MikeyTron

[quote name='matty589' post='172880' date='Apr 9 2008, 06:47 PM']Most people think they sound good but they don't. Mark King was and is a fabulous bass player, but he's a better fingerstyle player. Marcus sounds great as a fingerstyle player but these days he can't play a bass line without slapping, which is why all his recent solo albums sound the same. If you listen to the earlier more fusion-influenced Level 42 tracks there are some wicked fingerstyle lines. Marcus is a monster sideman as his career in the 70's and 80's shows. Slap sounds good in a very specific area of music and is a niche technique that should be used only when it is appropriate. A lot of bass players can slap for days but can't hold a groove, lock in with a drummer, follow a chart or be sensitive to a type of song. The "pat" style of slapping is less obtrusive but still sticks out more in a track than either fingerstyle or pick playing. The other problem is that your harmonic choices are much more limited by the style of technique - the right hand is stuck over the fingerboard. Finally if you want to develop a style and sound of your own good luck as when you slap you sound like everyone else that slaps. I have heard 1000's of Mark King, marcus and more recently Victor Wooten clones. If you're going to do it a least try to do something different with it, like Alain Caron for example (although I still prefer his fingerstyle playing). It's a bit like fretless, it immediately sounds the same as everyone else unless you try to do something different with it (Mick Karn for example). Playing any instrument is about making music, and if you concentrate on a particular technique you miss the point. It's like sweep-picking on the guitar - a nice effect when used very sparingly but annoying and unmusical when overused.[/quote] i like what you say there. there are way too many w***y bass players who just slap the hell out of their bass and i for one can not stand any sort of music like that, though i do like Primus lol! but at least thats creative. though i can NOT stand flea. i prefer a minimalist approach to slapping such as what you might hear Prince do. real basic stuff using only 3-4 notes.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='200116' date='May 16 2008, 04:45 PM']Nice, does it sound much like a stingray?[/quote] it sounds exactly like the bass sound on the intro to "Behind The Sun" by RHCP (was that a stingray or modulus?) and pretty much any track off King For A Day Fool For A Lifetime by Faith No More lol! well thats what i tell people when they ask because it does, and thats just its natrual tone. if the tax man is nice to me this year i'll have mr joe zon build me a passive 519 version of it and put this one up for sale. unless i can find a black status 5er series 1, 2 or barracuda for sale

cheers for the welcome heres a pic of my zon...

g'day from the land of oz! in melbourne this here is me MikeyTron, been playing 10 or so years current gear is: Mark Bass F1 Labsystems 410 HP Zon Sonus 5/1 Korg Ampworks Bass Pre-Amp looking forward to me stay here @ bass chat!