Cliff Edge Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 (edited) I’m recording the bass part to a very well known song I’ve been playing pretty regularly for maybe 25 years. listening to the playback I realise I’ve been playing it wrong. In all those years no one has complained or mentioned it. Not in the bands or in the audience. So it’s true. No one pays any attention to the bass player. Including me. Edited April 8, 2021 by Cliff Edge 2 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6feet7 Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 I don't think I've ever played anything 'right'. Never had any complaints 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Edge Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 We are the invisible people. And it’s a nice sunny day, innit? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 3 1 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 I know some songs that I played incorrectly, some of the time it was due to the line up of the band requiring me to do something different, sometimes down to me not having an earthly on how to work out the actual line (The Real Me by The Who springs to mind here). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trueno Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 ... then you listen to a live version and realise that even the original bassist doesn’t play it the same as the record. The only sin, for me, is getting out of the groove. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawford13 Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 16 minutes ago, Trueno said: ... then you listen to a live version and realise that even the original bassist doesn’t play it the same as the record. The only sin, for me, is getting out of the groove. This is very true. We need to keep it fresh, little changes to lines here and there is what keeps things interesting. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowf Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 I think Guy Pratt said he used to get told off by Pink Floyd fans for playing “Money” wrong. 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinB Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 (edited) Let's not get hung up on the word "wrong", eh? @Cliff Edge's goal was to play it like the original recording, but they accidentally played something else. That doesn't imply any judgement of folks who set out to play something different. Anyway. Can anyone think of any songs where the original bassline is so fundamental, simple, well-known etc. that you really couldn't stray from it without getting funny looks? Another One Bites The Dust maybe? Feels like it's so minimal that a drastic re-interpretation of the song would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Edited April 8, 2021 by MartinB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christhammer666 Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 I cant even play my own bands songs correctly let alone other poeples 2 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Depending on the line up of the band, sometimes changes are needed. If I was playing '99 Luftballons' in a 3 piece band, I'd play a different bassline than I'd play in a line up with a keyboard. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawford13 Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 7 minutes ago, MartinB said: Can anyone think of any songs where the original bassline is so fundamental, simple, well-known etc. that you really couldn't stray from it without getting funny looks? Another One Bites The Dust maybe? Feels like it's so minimal that a drastic re-interpretation of the song would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. This would be a good thread on its own, I dont know if its already been done though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Covers band isn't the same a a tribute band. and U2 is always improved with slap. Always. 1 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 7 minutes ago, MacDaddy said: If I was playing '99 Luftballons' in a 3 piece band I that was the brief, I'd divide it up so that we only had to do 33 each. I'm lazy that way. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 As long as you are in time it doesn't matter what you play. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 15 minutes ago, fretmeister said: Covers band isn't the same a a tribute band. and U2 is always improved with slap. Always. Of them? Kind of them to make themselves available 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Just now, Geek99 said: Of them? Kind of them to make themselves available Well, 1 of them should really take them all for the team... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 16 minutes ago, fretmeister said: Covers band isn't the same a a tribute band. and U2 is always improved with slap. Always. There is slap on a couple of tracks - Surrender, Gloria and unforgettable fire spring to mind 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Reading Guy Pratt's book recently gave me this anecdote: He wrote that Bernard Edwards had told him: It doesn't matter where the fu(k you go... as long as you're back on the one. Great book by the way. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 19 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said: Reading Guy Pratt's book recently gave me this anecdote: He wrote that Bernard Edwards had told him: It doesn't matter where the fu(k you go... as long as you're back on the one. Great book by the way. That’s pretty much what James brown said to Bootsy Collins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 26 minutes ago, Geek99 said: There is slap on a couple of tracks - Surrender, Gloria and unforgettable fire spring to mind Really? I had no idea! I've only really heard the No1 songs that end up on compilations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Edge Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 (edited) I’m going to respond to a couple of replies here. Got to fess up here. It wasn’t I was just playing it wrong, I was actually playing a bum note or two. U2 would be improved with a good singer. (Controversial?) And yes the bass player on original records isn’t always the one on stage playing something different. Bass riffs that define the song - Brown Eyed Girl. The first 2 bars and everyone knows what’s coming next. Edited April 8, 2021 by Cliff Edge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len_derby Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 I find the trickiest situation is when I dep or play with an established band and they play a song I know well ‘differently’, maybe to my ears wrongly. I’ve learned over the years to be diplomatic, say nothing and learn their version. That way I get called back. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 7 minutes ago, Len_derby said: I find the trickiest situation is when I dep or play with an established band and they play a song I know well ‘differently’, maybe to my ears wrongly. I’ve learned over the years to be diplomatic, say nothing and learn their version. That way I get called back. Me too. Apart from "The Real Me" - I'm sorry but Johnny Rod's version in WASP was far better than the Ox (yeah, I said it!) so they get that. It's epic. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 13 minutes ago, fretmeister said: Me too. Apart from "The Real Me" - I'm sorry but Johnny Rod's version in WASP was far better than the Ox (yeah, I said it!) so they get that. It's epic. Def, when we did it it was Johnny Rod’s version I tried to get near. Not sure I managed it all that well, much more a case of bluff & hope. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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