Who do you consider to be a Tone Monster -- a guy who just has THE sound?

For me, it's Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith -- I just love the way that guy sounds. Heavy lows, strong mids, clear (but not too much) highs, slightly grindy tone. It's the sound I try to go for. And it amazes how consistent his sound has been over the years, through multiple gear changes.

A couple others for me are:

John Entwistle -- it ain't MY sound, but I love it, and it's so distinctive. You always know it's him;

Chris Squire -- same deal.

How about you?

Good topic!
The ones that spring to mind immediately for me are Geddy Lee, Doug Pinnick, and Mike Watt.

I always dug Ged's tone, killer rock sound. Dave LaRue gets an amazing tone, no matter what he's playing or what it's being played through...proof to me that it's all in the hands :). And Roscoe Beck, particularly I like the tone he gets on the Robben Ford and the Blue Line stuff when he's doing the 2 handed "organ" stuff behind the guitar solos. Man I wish I could do THAT! :eek:

i've always thought that geddy lee's tone on moving pictures(jazz bass) is the perfect recorded bass tone, the best ever, but lately i've been leaning towards his tone on permanent waves (rickenbacker).

Duck Dunn has such a FAT sound, its amazing, not always what I'm going for.
And Marcus Miller has a great slap tone
Geddy has a cool tone for the type of music he does

Marcus is great; he has the slap tone to which everyone aspires.

Some of my other tone faves:

Mark Egan (Best Use of Chorus)
Jimmy Haslip (Best Acoustic/Electric Hybrid Tone)
Steve Swallow/Anthony Jackson (Best Use of a Pick)

jimmy haslip doesn't always get teh credit he deserves on this board, i mean he gets soem, but a lot of peopel overlook him. listen to his slap tone on blacktop off of yellowjackets- dreamland
to stay on topic i woudl say stanley clark has sick tone, i woudl agree entwhisle does to, and i woudl jamerson has that sweet phat round gut rumbling sensory overload tone.
for chorussy tone i have to be cliche and say jaco

Jaco; of course!
Lee Sklar;
Will Lee;
Anthony Jackson:
Pino Palladino:
Mike Brignadello:
Rocco:
Emory Gordy Jnr:
George Porter:
Sting;
These are guys I admire for their tone and articulation.
Here are some I dont like much (I'm gonna get flak for these!) John Entwhistle, Chris Squire, Stanley Clarke, Les Claypool, Percy Jones, myself.

I tend to agree with Marty - I always admired Chris Squire for the lines he played and his impact on the music, but really hated that tone. Never been a fan of John Entwistle either.

Leland Sklar's tone on Billy Cobham's "Stratus" album is huge - that's what I'd call a tone monster - all tone and very simple but effective lines. I would have to add Paul Jackson - Headhunter's tone.

My favourite tone is from a UK bass player most of you won't have heard, but I've mentioned a few times before - Franc 'O Shea. Close second for me is Stefan Rademacher, who curremtly plays with Billy Cobham's band - he must have a great ear for bassists!!

I have to agree on Lee Sklar -- can't believe I left him off my original list. I've always loved his tone and his playing.

Same with Marcus Miller -- again, not my sound, but gorgeous slap and funk tone.

Lot's of great ones posted up here. Gimme more!

Man, I was listening to some Brand New Heavies late last night and I had forgotten how much Andrew Levy's tone knocks me out.. not to mention his superb time, taste and feel.

Good thead.
In very different ways :
-Steve Harris
-Flea
-Pino Palladino
-Marcus Miller
-the guy on Paul Simon's Graceland album (don't know his name)
- John Entwhistle
- Lemmy
- Niktus (from the french band FFF which I'm sure no one has ever heard of in here ;)
- Janik Top (another french bassist)
and so many more ...

Originally posted by NJXT

-the guy on Paul Simon's Graceland album (don't know his name)


His name is Bakithi Kumalo.. he's from South Africa. He has a couple of solo albums out.

Originally posted by NJXT

- Niktus (from the french band FFF which I'm sure no one has ever heard of in here ;)

Actually, I have heard of FFF.. if I'm not mistaken, I remember reading an interview with Bill Laswell where he talked about happening upon them in Paris, and eventually producing an album for them.

paul mccartney
ian kilmister
geezer butler
mr. pappalardi
and
jack bruce

IMO Mo Foster has the best all around tone for slap, fretted and fretless, no matter what the setting his bass blends but still has it's own character.

Jimmy 'Flim' Johnson also has an Alembic tone that's filling but not too much.

for me it's always p-nut.

While I think Dave Larue has one of the best overall tones, especially on his solo album, to me the *ultimate* bass tone is Leland Sklar on James Taylors' "You're Smiling Face."
That dirty (but use-able) tone is perfect to my ears

Billy Sheehan. I didn't like him so much at first, but the Niacin stuff convinced me.

Felix Pappalardi. OK, he's kind of at the other end of the spectrum from Billy, but pretty doggone cool.

John Paul Jones on LZ II.

I would have to say I agree with flatwound if we are talking rock John Paul Jones always had a really good rock sound and he was always solid. Geezer Butler although not a great Sabbath fan always had a nice tone for metal. And the guy from TOOL has a nice tone especially when he uses that reverb type sound. I think most of the well known bass players have good tones which fit their music well and since I don't listen to much jazz I'm not ad lib to say much about them except I think the DB sound is awesome nice and thick sounding.

I have to agree w/ ur sklar, that guy gets an incredible tone (must be the beard). I shoulda added him to my origional

I'd have to say my favorite tones are Jack Bruce's overdriven sound (his tone on Crossroads has got to be my favorite of the sounds I've heard from him), pretty much anything done by John Paul Jones, John Entwistle- pretty much the tone I go after, and also Les Claypool's bass sounds.. particulary the Brown album.... I love it.

Originally posted by Dave Siff
Originally posted by NJXT

-the guy on Paul Simon's Graceland album (don't know his name)


His name is Bakithi Kumalo.. he's from South Africa. He has a couple of solo albums out.


Thx. Do you recommend the albums ?

Originally posted by Dave Siff

Actually, I have heard of FFF.. if I'm not mistaken, I remember reading an interview with Bill Laswell where he talked about happening upon them in Paris, and eventually producing an album for them.


In fact, I believe he produced one of their albums. And Spike Lee did one of their video clip. They play a funk/rock fusion style. Love'em. Live, they have a monster sound and energy.
They have produced 4 studio albums and one live. I know they tour out of France, but not much. Though 90% of lyrics are in french (the rest in english), if you can catch them live, I strongly advice to do so. They recently change the bass player (he recorded the last album but didn't want to tour) and the new one is not that good.

My favorite tones would be:

Justin Chancellor-TOOL
Tony Levin
Eddie Jackson-Queensryche (especially on Promised Land)
Les Claypool
Mike Starr (original bassist for Alice In Chains)
Eric Avery -Jane's Addiction
Flea
Duff Mackagen (say what you will about G N'R but the bass sound rocked)
Steve Harris-Iron Maiden
Tim-Rage Against the Machine
And my the newest addtion to my list:
Ryan Martine from MuDvAyNe man that guy rocks!

Dude, I totaly forgot one of my all time favorite players and tones. Billy Gould from Faith No More. Who new Peavey gear could sound that good.

Originally posted by NJXT
Originally posted by Dave Siff
Originally posted by NJXT

-the guy on Paul Simon's Graceland album (don't know his name)


His name is Bakithi Kumalo.. he's from South Africa. He has a couple of solo albums out.


Thx. Do you recommend the albums ?


Nathaniel, I can't give you a recommendation either way, I haven't heard the albums. But if you do a search here, I think the albums have been mentioned a couple of times in other threads.

Originally posted by killer B
My favorite tones would be:

Eddie Jackson-Queensryche (especially on Promised Land)



Good call! Eddie's got my vote for the best tone.

Also:
-Geddy Lee-This is a no brainer.
-Billy Sheehan-An aquired taste. To hear him live and up close seals it for me.
-John Myung-When you can hear it.;)
-Steve Harris
-Anthony Jackson

There are too many people out there with excellent tone to mention IMHO but that is not surprising considering that the average skill level and quality/variety of gear has increased a lot since the 1950's.

That said I do admire Melvin Gibbs for the varied tones he has produced, from clear ringing piano tones to fat, punchy, or the apocalypse. 'Come in and Burn' (Rollins Band) has good examples.

tis a good topic indeed.

I would have to say in no particular order:

Flea, in the studio. I know but I cant help it, I'm a big peppers fan, it's just the energy in his playing that come through in his sound, I love it.

This guy named Silvio who plays down my local jazz club in Reading - amazing player, he pumps up the bass and has this booming, amazingly warm and fat fretless tone. Fantastic.

Larr Graham - I only have 1 of his albums, but SHOOT is he funky, his slap just booms and bounces,,, really meaty.

Bootsy.

BTW arther where is this Jazz club in Reading? I'm only 30 mins away so I'd love to come down and check it out.

Smoothgroover:

Do it mate, I guarantee you'll love it!

The place is called JWs it's on the corner of Gun St, Castle Hill, St Marys Butts and Bridge St in Reading centre.

It's not strictly a jazz club, they just have live jazz every Thursday - with different musicians.
Drums & bass, and a lead or two, trumpet, sax, tenor, hammond or whatever.

It's free to get in and they play from about 8pm till midnight. It varies from modern jazz through to real blue-note funky stuff... it's always good.

fave tones;
Steve Harris
Geddy Lee
Doug Pinnick (on the "Dogman" album)
Billy Sheehan (I'm not a fan of his long hair + spandex image or his guitar hero show-off stuff, but his tone's great)
Flea
Billy Gould

and less mentioned players;

Jean-Jacques Burnel (The Stranglers) P-bass, pick + distortion esp. on "The Raven" and "La Folie" albums.
Simon Gallup (The Cure- jangly hollow EB-2 and Stingray sounds on "Disintegration" and "Wish", chorused Stingray and P-bass)
Colin Moulding (XTC, esp. on the "Black Sea" album)
David Ellefson (Megadeth- the Jackson tone on "Rust in Peace" and "Countdown to Extinction")
Jason Newsted- The Black album and "Load"
Rex Brown (Pantera)



[Edited by The Mock Turtle Regulator on 02-10-2001 at 10:09 AM]

Originally posted by The Mock Turtle Regulator
fave tones;
....Rex Brown (Pantera)


A fair one Turtle, but on their first few albums you can't really hear him because is must-cut-mids sound is drowned out by Dimebag's powerchords/whammy madness. Is he more audible live? Are the albums badly engineered or is that tone his choice?

yeah, I don't like Terry Date's production in general on Pantera's albums or on Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger, where the snare and the bass drum sound exactly the same, but Rex's tone, where it isn't buried under the guitars and you can hear it is pretty good IMHO.
I don't think the Stingray was the right bass to use for this sort of music (on "Vulgar Display Of Power")- more high mids are needed- he got a much better sound (from a Spector NS2) on "Far Beyond Driven".

Sam Rivers from Limp Bizkit on the first album. grrr

On Vulgar Display Rex didn't sound like he was playing a 'Ray at all IMHO- if he was it certainly disproves the myth about it being a 'one sound' bass!

Jimmy Johnson (especially with James Taylor & David Benoit)
Randy Hope Taylor
Jimmy Haslip
Anthony Jackson (any time)
Bob Glaub (with John Fogerty)
Nathaniel Phillips
Vic, Jaco, both MM's, JJ.

Anthony Jackson

Tony Levin on King Crimson's '80s albums (the clicky Stingray sound he has on the '90s ones is just a bit too cliche, IMO); also, his electric upright sound with ProjeKCt Four

Paul Jackson--classic. Oooooooooooooooold school.

Geddy Lee on Grace Under Pressure and Permanent Windows--I don't care how stupid Steinbergers look, the sound is perfect for hard rock.

Originally posted by smoothergroover
On Vulgar Display Rex didn't sound like he was playing a 'Ray at all IMHO- if he was it certainly disproves the myth about it being a 'one sound' bass!
......but I thought you said you couldn't really hear him :p
the album liner notes say he used Musicman basses, plus there's a pic of him playing a Stingray 5. at the beginning of "Walk" you can hear a typical 'Ray sound.

on one track on "Far Beyond Driven" (Good Friends And A Bottle Of Pills) he's definitely using the Stingray 5.

I think my favorites change frequently, but for a long time, I've continued to be amazed at Flea's tone on "Blood Sugar Sex Magik". Also, John Paul Jones' tone is a biggie for me, although I wonder what it would sound like solo'ed. I have a feeling that Bonham's drums played a large part of JPJ' tone...and that is as is should be, IMO.
One guy that's lesser known who has a tone that really gets me off is John Jordan, who used to play with Chris Duarte. That guy could really fill up the space in a 3-piece format.

Originally posted by The Mock Turtle Regulator
......but I thought you said you couldn't really hear him :p
the album liner notes say he used Musicman basses, plus there's a pic of him playing a Stingray 5. at the beginning of "Walk" you can hear a typical 'Ray sound.

on one track on "Far Beyond Driven" (Good Friends And A Bottle Of Pills) he's definitely using the Stingray 5. [/B]

Fair one Turtle...serves me right for speaking from memory/bottom! I agree about the 'Driven track but the production on Vulgar Display...I think the Darrell brothers must have pushed the bass channel fader down when Rex wasn't looking...

Which bassist has a tone that really hits the spot for you?

I really like Victor Bailey's tone on his album "Low Blow." It has a lot of bottom and is really powerful. Combined with his playing, on some tunes it's downright hypnotic and intense. He can get an almost upright sound out of it too. And although it has lots of bottom, it isn't muddy.

I'd also like to try out Marcus Miller's gear just once. But recently Victor Bailey's sound really impresses me. I haven't heard any of his other stuff though (besides "Low Blow"). Has he always sounded like that?

John Entwistle's tone is my favorite. That stereo-biamp thing is way cool,:D with super clean low end and varying amounts of distortion on the high end! When I hear it, it sends shivers up and down my spine:D

I really dig Michael Manrings' fretless tones...so much I had to buy a Zon for myself.
I also really dig Oteil Burbridge's tones from the ARU stuff.... Sooo smooth!!!
Of course Jaco's tones, especially on tunes like 'A Remark You Made' & 'Teen Town'.
Anything with Paul Chambers too!!

The McCartney / Beatles tone is the one that I love AND haven't been able to reproduce. I know he used flats, but in a recent Bass player article, their engineer talked about using lots of compression on it.

It's so unique, no one else had that sound.

I like John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, although I like a lot of those old sixties guys, with the flat sound.

Well, i love Fat, Vintage tone, so my favs are mostly the older (better) ones!

John Paul Jones (except during the BBC Sessions)
Paul McCartney (Specially on Sgt Pepper's and Abbey Road)
James Jamerson
Jeff Ament (Just plain delightful)

Tim C. from RATM in "Bulls on Parade"

I like several tones, Geezer Butler, Jack Bruce and also the guy from Kings X, don't know his name

Stu

fingerstyle - Jack Bruce
Pick - Chris Squire
Fretless - Jaco

Originally posted by alexssandro
But recently Victor Bailey's sound really impresses me. I haven't heard any of his other stuff though (besides "Low Blow"). Has he always sounded like that?

...IMO, he has.
Honestly, he has that single-coil, bridge pickup hotter-than-the-neck pickup (Fender)Jazz sound/tone(sounds like the guy he succeeded in Weather Report, only on a fretted bass). ;)
Check Bailey out on Weather Report's Procession album(specifically, the tune, "Plaza Real").
Also, check out Bailey with Steps Ahead(the Live In Tokyo '86 album).
BTW, if you like Bailey's tone, you may also like Jeff Andrews tone.


The guy for me is Chuck Rainey-
...the records with Steely Dan, Quincy Jones, Aretha, etc.
Another guy is Tom Kennedy(check out the recent Dave Weckl Band cds or the late '80s trio stuff with ex-RTF guitarist Billy Connors).

...oh, & Gary Willis & Oteil Burbridge(especially back in the '80s with nothin' but a Fender Jazz)& Keith Horne & Jimmy Haslip & etc.

JUSTIN CHANCELLOR! Listen to 46&2 off Aenima, it's awesome! Also, his work with Peach was great, a little more funky!
I also kinda dig the crunchy sound Duff Mckagan used to have. But Chancellor is my favorite player!

early p-nut, and paul McC at the other end of the spectrum.

Originally posted by analogkid9
Geddy Lee on Grace Under Pressure and Permanent Windows--I don't care how stupid Steinbergers look, the sound is perfect for hard rock.

geddy played producer peter collins' wal on all of power windows, and he played the ole' trusty ric on all of permanent waves.

i am unaware of what instrument he played on permanent windows, though :D

Originally posted by alexssandro
But recently Victor Bailey's sound really impresses me. I haven't heard any of his other stuff though (besides "Low Blow"). Has he always sounded like that?

I don't know that record, but I have his first solo record Bottom's Up and the Petite Blonde project w/ Dennis Chambers et al.
He always had the same great sound, probably the one you meant.

Personally I like Vic's sound best at the moment (but then who doesn't...)

I like mine the best !!!!!

Duck Dunn, Marcus Miller, and the new Pino Pallidino w/ D'angelou

Paul S. Denman

Originally posted by JimK



BTW, if you like Bailey's tone, you may also like Jeff Andrews tone.


Andrew's Zon is on ebay, btw.

Some of my personal picks are as follows:

Eddie Jackson-(Operation Mindcrime and Empire)
Roco Prestia
Tobin Esparance
Michael Anthony (F.U.C.K and Balance)
Rex Brown
Garth Brooks Bass Player- Dbl Live CD in NYC (wish I knew his name)
Geddy Lee

no particular favorite, but here's a few that I enjoy...

Chris Squire, particularly on "Close to the Edge"
Geddy Lee on, well, everything after "Roll the Bones"
Paul McCartney circa '67 (ex: Paperback Writer/Rain, Penny Lane)

Dave Larue's tone on his solo "Hub City Kid" CD and the Dixie Dregs "Bring 'Em Back Alive" CD.
The Spector tone at it's finest.

Flea. Sorry.

I'm gonna catch hell for this, but I love Duff McKagan's tone on Appetite for Destruction (think of all the stuff OTHER than "Sweet Child of Mine"). I tend to favor J-bass-with-a-pick tones (not enough to use a pick myself though ;)), and I think his is the best of the bunch. It's a fine line between cutting through the mix and being too clanky, and he walks it perfectly on that album - or at least the engineer does. To my ears, it's a perfect rock mix; the bass is present throughout without getting too nasal.

IMO, YMMV, please don't hurt me...

If you wanna talk PICK tones on a J-bass, I'm goin' with Joe Osborn! ;)

...and I agree with those who feel McCartney has a nice pick tone goin' on, too.

Martin Turner from Wishbone Ash
Jack Bruce
Dennis Dunaway
Pino Palladino
Peter Cruickshank from Groundhogs
Tony Levin

...for starters

1) Geddy Lee, any album
2) Paul D'Amour on Tool's "Undertow"
3) Doug Pinnick from King's X, especially on the songs "Ooh Song" and "What I Know About Love".. there is no meaner tone in the world than this!

I'm going to have to go for Duff McKagan followed closely by Timmy C from RATM.

James Jamerson and Chris Freeman (from the no defunkt local group "Grooveyard").

Recently, I have been listening to Tool a lot more, and both Justin Chancellor and Paul D'Amour add the right sound to the songs. IMO, i think that Timmy C from Rage... has great tone on the whole Evil Empire album. I also think that Dirk Lance from Incubus has really good low-end sound. And everyone out there has to love Geddy Lee's tone. And last Eric Wilson from Sublime.

Some of my tone faves:

Marcus Miller
Anthony Jackson
Jimmy Johnson
Tony Levin
Pino Palladino
Jimmy Haslip

I dig wooten and jaco's tone. oh, and Stanley Clarke has an awesome tone as well

Some of my favorite bass tones are:

Geddy Lee: I did not like his tone with the Steinberger or Wal's. His Ric and Fender Jazz tones however are to die for.

Justin Chancellor: Great edgy tone + good use of effects.

Eddie Jackson: Back when they did Mindcrime and Empire, he had an awesome sound. I did not follow anything they did after that.

Stefan Lessard: Nice and mellow, but with drive.

Tom Barney: Listen to Gaslighting Abbie. I don't know if that's his Stingray 5 or custom ESP, but I would wager it's the ESP.

Marcus: I'm usually not a fan of scooped funk, but I think his playing makes all the difference here.

STP - DeLeo: Not at all times, but that sound on Down is killer. Love that trebly edge with lots of bass behind it.

Staind - April: Good generic pick sound for metal.

Stanley Clarke: Always a pleasure.

Live - Dahlheimer: Has had some good sounds throughout their albums, most notably on Lakini's Juice from Secret Samadhi.

I'm sure I left some out, but those come to mind for now.

Toss up between Tom Hamilton and Will Lee.

John Paul Jones- Dazed and Confused and many others
John Deacon-Another one Bites the Dust and many others

Um...Ryknow...

Man it got to be James Jamerson that old Motown bass is fat!!!!!.

I think it's a tough question. Basically, i favor the Stu Hamm/Vic Wooten/Flea type of sound, but i also love Jaco's, Paul McCartney in songs like "With a little help from my friends" or "Everybody's got something to hide except me and my monkey" and the "Barney Miller" tone (i don't know who's the player). :)

without a doubt Jaco!!!! What a master bassist he was. Listen to his solo debut album and also his stuff with Weather Report and what not.
I also like Oteil Burbridges tone, John Patitucci, Marcus, Matthew Garrison and more...

Chris Squire sound with his Rickenbacker, early YES music.

Marcus Miller
Joe Osborn
Alain Caron
James Jamerson
Natahn East

John Paul Jones (especially on Led Zeppelin II)
Dirk Lance (Incubus)
James Jamerson
Jaco Pastorius
Roger Waters

For me, P-Nut from 311 is the tone God. I think he has found the perfect tone, and I am gonna one day find it or die trying.

My second choice would be Justin Chancellor from Tool. He using more effects, but the overall tone is pretty killer.

I also like Matt Freeman from Rancid. Nice bright sound that really cuts through well.

Pre-Modulus Flea was pretty good also. I just can't stand the live tone he now has with the Modulus. Just sounds dull, to me.

Ryan

John Wetton on the '70's King Crimson recordings. His tone is more of a lead type than your standard subdued tone. It's really in your face, loud, and fits great with Bill Bruford's drums and Robert Fripp's guitar style. It's a real shame that sound disappeared with Asia. What's really strange are the pictures of him from that time period playing a sunburst P-bass. I wonder what he did effects-wise to get that tone.

I am just listening to Prefab Sprouts 'Steve McQueen', and that bass sound is really good - Martin McAloon playing if I am not mistaken (it's an old tape recording). Clear, punchy, good growl (slightly distorted?). Great production altogether on that album.


BTW - I have asked this before, but since P.S. is up: I am not able to figure out the chords on their song 'Cruel' from the 'Swoon' album. Can anyone help?

Tnx

Geddy's Presto tone is my favourite tone in the UNIVERSE, followed closely by his tone on Power Windows.

Flea's tone on BSSM (especially Suck My Kiss, and Give It Away) is also awesome.

Justin Chancellor's tone is lovely too.

--jeff
Wal fetishist

it's funny, you can almost guess the poster's age by what they have posted.

Here are my personal faves right now, in no particular order:
Me'Shell
Flea on Blood Sugar
Jimmy Haslip
Richard Bona
Andrew Levy (Brand New Heavies)


there are some bassists playing modern gospel out there that have that killer smooth slap tone (I call it new-school slap)

Here's my two:

Ken Casey (Dropkick Murphys) P-bass with a pick, with a gritty amp tone

Mike Dirnt (Nimrod-era Green Day) P-bass with a pick...fatter and bassier than Casey's...but the same idea.

Simon Gallup on Seventeen Seconds/Faith/Pornography era Cure records.

For my favorite bass tone, I don't know much about the bassist, or even the band for that matter. My favorite tone is from a band called Calobo. I have a compliation with a live track of a song they do called "Put Your Pipe Down Baby" and it's the tone I've been searching for. It has a really fat sound to it, but it has enough highs and growls in it, that it would be easy to cut through if you wanted to solo, or play a little slap.

Does anyone have an info about this band?

Well...

John Paul Jones...he sounds AMAZING on every zeppelin record...IMHO the best rock tone

John Entwistle...from who's next to quadrophenia....yum

Paul McCartney...round and beautiful pickstyle tone especially from Revolver on...

Flea...his BSSM and OHM tones are just dripping with funk

Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam)...chameleon...sounds different in pretty much every song, always great...

Adam Clayton (U2)...from Joshua Tree on...variety and solid playing

Mike Gordon (phish) ...perfect modern pickstyle...

Colin Greenwood (Radiohead)...from The Bends on, amazing varied tone...deep, solid and up front...check out "Talk Show Host"

Danny Glover (Deep Purple)....my favourite "aggressive pickstyle" tone...full and bright...

Jaco's fretless is awesome, especially on joni mitchell's albums and Bright Size Life (Pat Metheny)

Dave Young's upright tone is absolutely beautiful and solid...also add Mingus and Christian McBride


all i can think of right now without glancing over my Records/Cd's (i'm at school)

Mick Karn...backwards, double- tracked fretless lines will always have a special place in my heart. And I agree with Marty Forrer, Marty Forrer doesn't have a good tone...how's that for some flak!

I always liked Sting's tone, as well as Geddy Lee.
You guys forgot about Cliff! Cliff Burton had great tone, you just have to listen real close because the production drowns it out. Frank Bello of Anthrax, specificly the "Among the Living" and "Persistance of Time" albulms. Very odd, yet appealing tone, maybe my favorite, I'm not sure. I have always tried to figure out how he got that tone, but I could never figure it out. Geezer Butler, Jack Bruce, Flea, almost anyone who uses a Ricky, and the list goes on...

Ryan Martinie of Mudvayne- it's a compressed Warwick Thumb through Ampeg, tuned GCGCF. Awsome sound he has.

P-Nut
Aston "Family Man" Barrett
Matt Freeman
Jeff Ament

And more...but these are on top of my head.

I really don't have very much new to add...

McCartney
JPJ(although I do agree with an earlier post that Bonzo's drum sound enhanced his tone)
Jamerson

For some reason, I really like Andy Fraser's(of Free) tone. It wouldn't work in most contexts, but in a band with a sound as sparse as Free's, it fits perfectly.

Also, Adam Clayton in "New Year's Day." That tone is huge!

Dave Larue, I really like his tone on the Steve Morse Band albums..

Also Bakithi Kumalo (you know the Paul Simon bassplayer) has a great tone on the Graceland album....

None of you will know who he is, but Scott Shiflett of Face to Face has an incredible tone on their recordings. Wonderful overdriven picked tones, with the right amount of snotty midrange.

The standard, happy-meal-with-regular-chips-and-coke McCartney/JPJ/Jamerson "axis of bass tone" for me.

I always thought the best bass tone I've ever heard was McCartney's playing on "Dear Prudence". I love that rounded out, muted feel.

"Pre-Modulus Flea was pretty good also. I just can't stand the live tone he now has with the Modulus. Just sounds dull, to me."

Modulus tone "dull"? Are you kidding me? Must be your ears, dude.

Another Modulus guy who wasn't even mentioned in this thread who has killer tone, especially live is Phil Lesh. Fat lows, smooth mids, and bright highs. Mike Gordon (Modulus player) is another. Oh, and Oteill too. He plays a Modulus. How about Dave Schools? Modulus again.

Originally posted by PUNK&DONUTS
And the guy from TOOL has a nice tone especially when he uses that reverb type sound.
Yeah you're absolutely right!
Justin Chancellor's tones dig me, too.

Originally posted by JWBass
"Pre-Modulus Flea was pretty good also. I just can't stand the live tone he now has with the Modulus. Just sounds dull, to me."

Modulus tone "dull"? Are you kidding me? Must be your ears, dude.

Another Modulus guy who wasn't even mentioned in this thread who has killer tone, especially live is Phil Lesh. Fat lows, smooth mids, and bright highs. Mike Gordon (Modulus player) is another. Oh, and Oteill too. He plays a Modulus. How about Dave Schools? Modulus again.

Ryan also uses a Modulus as his main bass. So do I, and I agree. ;)

He didn't say it was Modulus, he said it was Flea. Flea's tone IS gross. Very, very gross. Don't read more into it than's there.

one of my favorite bassists who I have never seen mentioned here, Dusty Hill of ZZ Top.

I can't remember his name, but the bassist for Lynryd Skynyrd has awesome tone as well.

I've been listening to more and more classic rock these days, and have heard some monstrous tone by guys I've probably never heard of.

JazzV...I love Wettons' tone too! That sucker cuts! He basically ran the P-bass into a couple Hiwatt amps(set for full grind) and would back off the volume for a cleaner tone. But bassically what you are hearing is full speaker saturation...ya gotta love it! Now if it was just possible to get that sound without that incredible volume your bandmates might stand a chance...

I just LOVE McCartney's sound, using the Rick and the flats! The sound he gets on records such as Revolver and Sgt. Pepper is everything I ever wanted :)

HELLO.....! BERNARD EDWARDS, GUYS.

geezer butler on heaven and hell

An unconventional choice for me...

Paul Simonon of The Clash on London Calling.

He used a hollowbody Gibson bass with soft round picks, and it blew me away. Very un-punk, very different to the Self titled album, but it just works so well on "London Calling" and "Spanish Bombs".

Also, Jason Newsted's Sadowsky with pick sound is very lively and "tangy" sounding it really grabs your attention instead of rumbling along in the background.

Paul McCartney and John Paul Jones alwaus sounded great, JPJ especially so considering I was not a big fan of Jimmy Page's guitar tone.

Jeff Ament always impressed me by cutting through three guitars on a fretless with flats.

I generally dislike trebly tones, so I'm avoiding some of my favourite bands here, like GNR, Iron Maiden and Tool.

Originally posted by purple_haze
An unconventional choice for me...

Paul Simonon of The Clash on London Calling.

He used a hollowbody Gibson bass with soft round picks, and it blew me away. Very un-punk, very different to the Self titled album, but it just works so well on "London Calling" and "Spanish Bombs".



:confused:

where did you hear/read that?

I always thought that's a P bass- ie. the maple-neck one that's in the sleeve photos.
"lost in the supermarket" must be a P bass- "London Calling" too.

there was no mention of a Gibson hollowbody in the interview he did in Bassist magazine, only mentions of P basses and a Rick 4001 on the first album.
I've only ever seen him using a Gibson in one promo video.

Originally posted by jcadmus
Who do you consider to be a Tone Monster -- a guy who just has THE sound?

The whole of a lifetime will never be enough for me to be fed up with Chris Squire's tone. I love his playing and sound.

On a strict sexual matter, I do prefer Melissa Auf der Maur's tone though :eek: ;)

All the best,

Definitely Richard Bona.

In the video for "London Calling", Simonon is playing a Gibson EB-2. I don't know whether he used it in the studio or not, but I am sure it is seen in the video.

Originally posted by eduardo
HELLO.....! BERNARD EDWARDS, GUYS.

THE funk tonemeister! Good call eduardo!

In no particular order:

o Jaco Pastorius
o Jonas Hellborg
o Donald "Duck" Dunn
o James Jamerson
o Charles Mingus
o Les Claypool

There are many more but those come to my mind first.

In No particular order

David Ellefson =D
Lemmy =D
Cliff Burton
John Entwistle
Steve Harris
Chris Squire
The dude from Booker T and MGs
Paul Mcartney ( i saw him in concert when i was 6)
Roger from Less than Jake
Dan Mclintlock(studio player for Craigs Brother.. that dude plays everything... now has a punk band called Inspection 12.. they even use orchestra in some of there songs... =D)

eric wilson

I usually don't feel the need to post a message on a thread that’s 6 pages long but I had to for this one.

I'm sure I'm gonna get killed for this, but I personally do not dig Jaco's tone at all I cant believe so many people mentioned him. That fretless jazz bass bridge pickup only fart tone to me is the most horrible bass tone I've ever heard. I absolutely love his playing though. If you ask me, the best recorded fretless bass tone is on the song "Hey You" by Pink Floyd.

I find that recorded an live bass tones are completely different animals. For example, my favorite recorded bass tone of all time is pretty much anything by Stanley Clarke the smooth lows and shimmering highs of his tone are as clean as glass. However when I have seen him live, I could not stand his tone. It was muffled and muddy.

The best tone I have ever heard live however is the bass player from Laundry. I know its not a bass its a stick but does that still count? It was the first and last time I have ever seen or heard a Chapman Stick. His tone had major sub sonic low end that made my guts move and high end harmonic content that just cut through. It made me want to get a stick (never could find out where to get one) after hearing it in that concert. I have yet to hear a Laundry album so I can't comment on his recorded tone.

Anyway thats my story and I'm sticking to it! (sorry for the bad pun I just had to say it)

Originally posted by seamus

Live - Dahlheimer: Has had some good sounds throughout their albums, most notably on Lakini's Juice from Secret Samadhi.

[/B]


YES! That is one of my favorite songs for bass tone, Dahlheimer's tone has the perfect amount of growl. Thought nobody else ever noticed.

Adam Duce (Machine Head) and Jason Newsted. Even though they both use picks their tones are nice and smooth, not too "pingy" sounding.

Originally posted by purple_haze
Jeff Ament always impressed me by cutting through three guitars on a fretless with flats.

Actually, Jeff rarely plays the fretless w/ all mike, ed and stone playing. When he does, he plays a Wal (midrange king) with Dean Markley SR2000's (light gauge)...far from flats!

Well, the first thing that pops into my head is Mike Watt from Firehose "Ragin' full on" album. That is the ultimate electric rock guitar bass tone I have ever heard, to this day. I can't say enough about this one. This album is what showed me how powerful (and versatile) the bass guitar could be in (punk) rock music. The bass tone on Ragin' convinced me to throw away my pick for good.

Others that pop into my mind are Mingus on the upright. (I have a great Mingus 3 CD that stands out from the rest in my mind - just charles, a piano and a drummer - best Jazz playing I have ever heard)

Paul McCartney always sounded wonderful. the best warm tone - listen to Sgt. Pepper, and other songs from that era. Maybe massively studio altered, but sounds great.

How can anyone leave out Jamerson?? That guy's sound practically defined an entire style of music.

I love the bass tone on Electric Ladyland. "Long hot summer nights" and "1983" come to mind as favorites. warm deep tone. i miss that vintage sound.

I agree with Dave, Gard and JT.
Geddy, Doug's tones really stand out especially on thier stuff cause they seem to play with emotion.

Chris Squire of YES

John Entwistle's live tones. They wouldn't work well in many musical situations, but for The Who, Ox' tones represent the Voice Of God. I like the early Live At Leeds P-bass tones, and also the Alembic tones. My fave Who album is the soundtrack to "The Kids Are Alright": check out My Wife, Baba O'Reilly, and Won't Get Fooled Again. FYI, you can pan "My Wife" full left to focus in on Ox' genius... and keep in mind that he's singing while he's playing that stuff. Incredible!

Number two on my list might be John Wetton's P-bass of Doom with King Crimson.

Originally posted by Fuzzbass

Number two on my list might be John Wetton's P-bass of Doom with King Crimson.

Oh, baby. That one's pretty high up there.

My current favorite tone? My FBB through my Fafner and Eden CXM-110 :D

Fair one Turtle...serves me right for speaking from memory/bottom! I agree about the 'Driven track but the production on Vulgar Display...I think the Darrell brothers must have pushed the bass channel fader down when Rex wasn't looking...

Actually you guys were right earlier, Rex's tone generally is mid-cuts. I hear most of his stuff pretty clearly...you've got to listen for the rumble rather though.

On Vulgar Display Rex didn't sound like he was playing a 'Ray at all IMHO- if he was it certainly disproves the myth about it being a 'one sound' bass!

Have you seen some of the stuff he plays? I've got a music book and some of the riffs are insane. But I think the Pantera guys have a good mix of sound and band coherence that's rare to see.
On that note, have any of you (Pantera fans that is) checked out the band Down? It's got Rex and Phil (singer) in it. Their second album "II" is more "bluesy" sounding then most of pantera work.

I like mine the best !!!!!

Damn, you took my answer. :D But it's true, you've got to love the sound that you make, otherwise, why would you make it?

gary thain of uriah heep. easy livin,stealin

Abe Laboriel tone and style consistent.
Marcus Miller moster tone

Peter Hook
Mick Karn
Tony Levin
Geddy Lee

Billy Sheehan--For me, hands down my favorite tone.

Mike Gordon
Phil Lesh (90' and after)
Stereotypical eh?

Doug Pinnick
Geddy Lee
Billy Sheehan

These three guys tones have varied some over the years, but they are tone masters! I have never heard any of them sound bad live or on a recording. My absolute favorite is Doug's live P bass(Yamaha Attitude) through an SVT with a pick.:cool:

Did anyone think of Stuart Zender from jamaroqai?He had the f#$#@n sound. Or Doug Wimbish?

ALso, Paul Denman has killer tone,and robert trujillo on the infectuios grooves records and suicidal records.What do you think?

Yeah man! Stuart Zender has got a FAT sound! Especially on manifest destiny and scam, theyre my faves tone wise

Roger from LTJ,
the guy from Millencolin...I don't particularly like the band, but No Cigar is really cool. And Dan from 88 Fingers Louie (THAT my friends, is hardcore bass!)

Chris Squire - YES

Because of the tone he gets from his rickenbacker, he made me spending my money on one too !!!

My favourite !!!

;)

Jack Bruce (Cream) - I'd love to have a tone as recognizable as his

Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) - great mellow P-bass tone

Melissa Auf Der Maur (Smashing Pumpkins, Hole, Rufus Wainwright, Ric Ocasek) - same as Colin Greenwoods, except she's slightly more aggressive. I'm not a fan of her live sound though... too much clank

D'arcy Wretzky (Smashing Pumpkins)- she has a great smooth sound.

Eric Avery (JA, Polarbear, etc)
Colin from Radiohead
Timmy C from RATM
Mark Sandman from Morphine

I just want to add Hutch Hutchinson (Bonnie Raitt)...I love his tone, especially on Luck of the Draw (also on her new CD, Silver Lining). I think he's soooo underrated.

Steve Harris and Allen Woody. If I could come up with a combination of those tones I would be a very happy man.

FatCity

I always loved Berry Oakley's tone with the Allman Brothers. Simple, yet rounded enough to hang with the drippy melodies.

Bruce Foxton always had a great sound, especially songs like Start, All Mod Cons, In the City. Really fat deep tone.

Geddy Lee is the obvious choice. Graham Mabys tone on Jumpin Jive was brilliant as well, though I am clueless to what he was playing. Sounds like a double, but I could never tell. I aqlways thought Steve Harris had amazing tone as well. Kinda flat P-Bass tone, but maybe that was because of the roundwouonds? I dunno. It sounded really good though.

Worst tone? Cliff Burton.

Fieldy

I'd definitely have to go with the Ox on this one.

RIP

well, id have to say jaco, marcus miller, entwistle, and a local player named bob blount (fretboard MONSTER!). but i say jaco first. i recently had the chance to speak with mary pastorius, and she told me all about jaco. :rolleyes:

Dirk Lance has an awesome bass tone... if it wasn't for him, Incubus would be just another rock/metal band... he is a kick ass slapper, and has a great overall sound.

But what kind of pro wouldn't sound that good with warwicks and edens?:D

Fat Mike-NOFX
John Sampson -Propagandhi
Les Claypool
Mike Watt

Ive always liked Newsted's tone on the 'Black" album.

Wait, wait, hold up------- Gene Simmons LOL

Pino Palladino on D'angelo's Voodoo
Charlie Hunter on the same album
Tim Commerford
Justin Chancellor
Flea
Ryknow
Dirk Lance
The kid that quit Weezer had an interesting tone (on Pinkerton, more specifically "Tired Of Sex")
All those 60s and 70s legends
P-nut
Some of those Rap session guys
Whoever the bassist is in Outkast's house band
The guy who plays double on Hem's "Rabbit Songs"
Tori Amos' bass player
The guy in Radiohead
The guy in Portishead
Whoever did the line for Roni Size's "Brown Paper Bag"
Thom Yorke's tone on "Rabbit In Your Headlights"

Without a doubt it is Paul Denman from Sade's band.

Geddy for his classic tone and Muyng for his modern one (the new DT stuff...).

I dunno, there's too many to list.

:confused:

John Entwistle has been my long-time fave.

Lately I've also been enjoying Bill Laswell, the guy in Ben Folds Five, the guy in Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Yeah, I love gnarly bass tones. It's where I got my nick, y'know? :)

For me:

Fretless tone:

Alain Caron and Jimmy Haslip


Fretted

Marcus Miller and Will Lee

Originally posted by armybass
Without a doubt it is Paul Denman from Sade's band.

i totally agree

he is great! sade is great band

Originally posted by peteroberts
it's funny, you can almost guess the poster's age by what they have posted.


I guess this list will be a dead giveway then:

Pino Palladino:

Musicman fretless with Paul Young. Generous use of the EBS octaver. Also his work with Ryuichi Sakamoto in the late 80s.

Jaco:

2 tones stand out. "Fretless on a Remark you Made" and "Continuum", and that bridge pickup soloed 16th note nasally fingerstyle funk. ("Come on, Come Over")

Marcus Miller:

Late 80s with Scritti Politti and muiscellaneous GRP albums. Not a fan of his bassplayer type albums, for some reason.

Mark King:

Early Level 42 to World Machine on his JayDee supernatural.

Bakhiti Kumalo:

With Paul Simon on Graceland. Who says you can't slap a fretless?

Scott LaFaro:

Closely miked low action upright sound. Now the standard for upright jazz bassists.

I agree with a lot of the names listed above...

Entwistle, McCartney, Squire, (Geddy) Lee, Stanley Clarke, etc...

but nobody has mentioned Dougie Thompson (Supertramp) ??!?!?

and how about John Deacon from Queen?

+++ honorable mention to the bassist from "The Stranglers" +++

Originally posted by Dave Siff
Man, I was listening to some Brand New Heavies late last night and I had forgotten how much Andrew Levy's tone knocks me out.. not to mention his superb time, taste and feel.

I love Andrews tone.....hes a great player. I also love Stu Zenders tone on the first couple of Jam albums.

Paz from A perfect circle has a killer live tone. Although she's not an outstanding player and it's not even her on most of the album but i got a few live recordings with tone to drool over.

Fred Hammond's gospel tinged funk is Bad Ass!!!! Real Bottom heavy yet snappy/percussive tone.Check out "Pages of Life".:)

DD Verni of OVerkill from back in the day when he was al clanky...it cut right thru, I loved it! Also Ellefeson's tone on Megadeth's debut.

my favourite of late has been Brad Merritt's tone on 54-40's "Casual Viewin' ". The pick tone on " Big you up" is really catches my ear.

Mine.


Of course I like Justin Chancellor's too.

Tony Levin on fretted bass guitar & Chapman Stick
Pino Palladino on fretless bass guitar
Danny Thompson on double bass

Loads of others too, but they are my favourites.

Robert DeLeo has allways got good tone going on. He has the gift i am trying to figure out if it is the bass or his amps that help in that area . Jason Newsted gets some killer tone with his Sadowsky basses the problem is he was allways thrown in the mix you could never hear him on records but live he really thumped.

My favorite bass tone of all time has to be Doug Pinnick's bass tone. A few other that stand out to me would be Ru-D from MuDvAyNe and, of course, Les Claypool.

I love Tony Levin's tone when playing Chapman Stick with King Crimson

Originally posted by jcadmus

For me, it's Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith -- I just love the way that guy sounds. Heavy lows, strong mids, clear (but not too much) highs, slightly grindy tone. It's the sound I try to go for. And it amazes how consistent his sound has been over the years, through multiple gear changes.



I have agree with that original post of this thread and will get to see both Hamilton and Robert DeLeo of STP perform in a couple weeks at Verizon Amphitheater outside San Antonio / Austin --

any other TB'ers gonna be able to make it ??

phil lesh's tone blows my mind

Goodness I haven't posted on this thread yet.

Well, I'm gonna have to say Jaco.

Also - McCartney (Revolver/Pepper era).

Honourable mentions to Alphonso Johnson, Nathan Watts, and Stu Zender, and Paul Jackson.

geddy lee (moving pictures, especially "vital signs")
p-nut (it's so fat and warm and punchy....warwick!)
dirk lance (warwick again)
les claypool (so cool and weird and woody- sounds like his strings are wood, especially on pork soda)
d'arcy of SP (suited the music perfectly)
tim c (just wow)

players i'm recognizing lately for good tone- the guy from ozma, the guy from the used, and the guy from mogwai (i dunno names)

there's more i'm not mentioning (rod derhak, mike gordon, etc.) and they're all really different. i'm not sure which is my ideal tone...maybe tim c.'s for what i'm doing in my current band.

It seems you all are forgetting two players who must not ever be forgotten! The late great Cliff Burton (Ricky and aria pro 2's) He had the thumpiest clean tone and his distorted tone was mind blowing! Also, how could one forget our good pal Geezer (Fender through Ampeg?). His tone varried through the years, but the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath era might be my favorite. There are countless others but I could'nt let Cliff be forgotten in a forum such as this.

Hmm... I think my votes go to:


Anthony Jackson
Nathan East
James Jamerson
Basil Farrington
Will Lee
Flea w/ a Wal
Dirk Lance
P-Nut


The only Jaco tone I like is the tone I hear on "The Chicken". But that's me.

Hey how about Phil Lesh from the Dead, to me it's clear big bottom and clear highs. Alembicized basses were his first, he used a Guild Starfire bass that was re done by Alembic back in the 70's . He ran his bass through MACINTOSH amps and lots of J.B.L. cabinets, very sweet sound. Jack Cassidy had a good sound too. How about the bass player from Sly and The Family Stone, Grahm central station his name is Graham dont know first name. And probably the best bassist Ron Carter!!!

I loved Flea's fingerstyle tone on BSSM, and also right now I am really digging Mike Gordon's tone on A Live One. Good stuff.

Paul Denman (Sade)

Nathan East (his NEW sound, with Eric Clapton and such, not the over-scooped sound with Fourplay)

I really like

Tony Kanal on Tragic Kingdom

Blues Travelers's bassist (can't remember name) on Straight on til morning

Wooten's tone on the yin-yang's

Five Iron's bassist on Quantity is job #1

Mingus flat out :)
:bassist:

Alain Caron
Jimmy Haslip
Steve Swallow
Anthony Jackson

Skuli Sverrisson. He sounds great on every recording I have - whether he's playing a Warwick, Tobias, or Curbow.

Originally posted by LM Bass
Alain Caron


ditto. Get his CD of bass duets with Michel Donato (my favourite "local" (i.e. north of the 49th) Jazz doghouse player) for a great example of how an electric bass can be a versatile tone machine!!

Which bassist's tone is your favorite?

Mine! :D

No, seriously, I'd go for Tony Levin. :bassist:

Justin Chancellor. To be honest, I guess I don't listen to many bands with really great bass players - Chancellor's the only Bass player I can say I've been influenced by, but I don't think I sound like him. He just makes me rethink the role of the bass more than anybody else.

Anyway, his tone on "Stinkfist" is so perfect... nothing else I can say about that. "Schism" mind-blowing song, mind-blowing tone. And "Disposition"?!?! words cannot describe. People who are anti-pick, listen to Tool.

As the thread has been resurrected twice I will add my favs :)

Geddy Lee (esp. on Moving Pictures)
Steve Harris
Geezer Butler
Paul McCartney
Stanley Clark
Allen Woody
John Myung
Chris Squire
John Paul Jones
Carol Kaye
James Jamerson
and whoever played on the early Steve Miller albums.

Lee, Woody, and Harris are my top three. Too many to choose from to definitively answer this.

Geezer Butler & Rob Trujillo, to name a couple

definately geezer.

chancellor didnt play stinkfist, nor 46&2 as commonly thought. paul d'amore did the recordings but he was fired/left towards the end of the time in the studio and then chancellor, who had already been solicited came on. he got credits for being the bassist in tool, but not neccesarily for any of the writing. not to dis on chancellor cause he is a great bassist, but so many people forget that paul was also a great bassist and really defined their early sound and then helped establish the later melody. chancellor did a great job on picking all this up and expanding the progress of the band onto lateralus.

Originally posted by way_of_opiatism
definately geezer.

chancellor didnt play stinkfist, nor 46&2 as commonly thought. paul d'amore did the recordings but he was fired/left towards the end of the time in the studio and then chancellor, who had already been solicited came on. he got credits for being the bassist in tool, but not neccesarily for any of the writing. not to dis on chancellor cause he is a great bassist, but so many people forget that paul was also a great bassist and really defined their early sound and then helped establish the later melody. chancellor did a great job on picking all this up and expanding the progress of the band onto lateralus.

It's spelled D'Amour :). And everything I've heard was that while he may have written some of the basslines on Ænima, Justin played on all of the tracks. I could be wrong though.

Have I replied to this thread ?

I don't remember.

Anyway.

Brad Smith from Blind Melon

Chris Chaney's - Currently with Jane's Addiction

Eric Avery's - Former Jane's Addiction and Polar Bear , currently with Alanis (?)

Flea's tone on By the Way

Mine (:D )

Stu Hamm's

Martyn Lenoble's - Former Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros.

everything I've heard was that while he may have written some of the basslines on Ænima, Justin played on all of the tracks. I could be wrong though. im pretty sure that they did both play on the album, paul did write a majority, but what im sure of is that tool likes to leave room for speculation since they never really share this kind of info. even the toolfaq (toolshed) is speculative on most things. its like was paul fired or did he walk off or what, the story varies between band members and fanzines.

my tool knowledge is getting rusty now though i havent kept up with them since i saw them live. worst show ive ever been to. i used to be a big fan too.

Percy Jones

Just heard an Eric Clapton live thing on video at the local music store. Nathan East was on the bass. He had that new scooped punchy fat tone that was just gaawwgeous!!! Mids that talk the talk, low & high balance right on the money!!!!

His tone was not 'precision like' or 'jazz like' or 'stingray like', nor did it have that over-done high end sizzle that he had with the jazz stuff in the band "Fourplay". His tone with Clapton is just bitchin, it is now, it is the stuff.:cool:

Tony Levin - particularly his live (recorded) bass tone - it's just incredible!
Dave Gilmour/Roger Waters - the best P-bass tone ever IMO.
Jean-Jacques Burnell of The Stranglers - mental as anything!:D
Adam Clayton - flatwounds on an old P-bass.

Loads more, but they stand out for me

All different, but all excellent:
Stu Zender
Geddy Lee
Timmy C(RATM)
Marcus Miller
Mike Watt
Hub(the roots)
Guy from Cake(i need to know his name)
Tony Kanal(No Doubt)

Tony Levin
Paul D'Amour (Tools's first two albums)
Adam Clayton of U2 (how come nobody's mentioned this?)

Trent Reznor also manages to get some really cool and/or interesting tones on NIN albums, even though he is not a bassist. No?

Originally posted by basstriaxis
Trent Reznor also manages to get some really cool and/or interesting tones on NIN albums, even though he is not a bassist. No?

I agree - though the bass sounds never stood out to me as much as many of the other sounds on his albums. Say what you will about Trent's songwriting, and singing, but the man knows how to get sounds. I think Downward Spiral is one of the most amazing recordings of the past ten years, if not more.

Steve Bailey

... and ofcourse the fantastically brilliant tone of James Jamerson...:bassist:

Originally posted by way_of_opiatism
im pretty sure that they did both play on the album, paul did write a majority, but what im sure of is that tool likes to leave room for speculation since they never really share this kind of info. even the toolfaq (toolshed) is speculative on most things. its like was paul fired or did he walk off or what, the story varies between band members and fanzines.

my tool knowledge is getting rusty now though i havent kept up with them since i saw them live. worst show ive ever been to. i used to be a big fan too.

Paul was with Tool when they wrote Pu****, Stinkfist, Eulogy, and Ænema. The rest (including Forty-six&2), were all written by Justin. In an interview, Danny said Justin wrote all the music in Forty-six&2, minus drums. And, Justin played bass on the entire record. Paul left becuase he was into more melodic stuff (ironic, since they got way more melodic after he left). After Tool, he started Lusk (he played guitar), and, last I heard, was doing The Replicants, who only did covers (Maynard sings on their remake of Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs"). As far as I know, The Replicants were a one-off project, not really a band.

While Paul's tone was pretty good, it never really blew me away. He was the weak link in that lineup.

While everyone's opinion is valid, I'm aghast at your comment that they are the worst show you've ever seen. When did you see them? If you went to any of the shows after the release of Lateralus, and you didn't think that was the most mind-blowing experience of your life, you must have a killer life. Or be blind and deaf.

Edit: Heh... the auto-censoring software edited "Push-it" minus the hyphen, of course. That's okay, though, I suppose that sh- word is a part of the meaning.

Originally posted by conical johnson
and, last I heard, was doing The Replicants, who only did covers (Maynard sings on their remake of Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs"). As far as I know, The Replicants were a one-off project, not really a band.

Aaahhhhhhh. . . .OK. I've got "Silly Love Songs" on a Tool bootleg I picked up a couple years ago, so I figured it was Tool. I just checked the samples of Replicants online, and that's the one. I think it's very impressive!

:)

Yeah, you can tell how old you are by this thread.

Phil Lesh, his live stuff in the early seventies set standards for a lot of us as far as TONE. The Live Dead and Live at the Fillmore reflect some, but not all, of the live power he had then.

JJ and Duck Dunn, nuff said.

Jack Bruce, specifically the Live Cream records,
there were 2 if I recall, particularly Politician and
Sleepy Time Time.

Gary Thain, Uriah Heep, - Wizards and Demons
he hits you in the chest with a sledgehammer.

Bonnie Raitt's old bass player, Freebo, had great tone.

Berry Oakley, honorable mention, Liz Reed and
Whipping Post.

OX

Kumalo

My fave:
Jack Casady live on the 'Bless it's Pointed Little Head' recording. 3/5's of a Mile in 10 Seconds &
Somebody to Love' sound very little like the studio versions, just HUGE sound and Plastic Fantastic Lover has the Groove! One of the first guys to ELEVEN!

------------
Going to eleven

The 3 Js:
Jaco
Jamerson
Jemmott

And of course, Duck.

Ooh I like JJ Burnel's sound in Stranglers songs like 'Nice And Sleazy' :)

Right now, it's still Jaco. But I was inspired to pick up the instrument by:
Paul McCartney, Paul Chambers, Ron Carter, Al Stinson, Oscar Pettiford, Mingus, JPJ, Chris Squire, and, most recently, Baghiti Khumalo(most famous by his awesome playing on Paul Simon's Graceland album).

Theres some tasteful stuff on " Provision " by Scritti Pollitti which Marcus co produced ,

i like matt freeman's tone, and geddy lee's
:bassist: :)

Ok, obviously I'm a heavy metal kid here.

John Paul Jones
Geezer Butler
Jason Newstead
Alex Webster
Steve Harris
Duff McKagan (other posts reminded me of how much I liked him)

Geddy's tone on Moving Pictures is insane... I also dig is tone on the song Animate (from the Counterparts Album). In his BP interview from 93' he indicated that only the AMP signal was used on that track (Fender Jazz > Old Ampeg Head > Trace 4X10 cabs).

Doug Pinnick has always been a hero of mine. Sick, sick tone. Of course, he usually plays a 12-string Hamer! Or least he used to. The Bass tone on King's X album "Dogman" is to die for.

Eric Avery (Jane's Addiction) is another Bassist with amazing tone.

Most will laugh at this one, but I love the Bass tone on the latest Silverchair album "Diorama". Chris Joannou tears it up on a G&L L-2000. That tone is part of the reason why I purchased my L-2000.

Geddy Lee, definitely. Chris Squire, John Paul Jones (punchy Achilles Last Stand, and bassy Lemon Song), Marcus Miller's slap tone, Victor Wooten. Les Claypool, of course. Duff McKagan, Steve Harris, Stu Hamm. And who can forget Jaco!

Jaco , justin chancellor because i sometimes like the trebely sound, and of course Ryan Martinie.

I dig Tony Kanal's and Mike Dirnt's tones.

i LOVE the sound of Flea's bass on blood sugar sex magik, to me it doesnt get anymore perfect than that. i never found out what amps he used on that.
i also dig the guy from fugazi, especially on 13 songs.

flea now uses gallien krueger amps now but i am not sure about the amp on the blood sugar sex magic albumn, but maybe g-k. i dunno:rolleyes:

i first thought it was the GK but his sound on that album just sounds so different from his live tone (he uses GKs live now i guess. maybe due to the wal bass, but it just sounds like its more than that. probably one of those complex rack systems :hmm:

justin chancellor, because he is justin chancellor, nuff said:bassist:

Originally posted by Aaren Double J
Martyn Lenoble's - Former Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros.

he also played on 4 or 5 tracks of The Cult's 2001 Beyond good and evil album.

an underrated player- I liked how he played with a pick, fingerstyle and slap with Porno for pyros, similar to how Billy Gould with Faith no more and Derek Forbes with early Simple Minds did- also tone monsters.

Green Day's Mike Dirnt.

Incubus' Dirk Lance(I think thats his name):confused:

wow...so many to choose from

heres mine in no particular order.

jason newsted on the intro to "my freind of misery"

justin chancellor on "46 & 2"

ryan martinie on anything that mudvayne does

les claypool on "antipop"

joey demaio on "sting of the bumblebee"

fuzz on "down with the sickness"

as you can tell i am a fan of the crunchy but fat sound

some others are robert trujillo on infectious and bootsy collins and the bassist from system of a down on the song "spiders"

others influense me but my current favorite is the sound i get out of my sr5 thru mesa mpulse 600 thru eden 410 xlt

justin chancellor, because he is justin chancellor, nuff said

Two people spring to mind instantly, so they must be the most important to me:
Stuart Zender and the late great Bernard Edwards, in that order.
IMO, they have similar tone and style, but as much as Bernard laid down the foundation for it, Stu went on with that phat, juicy, punchy tone coupled with really, really funky playing. Stu just made it a little better to my ear.
Hot damn!! Just thinking about that tone gets me all warmed up! :D

EZ

YES! Martyn LeNoble has a kickin' sound. I love his Bass tone on the first Porno for Pyro's album.

Does anyone know what bass gear was used to record that album?

- Tom

P.S. What is Martyn up to now, since he left Jane's?

Punk bass players can be increadible player's but overlooked because of the genre of music they are in. I personally am not a pick player, but these guys sound awsome.

Chris #2 from Anti-Flag
Matt Freeman from Rancid
Hunter from AFI

check out Maxwell Murder by Rancid for an increadible bass solo

Originally posted by japhy4529
YES! Martyn LeNoble has a kickin' sound. I love his Bass tone on the first Porno for Pyro's album.

Does anyone know what bass gear was used to record that album?

- Tom

P.S. What is Martyn up to now, since he left Jane's?

last I heard, he was touring with Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode singer).

he seemed to be using a different bass in every live clip I've seen of him with Porno For Pyros- a Musicman stingray, a G&L L2000, and a Warwick thumb.

also he used a Fender Jazz live with The Cult.

the tone on PFP's "cursed female" suggests to me it could be the L2000.

I think one of my favorite tones from a bassist would be Simon Gallup of the Cure, especially the album "Seventeen Seconds" and "Faith". It is a Fender P-Bass with flange or chorus and in your face. In general I like a more midrange tone, or low to midrange with some effects for color.

Colin Edwin of Porcupine Tree probably has some of the best tone I have ever heard. I absolutely love his sound.

Claypool's tone on the Primus version of NIB. It just has so much BALLS!

I have to say Tony Kanal of No Doubt,on their first three records(No Doubt,Beacon Street Colection & Tragic Kingdom).....He has this combination of wah & distorsion(something like Flea's tone but very different...hm It's kinda hard to explain)...but I can't figure out what he uses to get that tone.

Originally posted by Viktor
I have to say Tony Kanal of No Doubt,on their first three records(No Doubt,Beacon Street Colection & Tragic Kingdom).....He has this combination of wah & distorsion(something like Flea's tone but very different...hm It's kinda hard to explain)...but I can't figure out what he uses to get that tone.

I don't know what effects he used but check this out http://www.nduniverse.com/nxd/ndfiles/tony/tools.html

Thanks man!

Originally posted by Viktor
Thanks man!

Np

Originally posted by seamus
Some of my favorite bass tones are:

Geddy Lee: I did not like his tone with the Steinberger or Wal's. His Ric and Fender Jazz tones however are to die for.

Justin Chancellor: Great edgy tone + good use of effects.

Eddie Jackson: Back when they did Mindcrime and Empire, he had an awesome sound.

>>> Man, you got THAT right. Big, Fat, Sweet
and Nasty.. It's all there, rolled into
one big tortilla.

Cheers,
Slug

I did not follow anything they did after that.





Stefan Lessard: Nice and mellow, but with drive.

Tom Barney: Listen to Gaslighting Abbie. I don't know if that's his Stingray 5 or custom ESP, but I would wager it's the ESP.

Marcus: I'm usually not a fan of scooped funk, but I think his playing makes all the difference here.

STP - DeLeo: Not at all times, but that sound on Down is killer. Love that trebly edge with lots of bass behind it.

Staind - April: Good generic pick sound for metal.

Stanley Clarke: Always a pleasure.

Live - Dahlheimer: Has had some good sounds throughout their albums, most notably on Lakini's Juice from Secret Samadhi.

I'm sure I left some out, but those come to mind for now.

I love the tone Vic has on his Bass Day 98 DVD with his Yin Yang bass. Perfect slap tone that rivals Marcus Miller, perfect tapping tone--all the notes are clear, and perfect finger-style tone.

--Matthew

I would have to say Jack Bruce (of cream)
Its a fairly clean tone with just a little distortion... Kicks ass.
:bassist:

I'm kinda big on MEAN bass tone right now, so:

Les Claypool's tone on most of AntiPop, Lacquer Head, and the like

Rob Wright from NoMeansNo

Dan Rathbun from Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Idiot Flesh. A good example is in the song Sleep is Wrong.

:bassist:
Funk: Larry Graham (of course)
Louis Johnson
Marcus Miller

Rock: Doug Pinnick of Kings X
Joe Loeffler of Chevelle

First that comes to mind for me is Jason Newstead. His tone is just about my favorite pick bassist tone I've ever heard... but it's rare.


This is common in metal especially, the bassist will cut through or the guitarist will stop playing for second and reveal the diamond in the ruff. Any examples you can think of?

beyond the pale...


http://www.toology.com/images/1luxtool1.jpg

John Paul Jones - Fender Jazz and flatwounds with Zeppelin

Geddy Lee - Rickenbacker, 'Exit Stage Left'/'Signals'

Anthony Jackson - pick

Tim Commerford - Music Man with Rage

Victor Lamonte Wooten

Jimmy Johnson - Alembic with Holdsworth

Paul David Harbour - with Chastain, 'Within the Heat' and 'For Those Who Dare'

Jack Bruce - from the Cream days

Keith Horne

Adam Nitti

Well I'll have to go with.....
....Tony Kanal's "earlyer stuff" tone &
-Wooten'S & Johnson's slap tone
-Garry Willis'S fretless tone
-Flea's (not blood sugar...) OneHotMinute tone
Yeap that's all!

I think that's the case with every metal bassist who uses a pick!
Example:Rex_Pantera

Stefan Lessard from Dave Matthews Band
He's a incredible bassist with a great tone!
Not enough of him in the mix! :(

Ryan Martinie.

Warwick tone, great playing, cuts through.

Matt, I love your avatar!!!

BTW, Gerry Casale has great tone as well in case you didn't notice. Bob 1 always has great guitar tones, also (and the solo in "Beautiful World" is one of my favorite guitar solos ever).

Personally I think great tone is when the bass fits perfectly in the mix with a song. Newstead is a good example. For a crunchy tone, check out Joe Jackson's debut album "Look Sharp" and listen to Graham Maby's tone. Fantastic!

Graham Maby is great on Joe Jackson's "I'm the Man"....definately nOT buried in the mix!

Originally posted by Philbiker
Matt, I love your avatar!!!


I do what I can.


In Devo's version of Satisfaction, the bass totally rules the track though. A lot of Devo bass is keyboard though. I've said I'm going to do it for a while now, but I want to work out "Jerkin' Back and Forth" for guitar bass and drums. That would be a cool cover.

Great tone, but sometimes buried:

Victor Bailey
Jimmy Haslip
Anthony Jackson

Originally posted by Philbiker

For a crunchy tone, check out Joe Jackson's debut album "Look Sharp" and listen to Graham Maby's tone. Fantastic!
I love his stuff on the first 4 albums. He's really the lead bassist with a guitar accompanyment. He was my favorite bassist when I first started playing. Then I found out about Jaco, Stanley Clarke and the list goes on and on. But I still go back and listen to those first Joe Jackson albums. Some great bass playing in those tunes.

Trevor Dunn, Scott Reeder(Kyuss era), brian bromberg, jaco, miller.

Ryan Martinie, incredible tone, technique-
Mudvayne:
Dig, Internal Primates Forever, -1, Death Blooms, Cradle, Nothing to gein, Everything and Nothing, Severed, Prod, Pharmaecopia, Under my skin, (K)now (F)orever. - - Silenced, Not Falling, World So cold, Mercy,Severity, Skrying, Trapped in the wake of a dream, (Per)version of a truth, The Patient Mental, Sole et coagula, A key to nothing, Shadow of a man, The end of all things to come...

Tell me if I missed any, :p :D.

the bassist from cryptopsy I like. Good tone and he can cut through. IN A DEATH METAL BAND.

Originally posted by darkjoker667
the bassist from cryptopsy I like. Good tone and he can cut through. IN A DEATH METAL BAND.

Yeah, I was listening to them last night... It seems unimaginable, but the guitarists give him room for some little bass licks here and there too... :D ;) -

Originally posted by StupidMatt
First that comes to mind for me is Jason Newstead. His tone is just about my favorite pick bassist tone I've ever heard... but it's rare.


This is common in metal especially, the bassist will cut through or the guitarist will stop playing for second and reveal the diamond in the ruff. Any examples you can think of?

Well - you shouldn't be suprised - it's just about distorted overdriven guitars - they do it specifically to fill out the sound.

The answer is to listen to music with no distorted guitars - preferably no guitars at all then you can hear the bass very clearly.

John Myung, whenever I've heard some older material he's walled up either behind the keyboards or guitar.