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Thread: Best Bass Sound?

  1. #51
    Member hippypants's Avatar
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  2. #52
    Ones that haven't been mentioned yet: Fabio Pignatelli and John G. Perry. Also, if we count "left-hand bass," Joe Vannelli.
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  3. #53
    Member wideopenears's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 100423 View Post
    Hah! You must have changed hairstylists in the second photo.

    I believe the middle pickup is a dummy pickup used for the reduction of hum.
    Correct. Alembics are single coil pickups. The dummy coil was to maintain the single coil sound while avoiding the single coil hum when soloing a pickup. That's a major factor in their sound, of course. Some were also low impedence, which is also a tonal factor.

    I also agree that pickup placement is a big factor in tone. You know there are two "bridge pickup" placements for the Fender Jazz Bass? The Early 70's, and the other one? LOL. Geeking out here. Another factor is where the "plucking area" is in relation to the length of the string. Most Alembics have "forward mounted" bridges, in contrast to most Fender basses, and the length of string between the bridge and the neck is a factor as well.

    Stanley does use a very midrange-y tone sometimes, though--he used the filters to get a nasal, middy sound with the lows and highs rolled off, at times. I will try to think of an example--I think Romantic Warrior has some passages---but you can hear that sound in solos and fills some times.

    I like Alembics--they have a variety of sounds that are interesting, to my ears. And they play like butter. But the top of the line, Series I, are out of my price range.

  4. #54
    Member wideopenears's Avatar
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    Go listen to Stanley's fills in "The Magician" on Romantic Warrior--tons of middy tone there.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Yves View Post
    No love for Geezer Butler or John Paul Jones ?
    Damn straight! Geezer has tons of killer riffs but that opening for NIB is the best. Jones had some great ones as well but two that stand out for me are the straight tones on "Ramble On" and that funky distorted sound he threw down on "Heartbreaker".

    No one has brought up Richard Davis' fretless work on Van Morrison's Astral Weeks? Shame, shame, shame.
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  6. #56
    Member wideopenears's Avatar
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    Richard Davis was on Upright, actually......

    Agree on Geezer--a unique and influential player, with stand-out tone. JPJ also a huge influence--"What Is and What Should Never Be" would be a reference track.

  7. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    Was just listening to some old albums by The Nice, and Lee Jackson had one of the best bass sounds in rock. Nice clear tone, good articulation, and intelligent bass lines.

    Too bad he was also one of rock's worst singers....
    I didn't mind his singing, though a lot of folks did. I'd rather listen to him sing than The Boss or Bob Dylan, just to name a couple.

    Quote Originally Posted by klothos View Post
    Marcus Miller for slap bass
    Yes! Regular finger plucking too. I'd imagine you've heard his version of Weather Report's "Teen Town" where he slaps the whole thing; amazing!

    Quote Originally Posted by wideopenears View Post
    For me, the most gorgeous bass tone (and some of the most affecting bass playing) I've heard on record is still Jaco
    A total game changer (though some don't like his midrangey sound)! Words fail, so I won't even try to express what a phenomenally versatile and well rounded musician/composer he was. All I know is that when he came out, practically every bass player I knew bought a fretless and learned how to play Charlie Parker's (or Miles Davis; let's not even go there) "Donna Lee."

    Quote Originally Posted by undergroundrailroad View Post
    I think this is the most beautiful I've ever heard an electric bass sound on a recording.
    Ray is a great bass player who's function was totally unique in the realm of rock... even prog rock! What he played was unlike anything else you've heard a bass player play in a rock band; it was more like contrapuntal harmony lines than any sort of traditional bass lines. He was very much "in the pocket" and though I generally prefer bass to be plucked with fingers rather than picked, his sound was perfect for what GG was doing.

    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    I'll add Jeff Berlin who has not yet been mentioned.
    I listened to Bruford's "One of a Kind" for the first time in a while last week and found myself focusing mostly on Berlin's playing. I loved his sound and approach on that album. There was a debate here a couple of years ago about whether or not he played fretless on some Bruford tracks and I got it through "the horse's mouth;" he's never played a fretless on any studio recording. His ability to play legato with no fret noise is what fooled people and it's a testament to how much control he has over the instrument.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sputnik View Post
    One other not mentioned is Tony Franklin with The Firm. Again, you may not dig the music, but his bass tone is superb. Dare I say better than Jaco's to my ears? Obviously Jaco is the superior player, but I've never been a huge fan of his tone. Likewise Stanley Clarke, though in his case it's the Alembic bass that's likely the culprit. I've never been a fan of those in anyone's hands; all highs and lows, no middle, too weedy and slinky. Maybe that's just me, I know those things were popular, but I never liked them.
    Yeah, I actually liked Stanley's ratty sound better on "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy" where he was playing some sort of Gibson bass. The only guy I've heard make an Alembic sound good is Jimmy Johnson.

    Lots of great bass players with great sounds. It would take me all day to scratch the surface... and I've got other things to do.

  8. #58
    Quote Originally Posted by ronmac View Post
    Seriously, though, Paul McCartney on "Here Comes the Sun."
    Go listen to his tone on Flowers in the Dirt. He has a great tone on that entire album. Even the much maligned Pipes of Peace had really nice bass. So Bad has a gorgeous bass tone. I think he was using a Wal bass or a Rick on PoP and certainly a Wal on FitD.

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    Quote Originally Posted by wideopenears View Post
    For me, the most gorgeous bass tone (and some of the most affecting bass playing) I've heard on record is still Jaco, on Joni Mitchell's album "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter." The first bass note on "Overture" is my single favorite bass guitar note ever recorded. The track that follows, "Cotton Avenue" is a tour de force of bass playing and groove, as well as tone. And the one that follows that, "Talk to Me," is genius "Jaco-playing-trombone-fills" bass. Those three tunes, I can listen to them over and over....and I often have.
    This is a crazy album. After a spate of Joni binge buying in which I acquired three earlier albums of hers, i got this one, and initially did not know what to make of it. As time went on though I found myself returning to it. I love those three tracks. Another good one (from Hejira) is Black Crow. I don't know if that's Jaco as well, can't be bothered checking right now.
    Last edited by bob_32_116; 10-22-2015 at 03:32 PM.

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    Whoever played the bass for Bob Marley and the Wailers. (Probably a session musician rather than one of the Wailers.) Reggae can easily sound very samey, but the bass on some of those songs really made them come alive: Get up Stand Up, them belly Full, Lively Up Yourself and others.

  11. #61
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    Quote Originally Posted by bob_32_116 View Post
    This is a crazy album. After a spate of Joni binge buying in which I acquired three earlier albums of hers, i got this one, and initially did not know what to make of it. As time went on though I found myself returning to it. I love those three tracks. Another good one (from Hejira) is Black Crow. I don't know if that's Jaco as well, can't be bothered checking right now.
    It is; he's on the whole album. I think his playing on "Refuge of the Roads" is particularly beautiful!

  12. #62
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    Family Man Barrett was the bassist on most of the Wailer's albums...he defines reggae bass, IMO. Genius lines, so melodic.

  13. #63
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    Jones had some great ones as well but two that stand out for me are the straight tones on "Ramble On" and that funky distorted sound he threw down on "Heartbreaker".
    Yeah, I almost mentioned JPJ. He's certainly among my favorite players, but I don't generally put him up there at the pinnacle of tone. Zepplein II is an exception to that, where his tone is pretty consistently awesome, and the examples you site are dead on.

    Quote Originally Posted by No Pride View Post
    Yeah, I actually liked Stanley's ratty sound better on "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy" where he was playing some sort of Gibson bass.
    He used a one pickup Rickenbacker (4000?) at one point as well. Can't say I warmed much to his tone on that either. Great player, just don't dig his tone. Same with Victor Wooten, who is among the best, but I just find his tone brittle and sterile.

    Quote Originally Posted by wideopenears View Post
    Go listen to Stanley's fills in "The Magician" on Romantic Warrior--tons of middy tone there.
    I'll give it another listen. I have this album, and have heard this a thousand times, and it never jumped out at me as "great tone," though I imagine if he's soloing the mid-range helped him cut through.

    Bill

  14. #64
    Member dropforge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    Fabio Pignatelli
    Thanks for mentioning Fabio. He's one of the great electric bassists who doesn't get the same props as others. Fantastic tone and, IMO, chops. He cooks up some really cool lines.

  15. #65
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    JJ Burnel of the Stranglers. His bass sound was the first thing to catch my ears. Much like the first time I heard YES.
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  16. #66
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    The late Allen Woody of Gov't Mule is another one with his "wooly mammoth" tone. GM isn't exactly known for audiophile quality recordings but that bass was loud and clear, especially on the first two albums.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  17. #67
    Oh, gosh, Eberhard Weber has such a beautiful sound. So sad he is so ill.

    I learned to play bass specifically because of Jack Casady. I've posted this in other threads, but even with a simple song, he sounds like no one else:

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  18. #68
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Supertramp's Dougie Thompson gave a real classy touch to the band's soundscapes
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  19. #69
    I always LOVED McCartney's killer bass run toward the end of "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey." In fact, "Helter Skelter" has some heavy-ass playing.
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  20. #70
    Quote Originally Posted by adap2it View Post
    JJ Burnel of the Stranglers. His bass sound was the first thing to catch my ears. Much like the first time I heard YES.
    Amazing bassist, especially impressive (also sound-wise) on The Raven. I guess his merits as baroque guitarist helped him.

    Up the same street was Killing Joke's Paul Raven. His sound on their immaculate "Love Like Blood" (from Night Time in 1985) was one of the first occasions where it appeared to me that bass was actually a really cool instrument - and not just an important one.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
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  21. #71
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by adap2it View Post
    JJ Burnel of the Stranglers. His bass sound was the first thing to catch my ears. Much like the first time I heard YES.
    Amazing bassist, especially impressive (also sound-wise) on The Raven. I guess his merits as baroque guitarist helped him.

    Up the same street was Killing Joke's Paul Raven. His sound on their immaculate "Love Like Blood" (from Night Time in 1985) was one of the first occasions where it appeared to me that bass was actually a really cool instrument - and not just an important one.
    Burnel was the real punk dude in The Stranglers... used to be constantly in brawls and spats too.


    MMMhhh!!..to me, realizing bass was a key element came in with Cream, Yes and Jefferson Airplane (Casady was almost playing lead bass in some songs)
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

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  23. #73
    Best bass sound I ever heard was Joe DiBiase, Fates Warning, 1994. I'm pretty sure he was playing through a Ampeg cabinet, I was right in front of it hanging on the stage. Very cool show.

    But, the actual and correct answer to the question is Derek Smalls. Of course.
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  24. #74
    Quote Originally Posted by Trane View Post
    to me, realizing bass was a key element came in with Cream, Yes and Jefferson Airplane (Casady was almost playing lead bass in some songs)
    I'm not saying some 1985 dude was the first one; the point is that I was 13 years old when "Love Like Blood" hit the charts in '85. I hadn't quite come around to Phil Lesh, Casady, Squire, Top, Pedro Aznar etc. yet.

    And I already stated in an earlier post that Casady was revolutionary, DAMMIT!
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  25. #75
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    I'm not saying some 1985 dude was the first one; the point is that I was 13 years old when "Love Like Blood" hit the charts in '85. I hadn't quite come around to Phil Lesh, Casady, Squire, Top, Pedro Aznar etc. yet.

    And I already stated in an earlier post that Casady was revolutionary, DAMMIT!
    don't get uppity with me, youg man!!

    I wasn't aware you were roughly 10 years younger that the old decrepit geezer I am.
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

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