greghagger

I'm not one for buying bass gear all the time. I've pretty much accrued everything that I need. But every now and then someone brings out a new piece of kit that catches my eye. In this case it was the new Ampeg SGT-DI pedal. 

I've always wanted to have an old-school Ampeg amp and cabs but I just haven't got the room to store them and my osteopath bill would likely go up after carrying that weight to a few gigs! So when this new Ampeg pedal was released, I jumped at the chance to try out.

This latest offering from Ampeg is a preamp pedal with EQ, cab simulation, grit and of course it contains the classic SVT and B-15 tones.

Find out what I think of the pedal and whether it ticks all the right boxes in my latest YouTube video review. 

1 hour ago, Jackroadkill said:

Hi Greg, just found this thread; you have a new subscriber!  Thanks for the lesson - I found your manner very engaging and helpful.

 

Cheers,

 

JRK

Thanks so much. Glad you liked it! I try to keep things easygoing in the lessons!

3 hours ago, chris_b said:

George is also on Lady Marmalade.

Ah, didn’t know that. That’s why that bass line is awesome then! 

31 minutes ago, ezbass said:

There’s a video (on SBL I think) of George saying how most people play it wrong, Pino included.

Yeah, saw that. Probably means I’ve been playing it wrong for years too! Still, not bad being in the company of Pino! 

1 minute ago, ezbass said:

The bass lines to Cissy Strut and Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley are iconic.

Definitely! Good choices as well. Been meaning to make a lesson on Cissy Strut for ages now. 

I can't believe that I haven't yet made a lesson on a George Porter Jr. bass line. One of my students has been banging on about him for ages! If you don't know who he is, he's the bassist from The Meters who are one of the pioneer bands of the early Funk scene.

George Porter Jr. is still active now with various projects and you can see him on YouTube in lots of collaborations with other artists like Tedeschi Trucks and Warren Haynes.

In this latest GBS YouTube lesson I breakdown the bass line from 'It AIn't No Use', a Meters classic and this bass line is guaranteed to raise your Funk levels!

Also check out my play-through video of this tune on YouTube this coming Monday. 

Enjoy!

I recently got a message from a bass player I coach, asking how to play a particularly fast bass line:

"Hey Greg have you tried that riff in Messin' With The Kid?? The 16th notes on beat 3 are killer at 150bpm. I can get it pretty good at about 85% tempo but at 100% my fingers give up!"

So I gave the riff a listen and yes, there was a 16th note pattern that was very fast! This is a live version by Johnny Winter by the way and I’ve put a link to that under the video lesson. 

It’s a really good question and a great bass line so I decided to make a YouTube lesson explaining how to play faster on the bass.

The bass player in the video was using a pick which can make playing certain fast bass lines easier but there are aspects of your playing that you can work on to develop finger-style speed. 

Find out more in the latest GBS video, and watch me just managing to pull off this bass line! I’ve also put three exercises in the lesson to help you with finger speed.

Also be great if you share any other particularly fast bass lines that you have tried to play with finger-style. 

A couple of weeks ago I released a funky YouTube short demonstrating how to play hammer-ons. Since then I've had quite a few requests to break that riff down and explain how I'm using the muted notes (sometimes called 'ghost notes') in the riff.

So I thought I'd make a lesson on this riff as muted notes are such an important technique for us bass players. If you want your bass lines and riffs to sound more rhythmic, classy and with an extra helping of funk, then you need to know exactly how to utilise muted notes. 

Find out how to play and use muted notes in my latest YouTube lesson. 

39 minutes ago, Crusoe said:

I'm getting a strong smell of chopped pork and ham under a proprietary name from that account, Greg.

Ah thanks! They edited their message after I replied I think. The second part wasn’t there when I replied! 

A while back I found a great version of Deep Purple's tune, 'Lazy' and have been planning to make a lesson on it ever since. This version was recorded live in the studio by Joe Bonamassa and Jimmy Barnes and it's so great! It also features the late Michael Rhodes, a Nashville session bassist who sadly passed away last month.

If you aren't familiar with this or the Deep Purple version of Lazy then check them out. The tune is in a fast shuffle Blues style and has high energy throughout. If you want to learn how a simple 8th note shuffle groove bass line can sound really awesome and also how to develop that with different variations then you'll love this lesson.

I'm using my Overwater custom 5-string bass in the video as it suits this bass line more but you can play along with a 4-string if you prefer. You'll find 5-string and 4-string versions of the bass line in the PDF booklet under the video. 

Find out more in my latest YouTube. 

Enjoy! 

Funk tunes from the late 60s/early 70s era are particularly great for bass grooves with a lot of these songs being built around the bass line. The bass is often high in the mix and easy to hear, just how I like it!

This week I've put together five of these classic funk grooves for the latest GBS YouTube lesson. 

You can have a lot of fun with these grooves. They aren't too tricky to play but the emphasis is on playing 'in the pocket' with a laid-back feel. You can really work on your ostinato playing with these five grooves.

Ostinato: a short constantly repeated short pattern

Find out more in my latest YouTube video lesson. 

Enjoy! 

9 hours ago, CaroleCastiglione said:

Greg, I am very grateful to you for this guide. For me, this is really valuable. I write songs by the way. And I feel like it's time to start writing them down. So you helped me a lot. 

That is so great to hear. I’m really glad that you got a lot of use out of this video. Good luck with the songwriting. 

On 28/03/2023 at 15:02, martthebass said:

Get to play this one every weekend in my current band.  We even include the choreography.......

Love it or hate it as a musician but it's definitely a crowd pleaser which is priority number one for a band like mine.

Nice, it’s a fun one to play!

On 27/03/2023 at 10:03, NancyJohnson said:

She's a bit of an oddity for me.  I suppose as a kid the glam rock wasteland was peppered with artistes like Suzi Quatro, whose primary success was based off material written for her by other writers; don't get me wrong, stuff like Can The Can, 48 Crash and Devil Gate Drive were just wonderful 3-minute slabs of wonderment (along with similar stuff you might find in the back catalogue of bands like Sweet, Mud, The Rubettes, Screemer etc.).

 

My brother was a fan.  Ten years older than me, he bought the first couple of albums and put them on cassette for me, but I didn't really bond with them.  As a kid, the content didn't match up to the strength of the singles (I remember getting Sweet's 'Sweet F*nny Adams' and 'Desolation Boulevard' albums on cassette for Christmas one year and they were instant hits for me).

Yeah I know what you mean in terms of Suzi playing other writer’s material. I do like her 2022 album, Uncovered’ though. she’s playing sone really nice bass on ‘The Boss’ originally by James Brown. I made a lesson on that bass line today. 
 

Suzi Quatro covered ‘The Boss’ by James Brown in her 2022 album, ‘Uncovered’. It’s a really great cover and in typical JB style, the bass line is just a groove on one chord changing to a second chord for the bridge. It's seriously funky and it's great to hear Suzi Quatro playing some real classic funk ideas in her bass line.

The middle section of the bass line is fairly technical but I think that you'll enjoy working through it and picking up a few funk devices that you can use yourself. There is loads to learn in this bass line and it should keep you busy for a while!

Find out more in my latest lesson…

I couldn't focus on iconic female bass players without looking at Suzi Quatro. She was a force of nature with her thunderous voice and solid bass lines and was the complete package.

I've picked the bass line from one of her number one hits, 'Devil Gate Drive' for the YouTube lesson this week. 

This tune has a classic rock shuffle groove and features a bass line that is fairly simple but with some nice little quirks. If you want a solid shuffle bass line that you can use for Rock and Blues then this is perfect. The bass line shows you how to join up chords with chromatic walk-ups and also how to perfect the shuffle 8th note groove.

Find out more in my latest YouTube lesson. Free PDF transcription under the video. 

Continuing with my theme of iconic female bass players, this week's lesson is on the bass line from 'Life On Mars' by David Bowie. But we'll be looking at the recent version by Gail Ann Dorsey who was David Bowie's bass player for over 20 years.

Gail Ann Dorsey was right out there in the limelight from the 1980s onwards and has played with many other artists including, Brian Ferry, Boy George, Seal and Lenny Kravitz to name a few.

This version of Life On Mars was recorded live by Gail in 2022 and as well as playing bass she also sang lead vocals. It's a really heartfelt version and worth checking out.

The bass line is quite accessible and not too technical to play but the focus is on groove and note placement, something that Gail is expert at.

Find out more in my latest YouTube lesson. 
 

18 minutes ago, Jonesy said:

 

Ah, brill, I missed that and will give it a watch! 

 

My daughter likes to twang the strings of my bass and definitely has her favourite one to play with. She's been wanting to strum her hand across my guitar recently. I'm hoping she'll grow out of it 😂

Mine has commandeered my Kala U Bass. Apparently it’s hers now! 🤷‍♂️😂

40 minutes ago, Jonesy said:

Great idea for a series Greg! I have a one year old daughter and have been digging around to find some inspiration for her for when she's old enough to pick up a bass.

 

Can't wait to see it!

Cheers! I’ve got a similar situation with my two year old daughter who loves music already! 
 

I started the series with Carol Kaye. 
 

1 hour ago, Burns-bass said:

I think you can appreciate someone’s bass playing but not know much about them. I reckon Greg’s doing the right thing to crowdsource some opinions from bass players.

Cheers @Burns-bass there’s often one person trying to be clever on a thread! 
 

it’s been great already hearing everyone’s suggestions and I’m looking forward to making the lesson once I’ve decided on a bass line and transcribed it! 

29 minutes ago, fleabag said:

 

That was really great, thanks so much! 

20 minutes ago, fleabag said:

Nice bit of Life During Wartime.  Some nice camera work on Weymouth here and there

Byrne is a strange dude but wonderfully so

 

 

 

cheers, this is the video I was thinking of making a lesson on! It’s crazy but so brilliant at the same time! 

Just now, TheGreek said:

IIRC they also supported Siouxsee and the Banshees at St Albans Civic Centre

just down the road for me! 

40 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

I presume you've seen the TV programme 'and on bass Tina Weymouth'. An interesting watch all about bass and her journey. 

 

 

 

 

err, I’m on it now, cheers 😀

50 minutes ago, Beedster said:

I love the bass line in Wordy Rappinghood, utterly iconic 👍

Thanks, I’ll check that now.