mcgraham Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 (edited) At practice last night I got to crank my bass rig to the absolute max. Anyone who has heard an IP rig cranked knows it is capable of immense bass at immense volumes. I used a variety of different sounds, but the best (by far) was a dub sound with no treble, no upper mids, all bottom end, series neck pickup. It was an almost unbelievable sensation! It was genuinely an experience in itself that nothing else on earth can replicate... it's times like that which help to remind me why I LOVE playing bass. Do YOU love playing bass? Tell us all why! Edited October 6, 2011 by mcgraham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I gave the rig a crank at rehearsal last night, opting to throw in some more overdrive than usual. It was great to knock the guitarist around for a while, rather than hiding behind his audible mistakes. Two things work for me - when you nail the tone, at volume; and the look and feel of a good, clean bass... made sweeter if you've spent the past hour or so oiling it, adjusting it, polishing it. Can't beat the bass for satisfaction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgraham Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 Amen. Preach it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 What i love is when the guitar and drums are playing and it sounds ok but a bit empty. Keys maybe coming and going as is sax and other stuff. Still sounds a bit hollow. But only when the bass has come in does the song sound whole, complete and start to groove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I love it when you've got the perfect sound dialled in, the whole band is REALLY feeling the song and rocking out, and you're all TIGHT as fook! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgraham Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 I also love how you can make just as much impact to the music by NOT playing as you can by playing, as the feeling of space that the bass leaves (or takes up!) is MASSIVE. Plus, you can make a huge difference to the music by playing so very little. That can be a bit hard to take when you start, but once you learn to enjoy it.... woah. The POWER of the bass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 [quote name='mcgraham' timestamp='1317901505' post='1395927'] I also love how you can make just as much impact to the music by NOT playing as you can by playing, as the feeling of space that the bass leaves (or takes up!) is MASSIVE. Plus, you can make a huge difference to the music by playing so very little. That can be a bit hard to take when you start, but once you learn to enjoy it.... woah. The POWER of the bass! [/quote] amen to that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Yeah, do love to crank the hell out of it and have a HUGE wall of bass with a really tip top drummer giving it the beans, dont care what the rest is comprised of (assuming they can play) but I do really need a fab drummer to really get off on it properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 [quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1317902268' post='1395942'] Yeah, do love to crank the hell out of it and have a HUGE wall of bass with a really tip top drummer giving it the beans, dont care what the rest is comprised of (assuming they can play) but I do really need a fab drummer to really get off on it properly. [/quote] Seconded! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamPodmore Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 [quote name='mcgraham' timestamp='1317901505' post='1395927'] I also love how you can make just as much impact to the music by NOT playing as you can by playing, as the feeling of space that the bass leaves (or takes up!) is MASSIVE. Plus, you can make a huge difference to the music by playing so very little. That can be a bit hard to take when you start, but once you learn to enjoy it.... woah. The POWER of the bass! [/quote] Amen to that, i used to just play straight 8th notes (As can be heard on the recordings of my band listed below) with hardly any feel to it. Now i play a lot less than that, and i can really feel it better, and get more a groove going, which is always fun. As i've progressed i've also recently noticed that i subconciously lock with the kick drum, without even realising it. Back on topic, YES! Especially when using my Squier and Warwick through an Ampeg SVT-810e like i did a few months ago, such a sweeeeettt tone, not too harsh, just enough bass, and A LOT of punch. It felt like i was being hit by a train everytime i hit certain notes, such as my F (1 fret E string) which always seems really punchy. Liam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 (edited) It's something to do I suppose. I must say I think the best bass related moment I ever had was when I played the only 2 "gigs" (so to speak) in the same month in 2007. Not played any shows since and as such i've pretty much lost interest in it since then. Hardly seems much point in just playing to myself. Edited October 6, 2011 by EdwardHimself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgraham Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 [quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1317902268' post='1395942'] Yeah, do love to crank the hell out of it and have a HUGE wall of bass with a really tip top drummer giving it the beans, dont care what the rest is comprised of (assuming they can play) [b]but I do really need a fab drummer to really get off on it properly[/b]. [/quote] Absolutely. Great drummer plus a huge wall of bass to fill the space in between. Oh and to give an idea of how bassy it was last night at practice, it has sufficient that the note I was playing would slowly experience feedback from the amp even while standing a metre away. RAWK! Sorry to hear that EH. Even if you just get together with a half decent drummer at a practice room you can have a blast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I love it when you're playing a gig and your sound is spot on, the rest of the band are on form and everything you play is nailed perfectly. I love adding bits in and if I find myself in a moment trying to play something that I'm not sure if I can do it and it comes off perfectly then that really fires me up - one of these gigs where you can do no wrong - regardless of what you play it comes out perfectly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMech Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I love playing bass guitar with a great drummer as mentioned, don't get much kicks from playing it by myself. double bass on the other hand I can happily spend an hour just playing in my room, and absolutely love. Feels like double bass is now just the right instrument for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Great topic! I love playing bass, especially get DnB or Dubstep sounds. Got flatwounds on my bass & can roll off all the top with the Moog LPF & bring it in as a swell on longish notes. Immense at volume Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Spent years mucking about with different strings. Don't know how much money I spent on them trying to get something I liked until i tried Roto flats. regardless of bass, they give me the sound I have in my head. I effing love them. Really looking forward to getting the heavy set on the Warmoth P after I've fitted my SD stack single coil pickup. Same gauge as the Steve Harris ones without the coloured ball ends and £2.50 cheaper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wylie Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Playing with our trio (violin, keyboard, bass) and doing 'Footprints' at a gig for Episcopal clergypersons (that may be clergyhumans): a very brisk version, completely tight, locked in with what the piano player is doing, and with the violin soaring over it. Priceless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 this is a lovely happy thread and reminds us why we're all here. In fact no you should be practicing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I'm only here because I'm working! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I didnt want to play bass, I wanted to be... A Lumberjack!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroman Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Yeap, love playing bass........ Did have a weird six string thing with a tiny neck once........Nah, got rid, and got another bass! Nothing like playing with a good drummer, and good guitarist, and working the space between the two. Had some fairly memorable moments along the way. The first was a few years back when I had my Trace Elliot V-Type full stack, with the Gibson EB2 plugged in. Got it well cranked up, and had plaster falling out the ceiling! Drum kit was a mess of buzzing snare drum, and rattling symbals too! Most recent happy moment was playing a gig, with trusty 5 string Alembic tuned low A, into my Marshall VBA400, and Ampeg 610. Someone commented after the set that he could feel my bass in his guts! Nothing like feeling the floor vibrating, trousers flapping, and watching the grille on the speaker cab shaking as you lay down some serious low end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I had a similar experience at rehearsal with Kit last night. Playing my new Warwick Streamer, it's the most comfortable, great sounding bass I've had. Fabulous! My sound was good, we played great, and we laughed a lot at how well drilled we seem to be. I write all Kit's bass lines and it's lovely to play what I've composed, rather than someone else's lines. I too use lots of space, I let the drummer carry the rhythm most of the time. Last night was just so joyous! We can go from a whisper to a roar, very hot on dynamics this band. And I love my sound at the moment. Plenty of subs and a little chorused sizzle, and EQed so the kick drum and piano have some breathing space. It's amazing how eq can affect whether the band sounds tight, loose, open, closed, etc. I think I am finding my voice on the bass finally, I love the volume pedal, effects, and finding those magic notes and phrases that support the vocal and the dynamics of the song. I have to say though, that it's rare that I really feel that mojo where I'm in the zone, where it's almost like the bass is playing itself and I'm the conduit for something more ethereal, playing what I'm thinking, and what I'm thinking is beyond my normal thinking, really getting my mojo on as Scott Thunes would say. That happened five or six times last night. I had some magic moments! I LOVE the bass! I love the guitar too, and I'm much better at guitar now that the bass is my priority and I don't really listen to guitarists much or derive inspiration from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 [quote name='mcgraham' timestamp='1317897855' post='1395845'] At practice last night I got to crank my bass rig to the absolute max. Anyone who has heard an IP rig cranked knows it is capable of immense bass at immense volumes. I used a variety of different sounds, but the best (by far) was a dub sound with no treble, no upper mids, all bottom end, series neck pickup. It was an almost unbelievable sensation! It was genuinely an experience in itself that nothing else on earth can replicate... it's times like that which help to remind me why I LOVE playing bass. Do YOU love playing bass? Tell us all why! [/quote] There is nothing like playing with a great dub tone with a great drummer is there, it's a very special thrill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Vincent Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 [quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1317925190' post='1396402'] this is a lovely happy thread and reminds us why we're all here. In fact no you should be practicing [/quote] I'm doing both.I can multitask,me. I don't kmow why I love playing bass,I just do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Sometimes I love playing the bass. Other times, like tonight, when I'm trying to learn a song and failing bloody miserably (can't even work out the root notes ffs...) I just get totally pissed off and disheartened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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