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Sonny Rollins´ odd remark on bass-players


Gheorghe

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As a sometimes upright bass player I find it very understandable how a guy who has been playing a lot of gigs could get very tired of the constant logistical challenges involved in transporting and amplifying an upright. Even more so years ago when bass pickups and amps and PA systems were less developed.

I've had gigs in recent years that were little or no fun because the combination of a hollow stage, high stage or monitor volume, and a less than optimal sound guy made me struggle with feedback all night. Sonny even being a big name artist must have had his share where the upright was either not audible to him on stage, or where it was feeding back. Swapping it out for an electric is a very effective solution. Being able to hear the bass while playing is surely the more critical issue than the tone of the bass.

If you look at other tradeoffs like this in music gear - tube amps vs solid state (or more recently, no amp at all, just pedals or modeling software), real organs or electric pianos vs sampled/modeled, "real" acoustic guitars vs guitars that look the part but are really designed to be played amplified and are braced so heavily that they can't make much sound on their own - lots of players have made the pragmatic choice. It's also comparable to the choice of vinyl vs digital, or a serious home system with good speakers to an Ipod or whatever.

I don't care for the electric bass in jazz with a capital J, but I understand. When the choice is being able to focus on playing vs worrying about problems, it's pretty hard to remain a purist.

Edited by ombudsman
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31 minutes ago, ombudsman said:

When the choice is being able to focus on playing vs worrying about problems, it's pretty hard to remain a purist.

Bravo! And in truth, I think the more "purist" choice is to make whatever decision is necessary to be able to focus on the playing. The "instrumental purists" more often than not strike me as defensive fetishists of an uncomfortably isolationist bent.

Which is not to say that there isn't a "difference" or that individual preferences do not justify themselves, of course there are and of course they do. But the difference between a deeply considered choice and a basic reflex conditioned by "image" is a vast one indeed.

Sometimes, one is so caught up in hearing what one is not hearing that they fail to hear what they actually are hearing. If life gives you lemons, indeed, make lemonade. And should you end up having some damn fine lemonade, that you are not having the apple juice you had initially hoped for is hardly a complaint worth pursuing!

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