👕 Get New Ernie Ball Merch Now!
  • Ernie Ball
  • Music Man
  • Sterling by Music Man
Axis 30th Anniversary

Questions for Bass gawds.......????

Psychicpet

Psychicpet

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 16, 2003
Messages
3,933
Location
Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada
So.... what questions would you all want to see answered by any given Bass Guru?
What topics would pique(sp?) your interest into their world??

and yes... I'm fishing. I'm tired, busy and suffering some writers block so I'm trying to get interview ideas........

thanks fellas!


:o
 
I used to get writers block all the time when doing interviews for Bass Frontiers back in the day. I guess it depends on how you're conducting the interview...telephone, email, in person?

You can start with the usual stuff...

When did you start playing bass?
Did you play an other instruments before bass?
Who was your biggest infuence?
What kind of formal training if any did you have?
Discuss band/recording history.
Discuss past & present gear.

Those are pretty much the basics to toss out and get the ball rolling but then depending on the answers you get to those you will find other paths to go down and explore deeper.
 
Last edited:
My ultimate question would probably be to do with tone/eq.... I would actually really love to see (and would benefit from) a listing of what a whole bunch of top players from a large cross section of genres use and how they setup... preferably musicman players...... :)
 
I actually preferred to do my interviews like at a restaurant near the artist's gig venue after sound check over dinner with a tape recorder on the table and just talk for like an hour, then shoot live pics at that night's show, then do the backstage/after party thing...wake up...then send the tape to a transcription service for a complete transcript on disc then edit....works great...you get all sorts of cool stuff by following the conversation path...
 
I still have unpublished interviews with Jack Bruce, Steve Harris, Lemmy, Christian Olde-Wolbers, Peter Steele, Bobby Vega and others on tape here I should get around to some day...
 
I accept that it may be a bit personal for some folks, but it may be of interest to know how the family life of the musician was affected by touring, recording etc. Sometimes it may be good for young musicians to know that their life as a muso is going to have an impact on those closest to them. Just a thought.
 
No man, that's it...that's the stuff people want to read...the rest is fluff you can get in any press release you can read while on the throne....you gotta get to the passion of the person, but you gotta break the ice first...you nailed it!!
 
thanks guys, and Steve... very mucho grassy-ass to you! :cool:
it's going to be a 2 fold kind of interview, on camera and also an email type thing. I had already planned on a heavy gear section but also the family life question is a good one, the road dawg questioning is going to definitely come up.
thanks guys and keep any and all ideas coming, you will be acknowledged.

pete
 
No prob Pete...just watch out for those backstage trips...this was "a day"...;)


LC7.jpg
 
Steve Dude Barr said:
I still have unpublished interviews with Jack Bruce, Steve Harris, Lemmy, Christian Olde-Wolbers, Peter Steele, Bobby Vega and others on tape here I should get around to some day...
Click to expand...

Well, I for one am waiting for those to be printed Dude.

I'd perhaps ask about preferred recording techniques and whether different basses / amps are preferred for recoring vs live.
 
I just found Tom Petersson, Brad Smith, Rob Ruiz, Janis Tanaka and another Rudy Sarzo too..
 
Last edited:
Steve Dude Barr said:
I just found Tom Petersson, Brad Smith, Rob Ruiz, Janis Tanaka and another Rudy Sarzo too..
Click to expand...

When you nail that place with the pool, you can hook up whatever you need and chug Becks while you prepare the interviews for the masses.....;)
 
Well I'd ask different stuff, things seemingly not related to music, but that secretly are. A bass player’s choice of beverages can reveal the inner workings of the bass player’s mind.

I’d ask what brand of beer they prefer; plain cheap beer (Bud) drinkers play more 1-5-1-5 and are usually good at automotive repair, very handy!

Fancy beer drinkers (everything but Bud) will tend to play more complex patterns and may be helpful with tax returns and stuff.

Non-drinkers that prefer coffee are more cerebral, tend to play jazz and have the best pick-up lines.





I could go on and on, I have several theories on shoe size and its impact on bass players. A wealth of info can be gained on just a bass player’s wardrobe alone…
 
If she's selling those puppies, I'll take the one with the pink nose......

Sorry couldn't resist it, mods - delete at will.
 
Psychicpet said:
So.... what questions would you all want to see answered by any given Bass Guru?
What topics would pique(sp?) your interest into their world??

and yes... I'm fishing. I'm tired, busy and suffering some writers block so I'm trying to get interview ideas........

thanks fellas!


:o
Click to expand...

I'm a sucker for in depth equipment talk. Basses, amps, effects, I want to know all about it.
 
JB1 said:
If she's selling those puppies, I'll take the one with the pink nose......

Sorry couldn't resist it, mods - delete at will.
Click to expand...

I think she had just bought them when that shot was taken but I'm pretty sure she loans em out pretty easily.
 
Psycho Ward said:
Well I'd ask different stuff, things seemingly not related to music, but that secretly are. A bass player’s choice of beverages can reveal the inner workings of the bass player’s mind.

I’d ask what brand of beer they prefer; plain cheap beer (Bud) drinkers play more 1-5-1-5 and are usually good at automotive repair, very handy!

Fancy beer drinkers (everything but Bud) will tend to play more complex patterns and may be helpful with tax returns and stuff.

Non-drinkers that prefer coffee are more cerebral, tend to play jazz and have the best pick-up lines.





I could go on and on, I have several theories on shoe size and its impact on bass players. A wealth of info can be gained on just a bass player’s wardrobe alone…
Click to expand...

Awesome! (Funny, I don't drink Bud and can prepare tax returns, have I just been pigeonholed?)

[On Topic]
Maybe questions like "Where do you draw inspiration for your lines?" or "You hear a tone in your head that you want to come out of the speaker. How do you go about reproducing that tone? How do you decide if it's strings, pickups, bass, effects pre/amp or cabinets that need to be tweaked/replaced?"

I like the "How did touring affect your life?" There's got to be at least one good tour story to crack up your readers and keep them interested.

How about pitfalls/ah-ha moments while in the studio? On the road? Camping in the van by the river? etc.

Hey, this is my 69th post! :D
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Flex Capo
Back
Top