diskwave Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 Well this is a debating forum so lets do that, and just to say. As far as Im concerned "hate" is somewhere I will not, and do not ever need to go. At the end of the day he's playing "bass". Ask Joe public what that is and u'll get a blank stare, Ask if they can hear it and the stare will continue. My point was does it maker any sense at all to use such insane technical talent on...."bass". Or have I got it al wrong and bass in the 21st Century isnt bass at all its something else entirely? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 6 minutes ago, diskwave said: Well this is a debating forum so lets do that, and just to say. As far as Im concerned "hate" is somewhere I will not, and do not ever need to go. At the end of the day he's playing "bass". Ask Joe public what that is and u'll get a blank stare, Ask if they can hear it and the stare will continue. My point was does it maker any sense at all to use such insane technical talent on...."bass". Or have I got it al wrong and bass in the 21st Century isnt bass at all its something else entirely? I've seen videos of folk playing music using a carved carrot, or a set of kitchen pots and pans. What has the name of the instrument have to do with the price of fish..? 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 14 hours ago, Kev said: Perhaps missing the point I am making a little, but if Metallica appeared now, in the current market, would they break through? I'm not sure that, against current competition, they would. Impossible to fairly consider of course, as wiping their impact out would change the platform today. But it's interesting. It took Metallica five albums to break through back in the day. Most of their contemporaries never really broke through - Exodus, Anthrax, Megadeth, Over Kill and so on. They had the odd hit, but never really went fully mainstream. These bands still headline festivals worldwide. They're still around and doing OK. Many other, younger bands who have come up in this era of Spotify and Youtube are up there with them on these festival bills, and will also do OK. The model has changed. The music has evolved. The methods of making music are much, much better now. But good songs are still being written, people are listening to them, and people are still making a living from it. Which brings me to Charles Berthoud. The man is an excellent musician, educated at Berklee (which is why he relocated to the US), plays several instruments extremely well (he also plays piano and guitar to almost as high a standard as he plays bass), is an fantastic composer and arranger, and he's found an outlet to make a living from his skills. He knows the game has changed, and he's adapted to this new reality. There's also more than a whiff of gatekeeping bass snobbery here - if you look at guitarists who do the same thing (I'm thinking the likes of Bernth, Ola Englund, Eric Calderone, Sophie Burrell, Alexandr Misko, even well-established guitar legends like Jom Gomm, Andy McKee and Tommy Emmanuel) they don't get half as much grief as Charles, Davie, Danny Sapko and so on. Is it because they're bass players playing non-traditional bass parts and daring to push the boundaries a bit? I wish him all the luck in the world, and I hope to continue to be entertained by him for many more years. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 (edited) Incidentally, regarding the "old way" of recording and promoting music, kids starting out in music back in the day would have killed to have Youtube, TikTok, etc, not to mention powerful recording software that works on a home computer or iPad. I was there, in a band, recording bad-sounding demos on a Tascam Portastudio, then handing out tapes with awful, dot-matrix-printed cassette inlays to anyone who'd have them and hoping they wouldn't end up in the bin. Duplicating tapes was expensive. It was even more expensive when CD-Rs came out. It was sh*t. Getting to record in a proper recording studio was expensive and out of the reach of many young people - maybe one of your band members' dads was a stockbroker and had the money to pay for that sort of thing. The closest thing to social media was the "zine scene", which kinda relied on you knowing people who could write nice things about your band in what was basically a photocopied leaflet handed out at gigs, and which would almost certainly also end up in the bin. Everyone aspired to be signed, but conveniently forgot that meant that, all of a sudden, a whole bunch of non-musicians suddenly had a say over everything you did, and your viability as a "product" was suddenly completely out of your hands. You were completely at the whims of musical fashions and the opinions of the music press. This was also sh*t. I vastly prefer things the way they are now. Music has been democratised. Yes, the pool is far bigger than it once was, but it's also far, far deeper. There's something out there for everyone, and it's ridiculously easy for a musician to become a part of that. Edited August 11 by Russ 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 (edited) I was completely unaware of this guy, (in fact, up until this thread started and I listened to the Tears in heaven cover) I hear, total mastery of an instrument and the theory to back it up. In addition, he's earning more from playing bass than 98% of the people on Basschat. Does he need to play in a band? Compose? Produce bass lines that other bassists like or want to learn? No he doesn't. He's entertaining people, that's his chosen job and he's doing it well. Edited August 11 by leschirons 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 What he's doing harms no-one, so there's no reason for him not to do it. It provides entertainment for many, and the chance to whinge about him for many others (which I assume makes them happy in their own way). Long may he continue. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@23 Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 4 hours ago, leschirons said: This guy is total news to me, (in fact, since this thread started and I listened to the Tears in heaven cover) I hear, total mastery of an instrument and the theory to back it up. In addition, he's earning more from bass than 98% of the people on Basschat. Does he need to play in a band? Compose? Produce bass lines that other bassists like or want to learn? No he doesn't. He's entertaining people, that's his chosen job and he's doing it well. Exactly this, nailed it. What a stupid thread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 I thought the video he made using shoelaces for strings was amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 8 hours ago, leschirons said: Does he need to play in a band? Compose? Yes and yes. He's in at least two gigging bands, unlike many YT 'influencers'. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barking Spiders Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 No one other than bass players cares about or even knows about bass guitars. If nowt else at least CB, Davie etc are trying to raise the profile of the bass and show that there's more to it than 8th notes on the root, even if they only make a handful of converts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 38 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said: Yes and yes. He's in at least two gigging bands, unlike many YT 'influencers'. Thanks for the info. I sort of meant in order to do what he apparently does in these videos. I got the impression that some folks on here feel a performance has less value if you're not in a band. I'm glad he plays live but for me, it wouldn't devalue his performance if he didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 (edited) My opinion on Charles.... Impressive? Yes.... Talented? No doubt.... Does anything for me? Not in the slightest... Am I 'just jealous'? Not even slightly... Don't watch him anymore? Obviously... Edited August 12 by cetera 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Please lock this thread, mods. OP has a history of distasteful rants. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Supernaut said: Please lock this thread, mods. OP has a history of distasteful rants. I presume that the 'Report' button has been triggered (that's the Standard Procedure for signalling stuff that one objects to...)..? The Mod/Admin team do not systematically see posts in the open Forum such as the above ^^; 'Reports' are always seen. Edited August 12 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnybass Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 At times when the forum debates guys like Charles or Davy504 or Danny Sapko i wonder if Im just from a different generation. The way i see these guys is they are related to music in the same way the football freestylers my son watches on youtube are related to pro footballers winning the euros/world cup. Its a related but slightly different thing, i wouldnt want these football keepy uppy guys playing upfront for my team, but i'd happily watch a 6 minute video where they use only their left ankle to knock the ball over the goalies head. Like wise i can watch these youtube videos, admire the technique and skill, but I'd rather stick on a nice jazz album I got from the record shop that listen to it with my morning coffee. As a day job for a bass player (i have no idea if these guys do much in the way of what we'd think of as traditional bass playing) it seems like a bloomin good one to me. Fair play and Im all for them. Jonny 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Edwards69 Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Charles has released a couple of video (IIRC) documenting his bass playing career since he was a teenager. To paraphrase: he's worked bloody hard, moved to America to get into Berkley and was gigging seven days a week. He turned professional as a touring and session bassist. But it was a sheer chance that he recorded something for Davie504 that went viral and he realised he could make more money making youtube videos than he could as a session musician so he refocused and grew his own social media presence and is now one of the most successful social media musicians. That's just good business sense in my book. He found a niche and grabbed it. So what if he's not doing the same thing as thousands of other bassists? It's worked out well for him. Best of luck to him. 10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 On 10/08/2024 at 09:04, bubinga5 said: Hes not Hadrien Feraud good but i would like to hear his playing in a musical context. What, maybe something like 'Annie Get Your Gun', or 'Fiddler on the Roof' ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barking Spiders Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 2 hours ago, Supernaut said: Please lock this thread, mods. OP has a history of distasteful rants. hmm I'd say no. Freedom of speech and all that jazz. Distasteful? Controversial? Better than anodyne or tone woods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Freedom of speech, that old chestnut. 🙄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tegs07 Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 (edited) This thread appears to be a lot of hot air about nothing. I’ve just watched a bunch of Charles videos, including the stones one, he clearly has talent and is a decent musician. The You Tube stuff is just showboating for clicks and revenue and is a tiny portion of what he can do. The TikTok /YouTube world is not one I am part of or interested in as it just seems to be fragments of a barrage of information fighting for everyone’s somewhat limited attention. If he has harnessed this world to fund his playing good on him. Edited August 12 by tegs07 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Can’t say I know that much about him, the video above looks ok to me and I like Ian Allison , Charles seems a nice guy and a good player, I don’t really watch the so called showboating stuff, good luck to him if he’s making a living out of playing bass 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Several people missing the point here.... The tik tok and YouTube world love stuff like this. It's all getting attention, which helps views, ratings, subscribers etc etc etc. No doubt Charles himself will be loving the thread - good opinions or bad opinions - that's the game these days for this kind of thing. Views first, no matter what, hence the crazy freeze frame placeholder images, massive attention grabbing text and so on and so on etc etc. Ever wondered why all these you tune and tik tok guys team up and appear on each other's videos??? Hits, views, popularity, comments, subscribers, ads. Its not my thing at all, but it is now a different beast than a bassist doing a video about bass for basses sake, or for the consumer or players sake. It's all self promotion now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barking Spiders Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 (edited) There are a helluva lot of bass and guitar channels on YT that are as dry as chaff. I even find Rick Beato's stuff somewhat hard going a lot of the time. CB has a light touch, doesn't take himself seriously and his gimmicks are way more entertaining than most I've come across. Edited August 12 by Barking Spiders 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodyratm Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 16 minutes ago, la bam said: It's all self promotion now And this is an issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 2 minutes ago, woodyratm said: And this is an issue? Not for me.. I couldn't care less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.