• 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 free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

For All You Lakland Tone Lovers

#123
Funny, I happened on Jamaaladeen Tacuma by accident. Back in the day when cassettes were still the media of choice, I used to hit music stores and flea markets and buy up every jazz record from their bargain bins. I saw a cassette with a guy holding a bass, so I bought it. I figured it had to be good if he's a bass player!

Gonna go look for it when I get home and convert it to digital audio.
 
#124
DWBass said:
Funny, I happened on Jamaaladeen Tacuma by accident. Back in the day when cassettes were still the media of choice, I used to hit music stores and flea markets and buy up every jazz record from their bargain bins. I saw a cassette with a guy holding a bass, so I bought it. I figured it had to be good if he's a bass player!

Gonna go look for it when I get home and convert it to digital audio.
Click to expand...

I believe he is on the new John McLaughlin Fourth Dimension CD.
 
#125
hasbeen said:
I did a Jamaaladeen Tacuma/Ornette Coleman tune for my senior recital...back in 1985.

I tried to nail that Steinberger tone he had with my Ken Smith and SWR SM400. I loved that album.

I also just wanted to testify that I knew who JT was. :p;)
Click to expand...

WOW!!!!
And how did that work out for ya Roger??
 
#128
Sounds great to me! One of the things that may be causing guys to hear a disconnect is that there is a mix of styles here - there is a big difference between modern R&B and "neo-soul". His playing (and the song itself) definitely fit the neo-soul style which came from the basslines that Dilla would program with chopped samples and a very behind the beat feel. Most bass players playing that style go for a tone that is very old school. Pino Palladino and Raphael Saadiq did it for D'Angelo, Erykah Badu and others with fretted P Basses. Many cats will use jazz basses, but will usually roll the passive tone back a bit. This is probably because they are emulating the sound of two things - the filtered sampled basslines that producers like Dilla would use, and the old school sound of bass players like James Jamerson.

However, the bass player in the clip's tone is more of a modern R&B (and urban Gospel) tone - that's the tone that alot of the cats touring with acts like Usher, Chris Brown, etc. go for...a modern, humbucker type tone with a wide frequency range. Many of those guys are using MTD's, Smiths, and Bartolini loaded basses. Many of them will also use jazz basses, but will go after a more wide "jazz on steroids" tone with more treble "zing".

The difference between neo soul and modern R&B isn't black and white, you have many artists like Jill Scott, Musiq, Angie Stone and others who are in between and their bands play with elements of both. But in that clip that was posted you have both extremes present - a VERY neo-soulish groove and bassline combined with a VERY modern wide type tone. That combination ends up with the bassline sounding a bit over the top. But if you look at the actual notes that he's playing alot of it is the same type of "busy" syncopated behind the beat notes that Pino played when he was doing neo-soul - the difference is Pino was using a P Bass with the tone rolled back which means there was less definition so the licks didn't sound too over the top.

It sounds good to me though because I can see where he was coming from with his playing, but I understand what some of the other guys are saying as well. The guys that usually play modern R&B may have a problem with his style of playing, and the guys that usually play neo-soul may have a problem with his tone. I've played alot of both over the years (and alot of in between!) so I don't have a problem with either.
 
#129
Great post. I went to school a bit on Dilla today (clips, etc.)... whew, that's a whole different thing isn't it!

I went from 'this is crap' to 'this is kind of cool' to 'I wonder how I can cop those grooves' in about the last 6 hours.:p
 
#130
vision said:
The guys that usually play modern R&B may have a problem with his style of playing,
Click to expand...


vision said:
and the guys that usually play neo-soul may have a problem with his tone. I've played alot of both over the years (and alot of in between!) so I don't have a problem with either.
Click to expand...

I personally have no problem with his tone at all. And I play modern R&B as well as what is referred to as Neo-Soul. My tone with those genre's sound nothing like the tones the above mentioned uses. I use my own tone and the people that I work with seem to dig it.
 
#131
MikeBass said:
WOW!!!!
And how did that work out for ya Roger??
Click to expand...

well.....I'll admit: I thought I was the bees knees with that rig and bass back then. I also thought my tone was really happening. Now, when I run that same set up and EQ the way I used to, I think "man...what was I thinking". It did get close to JT's "snarly/snarky" tone though.

Of course, most of us on TB are aware that back then, the sought after tone was quite bright. I was a big Mark King wannabe.
 
#133
KJung said:
Great post. I went to school a bit on Dilla today (clips, etc.)... whew, that's a whole different thing isn't it!

I went from 'this is crap' to 'this is kind of cool' to 'I wonder how I can cop those grooves' in about the last 6 hours.:p
Click to expand...

Man I can send you a ton of stuff - Dilla is one of my biggest influences...he did a REALLY wide variety of stuff over the years so the context is definitely important when getting into it, but he put out a TON of great music.
 
#134
vision said:
Man I can send you a ton of stuff - Dilla is one of my biggest influences...he did a REALLY wide variety of stuff over the years so the context is definitely important when getting into it, but he put out a TON of great music.
Click to expand...

That would be cool. I was just listening to random stuff that came up when I searched. Next time we hang, you can make me a list of your 'top 5' or whatever. Cool!
 
#139
vision said:
Sounds great to me! One of the things that may be causing guys to hear a disconnect is that there is a mix of styles here - there is a big difference between modern R&B and "neo-soul". His playing (and the song itself) definitely fit the neo-soul style which came from the basslines that Dilla would program with chopped samples and a very behind the beat feel. Most bass players playing that style go for a tone that is very old school. Pino Palladino and Raphael Saadiq did it for D'Angelo, Erykah Badu and others with fretted P Basses. Many cats will use jazz basses, but will usually roll the passive tone back a bit. This is probably because they are emulating the sound of two things - the filtered sampled basslines that producers like Dilla would use, and the old school sound of bass players like James Jamerson.

However, the bass player in the clip's tone is more of a modern R&B (and urban Gospel) tone - that's the tone that alot of the cats touring with acts like Usher, Chris Brown, etc. go for...a modern, humbucker type tone with a wide frequency range. Many of those guys are using MTD's, Smiths, and Bartolini loaded basses. Many of them will also use jazz basses, but will go after a more wide "jazz on steroids" tone with more treble "zing".

The difference between neo soul and modern R&B isn't black and white, you have many artists like Jill Scott, Musiq, Angie Stone and others who are in between and their bands play with elements of both. But in that clip that was posted you have both extremes present - a VERY neo-soulish groove and bassline combined with a VERY modern wide type tone. That combination ends up with the bassline sounding a bit over the top. But if you look at the actual notes that he's playing alot of it is the same type of "busy" syncopated behind the beat notes that Pino played when he was doing neo-soul - the difference is Pino was using a P Bass with the tone rolled back which means there was less definition so the licks didn't sound too over the top.

It sounds good to me though because I can see where he was coming from with his playing, but I understand what some of the other guys are saying as well. The guys that usually play modern R&B may have a problem with his style of playing, and the guys that usually play neo-soul may have a problem with his tone. I've played alot of both over the years (and alot of in between!) so I don't have a problem with either.
Click to expand...

Funny the very first thing N'dambi said to me at rehearsal was "think James Jamerson and Pino"

Vision,good breakdown
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back