Music Forum / Bass solos

Hey. To bass player/admirers. What do you look for in a good bass solo. Im trying write one for my bands next song and ive never even tried before and ive only been playing for 9 months so i kinda suck. But anyway...... what do you look for in a good bass solo?

There's usually only one well known bass soloist.......... Les Claypool, Primus.

There's usually only one well known bass soloist.......... Les Claypool, Primus.

True...

There are also other bass players that are in bands that don't feature guitar (thus the bass having a more prominent role).

Check out Morphine and Clatter. Both singers play(ed-RIP Mark Sandman of Morphine) the bass for those bands.

Kai

How well it fits in to the rest of the song, technicality, musicality. And maybe some slappage.

Maxwell Murder.

A shitload of slapping.

Cliff Burton from metallica (though he's not around anymore). Check out Pulling Teath (amnesia) from Kill 'Em all, that song mostly just one big bass solo.

^^^ Yes. And also, try to find influence in 'The Call of Ktulu' and 'Nativity In Black' (NIB) by Primus and Ozzy.

david/john myung
stephen lessard

I'm a slapper (though not a very good one) so naturally I like slap technique, but you do not need to slap or tap (Claypool style) to play a good bass solo. Certainly the flashier techniques will get you noticed, but bass playing is about the groove not about showing off. A good bass solo, in my opinion, embellishes the backbeat of the song without losing track of it. So keep the song flowing but add in a lot more fills. When you're playing with all those other instruments the fills can make it sound muddy and overplayed but when you're flying solo, that's when it's okay to "overplay". If you want to bring out the slap and tap techniques that's cool too. I tend to think they sound tacky though if you're just using them for a solo and not the whole song.

Maxwell Murder.

Awesome song.

Thanks for the tips guys. I kinda suck at slapping but il take in what you said and see if it helps. If i come up with anything good then i'll record it with my band and post it up. Cheers.

How about the guy from Tool, whatever his name is. The rhythm section carries that band, considering how marginal Adam Jones is on guitar and how Maynard James Keenan sucks at everything.

If you wanna be flash..check these out..

Donna Lee/Portrait of Tracy/Chromatic Fantasy - Jaco Pastorius
Amazing Grace - Victor Wooten
Coffee shop/Aeroplane/Stone Cold Bush - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Enjoy!

*stargazer*

There's an awesome bass solo by Anti-Flag on their Mobilize CD, so go to their site and see if you can get it. antiflag.com Maybe you can use it for inspiration.

There's an awesome bass solo by Anti-Flag on their Mobilize CD, so go to their site and see if you can get it. antiflag.com Maybe you can use it for inspiration.

If you mean "Bring out you Dead" I can already play that. Good song though.