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Who's everyone's favorite bassists?

#41
Andy Rourke is number one for me without a doubt (I mean just look at the profile picture lol). He's the only player I ever got super obsessive about after Paul McCartney. There's other players I've learned a lot from, Justin Chancellor and Bernard Edwards probably being the ones that come out the most in my playing. My playing has been compared to Tina Weymouth, but I think that has less to do with my playing style and more with my aesthetics.
 
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#43
Three from the noisy post-punk indie bucket: Kim Deal (Breeders Pod especially), Bob Weston (Shellac and more), Mikal Cronin (Ty Segall and more). They're not my top three, and I don't rank things like that anyway, but have been listening to them this month. All three have great tone and sit in their songs very very well.
 
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#51
TristanFunky said:
Overall, hmmm. Michael League, Paul Jackson, Joe Dart. To many to say though. Like jamerson
Click to expand...
ok, fair enough.

I honestly don't have a favorite. There are folks I really appreciate in different genres and for different styles/capabilities.

Jazz: Paul Chambers, Eddie Gomez, Neils Pederson, Ron Carter, Esmerelda Spaulding, Ron Carter, Stanley Clarke .... tons of greats here

Fusion: Jaco, Stanley Clarke, John Patitucci, Gary Willis, Alphonso Johnson, Michael Manring, Bunny Brunnel. ... tons of greats here too

Rock/pop: JPJ, John Entwistle, McCartney, Squire, Tony Levin, Glenn Hughes, Jamerson, Carol Kaye, David Hood, Duck Dunn, Chuck Rainey, Colin Moulding, Bruce Thomas, Pino Palladino, Leland Sklar ... almost too many to list

Newer/younger players like Justin Medal Johnson, Tim Lefebvre and Sean Hurley have caught my attention too ... I'm sure there's many more.

Listening to pretty much all of these guys over the years and trying to understand what they did that set them apart has been an ongoing education for me as a bass player and musician in general.
 
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#60
Alphonso Johnson.

I had the pleasure of meeting him back when I was 15/16 first starting out. The music store I was taking lessons at was doing a trade show and Alphonso was doing a bass clinic sponsored by Ampeg. My bass teacher introduced me to him. Alphonso Johnson was this elite level bassist who played with, like, everyone and was a bass innovator in his own right, yet the fact that he was willing to sit down and talk with a wet-behind-the-ears kid like me just starting out...

He inspired me to not only be a better bassist but a better person. And I vowed from that day forward that if I ever achieved any sort of clout as a bassist or musician, that I would want to make any fan I talk to feel as welcomed by my presence as he made me. And go figure... every band I've played in- someone else was the front person, but I was usually the audience favorite because I was/am approachable and welcoming to fans who enter my presence. And it's all because, during my impressionable years starting out, Alphonso Johnson inspired me to become a better person as much as he inspired me to become a better bassist.
 
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