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Applied Techniques With Igor Saavedra: Tips for the Modern Bass Player – Part One
Meet Igor Saavedra
After many years of experience, an admitted equal amount of mistakes, countless experiments, and ongoing conclusions, I think I have something to say regarding this matter. There is no better learning device than experience itself, because when you experience something, the odds are you’ll never forget it. In that sense, beware of this article, and don’t believe after reading it that you will be completely prepared for everything that might show up. Experience is your truest guide.
There are tons of tips for me to give you, so this series of articles will be divided into 3 or 4 parts. I choose not to give you all the quote unquote tips at once, because I feel all of them are worthy of some time on your part to process and understand them…hope these make a difference for you.
1) A Stiff bassist is a dead bassist.
Relaxation is the first ingredient to be considered. Don’t even consider picking up your bass if you don’t have the correct mental state. Relax yourself a little bit, both mentally and physically, and then proceed to play.
2) Tuning on stage is a must.
Always tune up your instrument “on stage”; even if you if you just tuned it up backstage…you never know what can happen. Check it out again on stage right before you hit the first note.
3) If you get on stage and you plug in and don’t hear any sound, get right in touch with the problem.
Don’t assume that because you did a great sound check and because you “mentally” checked all the connections and settings of your system right before the drummer counts off the first song, that it means you’re ready to go. At least “hear it” with a very slight volume right after plugging it in on stage—this is the only fool proof check.
4) Your bass can actually kill you.
Never attempt touching a metal speaker connector (connected, with live signal) and your strings or any ground at the same time…it’s highly dangerous, especially if the amplifier is powerful. It’s best to try and use Speakon connectors for all speaker connections. They are completely isolated, and there’s no possibility of touching any metal surface containing that signal. I have real-life experience of this. I came close to death not paying attention to that, and had to cancel a concert. There’s a lot of literature explaining how this can happen, so I’d recommend learning the easy way, rather than the way I did.
5) Don’t over clean your strings.
There are two main reasons for this. In the first place, if you rinse them too often, you will always have a rough string, and the difference can radically affect your performance. The second reason is that many times a cloth that you might use is often dirtier than you may expect, and without you knowing it, you’re possibly adding dust and “undesired grease” to your strings.
6) Two turns is enough.
When it comes to string installation, you want to be careful. When the string reaches the tuner string post, you don’t need more than two turns around it. The reason for this is that you want to keep your bass as much in tune as possible, so the more turns you apply to the strings around the tuner string posts, the more opportunity you give to the string to rotate around the string post and lower its tuning. This can happen because of the playing itself, and also because of temperature and humidity changes. Try this with an “uncut” old E string. Install it without cutting it, and then turn it around the string post as much as possible. You will get around 5 turns on the average if you don’t cut it. Tune it up and then pull it harder and you’ll see how the tuning will lower a lot, sometimes more than a perfect fifth. Then cut it leaving about 4 inches past the center of the tuner string post, install it, and you’ll won’t get more than two turns around it—pull it hard and listen to the difference.
7) Longitudinal turns are undesired.
Continuing with string installation, never allow the string to rotate on its longitudinal axis. When you turn it around the string post, the string will rotate as if you were wringing out a towel. Right before attaching it to the bridge, check that your string is not rotated around this longitudinal axis, because it will affect its sound, and will have a bigger tendency to brake down by the non harmonic tension you are applying to it. It’s the same principle for high current electric cable installations on street poles, where the technicians have to leave the correct catenaries and don’t allow the cables to be rotated on their longitudinal axes.
8) The Strap, what an important article.
I recommend that you use a wide strap, as wide as you can. The reason is simple. With a higher contact surface, the weight distributes itself much better and doesn’t rest on a specific point which can cause pain in your shoulder, and also in your back.
9) More about Straps.
Many of you might have those types of adjustable straps that are really in my opinion the worst thing you can buy for your bass. The problem with those straps is as you are using them, they start to extend their length. With these straps, in general terms, two inches of difference is something that you can normally expect after playing live and moving and jumping around. Measure the exact strap length you need, and cut a piece of leather 4 inches longer than this measurement. Dig the holes, and install your strap locks 2 inches away of each extreme, and you are all set. I’d highly recommend this.
Finally, don’t even think about buying those cushioned elastic straps that can make the bass bounce like a basketball. There’s nothing worse for your performance and for your shoulders and back than those straps.
10) Watch your cord onstage…
Always pass your cable through the space between the strap and the bottom of the bass body and then plug it in. When I started playing, I always said “it’s not necessary, it won’t happen to me”. But of course one day in a big concert where I was playing in front of 20.000 people, I stepped on the cable and violently unplugged my bass, and the audience heard the biggest noise they’ve heard in all their lives. That was really embarrassing, and I should have known better. Don’t let this happen to you.
That’s all for now—see you on the next: “Tips for the Modern Bass Player—Part Two”.
Bass Videos
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes…
It is always great to meet a super busy bassist who simply exudes a love for music and his instrument. Erick “Jesus” Coomes fits this description exactly. Hailing from Southern California, “Jesus” co-founded and plays bass for Lettuce and has found his groove playing with numerous other musicians.
Join us as we hear of his musical journey, how he gets his sound, his ongoing projects, and his plans for the future.
Photo, Bob Forte
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Visit Online
www.lettucefunk.com
IG @jesuscsuperstar
FB@jesuscoomes
FB @lettucefunk
Bass Videos
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
“These stories from the front are with real-life, day-to-day musicians who deal with work life and gigging and how they make it work out. Each month, topics may include… the kind of gigs you get, the money, dealing with less-than-ideal rooms, as well as the gear you need to get the job done… and the list goes on from there.” – Steve the Bass Guy and Shawn Cav
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This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Check out our top 10 favorite basses on Instagram this week…
Click to follow Bass Musician on Instagram @bassmusicianmag
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Bass CDs
New Album: Jake Leckie, Planter of Seeds
Bassist Jake Leckie and The Guide Trio Unveil New Album Planter of Seeds,
to be released on June 7, 2024
Planter of Seeds is bassist/composer Jake Leckie’s third release as a bandleader and explores what beauty can come tomorrow from the seeds we plant today.
What are we putting in the ground? What are we building? What is the village we want to bring our children up in? At the core of the ensemble is The Guide Trio, his working band with guitarist Nadav Peled and drummer Beth Goodfellow, who played on Leckie’s second album, The Guide, a rootsy funky acoustic analog folk-jazz recording released on Ropeadope records in 2022. For Planter of Seeds, the ensemble is augmented by Cathlene Pineda (piano), Randal Fisher (tenor saxophone), and Darius Christian (trombone), who infuse freedom and soul into the already tightly established ensemble.
Eight original compositions were pristinely recorded live off the floor of Studio 3 at East West Studios in Hollywood CA, and mastered by A.T. Michael MacDonald. The cover art is by internationally acclaimed visual artist Wayne White. Whereas his previous work has been compared to Charles Mingus, and Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet with Charlie Haden, Leckie’s new collection sits comfortably between the funky odd time signatures of the Dave Holland Quintet and the modern folk-jazz of the Brian Blade Fellowship Band with a respectful nod towards the late 1950s classic recordings of Ahmad Jamal and Miles Davis.
The title track, “Planter of Seeds,” is dedicated to a close family friend, who was originally from Trinidad, and whenever she visited family or friends at their homes, without anyone knowing, she would plant seeds she kept in her pocket in their gardens, so the next season beautiful flowers would pop up. It was a small altruistic anonymous act of kindness that brought just a little more beauty into the world. The rhythm is a tribute to Ahmad Jamal, who we also lost around the same time, and whose theme song Poinciana is about a tree from the Caribbean.
“Big Sur Jade” was written on a trip Leckie took with his wife to Big Sur, CA, and is a celebration of his family and community. This swinging 5/4 blues opens with an unaccompanied bass solo, and gives an opportunity for each of the musicians to share their improvisational voices. “Clear Skies” is a cathartic up-tempo release of collective creative energies in fiery improvisational freedom. “The Aquatic Uncle” features Randal Fisher’s saxophone and is named after an Italo Calvino short story which contemplates if one can embrace the new ways while being in tune with tradition. In ancient times, before a rudder, the Starboard side of the ship was where it was steered from with a steering oar. In this meditative quartet performance, the bass is like the steering oar of the ensemble: it can control the direction of the music, and when things begin to unravel or become unhinged, a simple pedal note keeps everything grounded.
The two trio tunes on the album are proof that the establishment of his consistent working band The Guide Trio has been a fruitful collaboration. “Santa Teresa”, a bouncy samba-blues in ? time, embodies the winding streets and stairways of the bohemian neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro it is named for. The swampy drum feel on “String Song” pays homage to Levon Helm of The Band, a group where you can’t always tell who wrote the song or who the bandleader is, proving that the sum is greater than the individual parts. Early jazz reflected egalitarianism in collective improvisation, and this group dynamic is an expression of that kind of inclusivity and democracy.
“The Daughters of the Moon” rounds out the album, putting book ends on the naturalist themes. This composition is named after magical surrealist Italo Calvino’s short story about consumerism, in which a mythical modern society that values only buying shiny new things throws away the moon like it is a piece of garbage and the daughters of the moon save it and resurrect it. It’s an eco-feminist take on how women are going to save the world. Pineda’s piano outro is a hauntingly beautiful lunar voyage, blinding us with love. Leckie dedicates this song to his daughter: “My hope is that my daughter becomes a daughter of the moon, helping to make the world a more beautiful and verdant place to live.”
Bass CDs
Debut Album: Nate Sabat, Bass Fiddler
In a thrilling solo debut, bassist Nate Sabat combines instrumental virtuosity with a songwriter’s heart on Bass Fiddler…
The upright bass and the human voice. Two essential musical instruments, one with roots in 15th century Europe, the other as old as humanity itself.
On Bass Fiddler (Adhyâropa Records ÂR00057), the debut album from Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and bass virtuoso Nate Sabat, the scope is narrowed down a bit. Drawing from the rich and thriving tradition of American folk music, Sabat delivers expertly crafted original songs and choice covers with the upright bass as his lone tool for accompaniment.
The concept was born a decade ago when Sabat began studying with the legendary old-time fiddler Bruce Molsky at Berklee College of Music. “One of Bruce’s specialties is singing and playing fiddle at the same time. The second I heard it I was hooked,” recalls Sabat. “I thought, how can I do this on the bass?” From there, he was off to the races, arranging original and traditional material with Molsky as his guide. “Fast forward to 2020, and I — like so many other musicians — was thinking of how to best spend my time. I sat down with the goal of writing some new songs and arranging some new covers, and an entire record came out.” When the time came to make the album, it was evident that Molsky would be the ideal producer. Sabat asked him if he’d be interested, and luckily he was. “What an inspiration to work with an artist like Nate,” says Molsky. “Right at the beginning, he came to this project with a strong, personal and unique vision. Plus he had the guts to try for a complete and compelling cycle of music with nothing but a bass and a voice. You’ll hear right away that it’s engaging, sometimes serious, sometimes fun, and beautifully thought out from top to bottom.”
While this record is, at its core, a folk music album, Sabat uses the term broadly. Some tracks lean more rock (‘In the Shade’), some more pop (‘White Marble’, ‘Rabid Thoughts’), some more jazz (‘Fade Away’), but the setting ties them all together. “There’s something inherently folksy about a musician singing songs with their instrument, no matter the influences behind the compositions themselves,” Sabat notes. To be sure, there are plenty of folk songs (‘Louise’ ‘Sometimes’, ‘Eli’) and fiddling (‘Year of the Ox’) to be had here — the folk music fan won’t go hungry. There’s a healthy dose of bluegrass too (‘Orphan Annie’, ‘Lonesome Night’), clean and simple, the way Mr. Bill Monroe intended.
All in all, this album shines a light on an instrument that often goes overlooked in the folk music world, enveloping the listener in its myriad sounds, textures, and colors. “There’s nothing I love more than playing the upright bass,” exclaims Sabat. “My hope is that listeners take the time to sit with this album front to back — I want them to take in the full scope of the work. I have a feeling they’ll hear something they haven’t heard before.”
Available online at natesabat.bandcamp.com/album/walking-away
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
Tour Touch Base (Bass) with Ian Allison
New Gear: Spector Woodstock Custom Collection Volume II
New Gear: The Dingwall John Taylor Signature Model
This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
New Gear: Esopus Guitars Launches New Acoustic/Electric Bass
Debut Album: Nate Sabat, Bass Fiddler
