the bass, and when I'm doing a more conventional bass line he's playing the melody. Works very well, and it gives plenty of sonic space for our fantastic singer. Sounds fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Me as well, most of the Yodaclub songs involve me playing up at the dusty end, we have keyboards who are quite happy to step in and supply the low end whilst I get all high and melodic, in quite a few of our songs the lead riff is taken by me on bass whilst the guitar fills in underneath.....that said, Peter Hook is probably the biggest influence on my bass playing and New Order / Joy Division are a big influence to the rest of the members of Yodaclub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 The late great Glenn Cornick of Jethro Tull paid more than the odd visit to the upper register, as can be heard from his work on "Living in the Past" and "Serenade to a Cuckoo". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 In a completely different style Alex in Ned's Atomic Dustbin spends the majority of the time up the squeaky end of the neck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 McCartney wanders up there on occasion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 4 hours ago, BigRedX said: Me! The guitarist from one of my bands recently decided to leave and we decided not to replace him, so I've been using a Bass VI. I share the bottom end duties with the synth player, so when I'm playing in the upper register he's holding down the bass, and when I'm doing a more conventional bass line he's playing the melody. Works very well, and it gives plenty of sonic space for our fantastic singer. You're getting a lot of appreciation on this thread for this - understandably so (and I'm also following your Bass VI thread with interest). Any uploaded clips of how it all sounds with your band that you're able to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steantval Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Very rarely, although I did during the bass solo in Mr Big by Free and if you are playing the bass riff correct during the guitar solo in Alright Now, you also need to be in the higher reaches. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
project_c Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 I do, all the time. I easily spend more time there than down low. Wasn’t a conscious decision, just ended up liking that area more as time went on, maybe because it’s more comfortable. Also I have to take solos and doing that in the lower register is super hard. I’m always impressed by players who can take speedy solos down there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 33 minutes ago, Al Krow said: You're getting a lot of appreciation on this thread for this - understandably so (and I'm also following your Bass VI thread with interest). Any uploaded clips of how it all sounds with your band that you're able to share? Unfortunately not yet. We're 3 rehearsals in to our new guitar-less format and have 4 songs partially rearranged to suit the new line-up and 2 new songs about 3/4 finished. However we will be going into the studio as soon as we feel we are ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 36 minutes ago, BigRedX said: Unfortunately not yet. We're 3 rehearsals in to our new guitar-less format and have 4 songs partially rearranged to suit the new line-up and 2 new songs about 3/4 finished. However we will be going into the studio as soon as we feel we are ready. Cool, well I'm looking forward to the outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 (edited) Juan Alderette does some cool upper register playing with The Mars Volta Edited June 8, 2018 by Graham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrunoBass Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 5 hours ago, bartelby said: In a completely different style Alex in Ned's Atomic Dustbin spends the majority of the time up the squeaky end of the neck. When I saw them they had a second bass player handling the low end stuff. Admittedly that was in 1990 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 8 hours ago, BrunoBass said: When I saw them they had a second bass player handling the low end stuff. Yeah, Ned's always ever had 2 bass players. How cool is that?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 12 hours ago, BrunoBass said: When I saw them they had a second bass player handling the low end stuff. Admittedly that was in 1990 😉 4 hours ago, paul_5 said: Yeah, Ned's always ever had 2 bass players. How cool is that?! Yeah. They still do. I saw them 3 times in April, this year, with The Wonder Stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 (edited) I do a lot. Probably came from when I was learning and I had a look at songs like "give it away" by RHCP and the nice double-stop bit in Californication. On my first band I wasn't very competent but it was three piece with licence to elaborate so I started off with slides down from the dusty end and up on to the dusty end, and it cuts through nicely. I now play up there for fills, sometimes when I can't be bothered to swap basses for the song "little miss can't be wrong" by the spin doctors I'll play the low note, whizz up the top end, back to the bottom... It's a sweaty job for the whole song but worth it. I also play a little higher register melody under the intro a Richie Havens type version of Back to my Roots. I like the upper register. Edited June 9, 2018 by uk_lefty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.