• 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.

John Myung (merged)

#42
bassist31588 said:
Kinda sucks... his tone is weak. Especially when he tries slapping. Good playing, good sound, but it never cuts through the way it should. Same with vocals, they are never loud enough.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to point out that JM NEVER slaps. The closest he comes is digging in close to the neck.
 
#44
xolin said:
Well, thats a half truth. In his instructional videos he does...he even talks about it. But I've never SEEN him do it elsewhere. But yeah, why the hell doesnt he turn up...i mean during those guitar solos id love to have some alternative to listen to ;) .
Click to expand...

He does not "slap" as we think of it. I also have his instructional video, and I believe his form of slapping is what I described. I don't think it should be considered slapping unless the thumb is used. That goes for upright "slappers" as well. It's popping damnit!
 
#48
pistoleroace said:
I have never had a problem hearing JM on the Dream Theater CD's, it's the live performance that the bass lacks big time (actually not even there).
Click to expand...
part of this has to do with his live tone. i can hear him fine, its just you gotta know what to listen for. his live sound is very bright and clanky, ala justin chancellor (tool). probably the way he likes his EQ or something. i personally prefer his tone on the albums but you know, to each his own.
 
#49
DEFELDUS said:
part of this has to do with his live tone. i can hear him fine, its just you gotta know what to listen for. his live sound is very bright and clanky, ala justin chancellor (tool). probably the way he likes his EQ or something. i personally prefer his tone on the albums but you know, to each his own.
Click to expand...

I do know what to listen for, he wasn't in the mix when he was playing by himself
 
#50
Myung is good, but I was very dissapointed when I saw DT in Oslo a couple of months ago. How do they suppose the fans shall have fun when they obviously are very bored themselves?
They looked uninspired and tired....Doesn't help that it was extremely tight. I could just have turned on my dvd, and it would be the same.
 
#51
I also saw them in Minneapolis last week and I couldn't hear a damn thing Myung was doing. It was so faint, I thought the thing wasn't working at times and that pissed me off as well. It was a great show for those just getting into DT because it was a potpouri of everything. Plus they played Seasons! Great concert, but drop the placebo bassist effect. Do they think we won't notice? Most DT fans are musicians.
 
#52
hateater said:
Just wanted to point out that JM NEVER slaps. The closest he comes is digging in close to the neck.
Click to expand...

There's one verified moment of John Myung slapping - during the solo break in "One Last Time" from Scenes From A Memory at 2:19 into the track. You can see him visually make the traditional "slap/pop" motion on the "Live Scenes From New York DVD (1:03:55)

Yeah, his live sound sucks, but I'm betting yours would as well if you had to compete with a kit that contained 20 drums and 15 cymbals (not counting percussion, mind you) as well as Petrucci's Mesa overkill. For better or worse, DT is sonically a guitar and drums dominated band. I'd like to know who Myung bribed to be so up-front on "Train of Thought"? ;)
 
#53
Did anyone catch their concert in Ohio. I could have gone but my "friend" said he had no room in his van. But when he got back he said that JM was tearing up his new six string model. I looked at the tabs for the song "As I Am" and I did not realize the opening rifts are bass. :bassist:
 
#55
I saw Dream Theater in Massey Hall Toronto. The sound was fantastic. I couldn't hear the bass much, but it probably also has to do with how tight he is. He brought the Stick out for a couple tunes, and I personally thought it sounded better than his bass did. You could hear everything.
 
#56
versatile_stile said:
It also sounds like his bass is compressed to almost nothing. His lows and highs are almost non-existent. Probably another big factor as to why you can't hear him. -Luke
Click to expand...

You know, his sound is never consistant. For example, when I saw them play, his solo spot on Metropolis Part 1 was loud, crisp and rockin'. However, his little solo transistion (lines of sand?) was seriously not even audible. My friends and I watched the big screen as it did a close-up of his hands, and he was all over the place, but we could literally hear NOTHING.

OK, now let's go to his live recorded tone. He seems to love (as you said) that compressed tone with some distortion. On their new CD, Train of Thought, his tone is great and out of control.

What does this all mean? Nothing.
 
#59
Schwinn said:
I saw him in Washington DC and he was loud and clear. But that club (9:30 club) has a killer sound system and I've never been disappointed with the sound there.

His tone was a little more clanky live than on the CD. He sounded very good!
Click to expand...


Gosh, you guys are going to make me cry! I had a 65 dollar ticket to see them at the Wiltern (I think) and I completely forgot about the show!!!!!
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back