I have said it often and I will gladly state my opinion again.
Like you I am glad that Davie504 brought me to bass. My opinion on him as a bass player is:
Davie504 is a youtuber who plays bass
Charles Berthoud is a bassists who publishes videos on youtube
The contrast to Charles has to be mentioned to make clear what I am talking about when I say “youtuber who plays bass”. Then again I would not call him overrated as he has skill. It’s just that skill doesn’t make him as much money as memes do. If you look at his channels early days it was literally just him playing bass but when he started talking and memeing he really got a lot of subscribers and on youtube that’s kind of equal to more money.
And honestly without Davie Charles would probably still only have half of his subscribers on youtube so I’m thankful for that too. There was a last (really this time) fiver video in which he paid bassists to come up with the hardest bass riff ever and Charles just… well watch it yourself.
That reminds me.
I know it was just to fill the 10 minutes minimum but actually his “therapy time” helped me a little during lockdowns. It might seem silly but it’s still better to sometimes get things of your chest even if it’s just a brick wall you are talking to.
I kind of miss it but like you I do not regularly watch him anymore.
I do not regularly watch youtube anymore. It was a time of home office, reduced work hours and much boredom and no direction. So therapy time and getting me to play bass… I think I can honestly say he saved me from sinking into depression.
I subscribed in early December just in time for him to announce he wasn’t going to play bass throughout December unless he got to 9 million subscribers. I think that backfired. He admitted that was a bad move the other day. I’d already unsubscribed.
Haha you read my mind! Davie is why I came to bass, although now I realize he isn’t as amazing as I thought. Still respect him though for building a massive channel only from his bass playing!
I’ve said it before. I’m not proud of it. I find his whole schtick tiresome. And it is annoying to no end how many alleged bass players parrot his idiotic ideas, like bass players shouldn’t use a pick (cough Carol Kaye cough) . But I think he might be my favorite bass player right now. Because he is technically amazing AND can still get in the pocket like nobody’s business:
I like him for what he is and I am not going to begrudge anyone for making a living playing bass, especially now. He’s entertaining and how large of a dose of that kind of entertainment you want is kind of situational. Sometimes it’s just the kind of laugh I want.
I do wish others (especially, especially Charles Berthoud) would stop emulating his rapid-cut production style though. It works for him, and it works for nearly no one else. I actually had to stop watching Charles because it really annoyed me on his channel.
I watch because of how he plays,when he does.my kids absolutely love the schtick and have no interest in the bass. So I guess it works really well for what he is doing. And if I’m honest- if I could figure out a way to market myself through YouTube doing absolutely anything I would. ( stando’s life tips anyone? Smash like&subscribe )
Well done, I say. And his slap sounds epico ( sorry)
That’s something I’ve seen long before I’ve seen or known Davie and is done a lot with people playing instruments. For most people it’s more entertaining that way.
Though I guess I can see where you are coming from because trying to copy their play can sometimes be extremely bothersome with the rapid cuts. But for people who just watch it to be entertained by it, it creates a little bit more action.
What I’m trying to say is that I understand your resentment against that production style but I would not say that Davie coined it.
His videos entertain people and generate interest in the bass and music, and he’s done good for people during quarantine.
Not my cup of tea, but I’m glad he’s able to do all of the above especially during such trying times. And anyone that’s able to generate interest in learning an instrument gets a thumbs up in my book.
I happened upon Davie504 back when he was just playing bass and really liked what he was doing. I stopped watching regularly when he changed up his format, and was doing the memes but will watch once in a while. I had never seen Charles Berthoud but I subscribed to him as well. Davie504 is super talented and it is great that he is able to make a living on YouTube. I like him but wish his content was more of a 70% bass playing and 30% jokes and messing around. From what I watched of Charles he looks to be just as talented as Davie504. I like them both and will continue to watch their content when I have time.
Of course a subjective opinion of mine, but I am still pretty sure Charles is better than Davie with his bass. The example I already gave is the “hardest bass riff ever”.
Even if Davie was able to play it, he did not exactly nail it.
On the other Hand Charles played the “hardest bass riff ever” written by Davie and nailed it
I think it just depends what you expect when you watch him and what kind of humour you enjoy… I only found his vids after starting my “learning journey” but regardless of that it’s very clear from the get-go that his content is for entertainment so I would not stop to take any of it seriously from a playing perspective.
Personally, I love really blunt and dry humour which he has an abundance of, and for some reason the monotone voice really helps deliver that (if anyone knows the totally unrelated but equally funny YouTuber penquinz0 then you’ll know exactly what I mean). The running jokes about picks being blasphemous and him making jokey excuses to skip riffs that might actually be above his ability are all part of that entertainment. As has been said, he’s primarily a YouTuber.
When it comes to playing, Davie can make some very cool sounds yes… but if I want to learn something then it’s BassBuzz or Talking Bass all the way, and if I want inspiration then I’ll look to established musicians. It’s all good content!
But holy crap that was fun to watch though. I don’t think I’ve gone back through his content that far, will be good to see what he’s like with 150% less memes involved
Sure!
I never meant to take away from Davie with that comment.
That he was able to play it at all makes him an amazing bass player in my book.
If you want to look for the details I’m talking about let me try to put it into words.
In Charles Original he taps muted notes and then strums. It creates a slightly different sound.
Davie copies it by only strumming in the rythm that was created.
That and to my ears the very fast fingerstyle sounds less clean.
I know. I’m nitpicking. Both are amazing bass players as you said
He doesn’t talk.
At all!
Zero memes. Only bass.
There were always comments on his videos that people wanted him to go back to playing only bass and what he did as reaction was: Create a video in which he only plays bass, like the old times. After that he goes: “See? It got less likes than my other videos.” and goes back to memeing.
Davie is a really good player. I like Rob Scallon (he started on bass and plays like, every string instrument so he can count!) the most.
Davie didn’t start the using a pick thing…I don’t know the Real origin of it, but for me it was Victor Wooten in “Me and My Bass Guitar” song on A Show of Hands album album.
)
It’s all good content!
