The Right Tools?

Most of us can get away with one bass, so it should be the best bass you can afford. The feel and sound are the two most important factors, then you get into whether you want to go 4,5 or 6 strings. In this day and age, the number of strings you need is really determined by the style your playing. The great thumpers of the world like Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, and Flea prefer four strings because of the freedom. The great chordal players like John Pattituci and Oteil Burbridge use 6 strings to give them the extended range they need. And of course the 5 string is a happy medium.

I remember, years ago, playing in a fusion band, where we covered a tune that had a pretty challenging run that ran the full range of the bass. I spent days trying to get the run out on my trusty 5 string but I just couldn’t get it together. We played this song for years and every time this run came up I never felt comfortable and I kind of faked the ending of it. Then at a rehearsal I finally came across the CD it came from. I looked at the credits and found that Anthony Jackson was the bass player on the song, right then I said to myself "that explains it I can’t play like Anthony Jackson" so I didn’t feel so bad. Than my ego kicked in and said stop trying to look for excuses; sure you can play the line, you're just not trying hard enough. So, I went away for another couple of days trying to get the line together. Finally I gave up, "this line has way to many notes and it covers to much of the bass to get it tight" I said to myself. Then a couple of years later I read the credits again and it said Anthony plays a 6 string bass. BAM!! That was the answer, I was using the wrong tools. Back then I didn’t even have a 6 string bass so it didn’t even dawn on me that that’s what it was played on. I picked up my 6 string and with a little rethinking the line finally came out and instead of jumping all over the bass I was able to stay in one position and play the line. That’s when it really sunk in: having the right tools is essential.