Conan Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Absolute zero rules OK. Bass is just above that. Think "triple point" cool perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 [quote name='Jobo Pooks' post='1165452' date='Mar 17 2011, 09:51 AM']It seems that everyone wants to be up front and shredding on a six string and nobody wants to be at the back thumping on what someone here calls, a coffee table. I'm having a great time with my new hobby, but, is bass becoming cooler....what's the word out there amongst the veterans?[/quote] Bass was, is, and always will be cool. Personally I don't think there's anything cool about shredding like Billy Sheehan on an 6 string bass whilst the crowd and your entire band look on in complete disbelief (or disgust depending on how you look at it). Leave that kind of stuff to the guitarist and then watch and laugh wryly when he head bangs too hard and falls off the stage. But if you've got a P-Bass strung with flatwounds and are stood at the back thumping away, then that's cool for so many reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burray Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 It's all subjective anyway though isn't it? We obviously all think it's cool otherwise we wouldn't be doing it, just like guitarists/drummers/violinists/whatever all choose and stick with their instruments because they appeal to them individually. Even if it's as simple as "I saw my friend/someone famous playing and fancied trying it". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 [quote name='Jondeeman' post='1165494' date='Mar 17 2011, 10:21 AM']Bass players? We're cool... cooler than an ice cube in a snowstorm...[/quote] And we get all the clunge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy_Marsh Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 [quote name='Ou7shined' post='1165961' date='Mar 17 2011, 04:37 PM']And we get all the clunge. [/quote] Knee deep at every gig... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Those of us of advanced years will remember when bass was the instrument for duff guitarists. Nowadays it has a greater cachet and is adopted as a first choice by many who could probably play their guitarist under the table, should they so choose. So, yes, it is more cool than it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I'm with burray in that coolness is subjective. Is cool up high, slapping away or is it down by the knees digging in on those 16ths? The answer is probably yes & no to all those things. A 20yr old me would be embarrassed (a bit!) by the 38yr old me as a bass player but the reality is I'm more comfortable in myself now and I don't really care what others think of whether it's cool anymore. A point that probably makes me cooler in its own way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesman Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 its just the coolest instrument....bar non. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burray Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 [quote name='Randy_Marsh' post='1165962' date='Mar 17 2011, 04:39 PM']Knee deep at every gig... [/quote] Up to our nuts in guts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMech Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 [quote name='bluesman' post='1166009' date='Mar 17 2011, 05:16 PM']its just the coolest instrument....bar non.[/quote] Double bass wins all, no question about it immediately get so much respect once you tell someone it's your instrument of choice. and are we talking about 'becoming' over the time scale of 4 years or 40? i'd only have experience with the former, but it might be getting more respect now due to the improvement of recording/speaker/headphone capabilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juzgoez Posted March 17, 2011 Author Share Posted March 17, 2011 [quote name='BurritoBass' post='1165986' date='Mar 17 2011, 04:55 PM']I'm with burray in that coolness is subjective. Is cool up high, slapping away or is it down by the knees digging in on those 16ths? The answer is probably yes & no to all those things. A 20yr old me would be embarrassed (a bit!) by the 38yr old me as a bass player but the reality is I'm more comfortable in myself now and I don't really care what others think of whether it's cool anymore. A point that probably makes me cooler in its own way[/quote] I think as you get older, your ego needs a little less massaging and at the end of the day, what others think of you is none of your business. Thanks, ladies; I'm getting to know some of you a little better now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Academy Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 The amount of techniques on offer for the bass nowadays do indeed make it a very cool instrument. Imagine a world without bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Urgh, doesnt bear thinking about, Pete! Truckstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishead Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 (edited) I think it's cool because literally any type of music needs bass... it's the bridge between the rhythm and the melody. There's all this talk about how 'rock is dead' (and when they say 'dead' I've realised they just mean it's doesn't sell records like it used to, so there will be less rock signings in the not too distant future), and I really think that will eventually impact upon how many kids you see taking up guitar. But, you can still put a live bass guitarist in almost any live setup... I played guitar for years, and have always dabbled with bass but recently sold up my guitars and gear and decided to switch to bass full time (was capable, but never into mad solos and stuff, all about the interesting rhythms) and I feel not only waaaaay happier as a musician, but I feel like there are so many more doors open to me now. I think as music evolves and new sounds begin to surface, the live bassist can always have a place in it, and that's why it's cool. Edited March 17, 2011 by fishead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Bass is Superkool blud! No other instrument can make people dance and be sick at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 [quote name='chris_b' post='1165460' date='Mar 17 2011, 09:57 AM']Playing bass or anything else isn't cool in itself. Playing in a band with other interesting musicians and doing it well is cool.[/quote] Dear chris, You are a very, very serious gentleman, so I understand your desire to elevate the application of original poster's question from the onanistic to the contextual. But the concept of 'cool' and your use of it seems quite incongruous with the general theme of your very, very serious message, would you care to explain what you believe 'cool' to mean in the context you describe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulflan0151 Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 in my experience most people dont even know the difference between bass and guitar!(musicians excluded of course) They always ask, whats the difference between the bass and guitar? I think most normal punters see the shape and think its the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silentbob Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 To quote Blur's Alex James, "It's impossible to hold a bass guitar and not look cool." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalpy Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Bass is becoming cooler at the school I work at, but it helps with things like Rap and Dubstep promoting the bassline. New technology is also meaning that bass is better recorded and more audible, so that the full thunder can be fully appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtcat Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 [quote name='scalpy' post='1166310' date='Mar 17 2011, 09:38 PM']New technology is also meaning that bass is better recorded and more audible, so that the full thunder can be fully appreciated![/quote] +100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 (edited) i always wanted to be a bass player.. never really wanted to play anything else, since i lost my passion in fine art.. i think maybe the style of music i was into, conditioned me to think that bass wasnt really seen as a backing instrument..i found it very attractive as this wonderful sound that could do the drums and harmony.. i thought the sky was the limit, as far as bass and rythm was concerned.. i didnt know any bassists at the time.. i was listening to Shakatak, Incognito, Benson... but had no idea who was playing.. i just knew it sounded amazing.. the first bassist i was aware of was Randy Taylor.. i had never heard groove like it.. alot are good but not quite like Randy to this day.. anyway i think Bass has always been cool..like the guy i didnt know who sat in the corner all moody, but when it came down to it, said something really cool now and again....a bit like what i think of the best players play.. bass has always been cool imo Edited March 19, 2011 by bubinga5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Mariner Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 It's interesting that with a couple of teens I know who've been learning over the last 2 years, both play guitar AND bass. One is a much better lead guitar player than the other, while the second is much happier doing rhythm work. When it comes to bass though, they both happily swap instruments depending on how the feel about the song - the rhythm player (Josh) has even started posting 'how to play' bass lessons on youtube, to share the bass parts he's worked out. Maybe Bass really IS becoming acceptable - which will make it VERY uncool indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougie Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 [quote name='neepheid' post='1165490' date='Mar 17 2011, 10:18 AM']Well, we're probably several years behind the rest of the country, but that's nothing new. Shops do what they do and stock what they stock because it's financially viable. Judging by the (display) stock levels in the two guitary music shops here where electric guitars outnumber electric basses by anything between 8 and 10 to 1 I'd say that the bass coolness factor just isn't there yet in Aberdeen. It does put me on a bit of a downer to be honest, but at least it stops me just walking in and buying stuff. FWIW bass has always been cool as far as I'm concerned. The only instruments I have spent any time gaining some level of competence with are the recorder (at primary school) and the bass.[/quote] my confidence was knocked out of me when younger,was in the BB and took up the bugle,the old man only let me practice in the shed at the bottom of the garden,even then had to stuff a sock in the end of it....old bastard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Bass must be becoming cool. I get noticed at gigs and everything. And people even cheer when I solo :S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I have no recollection of bass not being cool, or of bass being less cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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