Bassist Pet Peeves

[FinnDave]

10 minutes ago, Bobby Aaron said:

I bet, we play an instrument that is preferred when when we barely play. Yet everyone else can can venture down the road of self service and musical creativity.

People in bands need to learn to play as part of an ensemble - mindless constant soloing whatever the instrument just makes me think that they've spent years playing along to recordings without actually listening to how the music was put together.

[Bobby Aaron]

3 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

People in bands need to learn to play as part of an ensemble - mindless constant soloing whatever the instrument just makes me think that they've spent years playing along to recordings without actually listening to how the music was put together.

I agree sir! I'm guilty as well

[ezbass]

The assumption that the bass is easy to play and that you're just a failed guitarist.

[SteveXFR]

1 hour ago, Bobby Aaron said:

Because having that specific gear will speed up the long journey to the middle lol love it! 

 

Obviously as soon as you have the same gear as bands who play arenas, you can also play arena tours. Probably busking in the car park but it's still an arena tour.

[Barking Spiders]

Other band members giving me a hard time about my drink and drugs habit

[SteveXFR]

Just now, Barking Spiders said:

Other band members giving me a hard time about my drink and drugs habit

 

Well if you passed the crack pipe around occasionally and shared the methylated spirits they wouldn't complain as much

[jonno1981]

Blimey, initial thoughts: 

1. People borrowing gear without asking

2. People moving your gear in a way you never would and damaging/marking it

3. Turning up to a venue and arrangements are totally different from those agreed

4. People who agree to turn up at a given time when they know they never could arrive at the time. 
5. People haven’t practiced songs they asked you to prep for at rehearsal

6. Silk windings that fray. I don’t know why it just bugs me. 

[Shaggy]

3 hours ago, FinnDave said:

....... Likewise harmonica players.

 

 

 

 

[deepbass5]

Keyboard players who do solo gigs and love bass on their amps, but are not capable of listening and setting there amp differently in a band setting where "hey guys i'm the bass player" and if i compete with you its going to be too loud.

 

second point would be, you are now inaudible and nobody in the band has noticed your part is missing. 

Edited May 4, 2022 by deepbass5

[Seashell2]

5 hours ago, TheRev said:

Singer/songwriter-guitarists (for it is always these people) who expect you to be able to transpose on the fly when they put their capo on the wrong fret, or expect you to improvise to whatever they're playing without even telling you the key or meter. 

This, oh this. 

[shoulderpet]

1 hour ago, jonno1981 said:

6. Silk windings that fray. I don’t know why it just bugs me. 

Yes it bugs the life out of me as well, hate it

[Velarian]

People helping out with packing up who proceed to wind cables around their elbow, or worse, their fist. 

[deepbass5]

and ties your mains cales in a tight knot

[zbd1960]

As someone who is a serious hi-fi nut, who has done some rock climbing, and has done some sailing, incorrect coiling of cables, ropes etc is very annoying

[StickyDBRmf]

Something that happened a lot in my early years, no matter how big of an amp you have, the guitarist has a bigger one. 

[Velarian]

2 hours ago, deepbass5 said:

and ties your mains cales in a tight knot

My wife is guilty of that. Four bank extensions with the cable wrapped tightly around the block of sockets. 👿

[casapete]

That thing when you’re soundchecking (or even during the gig) , some low end feedback occurs 

and everyone looks at you because you’re playing a bass! It’s nearly always a PA / monitor issue,

invariably down to someone fiddling with desk who is clueless or the singer’s vocal monitor being

cranked way too high. Ggrrr....

[Dom in Dorset]

Soundman looking at everyone else in the band and asking "which one of you is  the singer?"

I put my hand up so he then asks "who's the lead singer?"

Edited May 5, 2022 by Dom in Dorset

[Stub Mandrel]

I  am not sure of the formal term for a short repeating section of music several bars long (I'd call it a section or a repeat)  but two people in the band call this a 'bar' which winds me up.

 

Plus transposing songs by a semitone.

[Velarian]

23 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I  am not sure of the formal term for a short repeating section of music several bars long (I'd call it a section or a repeat)  but two people in the band call this a 'bar' which winds me up.

 

Plus transposing songs by a semitone.

Ostinato?

 

https://www.britannica.com/art/ostinato

[zbd1960]

Several terms in use - ground bass or ostinato (cellists tend to dislike the Pachelbel canon beloved of weddings as they repeat the same few notes 4,000 times...)

[Buddster]

18 hours ago, FinnDave said:

 

 

Guitarists (not the above) who start their solo on the very first beat of the song and don't stop until the song has ended. Likewise harmonica players.

And Sax players.... 

[Buddster]

Lead singers who feel their it's thier duty to talk to the female members of the audience on behalf of the band, rather than helping to load in/pack up. 

 

In rehursals, when trying to listen to the track you're covering to work out parts etc, drummer/guitarist/keyboard insist on playing along, thereby rendering any meaningful listen useless 

 

"so what's the chord progression on this one?" (for cover) 

Guit... "Am7, Dsus6, Eaug11 etc etc

" well the bass part is just the root notes... "

Guit..." typical bass player, "

" wait, what, it's not my fault they wrote a lousy bass part"

 

I feel this thread is going run and run

[Buddster]

13 hours ago, Velarian said:

People helping out with packing up who proceed to wind cables around their elbow, or worse, their fist. 

Yes, to people who are trying to help, but as someone who has wound 10,000s cables over 30 years, as long as you put the twist in as you're doing it, you can wind it round your elbow. Packing away a full orchestral recoding at 3 in the morning, you find a quick (correct) way of doing it! 

Definitely not your fist though, no, no, no. 

[FinnDave]

2 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Plus transposing songs by a semitone.

Used to play with a singer who wanted us to play half a semitone sharp or flat. We just played a semi tone in the right direction and she was none the wiser.