The Death of the Bass Guitar

[Tee]

5 string basses would only be standard in:

1) 'Cookie monster' vocals detuned Nu/Rap metal tripe

2) cheesy soul/funk/slap/yawnfest twaddle

Edited September 10, 2007 by Tee

[LukeFRC]

look at this:
[url="http://www.teekisten-bass.de/index.html"]http://www.teekisten-bass.de/index.html[/url]

i think this is the way forward for popular music! i cant decide though between the german one on that page, a US one with exotic flamed plywood with bound handle with the mother of pearl inlay (the '32 reissue natch) or making one myself in my bedroom.......

[3V17C]

i read a similar article ages ago - really not keen on the white stripes at all - theres the occasional [i]hint[/i] of something promising in bits of it but really, that drumming is sooooo bad its unbelievable. clumsy, basic to the point of amateur, borderline being out of time - absolutely atrocious. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!

peace

c

[teen t-shirt]

i almost had a heart attack when i saw the topic, but wtf! does that journalist know!

[The Funk]

It seems like the journalist cleverly subverted the article they were told to write: look at the Al di Meola quote at the end.

[cetera]

In a nutshell....

4 string basses aren't going anywhere. Neither are double basses.

The White Stripes sound like my cousins band in their garage (there's two of them and they're 11 years old)....

[nik1093]

there can be no death to the bass. its the low down, the bottom. i wont let it happen

[ARGH]

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='57971' date='Sep 10 2007, 12:20 AM']aye like the double bass was made completely obsolete by Leo's electric bass? You never see a double bass anywhere these days. :S
So you go down to the low B on a 5 string, then where? due to the physics of vibrating strings it gets impractical to go much lower, at that point a good synth bassline is way easier.[/quote]


Totally different instruments linked only by their tunings,....I was talking about the 4 string Electric as we have it now,20+frets E-G......

And DoubleBass is on the 'endangered instrument' list at music Uni's (along with most of the Brass section).

Due to better string making technology to go lower than B is easy (290+ is available),and in select musical genres is a needed thing.

Bass wont die..It will just get BIGGER!

Edited September 10, 2007 by ARGH

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='ARGH' post='58408' date='Sep 10 2007, 07:54 PM']Totally different instruments linked only by their tunings,....I was talking about the 4 string Electric as we have it now,20+frets E-G......[/quote]

wasnt the idea at the start to make an electric double bass? apart from more frets, roundwounds and more advanced electronics todays electric bass isnt much different to the early 50's ones. And they do more or less the same job, the bassline.

[Dood]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='57827' date='Sep 9 2007, 06:09 PM']Lazy and stupid journalism just makes the journalist look lazy and stupid.[/quote]


I think that pretty much sums it up IMO!

[Veils]

4 string basses are never going to become obsolete. Too many people still use them and pretty much nobody starts out playing bass with anything other than a 4 string. Likewise in response to the comment above, 5 strings will never become the standard, but the comparisons used are not particularly good - "'Cookie monster' vocals detuned Nu/Rap metal tripe" - Now I see what is being said here, but having once been a 5 string user in a metal band, it is all about how you play the thing and how it fits in the context of the music which is true to any style and any bass be it 4 string, 5, 6 or people who go beyond that! Ask Dood if he could do half the stuff he does on a 4.......I'm sure he spent all that money on a 7 string for a reason

In my eyes, very little will change from where it is now. As for bands like The White Stripes, I am not a fan at all and I would suggest a big reason they have kept themselves as a 2 piece is for the commercial value that is attached to novelty factors. If they are not already dying out then they start to soon. And lets face it, they have hardly spawned a whole breed of bassless bands have they? And when you watch a band live, how empty does it sound if the bassist happens to drop out or have technical problems on stage?

We are not in any danger whatsoever.

[Cantdosleepy]

I LIKE THE WHITE STRIPES!

I am convinced that the reason they're so maligned on this site is because of the insecurities of some bassists.

They write great, great songs. Better than any of my songs. Better than most of your songs, I'd wager. They work without a bassist. It's not a gimmick, and only a bass player would think that. I can't think of a single one of my mates who think of them as being a 'novelty' band. My friends know them as that band that writes those cracking tunes.

DFA1979 don't have a guitarist. That's cool too. It's not a gimmick.

[bass_ferret]

[quote name='ARGH' post='57720' date='Sep 9 2007, 01:44 PM']Curveball.
The Bass guitar as a '4' string instrument WILL be obsolete in 40-60 years.[/quote]
Dream on Ross.

[ARGH]

[quote name='dood' post='58647' date='Sep 11 2007, 11:47 AM']I think that pretty much sums it up IMO![/quote]

+2 Agreed

[MB1]

MB1.

BASSES WILL BE HERE FOREVER!......Alas i doubt the same can be said for the White Stripes, after covering The Goodies song.... Black Pudding Bertha!they will dissapear, to live the rest of there lives in one of vera lynns pyjama cases,with Lisa Stansfield.........................PROBABLY?.

[ARGH]

The 5+ and the standard....?

Didnt the last half of the Diana gig have a backingshowstyle band with a bassist that played nothing other than a 5? When I watch Jools Holland and see an 'old' (forgive me..please I use it in the the descriptive term) artist (usually soul or reggae) Im seeing 5s and 6s backing them (usually Warwicks,Im sure Wilfer and co are creating a factory of guys and girls in suits playing 6 string thumbs) .The BBC3 Soul nation had a similer set of musicians,with a quantity (not totally sure of majority) using a 5+ stringed instrument

Versitility surely...surely is our instruments means of survival.

The 5 isnt limited to genres (ok in metal it does help to have that low because I see and hear 5s and 6s in fusion and Jazz and to reiterate Reggae,soul,funk,R and B (yes that modern 'urban' stuff too) Even C&W.

This next line will come across as really snotty,no doubt,you will be inflamed and eager to burn me WITH SHARP WORDS!!!!!...please stop..remain calm...and reread what Ive typed again.

The 5 (or more) seems to be the professionals choice,alot of the classic,recording/session, guys from the 60s/70s...4 stringers...aint gonna be here in 20 years time,because they will be passed on to the next world,and the guys who are taking their seats on the bandstand are taking 5s with them....taking 6s with them,I swear I caught a 7 on TV the other day. So dosent it make sense.

It seems to me (ive just grabbed a 4 month old edition of Bassplayer magazine beside me) that if you stay in a strict genres boundary,doing one thing then yes the 4 is all you want and need ,set it up,downtune it (Justin Chancellor's on the cover..I think Tool are C sharp) or punk or a retroesqueband (Kings of Leon) its fine.But Ive Alain Caron (Fretless 6) and Richard Bona (Fretted 5) and Nathan East (Fretted 5) Adam Nitti (Fretted 5) and Claypool (kitchen sink) staring back at me too,legit session,or master musicians in touring/chops circles. (I also have Ron Carter here on the page too,one of the finest Bassists regardles of instrument on planet earth.)

But if you have to do everything stylewise onstage or cover more...erm....bases...(sorry) i.e. Weddings,parties,everything,Sessions,recordings,jams,sit ins,gigs...please add more,to do it all,a 5 seems to...no..IS the logical choice,and thats increasingly so as time and music marches on.



Surely,Im not the only one thinking this


Tide & Broom comes to mind. (see Rich I put the sea thing in there......xxx)


Please dont take a single line from this and twist it,read it as a full piece,and please answer as such.

(Oldgit,Dood...I know you guys dont want to rock boats,but you have fivers and in Doods case more.....but hey what do you think,Im trying for a discussion here)


Im not Dreaming John,Im just seeing it as it really is,some of us want to do this for a living,not just an on/off weekend.

[Cantdosleepy]

I think it's possible that what you are predicting will come to pass, ARGH. You are, however, omitting some important details:

As the prevalence of 5s, 6ss and sevens seep increases throughout the world, more and more albums start to have noodly jazz tracks on them. As time passes, all albums across all genres grow to have three or four such songs. People start going to gigs for bass solos. A man with a tidy beard leaves a slayer gig, commenting on their tasteful note choices.

Soon it becomes difficult to track down a debut EP without stumbling across an inverted mixolydian seventh. Thrashy punk outfits apply a light chorus effect to the lower registers. Tie-dye T-shirts appear on the goth kids in Camden. The rich'n'popular kids come into school with their new 8-string fretless their dad bought them in a fit of disappointed-life projection. Instead of using this instrument to get laid, the boys study music. Teen pregnancy hits an all-time low. The population begins to decline. The prime minister calls an emergency meeting, but most of the cabinet are away in Europe scouting out new tube-preamps and leather waistcoats. The stock market begins to fail as the city fatcats stay at home practicing sweep picking, and besides, why would they want to harsh their mellow with all the aggro of the stock exchange?

With the economy in crisis and the population shrinking fast, the prime minister opens the boarders to anyone who wants to enter the country. The Daily Mail runs a fifty-word article on page fifty-three, underneath a long article on single vs double cutaways. The celebrity scandal page is running exclusive snaps of Britney's daughter getting out of a cab with a 32" scale scalloped Mark King reissue, when everyone knows her main bass is a Doodle clone in natural colours. At work noone talks about it though, we're all to busy admiring one another's ludicrous little ponytails and offering tips on making that perfect decaff java.

A month passes and not a single immigrant comes to Britain.

Another month passes. Then a year. A decade. The population stands at twenty million. By now most of the surviving men have lost their genitalia through atrophy or to make uniquely resonant strings for their acoustic basses. The women too, have lost interest in the menfolk, spending hours at a time trying to suspend a fourth across eight strings and three octaves. As the last man stares out across the sea from the white cliffs of dover, he finds a note bobbing by the seashore.

"Dear UK,

Many thanks for the kinds offer of free lodging. We would love to accept, but your music is just too boring.

Regards,
The World."

[bass_ferret]

Did not watch the Diana gig so can't comment but yes, even though I hate to say it, you need a 5 if you are wanting to pick up a lot of session work, recording or gigging, and Kylie's backing band, Spice Girls etc all use a 5. A four is only any use for second rate bands like Pink Floyd.

But most of the guys playing bass in bands are still using 4 strings, and apart from Dave Swift who uses an SR5 most of the bands on Later, whatever music they play, use the humble 4 stringer - even the bloke in the White Stripes.

[Dood]

It looks like a 'how many strings' discussion is brewing! ;o)

I think B_F and I have warmed over this discussion in the past! *nudges john* My reply will sound hippy and 'lets all get along', but I'm right .. The 4 string is hear to stay, so is the 5, 6, 7, 11, make it a baker's dozen!

There isn't any one 'better' instrument, its not a bl**dy competition. If someone wants to be in the pocket and groove on his 13 string, or another wants to slap and tap his 4 till his fingers bleed, then so be it. I just can't be bothered with close minded attitudes with ref to what an instrument is expected to do and how it is to be played.

Just Play it! Play it well!

gurgle gurgle!

[DirkThrust]

[quote name='Cantdosleepy' post='58905' date='Sep 11 2007, 07:21 PM']I think it's possible that what you are predicting will come to pass, ARGH. You are, however, omitting some important details:

As the prevalence of 5s, 6ss and sevens seep increases throughout the world, more and more albums start to have noodly jazz tracks on them. As time passes, all albums across all genres grow to have three or four such songs. People start going to gigs for bass solos. A man with a tidy beard leaves a slayer gig, commenting on their tasteful note choices.

Soon it becomes difficult to track down a debut EP without stumbling across an inverted mixolydian seventh. Thrashy punk outfits apply a light chorus effect to the lower registers. Tie-dye T-shirts appear on the goth kids in Camden. The rich'n'popular kids come into school with their new 8-string fretless their dad bought them in a fit of disappointed-life projection. Instead of using this instrument to get laid, the boys study music. Teen pregnancy hits an all-time low. The population begins to decline. The prime minister calls an emergency meeting, but most of the cabinet are away in Europe scouting out new tube-preamps and leather waistcoats. The stock market begins to fail as the city fatcats stay at home practicing sweep picking, and besides, why would they want to harsh their mellow with all the aggro of the stock exchange?

With the economy in crisis and the population shrinking fast, the prime minister opens the boarders to anyone who wants to enter the country. The Daily Mail runs a fifty-word article on page fifty-three, underneath a long article on single vs double cutaways. The celebrity scandal page is running exclusive snaps of Britney's daughter getting out of a cab with a 32" scale scalloped Mark King reissue, when everyone knows her main bass is a Doodle clone in natural colours. At work noone talks about it though, we're all to busy admiring one another's ludicrous little ponytails and offering tips on making that perfect decaff java.

A month passes and not a single immigrant comes to Britain.

Another month passes. Then a year. A decade. The population stands at twenty million. By now most of the surviving men have lost their genitalia through atrophy or to make uniquely resonant strings for their acoustic basses. The women too, have lost interest in the menfolk, spending hours at a time trying to suspend a fourth across eight strings and three octaves. As the last man stares out across the sea from the white cliffs of dover, he finds a note bobbing by the seashore.

"Dear UK,

Many thanks for the kinds offer of free lodging. We would love to accept, but your music is just too boring.

Regards,
The World."[/quote]


Best post so far on Basschat

[Dood]

Oh, I forgot to say: Bass is central to many many genres of music round the world. It doesn't matter how it is produced; I think that no matter how technology and music tastes change over the years, the 'bass guitar' in what ever form will never 'die out'. Thats just ridiculous. It's a legitimate tool for composition and performance that transcends musical 'pigeon holes'.

[Super_Mario_Bass]

I dont understand whats so great about 5'ers. someone enlighten me?

a deeper string and less need for movement up and down the neck? is that all?

thanks

[EdwardHimself]

^well it depends on what type of music you like, one of my songs is in B-tuning and has a solo aswell which would be a complete arse to do on a 4 string, if even possible. Also another song has the open G string aswell as the low B and it just wouldn't sound right on a 4. it also means you can play more songs without re-tuning and helps playing chords aswell. There are a lot of uses really. And yes what you pointed out is true aswell. I guess it just depends which way you look at it. You could go "what's the point when you could just learn on a 4, it's a bit lazy really" but then i could say "well if it makes it easier why should i play a 4, historical accuracy?" It's not wrong to prefer either really, just different.

Edited September 11, 2007 by EdwardHimself

[ARGH]

Back on topic.

White stripes are a lo-fi band that write a catchy tune.

[ARGH]

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='58907' date='Sep 11 2007, 07:23 PM']Did not watch the Diana gig so can't comment but yes, even though I hate to say it, you need a 5 if you are wanting to pick up a lot of session work, recording or gigging, and Kylie's backing band, Spice Girls etc all use a 5. A four is only any use for second rate bands like Pink Floyd.

But most of the guys playing bass in bands are still using 4 strings, and apart from Dave Swift who uses an SR5 most of the bands on Later, whatever music they play, use the humble 4 stringer - even the bloke in the White Stripes.[/quote]


Considering Roger found playing on records a chore,and they have only played one gig in 20+ years.........if you think the great Floyd are 2nd rate...


Cant help following where the moneys at.....Most of,if not all,the backing bands Bassists on 'Later...' are using 5s,6s.

(I wouldnt actually mind playing for Kylie,or the Spice Girls.....Heard that the pays good,I bet my morgage would be paid off by the end of the year )