Mickeyboro Posted October 20, 2021 Posted October 20, 2021 Watched Del Amitri last night in Southampton. When Justin Currie switched from bass to acoustic for the sensitive stuff, the guitarists thought they could take over. With disastrous results! Iain Harvie’s fingerstyle was horrible and distorted, while Kris Dollimore’s noodling decimated Nothing Ever Happens. What the sound mixer thought he was doing (or not doing) in not dialling them back I don’t know, but I do think six-stringers should have to take a proficiency test before strapping on a bass… 6 Quote
ChrisJaxon Posted October 20, 2021 Posted October 20, 2021 Couldn't agree more. Whenever I play at jams and a guitardist has a go at bass, it seems to be a competition about how many notes they can fit into one bar, and how loud they can get it to go by plucking the strings as hard as they can. Just chaos, hopeless. 3 Quote
TheGreek Posted October 20, 2021 Posted October 20, 2021 ...and they have no concept of doublets/triplets or stays - just use all the notes in the scale....I don't let anybody play 12 bar blues on my gear. Quote
warwickhunt Posted October 20, 2021 Posted October 20, 2021 What a coincidence. I watched an original band at the weekend (not local) and the guitarists alternated to bass... they were both obviously guitarists and it grated on me that neither were specifically a 'bassist'. The bass part lacked a bassists feel/taste and was played like a 2nd guitar. I personally thought the songs suffered because of it. Quote
StickyDBRmf Posted October 20, 2021 Posted October 20, 2021 Not to blow my own horn (metaphorically) but as a bassist who happens to play Stick, I prefer my own approach, as well as other bassists who play Stick, rather than Stickists that have come from the guitar. Stickists that have come from other instruments are ok. Drummers tend to be Monsters... Quote
Mickeyboro Posted October 20, 2021 Author Posted October 20, 2021 I had @Mykesbass with me, and he concurred with my opinion. As a first time Del Amitri audience member, he was not impressed by the musicianship…but in a funny way they have made a career out of being Faces-style sloppy. Doesn't excuse the original crime, however! Quote
Mickeyboro Posted October 21, 2021 Author Posted October 21, 2021 8 hours ago, yorks5stringer said: Did Del do 'Runaway'? You plonker, Keith!🤣 1 Quote
ubit Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 They played Oban last weekend and I noticed that they swapped for certain songs. Can't say I noticed anything going awry. They had a really clear sound and the bass cut through clearly and well defined. Thoroughly enjoyed the night. The Byson family who supported were superb. They had a dep. singer as Phil Campbell is apparently in rehab but he did the job perfectly. 1 Quote
Mykesbass Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 4 minutes ago, ubit said: They played Oban last weekend and I noticed that they swapped for certain songs. Can't say I noticed anything going awry. They had a really clear sound and the bass cut through clearly and well defined. Thoroughly enjoyed the night. The Byson family who supported were superb. They had a dep. singer as Phil Campbell is apparently in rehab but he did the job perfectly. Yes, these guys made the trip worthwhile. Really enjoyed their set and bought the CD. Surprised you didn't notice, it was, to my ears, a textbook example that there is so much more to playing even these simplest of lines than hitting all the right notes. 1 Quote
Woodinblack Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 That is kind of how Geneisis worked. Two guitarists (or 3 if someone else wanted to join in), one of whom would switch to a bass if required. Seemed to work ok. 1 Quote
franzbassist Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 I loved me a bit of Del Amitri back in the day. As @Mykesbasssays, more going on in the songs than you realise at first. I used to sing and play "The Last to Know" in a band and it always went down well - fun song to play too. 1 Quote
tegs07 Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 12 hours ago, Mickeyboro said: Watched Del Amitri last night in Southampton. When Justin Currie switched from bass to acoustic for the sensitive stuff, the guitarists thought they could take over. With disastrous results! Iain Harvie’s fingerstyle was horrible and distorted, while Kris Dollimore’s noodling decimated Nothing Ever Happens. What the sound mixer thought he was doing (or not doing) in not dialling them back I don’t know, but I do think six-stringers should have to take a proficiency test before strapping on a bass… Well that’s Motörhead, The Jimi Hendrix experience as well as The Beatles out then … 1 Quote
ubit Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 2 hours ago, franzbassist said: I loved me a bit of Del Amitri back in the day. As @Mykesbasssays, more going on in the songs than you realise at first. I used to sing and play "The Last to Know" in a band and it always went down well - fun song to play too. I always liked them but wasn't an uber fan. When they played one of their hits, I was like, oh, that's their big hit. Then they would play something else and I was like oh, now that's their big hit. So on the night went. I had no idea they had so many big hits. I am now a resurged fan! 2 Quote
Mickeyboro Posted October 21, 2021 Author Posted October 21, 2021 17 minutes ago, ubit said: I always liked them but wasn't an uber fan. When they played one of their hits, I was like, oh, that's their big hit. Then they would play something else and I was like oh, now that's their big hit. So on the night went. I had no idea they had so many big hits. I am now a resurged fan! Amusingly, I guess their big hit here is Nothing Ever Happens and in the US Roll To Me. The latter gets dashed off live at breakneck speed, as they clearly don’t care for it! I once saw Procol Harum and they refused to play A Whiter Shade of Pale. Have never forgiven em!😂 Quote
Cat Burrito Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 There are some guitar players who have contributed some beautiful bass playing. I think the problem is around this assumption that because you can play guitar, you can automatically play the bass. Clearly it's often not actually the case at all. 2 Quote
Bassassin Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 Never mind all this swapping instruments malarky - Del Amitri & its current line-up leaves me musing about what a small musical world it can be. I live just outside Edinburgh these days but I'm originally from Kent. A band I was in in the early/mid 80s supported Del Amitiri when they played locally, on what might have been their first UK tour. A bit later another band I was in gigged a few times with two bands Kris Dollimore played with at the time, and fast-forwarding a few years after I relocated to Scotland, my Glasgow-based band's guitarist knew Iain Harvie well, having played with him pre-Del Amitri, & we'd often run into him & the Dels at the old Berkley 2 rehearsal room. Didn't know Kris Dollimore played with them these days. Apropos of nothing. As you were. 1 Quote
ezbass Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 39 minutes ago, Cat Burrito said: There are some guitar players who have contributed some beautiful bass playing. I think the problem is around this assumption that because you can play guitar, you can automatically play the bass. Clearly it's often not actually the case at all. Steven Stills immediately springs to mind and John Mayer has a very Pino vibe to his playing (unsurprisingly). Quote
Mykesbass Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 1 hour ago, Cat Burrito said: I think the problem is around this assumption that because you can play guitar, you can automatically play the bass. Clearly it's often not actually the case at all. Case in point being Mike & the Mechanics, where live three of them share this duty, and do it well. Quote
steantval Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 (edited) Ronnie Wood played bass on Jeff Becks first album Truth, did a cracking job IMO. Edited October 21, 2021 by steantval Quote
Musicman666 Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 Keith Richards, Hendrix and Gilmour have all stepped up to the plate. Quote
Barking Spiders Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 they shouldn't be playing guitars or drums either 😉 Quote
Nail Soup Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 22 hours ago, Mickeyboro said: Justin Currie switched from bass to acoustic for the sensitive stuff Acoustic Guitar Chat: Non acoustic guitar players shouldn’t play acoustic 😃 1 Quote
Mykesbass Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 8 minutes ago, Nail Soup said: Acoustic Guitar Chat: Non acoustic guitar players shouldn’t play acoustic 😃 Judas! Quote
Downunderwonder Posted October 21, 2021 Posted October 21, 2021 There's two kinds of guitarists. Most can't play bass very well, but some can, pretty rare ime. Quote
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