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Bassists who use distortion
- Thread starter hieronymous
- Start date
The Lurker said:how could we ever forget the bone-rattling bass of MEL SCHACHER??????
Good call Lurker. Exactly who I had in mind as I was reading the posts.
Robert Sledge...love those fuzzed out bass lines. And they seem even more extreme on live recordings.
Doug Pinnick...Saw King's X live for the first time last night. Wow. That is one awesome bass sound.
Pretty much anyone who has ever played in King Crimson...From Greg to Bill to Tony, there's some cool grindy stuff in there. And it all sounds really really good for some reason.
Doug Pinnick...Saw King's X live for the first time last night. Wow. That is one awesome bass sound.
Pretty much anyone who has ever played in King Crimson...From Greg to Bill to Tony, there's some cool grindy stuff in there. And it all sounds really really good for some reason.
Early Bill Sheehan ( Talas) has the sweetest bass distortion I've heard. Pearce pre amps don't seem to break into the basic tone , but rather distort with a slight delay . I'm sure other products can do this now , but back in the day it was the only way to distort.
Seems like Mike Starr from Alice In Chains used some distortion at the end of "Would", and some light overdrive in several of thier songs.
Just saw the "Dawn of the Dead" remake, so thought some "thread necromancy" was in order...
Two of my all time favorite distorted bass tracks: "Wishing Well" and "Seven Angels" by Free, from the album "Heartbreaker."
The bassist is Tetsu Yamauchi. He replaced Andy Fraser. The Andy Fraser-era Free is of course classic - his bass sound is bouncy and creative, one of those Gibson users, "Mr. Big" and "The Stealer" being two of my favorite (relatively undistorted) tracks. But Tetsu's playing on this album has always been special to me. I'm half-Japanese, and actually spent six years from the ages of 11 to 17 in Tokyo. But all the music I listened to was mainly American or European rock. I don't think I ever listened to Japanese music during those years! Only enka on TV that my mom listened to. So when I found this album by this British band that I loved, but with a Japanese guy playing bass, I was psyched! Oh yeah, he played with The Faces too, after Free. Apparently he's still playing here in Japan - I'll have to keep my eyes and ears open!!!
Two of my all time favorite distorted bass tracks: "Wishing Well" and "Seven Angels" by Free, from the album "Heartbreaker."
The bassist is Tetsu Yamauchi. He replaced Andy Fraser. The Andy Fraser-era Free is of course classic - his bass sound is bouncy and creative, one of those Gibson users, "Mr. Big" and "The Stealer" being two of my favorite (relatively undistorted) tracks. But Tetsu's playing on this album has always been special to me. I'm half-Japanese, and actually spent six years from the ages of 11 to 17 in Tokyo. But all the music I listened to was mainly American or European rock. I don't think I ever listened to Japanese music during those years! Only enka on TV that my mom listened to. So when I found this album by this British band that I loved, but with a Japanese guy playing bass, I was psyched! Oh yeah, he played with The Faces too, after Free. Apparently he's still playing here in Japan - I'll have to keep my eyes and ears open!!!
Troy of Mastodon uses lots of distortion.
Sounds bad by itself, but it adds tons of thud, crunch, and death to there sound as a band.
Sounds bad by itself, but it adds tons of thud, crunch, and death to there sound as a band.
Benjamin Strange
Commercial User
- Dec 25, 2002
- 9,737
- 310
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- Disclosures
- Owner / Tech: Strange Guitarworks
I hear that Benjamin Strange guy uses alot of distortion, even on songs that don't seem like they should have it. That dude is wack.
rockstarbassist
Inactive
I-Love-Ratm said:
Lots of Dirk's stuff featured his Big-Muff tone. "Under My Umbrella" on Morning View is a great example, as is "Have You Ever?" off the same album.
Too bad he's gone... anyone know why? Ben sucks ass more than anyone in history, hands down, no questions asked. He's a friggin' guitarist for Lord's sake! I'm with the "What's up with Cliff?" crowd also. He wasn't a bass player. He was the third guitarist!
rockstarbassist said:
Id like to seccond that motion, and id like to add to the records that we shuold all own an evelope filter, digitech bass synth wah...very nice, and fun.....bootzilla style
Benjamin Strange
Commercial User
- Dec 25, 2002
- 9,737
- 310
- 49
- Disclosures
- Owner / Tech: Strange Guitarworks
Tecx said:
Thanks, dude! That's a ZVex Machine on the bass through out the whole song, by the way.
rockstarbassist
Inactive
abark000 said:
Grow a little skin, man. People can have opinions all the hell they want. I sure do, as does anybody else. Ben is NOT a bass player. A trained monkey could double guitar lines like he does. That's not playing bass. Dirk was a true player, with few peers. Ben's got less skill than most beginners out there at G.C. I see messing around. Classifying that as "hate" is as silly as it is wrong.
It was said that "Ben is NOT a bass player" (being the new basist for the band Incubus, a band I dont personaly enjoy.) and I would have to disagree, he was guitarist in the Roots for a bit, but he entered the roots as a temporary replacement for their bassist Hub for a tour. Quite frankly I find it hard to believe that he lacks any skills as a basist if he can step in and cover for one of the only really good live hip-hop bands out now. (This is again my opinion.) as well as subbign for the Roots on bass, he has recorded with Musiq, Blackalicious, and the Jazzfatnastees, though I could be mistaked about the rest. Admitedly the Incubus stuff is not as groovy as Dirks, but I cant stand the band anyway, so I cant hold that against Ben.
abark000 said:
Whatch you sayin 'bout flea fool?...just jokin.
...i dont mind bens playing...but i miss the days of Fungus Amungus 
, bit of a let down compared to dirk IMO, but i thought they would of at least got a pizzicato player...but its their choice, not mine oh and rockstar, remove your head from your rear end (nice way of sayin it) i used to be naive like that, but you get ganged up upon and your threads closed, grow up
well, i don't think he used much bass, if at all, but Ron Royce from CORONER is one bad mo'fo. Just watch live in germany video and the stuff that he is playing AND singing at the same time is amazing!
Cliff Burton would have to be the supreme metal bass player of all time. Totally innovative and leagues beyond most others.
Cliff Burton would have to be the supreme metal bass player of all time. Totally innovative and leagues beyond most others.
rockstarbassist
Inactive
jbahleda said:
Still, "subbing in" a few times for someone you're in the same band with hardly counts as being a true BASS player. My guitarist could sub in for me as many times as was needed, but he still wouldn't be a bass player. Just because you switch instruments to get in a band doesn't validate you, especially when you're attempting to replace one of the true genuises to play in modern rock/pop music of the past 5-7 years. Again, this is all my opinion, but they could've done much, much better in filling the bass chair for Incubus, and that's what it really boils down to. Picking up a Jazz and saying "Just follow what Mike does" is hardly being the creative force that Dirk lent to the band for so many years. The new stuff sucks anyhow, so I don't really lose out. Maybe that's one of the reasons he left. If you really want to see what I mean, download their new single "Talk Shows on Mute" when they played on Letterman. Then, go get a version of "Drive" or "Stellar" on Kilborn, Letterman, Leno, and come back and say Ben is a fitting choice for Incubus. No way, no how.
i think ben actually started off on bass, he's been on 4 or 5 albums on bass and only 3 on guitar, but really, who cares....does it affect your everyday life? does it affect your performance? does it worry you that flea is starting to use a pick more and slap less on new recordings? does it affect you that les claypool also plays guitar and drums? its known that the riff for the toys go winding down came from les learning metal guitar, what about John Paul Jones, keyboards and bass, does it affect you that jason newstead changes bass almost every song? does it affect you that jaco was origionally a drummer? or that steve vai and joe satriani recorded the majority of bass tracks on the earlier albums?, they're guitarists, what about dave grohl? he plays heaps of instruments but i dont see anyone complaining against him, the fact is that ben kenney is in incubus, and you arent, and he's talented to play more than one instrument, so why the hate? or is it jelousy..... if all those talented musicians can double up or more instruments and not get slagged then why does ben? he just hasnt 'proved' himself yet.......even gary willis advises that bassists should learn a melody instrument to better understand melodys and how to move around them...so if anything id say ben has a bit of an advantage...
There, peace out
There, peace out
