Most difficult bass riff...

[SpacedHaitian]

Thank you much man!!.....Killer site you have!

 

I don't have a picture of my Bass, but it's a Hofner Shorty....Actually smaller than your Ashbory!!

 

Anyways..I hope to have the Stump stuff on a FTP soon. The only way to find it is on a PtP or EBAY at this point, but I'll post it for all soon. Thanks for listening. It's not Bass heavy at all (If you havn't guessed, I play everything, the band is fake). just a funny backstory to go go with a pun we came up with one night on the words "Space Stations". I like old German Krautrock and psychedelic music, so it kinda comes out in me....Really should check out Ruins!!

They have a song on their album "Tzomborgha" called "Mahavishnu Orchestra Medley" where the duo "Bass & Drums" play through in 1 piece, snippets of about 20 Mahavishnu pieces!..Compounded by the fact that they are Japanese, and sing in a language of their own invention (ala Magma)

[moot]

wow - tons of good examples here.

 

It took me awhile to get YYZ down and I like to think I'm better than average. Tommy The Cat is like most Primus. Easy to play but odd enough to be tough to remember.

 

Honestly, I have been trying to master The Song Remains The Same for years. One of the best R&R songs ever. It seems so simple but I can't get it to stick!!! I have all the individual parts but can't for the life of me play 'em all together! It makes me NUTS!! *sigh*

[Rick Hoffman]

OK I would like to change my selection for hardest bass riff. Sorry, Jaco, but I was just listening to some Miles Davis.

 

That bass player is serious. I don't recall the song I was listening to but it was an upright bass and this guy was going OFF.

 

Is this the Buster guy I read about in another thread? I read he played for Herbie Hancock, too. I downloaded some Hancock last week, great stuff for the bassist's musical diet.

[YourMotherShouldKnow]

Not the hardest ever but if you want a challenge try putting the bass line together for Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On?

[Gord -B]

I've got a cool version on vinyl of Stanley Jordan playing 'whats going on'. You can't beat jamerson on the original though.

[J.A.]

Originally posted by John William Hofmann:

OK I would like to change my selection for hardest bass riff. Sorry, Jaco, but I was just listening to some Miles Davis.

 

That bass player is serious. I don't recall the song I was listening to but it was an upright bass and this guy was going OFF.

 

Is this the Buster guy I read about in another thread? I read he played for Herbie Hancock, too. I downloaded some Hancock last week, great stuff for the bassist's musical diet.

there's a herbie record called 'sextant.' buster has this cool upright bass solo incorporated with these cool synth lines. you should check it out

[shandobass]

If you like Buster and Herbie, check out Mwandishi. It's Herbie's masterpiece. I saw them at the Lighthouse in Hermosa around 1971. Way ahead of its time.

[g.]

SEXTANT, MWANDISHI, and CROSSINGS are all from the same period, and arguably of equal stature in successful and bold sonic, textural and compositional experimentation.

[joeblow44444444]

new to the forums.

 

mark king has some interesting action that is difficult to decipher, let alone play. and i'm not talking about the level 42 stuff or the solo album.

 

it literally doesn't seem physically possible to fit that many notes into a standard 4/4 measure at 120bpm, even if one factors in tapping (which it isn't).

 

stu hamm pulls it off with tapping, but i haven't seen anybody else do it with their thumb yet.

[Fred TBP]

Originally posted by spjk2k:

new to the forums.

 

mark king has some interesting action that is difficult to decipher, let alone play. and i'm not talking about the level 42 stuff or the solo album.

 

it literally doesn't seem physically possible to fit that many notes into a standard 4/4 measure at 120bpm, even if one factors in tapping (which it isn't).

 

stu hamm pulls it off with tapping, but i haven't seen anybody else do it with their thumb yet.

First, hello, how ya doin?

(I love it when Joe Walsh says it, for an Ohio cat he makes it sound so New-Yahk...)

 

Next, I have to agree with you on mark king, I have a cut from a "best of Eric Clapton" VHS tape with mark on bass and he's a slapping demon for sure, that right hand of his is gonna age a lot quicker than the rest of him! Are there any level 42 videos out there? He's someone I've been thinking of working out to.

 

And I hope the others treat you well here. There's been some recent family feuds, but mostly these are hip people who'll give you a break or try to flame you with humor and panache so it doesn't hurt.

 

Finally, I got to see Jaco live three times in my life (that's another story for another time) and although he wasn't slapping, he wasn't that slow on the right hand either.

 

Good to have you with us!

[wraub]

Originally posted by Fred the bass player:

...I have to agree with you on mark king, I have a cut from a "best of Eric Clapton" VHS tape with mark on bass and he's a slapping demon for sure, that right hand of his is gonna age a lot quicker than the rest of him! Are there any level 42 videos out there? He's someone I've been thinking of working out to.

 

And I hope the others treat you well here. There's been some recent family feuds, but mostly these are hip people who'll give you a break or try to flame you with humor and panache so it doesn't hurt.

Fred-

The video I learned a lot of MK licks from was called "Level 42-World Machine" IIRC.

 

edit for FRED Don't thank me so fast, partner! It's actually called "Live at Wembley",

it's from 1987, and here is the complete review from here

 

"For fans not able to catch the band live, this concert should suffice. It is well photographed and well recorded. "

 

Sorry for the mis-info...

 

Lots of close-ups of all the players involved.

The bass solo is definitely chops-heavy (and an apparent crowd pleaser!)

 

And, I'll heartily echo the welcome to the place!

 

Peace,

 

wraub

[Fred TBP]

Thank you, brutha wraub!

[Jimbroni]

oops

[Jimbroni]

I'm gonna have to pull out the sextant album, that ought get on the wifes nerves. Speaking Herbie, while I can play along to Watermelon man on the album. Trying to sync it up with my drummer and guitar player is a bitch. Who's got the One? Stop runnin away with it.

[BenLoy]

Most difficult bass riff? My vote is for anything that Vladimir Volkov has ever played:

 

http://www.united-mutations.com/s/volkov.jpg

[joeblow44444444]

thanks for the warm welcome, guys. hopefully i can visit this entire board more often. i noticed jason halbert came into the keyboard forum during the i-tour looking for a sample (or something). you guys must be a pretty decent bunch of loonies, i should fit right in.

 

"live at wembley" is quite good for a concert video, and there is also a level 42 documentary called "fait accompli" which contains another pile of jawdropping licks performed during a soundcheck.

 

also, brian bromberg has some kind of wild ass double bass solo in dave grusin's "shop till you bop" on the "fabulous baker boys" soundtrack. it's worth a listen. and stu hamm's "country music: a night in hell" is always good at causing you to throw your bass out the window.

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

Originally posted by LanceM:

Everything Les Claypool every played.

I have "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" in notation form. It looks daunting.

[tarkus]

21st Century Schizoid Man (the middle part with the cool dynamics)

 

The Fugue section from Endless Enigma (can't figure it for the life of me.)

 

One whole note, clean, precise and accurate.

[Jode]

Speaking of ELP, how about the opening bass riff from your namesake tune, Tarkus? But it's only a bunch of barred fourths...

 

There's 'lots of difficult notes' hard, and then there's 'my God, can I play this vamp any longer?' hard. Many have sugested tunes from the first category, but what about the second? Try playing Billy Cobham's "Stratus." That vamp sounds so simple, and it is... for about the first two minutes. Then it slowly dawns on you that the first and third frets are getting really far apart from each other. Then your forearm seizes up, then falls off, leaving only a stump and a thought in your head: "Wow, Lee Sklar fuckin' rules."

 

Jaco always gets mentions on threads like this. I'd say his "Kuru" falls into both categories I mentioned. Getting that vamp right once is one thing -- getting it right over and over for nine minutes is quite another.

[jeremy c]

I'd like to hear someone play Rancid's Maxwell Murder at the original tempo. My hands cannot move that fast.

[getz out]

Originally posted by jeremy c:

I'd like to hear someone play Rancid's Maxwell Murder at the original tempo. My hands cannot move that fast.

Yeah, whoever taught that bassplayer must rock.

[wraub]

Originally posted by Jode:

There's 'lots of difficult notes' hard, and then there's 'my God, can I play this vamp any longer?' hard. Many have sugested tunes from the first category, but what about the second? Try playing Billy Cobham's "Stratus." That vamp sounds so simple, and it is... for about the first two minutes. Then it slowly dawns on you that the first and third frets are getting really far apart from each other. Then your forearm seizes up, then falls off, leaving only a stump and a thought in your head: "Wow, Lee Sklar fuckin' rules."

This is a great point.

The difference between "Many notes, played for a bit" and "a bit of notes, played forever" can be the deal breaker for a lot of players, and npt just bass. It's easier in a lot of ways to cop the solo to "Freewill" than to play the part, note for note, that requires space and passion combined with rock solid feel, and then do that all night.

There's a lot of "simple" riffs or fingerings in 3-4 minute songs that will beat you up and down over a 10-15 min jam.

Proving two things-

 

1. It's still harder to play simply, well, than it is to play otherwise.

 

And,

 

B. Lee Sklar does indeed rule.

 

Peace,

 

wraub

[jeremy c]

How about Sex Machine, the way Bootsy plays it?

 

Play a ten minute version.

 

A little faster than the record, which how it is usually counted off in the bands that I play the song with.

[fantasticsound]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Victor Wooten.

 

I'm not a bass player, so comparisons are difficult for me to support, but Sinister Minister has some wicked bass parts and a challenging solo.

[tnb]

How about Sex Machine, the way Bootsy plays it?

Play a ten minute version.

I stand a better chance learning a Victor Wooten solo.

[getz out]

I think we have once again established that: hard <> good.

 

Writing good, simple parts is hard, though.

 

Not playing a lot of notes is also hard.

 

That's not to say that every simple part is good. And that's also not to say there aren't some really, REALLY hard parts that really rock it out.

 

The hardest thing for me to do is playing a walking part that doesn't sound super-contrived. Ed Friedland's books helped me to get to the point where I can at least get them to sound okay! I need to work some more on that, though. I just don't swing.

 

On the other hand, I don't mind playing "loops." In fact, I actually thrive on that and do that with some buddies in an experimental spoken-word setting. There are times I'll play the same bar for about 5-6 minutes. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I'm a huge Soul Coughing fan.

[blackbass]

Maxwell Murder, obviously, and any lines by Geddy Lee.

[wraub]

Originally posted by getz76:

There are times I'll play the same bar for about 5-6 minutes. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I'm a huge Soul Coughing fan.

 

Yello Number 5, yellow Number 5,5,5,5.

 

Peace,

 

wraub

[getz out]

"The 5% Nation of Milton-Bradley"

[ChrisOfDoom]

Originally posted by getz76:

[QB]I think we have once again established that: hard <> good.

 

Writing good, simple parts is hard, though.

 

Not playing a lot of notes is also hard.

 

That's not to say that every simple part is good. And that's also not to say there aren't some really, REALLY hard parts that really rock it out.

[QB]

I think John Paul Jones really took that logic to a high level. Obviously the guy had some serious chops, but then look at "Whole Lotta Love". It literally only has 3 notes in the entire song, and its one of the most well known rock songs in existance.