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Different People      "Simply Sexy. Enough said." Karmeleaux
This is a song I think truly truly deserves a five star, and you'll be able to tell because as per usual I will have a hard time describing it.

First and foremost, the chorus rhythm has various HO/PO scales in it. This means you get to see this a lot, and it is a blast. The verse is built similarly but simpler, although there is a part that moves around the fretboard in a slow scale.

Really, this would already be pushing five star to me, but this song isn't afraid to bring in more rhythms to support these. It exercises a new equally fun rhythm during the guitar solo, and during the outro it variates on the feel on of the intro.

Overall it's an absolute blast with no notable down points. Pretty much the must have for bass from this pack, and probably in general.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
07.08.10 10:04am 0 Replies | Reply +3 Relevance
Tragic Kingdom      "Excellent Bass, But A Bit Repetitive in the End" Karmeleaux
Like most No Doubt bass parts, this one sits distinctly above average. Most other No Doubt basslines are a bit too predictable to earn five stars, but I say this pushes far enough to earn it.

The verses have a fun repeating scale in them, and the prechoruses have slow scales around the fretboard with the occasional triplet feel thrown in. What pushes it into five star territory is the bridge, which scales across the fretboard in a new manner (and contains the only HO/POs in the song), and the chorus, where one does a sort of anchoring deal, such as R Y R O R B, which is good fun.

It does have a caveat, however, in the outro. It's repetitions of the chorus, which starts to wear down, and although I love speed up songs, it makes the part become old all the quicker. When it switches, it's to a slow doublestrum on single frets. It's a pretty unsatisfying finish to overall universally enjoyable song. But it's short enough to where it shouldn't detract from the rest of the song, so I say pick it up.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
07.08.10 9:50am 0 Replies | Reply +2 Relevance
Green Grass and High Tides      "Hell Is Just Heaven Without Moderation" Karmeleaux
This song starts off with dead space and sustains, but it's clearly building up so it's alright. Especially because when it gets to what it's building up to, we'll call it the 'main riff,' it's simply awesome. Largely HO/POs, all frets are used, and it's just really fun. "Man, I hope that comes up again," you think.

You poor fool.

The next rhythm you meet is the verse rhythm. It's built around sustains, but it's got some movement and HO/POs in there. Later, it has some small variations as well.

And finally, you've got the chorus rhythm, which is somewhere between the two rhythms in form and fun.

So why two stars? Simple. The chorus rhythm appears shortly twice, and the song is ALMOST TEN MINUTES. This means outside of the chorus and the buildup during the intro, you're mostly playing the verse or main riff. Specifically, you're playing the verse for about three minutes, and the main riff for at least five.

This is just unenjoyable. This song stands out on guitar because it keeps throwing new things at you, and it stands out on bass for the opposite reason (and gets the opposite reaction). There's some minor 'fills' during the outro guitar solo, but they're gone before you even notice them. About the eight minute mark, I was thinking "If I ever make it out of this, I swear, I'll change. I'll be a better person." Unfortunately, I drowned under the relentless repetition and was never heard from again.

It gets two stars because it's got an undeniably fun premise. It just takes that premise and runs it so far into the ground it comes back out in China. You've been warned.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
05.23.10 8:54am 0 Replies | Reply +4 Relevance
The Great Plains      "The Best and Worst of Prog" Karmeleaux
Mm...I'll say this is also a weak five-star. On the one hand, you've got your sustains and your eighth notes on a single fret. On the other hand, you've got your glorious glorious sweeping HO/PO chains.

I mean, there's a break in the middle where bass plays a rhythm that's largely based around sustains. It's a bit diverse and has minor variations, but it's used so many times I can't see it being enjoyable throughout to most people.

But then on the flip side you've got your rhythms based on scales. These guys are long, and there's so many different types throughout, it's simply amazing. And almost all the other rhythms I haven't mentioned here are also largely enjoyable.

Again, it's ultimately a chart I can't really describe well, and to me that probably means it's diverse enough to be attractive to everyone. It definitely has a weak point, but I can't see anyone disliking the rest of it, and it should result in a net positive anyway.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
05.22.10 2:32pm 0 Replies | Reply +5 Relevance
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic      "Probably the Best Police Bass" Karmeleaux
I dig a lot of Police, but let's face it, Sting's not the most noteworthy bassist. Most of the time he's playing a really repetitive rhythym for the verses and then another for the choruses. Occasionally he'll throw in a unique bass part that doesn't stick around long enough (Next to You, Can't Stand Losing You), but outside of that they're really unnoteworthy.

The verse (and bridge) of this song is built around sustains, but they move around the fretboard and have occasional single not HO/POs in there sometime. But it's not what we're here for, regardless.

The chorus is surprising for a Sting bass, as it has a few chains of HO/POs that cover the fretboard, and a good amount of movements and HO/POs outside of that. This is pretty enjoyable, and they variate slightly every time. As the end of the song approaches, the song in general chartwise becomes more diverse, enjoyable, and HO/PO-laden until the part at the very end.

Unfortunately, this balances out to a merely average bass part, as the sustains simply make up too much of the song to ignore. Overall it should be enjoyable to bassists who like the song, though.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
05.22.10 12:46pm 0 Replies | Reply +2 Relevance
One Vision      "Pulls Itself Together Well, But Has Some Obvious Flaws" Karmeleaux
The verse is built around sustains, but it moves around slowly and isn't straight strumming, so it's not bad, just not good.

The chorus changes every thing it's visited, first being straight forths with a repeated change in there, then changing to a gallop with a repeated partial scale, then becoming a gallop of the first chorus rhythm. It's mild fun, and the fact it changes keeps it from losing any points.

Where it does lose some points is the vocal break with no bass. However, it then comes back in with a solo rhythm, which moves around a good bit and has some HO/POs in there. However, while it's probably the high point of this bass, it's probably built a bit too much around playing the same note to be universally fun even if it wasn't for the other flaws.

Overall, it's sort of a bass that puts a lot of fairly average bass parts in there and comes out to something that should actually be fun enough to most people as it uses them wisely. As such, it's probably a fairly weak four star, but I can definitely see it appealing to people unfamiliar with the song, so there it is.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
05.03.10 3:43pm 2 Replies | Reply +1 Relevance
Tie Your Mother Down      "Repetitive Shuffle With Some Fun in There" Karmeleaux
Something interesting to note is the verse rhythm isn't just a shuffle slowly moving around the fretboard.

However, it's still repetitive, and if anything more grating in the long term (although it certainly is more fun at first). Instead of playing something like GG GG, you play GygGG. And that's your verse rhythm, with an orange sustain every forth time.

As you can imagine, this definitely gets repetitive. This is hardly relieved by the chorus, which at is its base a simple shuffle around the fretboard. However, it OCCASIONALLY (somewhat randomly, it seems), moves around the fretboard at a much faster speed, turning every other note into a HO/PO which is great fun to play.

That kind of movement comes up three times, and it's long enough every time to make the chart decent to fans, but there's definitely not enough to pull in people unfamiliar with the song.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.30.10 2:12pm 0 Replies | Reply +2 Relevance
Crazy Little Thing Called Love      "Another Fun Bubbly Bass" Karmeleaux
If you know the song, you know it's built on a shuffle rhythm. Luckily, the bass isn't just playing that.

Instead, you tend to play the more 'natural' rhythm, with the less 'natural' part of the rhythm being HO/POs. This actually works out very well, as it feels fairly unique and has good movement and HO/POs in it, so it's definitely a pretty strong rhythm (and a variation every forth time, too).

The chorus is less notable, as it moves around the fretboard slower, mostly in short sustains and with hardly any HO/POs.

Aside from the very short rhythm into the solo, those two and the vocal bridge with no bass are the only rhythms, although the verse starts changes as the ending approaches in a barely notable way (short sustains!). They're good rhythms, but they don't quite have the chops to make this appealing to everyone. Still recommend taking a look, though.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.30.10 1:48pm 0 Replies | Reply +1 Relevance
Blood Sugar Sex Magik      "A Subpar Entry From Flea, But Still Pretty Average" Karmeleaux
The song begins with you playing along with the guitar rhythm identically (except for the muted notes). This means bass chords, and HO/PO chords. It's pretty cool for the intro.

But it's also the verse, where guitar deviates. It starts wearing itself down here due to the lack of variation. Then you get to the chorus, where again you play along with the guitarist, and again the guitar chart deviates while the bass keeps playing the same thing. However, the chorus rhythm does involve decent movement and a good HO/PO scale in there, so it's by no means bad.

Eventually a third rhythm (bridge?) is introduced and used one more time, which is good because this song probably would have gotten two-stars without it just due to lack of variation. This part is not particularly spectactular, but it's got some decent movement and more importantly variation, which this chart desperately needed.

This isn't going to amaze anyone new out there, but most RHCP fans can probably find it fairly enjoyable.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.27.10 4:28pm 0 Replies | Reply +1 Relevance
Under the Bridge      "Strong Bass Hampered By Dead Space and Sustains" Karmeleaux
I'll open with saying that this song has you wait for a long time before playing anything, and even longer before you actually get to the rhythm part. About a minute and a half total.

But when you do come into the chorus, it's a pretty pleasant surprise. The guitar part is really prominent in this song, but the bass part backing it up is pretty strong. It's got a bass chord, slow scales, and some variations in it.

The verse is focused around sustains and largely unremarkable, hurting the chart a bit, but it shows up once before the outro.

The outro explores various movements around the fretboard, and has some slow scales throughout, with some single HO/POs in there as well. It's very enjoyable, but you've got to sit through a lot to get to it.

As such, I'd say it's only for fans who could really stand to sit through the intro, but for those who can it's a fairly enjoyable time.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.27.10 4:15pm 0 Replies | Reply +1 Relevance
My Lovely Man      "Standard Classic Another Adjective Flea Bass" Karmeleaux
The verse of this guy is based around alternating between two notes, but it has some single HO/POs and differing strum patterns to keep it engaging but not particularly enjoyable. A more fun variation occurs in the later part of the guitar solo, largely due to the shape change and slight increase in HO/POs.

The chorus is also fairly unnotable one way or the other, largely focused on unusual strum pattern with some movement around the fretboard thrown in there.

But this guy gets four stars for two reasons: Flea and Flea. Specifically, the bridge, which is moves around the fretboard fairly fast in fun patterns, and more importantly, specifically, the scales. This guy has a good number of little flourishes in it that really make it stay engaging throughout, and all of them are, of course, a great time to play.

It's not Flea's strongest contribution to rhythm gaming as the rhythms themselves are mostly just 'alright,' but it's still a good one in my book and I imagine so in many others.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.27.10 3:36pm 0 Replies | Reply +1 Relevance
They're Red Hot      "Pretty Sweet but Excessively Short" Karmeleaux
Really, this should probably be a four-star, if not a five-star. There's tons of movement, HO/PO scales, everything you want for a bass.

There's also only 1:12 seconds of playing, though, so if you're not a fan of the song you'll probably feel ripped off due to that. It should be a lot of fun to players, but it's probably not going to be worth two dollars for that short time.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.27.10 3:15pm 0 Replies | Reply +1 Relevance
Dani California      "Diverse Bass With Tons of Variations" Karmeleaux
Stadium Arcadium deviated from Red Hot Chili Peppers's earlier albums, and was heavily criticized for it. While it's an album I enjoy overall, I do lament the focus on studio production and loss of the more jam-oriented sound of many of their other works.

Luckily, this song played very similar to their early stuff. The verse rhythm has a good amount of movement in it, always includes a HO/PO chain, and often throws in extra HO/PO scales because hey it's Flea on bass.

The chorus is probably the lowest point, as its movement is slower, but it too always includes a short HO/PO chain.

The bridge (after a repetition of those two), on the other hand, feels like Flea all over. Tons of HO/POs, great movement, and all sorts of scales. It's also unfortunately there once.

Luckily, after another verse and chorus, the chorus starts to variate, adding more movement and HO/POs in part of it, and throwing some absolutely amazing scales in there. It was a while before we got some Flea-focused songs, but this tided me over, personally. It's definitely a keeper from RB1 if you're a bassist.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.27.10 3:08pm 0 Replies | Reply +4 Relevance
Closer to the Heart      "Short But Sweet Rush Bass" Karmeleaux
I'll open by saying the bass begins with long sustains during the guitar intro, then is uninvolved with the first verse. In a fairly short song (by Rush standards), this isn't great.

I'll continue by saying that everything beyond that is simply amazing to play. As I mention elsewhere, Geddy Lee tends to play fairly simple parts while singing, then keep it up during the instrumental parts.

This time, he stays near the top of his game the entire time. The verses have some decent movement and the occasional couple of HO/POs in there.

But as usual, when the vocal drop out for the guitar solo, the bass kicks it up a notch and never comes back down until the song is done, even when the vocals come back in. The bass is constantly moving and exploring new ways of moving here, it's not too demanding for most players, but very engaging.

It's an absolute blast for any bassist, pure and simple, and I can't see anyone being put off enough by that intro to not enjoy the spectactular bass for the rest of the song. Recommended for everyone.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.26.10 1:14pm 0 Replies | Reply +3 Relevance
Tie You Down      "A Great Example of Variating Rhythms Well" Karmeleaux
But it does a great job hiding it. You open with what I'm callling the intro riff I guess even though it's used later during lyrics so I don't really know what it is musically. But I'll tell you what the bass chart is: Great. It's got some great movement in there, and it's gone quick. Don't worry, we'll be seeing more of it.

As you enter the first verse, bass goes on the backburner, with a lot of dead space and sustains, although there are a few single notes in there. Intro riff, then for the next verse bass gains a good deal of meat, adding more notes and movement.

The chorus is straight forths for a bit with some slight variation at the end of each forth repetition, but then it scales back to green before moving up the fretboard, hitting two frets higher while it moves up (except just one fret higher when on blue, obviously). And once again, the intro rhythm (although from this point it's a variation)!

The next verse gains a slight variation in it, but unlike the different between the first two it's not really notable. Another chorus and intro riff, then a pause of the guitar break. A new rhythm which might be another heavy alteration of the verse shows up afterwards, and vanishes just as quickly as it came with a triple chord. Then it's no bass for a vocal break, another chorus and another intro riff with variations.

It's great fun (and sounding) to me, but its got some common bass flaws in the shape of a fair bit of dead space and using that intro riff a lot. Neither one of those take away from the song for me, but I can recognize it grating someone else. Still, for only a dollar, I'd recommend looking into it.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.25.10 3:06pm 0 Replies | Reply +2 Relevance
So Says I      "Great Bass, But Sustains Detract" Karmeleaux
The Shins bass parts released through the Rock Band Network so far have been pretty simple fun. This is the weaker of the two to me, but it's still got a lot of fun patterns in it.

The verse rhythms move around the fretboard a fair bit with single note HO/POs littered in there. The choruses, however, tend to hang on sustains. Sustains are usually okay in my book if the rest of the song is good fun, but the Shins songs tend to be kinda short so it definitely hurts it a bit relative here.

It's still pretty fun overall, but as I said, I feel it's the weaker of the two. In fact, I had to replay it as I wrote this review because I forgot what it was like because I was thinking of Australia.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.25.10 2:12pm 0 Replies | Reply +1 Relevance
Panic Switch      "The Achilles' Heel of the Song" Karmeleaux
As of typing this, this song has gold star reviews on everything but bass. And I don't think it's ever going to get it on bass (I certainly hope not), as it's frankly a subpar experience.

You open with this rhythm that's kinda cool and moves around the fretboard a bit. Awesome, yeah, nice intro riff. Then it's most of the verse riff. Then it's the bridge riff. Then it's the solo riff! It's something you're going to be playing a lot, and it's not going to sustain you that long.

The verse also has another rhythm in there that comes up, which is just alternating between two notes in a nonstandard strum pattern. The chorus is straight eighths slowly around the fretboards.

It's a bit unfair, because it's a groove I could see myself really getting into on real bass (although I would variate at SOME point), but I guess it just doesn't translate well enough to the game. But it's got some movement and variation in there, so there's still hints of enjoyability.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.25.10 11:19am 0 Replies | Reply +1 Relevance
Sort Of      "Fairly fun verse, painfully unremarkable otherwise" Karmeleaux
This would probably get three-stars if something else went with the verse rhythm, which has a fair amount of movement and an unusual (and somewhat frustrating) use of hammer-ons. It's pretty fun and not really around long enough for me to get tired of it, in fact I wanted to see it more.

But maybe that's just because the rest of the song was at best straight eighths slowly changing frets. The chorus was. Most of the solo was (there was a slight variation of the every other measure ending with a different fret, but honestly that did nothing fun factor-wise), and the part that wasn't was based around a sustain on the same note.

It's pretty unenjoyable outside of the verse, and I couldn't really see myself recommending it to anybody personally, but there is still some enjoyable stuff in there.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.25.10 10:58am 0 Replies | Reply +1 Relevance
Limousine      "Great Verse, But Kinda Fizzles Outside" Karmeleaux
This song is able to grab you with its energy when it really starts, the intro riff being simple but fun with its placement of HO/POs.

The verse is even better, genuinely fun movements and HO/POs. Unfortunately, the chorus is straight eighths. This is remedied by the second verse having a different but equally fun rhythm.

The solo uses the intro rhythm in it as well the final verse, before a bridge and chorus built around straight eights.

For only a buck, I can see a lot of people digging this, but the chorus can still put some people off.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.20.10 4:02pm 0 Replies | Reply +1 Relevance
Sun Hits the Sky      "Fun Scales, But Repetitive? Never seen this before." Karmeleaux
This guy hooks you in pretty well by opening with a bass chord that HO/POs into another chord.

From there, the majority of the verse rhythm is built around five blues, G R Y, five oranges, G R Y. It's pretty fun it gets some small variations in there every now and then.

The chorus rhythm is one of those unfortunate ones where you play a fun scale, then you play it to death. It's broken up by straight eighths on yellow, though, so it wears down a bit slower than some others.

Those are the only one two rhythms until the (somewhat long) outro, where you start playing a different rhythm with a different (and in my opinion more fun) scale. From there, there's occasionally another a different scale that's fairly difficult. These two switch back and forth, but by the end of the song they've kinda become exhausted.

This is a pretty engaging bass with various fun patterns in my opinion. But they're also all used quite frankly an excessive amount, so it might be too repetitive for some players out there.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.20.10 3:10pm 0 Replies | Reply +3 Relevance
Pride and Joy      "Simple but Fun Blues Shuffle" Karmeleaux
And again I'm reminded that harder is not always better, as I thoroughly enjoyed this song much more than Testify and Rude Mood.

The song is built around a shuffle, but the 'and' note of the rhythm is nearly always a different fret as well as being a HO/PO. It slowly moves around the fretboard, and rarely repeats the previous movement. And of course, no bass that is pretty cool is complete without the occasional scale.

Really, the only thing I can see being a turn-off is the tempo. It's somewhat slow, and I can see it being a bit grating to play if you're generally into songs with faster tempos. But if not, you'll probably enjoy this a good deal.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.20.10 1:26pm 0 Replies | Reply +1 Relevance
Rude Mood      "Hand-Cramping and Repetitive" Karmeleaux
I'll start by saying it's a pretty cool rhythm. It's got HO/POs and moves around the fretboard a fair deal within a short time.

But it's the ONLY rhythm in the song. It moves up to the red fret sometimes, and the yellow fret rarely, but it's all built around the exact same movement. The only time it really ever notably varies is during a short section where you play almost nothing, then you go right back in.

There ARE slight variations in the rhythm throughout which keeps it from being one star, although honestly that might just be the bassist being incapable of playing the same rhythm this long as well.

If you have the patience of Job, it might be enjoyable with the movement and HO/POs. But I don't think I'm ever going to touch this guy again by choice, even I get another 140 years of life out of it.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.20.10 12:34pm 0 Replies | Reply +2 Relevance
American Music      "Decent Bass With Crazy Outro" Karmeleaux
As a Violent Femmes song, I expected this to translate to a unique experience. And I was right.

The bass part for the verse is a shuffle, but it moves around withing the rhythm to keep it interesting. The prechorus is short sustains with a repeated triplet scale in the end, which is a real treat on bass.

Where this song starts to suffer in the solo, where it play straight eighths in a predictable manner and the vocal break, where there's no bass.

The song starts to speed up not long after the bass comes back in, and I love speed-ups so this was pretty fun, especially when it started to move around a good deal. But the problem starts when the bass chords come in. After the first one shows up, it's not long before it just degrades into switching between pretty much random chords really fast until the end (which isn't too far away, thankfully). When I say fast, I mean I couldn't keep a multiplier in there myself, I ended the song halfway down the rock meter. It's just so ridiculous, and if you don't know the band/song, entirely unexpected.

I can see myself coming back to it now and again for parts of it, but I think it's a bit too polarizing for people who aren't familiar with the song.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.20.10 7:33am 0 Replies | Reply +1 Relevance
Vasoline      "Mindnumbing Repetition" Karmeleaux
Sorry, this is another 'too much wrong to make it work.' Probably 80% of this song is spent on the same basic rhythm, probably 50% of it is on the same two frets for it.

The chorus rhythm, the only different part, is straight eighths and it's so short it barely even registers. It DOES have some small flourishes in there, but they're too few and far between to alleviate enough of the pain of this.

This is pretty similar to guitar, except the bridge and solo are the same rhythm (as well as the verse) on bass. I never realized how important those changes were, as I think the guitar is fairly strong but this is a bass chart I could not see anyone enjoying.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.19.10 1:08pm 0 Replies | Reply +1 Relevance
Tribute      "Another Long Wait For a Fun Bass" Karmeleaux
This is another song where you don't play for pretty much the first minute and a half, and you're not expecting much afterwards.

What comes first isn't promising. You do a HO/PO from red to orange then a long green sustain, and it doesn't sell you on continuing to play.

But when you get to the next chorus, the rhythm moves around the fretboard at an enjoyable speed, and it throws in HO/PO and strum alterations. It also involves enjoy a scale from green to orange, which is enjoyable when it's surrounded other things going on.

You have a small break for the vocal break but it's short and musically awesome so it's fine. When it comes back in, it's largely variations on the chorus, as it approaches the end it throws in a few bass chords and scales before turning into doublestrumming for the last little bit.

It's another one of those 'what you play should be pretty enjoyable for most people, it's what you don't play that's the catch.' So again, if you've got the patience, the second half of this song is a pretty enjoyable experience on bass.

Bass Rating
1/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should not buy this song.
2/5 - Fans of the song/band should be wary if they focus on this instrument.
3/5 - Alright on this instrument, buy it if you're a fan.
4/5 - Fans of this instrument could benefit from checking out this song.
5/5 - If you focus on this instrument, you should buy this song.
04.19.10 10:46am 0 Replies | Reply +1 Relevance
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