Listen to more bassists plz.

Ikuno actually.. you know... [i]plays[/i] the bass.

Most bassist only flail mindlessly to one string throughout the whole song, and god forbid the bass is actually audible in the band.

Listen to Ivy or Silent Apple, you must be lying if you tell me the bass is boring.

[quote="Raid"]
Most bassist only flail mindlessly to one string throughout the whole song.[/quote]

Most of them? Really, now? Like which ones?

[quote="Raid"]
Most bassist only flail mindlessly to one string throughout the whole song.[/quote]

Listen to more bassists plz.

Compare Generic rock song #5 with a noodles song.

[quote="sheerheartattack"][quote="Raid"]
Most bassist only flail mindlessly to one string throughout the whole song.[/quote]

Most of them? Really, now? Like which ones?[/quote]

What're your recommendations, then?

Well, let's look at one of the most generic and representative bands of rock music: the Who.

Although, it's stupid to ask [i]me[/i] to come up with examples of good bassists, when it should be [i]you[/i] coming up with examples of bad bassists who are representative of rock music, as I could spend all day listing them.

BANDS WITH BORING BASSISTS
Foo Fighters, Ramones, Smashing Pumpkins

BANDS WITH COOL BASSIST
Pink Floyd, noodles, Primus

THESE ARE ALL SOLELY BASED ON MY OPINION

Ikuno's an adequate bassist, and some of her lines are pretty cool.

[quote="Raid"]Listen to Ivy or Silent Apple, you must be lying if you tell me the bass is boring.[/quote]

Those are decent examples of Ikuno doing something kinda interesting. But I think the majority of the time, she just follows the guitar line - just playing the key, as many bassists do. [b]Not that it's a bad thing[/b]. Sometimes it works to just hammer on a note...then switch at the chord change...and just keep following. Often the simplicity works well.

But if a bassist just reverts to doing that, rather than creating a good bassline...I think things can get boring pretty quick.

Jun could've EASILY just played Sawao's chord progression on his bass. da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, [color=#FF0000]da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, [/color][color=#0000BF]da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da....[/color]
But someone (I'm gonna put my money on Jun rather than Sawao) thought "hey, let's do something cool." Result: You remember the bassline just as much (if not more) than the guitar in that song because it's so awesome.

Also, pop rock isn't the best place to go if you're looking for really fun bass. I'm learning the closer to funk/jazz you go, the more interesting the bass gets.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5PNhs2-brA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROVxgXw- ... re=related
Good mix of when to hammer on the key, but allowing yourself some freedom for some cool fills: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_VPbGuS4vg

PS: That song is awesome.
edit: Oh, and I'm not implying that Sparta Locals or B&S are funk or jazz.

[quote="GoldenRhino"]
Sometimes it works to just hammer on a note...then switch at the chord change...and just keep following. Often the simplicity works well.

But if a bassist just reverts to doing that, rather than creating a good bassline...I think things can get boring pretty quick.
[/quote]

No, I totally get what you're saying about simplicity, but a lot of bands could be 10X better if they just tried to have a better bass

[quote]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROVxgXw-wsc&feature=related[/quote]
This is awesome btw

that sparta song is really boring with a boring bassline... sure it's active, but it doesn't change. i still think ivy is an example of better bass.

[quote="Raid"]BANDS WITH BORING BASSISTS
Foo Fighters, Ramones, Smashing Pumpkins

BANDS WITH COOL BASSIST
Pink Floyd, noodles, Primus

THESE ARE ALL SOLELY BASED ON MY OPINION[/quote]

Nate Mendel from the Foo Fighters is actually a pretty decent bassist, but the Foo Fighters have always been more of a guitar heavy band anyway. Foo Fighters have always been Dave Grohl's band and his alone, just ask Franz Stahl and William Goldsmith, who were OBVIOUSLY mistaken when they thought Foo Fighters was a [i]collective[/i] effort. Look where that got them. All Grohl needs are members who can do whatever he tells them to do. Same with Billy Corgan.
Any guitarist OR bassist knows that Ramones' songs are some of the easiest songs to learn. You're calling a punk rock band that was formed nearly 40 years ago boring. Punk rock in the 70s was based around bands formed by people who were generally bad at their instruments, at least compared to professional musicians. So yeah, you're criticizing punk bands, and bands that are basically solo projects.

Les Claypool is a freaking great bassist, but Primus is just....one of the most annoying bands in the world. Smashing Pumpkins and Foo Fighters>>>>>>Primus(BASED SOLELY ON MY OPINION.....AND APPARENTLY MILLIONS OF OTHER PEOPLE). So I'm guessing quality of music has nothing to do with this argument. Guess it's not enough to be a fantastic songwriter nowadays. I'm sure Dave Grohl and Billy Corgan will get to having more interesting basslines, right after they finish polishing off their platinum record plaques.

Ikuno plays a Rickenbacker so she pretty much wins. And I agree 100% with Raid in that she actually plays the bass, her bass lines actually work perfectly with the song, sure it's not koi no spy level, but that's because that's not the noodles' sound. If Ikuno wanted to she could probably go Larry Graham on the noodles, but that doesn't fit the sound that they make. Sure she's not the greatest bassist in the world, but that's because she's not trying to be because she's in a band. Example, Arctic Monkeys, awesome band, nothing out of the ordinary with skill level. Dragonforce a.k.a Herman Li, other band members don't do anything, skill level of Herman Li rivals the gods.

[quote="TehParamount"]Dragonforce a.k.a Herman Li, other band members don't do anything, skill level of Herman Li rivals the gods.[/quote]

Uhhh, I'm pretty sure you have to have the skill level of the gods to be ANY of the members in Dragonforce (love em or hate em). Maybe not the vocalist ZP Theart so much, but the dude's got some nice pipes.
Sam Totman is just as big of deal as Li, and if you can double-bass-roll on the drums as well as their drummer, then I will bow down.

The Arctic Monkeys are awful.