It’s time for a trip back to play some ’90s grunge.
Mike Starr, who unfortunately passed away in 2011, laid down some amazingly good bass tracks with the ’90s grunge band Alice in Chains, and one of them is Would?
The bass line on Would? is actually very simple to play but grooves very nicely. It is the type of bass line that’s not flashy but rather acts as a foundation that carries the song along from beginning to end (which some would argue is the bassist’s main job.)
Would? was and still is a staple song of many, many bar bands to this day because it’s easy to learn and play. And when played right, it sounds really cool.
Isolated bass track
Original studio recording of full song
What kind of bass setup delivers a tone like this?
A gritty playing style with heavy pick use along with a pickup that has a ton of punch to it. Mike Starr is seen using a Spector Euro 4-LX in the video for Would?, which his signature bass would be later based off of. This uses a P/J pickup set. We have plenty to choose from, and if you want something with really high output, consider the Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder P/J set.
Cool article for us old geungsters. Surprisingly he was only tuned down a half step, sounds much lower at first listen. This is from an era just proceeding strings made for down tuning? Which for bassists like me moving from grunge to desert doom are a lifesaver for down tuned bass.