Doddy

1 hour ago, TheLowDown said:

If you think a 6er doesn't add complication to navigation then maybe there is still a lot of work to be done on fretboard awareness. But if you just play in the box all night every night, a 5 or 6 string will definitely suit you much better. 

First of all, there is nothing wrong with my fretboard awareness, and I'm fully aware of every note on the instrument as well as what notes are in what scales and chords. 

Positional playing can be a big help if you're on a reading gig, particularly if there are big leaps in range, because it's all there under your hand.Even if you're not reading, you can play more in the middle of the neck rather than in the lower positions. It's not about playing in a box, or playing a beginner shape.   Like I said earlier, you also get a 3 octave range within 12 frets, which is something that is not possible on a standard Fender. That is one of the main reasons I like a 6 for gigs where I'll be soloing, even though I play 5 strings most of the time.

I guess players like Anthony Jackson and John Patitucci are limiting themselves to beginner box patterns and need to improve their fretboard awareness?

They could have had a bit more variation of companies and I'm surprised they mentioned Rotosound just for their flats and tapewound strings, when their rounds are what they're known for.

Personally, I've tried a lot of strings and end up going back to Elites on most of my basses. Although lately I've been loving the exposed core LaBella Super Steps.

13 hours ago, Maude said:

If it's just for some fun jamming then it doesn't have to be strictly traditional bluegrass and some fun can be had with the basslines. Given that they aren't using traditional instruments then I see no reason for you to. Ignoring the boring regimented parameters of genres take a look at Bela Fleck & The Flecktones (what's known as 'New Grass' I think) and Victor Wooten is happy playing funky basslines on a far from traditional electric bass, and God only has knows what 'Future Man', Wooten's brother, is playing, a Synthaxedrumitar if memory serves. 

It has the traditionalists running for the mountains, oh hang on, they're already up there. 😉

 

The Flecktones are one of my favourite bands but they wouldn't be my first recommendation when it comes to Bluegrass. The influence is obviously there, but they can also fit in just as much with the Jazz/Funk/Fusion/Jam Band scene.

Bela Fleck's previous band, New Grass Revival, would be a better choice for a more modern take on Bluegrass. They were an excellent band.

43 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

It’s fine if you have the time and patience to dial in each sound from that array of pedals, but it’s not very practical from a gigging bassists point of view. Not that you would ever play that selection of songs in the same set, but a single synth pedal with patches would make life a lot easier on the fly. His set up is fine for recording, but I think I’ll stick with my Future Impact and Boss SY-1.

I don't think it's impractical for a gigging player to use a selection of pedals like that.  I've been using pedal combinations to get sounds on gigs for a while, and I prefer to do it that way than to sit and programme a pedal like the Future Impact or the C4. 

14 hours ago, TheLowDown said:

You don't think it complicates it at all going from a 4 string to a 6 string? Take any root note on the fretboard, compare the number of major 3rds between a 4 string and a 6 string.

If you just want to play within a box on the fretboard, then I would agree with you.

No I don't. At least nothing that an hour or two in the practice room learning the notes won't sort out.

Going off your example, a 6 string doesn't give you a huge number of major 3rds over a 4 string. If you use C as your root, you're only getting 2 more places to play an E than on a 4 string (within the first 12 frets). What you are getting is the option to play over a full 2 octave range within a 4 fret area rather than a 9 fret shift, and a full 3 octaves within 12 frets.

50 minutes ago, FDC484950 said:

Define “loads”? And what are they paying? And is that sight reading a complete written part of comping on chord/melody charts? I’ve been out of the game a while and just curious.

By 'loads', I'm talking about function/corporate gigs, clubs,  jazz gigs, tribute bands, theatre tours, big band.  Sometimes you'll get lead sheets but most of the time it's fully notated charts. When I was doing more musicals and cruises, then I was literally reading every night. Now, I'd say that more than half of my work involves reading.

I'm not going to say how much they're paying, but I'm making a living.

10 hours ago, FDC484950 said:

Very very few musical situations nowadays require sight reading 

I don't know about that. There are still loads of reading gigs around. At least half the gigs I do involve reading charts.

It depends what your situation is. I've taken a load of gigs with a busy tribute band that specifically want a Precision Bass for the look. If I didn't already have a couple, they have one I could use. The same with drums- they have a specific kit that they want using.

I don't mind anyone suggesting gear ideas with me, but I expect them to be putting plenty of decent gigs in my diary.

5 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

I guess I'm a prime candidate for lessons,  but I struggle dramatically with tuition. Teachers only ever want to teach you what they want or think is best rather than what you actually want to investigate; "...We'll cover that in lesson #438"

The thing with this, in my experience, is that you get people wanting lessons who overestimate their ability and want to learn XYZ, but they don't understand ABC, so you need to take them down that path first to be able to make sense of what they initially asked. Generally, students who are open to this idea learn far more than those who get arsey that the teacher went in a different direction after one lesson.

4 hours ago, Waddo Soqable said:

How much theory do you actually NEED for what you do ?... In my case over the years very little, life's too short to waste chunks of it on stuff that's not going to help you...

Steel helmet now secured, incoming flak barrage awaited....!

Not giving any flak but I don't think it's a waste of time because it does help. It never hurts to know more about what you are doing, and it can open up opportunities that you might not get otherwise.

As far as the actual technique is concerned, I'd say most of the motion is coming from the forearm rather than than the wrist or elbow. Some players, like Louis Johnson use big movements from the elbow at times, but the majority comes from a forearm rotation. For the best tone, I'd say to play over the end of the neck so that the string can hit the top fret. Some guys really hit hard, but it isn't necessary to get a good sound. Playing thumb up or down is often dependent on your bass position. Flea has his bass pretty low, so plays thumb down. Mark King has his bass really high and plays thumb up. Most people sit in the middle and I find that having the thumb up or sideways is more accurate than playing thumb down, especially on the higher strings. For popping, you can use any or all fingers, but most people use index and/or middle.

For the sound, I like an active jazz style bass with some mid scoop. Newer strings help with the brightness too.  Some players use a lot of compression, others don't, so you just have to experiment there.  All this side is personal preference- there are guys who slap on a Precision who sound great, and others who nail it on 6 and 7 strings.

Personally, I spent a long time trying to get Marcus Millers technique down and I've used it for years. Lately though, I've been trying to switch it up in to more of an Alain Caron kind of thing.

14 hours ago, TheLowDown said:

But then reality kicks in as you become more acquainted with the saying "with great power comes great responsibility". The extra weight hour after hour, the constant muting of the C string and the permanently rumbling B string, the (at least slight) neck dive, the extra price of strings, the extra mental calculations required to effectively circumvent the fretboard when going from chord to chord, to name but a few, all begin to take their toll.

Regarding the point in italics, even though it's only 2 strings more than a 4 string, that hugely expands how many patterns you need to keep in your head when looking for the right note to play, and when performing you really want to keep things as simple as possible. No need to complicate things.

 

And that's when you realise that you should only use the right bass for the job. Don't use a 6 string when a 4 or 5 will do. Don't use a 5 string when a 4 will do. It turns out that even though the 6 string is a whole lot of fun, it often doesn't need to be used that much except for niche work and practice.

My 6 is lighter than my main 5 strings, has less neck dive than my Fenders, and doesn't have a permanently ringing B string because it's muted by my right hand. 

I also don't think that it particularly complicates the navigation of the fingerboard. Once you've spent a bit of time learning the notes on the added strings there's not much extra thinking involved. In fact, there are times when it can be helpful because you can play over 2 octaves in position.

I'm all for using the right tool for the job, but there's nothing you can do on a 4 that you can't do on a 5 or 6. I generally use a 5 as standard now but I still like to take the 6 out occasionally, especially if I know I'm going to be soloing a lot. I only really take a 4 string if I'm specifically asked for one, and often it's as much for visual reasons than anything else (in a live context at least).

8 hours ago, linear said:

The point at which the words 'this is not a democracy' emanate from a band members mouth would be the point at which I intimate that if that is indeed the case, then I'd better be getting paid hourly for my time, signed contract, all gig/practice expenses covered, and I certainly won't be providing any gear beyond my bass and cables.  And then I'd pack up my stuff and leave.

Seems pretty standard to me.

As it's your project, I'd say you should be prepared to take control and assume the bandleader role. Pick the set yourself and give it to the rest of the band to learn. You can take suggestions from the other members, but you have the final say.  

I've got really in to The Tragically Hip over the last year or so. They are a band that I was aware of but never paid any attention to. I knew how big they were in Canada because I was over there when Gord Downie died and it was headline news, but I never sat down and really listened to them until last year. Needless to say, when I was over there again before the last lockdown, I came home with a bunch of their albums. They've easily become one of my favourite bands and I'm disappointed that I didn't check them out earlier.

I've got an old Peavey double gig bag that I bought years ago. I've used it a lot, mostly with my Fenders, but I feel more comfortable using my iGig or my leather Reunion Blues cases with my nicer instruments. They are just better quality cases, and to get that level of protection from a double bag means a heavier case than I'd like.

For a pub gig, unless I'm doubling on upright I only take one bass. For bigger shows when I generally have to travel further, I've normally got a spare.

I became a massive Zappa fan after I first saw 'Does Humour Belong in Music?' when it was shown on Channel 4 years ago. I'm not going to say that I love everything he did, but there is so much great music to dig in to. A lot of great albums have already been mentioned, but I really like the '88 band albums 'The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life', and 'Make A Jazz Noise Here'. Plus, so many great musicians passed through his bands.

Unfortunately, I was too young to see him live, but I did see the 'The Bizarre World of Frank Zappa' tour, a couple of years ago.

If I'm using a preamp pedal I generally run it at the start of my signal chain, before my other pedals. I tend to keep the graphic EQ on my amp flat and only use it to notch certain frequencies that are causing trouble in the room, so I'll use a pedal as my main tone controls when I'm playing a passive bass. If I'm using an active bass, I'll use the onboard preamp as my main tone controls and sometimes use a preamp pedal to give me a different sound- for example, one of my active basses sounds amazing for fingerstyle playing but I don't like it's slap tone much, so I'll use a pedal to get that classic scooped slap sound.

Unless you really want a new bass, have you looked at strap options?  The Levys 3 1/2"- 4" straps take a weight and make my 9lb 10 bass feel way lighter. The Gruv Gear DuoStrap distributes the weight over both shoulders, and makes a huge difference if you're playing long sets. Alternatively, you could go all Anthony Jackson and play sitting down.

10 hours ago, Count Bassy said:

For Click tracks I can see what you are saying. For backing tracks it's not the band that are tighter, it's the backing track. Why not go the whole hog and just put a CD on?

It's not like you're putting a song on and playing along. You're basically just playing to a click, while the parts that are on the track just come in and out at the right places. You can end up playing to just a click for whole sections of songs before anything happens on the track.

I don't see a problem. It's almost becoming a standard for the higher level corporate/function bands as well as theatre tours. Even big name touring acts have been using tracks for years.

Personally, I like playing with tracks and a click. It generally makes the band sound better and tighter.

Jeff Berlin said on his Facebook page the other day, that he wasn't going to be doing the Brand X tour anymore.

No disrespect to Percy, but I was going to go because Jeff was doing it.

When I'm improvising, the notes I use are heavily dictated by what the chords are. 

I think chord tones are the foundation for improvising but rather than playing to a shape I'd prefer to know where the notes are across the whole of the fingerboard, whether it's the actual notes or the intervals. Knowing that opens up the entire neck rather than being locked in to a scale position, especially if you play their inversions too.

Obviously you can move away from playing just chord tones, but knowing what they are is an important part. You don't really want to be playing Mixolydian over a major 7 chord, or playing Lydian over a minor chord or whatever. You can, but you should know how to resolve the 'out' notes.

Knowing how the chords work together (ii V I etc) can also help you play longer, smoother lines without playing each chord one by one.

Learning modes can be useful, but I think that guitar and bass players often place too much importance on them without really understanding them well enough. Focus on the chord tones instead and it will give you a solid basis for improvised either a bassline or soloing.

1 hour ago, Geek99 said:

Yes, thank you @Reggaebass, but I think it’s the “why” really. 30 years ago a teacher said to me “just learn the shapes” and then you can end formulaically playing in the same positions for each chord in each key; and possibly also avoiding certain keys due to an unwillingness to play certain positions. Learning boxes isn’t the answer in my very humble opinion 

I'm not a fan of learning by shapes or boxes either. I'd rather know what is actually happening with the scale degrees and the actual notes.

I look at modes as variations of major and minor scales, like this....

Ionian (Major), Dorian (Minor natural 6), Phrygian (Minor b2), Lydian (Major #4), Mixolydian (Major b7), Aeolian (Minor), Locrian (Minor b2,b5).

A lot of people look at them as the major scale starting on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th degree etc, but I find that thinking of them as variations of major and minor scales helps me more when I'm playing over changes.

(Sorry for jumping in @greghagger)

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

From what I've seen and read most musicians who get replaced in the studio tend to be those who don't have the ability to play the parts accurately enough in the time allotted. 

If you've got a weird bass that produces unconventional sounds at the source then perhaps this is fair enough. However shouldn't the people booking him for the session have checked this out first?

He was in the band Dreams with Cobham at the time, so he it wasn't like he was a random booking. Will did the demos, Cobham didn't like his sound and so called Leland Sklar for the album session. 

If you're booking someone for a gig, especially at a high level, you want someone who has got it all together. They aren't going to have anyone on the session who sounds bad so that they can waste time and money fixing it. They want someone who can come in, nail the part, and sound great. There's a reason why all the top players have got great tone.