Duff Mckagan? Any opinions?

[Dirk Rockbottom]

I agree. After learning "Sweet Child of Mine" (great bass solo in the beginning) I looked up Duff's gear and found out he's got a GK amp and a Fender Jazz with Seymour Duncan dual coil hot stack pickups. I went out and bought the SD's for my F Jazz and it sounds much better. Also getting a GK amp. I even looked up his picks. Dunlop yellows .73 but I prefer the grey nylon.

 

[Catbuster]

I think Georgestrings put it pretty well.

I genuinely don't believe he's a hack. Yes, hacks can go far, but I don't think so in his case. He played on two of my favorite records ever (Contraband and AFD) and while he wasn't ever a John Myung or Geddy Lee, he's very solid and interesting to listen to without being too in your face and annoying. His style of playing is very evident in mine when you think about it. It was semi-melodic and very solid, and in my honest opinion, he, current Flea and Tim Commerford are the three best bass players in rock. Very in the pocket, yet are very good at sounding interesting.

As far as Adler vs Sorum, Sorum was definitely a better player. Listen to My Michelle and listen to the cymbal speeding up after every... Third bar(?) I do agree Sorum's playing can be boring, but he's way better.

 

[mcm]

Sorum may be better technically but Adler has the feel and swing. That's one reason appetite feels better than illusion

 

[Massimo636]

My brother is a drummer, and when we were kids, we used to play covers together, doing them as note-for-note as possible. We played a LOT of AfD. When you've figured out Duff note-for-note, and are playing his lines with a drummer who's figured out Adler on the same level, you realize that a lot of what seems like off-the-cuff varations are very carefully worked out. Either that or their psychic connection was incredible, because those two are locked up on everything.

As for Matt Sorum, I could never get past the fact that every slow song has the same idiot drum fill (3 and, 4 e and).

Haha! My friends and I used to always crack up with Matt Sorum would do that exact fill over and over on every ballad! Whenever we heard that fill in any other song we'd say they were "doing the Sorum".

 

[chef wong]

Duff's bass sounds so cold and dangerous. He's one of the greats. I say this in reference to their first album, only.

 

[Kmonk]

He does a good job of playing what's right for the song so I give him a lot of credit for that but his basslines are pretty simple.

 

[spector_boogie]

Definitely in my tops list for all time rock players. Dude does a lot of awesome stuff underneath everything else going crazy on top. I always loved hearing the bass mixed so well on GnR records also.

 

[4stringfiend]

He's a decent player, but I never liked any of his music. I would say he's an above-average player who got famous for being at the right place at the right time. And I'm not saying this to bash him, because I don't resent his success. But compared to big name bass players, McKagan can't really touch them. Rex Brown, David Ellefson and Scott Clendenin come to mind for working pick bass players that offer something McKagan couldn't as far as their bands go. Of course I have a bias, as I named all metal guys, but I think those guys are a better comparison than all of the jazz guys I listen to. Do you ever hear Charles Mingus and Duff McKagan in the same sentence?

 

[Tonegasm]

P/J + GK + chorus = Duff

 

[spector_boogie]

He's a decent player, but I never liked any of his music. I would say he's an above-average player who got famous for being at the right place at the right time. And I'm not saying this to bash him, because I don't resent his success. But compared to big name bass players, McKagan can't really touch them. Rex Brown, David Ellefson and Scott Clendenin come to mind for working pick bass players that offer something McKagan couldn't as far as their bands go. Of course I have a bias, as I named all metal guys, but I think those guys are a better comparison than all of the jazz guys I listen to. Do you ever hear Charles Mingus and Duff McKagan in the same sentence?

I like Megadeth and all, but I think Duff has way more memorable lines and riffs than David. I don't even know who Scott is, so...

 

[msquared]

Haha! My friends and I used to always crack up with Matt Sorum would do that exact fill over and over on every ballad! Whenever we heard that fill in any other song we'd say they were "doing the Sorum".

You should have called it "doing the Axl". That fill was everywhere by Axl's order because he had a vision of those songs being a part of an overall theme. If you listen critically to the other playing Sorum does on those albums (and others) it's pretty easy to see that he's capable of quite a bit more.

Mike Portnoy and Matt Sorum had a back and forth about it on Twitter earlier this year. I read somewhere that it's a running joke with them at this point (given Portnoy's tendency to put 1000-note fills everywhere).

 

[JMacBass65]

I also preferred the looseness of the AFD line-up, way more rock and roll!

I am glad to see so many people defend Steve Adler. I couldn't stand anything they did with Sorum. Yes, I'm sure he's "technically" the better player, but the feel they had on AfD was it for me. I like it all being a bit "off", there is a swing and a tension to that that I much prefer.

BTW - Tommy Stinson (formerly of the Replacements, Bash and Pop, Perfect, solo) has been w/ Axl since about 1998. Tommy also plays with Soul Asylum.

Oh yeah - as for Duff - I always thought he rocked!

 

[Jack Butler]

Duff and adler define rock n roll

 

[Jawbone]

His new band Walking Papers is excellent and he's switched to a Lakland

 

[Rune Bivrin]

At least Adler didn't write Yellow Submarine

Well, to be fair, neither did Ringo. That little ditty is one of Paul McCartney's less stellar moments as a songwriter.

 

[chuck norriss]

I think his real name is John. Neever mind. He's like Grohl--plays everything, sings?

 

[Catbuster]

I think his real name is John. Neever mind. He's like Grohl--plays everything, sings?

It's Mike. He did lead vocals with Loaded and some GN'R stuff, and he's always done backup vocals.

 

[Dave W]

He's awesome and one of my favorite players. His tone is one of my favorites, and probably a major reason why I play GK.

 

[dedpool1052]

His new band Walking Papers is excellent and he's switched to a Lakland

he's been playing lakland's for the past 3 years now. his band Loaded and queensryche did a benefit concert in honor of the lakewood, WA officers that were gunned down in 2009. i went to that show and he was playing that same lakland.