We needed this! Why do you luv da bass?

[hammer]

This is a great. I see bass as an extention of the guitar or is it the other way round.

My main instrument is guitar but my favourite instrument is bass. The bass is often overlooked and seen as a less importantant instrument when in reality the bass is musicly the most important instrument. The bass tells our ears what chord we are listening to. The bass is so powerfull I just love it!

MORE BASS!!

[ModestCargo]

I love it because you can get into such a groove.

[t_shirtsnjeans]

Feeling man, feeling! Just gettin' the thunder in the chest, there ain't any other way but the fat bottomed bass!

Back in the olden days I first got hooked on bass when I heard my first live rock band in High School. It was a band called TAXI made up of kids from my school, and the performed for the entire school of about 1800 or so kids and man the place ROCKED!!!! I FELT the bass for the first time in my life and I just had to play, so I went home, told dad, he bought me my first bass, I took lessons, and the rest is history.

If you can't feel it then it ain't bass...........................

[TheReal7]

Bass n drums are the heart and soul to a song...if they are not groovin.....the tune aint groovin.

[Ranger]

I love my subwoofer.

[madvora]

I've played bass for a few years and I've never liked all that flashy slap bass type playing. I can't stand that sound. I like the very simple rhythm in the background. The bass creates an incredible sound when it's played right, but I can't stand when people go nuts all over it with solo's and stuff.

[t_shirtsnjeans]

My absolute favorite bass sound is that made from fretless basses. It just rips into my soul like nothing else. I've modified a couple basses into fretless basses. The first I really butchered. I was trying to keep the fretlines in the board and so I just ground down the frets, but was using the improper sanding techniques and ruined the fretboard. The next bass was quite good for what it was. I found a rogue at a pawn shop for little of nothing pricewise because the wires to the output jack were broken. I fixed that and played the bass for a while, but the main reason to get it was to make it fretless. This time I pulled the frets out and filled in the slots, cut the nut down for the strings to be almost flush with the neck and lowered the action as close to the neck as was possible. I kept the roundwounds and the thing sounds incredible. It takes some getting used to though so I keep punching away at it when I get a chance.

[gtrhrcane]

To use an analogy, Queen said it best....

..."you keep the rocking world go round...."


Tshirts- the bass player in our band plays a fretless. It's pretty rad

[SG99]

The coolest bass I ever saw was 1/2 fretless. It was a six string bass (god that must be a plank to play on). The dude played with wicked distortion,. The band was a keyboard player, bass, singer, drummer.

If you ever get a chance to listen to WigglePu$$y, Indiana, please do so.

Wigglepu$$y Indiana (http://www.wigglepussy.com/home.htm)

SG99

[AcousticShred]

Bass is cool, but my only problem with it is that your bass player can screw up bad during a song and no one notices even if he is mixed high

[sumx4182]

i def. dont think bass players get enough credit, but i also think that most songs, you cant even hear the bass, lol

[ModestCargo]

sumx4182: That's because most songs that you listen to are mixed badly. You can hear the bass in 95% of my music, but then my friend whips out some Metallica and it's like, wheres the effin bass player? Where's the seperation? You can't even hear which guitar is which. And where's a good guitar tone? Nowhere to be found here.

[pagodas_fiesta]

a song i just realized has an amazing bass groove is "what is and what should never be" by zeppelin.

[Eclectifish]

I love playing guitar, but I've found I can make a lot more money playing bass.

[madvora]

a song i just realized has an amazing bass groove is "what is and what should never be" by zeppelin.

I learned to play that one. Not too hard either. Another great Zeppelin song that is usually unnoticed for bass is Ramble On.

These are all awesome...
- Dear Prudence - Beatles
- Something - Beatles
- Bouree - Jethro Tull
- New Day Yesterday - Jethro Tull

[Terren]

Woohoo, first time in this new forum. I love bass because it's got that amazing groove, like everyone has already mentioned. Nothing is really 'expected' of the bassist, but the notes he plays can bring the song together.

One of my favourite examples is in the Pink Floyd concert film Live in Pompeii, where at the very very beginning of the DVD they start Echoes, and the camera slowly zooms closer and closer into the band from above the colliseum while Rick plays on his organ and Dave lightly plays slide guitar, before going into those first few guitar parts. You see Roger walking around, then as eventually picks up his bass, puts it on, and plays those first few notes. Just awesome.

Then of course there's King Crimson, which is a band that wouldn't be the same without incredible bassists like Greg Lake, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn.

I want to play bass one day. It won't take over guitar, but it is a really cool second instrument.

[tallpaul]

Fretless basses...ahhhh thats me dude and dudettes! played a 72 pbass and now a 03 jazz....love the thump! Have to use the TI jazz Flats though....
great song for bass that I rock on.........zep's ocean song
Paul simons's graceland album.....alll fretless
Jack bruce from Cream played one alot
cya later..........pau

[hammer]

^^^^Yeah, Paul Simons's graceland album...one word "amazing bass". Hang on I mean two words... doh!

[metalupyoura**]

two great songs wish i could play them will get too though .... john paul jones what a legend ! no1 usually cares about jonsey :( his bass rocks!

josh

[SKEETER]

I am really a lead guitarist, and can play a lot of styles including a lot of fingerstyle stuff, but I gotta say, it is a lot of fun to play bass live and in the studio. When I am recording my stuff I enjoy writing and laying down the bass tracks as much as I do the guitar tracks. There is just something about being able to create unstant thunder at your fingertips.... kind of makes me feel like THOR or something..............

[Serac]

I learned to play that one. Not too hard either. Another great Zeppelin song that is usually unnoticed for bass is Ramble On.

These are all awesome...
- Dear Prudence - Beatles
- Something - Beatles
- Bouree - Jethro Tull
- New Day Yesterday - Jethro Tull
has anyone ever heard of Muse? That bass player is awesome!

[hammer]

I am really a lead guitarist, and can play a lot of styles including a lot of fingerstyle stuff, but I gotta say, it is a lot of fun to play bass live and in the studio. When I am recording my stuff I enjoy writing and laying down the bass tracks as much as I do the guitar tracks. There is just something about being able to create unstant thunder at your fingertips.... kind of makes me feel like THOR or something..............

Yeah I'm a guitarist too but... well... I think I might be a closet bass player. I seem to enjoy controlling the groove more than playing leads!! What's wrong with me doc? Once upon a time I was happy to rip of some heavy riffs and leads but now I don’t know… sometimes it’s just not enough anymore! I think I’m addicted to the low slow pulse and slippery phat grooves of bass. Oh…. I love da bass!

[SKEETER]

When I record, I have "the groove" in mind, I have a general sound that I am working with. In other words, when I start laying down instruments I don't just play a rythm guitar track then start adding stuff, I play that rythm guitar track to a specific groove that is in my head, I am actually hearing the bass and drums while I do it.

[tedcrop]

I've played bass for a few years and I've never liked all that flashy slap bass type playing. I can't stand that sound. I like the very simple rhythm in the background. The bass creates an incredible sound when it's played right, but I can't stand when people go nuts all over it with solo's and stuff.

I am with ya. Man just play the song and be on time qith the drummer. Every good song has that in common. A sure way to confuse someone is to have the bass player and drummer out with something to prove. Unless they are trying to prove how rock solid they are!

*** is up with these busy bodies?

[SKEETER]

I agree too, the purpose of the bass is to augment the music by covering the low frequencies. Bass players gotta play to the drums, when they don't the music is just lame and uninteresting. They don't call it a rythm section without reason............

[xman]

I'm a guitarist, and I have to say, when I jammed with a bassist the first time, I was instantly sold on the difference it makes. You wouldn't imagine it if you've never done it...or if you've always done it. The same goes for the drums.

[guitarchitect]

I love bass because if you play it, everyone wants you to be in their band. :)

But really, I love it (especially slap) because it's a gray area between a percussion instrument and a stringed instrument. Also, the fact that there's a direct connection between your right hand and the strings (i.e. no pick) enables a more direct connection between thought and sound. The "Thor effect" mentioned earlier is nice too...

[SKEETER]

This just occurred to me. Listen to some old Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. Greg Lake is a hell of a good guitarist on their music, but he mostly played bass.

[socialparasite]

Bass and drums is pretty much the song. The guitar is the tone of the song. I dig bass and drums and both are very important. Take an average drummer to song you made up and it will sound good. Take an excellent drummer to that same song and you have an excellent song. Bass is the same way.

[SKEETER]

I wouldn't exactly say bass and drums are the song, they are good support for a song. For something to be a song it needs a melody line. I have seen a lot of guys perform with just a guitar and a microphone, or even just a guitar, but I have never seen a bass player and/or drummer get a gig without other instrumets. Bass and Drums are the whipped cream and cherry on top.

[CaptainSG]

idk....the classic trio is perfect...one guitar or two...one bass and drums...w/o drums or bass, it's just ballless music...I've tried it before...I have open back headphones so I cover the phones and the bass is taken out...it sounds like what you would hear if you were in a tin can....i didn't dig it.

[SKEETER]

Lots of music with "balls" has been done on one instrument. Chet Atkins could do amazing things with just a guitar. Noone will likely ever even come close to his abilities.

[gamma_function]

but I have never seen a bass player and/or drummer get a gig without other instrumets.

check out a group called "clatter." (bass and drums only)

or victor wooten's solo album "a show of hands" (no drummer there at all)

i'm sure there are plenty others, those just happen to come to mind.

come to think of it i think tortoise and squarepusher both did strictly drum and bass albums. i could be wrong, it may jsut have been a few more recent tracks of theirs.

[tobin esperance]

in the start i didn't like the bass but man the bassist of papa roach when the first time i heard him he got me in other world it was a beautiful moments and i'm looking to play bass i'm not gonna forget about it and that's for sure

[Peaceful]

Bass is cool, but my only problem with it is that your bass player can screw up bad during a song and no one notices even if he is mixed high
Shred, why is that a problem? :) :)

[SKEETER]

Shred, why is that a problem? :) :)
Hehe, that is one reason I started playing bass instead of lead, super fast guitar players are a dime a dozen, but noone wants to play bass, but the bass player gets the same pay of everyone else without nearly as much stress. Your *** isn't hanging out like the front guy and lead guitarist, and if you hit a bad note it is cool as long as it is not a real clanger and it is in time with the kick. When I was playing bass I felt like it was a vacation.

[Strat Kid]

I like the thick feeling of the string in your fingers when you play them.