Bill "The Buddha" Dickens'vcd

Mixed feelings. No doubt he's a badass, but his wanking mode (whackaty-whackaty-whackaty etc.) gets tiresome VERY quickly. I've only heard him in solo/show-off/special guest star material, so I have no idea how well he does in a "band" context so to speak. But since he toured with Barry Manilow, I'm sure he can stay out of the spotlight and just "be a bassist" as well.

 

What Oyster said.

I have the Bass Beyond Limits vid - and it's great to scare students with.

 

Word.

 

Amen.

The guys in the "notes-per-second olympics" don't do much for me. I prefer tasteful simplicity anyday. Technically, he's amazing, IMO.

 

I can dig a healthy portion of that, but when Dickens goes Turbo it's just fast - as opposed to e.g. Victor Wooten who does it with finesse.

JMO, don't hate me for liking wankers!

 

Bringing up Wooten comparison is a good idea, Oyster.

Even though I'm not an admirer of his tone a la Flecktones, Wooten is always very "musical" IMO. Dickens tends to shred just for the sake of shredding, IMO.

 

I agree.. Dickens tends to blaze just to blaze.. no texture to it..

However. I have seen him do some very tasteful solos. he is an amazing bass player. his style isn't for me.. but it is his style of course...

 

Yeah I agree with a lot of what is said above. The guy has incredible technique at the slap thing but judging by how fast he constantly goes and other things such as his nine string bass that he sometimes pulls out etc... I get the feeling that he's a little bit more about showing off than is good for the music.

I have one of his old original videos and he's a terrible teacher on that video but it's kind of funny to see because he just kinda bumbles around in a disorganized manner, talks about trivial things for way too long, and makes inside jokes to people off-camera. He really seems like a super-nice guy and I bet he's very cool and maybe he's a great one-on-one teacher but these just my observations from afar.

rickbass,

I agree about Wooten. He's always about the groove and the music while still doing jaw-dropping solos. You get the feeling of his musicality and genuineness just from hearing him talk about music for a few minutes. I appreciate that you still give him props even though maybe his sound's not really your thing.

brad cook

 

A big prop to you for understanding my comment about Wooten, Dig. He's a big part of the reason I don't aspire to own a Fodera. But I have a videotape of the Jacksonville Jazzfest where he plays and I fully appreciate what he does even though the tonal "purity" of his Fodera makes me sleepy. (I get static from those who worship at "The Church of Jaco" but his tone leaves me pretty cold other than the fact he was a technical monster, at least to me).

What a boring-ass world this would be if we all were after the same tone, drove the same car, and wore the same clothes.

 

I agree with everything that's been said. There are a lot of players that stretch the limits of technical playing, yet manage to play inspiring music that contain real meaningful substance - guys like Wooten, Manring, and Burbridge. However, from my limited exposure to the Buddha's playing (and I emphasize limited), his playing didn't really get through to me on a deeper level.

 

I thought I was the only one who felt this way about him! I agree with everything pretty much. Dicken's bores me but I love wooten's playing...

 

A quick word on your distaste for Fodera...I have a Fodera NYC Empire..it's their more classic styled j bass and man does it sing (click here for pics)! It has gobs of sweet tone that leans way more towards the classic sound than the more modern sound of the more well-known Foderas. It's a little beefier thanks to the onboard Bart NTMB pre...I think of it as a jbass on steroids. Anyway...just wanted to let you know that Fodera doesn't JUST do the ultra-clean modern sound. They can rock the fat, booty-shaking old school sounds too.

brad cook

ps - I like Wooten's tone as well though, especially on Live Art.

 

Uh-huh.

 

I've heard some Bill Dickens' mp3s.. One was a Conclkin GT demo and the other was supposed to be a song.. Hell it is stunningly fast, but they sounded the same..

 

Bill Dickens is the man.

For those that say that he is only about flash, I say you haven't listen to the stuff he really does.

Technically speaking I don't think there are many people around who can touch him, and he is more than capable of sitting back and just grooving.

 

Well, I saw him at the NAMM show in Nashville in 2000 performing with his band "The Buddha Band". He was very impressive. He was so impressive a lead bassist that he had a "bass" bass player in the band, whose job was to groove. So, when the "bass" bass player took his one solo of the evening (also impressive and tasteful), "The Buddha" attempted to lay down a groove. It was pretty sad. It was just a simple 1-4 jazz/funk thing in E. He was as lost as a ball in high weeds. No feel, no pocket. My friend and I couldn't believe it!
Hey, I enjoy a bass player who can shred; as long as its musical and in good taste. But if you can't groove over something that simple.........

PLEEEEASE!!
DON'T think I'm trying to start a flame war here; I'm just relating what I heard and saw for myself.

 

Sooo...I got some couterfeit Dickens? Crud! I hate when that happens!

brad cook