For the most part, we guitarists make terrible bass players. We’re too busy, use more
notes than the song needs, we use too many
strings and too much of the neck. We tend
to live in front of the beat instead of right on
it or behind it. We use long, sustaining notes
instead of a dead thump that lays in tight
with the kick drum. In short, you can usually
tell when it’s a guitar player filling in on bass;
it never feels authentic. I love playing bass,
but I’m not too sure my band mates dig it
when I’m holding down the bottom end.
Although I play a lot of bass and have done
television and master scale sessions on bass,
I’m not a real bass player. I am an impostor
faking it. But I know what works and what
stinks it up, so I’m taking this opportunity
to tutor my six-string brethren on what to
embrace and avoid when you find yourselves
filling that regal position: holding down the
lowest of the lows. Pay attention, this information could save the groove.
The best albums ever recorded were played
on a four-string bass. This may offend, but
somebody needs to say it: if you’re playing
a “bass” that has a neck as wide as an ironing board with six, seven, or (God forbid)
even more strings on it, you need to hide
that thing in your basement, unless you want
to remain a soloist. A quick YouTube search
provides lots of videos of guys doing some
amazing things with these instruments, but
they are always alone. You rarely see them
working with a band. If you want to play
music that a lot of people will actually listen to, get a good old Jazz or P-style. I can
understand having a five string in the event
you have to play in some odd female-singer
keys, but if you’re playing with dudes, keep it
to four and maybe consider removing the G
string, lest it lead you into the temptation of
working your way up to guitar range (I’m kind
of kidding about the G string—but seriously,
keep away from the high notes). Think: Jaco
Pastorius, James Jamerson, Bootsy Collins,
Paul McCartney, Flea, John Entwistle, Billy
Sheehan, Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten, Jack
Bruce, Geddy Lee, Les Claypool, Donald
“Duck” Dunn, John Paul Jones, and Brian
Wilson. If experimental bass giants like these
cats can do the majority of their work on four
strings, should mere mortals like us question
their practice?
While I’m offending, here’s something else to
inspire hate mail: unless you’re playing Jazz
Odyssey, resist the temptation to solo on
bass. I’m talking solos, where the bass player
starts doing the whole dweedle-la-dweedle-la-slap-a-slap-a-whack-a-whack. The groove
disappears, the meter goes to hell and
people leave the venue. Use that creative
energy for composing perfect bass lines like
“Come Together” or “Sweet Emotion.” Take
your part to a place that lifts the entire song,
supports the singer, drives the track. If you’re
a jazzer, sure, blow. But if you’re playing commercial music with singers, save all that solo
stuff for the higher register players, because
somebody has to hold the song together,
and a wimpy guitar or piano is not going to
replace a bass foundation. Listen to a James
Jamerson track: his lines at times sound like
a three minute solo, moving all the time.
Part of his genius was his ability to hold the
groove together, supporting the singers and
soloists while pumping out these incredibly
creative, constantly moving parts. It’s the bass
player’s job to hold the song together.
To be a good bassist, you kind of have to be
the generous type... anything for the good
of the band. This brings me to my favorite
bassist, Paul McCartney, who strangely
enough remains my favorite, even though he
plays like a guitarist using lots of notes all
the way up the neck and doesn’t follow the
kick pattern.
Paul McCartney became one of the most
influential bassists of all time because he was
the only one in the band willing to take one
for the team. Sir Paul said that after Stu left
and The Beatles suddenly found themselves
sans bass, “Everyone sort of turned ‘round
and looked at me. I was a bit lumbered
with it, really—it was like, ‘Well... it’d better be you, then.’ I don’t think you would
have caught John doing it; he would have
said: ‘No, you’re kidding. I’ve got a nice new
Rickenbacker!’ I was playing piano and didn’t
even have a guitar at the time, so I couldn’t
really say that I wanted to be a guitarist”
(Bass Player magazine, July/August 1995).
Paul took the bass position because he was
the generous one, who thought more about
the songs and the band than about his personal glory. Although Paul is a capable soloist
on piano and guitar, he avoided bass solos,
trading the glory for the satisfaction of a solid
groove—and he did it all on his beloved four-
string Hofner and Rick. His bass is the foundation of all of that amazing music.
Enough preaching! Here’s a final tip for those
who find themselves on the bottom end: try
putting your foot right on the kick drum’s
front head where you can feel the pattern.
This will help you lock in tight with a drummer. Even if it’s your first gig with a drum-
mer, the groove will feel like you’ve played
together for years.
John Bohlinger
John Bohlinger is a Nashville guitar slinger who works
primarily in television, and has recorded and toured with
over 30 major label artists. His songs and playing can
be heard in major motion pictures, major label releases
and literally hundreds of television drops. Fore more info
visit
johnbohlinger.com.