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Overrated bass players
- Thread starter Bryan
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I disagree with some of you. Michael Anthony and the dude from AC/DC did what they needed to do in their given situations. Not every bassist, or every musician for that matter, needs to be a technical virtuoso. (How many of us on this site are?) Whole Lotta Rosie or Mean Streets would sound awfully stupid with Michael Manring style tapping, Wooten style slapping or Jacoesque frantic stacatto runs. In some instances playing nothing but an open A is all and will forever be all that is necessary.
I don't hate bassists(I don't see why anyone does), but I do hate the lines that they write for their band(s).
Paleale said it all... Michael Anthony and Cliff Williams are functioning in a totally supportive role and doing it nicely. Bill Wyman is no technical whiz, played simple, eloquent parts and no one is slagging him. Even the greats play simple parts when called for, (Larry Graham - Everyday People, James Jamerson - My Girl)... There's a talent there as well...
-robert
P.S. Okay Mr. Anthony, where's my $5 ?
-robert
P.S. Okay Mr. Anthony, where's my $5 ?
I love to hate...well, Jaco. So he only used 4 strings, blah blah, cry me a river...then build a bridge and GET OVER IT.
On the other hand, he was pretty darned good...maybe I just hate Jaco as an excuse for 4 string purists...
On the other hand, he was pretty darned good...maybe I just hate Jaco as an excuse for 4 string purists...
overrated- Hugh McDonald (Bon Jovi)
I find he plays the same obvious clichéd fills in every song he does.
I find he plays the same obvious clichéd fills in every song he does.
first of all, I was surprised there was a chi cheng diss up on here. wow, that guy is really cool. getting a 5 string and playing with a pic would ruin the deftones, his tones are sweet even if they are tuned down to C. He has some really groovy lines, and his band is great.
second of all, mark hoppus. Im shocked to see the lack of intellegence shown here. obviously, mark isnt a great bassplayer. obviously, mark isnt the great technical player. Mark is a song writer and a vocalist before a bassplayer. there is no way you can tell me he is not a good song writer or a good vocalist. just listen to how much he's improved on the new stuff. bad song writers dont sell millions world wide. his stuff is catchy, and has a hook. alot of people dont understand that here. just because something is hard to play, doesnt mean its good, so in the same sence, just because something is easy, doesnt make it bad. ignorance...
the bassplayer from slipknot and mudvayne are very overrated in my opinion, but Im very biased because I dont enjoy their bands. they play fast, woohoo, you dont have to praise them just because of some chops.
second of all, mark hoppus. Im shocked to see the lack of intellegence shown here. obviously, mark isnt a great bassplayer. obviously, mark isnt the great technical player. Mark is a song writer and a vocalist before a bassplayer. there is no way you can tell me he is not a good song writer or a good vocalist. just listen to how much he's improved on the new stuff. bad song writers dont sell millions world wide. his stuff is catchy, and has a hook. alot of people dont understand that here. just because something is hard to play, doesnt mean its good, so in the same sence, just because something is easy, doesnt make it bad. ignorance...
the bassplayer from slipknot and mudvayne are very overrated in my opinion, but Im very biased because I dont enjoy their bands. they play fast, woohoo, you dont have to praise them just because of some chops.
Okay, I understand that everybody can name at least one bass player that they don't like, but that doesn't mean that the person is a bad bass player or that they are overrated. As far as I'm concerned, all that matters in bass playing is making a song sound good... period. I've heard complex bass lines that sound horrible and I've heard incredibly simple bass lines that sound great and really fit the song. There's no need to be knocking other bass players' skills just because you don't like the bass player or the band.
Ok, if its now bassists we dont particularly like, but dont think are overrated...
I have never really liked Jaco. Its quite obvious that he is one of the greatest bassists of all time, his stuff is technically brilliant, but musically, it just doesnt sound good, and isnt that the point of music?
I also really dislike players who go overboard on slapping. IMO, it is a bad sound, technically is is one of the more difficult techniques, but bass is all about the bottem end and keeping the groove, where does high pitched slapping sounds come into it? It kind of defeats the purpose of playing bass. And dont get me started on popping, a more ridiculous sound has never come out of a musial instrument.
Thats just what I think, though I do realise the tremendous amount of talent involved in such playing.
Jim
I have never really liked Jaco. Its quite obvious that he is one of the greatest bassists of all time, his stuff is technically brilliant, but musically, it just doesnt sound good, and isnt that the point of music?
I also really dislike players who go overboard on slapping. IMO, it is a bad sound, technically is is one of the more difficult techniques, but bass is all about the bottem end and keeping the groove, where does high pitched slapping sounds come into it? It kind of defeats the purpose of playing bass. And dont get me started on popping, a more ridiculous sound has never come out of a musial instrument.
Thats just what I think, though I do realise the tremendous amount of talent involved in such playing.
Jim
im not defending mark but he is only popular because him and tom say dirty stuff so thatts why people like them. the music they play make you feel good(well some poeple). the only challenging hard blink stuff to play is their early stuff like carousel and with a few exceptions..
john turner
You don't want to do that. Trust me.
i don't know about that. listen to DLR's eat em and smile - that's what van halen would've sounded like with a decent bass player. i know i would've liked them a whole lot more.
I can't really think of a bass player. but know a playing style that I think is way way way overrated. Funk/slap and pop. what the hell is it with people who play this thinking they are the gratest gift to music ever, what a load of bull poo. I go out of my way never to play this style (clap and pop) in puplic, just to prove a point. "you can be a very talented bass player and not have to slap every second note, eg Brian Marshall ex Creed"
Gene Simmons is probably one to hate...he gives the world's most arrogant interviews, and it now turns out that Frehley played all the bass on the early records, and studio guys like Bob Babbitt ghosted on the later ones.
Sting gets my vote for most overrated. I'm sure most of us could care less about him, but he is constantly cited in non-bass oriented music magazines as an example of "great" or "tasty" bass playing. He's all right, but he's not all that. Jeff Ament probably comes a close second.
Michael Anthony gets my vote for luckiest. He's not that bad...listen to VH II and For Unlawful..., and you can actually hear him playing. I think he dumbs it down because he has a role to play. Still, given the fact that he contributes little musically (EVH has often said Mike does no writing in the band, but gets a credit anyway) other than to sing harmony and play simple bottoms, he's had a helluva ride.
Stuart Sutcliffe gets my vote for unluckiest bassist.
Sting gets my vote for most overrated. I'm sure most of us could care less about him, but he is constantly cited in non-bass oriented music magazines as an example of "great" or "tasty" bass playing. He's all right, but he's not all that. Jeff Ament probably comes a close second.
Michael Anthony gets my vote for luckiest. He's not that bad...listen to VH II and For Unlawful..., and you can actually hear him playing. I think he dumbs it down because he has a role to play. Still, given the fact that he contributes little musically (EVH has often said Mike does no writing in the band, but gets a credit anyway) other than to sing harmony and play simple bottoms, he's had a helluva ride.
Stuart Sutcliffe gets my vote for unluckiest bassist.
I've been listening to "Pleasure Dome" off "For Unlawful..."
- call me inept if you like, but I actually find that bassline quite tricky.
IMHO when Mike Anthony does play fills, the notes he chooses are better than the ones Billy Sheehan goes for- all too often BS goes for guitar-type licks, relying on speed to impress, and seems to compete with the guitar too much.
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