What is YOUR "Smoke on the Water"?

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Doc

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So I've been basically lurking on and off for months now. Hi, by the way, I'm Doc. :lol:

Anyhoo, I'll apologize ahead of time if this has been discussed, but when you go into a store, pick up someone else's bass, or just sit down to mess around, what's the first thing you play?

Are you one of the wankers who goes into Guitar Center and does sweeps and 240bpm double thumbing just in case there's a talent scout hiding behind the Squier rack or do you just pluck a 1,5 bass line from Buck Owens' Greatest hits?

I like to do a 3-key version of "I Got the Fire" by Montrose, "Cherry" by UFO, and "Year of Judges" by Stolen Babies.

I'm not much of a noodler...
 
Hi Doc!

I play some stuff I knwo what to expect soundwise. Like something from Savage Garden Break me, Or "Good Times"

Nice topic :-)
 
I play nothing! I try to challenge myself to come up with something different everytime I play. That's how I practice, hence the name.
 
Hi Doc

Welcome to the forum
I usually do some 12 bar blues and if no one is about I do Enter Sandman \m/

verb
 
I always play the same little things while dialing in my amp or trying a bass:

- Intro of Rescue Me by Fontella Bass
- Intro of Down In The Tubestation By Midnight by The Jam (with the flageolettes)
- Tonght I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight by Spinal Tap
- Something Tommy-era The Who. Overture stuff.
 
Usually I slap to some RHCP tunes,and then start "sweeping" up and down the freatboard...
 
usually i play "?thunder kiss?" (white zombie) and i don't know why. it just pops in my mind! (i'm not a white zombie fan! ) then something on the lower notes and some random slap to check the highs!
 
I usually do some impromptu finger-style plus some slapping. Sometimes I like to play Nevermore's "Sentient 6".
 
i play completely random stuff but somewhere the Jaco famous lick has to come somewhere in between.
 
Some Rush, Black Sabbath, and Tool. When I slap the bass, usually it's Pleasure's "Glide".
 
hi good to have you on board,when i go to a music store and play a bass i do some maiden riffs or what ever comes to mind what i used to like to do was listen for some one playing a song i know on guitar and jam along.i only would do that at sam ash or guitar center,i used to go to sam ash on 48th street so much i knew the guy at the door who checked your bags.and a couple of the salesmen were real cool with letting me hang out and play a lot of stuff.
 
I tend to just play a random selection of notes trying to cover the full range of the instrument. But I've always thought that one measure of how good an instrument is is what it inspires you to play. A bass that makes you play something new and funky is a bass to love!
 
Audioslve's "Cochise" and Clash's version of "Brand New Cadillac"
 
mart said:
I tend to just play a random selection of notes trying to cover the full range of the instrument. But I've always thought that one measure of how good an instrument is is what it inspires you to play. A bass that makes you play something new and funky is a bass to love!
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+1000!
That's what I do. If my mind starts to wander it's not the bass for me!
Nothing captivates me like the Thumb BO. I can play for a couple of hours and not even notice. It changes the way I play and how my (diseased) brain operates.
 
Welcome Doc...

At first I almost always start, as Florin said, with something I know soundwise to get a quick setup on the amp I can live with. Wrath Child - Iron Maiden & Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers seem to fairly standard guitar store fare for me. Then its mostly just random BS; whatever comes to mind. But yea, Im one of those guys, that if anyone is watching or possibly listening I start throwing out more of the complicated or flashy stuff I know just to show off.

Not a talent scout, but one time I was the GC in Lawndale California and was waiting to see a Kenny Arnoff drum clinic, so I was checking out some basses while waiting. Kenny's roadie was setting up his kit and I was dinking around with some of my originals. Next thing I know, is the roadie was following along with me on Kenny's drums and we started playing a little game of follow the leader. Was fun and of coarse I was thrilled by the whole thing. Anyway I got my head down concentrating on what I was playing when I notice the drums stop, but don't think much of it. A minute later they start again and the game of follow the leader continued. But I started noticing a difference in the drummers style and he started during thses really sophisticated jazz beats, so I look up and to my utter amazment, Im no long playing with the roadie, but Kenny himself. Needless to say, I dam near sh*t myself. We continued back and forth for a few more minutes when Kenny got up to leave. (get ready for the clinic I persume) But before he left, he stopped and gave me a big smile and a nod. I swear my head must have swelled 5 times its normal size , I was on cloud nine. During the drum clinic, the roadie came up to me and told me he enjoyed jamming with me and that when Kenny had came back into the back room, he had told the roadie, "that guy is a damn good bass player."

None of that lead to a damn thing, except giving me an awesome memory and story to tell. Hell, it didn't even lead to me being able to go in the back and meet Kenny personally. For all I know, that roadie could have been blowing smoke up my ass, but I do know the smile and nod were genuine, so I am happy with that. Anyway, the point of this long winded story is that, being heard by someone famous or in a position to help your carreer in a place like guitar is not totally out of the question. Highly unlikely, but is possible, so always remember, when you pick up a guitar in the guitar center, don't play Stairway to Heaven!
 
I play crap....whatever my lessons are cos I'm in learning stages...one day I shall rock...yes one day... :P heh...
 
Bassist Buslady said:
I play crap....whatever my lessons are cos I'm in learning stages...one day I shall rock...yes one day... :P heh...
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Welcome Buslady, welcome to the forum. Ummm I hate to burst your bubble, but the learning stage never ends! I would be willing to bett that if you were to go to the JLo thread and ask James, he'd tell ya he's still learning too. But I know what you meant, Im just playing. But seriously, if it's what you know, and you are playing it the best that you can, than it's not crap! It's your music and you should be proud of it. So it might not be as advanced as what someone else is playing, that's cool, but that doesn't it make it crap. It's not as advanced as you want it to be, that's cool too, gives you motivation to keep learning and practicing, but your music is not crap just because your at an entry or less advanced stage than someone else ot even you want to be ..... sorry for the rant Oh and last word on it, if you are playing what you know and playing it the best you can ... Than IMO you rock!

BTW what part of SoCal you from. I actually grew up in the South Bay area. Gardena to be exact.
 
Like the thing I play the most on bass?

Just before the slap (never bothered to learn the slap bit XD):

[video=youtube;-2kqXic5aY4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2kqXic5aY4&feature=related[/video]
 
BassPlyr Randy said:
Welcome Buslady, welcome to the forum. Ummm I hate to burst your bubble, but the learning stage never ends! I would be willing to bett that if you were to go to the JLo thread and ask James, he'd tell ya he's still learning too. But I know what you meant, Im just playing. But seriously, if it's what you know, and you are playing it the best that you can, than it's not crap! It's your music and you should be proud of it. So it might not be as advanced as what someone else is playing, that's cool, but that doesn't it make it crap. It's not as advanced as you want it to be, that's cool too, gives you motivation to keep learning and practicing, but your music is not crap just because your at an entry or less advanced stage than someone else ot even you want to be ..... sorry for the rant Oh and last word on it, if you are playing what you know and playing it the best you can ... Than IMO you rock!

BTW what part of SoCal you from. I actually grew up in the South Bay area. Gardena to be exact.
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thank you thank you :D

yeah i just play whatever hehe :D mostly just technique and stuff like that i love it thats all that matters

im in Corona actually...native of mission viejo :D
 
I always play Timebomb (Rancid) and Total Immortal (AFI), and then some other random stuff. I think it's cause these are the songs I always soundcheck, as they use all of the strings on the bass...that's also the songs I play to check all my strings are in tune.
 
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