Jazzers depping in function bands.....

[JTUK]

I wouldn't got changing the sound... but I'd change the point of attack, possibly.

I'd expect the band/players to bring their 'thing' and I'd have that in mind when choosing people...
but as far as deps goes... it depends again, on the money.
For £50, my 'mates' would basically be saying, just come along and do what you do.... but
they'd expect you to have ears on. Hell, they don't know how the song is really going to go
so it is varying degrees of flying by the seat of your pants...which should suit a jazzer, depending on
their discipline.
For more formal functions, you'll going to have to know a lot of stuff and be able busk, or you'll need
stage notes or dots.

But function money is £150 min, IMO.

[nightsun]

Having played in cover bands for many years, I've never felt the need to change my 'tone' for every song. Yes if I was playing a song that had an identifiable bass line (wherever I lay my hat comes to mind) the I would spend some time working on the sound with effects, but for general playing no. I found over the years that I can change the 'sound' enough though my playing technique to get 'close' enough to the original tone of the tune. It's all in the fingers.

[Muzz]

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1444910390' post='2887208']
And yeah, I do sound like me most of the time, but when I dial in a Marcus sound and slap Never Too Much, or mute it down and play root fifths for a country song, I don't sound like me.
[/quote]

Which is exactly what I was saying...for the iconic stuff...I never touch the amp, but I have EQ on the bass...it's not hard...

Apparently that approach is amusing.

[wateroftyne]

I never touch my amp throughout a gig, or use any pedals, but I use my tone knob a lot, palm mute, switch pickups and use a plec quite a lot.

It helps when going from Budapest to Chelsea Dagger, for example.

[TimR]

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1444988661' post='2887853']


Which is exactly what I was saying...for the iconic stuff...I never touch the amp, but I have EQ on the bass...it's not hard...

Apparently that approach is amusing.
[/quote]

Ahh.

The impression I got was you have spent time trying to emulate a Marcus Miller tone, whereas you're really just talking about turning up the treble to get a generic slap sound.

Think it was clouded when you implied the keyboard player downloaded different samples for each tune.

[Muzz]

Noooo, that's why I was so surprised about the reaction - I originally said

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1444899905' post='2887053']
It's all about degrees, but if I'm following Never Too Much with Folsom Prison Blues, I at least have a twitch of the tone knobs...
[/quote]

Yep, on the bass I'll hoick the treble and scoop the mids a bit (or just use both pickups), or cut the treble, etc, etc, and just play it differently with me hands...

The keyboards are a different thing entirely - he does like to play around, mostly because he can, and it justifies him having the Mac onstage...

[TimR]

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1444993368' post='2887928']
Noooo, that's why I was so surprised about the reaction - I originally said



Yep, on the bass I'll hoick the treble and scoop the mids a bit (or just use both pickups), or cut the treble, etc, etc, and just play it differently with me hands...

The keyboards are a different thing entirely - he does like to play around, mostly because he can, and it justifies him having the Mac onstage...
[/quote]

As long as he's got the playing ability and can change seamlessly for each tune that's all well and good.

My comment about trying too hard comes from seeing too many bands that are more about getting the authentic sound and who then get the basics horribly wrong.

Think we had a thread about all the gear and no idea.

[Muzz]

Well, he's never dropped the ball yet, and he knows he'd never hear the end of the 'ATGNI syndrome' if he did...

I know what you mean about the basics, though. No one can say I'm not basic...

[chris_b]

My cover band ranges from Aerosmith and the Who to Cee-lo Green and Daft Punk and everywhere in between. So far I have never EQ'ed to sound like another player. [i]I'm[/i] playing the numbers so I use my sound. . . . . on all the numbers, from blues bands to originals bands.

It works because I make it work, and probably because I don't have an extreme style or sound.

From what I see, most top players don't significantly change how they play or sound, from Duck Dunn, Nathan East and Nathan Watts to Gail Ann Dorsey, Guy Pratt and Paul Turner. I watch guys like Laurence Cottle and Phil Mulford playing at the local and, apart from an occasional palm mute, they seems to be one tone guys as well.

As with gear, it's still all about what you play and your groove.

[Muzz]

Give it a try...you might enjoy it...

[TimR]

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1445021118' post='2888290']
Give it a try...you might enjoy it...
[/quote]

All the bass players I've met from busy covers bands have dabbled in FX. All the FX are now gathering dust.

And I appreciate technology has moved on but I played with a guy on keys in the 80s who had a Korg M1 with sequences and sample module along with some additional sounds loaded into the M1. The whole lot went tits up one gig and he had to ditch the sampled sounds, the programmed drum patterns and factory reset the Korg.

We played the whole gig using Hammond, Strings or piano sound along with some basic 4:4 two bar drum parts he composed during the first two bars of each song. A very amusing night.

.

Edited October 16, 2015 by TimR

[Muzz]

I know a band up this neck of the woods booked a very large civic venue for an album launch gig, and got a few hundred people there. Basically all their keyboards, texture stuff and even backing vocals were programmed into the sequencer/controller. Curtains open, lights up, keys player frantically trying to reboot sequencer/controller. Five arse-clenching minutes later they sacked the whole gig as it had just bricked itself. They'd never even rehearsed without the thing, the drummer had never played with them without the click. they were completely adrift. Educational and very funny in one go.

All I'm talking about is treble and bass (or if anyone's feeling extra brave, maybe the mid pot), guys, calm down...

[colgraff]

At the risk of opening up another avenue....

O played briefly with a function band whose drummer had a state of the art electric kit and he knew how to use it. Every song was as the record whether it was hand claps, 80s sounding bass drum and snare, the works. I hadn't appreciated how much production and dubbing had happened on drum tracks until that band. The sound was magical.

[TimR]

The thought of adjusting my pots mid gig is too frightening. I'll leave it to the pros.

[TimR]

[quote name='colgraff' timestamp='1445023023' post='2888304']
At the risk of opening up another avenue....

O played briefly with a function band whose drummer had a state of the art electric kit and he knew how to use it. Every song was as the record whether it was hand claps, 80s sounding bass drum and snare, the works. I hadn't appreciated how much production and dubbing had happened on drum tracks until that band. The sound was magical.
[/quote]

I'd probably have to hear it but to me the idea already sounds too clinical.

[Jazzjames]

I haven't read all the thread, but my advice to people who are depping in function bands is, learn the music. Many function bands don't use charts as it looks a bit lame, and then everyone's heads are out of the music stands and playing more together. When I first started getting asked to dep for a couple of bands, I got sent a list of tunes, and I didn't know say 30 of them, now, I only need to learn maybe 2 or 3. You just accumulate tunes as you get more experienced, and it gets easier.

If you want to get asked back, do your homework. It may seem like a lot of work for only a £150 gig or whatever, but in the long run it will be noted that you're a reliable guy who cares the gig.

I wholeheartedly disagree with the sentiment present in some posts that 'punters' (hate that word) don't care about the music, as long as it's recognisable. You never know who's in the audience. I'm glad on several occasions that I've done my homework on a gig that didn't look very promising, and has resulted in some very cool gigs.

Worth thinking the long game. Obviously, use your common sense, if you live in London and you're getting asked to learn 40 obscure tunes for a £80 gig in Skegness, finishing at midnight, no expenses, you can tell them 'no thanks!'.

Edited October 17, 2015 by Jazzjames

[Guest bassman7755]

I think it comes down to expectations. When a function band hires a dep they will usually assume they will be getting someone who knows much of the material and is going to learn to rest sufficiently to play a decent approximation of the original line if not exactly note for note. They generally arn't expecting someone to turn and wing it from charts especially someone who has never heard the original songs.

If you make it clear that your going to be doing the latter when getting hired then thats fine, everyone knows where they stand, if not then expect to be called out on it.

The expectations go up the chain - if I was hiring a band for a function Id assume I was hiring a well rehearsed unit and if that included a dep then they had better be good enough that I cant tell the difference.

Edited October 17, 2015 by bassman7755

[lonestar]

[quote name='Jazzjames' timestamp='1445082333' post='2888664']
I haven't read all the thread, but my advice to people who are depping in function bands is, learn the music. Many function bands don't use charts as it looks a bit lame, and then everyone's heads are out of the music stands and playing more together. When I first started getting asked to dep for a couple of bands, I got sent a list of tunes, and I didn't know say 30 of them, now, I only need to learn maybe 2 or 3. You just accumulate tunes as you get more experienced, and it gets easier.

If you want to get asked back, do your homework. It may seem like a lot of work for only a £150 gig or whatever, but in the long run it will be noted that you're a reliable guy who cares the gig.

I wholeheartedly disagree with the sentiment present in some posts that 'punters' (hate that word) don't care about the music, as long as it's recognisable. You never know who's in the audience. I'm glad on several occasions that I've done my homework on a gig that didn't look very promising, and has resulted in some very cool gigs.

Worth thinking the long game. Obviously, use your common sense, if you live in London and you're getting asked to learn 40 obscure tunes for a £80 gig in Skegness, finishing at midnight, no expenses, you can tell them 'no thanks!'.
[/quote]

Couldn't agree more with this or the comment above analogy about hiring a band.
As a regular dep fir several bans this is what i aim for, whether it'ts £150 for a function or a 60 quid pub gig.

[JapanAxe]

I'm not a jazzer but I do a fair bit of depping. If I don't know a song on the set list, and it's not readily buskable(TM), then I generally transcribe the part and learn it from that. On a gig-by-gig basis it makes no economic sense, but in the longer term I have built up an extensive repertoire (and a mahoosive pad of music). So basically I'm agreeing with Jazzjames.

The bottom line, in terms of what I deliver, is that neither the band nor the audience should see the join. Ideally I want the band to think, 'I wish he was our regular bass player'.