Best Users of Distortion/Overdrive

[Jared Lash]

+1 to John Wetton, Timmy C, Doug Pinnock, Bootsy, Larry Graham, Justin Chancellor and Chris Wolstenholme.

and +100 to Robert Sledge (here on "One Angry Dwarf") and Billy Gould (here on "Everything's Ruined"). Some of my favorite bass tones. I'm suprised it took three pages for someone to mention Billy. He even managed to make his aggressive tone right at home in more atmospheric tracks like Stripsearch.

And lest we forget, the incomparable James Jamerson always had a little grit in his tone from overdriving the board with a hot signal. You can hear it pretty well in the Miracles' "Baby, Baby Don't Cry"

 

[coolrunner989]

nobody beats Justin Chancellor in my book - the intro to H. is just awesome. Not to mention the exquisite blend of clean/gritty/effects he uses in every song.

 

[gweimer]

A little more subtle than most, but Billy Cox with Buddy Miles on the solo recording of "Them Changes"

 

[monkeyhaiku]

Tom Petersson. His T-Bird through Orange amps on the First Cheap Trick album, and his 12 string bass on many albums. See them live. That 12 string sounds like the voice of an angry God. At their live shows, even his ABG has some distortion.

 

[Fuzzbass]

My early faves are John Wetton and John Entwistle. Also Jack Bruce, Mel Schacher, Felix Pappalardi, Chris Squire, Geddy Lee. I'll add Bill Laswell, Les Claypool, TimmyC, Doug Pinnick as (somewhat) newer heroes.

 

[BigSwami]

Lemmy.

Thread over.

^That.^ Everyone else is just an overdrive amateur.

 

[Barkless Dog]

I was just listening to the Turtles song Buzz Saw- has a killer fuzz bass on it.

 

[Johnny Crab]

Amy of Clatter of course.
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How CAN you argue with this?

Nightwish's Marco Tapani Hietala
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http://youtube.com/watch?v=QoSIuaczGN0 (bass during verses)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=i5SUSmedMm8

Delain's Rob van der Loo(producer is burying him on most of the CD, youtube couldn't find clean audio, no pun intended)
http://www.delain.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=17

The others have already been mentioned.

 

[Benjamin Strange]

Paul Barker of Ministry.

Dark Side of the Spoon should be considered a bass distortion bible.

Incidentally, Paul Barker is one of the two primary reasons why I play bass.

 

[Matt Till]

al cisneros

check out [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] - forward to around 8:50 when the overdrive crashes in!

I will probably never see OM live, and that makes me pretty sad actually.

 

[melt]

5:15..

Yeah, thats his treble rig, the one you are most probable to hear through Youtube and regular TV Speakers.

He tri-amped at the last, one for Bass, one for middle and one for treble.. on the CD from "Live at Royal Albert hall", with my new earphones, All i hear is the mid's amp it even overpower Pete at times. sometimes you hear the synthetic distortion from his treble rig. I Love it! sounds like its 2 bass players up there, i bet it was even cooler to hear "real" live.

I was lucky enough to see John twice before he died; emphasis on the "see" part. Apart from his solos, I never heard a note. If John had known what the sound guy had done to him I'm sure he'd have strangled him. I spent both nights just watching his fingers, and the first time in particular I was in a great spot directly in front of the mixing desk, so what the soundman was thinking of I really don't know. Of course the drums and vocals sounded great.......

 

[lunarpollen]

I was just listening to the Turtles song Buzz Saw- has a killer fuzz bass on it.

Ah the Turtles... some great bass playing on a lot of their tunes from both Chuck Portz and Jim Pons

 

[Sneckumhaw]

Ah the Turtles... some great bass playing on a lot of their tunes from both Chuck Portz and Jim Pons

And Ken Forssi of Love, who supposedly actually played the bass part to Happy Together!

 

[vegas532]

Paul Barker of Ministry.

Dark Side of the Spoon should be considered a bass distortion bible.

Incidentally, Paul Barker is one of the two primary reasons why I play bass.

Paul Barker and "Filth Pig" was my sole inspiration for adding a Malekko B:Assmaster to my little arsenal!

 

[bassness]

I will probably never see OM live, and that makes me pretty sad actually.

I saw them a few weeks back and Al had a pretty massive tone. I was also lucky enough to see Sleep back in the day.

Dave Curran from Unsane has a pretty hellatious distro tone. He's a P-bass, SVT, Rat pedal guy and it's nice and thick.

 

[vegas532]

Dave Curran from Unsane has a pretty hellatious distro tone. He's a P-bass, SVT, Rat pedal guy and it's nice and thick.

+100000000....Dave's bass tone wants to kick your ass!!

 

[Prahainspring]

Sasaki Hisashi of Ruins.

 

[JamesM]

Dirk Lance had sum nice distortion in a few songs off Science

 

[Saetia]

The bassists tone on Old Man Glooms "Christmas Album"

The bassist from Glassjaw, their older stuff has a lot of amazing yet thick and punchy distorted bass tones.

Yep

Peace

-Benny

 

[pompompom]

The bassists tone on Old Man Glooms "Christmas Album"

= Caleb Scofield , also in Cave In