best bass player of all time

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
Jaco Pastorius was THE greatest bass player of all time.
I am amazed and saddened that nobody has even mentioned him. Amazed.

I'm amazed and saddened that you didn't read the first page of the thread.
I mentioned him and so did off_the_street and we gave him credit for being one of the best.

We have a name for those that post without reading. Care to guess?


Here's Tal....


[edit on 6-9-2008 by whaaa]

I have noticed alot of posters claiming the Bass player from thier personal favorite band is the best. Personally I love the who, Led zep, etc but I think the best over all Bass player (and not even my usual listening music) would have to be Stanley Clarke.
This might seem a little cliche, but "Schools days" is an awesome album.

Tony Levin

Yah, man, super fingers there!

Originally posted by jerry_soh_619
john paul jones rarely ventured out into playing diffrent notes like on communication break down and rock n roll u rarely feel the bass cause its behind the guitar the whole time besides the lemon song is prolly my fav out of jonesy's bass work i really dont feel the bass on zeppelin,

Wrong....
JPJ had plenty of great bass songs, the lemon song like you said, ramble on, GTBT, D&C,
black dog, (which he wrote) d'yer m'aker, the crunge, since I've been loving you, ect.

Plus he often followed Page's (not Paige's) r iffs note for note on those big old strings (heartbreaker, the ocean, hot dog, four sticks, houses of the holy, ect.)

He was a multi-instrumentalist and a great compsoser (the rain song, in the light, friends, carouselrousaramba(sp???))

And check out the live recordings sometime where he's playing a bass part and an organ part at the same time. Truly impressive.

Hehe, sorry if that comes off as harsh, you just bring out the Ledhead in me.

[edit on 20-9-2008 by asmeone2]

I'm sorry if he's been mentioned before but for me its Peter Hook.

Not only an amazing bass player but he re-invented new amazing ways to use the instrument.

cliff burton

his last solo, recorded at a show the night he died


Anesthesia(puling teeth) live

Mel Schacher (Grand Funk Railroad)

The late, great Jaco Pastorius of course.

But in addition to my love for a few that have been mentioned so far (Victor Wooten, Tony Levin), I have to toss in a few that have not gotten any love yet:

Where would Booker T. & the MG's, or any of the Stax/Volt sound be without Donald "Duck" Dunn? Talk about SOLID.


And, of course, my favorite melodic bass player is hands down Michael Manring...

reply to post by drfunk


You have a very good list, very well rounded. The only thing I would add is I think Bootsy Collins is the most unique bass player of all time. He's the Jimi Hendrix of bass and is incorporates distortion, wah, and feeling into his style. Most of his bass lines while playing with Parliament Funkadelic and Rick James are not very complex but are put together very well so that they flow with the song and do not take away from the actual meaning of the song which soul music is all about. Bootsy was mainly known for his elaborate improve solos during Parliament Funkadelic concerts. His solos included traditonal slap style, finger style, and open hand slapping all utilized to create his unique style.
I also think its a little difficult to compare bass players such as John Entwistle, Les Claypool, and Jaco Pastorius because they all have such different styles. John Entwistle's nickname was "Thunderfingers" for a good reason. His solo in 5:15 is some of the fastest fingerstyle ever recorded. During this solo, he down-tunes his E string in the middle of the song. This was later emulated by guitar great Eddie Van Halen in his incredible solo "Eruption". Les Claypool's band Primus incorporates traditional slapping and popping styles with distortion dominated guitar riffs and double kick drum beats. In Primus' song "Tommy the Cat" Claypool's bassline is played on a six-string and includes extremely fast and rythmic slapping and popping. No other bass player has utilized slapping and popping such as Claypool has. Jaco Pastorius was a pioneer for bass players, but I disagree he was solely responsible for changing the way people look at bass guitar. Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath was the first to use the bass guitar as a seperate instrument rather than using it to only add to guitar. His song "NIB" includes a bass solo in the beginning and a riff in which the bass leads the guitar. Jaco Pastorius was a pioneer for bass players because he expanded the way in which people view bass guitar. His unique styles of playing, improv solos, and use of effects that were only used for guitar before opened the door for more creative and unique bass playing.
Many contemporary artists have come around that are very good as well: Victor Wooten, Flea, Marcus Miller, Mark King, Stanley Clarke, Stu Hemm, Geddy Lee, Cliff Burton, etc. have opened doors for the future of bass playing.
It's hard to rank because its a matter of opinion, but my list would be:
1. Bootsy Collins
2. Les Claypool
3. John Entwistle
4. Jaco Pastorius
5. Marcus Miller
6. Mark King
7. Victor Wooten
8. Flea
9. Geddy Lee
10. Geezer Butler

a lot of great bassists mentioned here.

Jaco was the best in a pioneering way. technically a pretty sick player. his tone however is unmatched. people try to rip it off but it's just not jaco.

Mike manring hardcore bassist. you won't even think you are hearing a bass with him and his very different tunings he uses.

Les is a great slapper. but i don't go for the super light gauge string sound.

marcus miller is the apex of slapping tone and pocket. victor is proof that not all men are created equal.

but if you like tight slapping check out my old mentor from college anthony vitti. forget mel bay. if you want to learn funk check him out.

also check out the session cat. ricc fierabracci. sick and unique tone. Id go on for hours with this topic but i gotta head home from work. yes I'm working this late on a sunday at the office. and goofing off on ats.

As an semi-pro musician, there can only be personal favorites, no "best". It's all subjective and personal taste. People always ask me "who is the best guitarist?" and i tell them YOUR FAVORITE. Depends on musical context. There is no "best", only personal perceptions. Those whose notes and personal, individual tone resonate within you. End of story.

reply to post by threedoom


Thank you for posting up Matt Freeman. He was the first person to come to my mind after reading the thread title. Dude had to take a break and beat lung cancer before he could play again. He's a legend.. and a punk rock hero. ... Just saw rancid a couple months ago. They look older and don't run around as much, but they still sound bad ass.

I am shocked; Nay, astounded that nobody has mentioned my nominee. How could you all miss mentioning the hallowed name of Mick Karn?
Formerly of Japan and Dali's Car, this guy could make the fretless bass talk. A genius. . .

www.mickkarn.net...

going to have to go with scott thunes on this one with honorable mention going to les claypool

TOOOOO many to mention for me, but we gotta throw Steve Harris' name out there. I think he wrote almost every Maiden song.

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
one of the greatest unsung bassists is definately james jamerson of the funk bros. he created such melodic motown basslines that he must be considered one of the best

i'm surprised more people didn't say it. he practically IS the motown sound. all with one finger, too.

I agree with all that you have said. I haven't been on this thread, but I must add John Paul Jones. Not simply his bass guitar playing, but his arranging skills are unparalleled. Plus he is a triple threat with his exquisite keyboard skills. He even plays guitar and mandolin. His musical knowledge transcends any particular instrument. (IMO).

hey wait nobody has mentioned gary willis. that guy is pretty cool too.

But to be honest. the sickest bassist I had ever seen was this cat from berklee. his was like a associate prof. there. his name is Dave Buda. this dude was sick, sick, sick.

every bassist there wanted to train with him. his skills were nuts could solo like satriani for hours and never loose the song or the audience. seriously all i could remember watching him play was that he reminded me of the first time I heard the lucid musician ship of satriani's flying in a blue dream album. shockingly sick this guy was. the other instructors at berklee tried to play this guy down- except vitti- who is still the funk king there and for very very good reason. I remember watching this guy dave buda doing a jam session for the students with another old cat there at berklee named jim stinette (sp) jim was a very intellectual player, serious theory and technique skills. buda played a solo then it was jims turn. he kind of just went "i got nothin" and played so weak and bad (for jim) that it looked like he was seriously intimidated by this buda guy.

then all the professors were like well dave buda can solo like no other but can he really groove. uhhhh. yeah he can. so then buda would lay down the sickest grooves ever. some seriously cleaver stuff. this guy could give jaco, wooten, and manring a run for his money.

interesting story about jaco from manring in the bass heroes book. manring talks about what private lessons were like with jaco. manring studied or tried to with jaco a few times.

Joe santare is a sick bassist too. six string chord genius. mike berlin gets props too but I've heard he's sorta a jerk. but I wouldn't personally know.

Bootsy

If Peter Hook is not the best, he certainly is the most unique bass player of all time. He absolutely revolutionized bass playing. Very few players do you know it is them after just a couple of notes and he is one of the few.