Best/Favorite Bassists

[MindMachine]

No specific order:

Felix Pappalardi : Mountain, etc.
Tony Visconti: Bowie, etc.
Paul McCartney
Ralph Armstrong: Jean Luc Ponty, etc.
Gary Thain: Keef Hartley & Uriah Heep
Percy Jones: Eno, Brand X, etc.
Chris Squire: Yes
Geddy Lee: Rush
Mark Andes: Spirit, etc.
Bob Daisley: Rainbow, Ozzy, etc.
Steve York: Manfred Mann III, etc.
Tony Levin: King Crimson II, etc.
Chuck Dukowski: Black Flag, Wurm, SWA


Watching live clips of Daisley and Thain tonight and wishing I could come close to them on bass.

[johny_gtr]

John Paul Jones (LZ), Flea (RHCP, AfP), Thundercat, Juan Alderete (Mars Volta), Chris Wolstrnholme (Muse)
I like bass riffs in rock and these guys created them a lot.

[Hyberus]

Even though I dislike pretty much everything Magma ever made: Jannick Top . . .


For this, basically

[Fog Door]

I thought it was some kind of law that Jaco Pastorius has to be top of the bassist list

[Dilibob]

I thought it was some kind of law that Jaco Pastorius has to be top of the bassist list

If it's not, it should be. I do thing Jaco doesnt fit in any standard category.

[onthebandwagon]

Jah Wobble

[levelhead3]

Jah Wobble

+1 for Jah Wobble. 'Gone to Croatia' is one of my favorite songs of all time.

Marcus Miller
Steve Harris
Bill Laswell (notable for so much more but his bass playing is remarkable)
Jonas Hellborg

and on upright there really is the king imo - Edgar Meyer

[jeremisssx]

+1 for Jah Wobble ! Especially during his PIL period

Lemmy (Hawkwind era)
Holger Czukay (Can)
Dave Alexander (Stooges)

[nostalghia]

Some well known guys not mentioned yet (just because they are popular choices or seem obvious doesn't reduce their standing as topnotch bassists):

John Entwistle
Les Claypool
Jack Bruce
John Wetton
Victor Wooten
Stanley Clarke
Bootsy Collins
Larry Graham
Stu Hamm
Billy Sheehan
Jeff Berlin

"Behind the scenes" players on a million sessions (you know the songs but maybe not the bassist on it):
Carol Kaye
James Jamerson

Maybe not "virtuoso" musicians but worthy of mention due to their distinctive style and as early pioneers of a new genre:
Geezer Butler
Peter Hook
Mike Watt

And finally, when Jeff Beck picks you for his band, that speaks volumes (she's also recorded on projects with Prince, Clapton, Herbie Hancock, John Mayer, Todd Rundgren, Dave Gilmour, Brian Wilson, Hans Zimmer, etc):
Tal Wilkenfeld

[eewee]

Doug Wimbish, which I know primarily from Living Colour. Listen to ‘Stain’, and try to ignore Vernon Reid for a minute :-)

[levelhead3]

gosh, so many good players!

honorable home-town mention: Paul Hinklin

if you don't know, you should...

https://sadhappy.bandcamp.com/album/liv ... -were-dead

[naturligfunktion]

They are so many, but I got to give the first place to the maestro himself

- Ron Carter -



(Most recorded studio bassist I believe! Has a great study book too!)

[Licudi]

Funny how much these things are based on time and place; in the UK in the 1980s, Pino Palladino would have topped any poll. Now he doesn't even make the list.

[cretaceousear]

Funny how much these things are based on time and place; in the UK in the 1980s, Pino Palladino would have topped any poll. Now he doesn't even make the list.

I think that could be because the bands he played for and his style of playing has dated a bit. A lot of flanging and moody fretless. Disinctive certainly but tending to bland.

Wetton 'n Wobble for me and anyone who played for Christian Vander.

[levelhead3]

Funny how much these things are based on time and place; in the UK in the 1980s, Pino Palladino would have topped any poll. Now he doesn't even make the list.

I think that could be because the bands he played for and his style of playing has dated a bit. A lot of flanging and moody fretless. Disinctive certainly but tending to bland.

Poor Pino, gettin' no love here. Yet this is the man who replaced Entwistle. And basically kick-started the flatwound P-Bass tonal obsession with D'Angelo. He's well moved past his early fretless voice (sadly, imo).

[Licudi]

Mick Karn was another 1980s bassplayer (somewhat earlier than Pino) who went out of fashion.

[wavecircle]

Stuart Zender, the spine of Jamiroquai before they turned complete trash.

[cretaceousear]

Mick Karn was another 1980s bassplayer (somewhat earlier than Pino) who went out of fashion.

Yeah good call - felt he had a bit more bite than Pino.

[exper]

Hooky, Mani, Larry Graham, Simon Gallup and Andy Rourke.

[kwaidan]

Early Jah Wobble.
Richard Hell.
Ron Asheton on Raw Power LP.
Lemmy.

[Liddlepud]

Mike Watt and Lemmy have already been mentioned but another one of my favourites is Leslie Langston from Throwing Muses.

[cptnal]

Wot no Mingus?

Also:


My other faves have already been mentioned, but special consideration to Jah Wobble and Victor Wooten for sublime live experiences.

Also, if you've heard the SoDNA CD that came in Peter Gabriel's So box set, it's amazing how many of the songs owe their identity to Tony Levin's basslines. He's a melodic player much in the style of McCartney in this reviewer's humble opinion. At least in that context. He's very versatile too.

And I could listen to Percy Jones all day....

[Martebar]

Interesting to not see Joe Dart in here.

[MindMachine]

Yep Jaco is great. Ron Carter is classic. Anyone John McLaughlin played with is awesome of course, but them are my favorites. I saw Jonas Helborg rip it up.

I just added Chuck Dukowski to my list. I watched him progress from rudimentary to heavy live over the years. He is the only bassist I ever saw break a string and he did it twice in different gigs. He never missed a beat. I think it was the big first bend on Caravan and I can't recall the other.
.

[Pyrrhix]

Wot no Mingus?

I remember the first time I heard this 12 or 13 years ago. The main bassline has been stuck in my head off and on ever since, even if I haven't listened to it recently. Mingus converted me to jazz. His attitude and personality can be felt so vitally through his music.