Bassline for Tower Of Power's "What Is Hip?"

[Doctor0ctagon]

nice sound man

[bassplace808]

Fantastic!! Thank you....

Big Time inspiration!!!

[tamaire1664]

nice

[timmyrustiko]

Hey que bien se oye eso...te felicito musicman lo maximo ese bongo fretless suena brutal....yo tengo un stingray 5 ....mi amigo exitos y segui adelante...Tower Of Power lo maximo...

[humppantti]

Nice bass man! I think John Myung has that same model six-stringed and gray.. And without fretlessness! :P Good playing!

[911jesse]

You started out shaky, but recovered. Nice job, man!

[GrantSmithBass]

Nice !! Go Rocco !! Cheers mate...

[loekiedepo]

omg! this song is almost impossible to play well and you are doing it on a fretless! And ur bass is cool!

[BassPlayer4009]

how do u afford all these basses dude

[Alvabass]

Well, it took me almost three years to get them, man. Fortunately I'm single, no kids, no vices, so I could save my money. Oh, and I'm also a very patient person. :)

[Funkyskunk01]

its not long at all for all those basses musicman and ricky's are quality basses. it took me at least 2 years to save up for my stingray.

[spatemdim]

Killer bass!

[edugam]

Hola Alvaro, buscando videos de "Jaco" y "tower of power" me encontré con esta agradable sorpresa, lo felicito por el excelente trabajo, además de la multitud de comentarios favorables, (ya me vi la mayoria de sus videos) un abraso: Eduardo Gamboa

[Alvabass]

Muchísimas gracias por su amabilidad y su aprecio hacia mi modesto esfuerzo, Eduardo. Qué bueno escuchar de usted nuevamente. Un saludo para usted y toda su familia. De verdad, mil gracias. :)

[jongitarz]

My friend, you freaking rock, and I am glad you rock Music Man basses!

[Oric]

anyone who can play this song all the way through is invincible

[rhix]

God alva you're a friggin bad bad man. Been a fan for a long time.

[Alvabass]

Thank you for your kind comment, man. I really appreciate it. :)

[rhix]

No problem Alva, if you remember I shared my myspace music page w/ you and it was your kind comment that really meant a lot to me.Your gracious and humble nature is well appreciated and admired by myself. Take care man in all that you do.

Peace

Richard

[limeyamos]

nice job man, that is a really hard line; always been one of my favorites

[scarab944]

Umm.. why are you playing a goldfish? =P j/k, very nice Bongo. Every one I've played has that 'sweet' feel, never tried with flatwounds though. Sweet video!

[flubno]

A fellow Bongo Bass man.I use my Warwick 5 thumb bass when I want a professional sound. When I just want to hang loose or bash things out , I use my Bongo Bass. I love it. My only regret is that they wouldn't put Piezo's on my bass because it is Left handed. Even when I offered them extra money , they turn me down.

[oluap84]

nice bass you got there.... love the tone.

[nbw86]

Hello fellow TB'er. :) I'm currently gas'ing for a fretless bongo6(+piezo if Sterling allows) but I haven't heard many recordings of them, in fact yours are the only ones I have. I love the feel and the way FL's play but I also still love a clear midrange growl that punches thru the mix in a loud band setting. I also really dug the tone you got on the Awakening(+maybe a touch of bass) My question is, how much of that can a bongo fretless with flatwounds accomplish with the mids boosted? Thx

[Alvabass]

Hey man, thank you for your comment! :)

Well, I can tell you that in this recording, all frequencies are at the same level with the exception of lo-mids, which are slightly rolled off. Also, the pickup blend knob is at center position, same as the magnets/piezo blend. No problems being heard in a loud hard rock band when playing fretless. Actually, if I know that I won't have to do any slap stuff during a gig, I leave my fretted bass at home (Continued...).

[Alvabass]

Here's a song in which I use my fretless because of the short solo: watch?v=TjVPBFS_e4c

That's a studio recording, but the fretless works great live. Again, no problems being heard, specially because I have plenty of room for boosting mid frequencies when needed.

Let me know if you need further info. Thank you again! :)

[LastCokeInTheDesert]

¡Deberías hacer "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" de Ian Dury and The Blockheads! 'Cause... You know... You like pumpin' 16ths. :P

-Seb

[stopglobalswarming]

This is cooler than the other video of yours that I saw. Good.

[UserDoesNotExist1]

Damn. . .

Beautiful bongo and I love this song

[chaz4510]

great tone for that type of thing, great playing to

[tommytehcat]

It's not something I've noticed in your other videos, but in this one you sound a tad bit stiff and it threw a few of your timings a little off. It's still a great effort man. Keep up the good work. :)

[mikeypbass]

that fretless bongo is shuweet!!

[SlikkTim]

Quite good but there's a few wrong notes in here... The one that shock me the most is B instead of the low E in the verse line.

[melange56]

THIS IS HIP!!!much more envolved than a bass solo! Anyone hip to a drum video on this tune???

[1trae9]

wow what a bass! great stuff

[rhix]

great work alva. I enjoy your videos so much.

[MistaMarko]

Man I remember trying to tackle this bassline back when I played with a community jazz band. Tough stuff, especially skipping strings while still maintaining the 16th note pulse, while even throwing dead notes in on the e's and a's...5/5, great job : )

[HYP03L]

i don't see why people say it's an ugly bass. I like it.

And quality playing also

[BigRickSharpe]

Jus wondering, ever epoxied any fretless Basses owned, I'd like to do mine like the pros real thick n super fast action, any web sites you know of that give the seceret? check out my web page truckn4jc dot blogspot dot com you ever do any Marvin Isley Basslines, or Micheal Henderson, always dug "At the Concert" how that Cat sings n plays such a complex but smooth Bassline is above me. would love to have either of them or the Master Verdine White has an advanced Instr.

[BigRickSharpe]

Always loved this song, and esp. being a bassist the Basslines you got a Bongo fretless, ha, coolman,cool! I had a nice bass just ordered a HXB Nat6 fretless, really cool for a cheap priced Bass, since I cant get a Roscoe or Warrior, I found it on ebay, my Bass mentoer was Pete Burke from Chi-towns S.side 35th st. a Cool cat, and you playn is alright my man love TOP, and anyone who plays this is TopCat!!!

[aJazzcat]

you really don't have to be so modest all of the time. you're incredible

[MooseTrumpet]

Nice, bro. I really want a fretless bass. Right now I'm playing a 5-string Carvin. I'd really like to get a fretless Warwick.

[Zzynol]

no feeling at all.....sad.....

[moed51]

Is that bass fretless ?

[Alvabass]

Yes, man. Thank you for your comment! (And thanks everybody again!)

[baazooka86]

You got it dowm Bro

[tbcass]

That Bass might be ugly but it sounds great. You're playing is top notch too.

[jinithith2]

nice rocco lick man. perhaps adding a touch of funk would spruce up the cover a bit

[Carlos15ag]

Is the Bongo a good instrument? I mean it seems to be great, I just want the opinion of someone who actually owns one :)

[Alvabass]

Absolutely, man. Such a terrific-sounding and extremely versatile instrument. My #1 bass. Thank you for your comment!

[B3nz1mon]

How is it to play a fretless bass? I'm thinking of getting one. But is there any disadvantage with fretles?

Thank you, and great video! =D

[4stringdrum]

i would put some more feeling into it.. or wouldn'tplay a song that i'm not feeling just to show that i can actuall play it.. and some accents would have been nice.. just my opinion..

[alencarlc]

great bass ,

great player ,

great song

and obvius

GREAT JOB!

:D

[darklegacylive]

nice bongo fretless, but your feeling death is bad...

[webbone123]

sweeet!

[SquierPrecision]

nice bongo fretless 5... i wish i had one even if it does look kinda weird. nicely done though

[patrucorzi]

....no feeling....so "cold"...:X

[Gorgalisin]

i think that bass is beautiful

[VulgarMongoose]

yea I agree that is probably the ugliest bass known to man. And the little capo on the first fret probably isn't helping either.

[jinithith2]

its not a capo...

it's not even on the first fret or any part of the fingerboard. watch is tapping lessons and u'll see why he does that

[oneminutetomidnight]

man, you need to retune your snare drum. and I think you're hitting the crash cymbals in the wrong place. but otherwise, all your vocals are just right man, and i love the karate kick in the break down. but you need to stop doing wing chun because no one does that anymore. it's all about nu-fin-ju. rock on.

[kjeldto]

The main note your playing is pitched a little too high in th first half, but yeah Super Playing on the fretless! Keep on going!

[broadcastcl]

dude check your mindtune.. there's notes in the wrong place..

[fratboy3001]

that axe is probably the ugliest thing i've ever seen...you make is sound pretty decent though.

[HammondB200]

yes it is very very ugly, that's my opinion. your a douche if your voting me down right now, i'm only giving my opinion

[mosin189130]

Yeah... you're just giving your opinion that it's ugly, and I'm giving MY opinion that you're dead wrong. Thumbs down for you.

[motoxchamp321]

yea its terrably ugly looking,lol,it looks like a spiders head,thats what it makes me think of,lol musicman is #1 thou,and i still want a bongo

[HOWDYSOUTHERNERRR]

nice playing

[BullHorn7]

There is no G there. When you play the G on the 3rd string, it's actually an E on the open E string. ;)

[markymarcus1]

you got it down very well.........good job!

[Uxxgotxxownd]

nice 5 string I have a 4 string

[psychohalley88]

hey good job on the fretless! just hold the notes a bit more or something, but yeah you're really skilled! i love playing bass and i love rocco lol.

overall excellent

xx

[bimini9]

Like the style. I actualy think this should be done with a little more feeling though. Hold some notes, others pop stronger? Might want to snap high note/Ghost-ish notes harder by plucking harder.? Pretty good though.

[SirJuice48]

your sound is great but i'd still recommend you work on your intonation

[ARCtrooper225]

Damn, that was some groovy playing :)

[ziggyyZ]

Very interesting - explain to the ignorant please

[MightyBass101]

Prestia is the shit and i think you did him justice the only thing i thought was you were a little ehind the note it the begining, and it sounds REALLY tight when your on the front so it pushes but doesnt speed up

[MattDenney]

I have to agree with you there, I think that the fretless with flats sounds great for this style...fretless shouldnt be isolated to playing just mwah mwah mwah..although that does sound very nice!

Good job! :)

[mrdak]

It's a pleasure to see you play this.... Thanks... I was wondering, what strings are you using. They sound like chromes, or TI Jazz Flats.

;)

[Alvabass]

Thanks to you for your comment! Those are Ernie Ball flatwounds. :)

[BigRickSharpe]

Id love to have a fretless like that, check out my one and only used custom which was stolen, I also play fretless, is a bit of sound delay, even though your on the right notes dude! w.. truckn4jc at blogspot dot com

[Banfrau]

Why does everyone say the Bongo is ugly? I find it to have an awesome look... Maybe they just haven't seen it in person. =/

[mookie2637]

Very nice playing. What is that wrapped round the headstock, near the nut?

[Alvabass]

Thank you for your comment (and one more time, thanks everybody)! That's a hair scrunchie I use as sort of a string mute for some tapping stuff. Check part six of my "Tapping mini-course" on YouTube for a demonstration. Thanks again!

[mancira]

Excellent job brother, I love the tower's music, but you really appreciate it when someone like you can isolate one aspect. thanks for rising my enjoyment level

[vlodpg]

Nice playing!

[verticalteen]

what genre is tower of powers?... what kind of funk?

[renamedo]

ugly bass

beautiful song

[letalhead]

nice bass, relaxing. What model is ? i wanna know for buy one like that

[Alvabass]

That's a MusicMan Bongo. It's a truly awesome instrument, so don't hesitate to get one, man. Thank you for visiting!

[mynameiswalrus]

oh man nice one great playing esp on the fretless, how long have you been playing bass?

[Alvabass]

Thank you for your nice comment, man. I started playing bass 21 years ago. With all that time I should be a really good player, but anyway I love this instrument and enjoy playing it immensely. Thank you again! :)

[mynameiswalrus]

21 years is quite awhile ive been playing three and i just got a frettless its harder to play cus u need more strength from the left hand! you sound good tho

[scarred2112]

I played the audio track to my SO and she thought the track was a sequenced line coming from someone who had programmed it with an actual *good* bass tone...

Consider that a compliment on your 16th and intonation, as she's been subjected to far too much bass from me and certainly knows her way around the instrument tonally and technically. Myself, I just say it's "da bomb" and dream of Bongos... ;-)

~Ian from TB

[Alvabass]

Thank you so much, Ian! :)

And thanks everybody again! I'm glad you like my effort. As already said, hope it will be useful.

[SkunkBunk]

That opening is just relentless, I love it!

[supaman432]

i dunno if you realize it but you're something of an inspiration to me on bass, I always wondered if you could play funk with a fretless bass as it's the only thing that has kept me from purchasing one, thanks for showing this!

[trane608]

Delicious tone on your fretless Bongo. First I've managed to hear one, actually, as they just don't carry them here in Tokyo. Fretted, yeah, but no fretless I've ever seen.

Would love to see you rip some Squibcakes. :-)

[Alvabass]

Thank you for your comments, guys! :)

[c0d3h4x0r]

Great playing and rhythm, as always. Nice tone out of your Bongo, too.

[saxnbass]

Alva, you are the man. This is the way I usually play my fretless. Very low mwah factor. I wish I knew how to get more mwah for when I do want it. I can't wait till my fretless Bongo get here (July).

[Alvabass]

Hey Eric, thank you for your comment! If you want to get more mwah from your fretless, you must:

- Set the neck relief as straight as possible.

- Set the action as low as you can without buzzing or choking the notes.

- Don't scoop your mid frequencies.

- Favor your bridge pickup.

- Pluck the strings near the end of the fingerboard. Even better if you can play over the last "frets".

Voilà! Instant mwah. Let me know when you get it.

[trane608]

In addition to Alva's spot-on advice, I also find that working the fingerboard more with the pads of my fingers than with the tips adds to mwah. All combined, you can get a bewildering array of tones out of a fretless instrument.

(Nice playing, Alva!)

[eow93]

First!

Nice playing man. I have just recently discovered you videos and they have been a big help in deconstructing and recreating the Rush classics.

Rock on