Mike Porcaro

Abr@hamBassBoy · #1 02-06-2003, 03:45 PM

A friend of mine claims that Mike Porcaro is the greatest bassist in the world (The bassist in Toto)... I haven't heard very much from him... Is he any good?

JimK · #2 02-06-2003, 04:24 PM

IMO, he wasn't as "good" as the guy he replaced in Toto(David Hungate).

TRU · #3 02-09-2003, 01:17 PM

His brother Jeff has said that Mike has the best sense of time in the world...

Mike is a great 'for the song' type of bassist. I've never liked his tone.

JMX · #4 02-09-2003, 03:47 PM

Mike Porcaro is a great solid player, amazing groove and good sound.
One of my favorite pop players.
I saw Toto with Simon Phillips a few years back - great concert!
Steve Lukather was SMOKIN'!!!
Simon Phillips was great as ever, but I wish I could've seen them with Jeff.

berklee46 · #5 02-09-2003, 05:48 PM

Great - another chance to show off my basses (both from Mike)

Ripley 5-string

Status Graphite 2000 4-string(sorry, the pic link died)

Lonnybass · #6 02-09-2003, 11:26 PM

Mike Porcaro is quite possibly the single greatest influence on me as a bass player. Not to mention his brother Jeff, one of the great groove drummers of all time.

What I learned from Mike Porcaro...

1. Tasteful use of the "B" string to really make those lowwwww notes really make a dramatic statement. He's really the first 5-string player I really appreciated.

2. The infamous "pung" tone - giving a clear bottom to countless recognizable pop hits. You can get a close approximation of this tone by boosting 400 Hz and digging in close to the bridge.

3. Tasteful use of slap, pop and walking combinations to propel a song. Check out the song "Pamela" or "Mushanga" on the TOTO album "The Seventh One" and you'll see what I mean.

4. His clean bottom end and classy fretless turns mellow tunes or ballads into hugely emotional and dramatic pieces. Listen to "I Will Remember" on the album "Tambu" or "I'll be Over You" On "Past To Present," both by TOTO and you'll see what I mean.

I'm sure I can come up with more. Let me know if you need more Mike Porcaro insight - I'm definitely a student of his work!

Lonnybass

Mojo-Man · #7 02-13-2003, 06:47 PM

Mike is good, very good.
But, I like Hungate better.

Bass385 · #8 02-15-2003, 10:36 AM

I agree with JimK, I think Hungate was a better player, but I really didn't appreciate Porcaro until I saw him play with Toto live. Very solid.

jerry · #9 02-15-2003, 02:05 PM

Toto has always been taking a lot of sh&t over the years.......but anybody that has seen them live or even heard the import live albums.........those guys can throw down!!!! I recently got a live DVD with Lukather, Simon Phillips & bassist John Pena recorded about ten years ago...just great! John Pena is another badass we don't hear to much about.

DWBass · #10 02-15-2003, 10:59 PM

John Pena is well known in the L.A. studio scene and the Jazz scene as well! One of the better slappers around!

mcdonap · #11 02-16-2003, 08:39 AM

Mike Porcaro is way up there on my list! Awesome player, and very tasteful. I think he tends to go for substance over style, and I really respect that. That's not to say he can't really tear it up if he wants to - "Can You Hear What I'm Saying" off of Past To Present comes to mind.

burgess · #12 02-16-2003, 09:59 AM

While I'm sure that Mike Porcaro is a fine bassist, Toad-O, as Zappa once referred to them, are possibly the definitive example of good musicians playing REALLY AWFUL MUSIC. Ick.

TRU · #13 02-16-2003, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by burgess
While I'm sure that Mike Porcaro is a fine bassist, Toad-O, as Zappa once referred to them, are possibly the definitive example of good musicians playing REALLY AWFUL MUSIC. Ick.

There are better musicians playing more awful music

I like them, especially their newer stuff. Then again, I also like Level 42, Marcus Miller, Rush etc. so it must have something to do with my taste. :/

hands5 · #14 02-16-2003, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jerry
Toto has always been taking a lot of sh&t over the years.......but anybody that has seen them live or even heard the import live albums.........those guys can throw down!!!! I recently got a live DVD with Lukather, Simon Phillips & bassist John Pena recorded about ten years ago...just great! John Pena is another badass we don't hear to much about.

Jerry,I actually got to see John Pena with Joe Sample and he was very in-the-pocket a truly wonderful player.

Chad Michael · #15 02-17-2003, 06:22 PM

Mike Porcaro

David Hungate

Toto

Guuuuuuuuuuuud sheeeeee - it!!!!

Like their stuff, personally.

Lonnybass · #16 02-17-2003, 09:45 PM

"Good musicians playing really awful music"

While you're certainly entitled to your opinion, (and so-called "music critics" never were fans of TOTO), I think it's decidely unfair to characterize TOTO music based on a couple radio hits from 1982.

For the record, the band has spent the past 20 years trying to get out of their record deal with Sony because they felt that the label consistently pushed songs that weren't truly representative of the group.

You might be surprised if you go beyond the "Africa"'s and Rosanna's and Hold The Line's of this world and check out some of their other stuff.

Lonnybass

TRU · #17 02-18-2003, 06:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lonnybass
[BYou might be surprised if you go beyond the "Africa"'s and Rosanna's and Hold The Line's of this world and check out some of their other stuff.
[/b]

Yeah, just check "Caught in the Balance" from their Mindfields CD.

gottawalk · #18 07-05-2005, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonnybass

"Good musicians playing really awful music"

While you're certainly entitled to your opinion, (and so-called "music critics" never were fans of TOTO), I think it's decidely unfair to characterize TOTO music based on a couple radio hits from 1982.

For the record, the band has spent the past 20 years trying to get out of their record deal with Sony because they felt that the label consistently pushed songs that weren't truly representative of the group.

You might be surprised if you go beyond the "Africa"'s and Rosanna's and Hold The Line's of this world and check out some of their other stuff.

Lonnybass

"Hydra" would be a great example of that! Awsome stuff.

The_Ryst · #19 07-05-2005, 11:11 PM

I have a handful of players who blow this cat out of the water.

audiotom · #20 07-09-2005, 12:18 AM

toto came from the nucleus of on demand la session players

Jeff Porcaro - Mike's brother was more famous
and was one of only a few drummers who could give Fagen and Becker ultra precise time

tragically he died in the 80's from a pesticide poisoning

didn't like their fluff
will have to check out the other

best bassist ever - hard to imagine