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Wealthy bass players


4 candles
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Allegedly, wooten is far better than the guy from oasis/blink 182 or

BUT

Who earns more money? lets say per annum

the man with the ability to play any style, perform unaccompanied and still sound great, conversent in all styles, solo upon request, play 16th notes with ease,, slap,tap,thump etc,etc,etc has solo albums that the majority of people have never heared of, plays for a group that the majority of people have never heared of, but is regarded among his peers as "the greatest"

or

A root note player, who has a good image, an endorsement, who plays around the world in a very succesfull band

Who is financially better off?

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[quote name='4 candles' post='989589' date='Oct 15 2010, 07:41 PM']Allegedly, wooten is far better than the guy from oasis/blink 182 or

BUT

Who earns more money? lets say per annum

the man with the ability to play any style, perform unaccompanied and still sound great, conversent in all styles, solo upon request, play 16th notes with ease,, slap,tap,thump etc,etc,etc has solo albums that the majority of people have never heared of, plays for a group that the majority of people have never heared of, but is regarded among his peers as "the greatest"

or

A root note player, who has a good image, an endorsement, who plays around the world in a very succesfull band

Who is financially better off?[/quote]


If Andy Bell is still playing with oasis, then he is a far better musician than a root note player, check his guitar and vocal contribution to RIDE in the early 90s

I believe he was also involved in the writing process for oasis, but I never kept up with them to be sure of the details


But I get the idea, Wooten and the like are not your normal band member


Id guess there are many root note bass players who have done very well being part of popular bands, if they had a good deal on paper


Don't know what the answer is but Im keen to know now

Edited by lojo
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[quote name='4 candles' post='989589' date='Oct 15 2010, 07:41 PM']Allegedly, wooten is far better than the guy from oasis/blink 182 or

BUT

Who earns more money? lets say per annum

the man with the ability to play any style, perform unaccompanied and still sound great, conversent in all styles, solo upon request, play 16th notes with ease,, slap,tap,thump etc,etc,etc has solo albums that the majority of people have never heared of, plays for a group that the majority of people have never heared of, but is regarded among his peers as "the greatest"

or

A root note player, who has a good image, an endorsement, who plays around the world in a very succesfull band

Who is financially better off?[/quote]

Is this a sensible question?

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Well I think we all know that ability has very rarely anything to do with earnings.

If you're looking for the highest earning bass player, then I suspect crazykiwi has hit the nail on the head.

EDIT: But I think monetary earnings is only one side of things. I suspect Victor Wooten is more than happy with his life and the fact he can play what he wants pretty much with whoever he wants :)

Edited by purpleblob
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It is interesting that Adam Clayton is mentioned as a root note player. What is being overlooked here is first, the early U2 stuff, Adam was not a root note player, even up to the forth and fifth albums he was not a root note player. Secondly, Adam managed U2 in the early days and got them the gigs, promotion and kept them all together untill Paul McGuinness stepped in. Thirdly Adam contributes to the music as a unit and does not just turn up and play whatever he wants or is told. The point to remember is that U2 works as a group so the success is shared where as Wooten does not. U2 is commercial where as Wooten, if he likes it or not, is not commercial and appeals to a niche market.

Maybe to answer your question then Adam is more succesful commercially and Wooten has failed despite being a far better bass player technically. Mark King is probably the best example of getting it right. Technically an amazing bass player as well as being commercially successful with Level 42.

Edited by Linus27
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Was it Stu Hamm or Sheehan at bassday (I think Stu) that said he loved Cliff williams way of using simple notes and keeping it tight, So tight it gave the band that sound AC/DC. Why is it some people get a few grades they think they are above all that? A good pop band doesnt need rules and theory it needs imagination IMO,As soon as you say that to a muso they think lots of notes and their best licks when sometimes a solid groove is all it needs, If you dont understand that then its likely your not a groover either.

This thread just fits alongside your others 4candles you appear to need a few beers and a chill out?

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[quote name='4 candles' post='989589' date='Oct 15 2010, 07:41 PM']Allegedly, wooten is far better than the guy from oasis/blink 182 or

BUT

Who earns more money? lets say per annum

the man with the ability to play any style, perform unaccompanied and still sound great, conversent in all styles, solo upon request, play 16th notes with ease,, slap,tap,thump etc,etc,etc has solo albums that the majority of people have never heared of, plays for a group that the majority of people have never heared of, but is regarded among his peers as "the greatest"

or

A root note player, who has a good image, an endorsement, who plays around the world in a very succesfull band

Who is financially better off?[/quote]

Just to stir it up as someone mentioned Mark King getting it right,Is Flea a good root note player? :)

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+ 1 that the money is in songwriting.

Prime example is definately Oasis;

"Noel had often joked to McGee that the whole Rock-and-Roll industry was built around one ambition - to own a chocolate brown Rolls Royce. Following the success of (What's the Story) Morning Glory, Creation Records held a banquet to thank the band. Bonehead, Guigsey and White received valuable Rolex watches, to Liam went a solid gold Rolex. Then came Noel [the songwriter], to whom McGee bequeathed the much-desired chocolate brown Rolls Royce."

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[quote name='purpleblob' post='989621' date='Oct 15 2010, 08:10 PM']Well I think we all know that ability has very rarely anything to do with earnings.[/quote]

So true...going by the Mick Karn thread I think that respect from your fellow bass players is equally important - at least till the time to pay the bills is concerned. Would you rather be a rich, talentless sh*t or a respected player with little cash? What ever happened to integrity?

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[quote name='TheGreek' post='991540' date='Oct 17 2010, 08:09 PM']So true...going by the Mick Karn thread I think that respect from your fellow bass players is equally important - at least till the time to pay the bills is concerned. Would you rather be a rich, talentless sh*t or a respected player with little cash? What ever happened to integrity?[/quote]

We all sold our integrity to pay the bills! :)

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