Your opinions on Bassists. Good and bad ones.

Ian the bassist · #1 09-19-2009, 08:31 PM

In this thread I just want people to name a a couple of bassists that you love and hate and to say what you think about them in general. Just to get this started ill name 2 out of each.

Good(In my opinion)- 1. Stuart Hamm- Plays with Joe Satriani and as a solo artist. 1st time I ever seen him he blew me away! I mean sure there's wooten who does the slap and double handed tapping also. But I just think there is just so much more harmony and musical genius in Stu's playing.

2. Cliff Burton of Metallica- I praise Cliff as in my books the Jimi Hendrix of the bass guitar. His tone in orion is what catches me the most. Pulling teeth is a piece that I immediately wanted to learn when I first heard it. Overall brilliant player although technically there are much better bassists he just has something about his sound and riffs that catches me.

Down to opinion but I don't like these guys-

1. Billy sheehan. I think Billy is an amazing player with amazing technique. But, I just don't think he can use it. I hate the way he drags out a solo for ten minutes that normally only includes- Fast tapping, Fast thrills, Pinch and tap harmonics. These are his techniques that I hear in between his mindless shredding. No riffs in there no melody no music. I know this is bad to say about anyone but thats just how I feel. I have been playing four years and I could compose and play a solo as fast and exactly like billy sheehan because all he does is play the same shapes very very fast. Boring player.

2. Flea of RHCP- This is more of that I think he's good but he's not THAT good!!! I always here people saying of him as the best bassist ever. He is good but not ground breaking. Not amazing. I think it's because nobody who listens to RHCP knows of the other slap bassists who go well beyond what flea can play.

PeaceSells775 · #2 09-19-2009, 11:16 PM

David Ellefson has great tone in my opinion, and I really enjoy his work with Megadeth. I also really like Henkka Blacksmith of Children of Bodom, I really dig his stage presence.

I could live without bassists who are demoted guitar players. It just takes the job away for people who really want to play that instrument.

uglymutt · #3 09-20-2009, 01:11 AM

Scott 'Barney' O'Donoghue from Little Birdy (an Australian band) is a talented bass player in my opinion especially in their latest album Confetti, his basslines support the songs and his tone is one of my favourites at the moment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPC199O5uXQ simple sounding bassline but really stands out.

Chris Wolstenholme I'm a massive Muse fan so this is obligatory, again his basslines really support the songs i love his earlier basslines (to hullaballoo era for those who are interested) (his later ones aren't as good in my opinion). Again his tone is one of my favourites.

Agreeing with Peaceshells demoted guitarists don't make good bass players most of the time.
Bands where the bass is lost in the mix also annoy me, i like to hear the bass in the music i listen to.

ksandvik · #4 09-20-2009, 01:21 AM

Any bass player who forgets they are bass players that provide the pulse and groove, instead compete with other instruments on the high end, too many notes when few good ones would justify the song, endless tinkering with effects where this is not needed, don't have a good sense of timing (helps to play drums from time to time), can't mix in their sound into the band (mid-range is the key), can't work in tandem with the drummer, too loud or too quiet, makes the band sound like a sloppy act rather than making people dance, and so on and so on...

Greevus · #5 09-20-2009, 01:53 AM

I think opinions get too heavy for logic. Logically, Sheehan is very much in the same boat as Stu Hamm, so I can't see how one does it better than the other. You may prefer Stu, but I think they are similar ability-wise, but Stu is a bit more technical. Billy is the street version of him. I think Flea is very popular due to his antics and appearance, but he deserves credit as a rock solid bassist. He is a minimal type player, but very tasty. I grew up on all these guys and I love Cliff Burton. However, Cliff wasn't so rock solid as just freaking cool. It's all how you look at it. I think Cliff was hands down the most creative Metallica guy. He was super clever with his licks and didn't overplay at all. I enjoy his erratic playing because it's so HUMAN. Stu and Billy are super human. I love Steve Harris and Geezer Butler, but any average bassist can play their parts. It's just their FEEL and heart for the music. Cliff had the feel and vibe, very much like Hendrix. I'll take the guys with heart any day, but I admit I get off on watching the freaks shred too. Thank God for the diversity right? I love Dave Ellefson from Megadeth too. Great riffs on those first two records! Wish he was back in 'Deth. No disrespect for Lomenzo, but Ellefson would have been a bit more creative I think.

spencer · #6 09-20-2009, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian the bassist

2. Flea of RHCP- This is more of that I think he's good but he's not THAT good!!! I always here people saying of him as the best bassist ever. He is good but not ground breaking. Not amazing. I think it's because nobody who listens to RHCP knows of the other slap bassists who go well beyond what flea can play.

Too common, you dont like flea cause everyone likes him and he is who gets most people into bass but people think hes too great so you have to oppose it. My oppinion he has great if not the best taste and people are just haters.

I dont want to hear someone play some nerdy over techncal bass line, i want music.

JimmyM · #7 09-20-2009, 02:07 AM

I like bassists who are good.

PBass101 · #8 09-20-2009, 02:10 AM

Children waste time arguing between personal preferences.

Particularly dumb children waste bandwidth arguing between personal preferences.

I prefer to spend my time trying to improve my own playing.

JimmyM · #9 09-20-2009, 02:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PBass101

Children waste time arguing between personal preferences.

Particularly dumb children waste bandwidth arguing between personal preferences.

I prefer to spend my time trying to improve my own playing.

Well aren't you mama's special little angel??? Come on, use the internet for the reason it was invented...to trash people with anonymity

GeneralElectric · #10 09-20-2009, 02:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeaceSells775

I could live without bassists who are demoted guitar players. It just takes the job away for people who really want to play that instrument.

A lot of famous bassists were originally guitar players... Jaco Pastorius, Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle... They all played guitar before picking up bass.

Byzcat · #11 09-20-2009, 01:16 PM

Quote:

I could live without bassists who are demoted guitar players. It just takes the job away for people who really want to play that instrument.

And I couldn't live without Geezer Butler.

bassvi · #12 09-20-2009, 01:32 PM

Whether you play meat and potatoes or shred it's got to have groove or it's just bad, IMO.

StyleOverShow · #13 09-20-2009, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PBass101

Children waste time arguing between personal preferences.

Particularly dumb children waste bandwidth arguing between personal preferences.

I prefer to spend my time trying to improve my own playing.

JimmyM - LOL

To the OP:
My username is an attempt to straddle the question of technique over substance (altho is not clear what my name means).

I've seen Willie Dixson type players who kill at what they do, and way to many others who shred to no (musical) end.

Giving them a name is a way of identifying the players, but the 'problem' appears at all levels of performance, from garage to arena.

-richard

Valerus · #14 09-20-2009, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneralElectric

A lot of famous bassists were originally guitar players... Jaco Pastorius, Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle... They all played guitar before picking up bass.

I'm pretty sure that's not what he meant.
I think he meant more or less along the lines of they're playing bass only because their band needed a bass player.

But nice note, I didn't know that about those guys. They did so much for the bass community!

JimmyM · #15 09-20-2009, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valerus

I'm pretty sure that's not what he meant.
I think he meant more or less along the lines of they're playing bass only because their band needed a bass player.

Sorry but I'm not seeing a problem unless they suck really bad.

J. Crawford · #16 09-20-2009, 03:20 PM

What has happened in this thread?

JimmyM · #17 09-20-2009, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Crawford

What has happened in this thread?

What it deserves

**jmattbassplaya** · #18 09-20-2009, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneralElectric

A lot of famous bassists were originally guitar players... Jaco Pastorius, Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle... They all played guitar before picking up bass.

I`m pretty sure Jaco was a drummer and Entwistle was a horn player before they switched to bass. I`m sure they fiddled around on guitar like any musician, but I don`t think they were ever guitarists.

MammaryVest · #19 09-20-2009, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian the bassist

2. Flea of RHCP- This is more of that I think he's good but he's not THAT good!!! I always here people saying of him as the best bassist ever. He is good but not ground breaking. Not amazing. I think it's because nobody who listens to RHCP knows of the other slap bassists who go well beyond what flea can play.

You obviously have the right to like or dislike the playing of whomever you want. However, to say specifically that Flea is "not groundbreaking" is just foolish. He started a really unique style of playing (funk played at punk speed) and brought it to the mainstream, and actually injected it into great songs where it wasn't over the top wanking. Not to mention the fact that after One Hot Minute, he pretty much stopped slapping and proved that he could also be an incredibly tasty player.

CityEscape · #20 09-20-2009, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spencer

Too common, you dont like flea cause everyone likes him and he is who gets most people into bass but people think hes too great so you have to oppose it. My oppinion he has great if not the best taste and people are just haters.

I dont want to hear someone play some nerdy over techncal bass line, i want music.

Couldn't have said it any better. People often focus on talent rather than what just "sounds good."