The TOOL Bassists Thread

[JamesM]

Originally Posted by rockstarbassist

If you bash Tool (or really any band for that matter) and haven't seem them live, then you are automatically disqualified. Not saying you can't LIKE them, but saying they aren't "good" or "technically skilled" is complete bull****. Their live performances are PERFECT. I've seen them twice, and each ties the other as the best live show ever. Nothing even comes close. You can hear every note live that you can on the album and it's right. The mix, the volumes, the tones, it's just perfect. I've never seen a better live band. You'd also be amazed at just how little Adam does in the songs. Most of the stuff I thought was him is actually Justin, and you see that live. Pretty much everything you might think is "cool" and sounds like guitar, is actually Justin on his whammy and/or other effects. Impeccable music and an enormous and badassed set, plus the loudest PA possibly ever... one that'd make that sissy boy Entwistle run home to his momma!

Not sure about that last comment, but right on bro, i've also seen them twice and ur right, the only concert to come close to them was the 2nd time i saw them. Also these people talking about this annoying pick scrapping, please give me an example of some bad pick scrapping on any of the songs, i've listend thru both aenima and lateralus, and can't quite figure it out. I suggest u just crank ur stereo up to its max and listen a little closer.
Even though i prefer justin, i think both Justin and Paul both did exactly what they should have done on the albums they were on perfectly.

[Adam Barkley]

Originally Posted by rockstarbassist

If you bash Tool (or really any band for that matter) and haven't seem them live, then you are automatically disqualified. Not saying you can't LIKE them, but saying they aren't "good" or "technically skilled" is complete bull****. Their live performances are PERFECT. I've seen them twice, and each ties the other as the best live show ever. Nothing even comes close. You can hear every note live that you can on the album and it's right. The mix, the volumes, the tones, it's just perfect. I've never seen a better live band. You'd also be amazed at just how little Adam does in the songs. Most of the stuff I thought was him is actually Justin, and you see that live. Pretty much everything you might think is "cool" and sounds like guitar, is actually Justin on his whammy and/or other effects. Impeccable music and an enormous and badassed set, plus the loudest PA possibly ever... one that'd make that sissy boy Entwistle run home to his momma!

They were very tight when I saw them and I did notice the abundance of bass frequencys.

Manowar, despite sucking with both knees fully planted, is the undesputed champions of concert volumes. I believe their record is in the 160 db range.

[TooL_051685]

----" Most of the stuff I thought was him is actually Justin, and you see that live. Pretty much everything you might think is "cool" and sounds like guitar, is actually Justin on his whammy and/or other effects." ----rockstarbassist


+1
thats what i was talking about how adam and justin aren't afraid to cross over into each other's frequency range, a lot of "guitar sounding parts" on lateralus are really justin. Listen to "disposition" in paticular, a lot of of the high pitched somewhat psychadelic sounds are justin using his rare hard-to-find bass whammy.

i've heard he also gets a lot of crazy higher sounds just from the electronics in his wal bass, not sure though. I know nothing about wal's but im very intrigued.

[Tbirdbassist]

Just on a note from what someone said before. PAUL is in Feersum Enjinn, Not Justin.

Justin doesnt have anything extra special in the electronics of his bass. The only real unusual thing about WAL'a in general is the option of running your bass direct to a mixing board without a D.I. box. I can imagine though TooL_051685, Justins whammy whailing and Adams tremolo picking and use of delay can mix up with Justin's and make some weird sounds. Plus I dont think Justin would like paying $4,000 for a bass with noisy electronics.

[Matt Till]

Originally Posted by rockstarbassist

If you bash Tool (or really any band for that matter) and haven't seem them live, then you are automatically disqualified. Not saying you can't LIKE them, but saying they aren't "good" or "technically skilled" is complete bull****. Their live performances are PERFECT. I've seen them twice, and each ties the other as the best live show ever. Nothing even comes close. You can hear every note live that you can on the album and it's right. The mix, the volumes, the tones, it's just perfect. I've never seen a better live band. You'd also be amazed at just how little Adam does in the songs. Most of the stuff I thought was him is actually Justin, and you see that live. Pretty much everything you might think is "cool" and sounds like guitar, is actually Justin on his whammy and/or other effects. Impeccable music and an enormous and badassed set, plus the loudest PA possibly ever... one that'd make that sissy boy Entwistle run home to his momma!

Well, then, you got me.... OOOoooOoooH, oops, I forgot, I saw Tool live. It was the live show that made me want to stop listening to them. Sometime during the middle I was like, wait a minute... this is really boring! Didn't they already do that song!? Lame central. You also clearly have never seen the Who live...

[spectorbass83]

Originally Posted by Matt Till

No... Justin. Are you telling me you can't hear his pick scraping? That's all I can hear when I listen to him. He needs to either get better pick technique, or lay off the high mids. I've never seen his live playing up close, but it sounds like he hits the strings diagonally during the "heavy" parts. And a pick scrape that is on purpose and very seldom is cool, but he does it all the time... and on recordings... I'm surprised.

I know what you mean, and unfortunately I was not lucky enough to be in the front row of the Tool concert to see if Chancellor hits his strings diagonally. It could be possible since his bass is so low, making it difficult not to hit the strings diagonally.

His Pick technique is fine by my standards! I can hear some pick scraping, but I don't consider it to be too much. Personally, I think it sounds really good with his chorus/high mids. It's just his style and not everyone will like it. To each is own I guess.

Which Tool song w/Chancellor do you think has an excessive amount of pick scraping? And don't say "all of them" because I know you want to LOL, name a specific one.

[Matt Till]

Honestly, they all sound the same to me, so I don't know titles. When he plays his high "look at me" riffs, like Schism's main riff, he's fine, he plays that really clean, but when he'll do a low down heavy riff, I find quite often he'll hit the strings and scrape. I noticed it a little bit a while back, then my friend was listening to a Justin album with really crappy speakers, where the low end was cut quite a bit, and the scraping became really aparent, that's all you could hear during the heavy bits from Justin, so now whenever I hear him, the scraping is really noticable for me.

[JamesM]

Originally Posted by Matt Till

Honestly, they all sound the same to me, so I don't know titles. When he plays his high "look at me" riffs...

Sorry but that was one of the Lamest comments ever, lol.
This porridge is too hot, this porridge is too cold, but this one is just right, no wait a minute it makes a weird scrapping noise with the spoon when i eat it.

[rockstarbassist]

Originally Posted by JamesM

Sorry but that was one of the Lamest comments ever, lol.
This porridge is too hot, this porridge is too cold, but this one is just right, no wait a minute it makes a weird scrapping noise with the spoon when i eat it.

For real. I think this thread needs to be pasted together with the "bassists who dislike jaco" thread! Maybe then all the rockers, metalheads, thrash guys, jazz nuts, and kuntry lovers (like me!) can all get together in one big circle, hold hands, try each other's basses, and learn about musical tolerance! It's so sweet, it just makes me cry thinking about it...

[funkedupbass]

I still think Hemmingway sucks!!!

[Matt Till]

Originally Posted by JamesM

Sorry but that was one of the Lamest comments ever, lol.
This porridge is too hot, this porridge is too cold, but this one is just right, no wait a minute it makes a weird scrapping noise with the spoon when i eat it.

[Halftooth]

I would classify Tool more as "Progressive" than anything else, but I can see why the'd be lumped together with the Metal catagory too.

For me, JC is my preferred bassist, but both were great fits at their given times. The band has moved to more of a technical style which JC fits in better too now.

[j-raj]

Justin is my favorite of them...