Best Bassist of all time

[Madshaw]

I think it has to be harris, not just because he is awesome on bass but because he has been the main guy in maiden since day one, he has kept them together and kept them going on tour and recording (amazing) new stuff for almost 30 years now

with all that and the crazy timing and constant use of all four of his right hand fingers and thumb on smooth bound strings well...

 

[Vault boy Eddie]

John Myung of Dream Theater.

Nuff Said, I have a tat of there logo, best band EVA!!!

 

[Raven's Nest]

My vote goes to Victor Wooten as best of all time.

My personal favourites are:

Chris Wolstenholme of Muse
Tim Commerford of Rage Against the Machine
John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin

Strangely...

Sam Rivers of Limp Bizkit. What can I say? The man has written some groovy shit (Rearranged, Nookie, The One).

Hands down flea. I mean he plays it naked, who else does?

Disclaimer: "who else does?" is un-substantiated, neither is it a challenge or a reason to take pictures of yourself playing the bass guitar naked to prove me wrong.

QOTSA's old bass player did.
I forget his name.

It was Nick Oliveri.

 

[zen5887]

Victor Wooten, Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller make up the Holy Quartet. You only get as good as these guys, no better. They've got chops like you wouldn't believe, and then some.

Ack! How could I forget Stanley Clarke..

You can close the thread now.

Also

Why are there so many threads about bassists? Nobody likes bassists-- even the bassists wish they weren't bassists. You could edit them out of just about every song and I would never notice.

Ohh how wrong you are.

Bass provides the link between the guitars and drums, it creates a lower frequency foundation that filled up the sound and gives people something to dance to. Without it, the rhythm and melody would be in two separate worlds, the whole sound would sound hollow and empty and people just wouldn't dance. Bass is a major part in Reggae, Funk, Jazz, Latin, Disco and hell every other genre (it just stands out more in those mentioned). Maybe you should learn something about before you come and say stuff like that.

 

[Ruzzian Roulette]

Victor Wooten, Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller make up the Holy Quartet. You only get as good as these guys, no better. They've got chops like you wouldn't believe, and then some.

Ack! How could I forget Stanley Clarke..

You can close the thread now.

Also

Why are there so many threads about bassists? Nobody likes bassists-- even the bassists wish they weren't bassists. You could edit them out of just about every song and I would never notice.

Ohh how wrong you are.

Bass provides the link between the guitars and drums, it creates a lower frequency foundation that filled up the sound and gives people something to dance to. Without it, the rhythm and melody would be in two separate worlds, the whole sound would sound hollow and empty and people just wouldn't dance. Bass is a major part in Reggae, Funk, Jazz, Latin, Disco and hell every other genre (it just stands out more in those mentioned). Maybe you should learn something about before you come and say stuff like that.

Agreed. I can't stand it when people say bassists are useless. Those are the kind of people that bleed ignorance.

 

[Huey1000]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Michael Anthony! Who could forget that Jack Daniel's bass!

 

[HSIAMetalKing]

Bass provides the link between the guitars and drums, it creates a lower frequency foundation that filled up the sound and gives people something to dance to. Without it, the rhythm and melody would be in two separate worlds, the whole sound would sound hollow and empty and people just wouldn't dance. Bass is a major part in Reggae, Funk, Jazz, Latin, Disco and hell every other genre (it just stands out more in those mentioned). Maybe you should learn something about before you come and say stuff like that.

Typical bassist, playing-up their minute role in music-- reveling in perceived self-importance.

There's a reason bands turn bass music down as low as possible-- like you say, its essentially background noise to bridge the empty areas. Their job could easily be filled by a chimp who had been taught to strum the same pair of notes throughout every song.

[font color=white]Yes, you have been successfully trolled.[/font]

 

[GammaChris]

Flea and Geddy Lee (don't laugh at rhymes) are excellent bassists, but the greatest has got to be, hands down, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. Then again, Entwistle is quite amazing as well... Its hard to decide on the best bassist, really.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

Victor Wooten, Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller make up the Holy Quartet. You only get as good as these guys, no better. They've got chops like you wouldn't believe, and then some.

Ack! How could I forget Stanley Clarke..

actually my funny Stanley Clarke story, tho i did get to meet him one time that's not it.

a couple years ago i went to see Conjure One and Delerium, i was hanging out with the band after and talking to the bass player, she was complaining about having bass player hand and it was all cramped up. so i told her to play some Stanley Clarke and she'd be ok, she laughed and said she couldn't even imagine trying to play it and that her dad owned a jazz/blues club and she had met him a few times, so we went on to talk about him for a while much to the annoyance of the other fan boys around

 

[RagnorakTres]

CliffyB!

And no, not that CliffyB. I mean Cliff Burton.

No, he isn't the best ever but I'm definitely a fan after his insane intro in For Whom the Bell Tolls

Rest in peace my friend. The bell has tolled and you answered without hesitation. The world will not see your like again...

STUPID STUPID TOUR BUS!!!!!!

 

[CrafterMan]

Les Claypool.

Yes

 

[El Taco the Rogue]

John Entwhistle of the Who!
Mainly cause of his name.

 

[Fenring]

I'll just end this thread right here and say Geddy Lee from Rush.

This.

 

[The Shade]

I'm gonna go with Flea and John-Paul Jones

 

[cheerstoreality]

All good examples of bassists who stand out. But I would have to go with Jean Baudin of Nuclear Rabbit. His solo stuff is amazing and really goes way beyond what most bassists are able to pull off. Then again, I guess that's just what you do when you have an 11 string bass and a lot of free time.

http://www.myspace.com/jeanbaudin

 

[Jaga Jazzist]

All good examples of bassists who stand out. But I would have to go with Jean Baudin of Nuclear Rabbit. His solo stuff is amazing and really goes way beyond what most bassists are able to pull off. Then again, I guess that's just what you do when you have an 11 string bass and a lot of free time.

Oh wow, haven't listened to Nuclear Rabbit for years thanks for reminding me about 'em .


Tom Jenkinson is probably my favorite bassist, as I love the way he incorporates playing live bass into his style of IDM/Jazz Fusion.
This is a pretty good example of his work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KspEq14CYQ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppAd3stS85w

 

[are.you.the.god.its.me.vader]

Ima gonna go with Les Claypool.

+1 im with you

 

[FragKrag]

Bass provides the link between the guitars and drums, it creates a lower frequency foundation that filled up the sound and gives people something to dance to. Without it, the rhythm and melody would be in two separate worlds, the whole sound would sound hollow and empty and people just wouldn't dance. Bass is a major part in Reggae, Funk, Jazz, Latin, Disco and hell every other genre (it just stands out more in those mentioned). Maybe you should learn something about before you come and say stuff like that.

Typical bassist, playing-up their minute role in music-- reveling in perceived self-importance.

There's a reason bands turn bass music down as low as possible-- like you say, its essentially background noise to bridge the empty areas. Their job could easily be filled by a chimp who had been taught to strum the same pair of notes throughout every song.

[font color=white]Yes, you have been successfully trolled.[/font]

Listen to some Autopsy or Bolt Thrower, and you will realize how important the bass is to their style. Obituary's Slowly We Rot is a good example of a bass dominant album. It's a Death metal album in standard E tuning, but it manages to sound extremely and unimaginably heavy. Why? Because the bass is in front.

 

[Bunnymarn]

Scott Reeder - Kyuss
Dave Riley - Fudge Tunnel