His tone is the exact reason why im not really enamoured of the prototypical 70's style jazz bass tone, a tone which seems to be lauded in some bass circles as THE tone to have.
To my ears this clip provides an example of what i consider to be the complete antithesis of good bass tone...i.e. twangy, clanky, tinny and very thin sounding.
IMO 60's (different bridge p/up position) J basses sound much better.
And I agree, this guy's not strictly a Marcus Miller clone...hes simply a clone of a most guys who came up during the 70's and play in that style (there's a million of 'em), a period which tended to spawn a lot of players who were either coming from the jaco camp or the larry graham camp or derivatives thereof.
Heck, with the exception of a very few, most of us are really clones to one degree or another. Even Marcus Miller is a clone to some extent...To my ears he's just a jazzier, more melodic, more pop oriented Larry Graham ( Marcus is an awesome player but i tend to dislike his tone ...it just aint my thing).
I say that it is fine to try and emulate your favorite players...in a way its the highest form of respect, especially if your rhythmic sensibilities lead you in that direction.
