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[quote name='Benplaysbass' timestamp='1361288504' post='1983966'] Thanks for the comments. Manic would be a good way to describe what we do, but it does seem to come across well in a live situation. We are coming to the Uk in August for a mini tour I'll keep you all posted. [/quote] Oh it will definitely sound good live! Keep us informed of the tour mate.

[quote name='Wil' timestamp='1361287905' post='1983952'] Thanks Nige. Kinda pleased with it, certainly happy with each section isolated, but also displeased that I havent got any inspiration to finish it/turn it into something that works as a song! [/quote] It will happen eventually mate if you want it to.

[quote name='JellyKnees' timestamp='1361286479' post='1983922'] For me, it all depend on the tune and what the starting point is. The example I posted developed from the main bass line - it is pretty driving and busy, although I still have to reign it in sometimes as it's easy to over egg, especially live! There are other songs, especially the ones that Jo wrote on the piano where I have deliberately aimed for a more minimal approach, and I hope I have achieved that. Space is just as important as what you choose to fill it with... There is always a tendancy on these kind of things to post something 'flashy' I guess...maybe that's why you are getting this impression? [/quote] Yes, absolutely, the song is king. You are probably right but I hope you aren't! There is a lot of posturing by us bassists on BC, how we are the sensible ones in the band, dependable, playing multiple roles, reliable, philosophical, etc. not like the f***ing "guitard" who's always showing off, too loud, doesn't listen to the band, etc. I would hope that the true bass composer shines on this thread, rather than the rilly rilly ree show off soloist in us. Certainly seems to have done so far. I was just pointing out that space is rare, and it seems to be a highly effective but neglected tool in the bassist's snap-on box.

[quote name='LiamPodmore' timestamp='1361287304' post='1983937'] My favourite bassline in any of my bands originals, is a song called Lying Through My Teeth. There is a recording but it's the worst recording ever and you can't hear the bass on it (Though i'll add it to this anyway when i get home). Just a pretty simple thing involving a few octaves and some hammer ons for good measure. Liam [/quote] I like that number, but Never Get His Turn is my favourite

[quote name='Wil' timestamp='1361285316' post='1983891'] Probably this demo I still havent got around to turning into a "song". I could really probably do with taking each section and developing into it's own idea. Bass doesnt start until about 1.40. My favourite bit of bassing is around 3.40 - it's a bit Kate Bush-y in terms of the melody I reckon. [font=Segoe UI][size=2][color=#000000][url="http://soundcloud.com/wil-miles/weird-demo-12th-may"]http://soundcloud.co...d-demo-12th-may[/url][/color][/size][/font] [/quote] Great stuff. I love where the bass kicks in. Liking the deep tone, nice lines and a good bit of excitement later on. You must be pleased with that mate

Something I'm getting from this thread is that not a lot of us are making creative use of space. It's like any space that's there is a decision to take away notes. Most of the time I tend to approach writing lines as adding notes to space, rather than adding space to notes. If that makes sense. Am I in the minority?

[quote name='Benplaysbass' timestamp='1361202024' post='1982651'] Heres one I did a couple of weeks ago. Its a pretty depressing song but just feels like a happy bouncy song. [media]http://youtu.be/cLLH4vm6y0E[/media] [/quote] I like this aswell, it shares many of the qualities of achknalligewelt's song (above). And again, some really nice manic phrasing I like it there's a tangible level of excitement where timing seems less important than the vibe, a bit like Alex Lifeson guitar solos, he gets a bit out of shape and almost on the edge of losing it, I find that very exciting to listen to. You do a fast little run in the middle of the neck in the first half of the song, it has that manic quality to it. Nice!

[quote name='achknalligewelt' timestamp='1361279852' post='1983764'] The latest thing I've been doing has produced an albumsworth of songs with Woodman Stone, a sample (my favourite) is [url="http://snd.sc/YDBAIM"]here[/url]. It's me on guitar, too (bragging, but I was very pleased with it). It's so nice to hear Basschatters playing. Literally from the first items on this thread, I've loved it, even stuff in genres I wouldn't normally listen to. [/quote] I like that, nice jaunty number, well sung and well played. The bass seems to be mixed pretty quiet so although I heard some really nice phrasing and little runs, I would have liked it to be a bit more present in the mix. Great though!

I love them! But I tried quite a few mid range Ovations and the actions were terrible and they felt awful. I bought a Breedlove instead. I would still love an Ovation, but it would have to be an expensive American made one.

I usually keep my nails fairly short, but the shape is the most important thing, and how you file them. I use a glass file from Boots, about £13. I don't file a ramp, it's not good for tone. Watch this, the guy is well regarded on the flamenco forum I use. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFpLo2HtE5A[/media]

I have had Sperzels, and currently have the Fender branded Schallers on my Deluxe Strat. They are brilliant. Never used them on a bass though.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1361274338' post='1983604'] Time. She's a cruel mistress.... :-( [/quote] Indeed she is, you look cool though, so she f***ed up there

Fantastic mate! Wot happened to your barnet?

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1361273943' post='1983590'] No - there's a £10 per posting surcharge for those wishing to add to "The Beatles" thread. [/quote] Back on now. I think it's a good idea actually, in theory.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1361227035' post='1983278'] Seems a little odd to me that you don't like Entwistle when I'd have said that that Tracy Jacks bassline is rather Entwistley. [/quote] Yeah but that's also like saying if you like Rush you'll like Dream Theatre (yes, I have spelled that correctly )

I think it's important in this thread that we comment on the ones we listen to, and that we do listen to some.

[quote name='woodster' timestamp='1360926910' post='1978376'] Check out John Cleary and the absolute monster gentlemen. They have a killer track called More Hipper which grooves like a b*tch!! [/quote] This? Do you really think so? Is the version you've heard more groovy? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3X6JgGXkBY

[quote name='achknalligewelt' timestamp='1361205793' post='1982751'] Cheers. I find him to be melodic, rhythmic and just endlessly listenable as both an indidivual player and as part of the overall Blur sound. The same goes for Mat Osman (Suede), Mickey Quinn (Supergrass), Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) and Bobby Kildea (Belle and Sebastian). Some of the bassists on the indie scene are superb, but seem to go utterly under the radar on BC. I got called a troll for saying that I didn't like John Entwistle, which seemed a tad harsh. I say again, Guitar pop is the home to a stack of great bass playing, quite possibly because it lacks the big beasts of the bass firmament, and relies instead on the skills of the ensemble player and the all round musician - it's always a surprise how much else a pop band bassist does on a record besides hold down the low end. Mike Mills is part bassist, part polymath in my opinion. [/quote] I completely agree, but it's understandable given the quite large focus on technique, and being a bassist for all seasons, which seems to be what a lot of bassists are expected to be and certainly seems to pervade Basschat. In the guitar world, one is generally encouraged to develop style and personality along with the technical skills. Thing is, and this is a generalisation, I think a lot of inexperienced bassists don't really understand the subtleties of the instrument, it's either plod or Wooten it seems, all those lovely expressive techniques that guitarists use are barely considered. I think this is because really good bassists are often not paid much attention, so many bassists won't have really HEARD Jared Followill, Alex James, Mike Mills et al. Solid musical players with great nuance and who do little things for the emotion of the song that can make you shiver if you actually listen to what they are doing, because they are really feeling it.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1361135445' post='1981735'] Thanks! I wish the production had been a bit more lush sounding too, but it was recorded on an 8-track portastudio in my lounge. The final mix isn't ideal, but it was the last decent one we got before the multitrack cassette completely wore out! [/quote] It does have that Portastudio sound doesn't it!

[quote name='achknalligewelt' timestamp='1361194138' post='1982470'] It's a nice question, and I asked a similar question a while back. I, for my trouble, got heavily shot down for it, though this may have been because I advocated Alex James as a bassist rather than one of the accpeted canon of bass masters. Thing is, I agree with the thesis of the question - slapping out hemisemidemiquavers at 200 bpm is a great talent, but outside of a very particular genre of music, it is also utterly useless. A great bassist is one who can always do what the music requires, and then add a layer of personal interpretation on the top. Knowing what the song needs and how they can fit themselves into that hole is one of the fundamentals for a bass player. To be a great, they then have to be able to mould that hole around themselves and make the line they want to play work. To take Alex James as an example, the bassline to Tracy Jacks is utterly unlike any other in 90's music. God knows, frankly, where he got it from. But get it he did, and it is the heart of the song. Any other bassist could have created a line themselves given the same blank canvas of a song, but the alchemy of that line in that song is impossible to match, I think. I mention Alex James as he was a great influence on my approach to bass when I started, but you could add, to take an almost random example, Tony Williams on Stuck In The Middle With You, or Pete Quaife on You Really Got me. Some is note-y, some isn't, but the way these lines bring life to the songs is the sign of a great, for my mind. [/quote] You sound like my kinda guy Not being a big Blur fan (although my lady has Parklife), I just had a listen to Tracy Jacks, bloody hell, that's a great bass line and works the song so well. I even like his tone. He's really got that lovely smooth nuanced playing that I am such a fan of. Jared Followill from Kings of Leon is another of this type of player.

[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1361131545' post='1981628'] You see... I 'get' all this comment about good bassists 'supporting the music' and 'not imposing their own style at the expense of the music' that's obvious, but it kinda suggests that bassists should be supporting the music and not making or defining it. Listening to Victor Wooten the other day on a long flight I was completely blown away by how his bass lines *were* the music - there was *no* music to be overpowered by his style... only the music he was making. Wooten seems to be the epitome of the bass *being* the music, and pretty much *all* the music. Brave new bass seems to be about being what the music is about, not just being supportive in some way. Wooten's tracks are fantastic tour de forces of bass-centric music where all other instruments seem to support the bass. A different view perhaps? [/quote] Yes but bass centric music almost always seems to be a way of showcasing technique over the intergrity of the music. Bass is mostly a supporting instrument, rarely does it shine as a leading instrument. If I want to hear more bass-led music, I'll listen to reggae or dub, because the bass is really up front but also doing what it does best, making the music glow.

I'm not going to get anything done this month I'll have a listen to the entries when the voting starts, looking forward!

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1361046934' post='1980429'] There's too much stuff to comment on all of it. A real variety and enjoyed quite a lot. Nige, that first Kit one i started listening to the bass but then got carried away by the song but what i remember was good! I remember the demon fiddler one, it was pretty intense. [/quote] Thanks man I am so so pleased that's what Kit's number did for you, that is the ultimate compliment, ace!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1361010126' post='1979648'] Here's one of mine. [url="http://www.myspace.com/sugarboxmusicbox/music/songs/love-junkie-5620019"]"Love Junkie" by SugarBox[/url] This is a fairly accurate picture of the sort of music and basslines I was composing back in the late 90s. It starts a bit dubby and ends up as a manic filtered "synth" sound. It was all done with my Overwater bass going through multiple MIDI controlled effects. It's even a mix of finger style and pick playing. [/quote] That's really good, I wish the production was a bit more lush sounding but hey. Really good tone and I like the propulsive and hypnotic line, it's perfect for the song. Great stuff!

[quote name='stu_g' timestamp='1360972135' post='1979417'] [url="https://soundcloud.com/stuartgeary/flynn-calm-before-the-storm-1"]https://soundcloud.c...ore-the-storm-1[/url] a song from a band i was in around 1999 era this was off the cuff and i always enjoyed it dont think it would ever play the same twice [/quote] I really like this in an 80's way. It's got that urgency that seems to be a punky U2 type thing I associate with the era. I enjoyed it, thanks