World class bass players who started really late?

[HamOnTheCob]

Hi Ham On The Cob -
I had no idea it was as complicated a track as you imply - I had thought it might be a single pedal deal and obviously , I am way wrong there ! To me - that makes reproducing that sound much harder and far less likely . I use an older version of Cubase which is limited in it's effects and I could never approach his skill level anyways but I very much appreciate your efforts to show how it was done originally . Best of luck in your pursuit ...... Kelly

I can't approach his skill level either, but if you have nothing to reach for, you'll never get any better. I don't know if you commented before or after I edited my comment above... I made a preset for the Helix, but I bet you could do something similar, even in an older version of Cubase. I'd be happy to see if I can help in any way. This is what I came up with on my Helix:

 

[Passinwind]

Phil Lesh was 25 years old when he took up bass.

 

[tim gueguen]

I'm not going to touch what determines "world class," so I'll just note that Boz Burrell only started playing bass at 25, when he was hired as vocalist for King Crimson. Rick Kemp was supposed to be the new KC bassist, but changed his mind for some reason.

 

[JimK]

I thought I read somewhere that Tal Wilkenfeld started playing bass only a few years before she joined Jeff Beck's band. I believe she was a guitar player previously.

How old was she when she played with Jeff Beck...early 20s?
"Only a few years before"? She would have been in her early teens.

 

[JimK]

I'm not going to touch what determines "world class," so I'll just note that Boz Burrell only started playing bass at 25, when he was hired as vocalist for King Crimson. Rick Kemp was supposed to be the new KC bassist, but changed his mind for some reason.

Good one...has McCartney been mentioned?

Not determining "world class" here, either.
Janice Johnson (A Taste Of Honey) was taught by the band's keyboardist (Perry Kimble).
I saw A Taste Of Honey back in the day...she was very smooth. Thinking back, it's impressive considering she had only been playing <5 years at the time.

 

[ArteK]

How old was she when she played with Jeff Beck...early 20s?
"Only a few years before"? She would have been in her early teens.

I looked it up again. In an interview (Tal Wilkenfeld: No Limits | Premier Guitar), she said she started playing guitar when she was fourteen and then bass a few years after that. She was playing with Beck by 2007 (she would have been 21 if her birthdate on Wikipedia is correct), so she was playing bass probably for 4-5 years tops, depending on what "a few years later" means. I actually thought I heard she had been playing bass for even fewer years, but even 4-5 years and then playing with people like Jeff Beck, the Allman Brothers, and Chick Corea is pretty amazing.

 

[JimK]

...but even 4-5 years and then playing with people like Jeff Beck, the Allman Brothers, and Chick Corea is pretty amazing.

Speaking of the Allman Brothers Band-
Early '80s, a young bassist from DC takes a gig in my friend's Va. Beach bar band.
19 years old & had been playing for 4 years. Word here was "he was the next Stanley Clarke".
That was Oteil Burbridge. I realized, at that point, he was better than I would ever be. 35 years later & I had that right.
If you got it...ya got it.


My 1st recollection of Tal was in a Bass Player magazine. It was photos from a NAMM Show. She was so young-looking, I thought, at first, it as young guy (w/ a lot of curly hair).

 

[A.K.]

A few others:

Arthur Barrow of Frank Zappa fame didn't start playing till he was 24
Felix Pappalardi of Mountain didn't start till he was around 26
Chris Dreja of The Yardbirds didn't start until he was 22

All of these guys had extensive background on other instruments before taking up bass.

 

[A.K.]

Source?

Nile Rodgers' autobiography, for one. 'Nard was a funk guitar player who didn't take up bass till his early 20s, when he quit guitar. He taught Nile how to play in the funky "chuckin'" style on the guitar.

 

[DirkP]

Nile Rodgers' autobiography, for one. 'Nard was a funk guitar player who didn't take up bass till his early 20s, when he quit guitar. He taught Nile how to play in the funky "chuckin'" style on the guitar.

Thank you. If bass would have been his first instrument and he would have started playing in his early 20s, it would make me mad.

 

[Bob_Ross]

Rick Kemp was supposed to be the new KC bassist, but changed his mind for some reason.

Wow, I did not know that.