Another Adam Clayton Bass?

[4SG]

Astonishing. Luckiest man in rock. You can play nearly all of U2's boring bass lines on one string, with one finger.

 

[Love_Bass]

Adam who?

 

[leegreenman]

I'm amazed by the hate for this guy. He's a solid, song oriented player with a knack for writing hooky, and supportive lines.

 

[BioDriver]

I don't think he is even that great of a bass player honestly. They are way more talented players that could benefit from a signature model yet he has like 5.

For Fender (and Gibson) it's more about marketing. Adam Clayton is known around the world and Fender knows they could sell a lot of basses if they slap his name on it. Same story with Flea and his J bass, despite mostly playing EBMM and Modulus.

Takes many different basses to play all those 8th notes.

To be fair, his songs make for good lessons when you're teaching bass newbies how to keep rhythm. I still use "With or Without You" as the first song my students learn, even though I cannot stand U2.

 

[telecopy]

But this one looks good!

Bass of the Week: Adam Clayton’s Wild Customs H. Moser & Cie Bass

Followed by an import signature Casio watch with his face on it and hour/minute hands sprouting from his nose. Pride-In the Name of Love chimes at the top of the hour.

 

[bassstrangler]

For Fender (and Gibson) it's more about marketing. Adam Clayton is known around the world and Fender knows they could sell a lot of basses if they slap his name on it. Same story with Flea and his J bass, despite mostly playing EBMM and Modulus.



To be fair, his songs make for good lessons when you're teaching bass newbies how to keep rhythm. I still use "With or Without You" as the first song my students learn, even though I cannot stand U2.

Everyone has to start somewhere. Unfortunately Adam Clayton never really evolved beyond a bass newbie.

 

[Diamond_Dave]

I was having the “Adam Clayton discussion” while jamming with the guys the other night. The guitarist said something along the lines of him being an awesome bass player. I didn’t want to argue, so I allowed that he provided the bass lines the songs need. Which he does. Truthfully, none of the guys in U2 are great musicians, but they rode some heartfelt anthems and good production into quite a career.

I think the bass in question in pretty cool. It’s not over-the-top steampunk with gears and whatnot. I like the rear access panel and the backs of the tuners. It’s steampunk if steampunk were Star Trek.

 

[leegreenman]

I have never and will never buy a signature bass. People buy them thinking they are going to sound like the bass the artist uses. In reality, many artists make modification after they receive their basses from the manufacturer. For example, I remember reading an interview with Marcus Miller and he said that the first thing he did when he received his basses from Fender was to send them out and have the preamp changed. So people were buying the Marcus Miller signature bass and it wasn't even what he was using. This is typical of signature basses.
Most signature basses are just stock basses with an artist's name on the headstock. There may be some minor differences depending on the artist such as the bridge or pickups but the overall cost to produce them are relatively the same. Is it really more expensive for Fender to produce a stock MIA bass with an artist's name on it than it costs to produce one without the the artist's name? The answer is no. Yet people spend several hundred dollars more just because it has a name on it. I don't get it. In my opinion, it's just an excuse to artificially inflate the price of a stock bass.

I agree for the most part, but the Geddy Lee Jazz bass is a very cool, and distinct instrument.

 

[dje31]

They lost me with this in the press release:

"...Adam Clayton combines musical virtuosity with a refined rock elegance..."

That is all.

 

[Clef_de_fa]

To me it is like Lee Sklar who endorse pretty much every bass gear ever made. It is impossible to open a Bass Player Mag and not see at least one ad with Lee Sklar endorsing something you never knew existed.

it kills the purpose of signature stuff and endorsing ... I'm sure a lot of people are like : If he uses that, then it is good. To me it is more like whore.

 

[J-Bassomatic]

But this one looks good!

Bass of the Week: Adam Clayton’s Wild Customs H. Moser & Cie Bass

Nice looking bass whatever the situation, IMHO

 

[Guitarodeo]

I took one of the Fenders in trade. I literally just sold it at a Starbucks two hours ago. I am not a jazz guy per say, but if I were to keep one, this was a good representation. I was pleasantly surprised how good the custom shop pickups sounded, i.e authentic to what I hear when I think Jazz bass. Nice growl. The neck was a good fit for me, and I like the look of the blocks. It didn't weigh much over 9 lbs, and it balanced nicely. The paint job was excellent, and, depending on the lighting, varied between jade green and ocean turquoise blue. I decided to keep a P bass with the exact same neck, Fender custom shop 62 pickups, and an American Standard body. Not because it was better than the J, but after I added some TI flats, I found myself channeling Jamerson and Pino, at least in my mind. If I had one niggle, it would be a slight buzz at the 9th fret on the G string that I can't seem to dial out. You'd think at $1850 list this should have been ironed out with a Plek machine. If my name were on it, that would have been the case. Alas, I digress. Best to Adam, a terrific marketing machine, and to U2 for decades of creativity and band sustainment.

 

[Mr.Ace]

Not a huge fan of Adam or his basses, but he’s on top of his game. I’m happy for him.

 

[gjohnson441496]

Astonishing. Luckiest man in rock. You can play nearly all of U2's boring bass lines on one string, with one finger.

He really is the luckiest man in rock. Well, him and Ringo Starr.

 

[BigBigGuy44]

I’m surprised how many people on his forum would turn down their own signature model if given the opportunity.

 

[zplapplap]

Interesting thread.

Adam Clayton has been a gigging musician for 40 years. I see no basis for an inference that his contribution to U2 reflects the outer limits of his bass playing ability and musicianship. Is the idea that he sits at home off tour and dutifully practices his famous U2 bass lines? That he only listens to U2 albums?

Adam Clayton’s bass playing is an integral part of that band’s signature sound. What’s he supposed to do? He loves Jamerson. Maybe he should introduce syncopation and double chromatic approaches to really lock in with The Edge’s delay and the straight ahead uninspired drumming he’s anchored to. Yeah. The most Clayton can doing that context is to write hooky lines and serve the song.

The whole signature model trend is reaching absurdity, but I can easily see why Adam Clayton would be given instruments by various builders and be paid to endorse signature Fender models. Hadn’t noticed a steep up charge. Fenders pricing in that range is all over the place.

 

[gjohnson441496]

I agree for the most part, but the Geddy Lee Jazz bass is a very cool, and distinct instrument.

Yeah, that Geddy Lee bass is sweet. I was so tempted to purchase one after playing it, but I only went to GC for strings. I got outta there with strings.

 

[gjohnson441496]

I’m surprised how many people on his forum would turn down their own signature model if given the opportunity.

I would not, and you guys would be calling me all kinds of <Names that are associated with giving away sex for free>.

 

[4SG]

Adam Clayton has been a gigging musician for 40 years. I see no basis for an inference that his contribution to U2 reflects the outer limits of his bass playing ability and musicianship.

Right, so, over the past 40 years can you name any interesting bass parts Clayton has played outside of U2? You'd think that with a decades old mega-platinum career, international recognition and several signature bass models the guy might have stretched his legs a bit outside of his day job. You know, show the people what he's been holding back on all these years

 

[gjohnson441496]

Interesting thread.

Adam Clayton has been a gigging musician for 40 years. I see no basis for an inference that his contribution to U2 reflects the outer limits of his bass playing ability and musicianship. Is the idea that he sits at home off tour and dutifully practices his famous U2 bass lines? That he only listens to U2 albums?

Adam Clayton’s bass playing is an integral part of that band’s signature sound. What’s he supposed to do? He loves Jamerson. Maybe he should introduce syncopation and double chromatic approaches to really lock in with The Edge’s delay and the straight ahead uninspired drumming he’s anchored to. Yeah. The most Clayton can doing that context is to write hooky lines and serve the song.

The whole signature model trend is reaching absurdity, but I can easily see why Adam Clayton would be given instruments by various builders and be paid to endorse signature Fender models. Hadn’t noticed a steep up charge. Fenders pricing in that range is all over the place.

You've made some really good points. I started playing guitar this year. Took lessons, learned 5 chords (CAGED) then learned more on my own. ALL of my favorite songs that I've learned to play use only 5 chords (CAGED and a few more maybe). Yesterday morning I learned I Won't Back Down by Tom Petty and last night before I went to bed I learned Heroes by David Bowie on guitar. My point is that, from what I can tell, the only musicians doing complicated syncopations and stuff are jazz musicians (not a lot of money in that), and YouTube slappy slap guru's (not much money in that). People understand simplicity, and simplicity is pleasing to the ear. U2, AC/DC, Kiss. There's a lot to be said about K.I.S.S