My setup.

Well after taking a break for the weekend, I realized I should probably share my instrument preference whilst celebrating my bass-ic obsession. My only remaining bass, my Spector Legend 5-string, is a beautiful beast of an instrument. This baby with a gorgeous cherry finish, wide-ranged 24 fretted neck, and booming lower B string makes me just down right proud to play. The tone you get through those EMGs is the richest I've played. You can play soulful, headbanging, or older music and capture all the different sounds of each. And I managed to get this gem for half off! Bargains ftw! I throw this sound all out through a Peavey 115... not the loudest, but the different tones and styles you can get through this baby are great for the low price tag. So tell me... what are your favorite kinds of basses? Which are the best-sounding, and which are the coolest looking? What amps do you play? Any suggestions for me or other bassists who may see this?

Other than "play a different instrument"...

Soundgarden-The Day I Tried To Live

One of my favorite grunge hard-rockin' bands, Soundgarden has a surprising number of fun bass beats. Ben Shephard is a pretty good bassist... he'd be at lot better if he wasn't overshadowed by three other amazing musicians. Starting of the several songs by them I will likely post, this song, with its unique 15/8 time signatures and falling bass line, is probably one of their easiest songs to play. Still, one of the most fun. That main riff, played entirely on the E string, is just some slow notes tapped on alternating with open strings. A key change in the pre-chorus and a simple note structure in the chorus keep the simplicity of the song... but man, you just can't get around that awesome verse riff. Listen to it here to see what I mean. If you want to play along, get tabs here. And be absolutely sure, since you won't have to concentrate on complex playing, to headbang in appropriate areas. A lot.

On a side note, when i looked up the video, I found this awesome cover of this song by Between The Buried And Me. Never saw this before, but its pretty cool. Doesn't beat Soundgarden's original, but nonetheless pretty rockin'.

The Fall Of Troy-Reassurance Rests In The Sea

It is time to stroke my huge fanboy-ism of the Fall Of Troy. If you don't like screaming and shanties, get out. Now. This song is probably my favorite of the band's earlier work, when they had the bass beast that is Tim Ward. This song is fast paced for the most part and driven by a constant barrage of harsh sixteenths, so some hand stamina is in order for this one. The chorus requires expert hand control, as you must play a rather odd note sequence, followed by an interlude involving some fast fret work around the 10 and 12 frets. After another blast through the chorus, get ready for one of the most fun, sea shanty-sounding bass parts ever included in a hardcore song. 'Nuff said, just lots of practice coordinating both hands here. You will have a load of fun playing this, guaranteed. Tabs here, video here. It may take some work to properly apply the tabs to the actual tune, but when you do, you'll love it, I guarantee. If not, put your bass down and never play it again. I will not tolerate you.

Interpol-Evil

This strange, somewhat creepy tune is what got me into an obsession with Interpol. Carlos D's bass was the perfect backbeat to fill up and round out all of the band's work, and it pisses me off he left. Especially since he ripped on bass doing so. Anyway, this song is a really easy one to play, albeit an interesting one. Giving the entire song a driving push forward, this is really fun to play along with the song. Some simple finger picking should do the trick, as you will want to have a smooth, rich tone when you play it (oddly clashing with the rest of this track's more cutting tone). Avoid picks on this one, it'll make it sound way too sharp. These tabs are the best you'll find, and here is the freaky music video to listen and play along to. Enjoy it, and look up more of Interpol's stuff if you like it. Their first two cds are masterpieces.

Rage Against The Machine-Calm Like A Bomb

I guess a good place for me to start would be the song that pretty much made me want to play bass in the first place. Tim starts with what is probably his most funktastically fun solo at the beginning, and carries that same funky power through the whole song. It's not exactly a hard song, playing it well involves more of playing it powerfully and passionately, since there's plenty of space for each note. That intro solo may take a while to nail (I remember staying up until 2 am in 8th grade working on it... good times), but the amount of fun and swagger you'll have while playing it are worth it. Of course, use index and middle fingers, no thumbs, NO PICKS. Best way, probably easiest way to play it. Ultimate Guitar has a great tab for it here. You can listen to it here.

Oh, and I don't want to hear any of your Bulls on Parade crap.

Playin my fun little bass.

I spend way too much time playing bass, and have all sorts of songs I enjoy playing and writing. And air-bassing if it's too hard. This is pretty much just a nice creative outlet for me other than 4chan to spend my time not playing bass. So yeah, sometime soon i'll starting sharing some of my favorite bass lines to play, just to give this blog some purpose. Whoo.