uncle psychosis Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Hi guys I play in a 3 piece rock band and every so often I think it would be pretty cool to play baritone instead of a more traditional bass. My reasoning is that it would be possible to cover most bass lines using the baritone but also play full chords every so often, which could help flesh out the sound of a 3 piece a bit. Anyone ever tried it, or have any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebass Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 [quote name='uncle psychosis' post='1155507' date='Mar 9 2011, 04:08 PM']Hi guys I play in a 3 piece rock band and every so often I think it would be pretty cool to play baritone instead of a more traditional bass. My reasoning is that it would be possible to cover most bass lines using the baritone but also play full chords every so often, which could help flesh out the sound of a 3 piece a bit. Anyone ever tried it, or have any thoughts?[/quote] Hi - most baritones only go down to a low B & most people playing ones that go down to low E don't seem to play full chords (there's some footage on You Tube of a guy demoing a Schecter Hellcat with various styles that's worth checking out). Might work though... As a first stab, you could try throwing in some simple chords on the bass you have & take it from there. It works for Lemmy! Cheers, B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Burpster Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 I have a Baritone I have managed to get down to low A - Its a cracker but unfortunately I play it like a tit - My geetard can make it do some freeky sh0ite, but alas I am doomed to play big fat strings and not iddly widdly ones. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 [quote name='uncle psychosis' post='1155507' date='Mar 9 2011, 04:08 PM']Anyone ever tried it, or have any thoughts?[/quote] Yep... didn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endorka Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Assuming you play a 4 string bass, my inclination here would be to try a five string strung E A D G C. The high C string will allow some clearer chords to be played, and also allow you to play the usual bass parts on the same instrument. However, as others have pointed out, it may not work as well as you think. If you are playing chords, typically someone really still needs to be playing bass. Depending on the band format and musical style, the bassline will be missed more than chords. In trio situations where the guitarist is soloing, I usually find it best to play simple and melodic lines in the mid range of the bass guitar. This keeps all the parts really well glued together. Think Paul McCartney / Jack Bruce / Geddy Lee. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earbrass Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 [quote name='endorka' post='1156364' date='Mar 10 2011, 10:53 AM']However, as others have pointed out, it may not work as well as you think. If you are playing chords, typically someone really still needs to be playing bass.[/quote] Might one way round this be to use guitar-style fingerpicking, with the thumb plucking bass notes and the other fingers picking chords? (Painful till you get the thumb callouses though!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 When I was trying out a baritone/six-string bass guitar/whatever you call it (tuned EADGBE down an octave from guitar) for exactly such a scenario, I found that I couldn't balance the role of bass with playing chords. It wasn't a technique issue, but rather a limitation of amplification. If you want to fill a traditional bassplayer's role, chords end up sounding extremely muddy. It did, however, sound fantastic in a setting with another bassplayer and guitarist. If you want to fill out the sound for a three piece, how about an 8 or 12 string bass (tuned in courses)? i.e. this: rather than this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endorka Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 [quote name='Earbrass' post='1156378' date='Mar 10 2011, 11:01 AM']Might one way round this be to use guitar-style fingerpicking, with the thumb plucking bass notes and the other fingers picking chords? (Painful till you get the thumb callouses though!)[/quote] That sounds really interesting, I'd love to hear someone doing this! Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Vader Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 [quote name='Earbrass' post='1156378' date='Mar 10 2011, 11:01 AM']Might one way round this be to use guitar-style fingerpicking, with the thumb plucking bass notes and the other fingers picking chords? (Painful till you get the thumb callouses though!)[/quote] Used to sort of do this on the end solos of Green Manalishi, whacking out solid bottom Es with my thumb (or index finger) while my other fingers yanked out the chords up above the 12th. Did the job quite well. And was fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tayste_2000 Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 [quote name='endorka' post='1156412' date='Mar 10 2011, 11:28 AM']That sounds really interesting, I'd love to hear someone doing this! Jennifer[/quote] Charlie Hunter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I sold a Veillette Jazz Nylon Baritone (the one pictured below) to a bass player recently who was planning on doing just as the OP suggests. His justification for moving to the dark side and buying a guitar was that he was playing lots of chordal stuff on a six string bass so thought a baritone might make more sense. His Veillette is tuned B, E, A D, G, C I think. I don't know if he's a BCer but i'll email him and draw his attention to this thread. Maybe he'll let us know how he's getting on. Phil [attachment=74434:jazz_14_nylon.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low End Bee Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 [quote name='endorka' post='1156364' date='Mar 10 2011, 10:53 AM']... In trio situations where the guitarist is soloing, I usually find it best to play simple and melodic lines in the mid range of the bass guitar. This keeps all the parts really well glued together. Think Paul McCartney / Jack Bruce / Geddy Lee. Jennifer[/quote] I tend to do this (but without thinking of those three ) and it works well on filling out the sound without getting in the way. I think a baritone playing chords mwould have the opposite effect. I can see an 8 string working though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 having tried out a fender vi* in a couple of bands i'd say that to get the full benefit, the music has to be written to make the best use of the bass/chordal approach. ymmv of course *i'm not going to get into the is it a baritone ? is it a bass ? here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 Thanks for the thoughts guys. I think, on reflection, that it won't really work. I'll just need to find another justification to buy one!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bossajazz Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 [quote name='philw' post='1156526' date='Mar 10 2011, 12:55 PM']I sold a Veillette Jazz Nylon Baritone (the one pictured below) to a bass player recently who was planning on doing just as the OP suggests. His justification for moving to the dark side and buying a guitar was that he was playing lots of chordal stuff on a six string bass so thought a baritone might make more sense. His Veillette is tuned B, E, A D, G, C I think. I don't know if he's a BCer but i'll email him and draw his attention to this thread. Maybe he'll let us know how he's getting on. Phil [attachment=74434:jazz_14_nylon.jpg][/quote] Thanks, Phil, for drawing my attention to this thread. Yes, I tune my Veillette Jazz 14 baritone nylon from B-C like a 6 string bass but an octave higher, which just means the top two strings are up a half step. Despite owning some lovely sounding MTD635 basses, it is undeniable that the Veillette sounds superior in every way in a 'jazz guitar duo' setting. I know that's tantamount to heresy on this forum! Normal fingerstyle bass technique translates especially well to nylon too. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbloke Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Jennifer, check this out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 He needs to get rid of that wobbly effect... this was (IMHO) his best moment, not particularly bassy though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Never tried it, but as a listener, a low tuned guitar is still not going to provide what real bass strings can, your band will miss the bass and have loads of chords going on instead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endorka Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 [quote name='bassbloke' post='1159754' date='Mar 12 2011, 07:41 PM']Jennifer, check this out.[/quote] Great playing! I concur with dlloyd though, that I'd prefer to hear the upper register strings without the chorus type effect. On the other hand, I think he is trying to get a hammond organ type sound this way, and I'd say he does get pretty close. This type of sound seems quite common in jazz/fusion; a lot of musicians in that genre seem to straddle the fine line between a great sound and a cheesy sound, and to my ears, the balance can tip quite alarmingly one way or another with ease, even within the same song. I liked the upper string tones more towards the end when I "got" what he was trying to achieve with the effect. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endorka Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Isn't a video featuring the Chapman stick overdue in this thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I once played a gig somewhere in the Low Countries, in which the support band was a local rock'n'roll outfit with bass, guitar [u]and[/u] baritone for strings. The three together made for an awesome sound! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchman Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 [quote name='endorka' post='1156412' date='Mar 10 2011, 11:28 AM']That sounds really interesting, I'd love to hear someone doing this! Jennifer[/quote] Check out Charlie Hunter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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