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Most Non-Technical yet Underrated Bassist

#25
undeadbass said:
A lot of great players here. I'll always be the first to defend Gene (the reason I picked up the bass!).

Gotta mention Mark Sandman. His work with Morphine is great, and definitely non-technical (2 string slide bass for a majority of the songs). Fits the songs perfectly, which is what every bassist should strive for.
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Yeah, Mark Sandman.


Oh, and since you claimed the first, I guess I'll always be the 2nd to defend Gene, whether other people like it or not.:spit:


BTW, I didn't realize how groovy the bassline to King of The Nighttime World Was

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYi8RmIi8ZQ
 
#26
Timothy B. Schmidt, from The Eagles (and previously, Poco).

Now, bear in mind, I almost never willingly listen to The Eagles. And to the best of my knowledge I have never heard a Poco tune. So this is based on one singular experience:

I'm driving in my car somewhere that has lousy radio reception, so I've tuned in to the only station that's coming in clearly, which happenes to be a Soft Rock/Adult Contemporary/MOR station. The Eagles' "I Can't Tell You Why" comes on, and, partially to prevent myself from being lulled to sleep at the wheel, I decide to focus on the bass line.

Holly crap is it beautiful! Just the epitome of taste, restraint, simplicity...and yet spot-on in the pocket, perfect note choices, supportive movement. It's 100% exactly what the song demands. Sublime.
 
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#31
Hoover said:
Timothy B. Schmidt, from The Eagles (and previously, Poco).
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I agree here. He has the ability to play some serious chops, and I've seen him do it, but 99% of the time he keeps it pretty simple and he plays just what the song needs. He has a killer voice, as well.

I'll add that I love "technical" players like, for instance, Michael Manring or Stanley Clarke, and I think they are very special musicians. I just don't think all bass players should be expected to play 32nd notes non-stop and fly up and down the fretboard all night long.

A comparison can be made on guitar. George Harrison didn't shred, didn't tap, didn't set his guitar on fire, and yet he played some of the most tasty licks ever in rock and roll. Was he a technical master? Who cares? He sounded fantastic.
 
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#34
lol sorry guys i just dont groove on gene simmons and acdc. anyone else feel this way? there are plenty of people with a simplistic approach to the instrument that arent...well....lame. lol (in my opinion of course). george porter jr., robbie shakespear, pino palladino, sting, raphael saadiq, hub, family man, mike elizando, all for the most part are simple, solid, bass players
 
#35
twdavis13 said:
but I will take every chance I get to throw it in the face of Gene haters, and I will continue to support the cause of players like Gene, Paul McCartney, Baltes, and Maestas: tasty, counter melody, walking, simple, and interesting basslines instead of boring technical ability that has no life to it at all.
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please dont ever put gene simmons name any where near .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................PAUL f'ing MCCARTNEY.................................................................................................thank you
 
#36
nonogz said:
please dont ever put gene simmons name any where near .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................PAUL f'ing MCCARTNEY.................................................................................................thank you
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Well, you can recoil in horror all you want, but musically speaking, there is a ton of McCartney influence in Gene's playing on the early Kiss albums--say '73 to '78 or so. Less so in the material after that, but it still pops out from time to time.
 
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#37
nonogz said:
lol sorry guys i just dont groove on gene simmons and acdc. anyone else feel this way? there are plenty of people with a simplistic approach to the instrument that arent...well....lame. lol (in my opinion of course). george porter jr., robbie shakespear, pino palladino, sting, raphael saadiq, hub, family man, mike elizando, all for the most part are simple, solid, bass players
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I think Gene Simmons is pretty cool on some of his stuff, Cliff William kinda disappoints me with his playing. I do love great simplicity and he's solid but I feel that he could do a lot more to support the song without butting heads with everyone else.

In terms of other non technical bassists that I dig a lot, Gail Greenwood gets my vote.
 

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