He was the the best bass player on all those recordings and shows Iron Maiden have done so far.
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Someone please explain all the love for Steve Harris
- Thread starter Yonni
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He was the the best bass player on all those recordings and shows Iron Maiden have done so far.
I think it has to do with the dozens of songs that he has written, many of them considered metal classics. No every metal fan knows who Steve Di Giorgio is but everybody knows Steve.
Same as socialleper, I was 10 years old when I listen to Maiden for the first time, thanks to that song ( Wrathchild) I became a metal addict for several years, and I am thankful of that because metal leaded me to classic > progressive >jazz....
Same as socialleper, I was 10 years old when I listen to Maiden for the first time, thanks to that song ( Wrathchild) I became a metal addict for several years, and I am thankful of that because metal leaded me to classic > progressive >jazz....
Imagine being a teenager who likes rock in 1980 and hearing this on the radio for the first time:
Case closed.
Case closed.
Personally, it was because of Steve Harris and the Live After Death video that I fell in love with the bass guitar. My first two CDs I ever owned were Powerslave and Piece Of Mind and one of the first songs I learned on bass was "The Trooper". Still to this day when I try and play along to "The Number Of The Beast", the breakdown during the guitar solos gets more intense and I still can't play it. I even hit up Frank Bello from Anthrax one day on Twitter to ask what the first song he played along to and he told me it was "Innocent Exile" from Killers.
They are an influential band for most metalheads, and Steve Harris' galloping style, sense of melody, and songwriting skills (in my opinion) cement his place in such a popularity contest. I still play along to Piece Of Mind as a workout when I haven't picked up my bass in a while.
They are an influential band for most metalheads, and Steve Harris' galloping style, sense of melody, and songwriting skills (in my opinion) cement his place in such a popularity contest. I still play along to Piece Of Mind as a workout when I haven't picked up my bass in a while.
I came here to say pretty much exactly this. I think the songwriting/composition on bass point is pretty significant. Steve has written some monster songs, melodies, riffs, etc. using the bass guitar. The sound and technique he developed has become a staple of bass playing for an entire genre (and all its offshoots) of heavy music. I consider Steve to be a hugely significant innovator for rock bass guitar.
- Jan 26, 2014
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- I teach lessons and perform live music in and around San Diego CA. Sometimes I even make money doing it!
Well, he’s the principal songwriter and leader of one of the biggest bands in the history of the world. And he’s really fast, strong, and accurate, and you can actually hear his basslines. Listen to the bassline of Moonchild... it’s insanely fast, can test any players’ endurance, yet very nuanced with many tasteful, difficult lines and fills. It’s his magnum opus in my book, but I haven’t listened to much of their work since the 90’s so there could be others since.
Fun fact: he doesn’t use 3 fingers to gallop.
Fun fact: he doesn’t use 3 fingers to gallop.
I caught IM live a couple times back in the 80s. Kind of fell off listening to them - and metal in general - in the decades since. Caught them live again last year though and I was impressed. Really impressed. Steve - and the whole band really - puts on a very high energy show. Watching the show reminded me of why I liked IM so much back then. It also made me realize that Steve was more of an influence on my playing than I would have ever given credit for. Yeah, those "Best 50..." whatever lists are generally click bait, but Steve's inclusion doesn't bother me a bit in this case.
Steve's also got signature Basses(3 or 4 models), strings and pickups too. I actually think it's extremely easy to see how he made the list.
I mean, for Geddy it might be because he is a multi instrumentalist who sings and plays very different parts at the same time and can still shred on the bass. Not sure about why Metallica is popular though!
Maiden is awesome but I never noticed anything particularly great about Steve's playing. He's fine and compliments the songs well. I did not know that he's the main writer and comes up with the guitar riffs on bass, that's pretty awesome. I'd say all that makes him a pretty great musician rather than a bassist. If he can come up with all that other content for the song and then nail a non-flashy support role on the bass to back it all up, that says he's a damn good artist and professional to me.
If you haven't, try learning a few classic Maiden songs (the Trooper, 2 Minutes To Midnight and Number of the Beast) and play along with them. You'll soon find out why he's a beast of a bassist.
A couple of Maiden tunes back to back wears me out and I feel my forearm burning. How he does it for 2 hours, I don't know. His stamina is incredible.
A couple of Maiden tunes back to back wears me out and I feel my forearm burning. How he does it for 2 hours, I don't know. His stamina is incredible.
Can you play his material? I mean, I can't. The guy is an endurance plucker!
Also, he spies on Talkbass at times and he picked up that a Precision with flatwound strings is heaven!
How many Metal bass players use flatwounds? The guy is a Genius...
Also, he spies on Talkbass at times and he picked up that a Precision with flatwound strings is heaven!
How many Metal bass players use flatwounds? The guy is a Genius...
He has them changed after every single show, because by the end they get worn out - as you would expect from flats! His bass tech even uses an aural enhancer to boost the top end partway through every gig as their sparkle goes. He likes the feel of them, and is loaded enough/gets enough free strings from Rotosound to not have to worry about the expense.
It's like saying Jimmy Hendrix or James Jamerson are not technical.
You think that until you try to record yourself playing their lines, and realise you are so far from sounding like them.
If you try to cover Killers or Powerslave albums from start to finish, you will quickly get what is about Steve Harris
About Larry Graham or Marcus Miller, I saw them many time live and like them a lot.
I saw Marcus Miller two weeks ago for the seventh time and it would not cross my mind to diss Steve Harris. ( that i will see in one month
)
You think that until you try to record yourself playing their lines, and realise you are so far from sounding like them.
If you try to cover Killers or Powerslave albums from start to finish, you will quickly get what is about Steve Harris
About Larry Graham or Marcus Miller, I saw them many time live and like them a lot.
I saw Marcus Miller two weeks ago for the seventh time and it would not cross my mind to diss Steve Harris. ( that i will see in one month
)
If Jamerson smoked meth, this is what you would get.
Keep in mind that this was written and performed by a man with minimal musical training. It is perhaps the fact that he is feeling it out and playing in a frantic, visceral way that draws people to his playing.
Keep in mind that this was written and performed by a man with minimal musical training. It is perhaps the fact that he is feeling it out and playing in a frantic, visceral way that draws people to his playing.
Because in an era (and style of music) when the bass was relegated to a secondary rol he emerged as a band leader of the most iconic heavy metal band ever.
I have his signature strings SH77 on my precision since two months, they are still allright to me.
As all strings, round or flat they lose the super bright sound you have the first days.
Marcus Miller also changes his strings at every show, and he uses rounds.
So I think it's a matter of wanting this first days bright sound rather than an issue with the flats dying quicker.
It's been said again and again and confirmed by Steve himself, he only uses 2 fingers.
I like watching Ed Friedland's review on the Steve Harris P bass. He tried learning a few Maiden basslines and admits how humbled he was by Steve's chops.
That's just it. Try learning a few lines on players you don't get. My Beatles repertoire gave me a whole new appreciation and outlook on Paul McCartney's melodic lines.
I like watching Ed Friedland's review on the Steve Harris P bass. He tried learning a few Maiden basslines and admits how humbled he was by Steve's chops.
That's just it. Try learning a few lines on players you don't get. My Beatles repertoire gave me a whole new appreciation and outlook on Paul McCartney's melodic lines.
The “50 greatest bassists” is an unquantifiable list. According to whom? Who has the final word. It’s all about popularity. Those kinds of polls are never conclusive except for determining who is most popular. “Best” is entirely relative to whatever qualities a person finds admirable. Not knocking the concept as fun thing to do but it’s not gonna tell us who is the best.
