Funky Dunky

This line-up is damn scary. For starters, if you put Richie Kotzen in One Direction I would probably buy their album. BUT put him at the front of a band with Sheehan and Portnoy, and frankly I'm scared mummy. It's not just a technique fest, either. This is ace songwriting to boot.

I must say, I've only been a member here a few days, but I'm really impressed by the depth of knowledge you guys have. I'm a relative novice, but folk being able to identify the type of strings used on a recording from 30-odd years ago amazes me!

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1375196942' post='2157991'] Hm, BBC uses Wikipedia as a source of many of its "articles". This is not said to cast doubt on your statement, rather to lament the decline of Auntie :-( [/quote] Wikipedia gets a lot of stick - encyclopaedia Brittanica it ain't, but it's not as unreliable as it's made out to be. It gets demonized by some because not everything on it is correct, but it's not completely untrustworthy. When it comes to research, I say shame on anyone who accepts information from one source as Gospel, unless it's a bona fide primary source. Unless we find a quote from someone involved in the recording, we can't be certain of who recorded the bass on YTOTIW, but certainly the stronger evidence suggests Hungate.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1375199501' post='2158027'] I think it's David Hungate and not Max Bennet because the bass tone is so very different to that which Bennett usually has . It sounds very much like a Precision with roundwounds played with a pick , which was indeed Hungate's signature sound on the L.A studio work he did around this time . Max Bennett ,on the other hand , had a very clunky flatwounds with loads of treble on kind of a sound . It's possible that the track was recorded more than once , with Bennett playing on one version and Hungate on a different take that may indeed have ended up being the one eventually selected for the album . [/quote] This.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1375190236' post='2157873'] On a pedantic note , I also thought that David Hungate ( great player) played the bassline on "You're The One That I Want " , but after mentioning it on the forum I was duly informed by several members that it was in fact Max Bennett . If you have evidence to the contrary then please let it be known , because that would mean that I might have been right after all . It sounds a lot more like David Hungate than Max Bennett to me . [/quote] The proof I have isn't particularly definitive unfortunately, I checked numerous bios of Hungate, all of which list him as the bassist on the aforementioned track. These bios include AOL and BBC as sources.

James Jamerson........was Deon Estus' bass teacher....

Rio! Hells yeah! That bassline is the mutt's nuts!

Some nice suggestions here guys - Too Shy is a great shout, and you can't go wrong with a bit of Wham - well, you absolutely can actually - but with the great Deon Estus on bass, good basslines are commonplace. Keep 'em coming guys

Thanks to the quality of session players, or sometimes just sheer luck or brilliance, sometimes awesome basslines appear in the most unusual places. Not necessarily "lame" songs, but......."surprising ones", is maybe a nicer way of putting it. I would nominate David Hungate's brilliant line in 'You're the one that I want" and Neil Jason's stonking playing on "Fame" as contenders. What about you guys? NB - I WILL accept "every Level 42 song" as an answer.

Bert - the B-Town is Beith in North Ayrshire. I'm originally from Motherwell, but gotnon the wrong bus one day and had no money to get home, so I built crude accommodation from tree bark and the skin of junkies.

Hahahaha!!! Fantastic!

Hi peoples, I'm Duncan, a 36 year old reptilian from the planet Scotland. After 20 years as a guitarist, I made the switch I've been itching to pitch for 18 years, and decided to ditch...wait....this is ridiculous....let me start again... About 2 years into my adventure in guitar, I realised I was drawn more to what the low end did in music, particularly rhythmically and particularly in funk, soul, disco music etc. I resolved that I would one day get around to learning bass, and last year the opportunity presented itself when a colleague happened to mention that she "had a bass gathering dust in her attic". Reading that back, it sounds like a euphemism to me. Anyhoo, I took the instrument off her hands (an aging pink Jim Deacon P-style) and got to work. I resolved to learn fingerstyle and made encouraging progress in a very short space of time. I purchased a Fender Bronco amp and began to make a regular nuisance of myself, devouring as many basslines as I could. I'm not "good" but I'm happy with my progress to date. I love funk, soul, disco, metal, blues and rock music. My favourite bassists are too great in number to name, but I'm in love with the instrument and so of the opinion that there's something to learn from everyone. I'm particularly inspired by Victor Wooten, Mark King, Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins, Bernard Edwards, James Jamerson, Francis Rocco Prestia and at the risk of cliche, Flea is of course a huge influence too. However, I love Billy Sheehan (the soloing actually does surprisingly little for me, but I think the basslines and tone are incredible) John Myung, Jeff Berlin, Chris Wolstenholme, Justin Chancellor, Matt Freeman, Robert Deleo and some lesser-touted guys like Neil Jason and Ben Folds Five's Robert Sledge. I assure you this is not indicative of typical post length, but I thought I'd squeeze as much as I can into it seeing as it's an introduction. I look forward to getting to know you all, and exchanging tips and info on the low end. Cheers, Duncan

That's good advice Maude, definitely my way of thinking. I like your philosophy! I have to say also that I love the look of the Sub Ray 4 in wthe Walnut finish. Ticks most of the boxes, all I need to know is how versatile it is tone-wise. I gotta say though, I have absolutely nowt against the Squier VM Jazz, I dig the looks and love the tones from those Duncan designed pickups, so it is between that and the Sub Ray 4 and I think only a road test will help me choose.

Sorry, I meant to address the Yamaha TRBX too - I saw a youtube vid of the 504 and was very impressed with the range of tones, especially the slap. Not feeling the look of the thing (fussy b*stard me :-p) but I will toddle along and try out a 304 and see what happens. At the moment, my head says Squier and my heart and groin say Sterling Sub.

Hi guys, I'm the aforementiones mate and this is my first post on Basschat. Thanks for all the advice so far, all taken on board and appreciated. Here's my thinking: The Tanglewater is an awesome bass and fantastic bargain. It makes very little sense not to pursue that, but the only problem is not being able to play one. I know, beggars and choosers etc - but I have questions. Will the neck be right for my hands? How about the weight? How compatible with my amp is it (a Fender Bronco)? Sad to say, if I can't road test it, I can't buy it :-( The Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass seems like the obvious choice - versatile, lovely looking bass, great range of tones IMO, and of course wonderfully affordable. However.......as Fraser says, I'm primarily playing funk and slap , and my favourite slap tone in the known universe is the one which emanates from Stingray basses. It's in that unmistakable growl and click - it just does something to me on a sexual level (lol). My budget falls significantly short of the real deal, and even the less expensive MM basses. This therefore leaves me the Sub Ray 4 as my only option, other than trawling the net looking for a second hand bargain. But.....how versatile.is the Sub Ray 4? Is it capable of mellow tones? Dunno yet, so to the music shops I go, to road test a few candidates. Cheers, Duncan