• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

bassists who play 8 and 12 string basses

John Paul Jones had an Alembic 8-string, you can hear it on Achilles Last Stand.

i love that song! i thought that album had a weird bass sound.
also, i forgot Greg Lake. i already know about him. as well, i want to see people who used an 8 or 12 extensively. JPJ used an Alembic 8-string for all of Led Zeppelin's Presence album. im looking for people who have done that, or almost an entire album with an 8 or 12.
 
King's X's albums "Gretchen Goes to Nebraska" and "Dogman" are good examples of Doug Pinnick's Hamer 12-string. Mark Egan's "Mosaic" album has a couple cool examples of his fretted 8-string playing. The first track on Micheal Manring's "Book of Flame" as his altered tuned 10-string bass. And let's not forget "Jeremy" by Pearl Jam.

Also, didn't Robert Trujillo play some 8-string on some of the Suicidal Tendencies/Infectious Grooves recordings?
 
JPJ used an Alembic 8-string for all of Led Zeppelin's Presence album.

No he didn't, there's clearly a 4 string bass on many of the songs. I may be wrong but I can hear an 8-string bass only on "Achilles Last Stand" and "Nobody's Fault But Mine". Also, I still think he used a Hagström 8-string bass and got the Alembics (4- and 8- strings) for the 1977 tour. The bass sound on both songs is a bit more "rusty" (in a good way) than the hi-fi of Alembics.

Squire used an 8-string on a few songs like "Hearts", "Changes", "It's Over" (a bonus track on the remastered "90125") and "Going For The One".

"Jeremy" is Jeff Ament's most famous 12-string bass track but the song "Leash" (Vs.) has a great 12-string bass part too.

You said you knew enough of Petersson's stuff but I still want to say that he doesn't use the 12-string that much in the studio. "Cheap Trick" (1977) is an album which has quite a lot of 12-string bass and the single they did at the time with Steve Albini (Baby Talk b/w Brontosaurus) has his Chandler on both sides.
 
King's X's albums "Gretchen Goes to Nebraska" and "Dogman" are good examples of Doug Pinnick's Hamer 12-string.

According to some info there's no 12-string bass at all on "Dogman" and on "Gretchen" it's only on "Out of The Silent Planet" (the first song), maybe some other I can't recall now. King's X's most 12-string bass-heavy albums are "Faith Hope Love" and "King's X" (1992).

Moogboy, check out also this list:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
Ol' "Basher" Nick Lowe played a Hamer 8string on many projects in the 80's, including Rockpile. A great sound, inspired me to build my first 8stringer in '83.

That's true, his Hamer B8S appears in the cover of "Labour Of Lust" (as a small silhouette pic), though he probably didn't use it on the album. I think he used it more live with the Rockpile, like on this great clip featuring some unknown guest singer from Birmingham:
Little Sister

The dB's used an 8-string on the song "Neverland" from the album "Repercussion". The bass was loaned from someone called John Entwistle...
 
Go to 8stringbass.com, 12stringbass.com, and 12stringbass.net for some great info on octave-string basses. I've always wanted one, and even though I've got little or no real need for one, I'm thinking about taking the plunge on a cheap 8-string, maybe a Dean. I would get a 12, but I think they're going to work out to be too heavy for me. An 8 probably will too, but at least it's not as heavy as a 12.

An 18-string is right out, though.
 
According to some info there's no 12-string bass at all on "Dogman" and on "Gretchen" it's only on "Out of The Silent Planet" (the first song), maybe some other I can't recall now. King's X's most 12-string bass-heavy albums are "Faith Hope Love" and "King's X" (1992).

Moogboy, check out also this list:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

There is 12 string on Dogman, the song 'I Pretend' has a bass break and you can clearly hear the extra courses.

'Out of the Silent PLanet, from Gretchen is an 8 string, according to Mr Pinnick.
 
"Where ever i may roam" apparently..

Moogy:
John played 8ers, i know he had a 8 string spyder he used quite alot a while "The who and all their stage men used to flee my side of the stage whenever it was in use, it had a huge sound"

i knew John played an 8. why else would i be interested in one? he had a Rickenbacker prototype 8 string* that can be heard on Success Story off of the Who By Numbers, an Alembic 8 that was on anything post-Who By Numbers and a Buzzard 8 for his solo shows.

*this bass' headstock can be seen on An Ox's Tale at the bit about Bobby Pridden
 
i knew John played an 8. why else would i be interested in one? he had a Rickenbacker prototype 8 string* that can be heard on Success Story off of the Who By Numbers, an Alembic 8 that was on anything post-Who By Numbers and a Buzzard 8 for his solo shows.

*this bass' headstock can be seen on An Ox's Tale at the bit about Bobby Pridden

thats true, i have a picture of that ric in my "Bass Culture" book. there was made 2 of it, its stringed the wrong way on the octave strings, and Chris Squire have the other.