Jump to content
Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

Who's got good tone?


73 P Bass

Recommended Posts

Some players I think have good tone, in no particular order are:

Marcus Miller

Flea

John Entwistle (well he did, R.I.P.)

Stanley Clarke

Mike Watt.

They all have a real punchy sound (no mud) that apeals to me.

Who's tone and why, does it apeal to you?

"Start listening to music!".

-Jeremy C

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 27
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I love Marcus Miller's tone...it's just about the perfect modern bass tone, in my opinion.

 

Christian McBride's tone is great.

 

Jaco...well...you know...

 

Stanley's upright tone is very unique.

 

Jamerson's tone is as phat as it gets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Other than ALL the ones already listed... I'll add:

 

Stu Hamm - sweet, smooth, sexy tone

Jack Bruce - Just enough fuzz/growl to cut straight through.

Horace Gentleman (The Specials) - what can I say.. perfect tone for ska.

 

-Mike

...simply stating.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is great bass tone on Steely Dan records provided by Chuck Rainey first and foremost. Deacon Blues is a great example. Also Tom Barney and Walter Becker sound pretty good to me.

 

Chuck Rainey has always impressed me with his sound as well as his playing.

 

And I agree with Bumpcity, I'm pretty happy with my tone, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More favorite tonemeisters.

 

Bernard Edwards with Chic.

 

Paul Jackson with Herbie Hancock on the Thrust album. You must listen to this album, I've worn out two copies.

 

I don't know who was playing on the Superfly album by Curtis Mayfield, but I was listening to it today and the bass sound on Freddie's Dead and Superfly are totally happenin'. Anyone know who the bassist was?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a big Chris Squire fan. I gotta say, that is one helluva great sound. In this vein, Geddy Lee & Dave Meros, too. But Squire...whew.

 

Ditto the Jamerson sound. Phat!

 

I'm all over Tom Barney's sound. Steely Dan bass always sounds so great. Gotta love Chuck Rainey. But you've also got to love Walter Becker (who played on "Deacon Blues," btw).

 

Baghiti Khumalo blew my mind with his fretless tone. Beautiful, & powerful.

 

Gotta admit John Wetton's sound is unique--great for KC. (I like him on the KC studio albums, but his live KC sound is way too brash & overdriven for me.)

 

And Dougie Thompson, baby!! :thu:

 

Gerald Veasley's tone on the Jamerson tribute is my idea of the ideal bass tone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have to say that I heard that song by Edie Brickell and the New (old?) Bohemians on the radio the other day and that fretless bass STILL sounds great. Wasn't that from, like, 1988 or something? Who was that guy anyway?

 

Beyond that I think ( no, actually, I KNOW) that Entwistle's tone on Live At Leeds CANNOT BE EQUALED. PERIOD.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have to say that I heard that song by Edie Brickell and the New (old?) Bohemians on the radio the other day and that fretless bass STILL sounds great. Wasn't that from, like, 1988 or something? Who was that guy anyway?

 

Beyond that I think ( no, actually, I KNOW) that Entwistle's tone on Live At Leeds CANNOT BE EQUALED. PERIOD.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sean Cook, formerly of Spiritualised, currently with Lupine Howl. He plays a fender Jazz, I'm not sure how he's amped but it just sounds devine!

 

Kim Deal when she was with the Pixies, I love that bite.

 

CupMcMali...this monkey's gone to heaven :freak:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tony Levin's Tone on Peter Gabriel's "So" is phenomenal.

 

I also am very partial to Pino Pallidino's tone, especially on David Gilmour's "About Face." Come to think of it, Roger Waters does a pretty good imitation with his fretless work.

 

And, as great as Victor Wooten's playing was the other night, I'll admit I was a bit disappointed by his live tone. Now, I was 3 balconies high in a curtian-controlled by very reverberant orchestra hall...but it seemed to me that his tone was too smokey to be as distinct as I'd like it to be.

"Let's raise the level of this conversation" -- Jeremy Cohen, in the Picasso Thread.

 

Still spendin' that political capital far faster than I can earn it...stretched way out on a limb here and looking for a better interest rate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know who was playing on the Superfly album by Curtis Mayfield, but I was listening to it today and the bass sound on Freddie's Dead and Superfly are totally happenin'. Anyone know who the bassist was?
Not sure, but I think it was Curtis himself...the allmusic.com entry doesn't have any credits listed for the instrumentalists...
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw Curtis Mayfield live shortly after this album came out....and the bass player was great! His name was Lucky Scott. Allmusic gives him several credits for other Curtis Mayfield albums.

 

I bet it was him, but I was hoping someone knew definitively. I doubt that Curtis Mayfield played bass on this records. He probably didn't play drums, strings, horns or anything other than guitar and vocals. It's a shame that there are no musician credits.

 

Carol Kaye has been upset for her whole life about the lack of credits on records.

 

And the whole Funk Brothers movie and phenomenon is about how no one knew who was really playing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, the bassists that Curtis hires are always muthas...

 

It easily could've been an uncredited studio guy...the only reason I think it was him is I remember reading it somewhere in the foggy memory mass of music articles I've read in the past.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think people should strive to reach Sonny Rollins tone on ANY instrument... I just love it, and I don't care what type of music you play. Bassists: Dave Holland, Marcus Miller, Tony Levin, Dave meros, Chris Squire, Rufus Reid, Michael Moore and More.

 

That rhymes, Michael moore and more:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Black Cow"...oh, yeah. The bass on that whole album is just so perfect--the ultimate in taste & groove. And yes, the tone is wonderful.

 

Aw heck, now I wanna get a P bass... :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You guys have given some fascinating answers - answers that in many cases are at opposite extremes - Jamerson and Chris Squire? But anyway, I'll do the same. Ray Brown and Eddie Gomez - completely different sounds, but sounds that work in their respective applications.

 

The only distorted bass sound I ever really liked was Tim Bogart's, though seeing Dusty Hill with ZZ Top in about 1971 (thier first album has just come out) playing a Telecaster bass through a full Marshall stack is still a fond memory (that should taught me that you could play chords on a bass...).

 

And I STILL want to know how Bogart got his sound.

Dave Martin

Java Jive Studio

Nashville, TN

www.javajivestudio.com

 

Cuppa Joe Records

www.cuppajoerecords.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

tone monsters are

Flea- his tones are always inspiring

Traa from POD- great warwick tone

Tommy Simms- great great, great bass player, and his tone is to die for

mine.... I have been complimented on it at alot of shows, how do I get it? its a secret.

you can make stumbling blocks, or stepping stones out of the same things, what have you built?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Dave Martin:

And I STILL want to know how Bogert got his sound.

All I know is that Tim Bogert played a Fender (not sure which model!!). As to the rest of his equipment, I haven't a clue. Now he uses an MTD American 6 and SWR amps. Do you have DBA?

 

I'll write the guy who runs his website (Pete Bremy) and see what we can learn...

 

There are too many bass tones to specify. McCartney had a few himself. And those really low tones (think John Mayer's album) sound cool. And Chris Squire, and .....

 

Tom

www.stoneflyrocks.com

Acoustic Color

 

Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...