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bityear View Drop Down
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Points: 171 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: favourite bass sounds?
    Posted: May 09 2004 at 18:06
on the other hand of that keyboard topic, what's your favourite bass sound on a progressive record?

Myself, I adore the Rickenbacker school, founded by Chris Squire, and lately being brought to perfection by Dave Meros of Spock's Beard..that quite distorted and compressed sound sends shrivers up my spine. NoMeansNo uses a similar sound as well.
The opposite style is probably that provided by Tom Kennedy and Jimmy Johnson for Planet X, they've both got a great sound, great punchy tone. They use their fingers rather than picks, and I like that. Somehow, the feeling IS in the fingers and not in the pick. They use multi-string basses as well, providing darker notes than those Rickenbacker fellows. There are five-stringed Rics as well, but I never saw any of them using one.
The in-between sound is probably produced by Jonas Reingold of Flower Kings, you can hear him on "Unfold The Future" and any more recent releases. I believe he mostly uses his fingers, but with a bit of distortion and lots of mid-range punch, making his sound stand out in the sound picture.

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Alexander View Drop Down
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Points: 237 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 00:00
Anything that Hugh Hopper performs. Fuzz bass or none-fuzz.
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Points: 90 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 00:48

I like the sound of Enchant's bassplayer, Ed Platt.

 
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Points: 8548 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 01:05
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Points: 608 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 02:49

Best bass tones I've heard:

Tim Commerford, Dave Ellefson, Atsushi Hasegawa, Greg Lake, Geddy Lee, Tony Levin, Phil Lynott, Henry J. Osborne, Bruce Palmer, Jaco Pastorius, Billy Sheehan, Shunji Saegusa, Chris Squire, John Wetton

 

...and others I can't remember right this sec.

 
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Points: 7559 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 03:43

Mmmm! Rickenbacker + Marshall! Mmmmmm!

Mr Peter Trewavas and Mr Ian Kilmister rule that combination for their inspired use of the tones - although Mr Squire and Mr Meros are both more technically oriented and deserve a mention.

J J Burnel from the Stranglers has a sound to die for, as does John Entwhistle's Alembic; Keith da Bass (Here and Now), Jasper (Subhumanz, Culture Shock, Citizen Fish) and Robbie Shakespear (Sly and Robbie) all have definitive Reggae bass sounds - it just doesn't get any better!

Scott Thunes and Billy Sheehan both have a superb sound and incredible technique, but top award for bass technique goes to Stanley Clarke.

Finally, Roger Waters. 'nuff said.

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Points: 1117 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 07:50
I really love Jonas Rheingold's bass performances, weather it is with the Flower Kings, on Tomas Bodin's albums or his own projekt, Karmakanic...
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Points: 14693 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 08:18
Originally posted by Certif1ed Certif1ed wrote:

Mmmm! Rickenbacker + Marshall! Mmmmmm!


Mr Peter Trewavas and Mr Ian Kilmister rule that combination



I hope we're not forgetting Geddy Lee here!

Originally posted by Certif1ed Certif1ed wrote:

J J Burnel from the Stranglers has a sound to die for]



Oh yes - there were times when you could swear he was using a Rickenbacker himself, given the overdriven treble he used, yet he always sworn by the Fender Jazz

Originally posted by Certif1ed Certif1ed wrote:

....but top award for bass technique goes to Stanley Clarke


Stanley Clarke is an absolute genius, but for my money, the award for sheer technique would have to go to the late Jaco Pastorius.

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Points: 6667 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 08:40
Well, it's maybe not his sound, but I'm very impressed by the speed of Steve Harris (Iron Maiden). He can play amazingly fast!

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Points: 14693 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 09:04
Agreed - good heavy metal lyricist, too

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Points: 8138 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 10:46

Cliff Burton (Metallica)

Eberhard Weber (Jan Garbarek, Kate Bush)

Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report, Joni Mitchell)

Jim Crichton (Saga)

Tom Kennedy (Planet X)

TM Stevens (Steve Vai)

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Points: 12818 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 12:16

Why has Jonas Hellborg has been ignored so far? He is a master of the 4 string electric bass, and in many styles from jazz to heavy rock taking a lot of jazz rock: check out the 30+ albums he has been involved with since the late 80's. Personally I don't believe anybody can touch him as an acoustic bass guitar player : "Icon" (with the late Shawn lane and Indian persussionists) and "Octave Of The Holy Innocents"  (with Buckethead and Michael Shrieve) being the recommended starting points.

 

Tom Kennedy and Jimmy Johnson : in demand jazz/jazz rock sessionmen, and Jimmy sounds best with Allan Holdsworth (e.g. last year's "All Night Wrong").

 

I was gob-smacked by the electric bass solo on the Czech band Collegium Musicum's "Live" album ("You Are Dreadful Pt 1"?) - recorded in 1973, there were several effects/riffs which I thought came with Pastorius three years later. Alas I can't remember the name of the electric bass player, - but I'm willing to bet he was classically trained on the cello. (In passing Musicum's keyboard player is definitely worth tracking down, guy called Marian Varga. He used a Russian build Hammond copy and I'll rate him above Keith Emerson)
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Points: 5243 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 12:38

Has anyone mentioned Jeff Berlin?

If the topic is favorite Bass-Tone, I'd have to agree with the Rickenbacker 4000 series as THE best bass sound ever. Still sends shivers down the spine.....
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Points: 32 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 13:18
Rickenbacker tone all the way.
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Points: 85 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 15:17
Jaco Pastorius was simply the most devinely gifted man ever to rip the frets out of a battered up Fender Jazz. A god in my estimation.
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Points: 171 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 15:24
My award for best technique has to go to Victor Wooten and Bill Dickens - AMAZING slapping technique, and Wooten is one of the most gifted bass players today (read; 'ever'). They're both too much about technique, though, they beat guys like Jaco at that, but Jaco had his tone and his groove. But, none of them participated in any really MUSICALLY great album (maybe except of Weather Report's "Black Market" and "Heavy Weather", where Jaco was in the band), not as far as I know anyway. They're more like solo bassists than Tom Kennedy, Dave Meros, Jimmy Johnson and the bunch. At least Tom Kennedy has released solo albums, but he's more of an awesome session musician than a solo bassist, or at least I regard him as that. He made some great work with Dave Weckl and Al diMeola, too. He knows hos to get the groove without overdoing anything; very tasteful fellow.
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Points: 15585 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 15:28

I know at least one of these is not a bass guitar, but two of my favourite shake the floorboards moments are:

The bass line on the instrumental latter half of "Entangled" by Genesis (TOTT)

The diving synthesiser on "Merlin the magician" by Rick Wakeman. (Arthur).

Also, not prog as such I know, but the bass on Gary Moore's "Empty Rooms" on "Victims of the future" is wonderful.
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Points: 5243 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 16:33

  I was listening to Jean-Luc Ponty's "Individual Choice" and noticed Randy Jackson (of "American Idol" fame, I believe) played on two tracks. Crikey, how the mighty have fallen. The guys playing with JLP and Holdsworth on a good, not great, fusion disc, and then calling everybody "Dog" and acting like Mariah Carey's the hottest thing on the planet.

 

Ooops, sorry about the rant. Rickenbacker's tone: Goooood.  
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Points: 43 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 10 2004 at 19:26
I'm very partial to the tone of a Rickenbacker especially in Prog music. There really are so many great bassists in the world carrying on the traditions of the late masters like Jaco, Jamerson, Entwistle, etc., it's difficult for me to single a few out as being "best". I do think Squire probably did more to define the sound of bass in Prog music than anyone else however.
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Points: 7559 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 11 2004 at 04:02

Actually, I left out Deon Estus...

and yes - I really do like the SOUND of his bass when he played for THAT 1980's pop band...

Battlestations!!!

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