by Sometimes you just need that upright bass sound.
Maybe it’s when you’re playing some walking jazz bass lines, a bluegrass 2-feel or if you just want to feel like you’re rocking a stadium with Mumford And Sons.
It’s alright – there’s no judgement here…
However, even though an electric bass and an upright share the same function and range, in terms of the actual sound they produce, they’re night and day.
Recognising this difference in sound is essential for your bass playing as, once you do, you can start taking your existing electric bass sound and slowly bring it towards sounding more like an upright.
In today’s lesson, I’ve got 4 super practical things you can do to get an upright sound on electric bass without changing your gear at all.
Use the same bass, the same strings, the same amp and get a completely different sound.
Check out the lesson here:
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So what is the main difference in sound?
Well, the upright is very dark, kind of ‘explosive’. There’s this huge spike of sound at the very start, then the sound very quickly dies.
The electric though has a much brighter sound (especially if you’re using roundwound strings) and has a longer ‘tail’ of sound. You hit a note on electric and that sucker can go for days.
Not literally, but you get the point, right?
You can get reasonably close to the dark, explosive sound of an upright though, and this video will help.
Good luck with the lesson and happy playing!
Cheers,
Luke,
I REALLY enjoy your website and your lessons, but I am R-E-A-L-L-Y perplexed by part of your modes booklet. I’ve heard you say more than once that a player should not only learn shapes; he should know the notes he is playing. I have musical training and I couldn’t agree with you more. Knowing the notes, and their relationships to one another, is critical.
I’ve been playing the modes, and I confess I really like their sound, their feel under my fingers (yes, their shapes), and my desire to noodle around with them. I understand that any note in the chromatic scale can be the root note in any mode. (Continued on next comment page…)
Here’s my delimma: If I am not thinking of a key when I play an A# locrian mode, for example, how can I POSSIBLY know the notes in the mode if I’m not thinking of the B major scale???? Even more so if I’m equating the mode with a diminished seven chord would I want know the key. Sure, I can play the shape of the mode, and MAYBE I could know the notes because of the half- and whole- step relationships in the shape, but I would have to be relying on the SHAPE to identify the notes. Am I making sense?
Should I therefore commit to learning the shapes FIRST, and trust that the note names will follow?
Thank you in advance for your master feedback!
Good question Art. It doesn’t really matter how you think of the modes as long as the right sounds come out. If you’re thinking the notes of B major as you start from A#, then that’s great! If you’re just thinking of the shape of the mode, then that’s totally fine too!
I know that when I’m improvising, I’m rarely thinking of the specific notes I’m playing. Most of the time, I’m thinking in terms of the relationships of all the notes as well as where I’m aiming for. But like I said, as long as the right sounds come out, you can think of them however you want.
Yes – learn the notes you’re playing. Yes – also learn the shapes as well. It’s not always a choice between one or the other – you can have both!