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Mark King

#24
Muusers said:
never seen him live, but i always have the feeling from the videos he's lacking low end, just don't get that "oomph" feeling...

(go ahead, bash me:hiding:)
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You should try seeing Level 42 live then. Mark's tone always sounds a lot "fuller" than it does on record. However, I love his tones. He's a real artist on the bass.

I've had my Status bass out today, doing the Mark King thing!

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#26
Baryonyx said:
IIRC, "My Father's Shoes" was a fretted bass, but about as thumpy as Mark King has ever gotten!

He did use a fretless on that album, on the track "Seven Years". It was a Moon jazz bass that he got for free at an airport in Japan, which he defretted himself. There is some confusion about this, some people think he used it on the track "Lasso the Moon", although that was recorded with a Wal bass with a midi pickup.

As for Mark using the Stingray to record most of his stuff, this is completely untrue. Mark did not get his first Stingray until 1991 (it was a 1991 serial number). He did use a Stingray and a Stingray 5 string to record some of Guranteed, but then he also used a Status Matrix Empathy, a Wal and a Moon jazz bass on that record too! The only record that was recorded completely on a Stingray was "Forever Now" in 1994. Perhaps the Stingray explains why the bass tone on that record is so utterly average, especially given Mark's former glories?

Likesay, before Guranteed, his last recording bass was an Alembic on "Staring at the Sun". And before that it was mainly Status, Jaydee and Pangborn he used.

At the end of the 1990's he seemed to be having a bit of a jazz bass thing. He used the Fender Mark King jazz and then used a couple of GB basses (though these didn't sound very good either, they never had enough tonal defition imo!) before going back to Rob at Status and coming up with the Kingbass design.
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It must have been "Seven Years" then. It's been a while since I've listened to that disc (should dig it out!). I knew there was a nice fretless line on there though!

I have an interview someplace where he said that in the studio for the last few discs he preffered a S'Ray.
This may have been a post Guranteed interview, can't remember exactly, but there was a pic with him holding it in the studio and it's on the Trash album as well. Like I said, the "latter" discs. You missed that part. ;)
 
#28
Baryonyx said:
Well, two latter discs. It may have made onto trash, which were "off cuts" and Forever Now as I stated, but even then, all of "One Man" (which was a proper album, unlike Trash) was recorded with a Fender Jazz Mark King model.
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IMO, Trash was a better disc than "One Man".

BTW, anywhere to track down "Trash"???
My copy isn't playing anymore for some reason.
Looks like Mark burned it himself and slapped a CD lable on it from his computer's printer!
 
#29
MikeBass said:
IMO, Trash was a better disc than "One Man".

BTW, anywhere to track down "Trash"???
My copy isn't playing anymore for some reason.
Looks like Mark burned it himself and slapped a CD lable on it from his computer's printer!
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I didn't think much of either of them, but "One Man" is just disappointing on so many levels. It speaks volumes that Mark played a steady diet of Level 42 material alongside "One man" tracks when he played live.

If you look on Amazon you should be able to find a copy of Trash. And yes, Mark did do the cds himself! That was at a time when Trash and one of the Mark King dvds didn't have the backing of any label, so Mark knocked them out himself. Some of the stuff he even signed on it's way out!
 
#31
fretlessman71 said:
Does anyone else hear LOTS of Stanley Clarke in Mark's tone, approach, whatever?
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Yep, Stan is one of Mark's biggest influences on the electric.

The influence of Stan was most obvious early on. Listen to the solo in "Foundation and Empire" from Level 42's debut album, it could easily be Stan himself! And the opening melody of "Dune Tune" is often cited as a straight rip off of one of the melodies from "School Days" (Although I'd much rather listen to Dune Tune).

Stan is awesome but Mark King is even better imo! They are both awesome bass players!
 
#33
Baryonyx said:
The influence of Stan was most obvious early on. Listen to the solo in "Foundation and Empire" from Level 42's debut album, it could easily be Stan himself! And the opening melody of "Dune Tune" is often cited as a straight rip off of one of the melodies from "School Days" (Although I'd much rather listen to Dune Tune).
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When those first Level 42 albums first came out I loved them because they where like Earth Wind & Forever, they sounded heavily influenced by both RTF and EW&F......great combo for my ears.;)
 
#35
Even Stuart Clayton, who wrote the series of very good Level 42 transcription books, plays a GB bass these days IIRC. I think Laurence Cottle might also use them, I've seem him playing them too. I don't think they sound all that great, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
 
#38
I didn't realise that Rotosound still made the funk masters! I know Geddy Lee used to use them when he was getting his best tone (1986-1991). I've been toying with the idea of getting some .30-.90 guage strings from Status to fit on my Status Matrix bass. I've been playing "Mr Pink" all morning, getting it nice and tight!
 
#40
jerry said:
When those first Level 42 albums first came out I loved them because they where like Earth Wind & Forever, they sounded heavily influenced by both RTF and EW&F......great combo for my ears.;)
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Their disc "Standing In The Light" was actually produced by Verdine White and Larry Dunn.
 

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