"You gotta do it with a beat, Gene, 1&2&3&4&"
http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2014/07...a-bass-lesson/
"You gotta do it with a beat, Gene, 1&2&3&4&"
http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2014/07...a-bass-lesson/
You know, it's been known for many years now that there were a lot of Kiss songs where either Paul or Ace played bass. Now I'm wondering if there are any Kiss songs that Gene played bass on.
She's teaching him Mowtown bass lines. KISS is never going to use those,so I don't get the slam on him by some of you. I'm not a Kiss fan and I barely like G.S. and don't watch his show..but holy cow...the guy knows he's with a legend before he was born...and he is making the attempt to learn something new on camera and willing to screw up in front of the world to do it. I have major respect for him for doing this. It shows he actually is humble when he wants to be.Hell,I can't even do what he's learning...although after seeing this free bass lesson I one day might. I notice she uses a pick and flatwounds. So does McCartney and Brian Wilson. I tried flats on my Fender JP-90 and I felt they were cutting into my hands and went back to roundwounds.
I totally agree with Rand. Except the flats part. I still like those for certain things.Gene can play some rock and roll bass, no doubt about it. (No matter how much he'd like to convince you otherwise). And if anyone thinks what he does is easy - YOU put on the costume, play the bass lines, sing lead vocals, and stay in character for an hour and a half.
No thanks -- I would look ridiculous.Originally Posted by gearHed289
Hell, Gene looks ridiculous doing it these days.
I reckon it's gotta be difficult to sing and play bass at the same time. The bass is one of the most important instruments in the band, you play a wrong note or miss a beat, and it's gonna be noticeable. Maybe not on the night in a 20,000 seat venue, but if you make enough mistakes and people will notice.
Oh and about flatwound strings, I don't know if he still uses them, but i recall reading back in the 80's that Steve Harris used flatwounds. He said he liked them because they didn't make screeching noises like you get on an acoustic guitar when you move your fingers.
Last edited by GuitarGeek; 07-11-2014 at 05:19 PM.
The thing she is showing him is NOT easy. Most rock players don't play with that kind feel. She is showing him what a simple change of putting the high octave on a different part of the beat makes the bass line come to life. It seems like such a simple and easy thing, but for people who have been playing on nothing but the downbeat their whole life, it is a major step that most would never bother to learn. Gene was willing, and gets it way faster than I would have.
And anyone who wants to bash Gene, all I can say is DETROIT ROCK CITY. He does play that bass line, and it is one of the coolest rock bass lines ever, so BITE ME!
Nice to see bass players that use a pick.
I'm a huge fan of the Wrecking Crew bass player Joe Osborn, who was the "second call" bass player for them, Carol Kaye being the "first call". Here's my two favorite songs that he plays on, using a 1960 stacked-knob Fender Jazz Bass and pick:
...or you could love
I enjoyed that video! Good on Gene for dropping his whole rock star persona and being an eager and humble student to a bass legend that he obviously respects. And he was starting to get it before much time passed.
Loved that! I recognize the name. She has obviously played on a lot of hits. She did that line that Simmons thought was sweet like she was breathing it. It sounded so effortless, but obviously not that easy. Skipping strings on a bass on eighth notes at at about 128 bpm is no easy trick.
Awesome thread, thanks.
Ha ha! Yes, he does. Thankfully the costume shows a lot less flesh than back in the day.
Yeah, it's funny how much weight the bass carries in a small rock band. You flub one note, and everybody looks at you! So I've heard anyway...
As far as I know, Harris is still with the flats. Rotosound has a signature Steve Harris set. I like flats on a Ric, played with a pick. I pulled that trick out on a session over the winter, and the producer said it was "magical".
Well, he's gone back and forth over the years, with different kinds of costumes. On the Kissology DVD, he mentions that the first costume he wore around the time of the first album, covered his entire chest, and I guess it made singing a bit difficult because it restricted his breathing a little too much. So the next costume (and several of the subsequent ones) had an open chest area that allowed him to breathe better onstage.
But I remember watching a video of one of the shows from the reunion tours, where they wore the Love Gun costumes (one of the ones where Gene had his chest bared), and I remember thinking, "Dude, cover it up!". You can get away with that when you're 25, but not when you're in your 50's. I think the most recent costumes they've worn, Gene has his chest covered again. I guess the band got themselves a tailor who could make the costume so that he could breathe with the chest covered up. Or maybe Gene figured out that in a basketball or hockey arena or football stadium, nobody can hear the vocals clearly enough to tell you're having trouble breathing.
As far as I know, Harris is still with the flats. Rotosound has a signature Steve Harris set. I like flats on a Ric, played with a pick. I pulled that trick out on a session over the winter, and the producer said it was "magical".
The interesting thing is the 4001 was designed to be used with flatwound strings. I'm not sure if that's all that was around at the time or what, but supposedly the truss rod on the 4001 tended to act weird when you put roundwounds on the bass. Or at least, Rickenbacker officially declared that using roundwounds on the 4001 voided the warranty. That's why they introduced the 4003, it's the same bass but with a truss rod that could supposedly handle the roundwound strings better.
Nice rug
no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone
Gene's hair is a horror show. It makes Donald Trump look classy and understated. If he would shaved his head he would look way more badass.
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