Stuart Hamm

[Josh Ryan]

-that Peanuts theme still gives me fits. Stu was one of the first few basists who showed me that you don't have to suck to play rock music.

 

[bassjamn]

If your lucky enough to live in the bay area he is teaching at blue bear music FYI.

Needless to say i am taking them..

 

[SixString]

how much do thoughs lessons run ya?

 

[Jaco Pastashoot]

I saw Stuart playing with The TONY MacALPINE TRIO, this night in Luxembourg.

What a pleasure to see him playing live, in a little Club.
He played his amazing solo version of GOING TO CALIFORNIA and the tune RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH from his first solo album.
Great night

 

[India_Sierra]

He is an exceptional player no doubt. I want to hear him back in the studio doing more ensemble work, I think that's where he shines most. Perhaps some new fusion trio records like the Gambale Hamm Smith albums, or a really tight solo record like Outbound or Kings of Sleep.

As a young lad, he was my first serious bass hero. When I was 16, I bought a white 1989 Kubicki Ex Factor to cop his tone!

 

[Jaco Pastashoot]

What was cool about this gig, it's that he plays a lot of tunes with a Warwick Streamer 5 strings, in a 2x15p cab, he's an incredible groover, not just the Solo guy we all knew !

 

[India_Sierra]

What was cool about this gig, it's that he plays a lot of tunes with a Warwick Streamer 5 strings, in a 2x15p cab, he's an incredible groover, not just the Solo guy we all knew !

Stu is a serious groover. His fingerstyle playing is massively underrated. I always considered it the secret weapon in his arsenal as much is said of his slap and formerly his tapping (he seems to have rather left that behind of late). The 16th note outro to 'further down market' from the 'Outbound' record is stunningly accurate and consistent. He can do that sort of feat in his sleep!

I have not been such a fan of his tone since he moved to the Warwick. I adored his Kubicki sound and his Urge and Urge II sounded sublime. The Washburn sounded good I though, but despite also being equipped with EMG pickups, the Warwicks just don't have the same 'life' in the tone, at least to my ears. The highs sound a little more muted and the lows a little less crisp and distinct.

 

[Jaco Pastashoot]

I was thinking the same about the sound of his Warwick(s)...

And this gig change my opinion !
The concert was in a réception room, i was in front of Stu, and hear the sound of the bass directly from his Marbass 2x15p.

When he put some reverb and plays GOING TO CALIFORNIA, with his green Warwick 4 strings, the sound was awesome !!!
No comparison with the videos we can watch on the web.

 

[consectaneus]

I got to see Stu back when he was touring with Satriani. The afternoon of the show I was killing some time in a music store when I heard what sounded like someone playing Bach. Sure enough it was him getting some setup work done on his Ex-Factor. He was great that night. It's the first time I heard him do the Linus And Lucy theme during his solo section--covering bass and melody with both hands somehow. I got to catch him again in a small club with Alex Skolnik (Testament), another virtuoso guitarist. Stu was just state of the art bass in the '80s, standing shoulder to shoulder with the best guitar shredders and taking no prisoners. I did buy his first solo album Radio Free Albemuth. This reminds me to check out his other stuff.

 

[Altitude]

Great player, but I can't cleanse from my mind the sexual innuendo thing he was trying to do with his image in the early 90s. It was not a good fit for that particular dude.

 

[India_Sierra]

Great player, but I can't cleanse from my mind the sexual innuendo thing he was trying to do with his image in the early 90s. It was not a good fit for that particular dude.

Perhaps something is lost in translation here, but I'm not sure I follow? Could you explain what you mean?