You grabbed that low D with this tuning...The song has come together nicely, sounds great !And that 2nd solo...Perfection!

Dropping a whole step gave you a low D note that isn't otherwise available on a 4-string. It also means you didn't have to use any open strings until the chorus, giving you a more consistent sound on the verses. That's my guess.

Amen about the bass. Totally different critter. I have a tendency to overplay every time and remain a guitarist who is a bass player wannabe. As always thanks for the insight and straightforwardness.

Just discovered your channel, and it's a total goldmine. I'm binging everything. How do you not have 100k subs?! Once you got all the parts in there, this track just opened up and sounded super lush and had a monster groove going on. I'm in the middle of working on learning all the little triad shapes all over the fretboard, and I noticed you using those simple shapes when adding fills and extra parts. Your solos were super tasty and outlined the changes nicely. Good stuff. This is the kind of content the guitar community needs! Keep making videos Justin and we will keep watching!

I agree with all ”access to low D-comments”. However, the main pattern you’re playing: Baaam, b, ba-Baaam is so much easier to play fretted cause you’ll want to apply a certain amount of left hand muting, which is so much more finnicky to do on an open string. Long story short: playing this kind of groove (notes E and G) on the low E-string sounds and feels much more controlled on 2nd and 5th fret.

Also... dropping the bass tuning a whole tone gives the Bass part a MASSIVE sound... SO cool, thank you from a guitar guy / jammer / 1time band member that took up Bass to get to play more and now a hobbiest/fan... all the best Justin, be well, stay safe and HAVE A BLAST!!! ;0) M

Guitarists are not automatically a good bas player. But they can be and some are great, like you stated it’s a totally different instrument. I know when I first stared playing out of necessity sine no one else wanted to and we needed one. I played like it was a guitar. Over playing and not really understanding the role of bass in songs and the relationship with the drum. When I stared playing open blues jams as the house bassist I quickly learned what and where I needed to be in the mix. I feel that guitar players first playing the bass don’t or forget that what you don’t play is just as important as what you do. Gotta leave the space and not try to fill everything. Really enjoy your channel, keep it up!

This may be the most helpful video I've ever watched on KZfaq. Thanks.

This couldn't have been timed better! I was trying to record a bass part on a self composition this afternoon! As you say, bass is not easy when you are a guitar player! Your videos never fail to give great new insights in to the recording process and I am learning so much from you. Thank you!

Beautiful. That was very eye opening. Thanks a lot👍🏻

played in a band where I was required to play bass on the big band numbers we did. I went from never playing bass to that! Required a deep dive on my part, but I learned so much in the process. No, guitar is nothing like playing bass. Two different animals IMHO

Tuned it down so you could utilize that low D that normally would require you to go up instead of down. This is one of the reasons I ended up getting a 5 string for my studio. Allows me to go as low as I need to go (when it calls for that instead of ascending)

thanks for sharing this! super cool to see how fellow session musicians lay down tracks.

The feel of this track is fantastic. Thanks for letting us "sit in"!

That all came together nicely. That 2nd solo was great. I hope we get to hear the finished track one day.

Justin, Always amazing!

The P Bass has never needed much help to sound good in a mix. Which is amazing that Leo got it right from the start.

While I can navigate my way around on bass, you are absolutely correct. There is a vast difference between playing guitar and playing bass. Probably akin to saying you can fly a helicopter because you can fly a plane, doubtful! To show restraint and not overplay on bass lines is not intuitive, at least not to me anyway. Bass sits in a song so totally different than what a guitar does.

No open strings until de low D, massive. Another AMAZING vid Justin, thanks a ton!

As always a great pleasure watching/listening to you. I probably would have knocked out more notes on that basspart - guitar player, guilty on all charges 😅

I have to say this one developed nicely! And I can't tell you how much you have motivated me to get back in my studio to work on some of my own compositions. I had gotten kinda stale and your videos inspire me to get back to it! Much much appreciation for what you are doing!

as a pro bass player since 1987 and bass teacher since 1993 i could not agree more with the words you wrote above. This shows again how much a pro you are. I had a lot of former guitarplayers as now bass-students and although they were great musicians - not one was a great bassplayer in a few weeks. They had to see themselves in the bassplayers role, as you said it perfectly. It has a lot to do with enjoying just one long note if this is was the song needs. With perfect timing and sound that's all you need. That's the difference between bassowner and bassplayer.

If you mean by "good" the doubling of guitar lines then absolutely yes. The practice even has precedent in Western classical music where the doublebass plays the cello's line but an octave lower -- hence the instrument's name. But especially jazz bass changed all that for popular Western music such that it's become accepted to hear the bass play different if still supporting lines -- e.g., James Jamerson & the techniques he used to compose lines not so intuitively conceived by guitarists or even pianists.

Carol Kaye was a session Guitarist before being handed the Bass one session. Quickly became First Call in LA. But she knew the Bass's part was in the basement as the foundation. Her and Joe Osborn both used Picks.

Gotta love the whole step tuning! I used to play every song like that when I toured with a country band specifically for the low D and Eb without a 5-string. Going down a minor 3rd is also sometimes great, though it makes transposing a little bit trickier. Outside of the low notes there's a really cool hidden advantage: bass notes typically sound warmer and prettier when they're played around the middle of the neck, plus you have more room for vibrato and other little inflections there.

Dude! I feel slightly vindicated; You definitely made contact with your laptop as soon as you picked up that bass 😂 I can’t get enough of these videos and I’m so excited for a “Be the Onions” hat. I’m also a math geek and would love to hear more about how you visualize things and think about linking voicings and whatnot… You’re a natural teacher and a lot of fun to watch. Thank you for putting in the effort and sharing your knowledge!

Well that was great. Love your chill delivery and ability to succinctly explain what your going for. Then the sick chops to do it in one or two takes. I be remiss not to admit that I most related to the "take the bass off record" line. Your channel is a gold mine for old duffers like me. Thanks for putting this stuff out there. Goals. :)

As a guitar player who knows how badly I suck at bass, I would love to see some more depth on this. I'm tired of hearing "lock to the bass drum". For starters, I just can't hear it. But for any bass parts I've heard that I love, they always seem to have a magical way to stray from that. As a guitar player, we tend to lead or lag a lot - much more of a vocal approach. Bass players don't really do that ... but sometimes they do and it is great. I just suck at making great vs bad choices.

Stellar Justin!! In addition to the comments already about giving you the low D note, I think that another plus of dropping the tuning was control of the muting going between E and G as well with your ring finger. Also ability to slide off low E. Bass always sounds good in the 3rd-12th fret range so the advantages were many as I see it. Love your content!

I respect your craft so very much I truly do. In my opinion portable song crafting is why so many songs from Nashville sound overproduced lack luster. They lack Moxie and soul. None of the musicians are in the same room at the same time. playing off of each other simultaneously and composing simultaneously.. the individual creativity ijust layered . All the great records of the past were performed live. whether it was a the wrecking crew, the swampers or the funk brothers, etc replacing band members on their instruments. There's nothing like live spontaneous magic! -Peace

Magic solo

Love your guitar playing. Absolutely spot on. I would’ve liked to hear a slightly less safe Bass line. Not much variation. Just a little bit of following the drums through at least one of those transitions with a simple run. Maybe rock back and forth on the octave for some variation in the choruses. But I get that you were going for speed and simplicity.

5 stringed bass or tuning down to DGFC comes handy when you play in the keys jazzy horn players love: Eb and Bb. On the double bass its a little more complicated. Some of em have extensions for the low Eb tone. The reason why you do it here is to avoid using open E string on the bass guitar for the Em chord. Better string control. Bass guitar and bass drum should really love each other, also always emphasize the one beat on the bass.

Your videos are a treat! thank you!

Would love more bass content. Great video!

Great P Bass tone there, JO!

Not bass related, but one thing I’m consistently impressed by in your videos is the amount of tracks/parts you lay down that somehow are not competing with each other and getting lost in the mix, even when they are often in the same register.

I'm a guitarist with a bass on long term loan - I can play the mechanics of it fine, but whenever I record a track I find that I keep double guessing myself around the pocket, and I tend to use passing notes that rub, which can add a bit of refreshment in a guitar part and sound like a train wreck on bass. I struggle for a while then send the tracks to my mate Dave who sends them back 5 minutes later with a killer bass line - even if it's a 7 minute song. Somehow.

I feel your pain Justin, as a crap guitar player I thought Bass would be easier but it's so hard, Although it is very instructional to us guitarists note length and pocket are improved as is not overplaying, I look at Bass as a voice for the drums and dare I say it has improved my guitar playing.

When I have been FORCED into playing bass, I have always gone with one rule: play a note every time the kick-drum is struck. That's a good place to start, if you haven't played bass before. But I am in no way an expert at all... However, some of the best bass players that I know personally, where mediocre lead players in a previous life.

Pat Buchanan talks about tracking a Mary Chapin Carpenter song and after his solo she asked for something, “ less heroic.” Restraint is the better part of valor.

Thanks for these videos Justin. I recently found your channel and have enjoyed everything I have watched. Do you have a video on the specifics about how to share/export out tracks for collaborating remotely with others? I would really like to get my band mates involved with a new recording process that could be easier than getting everyone in the same room for sessions. Any advice you may have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

Nice SITKA shirt! ;-)

You're thinking F# minor. The staccato clips are better on fretted note than open string, since the fretting hand lifts to clip -neither hand need mute open 4th string. I guit.\ bass and down tune much. Andrew Gouche down tunes his 5\6 strings exclusively, you're in good company. Give you credit, the groove pocket is there!! Ü ♫

I'm thinking you dropped it to D so you can have better control over the E note on the bottom without it over ringing and not sounding as clean. Sounds good. God Bless!

Awesome ❤😊

playing bass tuned down to glissando or hammer off will still sound ok cause open strings are basically in the key of G

2 reasons: you wanted to play mostly on the (formally known E) low D string to have a more consistent sound and you wanted to play the low D.

Justin, I can’t get that track out of my head now. I think I’ve learned it by osmosis as it was the first thing I noodled on guitar this morning. The ascending little chromatic line, I want to hear a kind of loose brass section playing it and the stabs...maybe outside the genre or budget..or maybe have the chromatic line keep ascending at the end...do you have to curtail innovations in the genre or are producers open to a little experimentation ?

that was perfection! Also, this song really jams when you go to 1.25x

The hardest thing for me on bass is to be consistent in your picking/finger technique so that each note has the same sound intensity and quality. It seems so basic doesn't it? If you compress it too much to even it out, then you lose your dynamics. Really tough. Oh yeah, the tuning bit. I think you wanted to tune one step down so that you could1) avoid open strings by playing the fingerboard in "A", and 2) get that drop D.

Thanks great video really enjoyed it.

Interesting! To me you are playing slightly behind the beat ,I know this is a stylistic thing . If you compare the uk band Travis studio recordings , bass slightly behind to their live performances and recordings , bass slightly leading and because of that the live stuff is more in your face and exciting I know this is personal preference, just thought I’d mention it BTW Great videos Thank you

When this is finished and released, will you share it so we can hear the finished product? I like the song and would love to know who the artist is!

"Too much gain for Verse 2.." That's like, your opinion, man... :-)

Playing bass is as simple as hitting a single note but the intricacies comes by adding duration, dynamics and style of music to it. I still struggled to master it but I know the importance of it and respect the bass players for their roles in the band.

Love your channel, watch it regularly. But I'm left with 2 dislikes, or should I say would have rathers... 1. Feels formula driven. There aren't any surprises. It would be a better song with a bass part that was it's own part, and not all a supporting part. Either a counter melody, or a counter rhythm in sections. Then send it back to the drummer and let him play at least one big fill. And 2nd, It always works, and sounds huge, but all the multi-track guitars mean bands are never going to cover it and sound good. That would be fine, if every new song wasn't recorded exactly the same way these days. It would be refreshing to hear 2 guitar parts, a bass and drums just played really well.

For the gliss E to D.

I read the title and laughed! No, bass guitar only resembles the guitar in that it has strings and frets and shares standard tuning. The mental game of being a bassist is quite different, it's all about the groove and being in the pocket. I play both bass and guitar, as well as mandolin. They're all very different, especially mentally.

You were wanting that low D AKA 5 chord.

Bass tuning most likely for Frequency ( fiting in better with the other instruments ).

Bass player's are actually lead players of the low end,parts are as complicated as any guitar solo,lead guitarist have a better chance of playing better bass parts,bass parts are like soloing thru a whole song,with the right parts of course.

I think it’s so you can reach down in the basement for a D note.

Yes.

awesome sounds! for the tuned down bass, totally different tones on open vs fretted notes. One question i have is when you are punching in a part to replay it on a second pass, what are you doing in protools with that? Are you just overwriting the track you just played? Or are you creating a new track for the punch in so you can A/B them after? killer content, thanks for bringing us along with you!

You tuned the bass down so you could play most notes on the low string (with only an occasional note on the second lowest string) for the most consistent tone.

... in order to play a low 5.

I treat as a different instrument entirely. Its more fun that way. I tune to BEAD.

Could you show us how you punch in on your ods

You have a LOW E fretted note so you can control the note length cleaner

Because you don't have a 5-string bass and want the sliding notes to and from the E (and the low D since D is the 5th of G).

Lol.... Paul McCartney always has and does play with a pic!

More low end punch on the chorus?

So bass-ically you're saying Leland has nothing to worry about? Dropped to use the fat open D....maybe?

As I asked previously, why didn't you put the bass on before sending it to the drummer? That would allow him to lock to the bass and create a cohesive rhythm section.

Ever spot quantize audio? I'll do that at times when I may have rushed a spot if I like the overall performance otherwise, especially if I've laid down a killer track that's difficult to reproduce on a 2nd take.

I'd say you dropped to avoid playing open string, as it is harder to controll rhytmic aspect of open E

Oh goodness maybe it’s more on a minor over major sound ? Just noticed some one else said something similar phew lol

That's a faT bass sound! Did you tune it down to sound like the kick(?), they seemed very much synced up in tone.

....cause ya can make the note more percussive when its not an open string?

You dropped the bass to the relative minor, so all lines pedal on the 4-2 strings, and you can slide the shape around.

I assume you tuned down so you could fret the low E in the verses. Sounds punchier with the note under your fingers as opposed to open string.

Before I watch this I’m gonna give a definitive..”NO”… lol They might be pretty impressive by themselves for a couple minutes.. but then they’re just too note-y

Maybe so you can get away from open strings.

Simple quick answer, NO ! 😊

down tune? catch the "open" low note!!...Duhooo....

You’re playing the b7’s.. ?cool.! Gives a minor tonality..

Are guitar players automatically good at bass? Mmmm……no. Completely different function in the musical spectrum and one that (most) guitar players aren’t wired for. (Speaking for a friend).

Before I watch this, my answer is 100% NO! IMO it is a totally different mindset and function (most of the time). Gonna watch now! Thanks Justin for the video.

Lead guitarist are more likely to be “okay” at Bass.

NO

Dropping the tuning a whole step allows you to grab that low Eb. Standard tuning would have forced you to go for a higher Eb which wouldn’t have sounded as “big” or “low”.