wombatboter

Congratulations, Oliver.... beautiful !!

Not too bassy because that makes it undefined when playing in a band. I like lots of midtones with just a bit of bass added, like a Wal, a Fodera of a Ken Smith with the bridge-pickup mixed with a tiny bit of the neck-pickup. I need every note to be be heard and I don't like it when people feel the bass but can't hear the notes.

John Giblin, Graham Maby, John Illsley

Well, there seem to be plenty of bassplayers who think otherwise... He's got technique and he uses it. I would too if I could. Sometimes passion means also speed and weird fills. There's a whole more in Funk than just playing dull octaves in E while thinking "I'm really grooving... mààààn". A lot of bassplayers think they are funky because they play one note on the "1" for fifteen boring minutes. I can't stand more than ten minutes of Parliament, George Clinton etc because I think it's dull and has few ideas. I bet Wooten can do all that stuff too but if he wants to expand his horizon and play a lot of notes, why shouldn't he ? I get a kick out of him. I was blown away when I first heard him and still am (not always). He made me a more versatile bassplayer than I was. I don't copy him but I use his ideas. And I think he is a very funky guy..

I'm still a big fan of Wooten, think he is one of the best bass players ever and he has a great groove and timing. His imagination is endless and his ideas are fresh. Sometimes his sound is a bit too thin but that's his choice. He opens doors for me unlike the bassplayers of the Arctic Monkeys or the Kaiser Chiefs whose groove doesn't move me at all but that's a personal taste off course. Sometimes Wooten plays crap but so does Percy Jones or Stanley Clarke or anyone. Wooten doesn't stand still and moves on unlike a lot of other bassplayers (including me a lot of times). I think there's a lot of jealousy going on. If he wouldn't be any good, he wouldn't have a topic going on around here. I like Karn, Giblin, Levin, Wooten, Paul Turner, McCartney, Graham Maby, etc... they all move me for various reasons. This Wooten thing I really like and I would love to be able to play this way. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_9vLph-9ZA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_9vLph-9ZA[/url]

Great to have that sort of reaction...maybe odd for people who don't share our "obsession" but inspiring to us. A couple of years ago I was in France and a friend of mine did backing vocals at a concert with the musicians of Elvis Presley. I got the chance to go to a restaurant nearby with bassist Jerry Scheff and we shared thoughts (what can you say to a man who says while he's eating a pizza "I didn't just play Elvis stuff, I played bass on "Riders on the Storm" too...) I send him an email when I got home to thank him for the experience and quickly got a reply with kind words. Surprisingly he told me that he liked to listen to Radiohead (I think he was 63 at the time). I still treasure those moments.

Maybe I overlooked but nobody mentionned Richard Bona yet...he's a revelation to me.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='407337' date='Feb 12 2009, 10:45 AM']I went through a massive Jaco phase and still love some of what he did but, when you listen to a LOT of it, it is amazing how much repetition you hear - same with Stanley Clarke. I am not referring to stylistic things, the little idiosyncratic details that define every player to some extent, I am talking about stock licks that are 'party pieces', things that are pulled out of the hate time and again for non-musical reasons. Some Jaco is sublime; Joni Mitchell's 'Shadows and Light', Heavy Weather, the Word of Mouth stuff, Bright Size Life etc but some of it is clumsy beyond belief and very uncool. Personally, I think that Jaco (I feel the same about Paul Chambers) was at his best when working with strong musical personalities who kept him in check and gave him great material on which to work; Zawinul & Shorter, Mitchell, Gil Goldstein, Bob Mintzer, Pat Metheny etc. When the people around him deferred to Jaco's muse (Birelli Lagrene, Jon Davis, Brian Melvin etc), the product was second and even third rate. But, in short, some of what he did was absolutely marvelous.[/quote] +1 (still think his best work ever was on "Refuge of the Road" with Joni Mitchell)

[quote name='BeLow' post='404727' date='Feb 9 2009, 09:15 PM']Because I am very old I can recall Pino being interviewed by the bassist mag and I think I recall him saying he played that track on the pedulla, on which he subsequently wrecked the fretboard with his slap playing. I would say that is a Vigier in the video as well.[/quote] I feel also old and remember the same interview mentioning the Pedulla on that song.

I like Donna a lot ! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqdX7YaIrdE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqdX7YaIrdE[/url]

Nick Lowe...loved that bass sound on "Breaking Glass"

I am a huge Paul Simon fan and I think Graceland is one of the best albums ever...the basslines had a big impact on me and I still feel that everytime I play. Just recently I noticed how many times Paul sings out of key during live gigs..It was also a bit painful when I saw him on "Later with Jools..." during the piano chat. He seemed to have some mental problems, looked depressed and he refused to watch the old footage of himself. He doesn't seem to be very happy. I still think he is one of the best singer songwriters ever...his lyrics really move me and there are too many excellent examples to quote.

and the midi used to be here...The two Wals at the left (MKI and II have also already been sold meanwhile)

[quote name='spiritchaser' post='380305' date='Jan 14 2009, 04:02 PM']Right now my wall of Wals looks like this (apart from my Hybrid Pro I fretless). Sorry wombatboter, couldn't resist Jensenmann's MK III six-string - we just swapped - MK II Midi 4 for MK III 6 fretless and agreed on swapping back occasionally if need be So, here's another challenge for the short-fingered player... I reckon you'd even be able to surf with this bass tc[/quote] No problem, Oliver....I change basses so much that I totally understand. The midi-Wal is not the easiest thing to master and certainly involves a huge challenge. I was not able to use it in a band situation. Sixstring is too difficult for me but good luck with your collection ! Give my regards to your charming girlfriend too...!

For the moment I have these four Wals.... fretless Pro, fretted MKI shedua, blue MKI fretted and a shedua MKI fretless

Well, this is a nice comment and it makes my Monday morning a bit better :-) Thanks for the input and the comments...I can do something with that.

What a great bass-sound.. very crispy and rich. Love the approach too, you bring out the huge possibilities of a bass. Great stuff...