This is one of the coolest videos I have ever seen. Paul has one the most truly educational bass channels around.
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PDbass plays Anthony Jackson’s Basses
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
This is one of the coolest videos I have ever seen. Paul has one the most truly educational bass channels around.
This pdbass person clearly had a life affirming experience, but I found the video disappointing.
When I saw the thumbnail, I expected more with this pdbass gent and the "career girl" bass. There was almost no footage of him playing the bass. He talked about noodling and slapping on it, but where was that footage of him noodling and slapping on it? He said the slap sounded so good... but where is it? All he did was talk about the bass over a slideshow of photos of Anthony Jackson playing it. But where was the footage of him playing it? Where were the sound clips?
If this pdbass person is going to make me click on a video about him checking out Anthony Jackson's legendary "career girl" bass, I want to see footage of him playing it. I want to hear sound clips. I don't want to hear him talking about it over an Anthony Jackson slideshow.
I think this video overpromised, underdelivered, and left me asking/wondering "Where's the beef?" like the lady in that old Wendy's commercial.
When I saw the thumbnail, I expected more with this pdbass gent and the "career girl" bass. There was almost no footage of him playing the bass. He talked about noodling and slapping on it, but where was that footage of him noodling and slapping on it? He said the slap sounded so good... but where is it? All he did was talk about the bass over a slideshow of photos of Anthony Jackson playing it. But where was the footage of him playing it? Where were the sound clips?
If this pdbass person is going to make me click on a video about him checking out Anthony Jackson's legendary "career girl" bass, I want to see footage of him playing it. I want to hear sound clips. I don't want to hear him talking about it over an Anthony Jackson slideshow.
I think this video overpromised, underdelivered, and left me asking/wondering "Where's the beef?" like the lady in that old Wendy's commercial.
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He mentioned his main camera malfunction, and the only footage being from others' phones. I believe he was more disappointed than yourself.
I've been subbed to Paul for a few years now. Gear malfunction aside it's a terrific video and I got the sniffles along with him. Great story!
I was not that worried about hearing him play these basses because he is very good, but no one is Anthony Jackson. Just a bit of history and nostalgia was enough for me.
I highly recommend you checking his You Tube channel, specially if you are interested in less known bass players and/or music from almost any genre.
The video must be dissapointing to you but has value (you should check his video about AJ, which triggered Danette invitation to stop by to check the instruments). Relative to the bass sound, Anthony Jackson recordings will get you the general idea and don't worry about him slapping, he is more than capable to do it. You can more of his curriculum and work on line, his name is Paul Thompson.
The only YouTube bass channel l can watch for more than 3 minutes.
The video was about his experience and what Anthony Jackson meant to him personally, not a review of the basses (and the video malfunction probably limited his usable footage) so I can appreciate it for what it is.
Who do those basses belong to now? The Fodera workshop?
Paul was a little inaccurate in that Anthony Jackson did have family. He did not marry and have a spouse or kids, but he had relatives and he would visit around Thanksgiving and Christmas. They new he was a musician, but I got the impression that they did not know how incredibly well respected and beloved he was. It is probably best that his manager and Fodera have his basses. They certainly appreciate what they have.
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pdbass seems to be a stand up guy and a monster player. He mentions being a music professor. I'll bet his students love him and are elite level pros thanks to him.
My issue is with this particular video.
The title of the video is "I Played Anthony Jackson's Basses"
-there's almost no footage of pdbass playing the basses. Just talking about them.
The thumbnail shows him with Anthony Jackson's "career girl" bass.
-there's almost no footage of pdbass playing that bass. Just him talking about it over a slideshow of his hero and a couple shots of him holding it.
The video does NOT show him playing the basses much if at all. Just talking about them, how great they feel/sound, over a slideshow of his hero's photos. If the slap sound is so good to him, where is the footage of him slappin' da bass and grinning like "yeah!" over how great it sounds and feels? I want to see and hear his experience of playing his hero's bass (preferably as it happens, all the spontaneous reactions). NOT him talking about it after-the-fact in his home studio.
I feel like I was given the ol' clickbait 'n switch. The video literally says "I PLAYED such-and-such a bass" (and shows that bass in the thumbnail) without showing him really playing it. When you title your video "I PLAYED this bass" (and you show it in the thumbnail) I want to see you PLAYING that bass... not just talking. I want to witness all the "whoa!" moments of him playing his hero's bass. I want see his expressions as he noodles and slaps. Don't just TELL me your hero's bass has that magical something. SHOW me... especially if it's the bass in the thumbnail!
Rule #1 of storytelling: Show, don't tell.
The video, while fine for what it is, did NOT give me what it promised and thus was a disappointment to me. Maybe if he'd changed the title and thumbnail to reflect what the video REALLY is/turned out to be, then maybe I would be more forgiving.
My issue is with this particular video.
The title of the video is "I Played Anthony Jackson's Basses"
-there's almost no footage of pdbass playing the basses. Just talking about them.
The thumbnail shows him with Anthony Jackson's "career girl" bass.
-there's almost no footage of pdbass playing that bass. Just him talking about it over a slideshow of his hero and a couple shots of him holding it.
The video does NOT show him playing the basses much if at all. Just talking about them, how great they feel/sound, over a slideshow of his hero's photos. If the slap sound is so good to him, where is the footage of him slappin' da bass and grinning like "yeah!" over how great it sounds and feels? I want to see and hear his experience of playing his hero's bass (preferably as it happens, all the spontaneous reactions). NOT him talking about it after-the-fact in his home studio.
I feel like I was given the ol' clickbait 'n switch. The video literally says "I PLAYED such-and-such a bass" (and shows that bass in the thumbnail) without showing him really playing it. When you title your video "I PLAYED this bass" (and you show it in the thumbnail) I want to see you PLAYING that bass... not just talking. I want to witness all the "whoa!" moments of him playing his hero's bass. I want see his expressions as he noodles and slaps. Don't just TELL me your hero's bass has that magical something. SHOW me... especially if it's the bass in the thumbnail!
Rule #1 of storytelling: Show, don't tell.
The video, while fine for what it is, did NOT give me what it promised and thus was a disappointment to me. Maybe if he'd changed the title and thumbnail to reflect what the video REALLY is/turned out to be, then maybe I would be more forgiving.
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Fine, you did not get to see Paul Thompson rip on the Working Girl. I’m sorry it was a let down for you.
Agree with what others have said. Silly that he did not include any audio of playing that bass.
What I am really interested in is what that bass sounds like in an ordinary player's hands. Anthony made that bass sound so unique, but I'm not sure to what extent it was in his fingers. Some for sure, but how much?
There are very few bass players that have an unmistakable touch: Chuck Rainey, Abraham Laboriel, Stanley Clarke and Anthony Jackson come to mind. Nearly all of the baddest bass players can be emulated to the point that I could be fooled, but nobody can emulate the sound of those four.
To me, Anthony's *sound* is identifiable because of his touch, not necessarily his tone. But...his tone (and touch) on that bass are pretty unmistakable. You can hear him cutting up in a live Grover Washington concert from the early 80's on youtube and his live "working girl" sound is just like it is on recordings, so there is no studio "magic" to his sound.
I know it's a frankenstein bass, so I'm wondering if the pickups were modded at all. That might account for a small part of his tone. He has some special EQ going on as well. That said, I never thought it sounded like a jazz bass at all. Fascinating subject.
What I am really interested in is what that bass sounds like in an ordinary player's hands. Anthony made that bass sound so unique, but I'm not sure to what extent it was in his fingers. Some for sure, but how much?
There are very few bass players that have an unmistakable touch: Chuck Rainey, Abraham Laboriel, Stanley Clarke and Anthony Jackson come to mind. Nearly all of the baddest bass players can be emulated to the point that I could be fooled, but nobody can emulate the sound of those four.
To me, Anthony's *sound* is identifiable because of his touch, not necessarily his tone. But...his tone (and touch) on that bass are pretty unmistakable. You can hear him cutting up in a live Grover Washington concert from the early 80's on youtube and his live "working girl" sound is just like it is on recordings, so there is no studio "magic" to his sound.
I know it's a frankenstein bass, so I'm wondering if the pickups were modded at all. That might account for a small part of his tone. He has some special EQ going on as well. That said, I never thought it sounded like a jazz bass at all. Fascinating subject.
I have to agree that overall the video was disappointing. I'm happy for him and his experience. If I got to go to Paisley Park and play Prince's basses I'd be pretty excited too. Hey, I actually *did* play one of Prince's basses! It's true. But you'll have to take my word for it.
I don't make videos for YT but I am pretty sure I would check all my gear before I went to go shoot my dream basses at Fodera.
I do generally like his videos even if they can be a bit overhyped. I still joke about "the illest bass break ever" but I'll certainly admit it was a good one and gave me a new rabbit hole to pursue. That's the best kind of music education.
I don't make videos for YT but I am pretty sure I would check all my gear before I went to go shoot my dream basses at Fodera.
I do generally like his videos even if they can be a bit overhyped. I still joke about "the illest bass break ever" but I'll certainly admit it was a good one and gave me a new rabbit hole to pursue. That's the best kind of music education.
My guess is that out of respect for Anthony’s passing that they may have not allowed someone to be filmed “performing” extensively on it. While I would have loved to hear him playing more, it that may not have been an option open to him or he out of respect to Anthony he did what he thought appropriate. I get the impression that he played it more, just not on camera. The title is a little misleading, I’m wondering if behind the scenes he read the room. Just my take however.
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Anthony Jackson was a great bass player. Gear is secondary. Fun trip and blog for the content creator. Peace out.
I appreciate Paul's videos. I found them to be informative and more than once I learned something new about an artist or genre I was interested in.
Click bait? SURE! Everything with social media is click bait. The title did not say, "Watch me play AJ's bass"... I could see that would have been misleading. It's a Jazz bass with a P neck and rotosounds, and short of the detuned strings, there is nothing exotic about how a bass like that sounds. I would rather hear history and anecdotes.
It was stated earlier (and probably to death in TB), a bass sounds different in every players hands. There are plenty of places whre you can hear AJ playing that bass, and to explore Anthony's tone. (but super grateful for this thread as I found a THIS video of AJ from 2015 that I have not seen and its so good - CLICK BAIT
).
Click bait? SURE! Everything with social media is click bait. The title did not say, "Watch me play AJ's bass"... I could see that would have been misleading. It's a Jazz bass with a P neck and rotosounds, and short of the detuned strings, there is nothing exotic about how a bass like that sounds. I would rather hear history and anecdotes.
It was stated earlier (and probably to death in TB), a bass sounds different in every players hands. There are plenty of places whre you can hear AJ playing that bass, and to explore Anthony's tone. (but super grateful for this thread as I found a THIS video of AJ from 2015 that I have not seen and its so good - CLICK BAIT
).
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But it DID say "I PLAYED Anthony Jackson's Basses..." And when you title your video that, I expect the meat of the video to be Paul playing his hero's basses.
His thumbnail is him holding AJ's "Career Girl" bass with "Career Girl" in big big letters. When I see that, I expect to see Paul playing that bass. Not talking about it in his home studio over photos of AJ.
So, yes, the title and the thumbnail ARE misleading. The video promised Alfredo but gave me Velveeta.
I don't want to see Guy Fieri in a studio room telling me how good this diner sandwich it. I want to see him take a big bite and make those open-mouthed "food-gasm" noises.
You could argue that every bass is just "wood and wire" but it DOES feel different when you pick up the bass that your hero used. Conversely, it's interesting when an elite-level skilled player picks up your instrument and somehow makes it sound better than you could.
I'm always going to sound like myself no matter what bass I play. I know what AJ sounds like on that iconic bass. What does Paul sound like on it? Don't just tell me it slapped well and how great noodling was on it. Show me!
I'm reminded of that line in Full Metal Jacket: "This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine!" All the cadets had the same rifle, but only Private Pyle's was Charlene.
I'm VERY surprised he didn't do that, especially considering his experience with his channel and all. And even if he had to resort to cell phone footage... where was the cell phone footage of him with the bass in his thumbnail?
If the video did not turn into what he planned it to be, fine. Retitle it and re-thumbnail it to reflect what it actually IS not not what he wanted it to be. Otherwise, that's false advertising.
Don't say Alfredo but then give me Velveeta.
I'll leave this thread now and die on the hill I'm on!
I had an opposing opinion, was repeatedly called out on it, and (despite several callouts missing my points) I answered!
Dincrest out!
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Please do move on, you are sounding like the man hacked your bank account and stole your life savings instead of releasing a disappointing video.
Paul’s channel is fantastic.
What’s better than music history, bassline breakdowns and just an overall chill vibe that’s hard to replicate cause our hobby is actually niche.
Plus Paul pulls out good stuff that is often unheard by so many musicians and music lovers.
His breakdown on Change albums is freakin great.
What’s better than music history, bassline breakdowns and just an overall chill vibe that’s hard to replicate cause our hobby is actually niche.
Plus Paul pulls out good stuff that is often unheard by so many musicians and music lovers.
His breakdown on Change albums is freakin great.
Anhoony Jackson is fantastic, indeed! That matters to me. And for those that can not hear that, god bless them.
That said, I had a stock '70 jazz bass body (all original pups, bridge, electronics) with a '78 P neck 30 years ago and it sounded fantastic but nothing like anthony's career girl. Was it in his fingers? I guess so. RIP dear Anthony J.
That said, I had a stock '70 jazz bass body (all original pups, bridge, electronics) with a '78 P neck 30 years ago and it sounded fantastic but nothing like anthony's career girl. Was it in his fingers? I guess so. RIP dear Anthony J.
