Bass player's topic thread

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I am a singer/growler, lyrics writer and a bassist. I have also dabbled in guitar, drums and keyboard.

However, while there are many conversations for guitarists, vocalists and keyboardists, rarely do bassists have a place t converse about influences (drummers have secluded areas often.)

I will start off the post by mentioning my current brand and effects pedal.

Ibanez GSR206 6 string bass
HMS medium boomers

Bose ME20B multi-effects bass pedal

I often use chorus, octave edge and distortion effects, with a touch of falnger occasionally.

Major influences: Ryan Martinie of Mudvayne, bassist for Endo, Otep's various bassists, Emma Anzai of Sick Puppies, Metallica's Robert Trujillo and Bob Rock's basslines, Doug Wimbish of Living Colour and Geddy Lee of Rush.

I also enjoy playing Schecters, Spectors, BC Riches, Musicmans, Warwicks and Fender jazz basses. 5 strings are most preferred.

My first bass was a Dean Edge that had poor low end up sounded great for slap/pop bass. It is now used to play Rush and R.E.M.

Out of curiosity, how many bassists here also enjoy writing lyrics? I enjoy composing basslines and lyrics simultaneously, often by getting the bass note patterns and setting up the rest of the song to fit them.

I use chords, slap/pop bass, slides, string bending and double hand fretting. These are all used frequently alongside distortion after a year of playing.

How about my fellow Aspergians?

I played bass (and some very amateurish six-string) years ago, but I slowly lost interest with time. Playing in front of an audience was just too much for me; I couldn't stand all those eyes staring at me. And playing by myself at home wasn't really much fun, although I had an eight-track cassette recorder (does that make me feel old!) and a drum machine. I wrote and recorded some "out there" experimental stuff that I liked. Stoner/acid soundtracks, you might say. Wish I still had those cassettes, it might be interesting to listen to them again after so long.

A friendly piece of advice: If you're doing death growl vocals, do some research on vocal technique and learn how to do them properly. I ruined my voice doing them improperly for a few years. Now I sound like present-day Clint Eastwood when I speak, which is only cool if you're actually Clint Eastwood.

My favorite bassist is still Ron Broder (a.k.a. Ron Royce) from the 80s Swiss metal band Coroner. Unbelievable the speed and precision that guy had. Coroner never achieved much success in the USA, which is a shame. Don't know if you're familiar with them, but here's their only (I think) MTV video.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTlBua7mfao[/youtube]

That Coroner song had some pretty impressive bass.

An eight track you say? That does sound fun...and I personally enjoy playing by myself.

I did research on that, I use a growling style along the lines of Mikael Stanne. Example below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Dkr5HGNsI

I'm currently trying to learn this on bass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td-v6vG2Xhs

What brand do you use? Ever mess around with effects?

I also imagine I would dislike playing in front of large crowds.

I started learning bass nearly a year ago and since I started a home recording project earlier this month I'm finally getting the motivation to stick with it (I've played guitar for years but bass is just as fun in its own way). Playing in front of people is a bit of an issue, yeah.

As much as I'd love to try one I can't justify (or afford!) one of those huge Ampeg valve heads so I use a D.I. box straight into the USB mixer/preamp that's plugged into my PC. It means I have to use headphones but I like the sound of it.

My full setup is a Mexican Fender Jazz bass, a Boss pedal tuner, a ProCo RAT, the Sansamp D.I. box and a Boss reverb pedal. I've not felt the need to get other effects but I find the RAT is a perfect distortion for what I'm doing - it's a balanced and gritty overdrive/fuzz that works as well with bass as it does with guitar.

I've not actually even considered writing lyrics...writing songs *full stop* is hard for me, but finding the right words is especially difficult. I have a voice synth program but I've yet to learn how to use it. It's an instrumental project for the forseeable future!

Inspiration-wise, I'm a fan of the respective bassists of Mogwai, Joy Division, Mass of the Fermenting Dregs and Caspian. I only recently started to pay close attention to the bass parts of songs, but I'm appreciating the 'bigger picture' of song arrangements more now, which I'm sure is a healthy thing!

Ah, Pantera! Vulgar Display of Power came out while I was in high school and every metalhead had to have a copy of that album. (We actually went into stores and bought albums back in those long-ago days. Seems so inconvenient now.) I spent quite a few hours copying Rex Brown's playing from that. He's an underrated bassist. He kind of got overshadowed by Dimebag Darrell, I guess. But, that's often the fate of the bassist, unless you're a bassist who sings too.



I haven't owned a bass in years, actually. I had a few different basses, but my favorite was an old battered BC Rich Warlock I got for cheap. Really silly design, the Warlock, but it had the smoothest action of any bass I owned. Also had a Rickenbacker for a while, which was fun. You get a really dirty, nasty tone out of those.

I had a flange pedal, some cheap fuzzbox (can't remember what brands they were), and a Wah pedal. I bought the Wah because Cliff Burton used one sometimes, and I loved learning his stuff. That guy had really long fingers, and it was good stretching exercise to learn some of his lines. ("Anaesthesia: Pulling Teeth" for example.)

To Ookla:

Ah yes, Vulgar Display of power. A new Level and Hollow are awesome.

Rex Brown is a pretty good bassist, but he goes a lot between simple heavy riffs and cool, complex ones. Compare Becoming to Floods, for instance. Personally I grew up on The Great Southern trendkill, a fantastic album.

Dimebag Darrell could overshadow any bassist though
If only bassists got more attention.

Ah, BC Rich basses. I have a Warlock guitar but not a bass guitar. They have a fantastic low end. And yes, the design is goofy. For low end I like Spector, which Chad Hanks of American head Charge is using now.

Rickenbackers seem very metal-made basses. I go for heavy low end with rounded higher end as well for slap and pop, such as Schecters and Ibanez.

Anaesthesia is a pretty good song on bass. My favorite by Metallica though (to play to) is probably That was Just Your life, following the guitarline at parts.

Flangers are really fun to mix with a wah wah pedal, ever try that?

To Concretebadger:

Aaah, yes. The classic story of guitarist turned bassists...you actually play the bass like a bass yes? So many of the converts don't truly go into the slides, pop/slap, string bending, messing around with picks etc.

I suppose those that my going to guitar after bass is worth noting here. I usually play Deftones who are very very simple, but enjoy the heavy rhythm. Imagine many guitarists turned bassists enjoy that.

What style is this home project? Gonna bring in any other members?

Excellent choice in pedals. Fender jazz basses are gorgeous as well, Fredreich Mendez from Opeth uses one to glorious effect. Can even get a nice low end on them surprisingly.

Voice-synth programs sound like a poor replacement. May I suggest finding a singer/lyricist?

I am not familiar with any of those bands really, would I be right in guessing they are 80s? I only know Joy Division, and that's from an Orgy cover.

I play a little, and have in the past played bass in a couple of bands.
I'm not very good, but I love it.
My bass is a 1974 Precision that I got for a steal about ten years ago.
I play a little guitar and keys and stuff, too. Mostly to (and by) myself.
Have a nice little "studio" setup in the basement, where I can sit for a few hours now and then and tinker.

Favourite player is with no contest Bent Sæther from Motorpsycho. Groove and attitude.

I play an electric Jazz bass, some of my influences:

-Matt Freeman
-Mike Dirnt
-Paul Simonon
Jah Wobble
-Geezer Butler
-Bootsy Collins
-Krist Novoselik
-Charles Mingus
-Robbie Shakespeare

I'm also influenced by electronic genres like drum n bass, dubstep & jungle

- I've only been playing bass since october but i have a real affinity for the instrument, I've been playing (6 string) guitar for years but i feel much more at ease with the bass

my other passion is the mandolin! I've been playing Irish folk, Celtic and Bluegrass since i was 15

I shall be updating this with some cool bass solos and cool riffs from now on!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqP9zwDLHjA

Also, there's a website you should check out if you like bass: http://www.notreble.com/

Just rediscovered this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfmEwAHI ... re=related

Love fret tapping solos, here are some death metal shredding style bass riffs I want to learn for fills: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11V8cP4s51Q