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John taylor, 80s bass god
- Thread starter CathalSquierCVJ
- Start date
You did a fine job, Young Man!Hey, I was like 10, not exactly picking up all the finer points at the time. At least I was mostly right.
Jeez, how old are you? You’ve just been discovering them?
No he used an Aria SB-600 on that album. The Stingray you see JT with was given to him by Bernard Edwards from Chic. They were very close friends.
zumas class, id love to have his understanding and ear for basslieswelcome to the John Taylor bass club!
wait...thats not a thing yet...well lets make it happen! request for a number. I'll take 001.
txhawaii John Taylor BC #001
To echo @JimmyM there's a lot of h8 for DD because they were just too pretty but they played great songs and JT was the man on that Aria Pro SB1000.
follow @zuma as I think he has made the most YT vids on learning DD bass hits. He stretches back almost 20 years with his vids. and he's making new ones today.
ZumaZmusic
Just having fun with funky bass, gear reviews and discussing great music.www.youtube.com
FullumMusic
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- Oct 13, 2022
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- Audio/Music software developer, contracted with a company you've heard of and deving my own stuff.
John Taylor is f'n fantastic!
If you're just finding his bass playing, check out The Power Station. It was an 80s super group started by John Taylor, Andy Taylor (Duran Duran), and Robert Palmer. Also had Tony Thompson (Chic, Sister Sledge, etc) on drums, and Bernard Edwards (Chic, everything else funky) on bass at points.
Interestingly enough Michael Des Barres was lead vocalist for a while too. He replaced Robert Palmer for a while. Des Barres played "Murdoc", MacGuyver's arch enemy in the 80s TV show MacGuyver.
If you're just finding his bass playing, check out The Power Station. It was an 80s super group started by John Taylor, Andy Taylor (Duran Duran), and Robert Palmer. Also had Tony Thompson (Chic, Sister Sledge, etc) on drums, and Bernard Edwards (Chic, everything else funky) on bass at points.
Interestingly enough Michael Des Barres was lead vocalist for a while too. He replaced Robert Palmer for a while. Des Barres played "Murdoc", MacGuyver's arch enemy in the 80s TV show MacGuyver.
JT's bass lines are some of the most imaginative, clever, and catchy in the entire history of pop music imho.
Every now and then, I revisit the first Duran Duran albums, playing along with my 1981 SB-700, which perfectly captures his signature tone:
Every now and then, I revisit the first Duran Duran albums, playing along with my 1981 SB-700, which perfectly captures his signature tone:
i might be confusing nick beggs bass, but didnt johns aria have 4 knobs? also that aria is gorgeaus
John Taylor used to play with SB-600 and SB-700 (both passive) and SB-1000 (active/passive). Maybe you have seen pictures/videos of his SB1000 that compromises two knobs, one switch and a one more rotary knob with the varitone.
Another thing about Duran Duran is they have good songs full of hooks, with interesting changes, etc. So he gets to craft these cool parts to tie it all together. He's not flashy, which is why I like him--he plays memorable, well-orchestrated parts with great attention to detail, the groove, tone, etc. that become hooks.
I saw them just a couple years ago at the Hollywood Bowl and they were fantastic. (Simon sounds great these days too). I can't even remember the name of the opening band but it was some new-ish indie band that had no songwriting chops--y'know the type where every song is one chord change that goes around and around and then gets a little louder at the chorus. It made it even more of a stark reminder of how good the DD songs were.
I saw them just a couple years ago at the Hollywood Bowl and they were fantastic. (Simon sounds great these days too). I can't even remember the name of the opening band but it was some new-ish indie band that had no songwriting chops--y'know the type where every song is one chord change that goes around and around and then gets a little louder at the chorus. It made it even more of a stark reminder of how good the DD songs were.
Not in pop music at all but I always liked Duran Duran, they have great songs. John Taylor is a top bass player and its bass lines always elevated the song to a higher level IMHO.
Planet Earth was recorded with the Aria. The Ric was only used in the video. He mentions it at the end of the episode (about the 6:30 mark).
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Duran Duran and John Taylor were a great band and I always appreciated their music. I recall going to a couple of their concerts back in the day and always felt so out of place, as a musician fan instead of a teeny bopper fan girlie. But it was fun to crowd watch even if I did occasionally get looked upon as a creepo.
LOVED playing his bass lines back in the '80s in cover bands.
His lines were always interesting and syncopated. Not your standard meat & potatoes fare - altho I like that stuff too!
Liked Rio, The Reflex, and Please Please Tell Me Now.
His lines were always interesting and syncopated. Not your standard meat & potatoes fare - altho I like that stuff too!
Liked Rio, The Reflex, and Please Please Tell Me Now.
I'll go further than that: for all the wonderful new textures that were available, the 80s was so plagued with mediocre bassists that I turned away from pop music entirely. The few exceptions included Taylor, notably in "Union of the Snake" -- his bass really carries the tune.
