Shame it never showed in his playing!
Though I'm still wondering how playing upright lends him any crediblity!
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Sting played a what??!?!??!
- Thread starter redstrand
- Start date
Shame it never showed in his playing!
Though I'm still wondering how playing upright lends him any crediblity!
Sting's pre-Police jazz band Last Exit played stuff that would stretch most bassists.
Sting was also no slouch with The Fuzz.
Sting was also no slouch with The Fuzz.
sheesh, I think ol' Sting is rather creative with his bass lines. Nothing technically sparkly, but creative and interesting none the less.
Shame it never showed in his playing!
Though I'm still wondering how playing upright lends him any crediblity!
Oh please. I would like to see you play some of his lines while (whilst) singing those melodies.
For the record Gordon Sumner was an upright bass player playing jazz standards around Tyneside for years before Police. One of his pianists nicknamed him "Sting" on account his yellow and black hooped jumper (sweater to the Yanks) that he wore all the time.
The bass in the OP's pics is an Ibanez MC924 fretless. It is a very good instrument, well built and they hold their value around 800USD or thereabouts, or about 500 quid in the UK, i.e. if you can find one.
The music in Police is highly stylised and the bass lines are what they are as much as the vocals are what they are - some Marley phrasing and lots of reggae influence, certainly no reflection on what the musicians can or cannot do on the instrument. Andy Summers certainly has more chops than the sparse chord work in many Police tunes.
The bass in the OP's pics is an Ibanez MC924 fretless. It is a very good instrument, well built and they hold their value around 800USD or thereabouts, or about 500 quid in the UK, i.e. if you can find one.
The music in Police is highly stylised and the bass lines are what they are as much as the vocals are what they are - some Marley phrasing and lots of reggae influence, certainly no reflection on what the musicians can or cannot do on the instrument. Andy Summers certainly has more chops than the sparse chord work in many Police tunes.
The early 80s Ibanez Musician basses are really great--neck-through, ebony fingerboards, heavy bridges, very playable with great sustain. Ugly IMO, but I've had one since 1983. Played the hell out of it for eleven years and have never seen a good reason to get rid of it since. For what they go for used, they remain a reasonable option. The one I have (now de-fretted) has a pre-amp that can be by-passed. My only complaint with the bass is the very noisy single-coils (well, and also that I think it's ugly).
I'm not a big fan of the Police any more, but all three of them were clearly great players. It would be a mistake to confuse playing stripped-down basslines for being a poor player.
I'm not a big fan of the Police any more, but all three of them were clearly great players. It would be a mistake to confuse playing stripped-down basslines for being a poor player.
I have to second that!!! I was reading and article a few years ago on his practice habits and the time he would spend learning to sync his vocals while playing bass. Great work ethic..
First of all, Sting (was) and is a very capable musician. Jaco though so, as he mentioned loving Sting in an interview I have. He played in jazz trios prior to joining the Police, and the very fact that he could play fretless with good intonation while singing proves any doubters wrong. Second, even his easier lines are deceptively simple and more difficult to sing and play than you'd expect. Go listen to "Spirits in the Material World", "Masoka Tango", or "Demolition Man" and try to sing and play those lines without batting an eye. Or listen to some busier lines like on "Dead End Job" and see if you can sing and play those lines too.
redstrand said:Can anyone identify it? The shape and headstock are throwing me off a little bit.
It's actually a '78/'79 Musician MC900 fretless. The MC900 has a shorter lower horn cutaway and a 22-fret scale fretboard, the MC924 has a 24-fret scale fretboard and a deeper lower horn cutaway.
I've got the same '79 MC900, but mine is fretted.
+1
Playing more notes does not correspond to better bass, either. Sting displays the kind of subtlety you don't see often. I'm not always a fan of his music, but I love to listen to what he and the others in the Police did.
pardon my mullet back then, here is me in circa 1989 with my Ibanez Musican fretless.
This bass was awesome! sounded and played great. I used it mostly for high school study band. i sold it 1997, when i was switched to guitar for a while and was using my p-bass for bass gigs. i miss that bass!
U2's adam clayton also used a fretted ibanez musician at red rocks (live under a blood red sky).
although sting played live with many basses (fretless p, spector, steinberger, etc.) i think string recorded with a fretted jazz and/or fretless p or upright mixed together. that's why his tone is so great. i much prefer his live tone with the spector (syncronicity tour) most of all it gave the bass much more authority versus the old fender single coil p-bass he usues now.
i did the same fretted/fretless combo thing on my band's new ep. i played a fretted jazz direct mixed with a fretless jazz through a fliptop on a song. worked great.
This bass was awesome! sounded and played great. I used it mostly for high school study band. i sold it 1997, when i was switched to guitar for a while and was using my p-bass for bass gigs. i miss that bass!
U2's adam clayton also used a fretted ibanez musician at red rocks (live under a blood red sky).
although sting played live with many basses (fretless p, spector, steinberger, etc.) i think string recorded with a fretted jazz and/or fretless p or upright mixed together. that's why his tone is so great. i much prefer his live tone with the spector (syncronicity tour) most of all it gave the bass much more authority versus the old fender single coil p-bass he usues now.
i did the same fretted/fretless combo thing on my band's new ep. i played a fretted jazz direct mixed with a fretless jazz through a fliptop on a song. worked great.
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apparently he recorded just about everything for The Police with one of those musicians, and he doubled it on record with an upright.
story i've been told is as such:
he played jazz bass, and was a teacher. some sort of scandal with a student, he gets disbarred, has to live off his bass talents. after stints in dive bars and jazz bands, joins The Police. right a semi-autobiographical tune called Don't Stand So Close To Me. becomes famous. the end.
story i've been told is as such:
he played jazz bass, and was a teacher. some sort of scandal with a student, he gets disbarred, has to live off his bass talents. after stints in dive bars and jazz bands, joins The Police. right a semi-autobiographical tune called Don't Stand So Close To Me. becomes famous. the end.
pjmuck: Go listen to "Spirits in the Material World", "Masoka Tango", or "Demolition Man" and try to sing and play those lines without batting an eye. Or listen to some busier lines like on "Dead End Job" and see if you can sing and play those lines too.
One of my favorite practice tunes for slap-n-pop is "St. Augustine in Hell" from Ten Summoner's Tales. Simple line that repeats itself, but a real challenge for me as a beginning player, especially the muting.
[slap/mute slap/mute pop/mute pop/mute slap/mute slap/mute pop/mute pop/mute] - striving for just the right touch so that it flows naturally in time and is as relaxed as possible, with an even volume and the proper dynamics.
"Okay, break's over!" - lyric at the end of the bridge is a nice musical pun.
One of my favorite practice tunes for slap-n-pop is "St. Augustine in Hell" from Ten Summoner's Tales. Simple line that repeats itself, but a real challenge for me as a beginning player, especially the muting.
[slap/mute slap/mute pop/mute pop/mute slap/mute slap/mute pop/mute pop/mute] - striving for just the right touch so that it flows naturally in time and is as relaxed as possible, with an even volume and the proper dynamics.
"Okay, break's over!" - lyric at the end of the bridge is a nice musical pun.
I own an Ibanez Musician (two soapbars on this one). Very cool bass. Nails the Police tone to perfection. No issue with the neck or the bass in general (apart from a dying preamp; I installed an EMG with a bypass switch and that's all).
And the fact that I can play those basslines and concurrently sing in the same key as Sting is one of the things that make me popular in parties and cover bands. The way that Police use the role of each in the song is a major influence on me
And the fact that I can play those basslines and concurrently sing in the same key as Sting is one of the things that make me popular in parties and cover bands. The way that Police use the role of each in the song is a major influence on me
