Your top 10 favorite bassists

[bassrob68]

I know its been done before but this is a topic I really enjoy discussing, who are the 10 people that shaped and influence the way you play? I know it's hard to choose only 10 but here are mine in no particular order

1) Geezer Butler
2) Steve Harris
3) John Entwistle
4) Jaco Pastorius
5) Geddy Lee
6) Jack Bruce
7) Marcus Miller
8) John Paul Jones
9) Dave LaRue
10) Flea

Who are your faves?

 

[ffutterman]

In no particular order:

1) Jeff Ament
2) Les Claypool
3) James Jamerson
4) Flea
5) Stu Cook
6) Big John Wallace
7) Bill Wyman
8) Geddy Lee
9) Mike Watt
10) Larry Graham

 

[Kragnorak]

Hrmm, I always try to do this in chronological order so there's a lot of early influences:

1) Cliff Burton
2) Billy Sheehan
3) Stanley Clarke
4) Geezer Butler
5) Les Claypool
6) Robert Trujillo
7) Steve DiGiorgio
8) Victor Wooten
9) Yngwie Malmsteen (that's where I get my vibrato from)
10) Bootsy Collins

Dammit, ran out of room for Tony Levin and Derek Blakley and John Wetton! I always used to say that I was influenced by everyone from Cliff Johnson (who would play 180 bars of the same 8th notes in a row) to Adrian Davison (who I never actually heard until I just now researched him, but would brag about being able to play 32 notes per second which infuriated Anthony Jackson).

 

[bucephylus]

No order

1) James Jamerson
2) Jaco
3) Willie Dixon
4) Will Lee
5) Edgar Meyer
6) Christian McBride
7) Jimmy Johnson
8) Stanley Clarke
9) Tommy Shannon
10) Ron Carter

Course I had to leave off Jimmy. Blanton, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Haslip, Duck Dunn,......etc etc. So many cats.

 

[dls119]

In no particular order:
1. Larry Graham
2. James Jamerson
3. Robert Trujillo (in a non-Metallica setting)
4. John Paul Jones
5. Bootsey
6. Cliff Burton
7. Jason Newsted
8. Steve Harris
9. Stanley Clarke
10. Flea

 

[thebreakman]

In no paticular order

1) Gene Simmons
2) Cliff Burton
3) John Paul Jones
4) John Entwistle
5) Steve Harris
6) Bill Wyman
7) Geezer Butler
8) Duff McKagen
9) Michael Anthony
10) Phil Lynott

 

[ffutterman]

It'd be interesting to do a Word Cloud of this after a couple pages of posts.

 

[bassthumpersf]

In no particular order:
1) Mike Watt
2) Greg Norton
3) Steve Harris
4) Rick Danko
5) Bruce Thomas
6) graham Maby
7) Mike Mesaros
8) Dave Alexander
9) Tommy Stinson
10) Carmela Thompson

 

[Phalex]

1) Chris Squire
2) Johnny B. Gayden
3) Marcus Miller
4) Bernard Edwards
5) Ralphe Armstrong
6) Rick Skatore
7) dUg Pinnick
8) Stanley Clarke
9) John Cowan
10) Tony Levin

No particular order and no particular reason. I came up with my list rapid fire style in probably under a minute.

 

[tangentmusic]

1) Chris Squire
2) Greg Lake
3) Geezer
4) Geddy
5) JPJ
6) The Ox
7) Macca
8) Glenn Hughes
9) Roger Glover
10)Gary Thain

 

[mellowinman]

Paul McCartney
Jamerson
Tom Petersson
Geddy
Squire
Joe Macho
JPJ
John Deacon
Roger Waters
Roger Glover

Those are my 10 favorites, off the top of my head.

By "favorites," I mean "I listen to them just all the time, and I love how they play bass," not "these are the 10 guys I can think of who do tricks with their bass, and blow everyone away."

These are guys I never get tired of listening to.

 

[FretlessMainly]

1) Mingus
2) Scott LaFaro
3) Edgar Meyer
4) Phil Lesh
5) McCartney
6) Tony Levin
7) John Wetton
8) Greg Lake
9) Tom Fowler
10) Roger Glover

 

[Roy Vogt]

Can't do it-too many!

 

[FourNotFive]

Off the top of my head...and in alphabetical order by first name:
1. Al Cisneros
2. Cliff Burton
3. Geddy Lee
4. Geezer Butler
5. Joe Lally
6. Joe Preston
7. Mike Watt
8. Paul Simonon
9. Peter Hook
10. Steve Harris

 

[Pandastylebass]

In no Order
Mike Watt
Sting
Stanley Clarke
John Bentley
James Jamerson
Geddy Lee
Graham Maby
Bruce Foxton
Joseph 'Lucky' Scott
Jaco

 

[SturmUndDrang]

That's tough, hmm let's see.
1. Flea
2. Danny Partridge
3. Sgt. Floyd Pepper
4. Peter Tork
5. Derek Smalls
6. Sid Vicious
7. the animatronic dog in the Chucky Cheese band
8. Henry Fonda as Manny Balestero in The Wrong Man
9. Curly Howard (great bass playing at 8:04)

10. Carol Kaye, especially all the Motown stuff

 

[cv115505]

It's kind of difficult to differentiate between players I really like vs. players whose style inspires my approach, but I'll play along.

1. James Jamerson
2. Bob Babbitt
3. Pino Palladino
4. Stefan Lessard
5. Rocco Prestia
6. Nathan East
7. Donald "Duck" Dunn
8. Marcus Miller
9. Jaco
10. Larry Graham

 

[DannyBob]

In no order

1) Flea
2) Tim Commerford
3) Jeff Ament
4) Les Claypool
5) DavidSinRocks (from le youtube)
6) Nick Latham (also from le youtube)

can't actually think of any more......hmm...

 

[Roscoe East]

who are the 10 people that shaped and influence the way you play?
[...snip...]
Who are your faves?

Well, wait, which is it? Do you want to know the 10 bassists that shaped and influence the way I play, or do you want to know my 10 favorites? Definitely not the same...practically by definition, unless you never listen to any new artists.


Imma go with my 10 favorites. In no particular order:

- Tony Levin
- Will Lee
- Nathan East
- Anthony Jackson
- Paul Jackson
- Chris Squire
- Mick Karn
- Alphonso Johnson
- Jeff Berlin
- and a multiway tie between Mel Schacher, Jimmy Johnson, Louis Johnson, Verdine White, Larry Graham, Jon Camp, Paul McCartney, Bill Laswell, Doug Wimbish, Alain Caron, Stanley Clarke, John Paul Jones, and John Wetton.

 

[jj4001]

Ronnie Lane !!!