Lead Bassists?

[paperbag1213]

how come there are very few of these around anymore its sorta sad how some bassists think all they can do is arpeggios and roots

 

[Grgzilla]

I think mainly coz bass traditionally is a supporting instrument.Thankfully there's those who dont play by the traditional rules & are taking bass onto the next level.

 

[maddrakkett]

I think along with what Greg said, there's only a few who have been creatve and talented enough to make it happen, and there aren't too many bands who will take the chance on a bass player in a lead role because it's harder to get a deal or gain popularity with the status quo...

But I'm long since tired of hearing boring bands who only target the status quo in order to bring in the $tatu$ dough... :evil:

 

[Callum]

i use to play a leadish role in a few of my older bands, just because of the style that i play in, the bass was really present and drove a lot of the melodies and had a few simple solos. Nothing fancy it was just when i was starting out.

My opinion is a bit divided, i love solo bass players but lead ones are bit iffy imo. I personally prefer the guitar section and bass to work together. Take a standard 2 guitar 1 bass setup. 1 lead guitar 1 rhythm and 1 bass. Now the rhythm guitar can take care of the roots and filling out the sound, leaving the bass to lock into the drummer but be free to their approach be it counter melody to the lead, holding a funky groovy pattern, slapping it silly...ect.

Personally my favorite things to play are counter melodies to solos or augment it with particular chord/note choices, played right they can make that guitar solo sound so much better. It gives a more complete feel to the music, and shows of the musicianship on the players. Sure a bass solo every so often is nice but it really depends on the style.

Ofc this is in a more traditional case. different styles call for different bass playing.

 

[Tv IV Dogs]

i use to play a leadish role in a few of my older bands, just because of the style that i play in, the bass was really present and drove a lot of the melodies and had a few simple solos. Nothing fancy it was just when i was starting out.

My opinion is a bit divided, i love solo bass players but lead ones are bit iffy imo. I personally prefer the guitar section and bass to work together. Take a standard 2 guitar 1 bass setup. 1 lead guitar 1 rhythm and 1 bass. Now the rhythm guitar can take care of the roots and filling out the sound, leaving the bass to lock into the drummer but be free to their approach be it counter melody to the lead, holding a funky groovy pattern, slapping it silly...ect.

Personally my favorite things to play are counter melodies to solos or augment it with particular chord/note choices, played right they can make that guitar solo sound so much better. It gives a more complete feel to the music, and shows of the musicianship on the players. Sure a bass solo every so often is nice but it really depends on the style.

Ofc this is in a more traditional case. different styles call for different bass playing.

Agreed...I'm not a big fan of the 'traditional' root and arpeggio bass style, but it's definitely got it's place in all kinds of music, and it's usually better than most wildly styled lead bassists who just got apeshit and rain notes down...

...my personal fave style is for bass to take on a leading melody role, but the do it from within the groove. It's the sytle I try for in Tv IV Dogs...strong melodic style, often using slapping and tapping, but keeping it firmly locked down with the groove at the same time.

Have a listen if you feel so inclined...

 

[Gman]

I guess it's whatever floats your boat. Personally I prefer to hear creative bass grooves that take a song from great to awesome. It's also important that it's a 'song' - personally I'm bored by solo bassists.

I've listened to loads over my 25 years of playing and I consistently come back to stuff that has different instruments, layers, melody, interesting lyrics, soul and a groove.

I'd rather listen to Tony Levin playing with Peter Gabriel, Stu Zander with Jamiroquai or Richard Jones with The Feeling than any of the Victor Wooton types.

 

[maddrakkett]

I guess it's whatever floats your boat. Personally I prefer to hear creative bass grooves that take a song from great to awesome. It's also important that it's a 'song' - personally I'm bored by solo bassists.

I've listened to loads over my 25 years of playing and I consistently come back to stuff that has different instruments, layers, melody, interesting lyrics, soul and a groove.

I'd rather listen to Tony Levin playing with Peter Gabriel, Stu Zander with Jamiroquai or Richard Jones with The Feeling than any of the Victor Wooton types.

I totally agree. Although I have all of Victor Wootens albums, and feel that he isn't a showoff or a shredder, but is actually musical with his stuff the way Joe Satriani is with the guitar, I still find it more enjoyable to listen to Stu Zender with early Jamiroquai or Bakithi Kumalo on Paul Simon's Graceland, where he takes many lead bass roles on his fretless and makes incredible musical magic...or even Jaco, who's music still inspires bass players to expand their abilities to help enhance the SONG, not just to show off their chops.

Steve Harris impressed me from the beginning, back when I was a guitard in a heavy metal band and Iron Maiden's first album was still an import in the States, but the band was making a push through advertising in music magazines. But now it seems his writing has gotten stale and stuck in the same gear. Back on Brave New World, it got to where the majority of the songs sounded like they had the same bass line, over and over - like Steve was a broken record... I quickly lost interest and haven't really listened to Maiden albums since. I also know that Steve took a lot of heat from fans and reviewers over that, so maybe the following albums are better? I don't know, but his was a lead role I once admired, so I know there's got to be more in him. The point is, when it works, when it serves the song, when it opens up new avenues and interesting directions for the music, yet remains in the groove, lead bass can really bring LIFE to a band and to the music.

 

[maddrakkett]

Also, having played the role of lead guitard for almost 30 years, and switching to bass over the last 3, I really find myself gravitating to music where bass plays a dominant role, but doesn't dominate the music.

I'm pretty sure that's because the good bassist knows how to keep the groove but also listens to all the instruments in order to anchor the music before laying down the lead, whereas a guitard will listen to how much faster or more creative they are than the latest guitard hero on the block... :lol:

 

[Tv IV Dogs]

Wow...I know its a complete different stlye of lead bass, but I've been vegging out amazed by Jayens music this morning...that indian flavour he's got going is sooo freakin cool...

 

[flipper_gv]

Well, I don't remember clearly a time in history where there were a lot of lead bass players. But, why there aren't a lot of lead bass players?

1- Most people aren't able to hear the bass in a song. We, bass players, have no trouble hearing it because it's where we focus on a song. But most persons will try to hear it but they probably fail at it because their ear isn't used to hear lower frequencies.

2- The bass is harder to play than the guitar. Space between string is larger. The neck is longer. The space between frets is greater. Strings are bigger and looser. Strings are harder to fret. All those factors make the bass an instrument a lot more harder to play crazy fast and technical than a guitar.

3- As Greg said, the bass almost always played a supporting role in music, even in classical music (I do not talk about the cello here). People are used to this and everything different than what they are used to feel strange and usually won't get much popularity. You see, most bands with a lead bassist that gained popularity also had a very good lead guitarists too (The Who, Iron Maiden, Rush) and that helped the common listener to accept the more important presence of the bassplayer in the melody.

 

[vpshockwave]

2- The bass is harder to play than the guitar. Space between string is larger. The neck is longer. The space between frets is greater. Strings are bigger and looser. Strings are harder to fret. All those factors make the bass an instrument a lot more harder to play crazy fast and technical than a guitar

I agree with you, but some guitarists will fight to the death that the guitar is harder. The world is filled with the "THE BASS ONLY HAS 4 STRINGS THEREFORE IT IS EASIER" people.

 

[The_Orlonater]

2- The bass is harder to play than the guitar. Space between string is larger. The neck is longer. The space between frets is greater. Strings are bigger and looser. Strings are harder to fret. All those factors make the bass an instrument a lot more harder to play crazy fast and technical than a guitar

I agree with you, but some guitarists will fight to the death that the guitar is harder. The world is filled with the "THE BASS ONLY HAS 4 STRINGS THEREFORE IT IS EASIER" people.

All instruments are equally hard. The guitar part could be harder for some and easier for others. All instruments are hard, maybe there's more physically demanding instruments like Double Bass(You can't question me here, trying playing your favorite fast solos on this).

 

[Benjamin]

Let me add Cream to flipper's list.
and RHCP
and RATM - listen to Bombtrack

 

[Unknownaxel]

2- The bass is harder to play than the guitar. Space between string is larger. The neck is longer. The space between frets is greater. Strings are bigger and looser. Strings are harder to fret. All those factors make the bass an instrument a lot more harder to play crazy fast and technical than a guitar

I agree with you, but some guitarists will fight to the death that the guitar is harder. The world is filled with the "THE BASS ONLY HAS 4 STRINGS THEREFORE IT IS EASIER" people.

All instruments are equally hard. The guitar part could be harder for some and easier for others. All instruments are hard, maybe there's more physically demanding instruments like Double Bass(You can't question me here, trying playing your favorite fast solos on this).

Yes. An instrument can only be easy if you DECIDE to make it easy. In the end they can all be hard as shit if you make it that way. The root of a song is the standard...going beyond it is what makes you better and makes the instrument harder.

P.S. - A little off the subject, but I like Ryan Martinie. Although he's part of Mudvayne which isn't QUITE my favorite, he's an awesome lead bassist =D

 

[Avram]

You guys are right (IMHO). The bass is no harder to learn than the treble clef guitar. But I will say this...the bass guitar is noticeably more difficult to play FAST than the six string guitar, for obvious reasons. I play classical guitar, and electric bass, and I can say with all confidence that the same riffs on my classical guitar are WAY easier to rip through fast than on my bass (tho much more fun on the bass :wink

Also, about Mudvayne...Ryan Martine is a freaking MASTER bass player, the drummer is really good too. Unfortunately, the rest of the band isn't nearly as good, so, I think the bassist and drummer really carry the band. If you listen to Mudvayne (and I recommend you do if you play the bass guitar, or drums) just ignore the guitar and vocals and focus on Martine's playing, it really is impressive...

 

[flipper_gv]

You guys are right (IMHO). The bass is no harder to learn than the treble clef guitar. But I will say this...the bass guitar is noticeably more difficult to play FAST than the six string guitar, for obvious reasons
...

That is what I meant, sorry for the misunderstanding

 

[Avram]

I figured :wink:

 

[Phoenix]

I was once told that I play bass like I'm trying to be a guitarist. Granted I don't solo, but I tend to play along with the melodies a lot of the time. Another band I play with, the bass lines often DO form the lead element of a song, or at least add another layer to the melody. If you ask me, I prefer it that way - more fun

 

[Unknownaxel]

I was once told that I play bass like I'm trying to be a guitarist. Granted I don't solo, but I tend to play along with the melodies a lot of the time. Another band I play with, the bass lines often DO form the lead element of a song, or at least add another layer to the melody. If you ask me, I prefer it that way - more fun

Stick a finger in my ass and give an Amen to that Pheonix

(I say weird crap...forgive me)

 

[Lewis]

I was once told that I play bass like I'm trying to be a guitarist. Granted I don't solo, but I tend to play along with the melodies a lot of the time. Another band I play with, the bass lines often DO form the lead element of a song, or at least add another layer to the melody. If you ask me, I prefer it that way - more fun

agreed.