Why Doesnt Anybody Like bass Guitars, Bass and Drums Discuss Why Doesnt Anybody Like bass in the Metal Instruments forums; No I've heard some sexy ass bass playing before(it just needs a little distortion for it to sound ...

[bobofwestoregonusa]

No I've heard some sexy ass bass playing before(it just needs a little distortion for it to sound right is all). I play bass i'm just to cheap to buy a good bass.

[Loucifer]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread here, but I felt like contributing to it.

I'm learning to play bass at the moment (it's still early days yet and I really should practise more) but I think it's a great instrument

[Dr-Death]

Originally Posted by Loucifer

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread here, but I felt like contributing to it.

I'm learning to play bass at the moment (it's still early days yet and I really should practise more) but I think it's a great instrument

What attracted you to the bass over the guitar? (I ask this to a lot of bassists, being a guitarist myself - I just don't see the attraction).

[Loucifer]

Originally Posted by Dr-Death

What attracted you to the bass over the guitar? (I ask this to a lot of bassists, being a guitarist myself - I just don't see the attraction).

I've played guitar on and off for a few years, but when I saw some Billy Sheehan videos (and heard some of his stuff - obviously!) I was sucked into the world of bass! lol

[Dr-Death]

I've seen him with Vai I think? Wasn't he in Van Halen to?

[Loucifer]

He's played with Steve Vai. He wasn't in Van Halen, but he was in Mr Big.

[FlamesOfBelial]

I think people like guitar more 'coz it has more strings xD

But I was considering being a bassist before I started doing music, but I picked guitar. I also find it hard to get a bassist for my band =[

[Godsavetheteens]

You See Nobody Likes Bass Because Its The Lazy Guitar

Like With Bass Its Just Picking

Guitar Is Much More Complex And I My Opinion A More Fun Instrument To Play

And Its More Reconisable Too

[Richard_Morgan]

I played bass for a band over the course of a couple of years, and frankly you may as well have put a tape player on a chair instead.. no-one would have noticed the absense, regardless of how much rockin' out might take place I have to admit though, with bass it's hard to look anything but a jazz player, or heavy metal player.

Anyway, love the sound of a bass, love playing it, but it's tiring to play a great gig and hear "Oh, you were in the band that were just playing?" followed by an apologetic look. Anything that might get you noticed more probably isn't going to be in the overall interest of furthering your band's credit

-Rich

[bloodmessiah]

Most people who don't like to play bass don't understand the bass. Part of the problem goes back to the early days of rock: the bass wasn't supposed to be heard, it was just there to keep time. That didn't really start to change until the late 60s, when people like Paul McCartney, James Entwhistle, John Paul Jones and Brian Wilson started to experiment with the bass. Look at the bass lines in 'Come Together' or 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' and compare that to the bass line in most songs of that era and earlier.

The 1970s was the era of guitar rock, with bands like Yes, The Who, Peter Frampton, Aerosmith, and AC/DC. The bass lines in a lot of their songs are fairly straightforward and rather dull. There were some great bass players in the 70s: Geezer Butler, Geddy Lee, Roger Glover ... but for the most part, the bass was sidelined during the 70s. A lot of rock (and early metal) was still 3 bars. Not much room for innovation.

The 80s, though, saw a new breed of bass player, in metal, at least. Steve Harris and Cliff Burton are two perfect examples of this. They just weren't plodding along pedaling 1/8ths or 1/16ths, but were all over the bass with runs and fills. I've frequently heard people describe Steve Harris as playing lead bass. Still, a lot of metal bands (and rock, in general) kept on with the plodding bass line. New wave and alternative were heavily bass driven, but the bass lines were still fairly simplistic.

The 90s and this decade have seen the bass move even more to the forefront. Bands like Tool, Korn, Primus, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are very bass heavy. But, again, there are still tons of bands where the bass just plods along, cycling through the same 3 (maybe even 4 or 5) chords.

Ok ... so getting back to people not understanding the bass. The bass controls the song. A lot of people who play the bass (the ones pedaling in every song) don't realize this. A lot of quitar players don't realize this. The guitar player is free to run around musically throughout the song, but he does it within the framework created by the bass player. And the drummer? He's the ground that supports that framework.

Any tool can play the guitar. Unless a guitar player is extremely exceptional, he won't be hard to replace -- there are tons of good guitar players out there. A good bass player isn't so easy to find. Sure, you can find one that will pedal along with whatever the guitar plays. But finding one who knows how to hold a song together, who knows how to build the foundation for a song, is much harder. And finding a great bass player is even more difficult.