MNY

I watched the David Crosby documentary just this morning. Very interesting and incredibly sad at the same time, I saw him in Manchester a couple of years ago with his phenomenal band and the whole concert was simply amazing even though I knew very few of the songs he played.

I am really referring to players who are involved in the production of albums in the studio. I was out walking yesterday listening to Jimmy Johnson playing with Lee Ritenour and I thought of the golden age of GRP in the 80’s. A label which spawned many a good album featuring some of the best session players around including many of the aforementioned individuals. It got me thinking about the new wave of players. Not really knowing many, I wondered who was getting the work, although it seems that it could well be a case of the work having drastically dried up amidst a rapidly changing music scene.

Likewise, he is a fabulous player. I’ve checked out loads of his stuff.

Indeed it is, thanks for pointing this out. I have seen another version where Sam Wilkes plays effectively the same line with some further embellishments. I have also seen a brilliant French bassist called Emeline Fougerie who plays along to the track and absolutely kills it.

I recently bought a Vigier Passion 5 string from them. I exchanged a few emails with Mark prior to driving down from the NW. He was courteous and helpful. When I arrived at the shop he wasn’t there however his colleagues were also helpful and the purchase went smoothly. When I unpacked the bass at home later in the day, I found that there was a fairly expensive boxed Aguilar pedal in one of the gig bag pockets. I phoned the shop to explain and asked if they could arrange for it to be collected, only to be asked in a subsequent phone call to post it back to them, something which I duly did. However this required a non essential visit to Asda where my local post office is located. I did let the shop know by email that I had sent the pedal back (RRP £200) and got a brief thanks which is fair enough but no offer of covering the postage cost which would have been a nice gesture , after all I am pretty sure some folk may have been tempted to say nothing and keep the pedal. Good job I believe in karma I guess, and being totally honest the thought of keeping it never entered my head. I must also add that I would happily buy from them again, their selection of instruments and gear is as good as I’ve seen in a long time, perhaps since the hey day of the Bass Centre Wapping.

You’re welcome. His playing on the Knower track ‘Hangin On’ is wonderful. I think he also plays on one of the more recent Chaka Khan albums. A similar player with a more jazzy approach is Nick Campbell.

I think they might be Andrew Gouche protégés, I know Bubby certainly is. I will check out Ethan Farmer this morning ,thanks. One for you if you haven’t heard him is Matthew Ramsay, who plays with Shaun Martin from Snarky Puppy.

No not far off at although they are not session players per se, but as other posters have mentioned it may be that the face of music has transitioned to a point that session players/studio musicians are no longer relevant. Both players are good suggestions though as both are world class musicians who play music rooted in jazz, funk and fusion.

With a definite leaning towards jazz based styles including funk and fusion, I have been used to listening to players like Chuck Rainey, Abe Laboriel, Nathan East, Marcus Miller, Jimmy Johnson, Will Lee,Jimmy Haslip and UK based players like Pino, Randy Hope Taylor, Julian Crampton and Laurence Cottle. I am really interested to hear who you all feel the new wave of studio players are, especially as I could really do with some new music to track down and hopefully enjoy, and just because I am interested to see how music is changing. Let’s face it most of the players on my list are in the 60’s and 70’s now so there must be some younger bassists around. I can only think of one off the top of my head Sharay Reed,. Happy to hear from you if you want to discuss studio bass players old and new. Cheers,

I am not 100% sure but the drummer might be a guy called Dylan Elise who has posted loads of street busking vids previously. He has some serious chops. His is also a highly rated seasoned touring pro.

Thank you very much. I will have a good mooch for some of their music. Keep posting your suggestions please and I will see what I can dredge up from the memory banks. 😀

Great rhythm section on this. Being that I’m actually a drummer in disguise as a bassist, I was drawn to the drums on this, very much my style, grooving ghost notes, although this guy is obviously top class. Some very nice bass as well. Great shout!

Unashamedly huge Rob Mullarkey fan here. This is really sublime and definitely needs decent headphones to capture the sheer brilliance of the bass line. His tone and his approach are always so on point. Incredible player.

Very nice, what’s the band called please, I haven’t got my reading glasses so I can’t read the title properly. The groove sounds very Incognito although I am guessing this band may pre date Incognito. Very nice all the same. Sounds like Tom Misch might have had a listen as well, especially to the bassline.

I don’t know if you have heard this track but Rob Mullarkey is totally killing it here. What a wonderful player. Fabulous octave sound on this from the Cog pedal.

Garrett Sayers is a total monster. One of THE modern funk players.

More from the fabulous Jarrod Lawson.

Another relatively unknown artist who has produced a couple of cracking albums, this is from his debut.

Not especially well known but a real gem of an album.

Not especially well known but a real gem of an album.

I wouldn’t worry about the slight marking in the neck. Cort know what they are doing when it comes to building what are arguably some of the best value for money basses and guitars on the planet. Just enjoy playing your new bass.

@thodrik you’re welcome. Thank you. I hope in some way the story was as interesting as the bass.

Hello All, My Vigier story is quite an unusual one. Some years ago not long after I first started to play bass I tracked down a JD Supernatural to a shop in Birkenhead called Fusion Music. I hadn’t ever seen one in the flesh let alone had the opportunity to buy one, despite them becoming popular off the back of the success of Level 42. I remember travelling with my Dad over the water from Wigan to view and purchase the said JD. Whilst we were in the shop looking at the bass which was on a shelf about 10 feet in the air, we got chatting to a French gentleman who had several flight cases with him. I believe this was early 80’s and may even have been Mr.Vigier himself looking to set up a UK dealer network. He showed me a Vigier Passion bass which I vaguely remember being a red/orange burst. The bass definitely had a full graphite neck and I do remember him eschewing the virtues of the bass for slap styles. I could have bought the bass off him for around the same price as the JD just under £700, but frankly I had no idea what I was looking at. I ended up buying the JD which looking back I probably loved because it was played by Mark King. It was an ok bass but went in trade for a Status a couple of years later. I bet if I’d bought the Vigier I would have saved myself a few quid swapping basses. Not being much of a handy man I have always found myself getting frustrated when having to mess about adjusting truss rods and bridge saddles, I know some folks like it but to me it’s a chore and a waste of playing time. Over the past few weeks I have struggled with the changing temperatures and even though my basses were stored in a stable environment their necks were definitely moving, practically every day. In my frustration I started to look at basses with more stable necks like Spector and Dingwall and came across a shop in Blackburn that had a couple of Vigier basses in stock. From there the research started. I literally scoured the internet and read as much as I could about the brand including several threads on this very site. I couldn’t find any negativity at all (apart from one absurd review in an online bass magazine which slated the build quality and lack of truss rod). After a chat with my lovely long suffering and ever reasonable wife I despatched myself off to Warwick to visit the brilliant Bass Direct to view the only stock Passion bass I could find in the UK. A beautiful blue 5 string. On the snowy drive down I tried to convince myself it was maybe too expensive, it was a 5 string (I haven’t ever kept one for a long period) I should look at other guitars including some Sadowskys, Mayones and maybe the stunning Haynes bass they have in stock. On arrival I was presented with an incredibly beautiful Vigier bass to try through a Genzler rig similar to my own and from there it was game over. I could have bought half of the basses in the shop for what I was going to shell out for the Vigier, minus the p/ex on my own basses of course. Needless to say I didn’t even look at the extensive range of drool worthy items on display. Initial impressions are very positive. The sound is not really what I am I used to hearing having played wooden necked Jazz bass variants in the main with a couple of exceptions, but it’s a really amazing tone especially with both pickups engaged, when it seems to have a real growl. This is my favourite setting for both finger playing and slap. I have been worried about the low B but I needn’t have been, not only does it sound clear as a bell I am enjoying using it as it never sounds at all woolly. Sorry for the long post, I sincerely hope that the Vigier remains in my possession for a very long time as I can’t imagine that there is much better out there in terms of quality of build or tone. The look won’t be to everyone’s taste but I find it quite refreshing and faithful to the ‘one that got away’ all those years ago. My very best wishes to you all for the year ahead.

This is a seriously good 5 string jazz bass for the money. https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Cort_GB75_JJ_SFGP.html

I remember seeing the band live at Salford Uni around the time the first album was released. They played most of the album and I must say Pat Kane was outstanding, as was the rest of the band. I believe James Finnegan played his black Vigier on that gig. What a player he is!