Which bass players play in the upper register like Peter Hook?

[Hobbayne]

I do the occasional fill up there. 

Sometimes I slip a cheeky E minor lick in from time to time, but I dont linger up there too long as the bottom falls out.

[SpondonBassed]

I think a lot of older recordings feature hook (as distinct from Peter Hook's) lines that are played on bass but they're not immediately obvious as being so as the rest of the song has a proper bass line.

I sometimes play from the twelfth as if it was the nut.  I find consecutive semitones hard from about the fifteenth upwards.  I keep coming back to it and always get something new out of it.  As I have no tendencies towards leading a band it isn't a priority.

Despite that, I'd like to keep improving.  Good topic.

[MacDaddy]

On Fri Jun 08 2018 at 15:07, 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.

 

That was my first thought when I saw the thread title!

[BreadBin]

20 minutes ago, MacDaddy said:

That was my first thought when I saw the thread title!

You are not alone there 

[Bluewine]

I play a lot up around the 13th fret. Closed block, using an MRX Bass Octave Pedal.

Blue

[jazzmanb]

I don't read so the octaves are my main reference point when wandering around ,love doing high stuff and ringing open notes as well in a Tool style 

Flea is great at getting up and down too but you need a monster tone or you go missing in the mix 

My main gigs are classic rock ,one  guitar so I need to protect the bottom end first and foremost 

[dmccombe7]

On 08/06/2018 at 10:28, Happy Jack said:

What is this "upper register" of which you speak?

The technical end of the neck i think. 

 

Edited June 10, 2018 by dmccombe7

[SpondonBassed]

20 minutes ago, jazzmanb said:

I don't read so the octaves are my main reference point when wandering around ,love doing high stuff and ringing open notes as well in a Tool style 

Flea is great at getting up and down too but you need a monster tone or you go missing in the mix 

My main gigs are classic rock ,one  guitar so I need to protect the bottom end first and foremost 

Spoken like a true defender of the lowlands.

Heeheehee

[Akio Dāku]

Just a friendly nudge in the direction of my latest performance video;

I play as a solo bassist with drums on backing tracks, so I get away with a lot of dusty end stuff. 

[silverfoxnik]

My first real band in 1977 was a 3 piece, so there was a lot of scope for the bass to add melodic lines in the songs, so I often found myself playing in the upper registers..

Looking back, there were a lot of bassists around at the time who played like that, so I guess I just found what they did really inspiring.

Those players - such as Dennis Dunaway (Alice Cooper) in particular, Chris Squire (Yes), Leigh Gorman (BowWowWow), Steven Severin (Siouxsie & The Banshees and John Gustafson (Roxy Music) for example - made the role of the bass much more interesting to me by creating bass lines that either the whole song was built on, or hooks and lead melodies that made the overall songs more compelling.  Jean Jaques Burnel of The Stranglers was really good at that too.. 

Every now and again you'd get a bass solo that'd really jump out, like Graham Gouldman's solo in 10cc's 'I'm Not in Love', or John Gustafson's solo in Roxy Music's 'Song For Europe', and of course John Entwhistle's solo in 'My Generation - they were important reference points for me as a young bass player.

But it was only later on that I really began to appreciate players like McCartney and Jamerson who's melodic basslines were (for me) the real magic in the song and were in effect, almost a solo instrumental part from start to finish.

I thought I'd settled down over the years and become much less likely to be playing up in the so-called dusty end, but this photo that Mrs Silverfoxnik took of my band last summer shows that I've really not grown up at all! 😁

 

 

[steve-bbb]

doesnt work very often   ( imho ymmv mcton etc etc)

this example works extreemingly well

great player great tune

 

[steve-bbb]

On 08/06/2018 at 12:20, FinnDave said:

You've paid for all those frets, might as well use them from time to time!

you paid for the whole pineapple but i bet you didnt eat the spikey bit on the outside 😆

[silverfoxnik]

1 hour ago, steve-bbb said:

doesnt work very often   ( imho ymmv mcton etc etc)

this example works extreemingly well

great player great tune

 

Yep!

Leigh Gorman - amazingly  talented producer, musician and bass player in particular 

[bakerster135]

I think the important thing to note about Hooky's melody lines, especially in Joy Division, is that he'd often be adding an open string 'drone' alongside the line to keep some low end, e.g. She's Lost Control. He did this less so in New Order, though there was usually a Moog Source or similar synth pumping the bassline out, and his Clone Theory chorus sound would cut through most mixes! 

This is my recent attempt at a definitely Hooky-influenced bassline! 

Edited June 10, 2018 by bakerster135

[Akio Dāku]

34 minutes ago, bakerster135 said:

This is my recent attempt at a definitely Hooky-influenced bassline! 

I'm digging this man, very nice. 🙌

[lowdown]

43 minutes ago, bakerster135 said:

I think the important thing to note about Hooky's melody lines, especially in Joy Division, is that he'd often be adding an open string 'drone' alongside the line to keep some low end, e.g. She's Lost Control. He did this less so in New Order, though there was usually a Moog Source or similar synth pumping the bassline out, and his Clone Theory chorus sound would cut through most mixes! 

This is my recent attempt at a definitely Hooky-influenced bassline! 

The second part of that Bass higher register phrase/riff reminds me of the guitar line in 'January by Pilot'...Well a little bit....😀

Good stuff.

 

 

[bakerster135]

Thanks guys! 👍

[FinnDave]

8 hours ago, steve-bbb said:

you paid for the whole pineapple but i bet you didnt eat the spikey bit on the outside 😆

They make a great addition to a salad!

 

(possibly!)

[dmccombe7]

8 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

They make a great addition to a salad!

 

(possibly!)

Yeah but only for show 

[Dood]

Great thread! I actually came back to look at this as one of my students has asked about dissecting these sorts of bass lines. A personal influence for me (other than the obvious that I bang on about all the time) is actually Paul Gray who recently rejoined The Damned. Is playing is melodic and almost sings across the bass neck even when he's just holding down the low end. His playing is interspersed with melodic lines that reach up the bass neck, but never over play. First time I saw him play was actually with Captain Sensible's solo project. He rocked up with his 76(?) thunderbird and made that thing sound incredible. The band I was in played support and of course had a great time with the guys. Shame The Oval Norwich has long since closed as we had lots of great memories in there, but that's a discussion for another day!

I love this track, Wait For The Blackout. 

But there are plenty of others to choose from!

 

[seashell]

I hardly ever do, but recently I've been having a little twiddle up there. The banjo player (don't, just don't) in one of the bands I'm in has had to take an extended break due to ill health.  One of the songs we cover is 'Copperhead Road', where I usually come in on the second verse as per the recording. But in the absence of Mr Banjo, I've been doing a bit of twiddling up the dusty end during the intro and first verse so as not to leave Guitar on his own (we don't have a keys player).  Then back down to familiar territory in verse 2 and beyond.  It's all good fun working these things out. :-)

[Dood]

4 minutes ago, seashell said:

I hardly ever do, but recently I've been having a little twiddle up there. The banjo player (don't, just don't) in one of the bands I'm in has had to take an extended break due to ill health.  One of the songs we cover is 'Copperhead Road', where I usually come in on the second verse as per the recording. But in the absence of Mr Banjo, I've been doing a bit of twiddling up the dusty end during the intro and first verse so as not to leave Guitar on his own (we don't have a keys player).  Then back down to familiar territory in verse 2 and beyond.  It's all good fun working these things out. 🙂

I've just put the song on Spotify for a listen, thank you. There's a nice bit of space for a bit of a noodle, yeah I like that, especially against the drone of the D in the accompanying chord. Good call!

[Japhet]

I tried it once but it made me feel dirty and ashamed.

[SpondonBassed]

1 hour ago, seashell said:

recently I've been having a little twiddle up there. The banjo player (don't, just don't) in one of the bands I'm in has had to take an extended break due to ill health.

Hardly surprising given that you've... oh wait, "twiddle".  As you were, nothing to see here.

Edited June 28, 2018 by SpondonBassed

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I played a note at the 9th fret once & the low end dropped out of the song - I certainly won't be doing that again.