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Reggae Bassists Club!!!!

#61
Count I Man as someone who picked up the bass after finding roots reggae.

actually the only reggae band I've gigged in "I-Sight" I played rythm guitar. I love to skank, and nothing makes me feel like being part of a tight reggae groove.

Most of my bass playing has been rock, blues, country, improv jam. I once worked out 40 or 50 songs with some brothers, a blend of reggae and african rythmns complete with horns, keys, full bridges and breaks. The stuff was smoking hot, ready for the studio/stage. And then life (Jah) stepped in and we all went different ways before we could get started. (anyhow...)

I am currently playing aucoustic delta-styled blues and old rags with an old blues cat. And I woodshed daily, playing along with early Beatles, Wailers, Motown, and Stax collections.

I have just recently realized all those old Motown bass lines come from one guy, James Jamerson. I am now becoming a Jamerson junkie. And IMO his lines are what Robbie, and Family Man and company were listening to when they came up with their classic lines.

I was introduced to Rasta and Reggae by a brother named JahSon, Front man for 'Strictly Roots'.

The reggae bass players I am most moved and influenced by include Robbie Shakespeare, Family Barrett, Flabba Holt, Lloyd Brevet.

The 'non-reggae' bass player that I think plays with the biggest roots is Tony Levin.

I Am glad this was started. ROOTS! ;)
 
#62
'60s Soul music and Jamerson had a huge influence on Reggae and Reggae bass IMO, too.

I think reggae would be a lot bigger in the US if more people were exposed to more of the various styles out there, past and present. So much of it is just plain great music, strong songs, lyrics, great vocal harmonies, tasteful playing, etc. Pity so many have only heard Bob Marley, great as he and The Wailers body of work is.
 
#63
One Drop said:
'60s Soul music and Jamerson had a huge influence on Reggae and Reggae bass IMO, too.

I think reggae would be a lot bigger in the US if more people were exposed to more of the various styles out there, past and present. So much of it is just plain great music, strong songs, lyrics, great vocal harmonies, tasteful playing, etc. Pity so many have only heard Bob Marley, great as he and The Wailers body of work is.
Click to expand...

not to get all conspiritorial but I believe that the POWERS THAT BE never wanted roots reggae to spread because of it'smessage of One Love and world unity. The only time I ever saw an interview where Bob Marley express viseral anger was when he was talking about factions backed by both the CIA and KGB trying to buy his influence...

IMO music and sports are two of the most powerful tools we have to unite people of varying cultures.

And yes Jamerson is at the root of what I see (hear) as the ultimate bass sound. But even though he was influencing bass players from LA to Kingston to London, you can hear a carribean influence in the stuff he was doing. ("Going to a Go Go" or "Mickey's Monkey" sound very tropical to me)
 
#64
Well, the singer likes to think that we're a reggae band, but I'd call the band (Link Removed more 'Dub Rock.' 2/3 of our set is heavily reggae influenced, although our 2 most popular songs seem to be a couple of alternative rock songs. However, we've played at a few reggae festivals.

When we do the dub stuff, my "reggae bass" is whatever I happen to be holding in my hands at the time. the sound all comes post bass in the EQ (although I think the Warwick sounds best in the dub songs).
 
#67
Brothr'n...What gauge flatwounds would you recommend for my new sx short scale??? I'm looking at La Bella 'Deep Talking" flatwounds because there isn't any silk wrap at the bridge end (there is no room for it on my E string).
much appreciated, bobbyd
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#69
mercenarywrench said:
Brothr'n...What gauge flatwounds would you recommend for my new sx short scale??? I'm looking at La Bella 'Deep Talking" flatwounds because there isn't any silk wrap at the bridge end (there is no room for it on my E string).
much appreciated, bobbyd
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

The FL760 set does it for me! Enough thump, lows, low mids and punch, while still speaking in a very clear voice with tons of middy character.From your link that would be the 770FL-S for short scale basses.
 
#70
Greetings reggae bass players!
KJo here.
I play in a reggae/dub band from South Florida called Spred The Dub.
Check us out at Invalid Link Removed

Mostly I use an American Fender P with roundwounds through a Tech21 SansAmp DI with a SVT350 amp + Ampeg 4x10 cab, but I also us a Warwick Corvette 5 string, Epiphone Viola Bass w/ flatwounds, and a Fender Fretless Jazz w/ flatwounds to keep it interesting.

That nice dubby tone def comes from the fingers and the attack, but it helps to have a nice rig that can push some air. You gotta FEEL that reggae bass in your bones.

I just got the SansAmp, its a magic little box, def recommend it to anyway who doesnt have a tube amp and wants a more cost friendly solution. Im looking to add a 1x15 cab and a synth pedal to my rig. Any suggestions?

Big ups to this forum! Lets keep the vibes alive!
Respect.
 
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#71
Maybe this belongs in a new thread, but there seems to be a fairly limited interest in reggae bass on this board so I'll post it here where those that feel it can see it.

Do many of you feel the way I do, mainly that bass in traditional styles of reggae really has to be freaking loud to come into its own?

Since my teens I've been attending Sound Systems and reggae concerts, and one of the main things that got me hooked was the sheer power and direct emotional response i get from bass that is so high in the mix and amplified so heavily.

IMO a main feature of well recorded and live reggae bass is its inherent ability to sound great at unfeasibly high SPLs. I can't imagine being able to stand, never mind glory in, a bass tone that had too hard mids or untamed highs at the levels commonly heard in the genre. Also, the arrangements and mix of a typical reggae ensemble allows the bass (and all the instruments except commonly the bubbling organ) to be heard very cleanly and distinctly, even with a big band with horns and percussion. There are very few other genres that give the bass this freedom and prominence, more power to reggae!

There is something about the transformative power of extremely loud bass that is hard to explain but I imagine obvious to most reggae fans and players, mainly that level when the bass stops just being notes and becomes closer to what I think of as architecture. It's like the pure rhythmic power and intensity of drums but held longer, and there is such a visceral solidity to each note that it seems the whole room is transformed and becomes wed to the each note. No other frequency band is experienced in quite the same way, IMO, and it is this that makes it so fascinating.

The other interesting phenomenon is how directly an emotional response super loud bass can cause in a listener. No other instrument seems to have this strong an emotional effect, nor lends the player the same power to control an audience's emotions.

And most of that musically and emotionally useful power seems to reside in the low mids, we seemed tuned to it.

Just throwing some things long considered thoughts out there, feel free to shoot me down or big me up!
 
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#72
Agreed. I think the historical perspective on this is that back in the day, the equipment of that era was not able to reproduce bass frequencies properly, so there was a fairly quick evolution in equipment that could do the job. While many get credit, I personally think King Tubby should get the award for bring quality sound to reggae music sound systems. It was just a natural progression from that point.
I have heard other bassists who's tone would not be considered heavy in the way One Drop describes it, but IMHO, it depends on the listener. I saw a guy once with a Ken Smith with all of that bass's signature sound present, and it didn't sound bad (to me). But definitely, the majority of reggae has a nice, full, round bass. Just depends on the mix.
That said, while I enjoy listening to a well mixed show with a good round bass in the mix, my on stage volume is pretty low compared to other bassists I've heard.
 
#74
Sounbwoy said:
Agreed. I think the historical perspective on this is that back in the day, the equipment of that era was not able to reproduce bass frequencies properly, so there was a fairly quick evolution in equipment that could do the job. While many get credit, I personally think King Tubby should get the award for bring quality sound to reggae music sound systems. It was just a natural progression from that point.
I have heard other bassists who's tone would not be considered heavy in the way One Drop describes it, but IMHO, it depends on the listener. I saw a guy once with a Ken Smith with all of that bass's signature sound present, and it didn't sound bad (to me). But definitely, the majority of reggae has a nice, full, round bass. Just depends on the mix.
That said, while I enjoy listening to a well mixed show with a good round bass in the mix, my on stage volume is pretty low compared to other bassists I've heard.
Click to expand...

King Tubby's Hi-Fi was legendary for its sound! Very early he developed quality crossovers and strung horns up in the trees and up posts, he wound his own transformers and built his own KT-88 based amps with thousands of watts of power, unheard of in that era anywhere in the world for musical reproduction, and of course built his own speaker boxes, etc. I still hear old-timers in interviews describing how good the sound was at those dances.


Heh, heh, IIRC Jack Ruby brought a version of his Sound System entire to the US in the '70s and toured it. Must have blown a few minds of those who had never seen or heard such a thing!

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#75
One Drop said:
There is something about the transformative power of extremely loud bass that is hard to explain but I imagine obvious to most reggae fans and players, mainly that level when the bass stops just being notes and becomes closer to what I think of as architecture. It's like the pure rhythmic power and intensity of drums but held longer, and there is such a visceral solidity to each note that it seems the whole room is transformed and becomes wed to the each note. No other frequency band is experienced in quite the same way, IMO, and it is this that makes it so fascinating.
Click to expand...

I love what you are saying, the bass being architecture, definitely a deep way of looking at that role. Good thoughts.

Even though I don't play reggae tunes in my current band -yet, I try to bring to whatever music I am playing the lessons taught by Mr. Barrett and Mr. Shakespeare, that is giving the music room to breathe, paying as much attention to what notes I don't play as the notes I play.


One Drop said:
King Tubby's Hi-Fi was legendary for its sound! Very early he developed quality crossovers and strung horns up in the trees and up posts, he wound his own transformers and built his own KT-88 based amps with thousands of watts of power, unheard of in that era anywhere in the world for musical reproduction, and of course built his own speaker boxes, etc. I still hear old-timers in interviews describing how good the sound was at those dances.


Heh, heh, IIRC Jack Ruby brought a version of his Sound System entire to the US in the '70s and toured it. Must have blown a few minds of those who had never seen or heard such a thing!

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...


Jack%2BRuby%2BSound%2BSystem.png


Oh that is AWESOME! Thanks for the link! :)
 
#76
Aah, Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, Luciano, Anthony B, Capleton and Sizzla (although Sizzla has made some really mediocre records too).. those are probably my favourites, especially Luciano always seems to hit a sweet spot in my ears. And all the other classics. Out of dancehall, Ward 21 really hits me hard. Those grooves and those insane machinegun tempo vocals... Pure bliss, even though the lyrics are less than.. uplifting? I'm not into the whole guns and sexual slackness thing, but the grooves are just too infectious to pass.

I don't currently play in a reggae band, or any band for that matter since I'm more interested in my home studio thing at the moment. At the moment, I usually end up combining reggae and hip hop with a hint of funk in the mix.

The tools fore the trade are a J bass with round wounds when the sound needs to cut trough and a Yamaha BB with the P pickup soloed or combined with the neck J pickup and strung with flats for more dubby sounds. The yamaha is definately the bass that gets more use in this kind of music. I also play a lot of funk and the yamaha never really did that the way I'd like it to, but it found a really good use for it in this kind of music, I think it's a brilliant bass for the money at this kind of stuff as it has a pretty warm sounding alder body instead of snappier ash and a decent P pickup.
 
#77
to the new members welcome and respect.

i love the fact that without the bass there would be no reggae, you would be hard pressed to find more bass centered music out there. it is true that without this form of music coupled with innovations in pro sound equipment, the musical landscape of today would be far different.

this is great, feel free to discuss all things reggae in this thread. that is what our community of brothers and sisters is for
 
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#78
I was listening to this Fams clip again last night- the only video I've heard that captures his current live sound- and was once again knocked out by how much can go on in a seemingly simple reggae bassline. By shaping his notes, using that inherent scoop of a Jazz and and that tubey 'bow' bow' note shape from a Sansamp and his fingers, the whole line seems to modulate within the song, like it's breathing, and all the while articulating the notes to make them sound like vocals. I've heard Jaco get a similar effect from his fretless, like adding a rhythmic pulse that is distinct from the notes they are playing. It makes the whole song breathe, incredible effect.

Headphones required! Click on the video 'Guiltiness':

http://www.wailers.com
 
#79
One Drop said:
Heh, heh, IIRC Jack Ruby brought a version of his Sound System entire to the US in the '70s and toured it. Must have blown a few minds of those who had never seen or heard such a thing!

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

The high school in question in Ocho Rios was (at the time) Ocho Rios Secondary School, of which my aunt, Mavis Irwin, was the principal. I lived in the main principal cottage above the school for a few years before moving back to Clarendon with my parents.
 
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#80
Kipaste said:
Aah, Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, Luciano, Anthony B, Capleton and Sizzla (although Sizzla has made some really mediocre records too).. those are probably my favourites, especially Luciano always seems to hit a sweet spot in my ears. And all the other classics. Out of dancehall, Ward 21 really hits me hard. Those grooves and those insane machinegun tempo vocals... Pure bliss, even though the lyrics are less than.. uplifting? I'm not into the whole guns and sexual slackness thing, but the grooves are just too infectious to pass.

I don't currently play in a reggae band, or any band for that matter since I'm more interested in my home studio thing at the moment. At the moment, I usually end up combining reggae and hip hop with a hint of funk in the mix.

The tools fore the trade are a J bass with round wounds when the sound needs to cut trough and a Yamaha BB with the P pickup soloed or combined with the neck J pickup and strung with flats for more dubby sounds. The yamaha is definately the bass that gets more use in this kind of music. I also play a lot of funk and the yamaha never really did that the way I'd like it to, but it found a really good use for it in this kind of music, I think it's a brilliant bass for the money at this kind of stuff as it has a pretty warm sounding alder body instead of snappier ash and a decent P pickup.
Click to expand...

I have to reiterate here again, that while bass choice is an important consideration, there is no rule that says one must use a particular brand of bass to achieve a desired tone - even in reggae. Technique should not be discounted. If there were other basses available (or cheap enough for a bassist to buy back then) they would have bought it. It depends on what you want. Many people swear by Steinberger including Leroy Sibbles, Fully Fullwood and others. I've seen people back home locking it in DEEP with Sadowskys..It depends on what the player wants and how they play.
Because Fams does it, doesn't mean it's gospel (I'll stand back and let the flames fly!!). There's a pic of him playing a Hohner BBass on the forum. I play the BBassV, and I tested said Yamaha and Fenders and found them wanting and the Hohner was my choice. I don't regret it for a second.
 

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