Guitar Comp

im entering this local guitar comp (as a bassist) and i was wondering if you guys could give me some ideas on what to play. i was thinking the primus version of master of puppets (slap and pop), but thats too easy.

Geezers "Bassically" solo (intro to NIB) then straight into Anesthesia Pulling Teeth should sound cool. And maybe throw Stu Hamm's "Country Music, A night in Hell" into it

What kinda stuff do you normally play? I know you like Primus...maybe dig on some of Les' influences. I wouldn't be the person to ask, but I'd learn as much as possible and really pick apart every aspect of my playing, depending on how much time there is.

funny ......

i am a bass soloist kinda guy with heavy influences on the effects driven overwhelming wall of sound kinda thing ... like anestheia.

i was just thinking last night about some ideas that i been messing around with for the past year or so and setting up the effects for it in my new processor.

i think using anestheia as a starting point and taking off in a personal style, bobomcnipples direction would be a great balance of solo effects familiararity and making it your own kinda thing so that it would capture peoples attention and make you stand out among guitarists as, "that guy with the outrageous bass stuff".

i find things like this extremely fun.

what kinda effects / processing do you have to work with?????

I agree with you, Mike...there is little more imposing than the sultry, deafening wall that bass can produce, especially if you couple the right effects with your technique.

Speaking of which, I have gotten an offer from a friend of a friend for an ART Nightbass preamp/multi effects unit. I'm going to see if I can save up enough to get it. It's like a preamp that's swallowed a light board

madmike wrote:

funny ......

i am a bass soloist kinda guy with heavy influences on the effects driven overwhelming wall of sound kinda thing ... like anestheia.

i was just thinking last night about some ideas that i been messing around with for the past year or so and setting up the effects for it in my new processor.

i think using anestheia as a starting point and taking off in a personal style, bobomcnipples direction would be a great balance of solo effects familiararity and making it your own kinda thing so that it would capture peoples attention and make you stand out among guitarists as, "that guy with the outrageous bass stuff".

i find things like this extremely fun.

what kinda effects / processing do you have to work with?????

i have a boss distortion pedal and a an ibanez autowah for geetar but it works for bass

Oh cool, dude. If you're interested in expanding your effects catalog, you should give the Ibanez delay pedal a spin...I've heard some very sick sounds from those.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5XeVLJeMdE


somthing like this would be cool. (yeah it's the vid that introduces the trem to me)

Do you have a trem installed, because i remember that you wanted to install one on one of your bass.

Mo Beach wrote:

Geezers "Bassically" solo (intro to NIB) then straight into Anesthesia Pulling Teeth should sound cool. And maybe throw Stu Hamm's "Country Music, A night in Hell" into it

I like that idea, Jeff! And I had forgotten about Stu Hamm's Country Music, A Night In Hell. That's a great tune!

EricHaven wrote:

Mo Beach wrote:

Geezers "Bassically" solo (intro to NIB) then straight into Anesthesia Pulling Teeth should sound cool. And maybe throw Stu Hamm's "Country Music, A night in Hell" into it

I like that idea, Jeff! And I had forgotten about Stu Hamm's Country Music, A Night In Hell. That's a great tune!

I personally find Stu Hamm's tune harder than the others

for years, before i bought multiple effects or preamps or anything that would process signal, all i used was a compression pedal (boss), bass balls overdrive and a dunlop bass wah. these were the things that made me stand out as not being a typical bass player.

that ... and not playing as a typical bass player; playing solos, using chords ... you guys know; all that stuff that has guitar players telling us to knock it off.

i think you have enuff to make you stand out as far as effects go. depending on where you want your sound to go, chek out chorus and flanger effects next. i prefer the flange personally ... but i use both.

i think everyone has stated what a good direction is as far as the score you choose. my suggestion is to blend somethin familiar with something else totally off the wall.

see if you can get someone to video it so we can chek it out here!

break a leg.

I'm not sure if this is the sort of advice you are seeking, but I would only caution you not to rely too heavily on the effects, but more on what you are playing. I also like a lot of color in a bass tone, but I have heard too many players where that becomes the main crux of what they are doing. It's easy to create a whacked-out wall of noise with enough stomp boxes and/or rack units at your disposal, but to be able to convey something musical is more to the point, I think.

In fact, I used to have a whole slew of things at my feet, including a flanger, phasor, chorus, wah, synth, delay, octave, and distortion. But I found myself actually looking for places to use all of them. And when I did, I often felt like it wasn't that I was doing something that added to the landscape, but became more of a 'where can I use this effect so it doesn't go to waste on my board' kind of thing. So I ended up unloading all of it, and now the only thing that I use is my distortion.

Of course, I haven't always been totally solid in this myself, as I do give in to the whole 'freak-em-out-as much-as possible' moments a lot on stage, and I find myself doing experiments on-the-fly at times when I probably shouldn't. Sometimes it comes out as pure noise rather than something musical. But when you are in front of a lot of screaming people, it's easy to give in to doing whatever, since you can do almost anything and get a positive reaction under the right circumstances. Of course, this isn't an excuse to not at least try and create something more cohesive. But it is what it is.

Now, once I rebuild my rig, it will include an Electro-Harmonix POG to get my upper-octave guitar tone from my distortion channel:

http://www.ehx.com/products/pog

Back in the day, I used to use a Pearl OC-07 Octaver since it featured an upper octave control that sounded a lot like a fuzzed-out guitar. I liked it, but it also sucked a lot of gain from my signal. And by the time it finally died, Pearl guitar effects had gone out of business. But it was a lot of fun to use:

http://filters.muziq.be/model/pearl/soundspice/oc07

The organ-y sound from the POG fascinates me the most. I can't imagine using an octave down that often, but the octaves up and whatnot, definitely.

madmike wrote:

break a leg.

done

Um...well...at least your hands are OK!

Are you healing up OK, BBMN?

Was this a while ago or is it not far from now?

Is it luck?

Oi that's brutal stuff, duder! Gotta drink milk and do plenty of squats!

when I broke my leg and ankle I was in a cast for 3 months, and it sucked cause at the time I had a clutch car, and had to rent an automatic, cause my left leg in the cast, couldn't work the clutch good enough without pain...lol.

all I have to show for it now a days is a plate with 7 screws in it under my skin and a few screwheads you can feel under the skin if you touch it which will be there till I die.

Yikes, dude. I'm not a fan of bone-snapping.

ya it was fun to sit and play with the band on painkillers for 2 shows we could not cancel or lose a LOT of money.

not the only injury in my life requiring surgery, but the only one with items left in me.

the Tbird is a nice sitting guitar shape as well.

Ooh yeah I'll bet it is.

Haha i forgot to post what happened on the comp but heres what happened.

I was 1 of 3 bassists who entered (everyone else played guitar). All the other bassists had their treble turned off so it sounded bad.

i decided to take mo beaches idea of stu hamm's country music. before i went on i chugged a red bull and when i was on i did about 30 seconds into it (past all the tapping in the middle of the slapping part.) and choked. so i just stopped for 2 seconds and started headbanging and jumping. it was very loltastic

Kool so, you took your defeat in good condition?

But more seriously, you win just by having the guts of going to a solo guitar competition.!!!!

^ ya seriously dude. It takes major balls for a bassist to compete against a bunch of guitards.

I totally agree. It's not whether you won or lost some contest, but the fact that you got out there and took part in it. It sounds silly, but that really is what's important here. Good for you, Bro!

not to sound "old", but when I was your age, and just starting out, I entered everything I could, not for the win-lose thing, but I wanted to show the world what I could do back then.

( you would think AGE and experience would have calmed that down, but it DID NOT ) It turned me into an even BIGGER stage whore

the fear of rejection, laughter, and others who were jealous constantly reminding me that I do not play correctly, I do not "conform" to the normal, and the d-heads who said, "why aren't you using a Fender"...KILLED ME

once I realized I was alone, I just did my best, and PROVED to all those morons, that I could do a lot more than they could, and made a successful 10-12 years out of it!!!!!

then, family and the job took care of all that AND the fact that there are a LOT of years missing on my SocialSecurity statement, ALWAYS makes me look back and say:

WHY THE HELL WAS I SO STUPID

amimbari wrote:

not to sound "old", but when I was your age, and just starting out, I entered everything I could, not for the win-lose thing, but I wanted to show the world what I could do back then.

( you would think AGE and experience would have calmed that down, but it DID NOT ) It turned me into an even BIGGER stage whore

the fear of rejection, laughter, and others who were jealous constantly reminding me that I do not play correctly, I do not "conform" to the normal, and the d-heads who said, "why aren't you using a Fender"...KILLED ME

once I realized I was alone, I just did my best, and PROVED to all those morons, that I could do a lot more than they could, and made a successful 10-12 years out of it!!!!!

then, family and the job took care of all that AND the fact that there are a LOT of years missing on my SocialSecurity statement, ALWAYS makes me look back and say:

WHY THE HELL WAS I SO STUPID

i wish there was moar guitar contests to get my name as a bassist out there.

Actually, contests aren't really that good of a way to get your name as a bassist out there. Honestly, the best way is to play out live as much as you can, with as many different players that you can, because winning the odd contest here and there can't hold a candle to performing live on a regular basis. And besides, your true measure as a player shouldn't come down to how well you do in a competition, because like I always say, music shouldn't be a competitive sport. The important thing is how well you work within a band structure playing with other players. Being able to solo like a mofo is meaningless if you can't do the primary role of anchoring the rhythm within a band context. Sure, I can solo my arse off and probably win a few contests if I chose to try, but I also know how to do my job within a band, and that has to take precedence.

OK...to go along with Mike/Ami's hesitation to sound like one of those old guys spouting off again...in all my now 27 years of playing, I have NEVER been in any sort of contest or competition. What got my name out there was the 2,000 gigs I've done in that time, and the hundreds of different players I've played with. I've played places with thousands of faces in front of me all the way down to places the size of a bathroom, but it all counts as valuable experience.

So really, the best thing to do is find a group of players you can jam with, get your music together, and start booking gigs anywhere and everywhere. Don't turn down a gig because you think it's too small, because you never know who's going to be in the audience. Of course, if you're playing metal, it's probably wise to not play in a country bar, so you do have to exercise some selectivity. But the point is that you can't beat the value of plain old experience performing to really make a name for yourself.

EricHaven wrote:

Actually, contests aren't really that good of a way to get your name as a bassist out there. Honestly, the best way is to play out live as much as you can, with as many different players that you can, because winning the odd contest here and there can't hold a candle to performing live on a regular basis. And besides, your true measure as a player shouldn't come down to how well you do in a competition, because like I always say, music shouldn't be a competitive sport. The important thing is how well you work within a band structure playing with other players. Being able to solo like a mofo is meaningless if you can't do the primary role of anchoring the rhythm within a band context. Sure, I can solo my arse off and probably win a few contests if I chose to try, but I also know how to do my job within a band, and that has to take precedence.

OK...to go along with Mike/Ami's hesitation to sound like one of those old guys spouting off again...in all my now 27 years of playing, I have NEVER been in any sort of contest or competition. What got my name out there was the 2,000 gigs I've done in that time, and the hundreds of different players I've played with. I've played places with thousands of faces in front of me all the way down to places the size of a bathroom, but it all counts as valuable experience.

So really, the best thing to do is find a group of players you can jam with, get your music together, and start booking gigs anywhere and everywhere. Don't turn down a gig because you think it's too small, because you never know who's going to be in the audience. Of course, if you're playing metal, it's probably wise to not play in a country bar, so you do have to exercise some selectivity. But the point is that you can't beat the value of plain old experience performing to really make a name for yourself.

yeah.....but i cant find any GOOD people to jam with. After my last "band" i have had it with playing with lousy musicians. cant really find any good musicians in my age. after the contest people thought i was awsome, but hated my kind of music and didnt want anything to do with me because i didnt play anything "metal".

Hah that's awesome, dude! Keep on like that and you'll make a name for yourself. As my boss says, "One day, you're gunna be a star, kid!"

BoboMcNipples wrote:

yeah.....but i cant find any GOOD people to jam with. After my last "band" i have had it with playing with lousy musicians. cant really find any good musicians in my age. after the contest people thought i was awesome, but hated my kind of music and didn't want anything to do with me because i didn't play anything "metal".

lol sounds like me looking for musicians who are "good"...don't EVER think cause your a kid that there are not older people who are the biggest losers in the world as they "brag" just as much as a kid would about their playing talent, till they plug into an amp....

if you do not give up, it will happen, and in the meantime, that gives you a lot less pressure to prefect your skills BEFORE you meet up with "good" musicians that expect that level of talent out of you regardless if your 15 or 50.

I know what it is to work with young people, even if i am young too. I love wotking with anyone, but because i am the older i always end up as being the guy with the car. That's why sometime it's hard to be with young guys and gals. But after my experience. I know that younger people are sometime more serious in their works. If you can transport yourself tho, you could say it to them and maybe they would reconsider what they said.

So BBMC, rock on and play the hell out off your bass and show them who is the groove!

I totally agree. And there are several more points that come to mind. Bear with me.

Just because you're young doesn't mean you shouldn't play with older players. I first started gigging in bars when I was 16, and a junior in high school, and my bandmates were all older than me by a few years. I have a lot of fond memories of coming to school with my bass, and friends would be like "what are doing with that here?", and I'd say "we're doing a gig later tonight." And they'd say something like "you mean you're playing in a bar???"

Keep in mind that it was 1982 when I first started gigging, and a LOT easier for someone that age to get into places to play, but I think it can still be done today under the right circumstances. For me, it was simply a matter of us walking in, the bar owner would have a cow, and we'd all just tell him "well, either you let our bass player stay and do the gig, or you've lost your band for the evening", which would invariably lead to the owner caving in, sometimes telling me to stay in the back away from the bar. The guy wouldn't be too happy about it, but since it's the band that draws the crowds that buy the drinks and makes his income, the club owner would go along with it. Then after we had proven ourselves to be a good draw, the owner would relax since he knew that we could bring in the crowds.

And still, there were many times when my age wasn't an issue, and it's a lot easier to get away with it since you're actually in the band, because they don't (or at least didn't) ID the guys in the band too often. You walk into a club to do soundcheck several hours before the gig, and people are coming and going anyways, not giving a rat's behind who is who, since they could figure out that you were to be the evening's entertainment if you were setting up your rig, hauling gear about, and the like. And there are many clubs that want to give younger bands a shot, and they can side-step the whole age issue by serving food (usually a lot of fried things, and cheap sandwiches), since then they can declare themselves as a "food establishment" instead of a "bar", which then permits minors entrance.

And I also sympathize with you BBMN about having a hard time finding good people to play with. It's not an easy process by any means. It takes a lot of time and effort to find a group of players that are all somewhat on the same page, and that are up to your standards. Try to think of playing in a band as sort of like being in a bad marriage. You have fights, ego clashes, everyone trying to keep their identity and space intact, while trying to come together in agreement about what exactly to do, and how it should all pan out. There is a good reason why you would have a hard time finding any band that has any amount of time behind them with all original members. Players come and go for many reasons, and it sucks, but that's just how it is in the biz.

And again, I will say that the very best kind of playing experience is being in band in front of a crowd. It's one thing to do what you do well sitting in your bedroom, and another to play solo in a contest for a few minutes, but quite another to do it well in front of an audience for three or four hours, playing off of the other players, under hot lights, with no monitors, broken strings, equipment malfunctions, and the occasional fight. I'm not over-dramatizing here, and you can ask anyone here who has experience under their belt if what I've said is true or not. More often than not, things go wrong. The true measure of how good of a performer you are is being able to do what you do well under less-than-ideal circumstances.

OK, long novel is over. But here is one more piece of advice that everyone else has already said. Keep at it, no matter what. Keep on slogging it out, keep your feet moving, keep on trying, and don't stop. Eventually, it will work out.