United States

Ayr

It takes a lot more to puish the bass out there. Something as small as a 30 Watt G-Dec can make a guitarist keep up with drums.

Bass - well, best to use a lot more. I use a rig similar to your guy's - only my second cab has only two ten inch speakers. I occassionally run my guitar amp through those speakers and they really shout.

A friend has a new Fender Bassman with one fifteen and it sounds pretty good - I didn't like the old ones though.


Talbot

Hey I jus t put down a pretty good bass line
(Shotdown on my player) and didn't even use
a bass guitar. (lower octaves of the 88 keys)

Ayr

It takes a lot more to puish the bass out there. Something as small as a 30 Watt G-Dec can make a guitarist keep up with drums.

Bass - well, best to use a lot more. I use a rig similar to your guy's - only my second cab has only two ten inch speakers. I occassionally run my guitar amp through those speakers and they really shout.

A friend has a new Fender Bassman with one fifteen and it sounds pretty good - I didn't like the old ones though.


Talbot

Reason I mention the rig is cause I hate to see and not hear the bass, the Fender you mention is probably more efficient than the old ones we have a little Acoustic B20 1-12 thats louder than some of the old 1-15 amps.
To share a little tip from old issue of Premier Guitar Mag to hear your bass on stage it's better for the player to be further away from it. Something about longer wavelength of the sound. Hard to do on a small stage.

We use a 5-string so the 1-15 in Ivans rig really helps there. The 4-10 works fine for a 4-string. Made the mistake of picking up a drumstick that ended up front of Ivans rig once .................. once. What ever falls there can stay next time.
We went with the modular thing (power amp/preamp) to save money.

"...to hear your bass on stage it's better for the player to be further away from it. Something about longer wavelength of the sound. Hard to do on a small stage. "

Yep. I lost most of the midrange in my left ear leaning too close an amp trying to hear myself better which never works. Towards the back of the room it ripping the wallpaper off the walls.

Talbot

"...to hear your bass on stage it's better for the player to be further away from it. Something about longer wavelength of the sound. Hard to do on a small stage. "

Yep. I lost most of the midrange in my left ear leaning too close an amp trying to hear myself better which never works. Towards the back of the room it ripping the wallpaper off the walls.

Talbot

This really works for us
Didn't think to give a distance in the practice room 21x12we have it about 12' from the vocal mics and it's unstacked in the middle of the 12' wall few inches from the wall facing the Drums opposite long end of the room.
He used to stand in front of it stacked 4' away. He'd be cranking the amp 3/4 open and it would be so loud I couldn't hear my guitar, but when I got closer it was not so loud. We like it clean the only overdrive is the preamp but we keep that out of the red. Takes a lot to EQ it so we don't get boom the room is very live the only treatment being the carpet on the floor.
I have a thing about rehearsing with the same conditions you'd have in a dive bar. The room is too small, but hey our house is just under 1000sq'.

Now class if Ivan stands 12 feet away from his amp and the drummer is 18 feet from Ivans amp.
What color are the drapes?

a) Blue

b) The room is Pumpkin colored and there are no drapes

c) Don't burn holes in. spill beer or get bean dip on the futon along the wall

d) Ivan wants to cut off one of Al Di Meola's toes.

If you answered a) you should become an interior decorator
If you answered b) you may as cheap as Ivan cause red cost too much
If you answered c) your the kind of person we're looking for
If you answered d) you know of Ivans fetish .........Al's foot and toe

"...to hear your bass on stage it's better for the player to be further away from it. Something about longer wavelength of the sound. Hard to do on a small stage. "

Yep. I lost most of the midrange in my left ear leaning too close an amp trying to hear myself better which never works. Towards the back of the room it ripping the wallpaper off the walls.

Talbot

I Know a local performer here (Bassist) who amps up with a wireless. Its fun to see him work a room...He's an outstanding musician, but he avoids that cramped stage issue AND croons the ladies at the tables...

I'll let my Bassist worry about his gear.
He is an autonomous professional ... what more can I ask as a guitar player?

Just for conversation, he uses two guitars on four and on five string depending on mood of the songs. amp is fairly irrelevant ( as long as he is happy with the tones ) as we greatly amplify and mix our signals at the board for all four monitor fields as well as the mains.

He also utilizes a wireless and met me down on the audience floor last night for a little one on one.

I love it!

What you need from a bass player is NO BEER in the gig bag.
Then you need from him understanding of what he's playing (notes).
And he also needs a good bass guitar.

Now this is my kind of bass player!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V79owj81p0o&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX5oV_i0LHI&feature=related

What do I look for in a Bassist... That's easy... I look for musicianship..

Being a bassist, this is what I do to compete every day! Musicianship covers pretty much everything outside of virtuosity.

keep the beat. don't stare at the drummer for cues, keep keeping the beat. don't do the lead guitar parts. yes, I double on bass and lead, but I wear different heads for the different instruments. not easy.

The best bassist in the world is a guy who you don't even have to look at or think about.

I only ever met 1. The guy was 1000 years old and when I played from the very tip top of my head (as in no idea what key or if I am in tune), he was right with me.

He wasn't slapping or popping, he played with a pick and at the end he gave me sh*t for being sloppy. Then he shook my hand and told me he liked what I played. I offered to buy him a drink. He refused and told me he just came to jam a little.

2 minutes later, he was gone. Just got up and went home.

And at least 2/3x a month I go back to that little dump and look for him because I know, without a doubt, that man was the best bassist I ever heard.

If I ever see him again, I'll definitely try to bring him on board.

I don't care that he was angry, I don't care that he was gruff and even short with me. He played so well and with inspiration I never heard before.

In short, he could punch me in the mouth, bleeding and I'd be asking him "if bribery was out of the question".

I would think that a what bands need in a bassist depends heavily on the genre they play. Quite a few of the metal bands I've played with just expect the bassist to be able to trace all their fast riffs and licks. Of course these aren't the musicians that actually know what their doin' for the most part. They are the type that just write entire songs in isolation. Composing only guitar parts before they bring it to a bassist. Though, tracing can be pretty powerful in the right contexts, even if I have to work my ass off to keep up with their 16th notes. It's not right in every situation, and can actually take away a lot of depth from the song.

As a bassist, I can tell you what I look for in a band/project. There better be enough room for the bassist to actually do his thing. If a band tells me they want me to play like and animal on my bass, or if they are just clueless to the bass altogether and just tell me to improvise, then they turn around and throw material at me that is cramped and crowded, I'm just going to move on to a different band. They need to write material with complex bass techniques in mind if they want to incorporate them.

No matter what genre you play, the bass is a vital component. When looking for a bassist, you should be thinking about what they will be contributing to the song. And if you've taken the steps to allow the bassist room to do what you need him to do. These things wont be found in just their tone or technique.

Hmmmm, if I were shopping for a bass player I'd like to get me one of these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf-J_sJB29Q

Someone who knows when to lock down the groove and knows when to add a little flair. Someone who speaks the language of music so we can develop arrangements easily. Goldilocks curls and a Shirley Temple smile wouldn't hurt.

I am curious on this!!!!!!!!!!!!!