Fieldy! Unique or just Bad???

bassmasta18 · #1 06-10-2007, 08:52 AM

Surprisingly it was Fieldy from Korn that first turned me on to Bass. Kinda strange cos he's an extremely unconventional bass player, sounds more like a drummer let loose on a 5-string than a bass player.
While my taste in music has changed alot since i first started to play bass, i still like some of Korn's tracks. Theres no doubt Fieldys bass playing suits the songs he plays, But could he lay down a funky line or do some improved blues??
My question to u guys is do u think he's a talented and unique player who just has a different spin on de instrument or a bad player with no concept of melody, groove or sutelty and just has one overused style of playing??

datsgora · #2 06-10-2007, 09:06 AM

Does it really matter?.....how about uniquelly bad? I think he plays like crap, cannot play and sounds lame.....BUT, that's just my opinion, so, that's what it really boils down to. opinions, and everybody's got em. If you dig his scene, then that's fine....I got off on one of the Korn albums a long time ago....it was good stuff, but I did not hear anything extraordinary...to me it was just an overall good sounding song....etc. I listened to it for about two weeks and have not heard any Korn at all since then...never palyed it again. It's just not for me. What I would like to do, is sit down with the guy and pick his brain about bass and what his concept of the instruments' role is....conversations with anybody are great ways to expand the mind.

Loempiaketzer · #3 06-10-2007, 09:12 AM

ghehe... i once started a thread about his setup... check it out... gets all about fieldy instead of his gear... gl...

play as korn dude *fieldy is his name-o?*

Basshammer · #4 06-10-2007, 09:17 AM

Well, he's in a band that has sold millions of albums, so he must be doing something right.

Ripper · #5 06-10-2007, 09:20 AM

I just got a pair of koss earbuds... except for the faulty mute switch that i have yet to fix (it keeps randomly cuttin one ear or the other out), they're great. They have a lot of bass.

My point is, Korn came one my ipod the other day and i could hear through the cling of fieldy's tone and to the actual note, and i must say, he DOES actually have nice bass lines for style of music they play. he dosen't really get much credit because of his tone, but he is a good player

afinalfantasy · #6 06-11-2007, 05:02 AM

If I tuned my bass down to where the strings would fall off, then scoop out the mids and turn up the treble, I could sound exactly like him.

alembicguy · #7 06-11-2007, 05:15 AM

Unique is a polite way of saying bad.

SGT. Pepper · #8 06-11-2007, 05:54 AM

Why do you think he rolls off all his midrange and pumps up the bass and treble? So you can't hear him. I don't think he could hear himself either if you listen to how he plays!
He's a percussionist bass player and as he himself said once, " It doesn't matter what notes you play as long as it grooves "
My question is, how can it groove if your playing out of tune?

73jbass · #9 06-11-2007, 07:27 AM

After all this time,shouldn't this be a dead issue? Enough already.

ac11367 · #10 06-11-2007, 10:11 AM

If Fieldy's playing turns the OP on to playing bass, then he must be doing something right. At least Fieldy's good enough to be someone's stepping stone. I'm a melody person so his playing style does nothing for me. He does what he does very well, but I do think that he gets way too much credit for not being melodically inspiring. Afterall, bass is a melodic instrument also.

Matt Till · #11 06-11-2007, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alembicguy

Unique is a polite way of saying bad.

I know it was a joke, but

Unique is an attempt to do something different, to pave new musical ground. I hate hate hate Korn, but I got to give it up to Fieldy, he had a pretty good musical idea: The guitarist in the band have such super bassy tone that they barely need a bassist, so he's like a second bass drum.

Les Claypool didn't catch **** for "My name is Mud" he plays dead notes (clicks) for half the song. Sure he didn't make a career of it as Fieldy has. But sometimes Fieldy switches it up and plays some hip hop type basslines as well. He is a good bassist with a different take on bass.

I think unique is always good: Even if it proves something is bad.

James Hart · #12 06-11-2007, 11:02 AM

I don't listen to a lot of Korn stuff... but he suits the band perfect IMHO. His solo disc is another story... but in Korn, he's pretty alright.

lefty007 · #13 06-11-2007, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James Hart

I don't listen to a lot of Korn stuff... but he suits the band perfect IMHO. His solo disc is another story... but in Korn, he's pretty alright.

+1. He probably gets more attention and credit than he deserves, but he's got his thing going on.

superbassman2000 · #14 06-11-2007, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 73jbass

After all this time,shouldn't this be a dead issue? Enough already.

fieldy has been discussed to death.
What really makes me laugh is how most people in fieldy bash threads equate tone with talent. All I read people say is "Fieldy is a bad bass player because I don't like his tone" The funny thing is, he really isn't all that "bad" of a bass player. He just has a different angle at playing bass--like it was said previously, he has a more purcussive style than anything, and it works for him. No, he doesn't play like Jaco, but jaco doesn't play that genre. And as far as him saying that the groove is more important than the notes, Wooten said that too, and when you are slapping a lot of dead notes, it really doesn't matter does it?

bassist 4 life · #15 06-11-2007, 01:04 PM

oh no not another fieldy thread... il give you my opinion though, hes not unique nor bad, hes uniquely bad.

csala · #16 06-11-2007, 01:36 PM

He's such a good bass player that he's created bass lines that have made him filthy rich, a magnet for the hottest women in the world, and the envy of all us bassists on talkbass.

Mojo-Man · #17 06-11-2007, 03:01 PM

Both.

trtrzenified · #18 06-12-2007, 07:14 AM

hey, i'm new, and i'm also new to bass.

I just start playing for my band to cover up when the bassist is not around, but the bassist is leaving the area soon so my bandmates asked me to try out the bass.

anyway, i have listened to music with prominent basslines like Red Hot CHili Peppers for a long time and my favourite band is KoRn, since id did not care about technique, melody or anything as long as it sounded good.

anyway if people say he can't get melodic, listen to the song called "Somebody Someone". It is one of the few melodic songs by Korn and the bass actually play melody.

He is also innovative, not only the slaping the middling killing, but he also immitated turntable(actually my primary instrument along with piano) occasionally with the bass by rubbing his hand on the strings.

for me he is one of my favourite bass player.

Alan Vorse · #19 06-12-2007, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trtrzenified

He is also innovative, not only the slaping the middling killing, but he also immitated turntable(actually my primary instrument along with piano) occasionally with the bass by rubbing his hand on the strings.

I've heard Tom Morello, Vernon Reid and even Victor Wooten do that years before Fieldy.

trtrzenified · #20 06-12-2007, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Vorse

I've heard Tom Morello, Vernon Reid and even Victor Wooten do that years before Fieldy.

Tom Morello is a guitar player and he started to use that scratching in 1996, in "Evil Empire". Fieldy used it in 1994, in a song called "Ball Tongue" in the first titled album.

i dunno about the other two.