This guy is amazing..

[Sav'nBass]

Stu Hamm..

[funkstag]

Whoa, haven't heard of him before.

[5StringFool]

Niiiice..

[thunderstation]

BassPlayer magazine refers to him from time to time. usually in the same breath as Victor Wooten. He's a very accomplished bassist with several solo cd's out

[Sav'nBass]

I had heard the name with Steve Vai.. but never really checked him out .... I was blown away.. this guy is a great player.. There is just soooo much talent out there..

[icecycle66]

Yeah, Stu is great.

He is easily the most under rated best bass player ever.

He is consistent and solid. He has flash and substance. Some of my favorite work he has done, is on Joe Satriani's Crystal Planet album.

I love listening to Crustal planet and Stu's own Outward Bound back to back. They really show a great span of ability, style, and technique.

[Diplowmatt]

Nice Kubicki Stu has there, too.

[pacojas]

-yawn-

[Doctor Dirt]

Gymnastics Bass Solo?? Then to pick moving into a Country Line (1 to the 5)? Damn!!!!I don't get that at all. If he works with Statriani then I'm sure his playing ability is very good. Seeing and listening to that type of exhibition makes me think that "exercises" and that type of technique is just over used and has reached the point of being common. Bass solos are overrated as far as recongnizing a bassmans ability. To maintain a groove and keep a song solid and together are a few of the needed ingrediants that a quality bassman must have.
Have you ever known drummers that can rip off a solo at the drop of a hat and play them very well but struggle at different times of the gig with different types of timings that they just have no feel or basic knowledge of. Thats what I think of extended solos, if there not an extention of a musicians rythmic ability I can pass on appreciating them. This fellow Stu seemed to struggle at times with tempo and though I applaud the use of both hands being coordinated using touch and tap I prefer an understandable message being played as opposed to exercises. I'd guess my age group isn't that prone to appreciate or simply give credit to soloists, I prefer to hear the "inner" abilities being pronounced as opposed to the outer side being featured. Doc.

[bgmww]

Originally Posted by pacojas

-yawn-

+1.
I can't stand this kind of solo playing. Can't you realize TAPPING on a bass sounds horrible ?

[cjmodulus]

Originally Posted by bgmww

+1.
I can't stand this kind of solo playing. Can't you realize TAPPING on a bass sounds horrible ?

Man, at least the first guy went into detail about why he dislikes solo playing, and he made a good point. This just looks like a troll post.

[BagelBruin]

I happened to enjoy this very much. Stu is my favorite bassist. He can play any style. He even has acknowledged that the solo bass stuff is fun, but not very practical.

On his website, you can actually submit tracks and he will add the bass for them. Most people ask for him to add his well known flash into the songs. He rarely does, because he knows it won't sound good. NoTreble.com interviewed him not too long ago in which he stated this.

[esa372]

Keep in mind that this was filmed in 1988 (23 years ago!), and bass tapping was the emerging "flavor-of-the-month". (Sheehan rose to fame about the same time as Hamm.) I'm not a big fan of tapping, but it was all the rage in '88.

Everyone was doing it at the time, and Hamm was one of the best. He is a great payer, and knows when and how to groove. This vid is his stock solo at that time; I wouldn't think he's still doing the same licks.

I saw him with Satch in L.A. in '87 - the man can play. I don't know what he's been up to lately, but this vid has inspired me to find out.

[BagelBruin]

Originally Posted by esa372

Keep in mind that this was filmed in 1988 (23 years ago!), and bass tapping was the emerging "flavor-of-the-month". (Sheehan rose to fame about the same time as Hamm.) I'm not a big fan of tapping, but it was all the rage in '88.

Everyone was doing it at the time, and Hamm was one of the best. He is a great payer, and knows when and how to groove. This vid is his stock solo at that time; I wouldn't think he's still doing the same licks.

I saw him with Satch in L.A. in '87 - the man can play. I don't know what he's been up to lately, but this vid has inspired me to find out.

Released a solo album earlier this year! Read that article on notreble.com, Very very good

[Datsgor]

Originally Posted by esa372

Keep in mind that this was filmed in 1988 (23 years ago!), and bass tapping was the emerging "flavor-of-the-month". .

You beat me to it. Stu hamm first hit the scene with Steve Vai on Flex-able in 1984. Was fresh out of Berklee Music School and an innovator of the tapping thing, taking it about as far as it could go until it got stale. I guess you would have had to grow up in the 80's to know about him. He had his heyday. Like alot of other 80's player, he got relegated to obscurity except by those who already knew about him. But he has not been inactive. If you google him, you can discover quite a bit of work.

[vettfingers]

Met him twice, and watched him play. Great guy/Great player!!

[guitar<bass]

The Midnight Sonata at the beginning.. and all the way up to 1:20.. i would rather hear from Andy C Saxton.. but at 1:20.. now that's when it gets silly. I like it.

[DanYoutube]

Hey, youtube sent me a message letting me know you guys linked to my video, Just joined to say thanks and answer any questions anyone may have.

Some quick FAQ
This was recorded at a jazz festival in 1988
His name is Stuart Hamm
He is the bass player for Joe Satriani, the teacher of steve vai and world renowned guitarist.
The intro is Moonlight Sonata
The ending is Foggy mountain breakdown
The title is a view catcher, I don't actually believe he is the best bassist in the world, or that it's the greatest bass solo ever, but it's definitely up there, as is he. My beliefs lie with stephen harris, because when I judge a musician on their skill, its how good their music sounds, not their ability to play their instrument, and iron maidens bass lines have always been #1 for me.

This solo was written and recorded prior to the surfing with the alien album, including the tapping solo (that he doesnt do anymore in his later age) While the video is 23 years old; the song and the tapping is from 1984.

Glad you have enjoyed the video, and thank you for sharing it!

[bzmnt]

He's talented but somehow never been one of my favourites.

To me it seems he has played the same live solo for 20 years.