School me on basses

[Vince]

I like vince but I don't regard him as a bass expert.... he plays bass on an acoustic bass, he doesn't play electric, its not really the same thing.

Vince got bored with electric after about fifteen years of it.

[Starfire]

The new 60th Anniversary Fender P-Bass looks pretty cool.
http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/60th-pbass
Not in my price range, of course, but cool nonetheless.

[Rog]

Someone has to say it, so:

Most guitarists think that playing bass is simple and it is. BUT many guitarists who try to play bass (while being great on guitar) fail terribly. The whole thrust is different. For a start, guitarists 'need' to fill every gap - bassists deliberately leave those gaps. Good bassists can 'feel' a little run and place it to great effect. Many guitarists on bass use runs for every second phrase, to lesser effect. Funnily enough, many good bassists make good guitarists, but the reverse is far less common.

[Pakehendrix]

Shhhh Rog, you're destroying my credibility! I just hope the Captain doesn't jump in here...or Kristie...

You speaketh the truth though...I listen to anything with Duck Dunn to get out of the 'fill all the gaps' mindset

[TmcB]

Someone has to say it, so:

Most guitarists think that playing bass is simple and it is. BUT many guitarists who try to play bass (while being great on guitar) fail terribly. The whole thrust is different. For a start, guitarists 'need' to fill every gap - bassists deliberately leave those gaps. Good bassists can 'feel' a little run and place it to great effect. Many guitarists on bass use runs for every second phrase, to lesser effect. Funnily enough, many good bassists make good guitarists, but the reverse is far less common.

+ 1x too many to count

I think that's a very good way to put it.
A guitarist can shred on bass but he'll sound and feel like a guitarist shredding on bass, which sounds stupid.
Playing bass well has a completely different mentality; you've got to like having the quiet confidence of holding everything together without having to be centre of attention. I was at a Jazz bar the other night and noticed the guitarist just had no clue as to when to play and when to give space; he just soloed constantly unless there was singing, and never let the licks breathe. It was as though he was trying to smother the band behind him. But I heard the bass behind him, funky and in the pocket with the drummer and I thought yeah, the real magic here is happening with those two just sitting in the pocket.
I find that often I sit and admire the bassists that sit in the pocket, occasionally letting a smooth lick go than those who are all over the place. I guess that's why I appreciate someone like Victor Wooten but not really like his music.

There are people that can't even pick out what the bass sounds like, so being happy to make everything work behind the scenes without that much recognition is a plus.

[Starfire]

That's probably my biggest concern with playing bass. Not that the technique and feel of the thing is going to be different or any of that stuff, but that I'll get bored with just going *thump, thump* on the bass, as opposed to the multitude of things you can do with a guitar. The very thing I like about bass, the simplicity and repetitiveness, is the same thing that makes it a bit boring.

I think bass works better in the context of a band, particularly the rock 'n' roll bass I like, which is very much just repetitive *thump, thump* kind of stuff. Standing alone, it doesn't really make much sense. But within the band, it does because it's contributing to something. I think guitar works as a stand alone thing because it's more melodic, but bass is a tool of rhythm.

[Bg]

I like vince but I don't regard him as a bass expert.... he plays bass on an acoustic bass, he doesn't play electric, its not really the same thing.

Vince got bored with electric after about fifteen years of it.

...so you see, absolutely no credibility

[calling card]

That's probably my biggest concern with playing bass. Not that the technique and feel of the thing is going to be different or any of that stuff, but that I'll get bored with just going *thump, thump* on the bass, as opposed to the multitude of things you can do with a guitar. The very thing I like about bass, the simplicity and repetitiveness, is the same thing that makes it a bit boring.

I think bass works better in the context of a band, particularly the rock 'n' roll bass I like, which is very much just repetitive *thump, thump* kind of stuff. Standing alone, it doesn't really make much sense. But within the band, it does because it's contributing to something. I think guitar works as a stand alone thing because it's more melodic, but bass is a tool of rhythm.

I've been playing bass while my kid does his acadaca stuff, it's a blast !, the whole thing just takes off with that thunderous low frequency reinforcement. I love the sheer simplicity of it & just locking into the feel of the song.

[Vince]

I think guitar works as a stand alone thing because it's more melodic, but bass is a tool of rhythm.

Nah, not at all.

People say classical music is straightlaced, but there's heaps of pieces for solo cello, concertos for double bass and so on. The bass guitar has a range somewhat similar to the cello. I think the sound of a bass guitar past the seventh fret is one of the most beautiful in the world. It's rich and mellow and friendly and powerful and very very beautiful.

They are all just instruments, all textures. What you do with them is up to you.