Bass Discrimination

[alemboid]

Hey friends,
 
Have you ever noticed that guitar, keyboard, drum players can play any make or model and not be ridiculed for what they use?  
 
More New York bass players are complaining about the reaction they get when they pull out their Ken Smiths, Alembics, Roscoes, Laklands and others. This is as bad as telling someone that they are less ideal for having dark hair or skin, too short, or tall. Do we tell others what they should play? Isn't it about the player's ability and quality of tone?
 
I feel this is a serious infringement on a very personal matter that other musicians fail to appreciate. Have you ever felt the heat for not playing a vintage Fender (for example)?
 
Alemboid

[rraymond]

Amen brother! I was out playing in Memphis, TN in the early 70's. I can't recount all the times I caught crap from fellow musicians because I played a Rickenbacker instead of a plank - I mean a Fender. Now, I've got nothing against Fenders, I've owned a bunch and actually enjoyed them, but nobody is going to tell me what the heck brand of instrument to play. I will say this, out here in Portland, OR, my Rickenbacker has been met with enthusiasm, and my Alembics, too! I always thought that musicians were supposed to be more open minded than the Ford vs. Chevy, or tastes-great vs. less-filling crowds!  
 
Happy to be thumping an Alembic in Portland,  
 
Reid

[alemboid]

Hey Reid,
 
Very interesting. I'm from Seattle, and one thing I noticed is no one questioned what bass I played there, whereas in the northeast, it's a different story. Hmmmmmm.  
 
When I was a horn player, I told my teacher (Bill Mitchell) I wanted to play bass, and he told me the bass to get was a Precision Bass, as it was what bass players are playing. Well, many were then. Yet, it seems that attitude has stuck around in some areas around the country, despite advances made upon Leo Fender's 1950's technology.
 
Alemboid

[bigredbass]

My favorite way to put them in their place:
 
Gee, the last gig, the drummer had these Rosewood Sonors and all DW hardware . . . and he REALLY knew how to tune them!
 
Did you roll those sticks before you bought 'em?
 
You know, you really should think about a Boogie and a PRS . . . is your tuner's batteries going out?  Try mine.
 
That Berklee guy I played with last week . . . oh, you DON'T read music?  I haven't seen a DX7 in a long time!
 
You get the idea.
 
J o e y

[4u2nv]

I have this cheap old Fender P Bass, with really cheap pickups, and i have some several serious basses, but the musicians and crowd seems to like more the fender, they always say that it sound awsome...(i see deaf people, lol)
 
 Does anyone have a similar xperience?

[kmh364]

As both a guitar player and a bass player, you get a far amount of ribbing from both camps. It just depends on what happens to be in-style at the moment. Back in the day, a guitar player had to have a Gibson or a Fender or you were made fun of. In the late '80's/very early '90's it was a Jackson. Now, everyone has a PRS. Bass was no different: J or P?. Rick's got a big shot in the arm of acceptance factor because of Chris Squire. I could go on...you get the point.
 
Personally, I say screw 'em all, play what you want. As long as your tone fits the music you're playing, who gives a sh*t what you're playing it on? Further, after the initial shock of taking it out of the case wears off, does anybody really care what you're playing once they figure out you REALLY know how to play? Conversely, guys with all the top-shelf equipment that really DON'T know how to play impress you right up until the music starts, LOL!  
 
What's that line from the Ricky Nelson song...you can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself?

[rraymond]

A bit of nostalgia here: I bought a copy of Billy Cobham's Spectrum the other day and noticed that Lee Sklar is credited with playing Fender bass. The only other manufacturer specific credit goes to Jan Hammer for Moog synthesizer.

[jacko]

Sometimes it can even be fellow bass players that cut our throats. i'm thinking in particular about carol kaye who hasn't anything good to say about any bass that isn't a 4 string jazz. talk about narrow minded, almost every interview I've read lately she's essentially been denouncing 5 and 6 string players just because she doesn't play more than 4.

[dadabass2001]

In the 70s, I used to belong to the American Federation of Musicians, Dubuque chapter. I remember they had a membership directory for contacting sidemen for pick-up gigs around the area. The listing by instruments section ONLY had upright bass and Fender Bass. (LOL)
I played a Guild Starfire.
Mike

[kmh364]

Stevie Ray ALWAYS introduced Tommy Shannon as being on the Fender Bass, even if he was playing his custom non-Fender, LOL! Old habits die hard.  
 
Hell, I should talk: I had my Alembic Custom Fender-cized with the J activators and an Ash body, LOL! Old habits die hard, LOL!

[pace]

This thread and the one about the soundman/$500 bass are hysterical.  
 
Personally Ive never gotten any flack for playing a cheap bass (Harmony/Kay) or an Alembic. Ive only had my Elan for a couple of months, so I could have it coming, LOL....
 
From my experiences, I've found that the most justified P-bass devotes are upright players with a minimalist philosophy in regards to what should come between the fingers and the ears. I tend to agree with them when it comes to their particular style. I guess anyone else is either brainwashed, jealous, or scared of change

[keavin]

Thats just it some people are intimidated when you pull out your Rollsroyce,they'd rather see you in your chevy.......#@*%!!,,EM

[jacko]

kevin.
I made a point of replacing the pickups etc on my 79 precision with rickenbacker pickups including the scratchplate. Sounds much nicer but still nowhere as nice as my epic.

[kayo]

This topic kind of lends itself to (in my mind) a parallel with the topics of religion and politics.... there are such passionate arguments about it on both sides of the fence.
 
I actually consider myself fortunate - for not having such the narrow point of view that only one bass brand and/or one bass tone is the acceptable measure of what is THE bass.
 
I know this cat from highscool (25 years now), and back then his thing was Rickenbackers, a-la-Geddy Lee.  He was also a huge Yes fan and the Ricko sound was IT.  In the meantime I was into Larry Graham, Stanley Clarke, P-Funk - etc....
 
Now he is into Marcus Miller - and I am still into the same old thing (with a few added others, including Miller)... at the end of the day.... I appreciate the unique signature tones that different instruments contribute to the musical fabric - however, to me, a different bass tone is not really any different than say a synth bass, a rickenbacker, a fender, or a tobias.... just different colors in the musical palette....
 
My friend on the other hand thinks that Marcus' Fender tone is THE tone and that all others are a joke - and he'll tell you right to your face.  As a matter of fact, he goes significantly out of his way to do everythhing that Marcus does.... which I find quite amusing - there's only one Marcus and though I think Miller is one of the most gifted bass players I have come across - I would not want my sound to be so like his that if anyone heard me they would think I am him - if anything - I would want to have a sound that is so unique and distinct that it can only be associated with me.
 

[pookeymp]

A producer at a studio in NY where I do most of my session work was always amazed at the tone that came out of my Mark King.  He often told me of all the other basses that came thru his studio (including Fenders)...he thought that the tone of mine was one of the the best he had heard.
 
At the end of one session, he asked me to come in the next week to lay some bass tracks for a personal project of his.  He just finished complimenting my tone only minutes before, and in the next breath asked me could I bring a Jazz bass in for his session next week.  
 
Well,  I stood there in a foggy daze for a few moments, before I could mumble the words, Ok...I'll see what I can do.
 
Mikey