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Your 5 most influential/inspirational bassists


grayn
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[quote name='dood' post='1082461' date='Jan 8 2011, 07:07 PM']Amongst my favourites would be:

Paul Gilbert and John Pettrucci... yes, I know, I know.. but actually their playing style and approach to their instruments has been a huge influence on me and my playing. Their strings are just thinner ha ha![/quote]

If i'd know guitarists were allowed i would have said the same :) and steve vai xD

Haha,

My mum and i have been after a PGM300 (The non trem one) for two years for my brothers 21st! Another year too go haha

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[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='1082544' date='Jan 8 2011, 08:27 PM']My mum and i have been after a PGM300 (The non trem one) for two years for my brothers 21st! Another year too go haha[/quote]


Very cool - actually my favourite guitar! Like this:




That actually is Paul Gilbert's very own well used, well battered PGM300 series I am lovingly pawwing! I'd LOVE that guitar!

/sorry off topic!

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[quote name='ezbass' post='1082397' date='Jan 8 2011, 06:18 PM']A hugely underated player and a great harmony singer too. Van Halen's loss is Chickenfoot's gain.[/quote]
Needs to ditch the Yammies and get back to the Stingrays IMO... :)

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[quote name='skej21' post='1076495' date='Jan 3 2011, 05:15 PM']1. Pino Palladino - 'Nuff said.

2. Danny Thompson - I was lucky enough to be called up as a replacement for Danny and got to meet him. Nice bloke and great player too.

3. Baghiti Khumalo - One word. [i]Graceland. [/i] so agree what a player

4. Charles Mingus - Again, 'nuff said.

5. Jaco Pastorius - Just because I don't think there's a bassist on the planet that doesn't owe him some credit for their playing.[/quote]

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1 jason newsted..... amazing solid player and very underated
2 cliff burton...... i dont think i need to comment. please dont put a gay quote up asking why!!
3 stuart zender.... great bassist in the early jamiroquai days
4 mike dirnt....dookie was amazing and really opend my eyes to melody and tone
5 fieldy.....purely because of the sound he gets and the originality of that

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[quote name='dood' post='1082461' date='Jan 8 2011, 07:07 PM']Amongst my favourites would be:

Paul Gilbert and John Pettrucci... yes, I know, I know.. but actually their playing style and approach to their instruments has been a huge influence on me and my playing. Their strings are just thinner ha ha![/quote]

Actually Frank Marino was a huge early influence on my playing so I completely get where you're coming from. I always wanted the fluidity I heard from him so went in the opposite direction to the back-pickup, ghost-noted, staccato thing that became so popular.

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  • 2 months later...

Just 5? Gosh that's going to be tough. Well, here's my list, 5 being the most influential...

Billy Sheehan - It all started when I saw him shred on youtube. He influenced and inspired me to develop my 3 finger technique.

Jaco - Jaco has and always will be a hero to me. He's the sole reason I picked up the fretless, and he's prolly the biggest reason why I chose to stick with it. He also made me realize that there's a lot more tone in a bass than we think there is. :)

Steve Lawson - The first time I heard a solo bass track by Steve, I was blown away. How he has managed to interweave harmony and melody with just one instrument astounds me to this day. And the use of loops. Truly a modern day hero.

Marcus Miller - The tone gives me a high everytime I hear it. The grooves, the fills, the technique, and by God that beautiful bass of his... And that hat... Coolness at its limit, I'd say!!

Victor Wooten - I don't think there's enough space here to hold what I can say about Victor. I met and jammed with him. And that day's memory still makes me smile. A legend so humble, and yet so powerful. His words of wisdom still ring my head.. I asked him if I was playing the right notes in between the improv session, and he told me it didn't matter. That the notes sisn't know they were wrong haha...

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[quote name='ezbass' post='1082397' date='Jan 8 2011, 06:18 PM']A hugely underated player and a great harmony singer too. Van Halen's loss is Chickenfoot's gain.[/quote]

+1 for Mike Anthony
Doesn't say much for the others in the band when they do this kinda thing to a long time member.

1. Jack Bruce
2. Geddy Lee
3. Percy Jones
4. Jeff Berlin
5. Dave Hope

Dave

Edited by dmccombe7
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5 Bassists who made me want to pick up a bass as a kid:

1, John Taylor - Look beyond the eyeliner & in my opinion produced some great bass lines, e.g. 'Rio'
2, Mick Karn - I used to 'borrow' my brother's Japan albums when he was out......wonderful! R.I.P.
3, Pino Palladino - First discovered his playing on Paul Young's 'No Parlez' album.
4, Deon Estus - Wasn't a fan of Wham but loved his bass lines. e.g. 'Club Tropicana'
5, Rutger Gunnarsson - Unsung hero of the ABBA sound in my opinion.

My 5 all time-influences

1, Bernard Edwards
2, James Jamerson
3, Larry Graham
4, Norman Watt-Roy
5, John Deacon

There are so many others who have influenced me: Jack Bruce, John Entwhistle, Trevor Bolder, Jim Lea, John Wetton, Roger Glover, Geddy Lee, Verndine White, Flea, Bruce Foxton, Roger Waters, Guy Pratt........I could go on. :)

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  • 1 month later...

My five… No particular order (They have all been number 1 at different times :))

Justin Chancellor - (Tool, Peach, Intronaught)
John Davis - (Nerve/Jojo Mayer)
Radek 'Bond' Bednarz - (Miloopa, Fat Burning Step)
Les Claypool - (Primus… Duh!)
Billy Gould - (Faith No More)

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Influence and inspiration are very personal things; I'm not sure my list would translate more objectively:

1) Cliff Burton - Metallica
2) Dave Ellefon - Megadeth
3) Steve Harris - Iron Maiden
4) Tom Araya - Slayer
5) Geezer Butler - Black Sabbath

Great call on Chuck Schuldiner, above - what a talent that man was.

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Andy Rourke (reason i started)
Greg K
Flea
Victor Wooten
Tim Commerford

i know Greg K (the Offspring) will appear a strange choice but this is what i was listening to when i was first playing bass and as a result can almost play right through their first five or six albums to this day :)

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Entwistle - The Grand Master. His Alembics of the late 70s/early 80s provided my holy grail of tone.

John Deacon - My first exposure to what the bass was, kindly pointed out by my Dad when I was about four, watching the BoRhap vid.

Geddy Lee - Say no more.

Chris Squire - Utterly fascinating bass lines and amazing, unique sound.

Geezer Butler - Those early Sabbath records are an ideal education in rock bass playing.

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1. Steve Harris...grew up on Maiden from 82 onwards,he was the reason I started playing,what`s not to like about `Arry
2.Doug Pinnick..( Kings X ) really distinctive sound,great player
3.Geddy Lee...we all love him
4.Mike Starr..( Alice in Chains original bassist ) saw him 92 ( I think ) and loved the evil attitude he had,and great sound
5.Pete Trewavas.. ( Marillion ) great style, always seems to have the "right" bass line for the song,whether it be complicated or simple, which I think all the above do too, and for me is the best quality of a great player.

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Well wouldn't say influential exactly since I can barely string two notes together, never mind actually emulating any briliant players. But I'd say my faves would probably be...

Andy Fraser
John Paul Jones
Chris Squire
Jack Bruce
Paul McCartney

Inspirational, yes :)

seashell

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Hmm i'd probs say:-

1) Tim Commerford (Rage Against the Machine) - Heard RATM when i was pretty young and instantly fell in love with the sound - Know your enemy amazed me (One reason I got my tattoo)
2) Geddy Lee (Rush) - In all honesty, i read that Tim C liked Rush and Geddy Lee - So i investigated. Moving Pictures is still one of my favourite albums ever.
3) Billy Sheehan (Mr Big) - Saw some solo bass vids when i was younger. and adored them.
4) Chris Wolstenholme (Muse) - Loved his use of fx and fuzz.
5) Joe Principe (Rise Against) - Just love his tone and what he does in songs. Great fun lines.

I seem to like the letter "R" with band names.

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as before only 5???

In order of their appearance and subsequent effect on my playing:-

Sting - Yes they were pop songs but very very few of their tunes were what you could consider "throwaway" in musical terms.... he has a remarkable way of doing something clever in nearly every police song.....big big influence.

Micheal Anthony - So you wanna play rock music??? Fell in love with Van Halen and whilst that was in no small part due to EVH and DLR, Micheal Anthony was the building blocks for all the rest of the bombast.... As said previously VH loss is Chickenfoots gain....

Billy Sheehan - The biggest leap ive taken in terms of style, technique and approach was following DLR's "eat em and smile" album... have devoured everything Billy sheehan has come up with, absorbed shed loads of his stuff into my style and can safely say that i still know only 5% of what he knows..... I can now sit in a 3 piece band and when the solo kicks in ... you will not notice, all because of mr sheehan.

Mark King - Took a left turn after Mr sheehan and as per everyone else was astounded by what he does and how he does it.... Never really mastered the slap stuff but love his fingerstyle stuff.... a true funk/fusion monster.

Geddy Lee - Got into Rush late - about 10 years ago - what the hell was i thinking?? Getting into geddy has given me another sheehan esque push....

There are plenty of others but these are the significant influences in chronological order.

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  • 7 months later...

I'm having 6.
Not to everyone's taste, but here's a few that got me hooked.
John Deacon (Queen)
Pete Way (UFO / Waysted / Michael Schenker Group)
Paul Gray (Eddie And The Hot Rods / The Damned / UFO)
Bruce Foxton (The Jam / Stiff Little Fingers)
Dee Dee Ramone (Ramones)
JJ Burnel (The Stranglers)

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