Great Bass Players

[Jazzy Strat T]

Joe Osborn

Great bassist!

Don't forget Tommy Cogbill - check out his stuff on Dusty Springfield's Son of a Preacher Man.

Ralphe Armstrong - a very distinctive voice, a la Jamerson, and tasty, too:!:

 

[jeremy blaze]

I am shocked it took so long for Les Claypool and fleas names to be mentioned.

If you are not a big Claypool fan, I encourage you to look up Les Claypools fancy band. Very unique and one of my favorites right now. The fancy dvd is amazing.

 

[ZippityZippity]

my best friend is my younger brother, and he is a bassist. So whenever I show him some cool stuff by SRV, he'll show me something Jaco, whenever I show him his some bonamassa, he'll show me some stanely, and the process continues for a good few hours till we feel like making some music of our own instead of just sittin in front of a computer screen.

I may have missed it but has anyone mentioned Marcus Miller yet? I've always really like just his feel. I recently saw a documentary on Miles Davis, and loved the stuff they did together.

Im also a big victor wooten fan. Really love his view on music. Can get a little to hippie/granola for me at times, but I still like it and find it interesting.

 

[67Strat]

You guys should all hang your heads in shame!!!!

Look, the best of all time is still playing:

Carol Kaye.


Nobody alive has played bass as many sessions or on as many hits as she has. And she's still the best bass player going and would be my first call if I needed bass.

If you haven't heard of her - first off shame on you, and second, go Google her and educate yourself. She is the living legend of electric bass.

This guy knows his stuff, Carol is and was the best ever.

 

[tonyw]

Gerry McAvoy
Stanley Clarke
are my favs
as to whos the best thats just too subjective as no one is the best.

 

[Recklessdave]

MY PERSONAL FAVES:

PHIL LYNOTT - THIN LIZZY, JOHN DEACON - QUEEN, PINO PALADINO, MARK KING, PAUL McCARTNEY, THE GUY IN CHIC (FORGET HIS NAME).

NOT A FAN OF THESE BASSISTS WHO YEARN TO BE A GUITARIST AND WIDDLY WIDDLY AWAY FITTING AS MANY NOTES AS POSSIBLE IN EACH BAR - THAT'S NOT A BASSISTS ROLE IN A BAND. ITS TYPICAL LOOK AY ME LOOK AT ME GUITARIST TAPPING!!!!

 

[Paulbiz]

Entwistle is GOD: YouTube - John Entwistle bass solo

 

[Stratplayer]

My two favorites were always Billy Sheehan and Chris Squire (their sound is the best IMO too), and I also like John Entwistle, John Paul Jones, Les Claypool, Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith, Geddy Lee, Roger Waters, Stanley Clarke, Gene Simmons, Michael Anthony (formerly of Van Halen), David Ellefson of Megadeth, Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue, and Randy Coven. I'm sure there's others I like that I'm not thinking of right now...

 

[jflintmac]

Here's another vote for Geddy Lee.
He looks like he doesn't even realise that he is playing the bass. He is just singing away!
Never looks down.

 

[capt_goodvibes]

The amazingly beautiful Ozzie, Tal Wilkenfeld

Also
Doug Wimbish
Maceo Parker
Marcus Miller
Larry Graham
Bernard Edwards
Phil Lesh
Cliff Burton
Roger Waters
Chris Squire
Bootsy Collins
John Paul Jones

 

[srv4fr]

Although not as flashy as Entwhistle or Lee...

I've always liked Tommy Shannon of Double Trouble. He was always so overlooked IMO because of Stevie, but that dude is spot on and walking all over the place behind the leads. He's a great player.

Glad to see someone mention Tommy Shannon. When I read this thread initially I saw everyone I would have mentioned except him. Tommy's great. Rock steady and soo tight with Layton on drums. He walks some pretty cool patterns too.

I always loved his descending bass line vs Stevie's ascending rhythm pattern in Pride and Joy. And the bass part that he'd do when Stevie would break at the end of "couldn't stand the weather" to introduce the band is pretty cool too. Saw it on Austin City Limits. So +1 for Tommy.

 

[amstratnut]

I don't know how good Tal Wilkefeld really is in the big picture of bass players, but I was totally blown away by her skills on the Jeff Beck vids I've seen. Don't forget the guys who are really proficient on upright. Christian McBride played with Pat Metheney at a show I saw a couple years ago and holy sh.. can that guy play.

Don't lets forget Bootsy either. Dunno skills wise but he's a really creative guy.

 

[BlackJadeDX]

for me its John Paul Jones. Leo Lyons from Ten Years After was pretty awesome too.
Webby

 

[Savana13Swedan]

PEOPLe listen the man you need is "Les Claypool" YouTube - Primus-My Name is Mud @ Woodstock

He is a true inovatar with a six string fretless-So I kissed him upside the cranium with that aluminum baseball bat

 

[woolleydick]

Tommy Shannon of double Trouble. Aside from being part of the rock under SRV's boots he was also nice enough to sell me one of his old amp's so he gets my vote on 2 counts!

 

[ToneRanger]

I'm a fan of a lot of the obvious guys – Lee, Squire, etc, - but I remember after being a fan of Zeppelin for years I went back one day and paid especially close attention John Paul Jones' bass lines – wow. Honestly the power and “heaviness” of Zep was 80% Jones and Bonham with Robert and Jimmy just riding the bull those guys laid down underneath. Listen the Presence sometime – incredible how locked in those guys were.
I remember a recording session I was on and our bassist was young and green – he was a guitarist that had recently switched to bass. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for him our producer was a bassist, so poor Adam bore the brunt of some pretty tough criticism early on for following the guitars and not locking in with the drummer. The producer had us sit and listen to various tracks off of Presence and note how perfectly in sync Jones and Bonham were – definitely an eye opener…

 

[fidgeh]

Away from rock bassists I think that Chris Wolstenholme of Muse does a good job in contributing to the overall sound of the band.

 

[fieldhdj]

Great thread. I believe it is Rhonda Smith who is touring with Jeff Beck right now - at least it was Rhonda at the Tulsa show I attended. She's another great player who deserves all the recognition she can get.

 

[bettsaj]

Paul McCartney , Phil Lesh and of course Jaco Pastorius as well as many already mentioned.

+1 for Paul McCartney....... Highly underrated. Essential Bass playing recommendations are:

Something - The Beatles
Rain - The Beatles
Penny Lane - The Beatles
Getting Closer - Wings
Old Siam Sir - Wings


Although some of those songs are not instantly ones you would think would be good for Bass playing..... When was the last time you listened to the track and disregarded EVERYTHING but the bass?...

Some of the bass playing in Penny Lane is absolutely all over the place, notes everywhere.

Rain is just awsome playing in my book

 

[houseguitarshop]

hendrix

not hendrix as a bass player, but I really like the bass lines that Hendrix plays to.

all the bass lines keep the melody as well as the beat with drums while hendrix plays all the crazy stuff.

I agree with whoever said that led zeplins bass and drummer held all the melodies and beats while jimmy and robert dabbled on top.

I think that is one of the keys to a great band, a bass player and a drummer who can hold a solid meldoy and beat so that the other players can go to town on the rest.