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Karl Alvarez
- Thread starter bassitude!
- Start date
I grew up on Descendents & ALL, saw them more times than I can count, all over the country. I have to say that figuring out and playing Karl and Tony's basslines not only taught me how to be a bass player but was also a course in music theory in a sense... I'm glad to see those guys get love on this forum.
I was at that Riotfest show in '08... Big Drill Car was incredible...
I was at that Riotfest show in '08... Big Drill Car was incredible...
Three days and counting 'till Descendents in Atlanta! Super psyched. And, it looks like my persistence may have paid off with Bass Player magazine. I've been bugging them for years about Karl, but I sent Chris Jisi an email last week telling him there's a new Descendents record in the works, and he expressed interest in talking with Karl. Got them hooked up via email, so we'll see. Karl told me he's been tracking 30+ songs for the new album!
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
Gotta see Filmage. It's on my short list.
Can't express how much joy Descendants and All brought to me and my friends. Great powerhouse band with hooks out the wazoo.
Karl was a major influence on me.
Many bands I was in back in the 80s I insisted on covering "Suburban Home" and sometimes "In My Van." Whatta blast to play.
Can't express how much joy Descendants and All brought to me and my friends. Great powerhouse band with hooks out the wazoo.
Karl was a major influence on me.
Many bands I was in back in the 80s I insisted on covering "Suburban Home" and sometimes "In My Van." Whatta blast to play.
Great show. They played a mix of the really old stuff and some songs from "Everything Sucks" and "Cool To Be You". I saw Karl standing off to the side by himself during The Movielife's set, but I decided to let him be.
He uses ampeg amplification, and can be seen playing fender jazz bass, fender jaguar, some type of p bass, fender p bass,g&L p bass.im sure there's more.and I believe he's used flat wounds but I could be wrong. His tone is so basic but unique. It has a real constant speedy flow with a flat sound kind of.he uses every note on every fret.hes up and down the neck.locked in with bill tightly,but his bass lines talk with milo's singing.very gifted bassist.hes very talented.one of my biggest influences.ive learned so much of the descendents because they are one of my favorite bands ever,and learning Karl Alverez bass lines brought me to a different level
They're playing the Gwar-B-Q tomorrow in Richmond, Virginia. They're also playing the It's Not Dead festival in California on October 10th.
Reviving this thread for 2 reasons:
1- I finally got to see Descendents! They played Seattle for the first time in 20 years last night and the night before. So, so awesome! Sold out venue and everyone was just super into it. One of the best shows I've ever seen. Guys are in their 50's and haven't lost a step it seems. As a bass player, I of course analyzed Karl as much as possible during their set.
2- I'm a beginner level bass player and would like to take what I can from Karl's playing. I love playing fingerstyle and think it's awesome that he makes it work playing high speed, loud music. I thought it would be hard to hear him in the mix but he cut through better than the 2 opening band's pick players! Anybody have tips or comments about his playing and tone? Looks like he uses 3 fingers a lot of the time. Am I correct in that? Could a guy get away with 2 fingers for punk/hardcore?
Hoping some Talkbassers will want to have a discussion about this dude.
1- I finally got to see Descendents! They played Seattle for the first time in 20 years last night and the night before. So, so awesome! Sold out venue and everyone was just super into it. One of the best shows I've ever seen. Guys are in their 50's and haven't lost a step it seems. As a bass player, I of course analyzed Karl as much as possible during their set.
2- I'm a beginner level bass player and would like to take what I can from Karl's playing. I love playing fingerstyle and think it's awesome that he makes it work playing high speed, loud music. I thought it would be hard to hear him in the mix but he cut through better than the 2 opening band's pick players! Anybody have tips or comments about his playing and tone? Looks like he uses 3 fingers a lot of the time. Am I correct in that? Could a guy get away with 2 fingers for punk/hardcore?
Hoping some Talkbassers will want to have a discussion about this dude.
He's a personal hero. I don't think I've ever seen him use three fingers. Occasionally he'll play a chord here or there for accents. I believe he plays these with his thumb. Typically, he plays Ampeg SVTs through Ampeg 810s. The bass he's used pretty exclusively the past 5 years or so is a Fender Blacktop Jazz.
If you're interested, check my youtube channel for covers I've done of his work. I love his playing.
If you're interested, check my youtube channel for covers I've done of his work. I love his playing.
I'll definitely check out your YouTube channel. Thanks for the response.
So, yeah, no 3 fingers then? Totally possible I just saw movement with his right ring finger and thought he might be plucking with it. Cool. I wasn't really wanting to do the 3 finger thing any way. I did notice him strumming a chord or two with his thumb like you said.
I'm reviving this thread because I noticed Karl's extreme "staccato" style in All's recordings. His bass sounds almost like a synth, notes are always extremely short. How he does that?
I'll be seeing them in October in CT for the 1st time in my life. Been a fan since I was 13 which was 18 years ago.
When Karl and Stephen took over in 86/87 they brought a whole different dynamic approach to the band. Karl is defenitly a very underrated bassist. The guy is one of the best out their. He's just incredible.those songs wouldn't sound right being played the usual punk rock simple root note way. He plays those songs in harmony with the vocals. He just totally kicks ass. The whole band are heros of mine. I remember being in middle school and I was turned on to the descendents because of Sublime. I worshipped Sublime and figured I would get into All their influences and favorite bands. I bought Milo Goes to college and it changed my life. Along with Rancid " let's Go" I've been addicted to punk rock ever since. My love for punk has only gotten stronger. Descendents, Rancid, op Ivy, the Ramones, Sex Pistols, All, the clash , the Minutemen, the replacements. I Love Old school punk more then anything.
When Karl and Stephen took over in 86/87 they brought a whole different dynamic approach to the band. Karl is defenitly a very underrated bassist. The guy is one of the best out their. He's just incredible.those songs wouldn't sound right being played the usual punk rock simple root note way. He plays those songs in harmony with the vocals. He just totally kicks ass. The whole band are heros of mine. I remember being in middle school and I was turned on to the descendents because of Sublime. I worshipped Sublime and figured I would get into All their influences and favorite bands. I bought Milo Goes to college and it changed my life. Along with Rancid " let's Go" I've been addicted to punk rock ever since. My love for punk has only gotten stronger. Descendents, Rancid, op Ivy, the Ramones, Sex Pistols, All, the clash , the Minutemen, the replacements. I Love Old school punk more then anything.
I just listened to ALLROY SAVES!!!!!
Killer bass on that album.
P bass with flats for sure!!!!
Karl is a great player he inspires me to pick up my P with dead flats.
Killer bass on that album.
P bass with flats for sure!!!!
Karl is a great player he inspires me to pick up my P with dead flats.
A band mate took me to a All show in Tallahassee, fl when i was a teenager, it changed my musicial life forever!!!! such a high energy crazy show. We loved it and talked about it for years after. I ordered a shirt and the drummers mom did the merch!!! so so cool. All/Descendents keep inspiring me to this day. The bands drums, amps and guitars were painted primer gray at that show if i remember correctly. Way to much fun!!!
