Needs vs Wants

For those who can actually play like Geddy, Chris Squire, or McCartney a Ric makes sense. Skinny neck for speed and dexterity and a very identifiable higher register sound. But most bassist can't and they end up playing far busier bass lines than the law allows. Guess you can tell I'm not a fan of overly busy bass lines but I also admit with certain bands they do have their place because tunes are written around them.

But if I did own a Ric I would surely look at the Babicz FCH Ric Bridge upgrade because their stock bridges are some of the worst POS ever designed and built on any bass. One reason I don't own one is that for me it would be wholly unsuitable for what I play. There's a reason most blues and r&b bassists play PBasses and JBasses. It's how they fit in the mix both live and in the studio and they work for me.
 
soulman said:
For those who can actually play like Geddy, Chris Squire, or McCartney a Ric makes sense. Skinny neck for speed and dexterity and a very identifiable higher register sound. But most bassist can't and they end up playing far busier bass lines than the law allows. Guess you can tell I'm not a fan of overly busy bass lines but I also admit with certain bands they do have their place because tunes are written around them.

But if I did own a Ric I would surely look at the Babicz FCH Ric Bridge upgrade because their stock bridges are some of the worst POS ever designed and built on any bass. One reason I don't own one is that for me it would be wholly unsuitable for what I play. There's a reason most blues and r&b bassists play PBasses and JBasses. It's how they fit in the mix both live and in the studio and they work for me.
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Yeah that’s kinda my problem. I can play play Free Will, Roundabout, and stuff like that on the bass. But I can’t just sit in the pocket and play like a bass player. I’m a guitar player who dabbles in bass. My favorite bass line to play is Silly Love Songs.
 
3bolt79 said:
Yeah that’s kinda my problem. I can play play Free Will, Roundabout, and stuff like that on the bass. But I can’t just sit in the pocket and play like a bass player. I’m a guitar player who dabbles in bass. My favorite bass line to play is Silly Love Songs.
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You have the same predisposition to busy bass playing most guitarist have. Left to their own devices they will almost always over play. I suppose simply playing the groove can be boring but if that's what called for that's what you do. For that reason God created "The Bassist" and saw that it was good. Then he created for him a PBass and a JBass and said go forth and hold your musical brethren to thine own groove for thou art mighty above all others as the "cat who keeps the groove". The drummer is but thine time keeper. 😁
 
soulman said:
You have the same predisposition to busy bass playing most guitarist have. Left to their own devices they will almost always over play. I suppose simply playing the groove can be boring but if that's what called for that's what you do. For that reason God created "The Bassist" and saw that it was good. Then he created for him a PBass and a JBass and said go forth and hold your musical brethren to thine own groove for thou art mighty above all others as the "cat who keeps the groove". The drummer is but thine time keeper. 😁
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For me, John Deacon is the best of both worlds.
 
3bolt79 said:
I like flats. I use the Labella Deep Talkin Bass flats 45-105 on my Stingray. They are smooth as glass. They last for years as well.
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I love flats. I normally use La Bellas but thought I'd take the plunge on a set of Elites Detroit flats 45-105 for the new Jazz Bass. £30 price as opposed to £60 for the La Bellas. Really well made and don't have have that dead low E string sound that I've experienced with Rotosound flats previously. So all good so far, see how they really sound once they are bedded in. 🙂👍
 
soulman said:
I have those on my PBass already so it covers the Motown/Memphis Stax type stuff I play. With the others I've tended to like GHS Pressurewounds but thought I might do a little more experimenting with the short scale.
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I started learning to play bass at 13 on an old Sattelite P Bass copy with flats. I learned from a book called "Standing in the shadows of Mowtown" which came with a cassette tape. I ended up playing James Jamersons bass part on this tune for my final school exam. IMO if you can play like James you can play anything. 🙂👍
 
Stu78 said:
I started learning to play bass at 13 on an old Sattelite P Bass copy with flats. I learned from a book called "Standing in the shadows of Mowtown" which came with a cassette tape. I ended up playing James Jamersons bass part on this tune for my final school exam. IMO if you can play like James you can play anything. 🙂👍
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Yep. Talk about a guy who knew how to "drive a song". He was the master of it and all with a single PBass with funky old strings.

I hadn't played my PBass in a while since it's the least versatile of all of my basses but I couldn't stand to see it ignored any longer. It's such a huge tonal crossover from the expressiveness of the Pressurewounds to that "thud" of the flats but man what punch. It just screams play me some Motown and Memphis Soul. It's the sound of the '60s where I came from and I purely love it.
 
soulman said:
When playing in a trio with a single guitarist we can all become a little more venturesome as long as we keep the groove.
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I never really found guitar as challenging as bass. So many people think being a good bass player is easier, and it definitely is not. A different animal completely. You have to think differently. There’s no faking it with bass. If you fuck up there, everyone notices. As a guitarist , mistakes aren’t as noticeable.
 
3bolt79 said:
I never really found guitar as challenging as bass. So many people think being a good bass player is easier, and it definitely is not. A different animal completely. You have to think differently. There’s no faking it with bass. If you fuck up there, everyone notices. As a guitarist , mistakes aren’t as noticeable.
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Agreed, when I tought myself to play guitar after years of playing bass I noticed it was easier to hide behind distortion or effects or even fluffing chords or solos. You always find a way back, however you funk up playing bass you really funk up. There's no hiding there!. 🙂👍
 
3bolt79 said:
I never really found guitar as challenging as bass. So many people think being a good bass player is easier, and it definitely is not. A different animal completely. You have to think differently. There’s no faking it with bass. If you fuck up there, everyone notices. As a guitarist , mistakes aren’t as noticeable.
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Yup. Hitting "clams" in low register leave no doubt as to who phuc'd up. Proper notes. Impeccable timing. If someone can't do that it's gonna be tough to become a bassist.
 
3bolt79 said:
I never really found guitar as challenging as bass. So many people think being a good bass player is easier, and it definitely is not. A different animal completely. You have to think differently. There’s no faking it with bass. If you fuck up there, everyone notices. As a guitarist , mistakes aren’t as noticeable.
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For me it's the complete opposite. I played bass for the better half of 15 years off and on, in bands and jamming alone, and when I picked up guitar (it will be 4 years now) I found guitar to be way harder than bass. Different techniques, and I find guitar way harder to fake than bass. Bass can be easily faked and sound halfway decent, whereas guitar not so much, seeing as you hear the guitar much more than a bass. You can hear mistakes way more on guitar is what I'm getting at.
 
Needs:
-nut slotting files
-fret levelling beam
-fret crowning file
-bigger bass amp

Wants:
-5 string bass
-another guitar for D standard/drop tuning
 
GrandmaShreds said:
For me it's the complete opposite. I played bass for the better half of 15 years off and on, in bands and jamming alone, and when I picked up guitar (it will be 4 years now) I found guitar to be way harder than bass. Different techniques, and I find guitar way harder to fake than bass. Bass can be easily faked and sound halfway decent, whereas guitar not so much, seeing as you hear the guitar much more than a bass. You can hear mistakes way more on guitar is what I'm getting at.
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A former guitarist in the of the bands I was in had a saying about covering mistakes. It was "when in doubt bend" you're only one note away from where you wanted to be. 🤣
 
GrandmaShreds said:
Needs:
-nut slotting files
-fret levelling beam
-fret crowning file
-bigger bass amp

Wants:
-5 string bass
-another guitar for D standard/drop tuning
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Until you get one and once you find there isn't all that much you use it for and that muting a B string can be a huge pain in the ass you sell it and go back to 4 bangers again. Sold one (a real beauty G&L L2500) and returned another (Sire M5). I dunno. Maybe if you play lots of metal genre that requires drop tuning and low guttural bass lines you do need one. I don't.

Bigger bass amp? Yes, of course. Buy as much wattage as you'll ever need and a top shelf speaker cab. I've spent far more money on my bass rigs than I ever have on my basses. A $2000 bass through an under powered bass rig with lousy speakers will sound like a $200 bass. I know you know all this but for others it's PSA.
 
soulman said:
Until you get one and once you find there isn't all that much you use it for and that muting a B string can be a huge pain in the ass you sell it and go back to 4 bangers again. Sold one (a real beauty G&L L2500) and returned another (Sire M5). I dunno. Maybe if you play lots of metal genre that requires drop tuning and low guttural bass lines you do need one. I don't.

Bigger bass amp? Yes, of course. Buy as much wattage as you'll ever need and a top shelf speaker cab. I've spent far more money on my bass rigs than I ever have on my basses. A $2000 bass through an under powered bass rig with lousy speakers will sound like a $200 bass. I know you know all this but for others it's PSA.
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I've played bass for most of my musical life and I miss having a 5 string. I never struggled muting the low B. You just have to anchor your thumb on it when you play, like you would anchor your thumb on the neck pickup/bridge pickup on a 4 string.

I can cross the bigger bass amp off my wants list, since I got my Boss Katana 110 the other day.
 
3bolt79 said:
Yeah that’s kinda my problem. I can play play Free Will, Roundabout, and stuff like that on the bass. But I can’t just sit in the pocket and play like a bass player. I’m a guitar player who dabbles in bass. My favorite bass line to play is Silly Love Songs.
Click to expand...
Lemmy was a guitar player who played bass ,just listen to the way that guy played.
 
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