charic Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 I see a funny ol' phenomena on social media of bands saying that bassists are a rare breed and we're hard to find. Now... it may be because I'm a bassist myself but the one member of the band I never seem to struggle to find is a bassist. To the point where I usually end up on keyboard myself even on the times I fancy taking on the bass role. Now, without naming any names. A particular band I've been following for a while has been really struggling to find a bassist, I always kinda wondered why as they generally get good shows and the material isn't overly complex. Now, I've just witnessed a particularly interesting rant on social media as another bassist seems to not have worked out for them. Stating that bassists are over-defensive, frustrated guitarists and that guitarists generally make better bassists than guitarists (also going as far as to say that if you're thinking of learning bass, you should learn from a guitarist). I think... just maybe... that I've worked out why they struggle to get one! However, I also wonder. Are bassists actually rare? I usually struggle to find drummers/vocalists by comparison! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Like you say, it's fairly obvious why that band struggle. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 It does sound like that band need to be honest with themselves and any potential applicants that what they want is a guitarist playing root notes an octave below the guitar. nothing inherently wrong with that, if it's what they think will suit their music, but they need to stop kidding themselves they want a "bassist". 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newfoundfreedom Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 (edited) A good lead guitarist is a much rarer breed in my experience. Perhaps that's because they're all frustrated bass players. 😂 Edited December 27, 2018 by Newfoundfreedom 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 This is part of the blurb about me on my bands website, Being a "dyed in the wool" bass player, rather than a guitarist covering the bassist role, Al was an obvious choice....... That was written by a guitarist as well so some do understand our role. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelus Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 36 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said: A good lead guitarist is a much rarer breed in my experience. 😂 This.... ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 I think it depends on location. I'm very in demand where I live but I've had phases where drummers are hard to come by (probably the most common) and probably every role has been in demand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted December 27, 2018 Author Share Posted December 27, 2018 And now... apparently I'm blocked on facebook for commenting that his remarks are unlikely to attract bassists! 3 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawford13 Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 I would say it also depends on the genre of music, and expectations of the band. I have seen a lot of rants from metal bands where clearly guitar players are frustrated that they can’t find someone who can come in and just double guitar parts on bass for trash metal at 200bpm... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted December 27, 2018 Author Share Posted December 27, 2018 Funnily enough... thrash metal band 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Good drummers and keys players usually the rarest in my experience - I’d always assumed partly down to unwieldy gear 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted December 27, 2018 Author Share Posted December 27, 2018 9 minutes ago, Drax said: Good drummers and keys players usually the rarest in my experience - I’d always assumed partly down to unwieldy gear When I'm out as a keys player it's great! A couple of cables, keyboard and a stand! What is there to complain about?! Maybe more of an issue for players who don't have a one-size fits all keyboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 just put this up here.... 5 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted December 27, 2018 Author Share Posted December 27, 2018 Yup lol! I prefer to work "with" a bassist if I'm in that area (or use a sound which gives us both space. But usually that area of my keyboard is significantly drop tuned to be used as subs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 10 minutes ago, charic said: When I'm out as a keys player it's great! A couple of cables, keyboard and a stand! What is there to complain about?! Maybe more of an issue for players who don't have a one-size fits all keyboard! Yeah fair point! Definitely less keys players out there than guitar / bass though There’s always this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted December 27, 2018 Author Share Posted December 27, 2018 7 minutes ago, Drax said: Yeah fair point! Definitely less keys players out there than guitar / bass though There’s always this Doorways and stairs... need to get more creative yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Keyboard players have always been the hardest to find IME. As to bass players, you can always find one, bit not necessarily at the musical standard that you require! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Good musicians with good social skills seem to be in the minority. Not every talented player is able to work with others and, sometimes, players with poor social skills wonder why their band always seems to have certain vacancies. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josie Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 (edited) There's a difference here imho between "finding" and "keeping". There are clearly bands which can find bass players (or whatever) but not keep them. That could be for any number of reasons, not suggesting blame anywhere in particular, maybe just personalities don't work out. Although if a specific band has a high turnover there may well be a specific reason. ps much as @ezbass just said at the same time 🙂 Edited December 27, 2018 by josie added ps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oZZma Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 1 hour ago, Crawford13 said: I would say it also depends on the genre of music, and expectations of the band. I have seen a lot of rants from metal bands where clearly guitar players are frustrated that they can’t find someone who can come in and just double guitar parts on bass for trash metal at 200bpm... This. I could not find a guitar player in 2 years, for a math/noise band. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 1 hour ago, josie said: There's a difference here imho between "finding" and "keeping". There are clearly bands which can find bass players (or whatever) but not keep them. That could be for any number of reasons, not suggesting blame anywhere in particular, maybe just personalities don't work out. Although if a specific band has a high turnover there may well be a specific reason. ps much as @ezbass just said at the same time 🙂 Spot on, Josie. A band I was in years ago, well the band leader has probably worked with every musician in London/SE England, no-one ever seems to be willing to stick around that long, although he is a good song-writer and musician. Sometimes it is the individuals themselves that is the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Steve Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, Crawford13 said: I would say it also depends on the genre of music, and expectations of the band. I have seen a lot of rants from metal bands where clearly guitar players are frustrated that they can’t find someone who can come in and just double guitar parts on bass for trash metal at 200bpm... funnily enough...I depped for an extreme metal band for a couple of gigs last weekend. Went fine, excellently actually, but they're mates anyway, and couldn't have been nicer to me personally. However, their need for an emergency bass player follows them having had a guitarist playing bass, very badly, about two years ago - they figured that anybody who can play reasonable guitar can play OK bass. He was so bad that he wasn't allowed to play on their album, and eventually got sacked. They finally appreciated what a bass player actually brings to the band, which they had taken for granted previously, but only spotted when it wasn't there. So they find a really good bass player and they immediately see/hear the difference...but never quite get round to announcing that he's actually in the band, keep using old photos with the sacked bassist, and surprisingly enough he gets fed up and jacks it in. So now they've learned both important lessons - get someone who can actually play bass properly, and treat them well enough so that they don't get fed up and leave. Third time's the charm... Edited December 27, 2018 by Monkey Steve 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julietgreen Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Once upon a time I struggled to find a bassist that could play afro-cuban lines. There have always been plenty of bassists in this part of the world, along with saxophone players and vocalists. Keyboard and trumpet are the rarities, though my current struggle is to find female musicians at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 6 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said: A good lead guitarist is a much rarer breed in my experience. Good? Good? Pfft.. I would be happy with one that had some form of timing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 You need timing to go widdly-widdly-widdly-wheeeee! ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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