METALLICA's TRUJILLO Assists JACO PASTORIUS' Family In Recovering Infamous Bass

[Matt White]

Good work robert

[GAR]

I've never heard anyone say a bad word about Robert. Sounds like a true gent....

I haven't known many nice-guy bass players. It takes an animal and a personality to animate those four cables into submission, and when I've played with a real bass player, I expect him to know certain things or I can't work with him. Probably because most REAL bassists probably would not prefer to deal with me either, for the same reason being I play guitar differently than most others and I'm not nice about it.

That being said, and having been around and listened to Trujillo I'm not really interested in anything he's done or how he might contribute to my own thing.

I'm glad Metallica gave him something to do, though. I don't like what I've heard nor followed them since, either.

[jhale667]

... most REAL bassists probably would not prefer to deal with me

As with REAL guitarists, drummers, musicians, HUMANITY IN GENERAL... see a trend developing?

[Hardrock69]

I haven't known many nice-guy bass players. It takes an animal and a personality to animate those four cables into submission, and when I've played with a real bass player, I expect him to know certain things or I can't work with him.

In other words, you have never played with a 'real' bass player, as you are not a 'real' guitar player.

Probably because most REAL bassists probably would not prefer to deal with me either, for the same reason being I play guitar differently than most others and I'm not nice about it.

Yes, you DO play differently. You play your cardboard cutout guitar rather badly, and you expect people to take you seriously, and when they do not (and rightly so, you fucking loser) you get mad and throw a temper tantrum. Typical for someone like yourself with the mentality of a 2-year-old.

[Nitro Express]

I'm trying to think of a menacing bass player. I hear even Lemmy is nice.

[Nitro Express]

A good bass properly set up is no harder to play than a good guitar. People make too much out of the size of the strings. I find it harder to play certain chords on a six string than the chords I play on my bass. The big difference is wattage needed. Where 100 watts is plenty with a guitar is not enough for bass. Shit my bass practice rig is 250 watts and my guitar practice amp is 10.

[chefcraig]

A good bass properly set up is no harder to play than a good guitar. People make too much out of the size of the strings. I find it harder to play certain chords on a six string than the chords I play on my bass. The big difference is wattage needed. Where 100 watts is plenty with a guitar is not enough for bass. Shit my bass practice rig is 250 watts and my guitar practice amp is 10.

I dunno, Nitro...while I tend to agree that the overall set-up on a bass can be comparable to that of an electric guitar, simple science demands that a string roughly 3/16ths of an inch wide is going to be more difficult to manipulate than one the width of a cunt hair. True enough, my set-up allows for hammering and tapping, as the style of playing I happen to use is more similar to the melodic styles of guys like Entwistle than it is to the thud-heavy drone of the goof in AC/DC. Yet your mention of wattage seems to go a long way toward mis-proving your point: if more power is needed to amplify the bass, this should in and of itself point out that the thicker strings require more heft, not only in order to manipulate desired tones out of them with your hands and fingers, yet to push the sound through the speakers in the first place. Unless we are talking about a piccolo bass (that uses remarkably thin strings), decidedly more hand strength is needed to achieve the tricks one can casually pull of on the guitar. Being the sort of player that uses these tricks from time to time merely to keep up with the fleet-fingered playing of the guitarists I play with, I can attest to this opinion "first hand".

[Nitro Express]

I have two basses strung with Dean Markley medium light guage strings and they are very easy to play. I have very strong hands though. It's all in the setup up. Some bases do feel like they are strung with cable.

As far as power requirements go, bass frequencies take more power because the speaker has to move farther. It's all electromagnetics. The bigger the magnet and the farther the cone has to move, the more power the amp has to put out.

This is true for stereos and PA's as well. Most your power is going towards producing the bass frequencies.

[Nitro Express]

The key to playing fast, tricky bass is to relax. If you approach it like a monster you aren't going to be as efficient as just relaxing, using proper technique, and using the kinetic energy. Kind of what a drummer does in a way. Play like a monster will wear you out quick. It's all in the technique. You can look like a monster and sound like a monster but in reality, it's not as hard as it looks. But I'm more of a natural bass player than a guitar player. I'm more comfortable with the big strings and spacing than I'm with the smaller strings. I think it takes as much hand strength to play certain chords on a guitar as it does to play the bass. Everyone seems to gravitate to their natural instrument and for me it's the bass for whatever reason. Some bass players think playing guitar is harder and some guitar players thing playing bass is harder. I can play both but if I play bass with a pick, it fucks up my guitar playing, so there are all these mental things you have to work out.

[jhale667]

I'm trying to think of a menacing bass player. I hear even Lemmy is nice.

He is...don't let that get out, it'll ruin is image.

[GAR]

I'm trying to think of a menacing bass player. I hear even Lemmy is nice.

PHEH

How about McCartney's early Beatle's licks, some are pretty ferociously difficult?
John Paul Jones? Doesn't the name alone bring to mind several songs with intricate dynamics?
Geezer? Geddy? Cmon.. anybody good on bass is easy to name. Basses are not guitars, that's my point as they're not easy to play well.

Robert DeLeo? I used to see that guy practice licks behind the counter working for MesaBoogie store, just savagely plunking away unplugged. That guy's fantastic.

I'd have loved to find a player who would be open to doing no-money, but no pay-to-play either type gigs.. who could at least tune the instrument, lug his own gear with at least 300 watts back in the day but it didn't happen okay..

[GAR]

He is...don't let that get out, it'll ruin is image.

Lemmy plays bass like an acoustic guitar, that's why in his 45-year career he's never become an A-level artist.

He strums the thing with his open fist.. wow, yeah you're correct - what a dynamic, dedicated riffmaster on the 4-stringer that one is huh..

[jhale667]

Oh ye of little reading comprehension, they meant menacing as people...

Robert Deleo IS fantastic. One of the best bassists of the last generation.

I'd have loved to find a player who would be open to doing no-money, but no pay-to-play either type gigs.. who could at least tune the instrument, lug his own gear with at least 300 watts back in the day but it didn't happen okay..

If they're indeed out there (and they are), they probably won't work with dudes into coming off like a*holes at every available opportunity...y'know, dudes like you. Just sayin'.

[sadaist]

Rob Trujillo: The coolest dude in Metallica...

Ain't that the fucking truth.

[Nitro Express]

The thing about bass is if you make a mistake, it's obvious and everyone hears it. Not the best instrument to fuck up on. What's nice is good bass players are always in demand so you never have a problem finding a band to jam with.