Great bass-player? Bernard Edwards, RIP. john micek ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jaimie Vernon" To: Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 11:28 AM Subject: Re: Bass Players > > Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:46:28 Mark wrote: >> >> All this discussion/feudin' regarding Adam Clayton and Michael Anthony's >> bass playing abilities started me to think about the role of the bass >> player in the band. I did attempt to play bass guitar in my youth, and >> have always had a special place in my heart for the instrument. When I >> first hear a song, I always try to pick out the bass parts. >> >> What I have noticed (and I sure others have as well) is that often the >> bass just sounds as if it is buried deep in the mix. And I am not sure if >> this is the result of the musician's skills (or lack of them) or is just >> the result of the mixing process. For example, one of my fav bass players >> is Annie Holland of Elastica (RIP). Her bass playing just punches right >> through the guitars and drums and hits you right in the stomach. However, >> I am not sure if this the result of how the Elastica recordings were >> mixed or if it is due to her playing technique. Maybe is it a combination >> of both. >> >> Anyway, I've always been drawn to recordings where the bass playing was >> an integral (and noticeable) part of the band's sound and I was wondering >> if anyone has any opinions on the subject. > > If you can't *hear* the bass in the song then it's been deliberately mixed > that way. My complaint about modern producers is that bass parts are now > relegated to merely a sonic tone on recordings. You can only hear the > parts if you're listening to the CDs on stereo systems with booming > sub-woofers. Gone are the days when the bass line carried the song ("Day > Tripper" by the Beatles, "Money" by Pink Floyd.....or, gasp, "With Or > Without You" by u2). Bass players have become kick drum enhancers....and > not melody line creators. This may not be true of a lot of the power pop > we listen to, but out there in the commercial world of knock-off major > label production it is the norm. > > I lament Cheap Trick's "Gonna Raise Hell" as one of the last great bass > 'playing' songs.....you could hear every fret move on Petersson's 8 string > beast. And this is before audio recording techniques became high art. > > > Jaimie Vernon, > President, Bullseye Records > http://www.bullseyecanada.com > > SWAG: > http://www.cafepress.com/bullseyecanada > BULLSEYE LIVE 365 RADIO: > http://www.live365.com/stations/bullseyerecords > > Author, Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia > http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Pop_Encyclopedia/ > > http://www.myspace.com/jaimievernonsmovingtargetz > >