Do I Still Play Bass? (a question of definitions and categorization)

[Baloney Balderdash]

So my main bass for quite some years has been a 28,6" scale Ibanez GSRM20 Mikro Bass, even if I originally started out playing on a regular 34" scale bass, more specifically a great Aria Pro II Laser Electric Classic, which I by the way still own.

And for a while I haven't played in a band but had my main musical focus on working on the bass parts for some songs with a work in progress solo sort of progressive psychedelic stoner rock bass project, where the idea was that the primary instrumentation was going to consist of just bass, vocals and mainly programmed drums (in the meantime I have just found a skilled drummer I have played in a band with before, who is willing to be responsible for the drum parts though, and we will have the first band rehearsal in less then 2 weeks from now), though with some additional secondary more flavor oriented instrumentation here and there.

And for that I tuned my bass in standard F# tuning, as in 2 half steps above regular E standard 4 string bass tuning (F#1 - B1 - E2 - A2), and run the bass signal through an always on 1 octave up effect, placed as the very first thing in my signal chain right after the bass, giving an effect somewhat similar to that of an 8 string "octave" bass (with pairs of respectively bass and octave strings).

However now I have discovered that the bass parts for the songs I have been working on sounds better when I tune my bass an additional half step further up, as in G standard tuning, which means that my bass technically is now actually tuned just exactly one half step closer to A standard baritone guitar tuning than regular E standard 4 string bass tuning, so would that mean that I should consider my 28,6" scale bass more as a down tuned 4 string baritone guitar than really a sub-short scale up tuned bass, especially considering that my playing for this musical project is somewhat closer to how you traditionally would play a baritone guitar than really how you traditionally would play a bass (the 3 highest strings is even technically going to be guitar strings for this new tuning (as of now I have it equipped with the lightest bass string set, .095 - .040), threaded through bass string ball ends to not slip through the bridge string holes)?

 

To sum up my question:

Can a 28,6" scale 4 string bass, tuned in G standard tuning, as in 2 half steps below A standard baritone guitar tuning, and played somewhat closer to how you probably would a 4 string baritone guitar than how you traditionally would play a bass, further more with the 3 highest strings technically being guitar strings, and finally run through an always on 1 octave up effect, giving an effect somewhat similar to that of an 8 string "octave" bass (with pairs of respectively bass and octave strings), still be called a bass, or would it rather be a down tuned 4 string baritone guitar? 

 

I might add before anyone comment on it that it's not like the answer to this question really matters much to me, it's not like it will actually make me reconsider how I play and use my bass whatsoever or anything like that, just curious how you would categorize my instrument taking the information given above on how I play and use it into consideration, like for instance if you hypothetically should assign my role in the credits of on let's say the project's Bandcamp and Facebook profiles or a physical album release.  

 

Personally I am not even quite sure, but will properly end up going with just "Bass" or perhaps "4 string baritone guitar", for the sake of simplicity when writing credits, right now actually kind of leaning towards just "Bass".

 

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash

[Richard R]

 "Bass" is a noun not an adjective.

I would say on the credits you play a "Baritone Bass".

[bassaussie]

That's a good question to consider, and I'm not sure there's going to be a definitive answer, because a lot of what goes into the answer really depends on how you view the instrument.

If you look at two of the greats, Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten, both play instruments that are tuned higher than a standard bass, yet both still refer to these instruments as "basses". In Clarke's case, he's well known for his piccolo bass, which is tuned E-A-D-G, only an octave higher (so basically, the same tuning as the bottom four strings of a guitar), and in Wooten's case, it's his tenor bass, tuned A-D-C-G. But both call these instruments "basses".

[Woodinblack]

I would call that a baritone. There are quite a few baritone guitars around with that tuning (but more strings)

[thodrik]

I am a traditionalist when it comes to labels, so for me a down-tuned guitar is still a guitar and a 4 string short string bass tuned 'up' is still a bass.

There is a fair amount of interplay and overlap between the traditional roles of bass and guitar in lots of progressive and stoner rock where it is common to see a bass used as more of a 'lead' instrument.  I would still consider a bass to be a 'bass' and a 'guitar' to be a guitar irrespective of what they are being used to achieve or what effects or tunings are being used. Whatever label the artist in question wants to give is generally fine by me as any new label isn't  going to make the music any better or any worse.

So in the OP's position, I actually think taking the name of the instrument and calling it 'Mikro Bass' would be pretty cool. If not that, then 'bass' or 'baritone bass'. 

I am sure I saw a stoner band years ago live that had two bassists and they described themselves as 'Noise Generator Left' and 'Noise Generator Right' on the credits to their demo CD. The description was apt, in a good way.


 

 

 

[Doddy]

If you were to tune up another tone to ADGC, you'd be in tenor bass tuning that guys like Victor Wooten sometimes use. Really, you're still playing bass, as you are still within the same register as a standard tuned bass. Your low G would be written on the first line of the stave in bass clef.

Unless of course, you just want to give what you are doing a fancy name to sound different.....🤔

[Baloney Balderdash]

Thanks for your inputs, "Bartitone bass guitar" seems like a good way to categorize it, think I might end up using that definition for the credits.

Edited August 31, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash

[Stub Mandrel]

What role do you take in the music?

Baritone guitar generally is a low, twangy melody instrument.

Bass generally plays bass lines...

[Baloney Balderdash]

3 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

What role do you take in the music?

Baritone guitar generally is a low, twangy melody instrument.

Bass generally plays bass lines...

As I explained in my OP I am specifically speaking of how I use my bass in the musical project that has my main focus currently, a bass(or 4 string baritone)/vocals and drums sort of progressive psychedelic stoner rock duo.

And as I wrote I don't play the bass particularly  traditionally, but rather as you might imagine a down tuned 4 string baritone would be played, kind of a hybrid between between traditional bass playing and a more guitar like style, probably with slightly more weight on something that could be categorized closer to traditional baritone guitar playing, though stoner rock rarely tend to get all that twangy, even if I guess my clean tone might have a slightly twangy character.

The instrument is however still technically a 4 string bass, even with it's short 28,6" scale length being closer to a typical baritone guitar scale length, and the G standard tuning that I use being exactly 1 half step closer to A standard baritone guitar tuning than E standard 4 string bass tuning.

And technically speaking for this project it would kind of fill both the role as the bass and the guitar, as, as I said, I run the signal through an always on 1 octave up effect, giving an effect somewhat similar to that of an 8 string "octave" bass, with pairs of respective bass and octave strings. 

I think I have settled for using the term "Baritone Bass Guitar" in future credits though, , as suggested by some people in this thread, but would still be curious to how you would define/categorize it. 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash