Wooten's View on Bass Solos

[xilddx]

[quote name='frostis' timestamp='1322237991' post='1448482']
This is played in the low register. Should we consider it ugly?: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR9lCa23kzo&feature=related[/media]
[/quote]

This is a composition, not a solo, and it is played with a bow on an acoustic instrument with a beautiful timbre. Show me a bass players who solos who can match Bach in terms of composition.

If you like cello, check out Steven Isserlis playing Britten's No3 cello suite. It's extraordinary.

EDIT: Here you go Bach No3, no Britten on YT ..

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3bFeVoArnQ[/media]

Edited November 25, 2011 by silddx

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='frostis' timestamp='1322237991' post='1448482']
Just listen to any solo by Alain Caron. That is real poetry in my opinion.
[/quote]
Well, I just listened to Alain Caron on Youtube and 'No thanks, I'll take Rostropovich playing Bach'.

Edited November 25, 2011 by EssentialTension

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1322238668' post='1448503']
This is a composition, not a solo, and it is played with a bow on an acoustic instrument with a beautiful timbre. Show me a bass players who solos who can match Bach in terms of composition.

If you like cello, check out Steven Isserlis playing Britten's No3 cello suite. It's extraordinary.
[/quote]
Yes, not a solo but unaccompanied.

And +1 as they say on Isserlis and Britten.

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1322231463' post='1448321']as a solo instrument, the bass is pretty damn ugly, the timbre is terrible, the definition beyond playing 8th notes is crap, unless you have lots of treble and avoid the lower notes. That's why some folks are adding strings, playing chords and tapping with two hands, adding treble and chorus, just so their bass playing can sound more like a regular guitar.[/quote]

This sums it up for me. There aren't many bass guitarists I'd like to hear soloing. Actually I can't think of any. Even if they're nice blokes really and even if they're very musical, the bass just doesn't sound very good on its own.

[risingson]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1322231463' post='1448321']
Fair comments, especially the last point. [b]However, as a solo instrument, the bass is pretty damn ugly, the timbre is terrible, the definition beyond playing 8th notes is crap, unless you have lots of treble and avoid the lower notes.[/b] That's why some folks are adding strings, playing chords and tapping with two hands, adding treble and chorus, just so their bass playing can sound more like a regular guitar.

There are people who like to eat fermented whale blubber for breakfast, but they are few and far between.
[/quote]

I largely agree with your views but this part entirely depends on two things; how good your sound is, and how good a player you are. If you're a decent player with your timing together then definition and 16th notes aren't a problem.

It is incredibly rare for me to come across a bass solo I enjoy, but when I do, I understand that the reason I'm enjoying it is because I respect what the bass player in question is playing from a musical point of view. Most other people who aren't musicians just don't want to see it or don't understand it.