Best bassist ever - another one :o

[goldplatypus]

well since there was drummer and guitar player lets do the bass player too!!@!

i would have to say that Joey DeMaio of manowar is the best becuase of his ability to hit some amazing notes on the bass and his overall presence in songs.

[Thrash]

Wooten or Claypool. This threads over.

Honorable mention goes to Flea.

[mon]

wooten

[MuTaTiS]

I think the bassist for Mudvayne is underrated. He's not the best but he uses it more than just a tool.

[ALieN]

Wooten or Claypool. This threads over.

Honorable mention goes to Flea.
+ Steve Harris

[goldplatypus]

Wooten or Claypool. This threads over.

Honorable mention goes to Flea.
claypool is a damn good basist but sometimes it just doesn't work in real songs..


alian - steve harris fucking rocks too

[Ser]

wooten
no doubt about it

after him i would say claypool

i am also a huge fan of tim commerford of rage/audioslave

[cosdecline]

always been a fan of claypool. danny from Against All Authority is badass... prolly my favortie bassist.

[VeeKaChu]

Jaco Pastorius, hands down.

[Palmy]

Wooten.

Though Pastorius is good, Wooten is still much better.

[foreveR]

Wooten's been playing for over 40 years and he's not even 50 yet. Wooten by and far.

[Modal Auxiliary]

Wooten was the first to spring to mind, but Billy Sheehan rules too.

[jerriko]

Claypool

[matt-]

Wooten or Claypool. This threads over.

Honorable mention goes to Flea.

Bingo, discussion over.

There's another bass player I heard when my mom was playing one of her old records from the 70's a few years back. I'd have to ask her but he was AMAZING. Easily as good as Claypool, not quite as good as Wooten, though.

[Palmy]

Bingo, discussion over.

There's another bass player I heard when my mom was playing one of her old records from the 70's a few years back. I'd have to ask her but he was AMAZING. Easily as good as Claypool, not quite as good as Wooten, though.
Could've been Jaco.

[matt-]

What band is he from?

I remember seeing the bass players picture on the record cover. He was really goofy looking with long hair, glasses, kind of big.

[Palmy]

What band is he from?

I remember seeing the bass players picture on the record cover. He was really goofy looking with long hair, glasses, kind of big.
Weather Report and such.

[foreveR]

What band is he from?

I remember seeing the bass players picture on the record cover. He was really goofy looking with long hair, glasses, kind of big.

This is Bootsy Collins - always seen in glasses, often in a diaper.
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/gallery/2003/02/24/BootsieCollins.jpg

This is Les Claypool
http://www.guitarworld.com/tuneups/art/2002/1102.lesclaypool.jpg

This is Geddy Lee
http://www.metalworksstudios.com/News/Geddy%20Lee.jpg

I could go on, but I grabbed a few notables out of the timeframe you gave and made some guesses. If he's white then that really sounds like Geddy Lee(from Rush). Amazing bassist, doesn't get enough credit.

[Jon]

Wooten

[Smeg]

all the above mentioned...

can't forget..

Donald "Duck" Dunn listen to Blues Brothers.

Leeland Sklyr (SP?) Recorded well over 2000 albums/cds/tapes

[matt-]

Well, I wish I remembered what the band was called. All I know is that he was ugly, fat, white, long haired, glasses and would make you cream your pants while listening to him play bass.

[sani]

wooten and then claypool

[azul]

Wootan, Harris, Claypool

[Googol]

My current favorites are:

Tony Levin (rock and some jazz) - The man lays grooves as deep as black holes as far as I'm concerned. Incredibly influential and has played with damn near everyone. He isn't limited by his technical skills, although he isn't on the same technical level as Wooten or Jaco, but his sense of taste more than makes up for it. I like his chapman stick work too.

Richard Bona - The future of jazz bass playing. Incredibly melodic while covering the low end. His cover of "Bright Size Life" that he does with Metheny is better than Jaco's original rendition. I adore his fretless work. His technique is flawless and is on par with the greats. I love his voice also.

Both of these guys are the "best" bass musicians that are in the music business. They play their part so well, that you never focus on what they are playing. They play bass to be felt, not heard (which I feel players like Wooten, Clarke and Claypool tend to overemphasize).

Other notables:
Sean Malone
Bill Dickens

[foreveR]

Both of these guys are the "best" bass musicians that are in the music business. They play their part so well, that you never focus on what they are playing. They play bass to be felt, not heard (which I feel players like Wooten, Clarke and Claypool tend to overemphasize).


When you have the unheard of talent that flows through Wooten, its impossible to not be in the spotlight and to have people pay attention to you every time you play. He's not in the background anymore, don't confuse that with him not having a respect for the bass. The guy has such an incredible respect for the instrument and its very obvious if you listen to any of his albums. He drives into such a different direction with the bass and its not like Claypool who I feel is doing different things for the sake of doing different things and to "stand out". Wooten is just in a class of his own and there's no way you can feasibly put anyone(alive) up against him. I should say Jaco could easily make a case if he had continued playing and kept up with the experience Wooten has(he's been playing since he was 3 and he's in his 40s now, that's a lot of fret work :)) but right now, you just can't match up to the guy.

That's a real homer rant but I got into Bela Fleck about 10 years or so ago and the guy just blew me away. I heard him and thought "that's gotta be a machine, there's no fucking way that's a human bass player".

[Googol]

When you have the unheard of talent that flows through Wooten, its impossible to not be in the spotlight and to have people pay attention to you every time you play. He's not in the background anymore, don't confuse that with him not having a respect for the bass. The guy has such an incredible respect for the instrument and its very obvious if you listen to any of his albums. He drives into such a different direction with the bass and its not like Claypool who I feel is doing different things for the sake of doing different things and to "stand out". Wooten is just in a class of his own and there's no way you can feasibly put anyone(alive) up against him. I should say Jaco could easily make a case if he had continued playing and kept up with the experience Wooten has(he's been playing since he was 3 and he's in his 40s now, that's a lot of fret work :)) but right now, you just can't match up to the guy.

That's a real homer rant but I got into Bela Fleck about 10 years or so ago and the guy just blew me away. I heard him and thought "that's gotta be a machine, there's no fucking way that's a human bass player".

There is an strong argument that Wooten is in a class by himself, technically. In fact, I wouldn't disagree with you on that. However, if you are talking about overall musicianship then I would still stand by my decision of the two above. Their note choice is better than Wooten's, imo.

[foreveR]

There is an strong argument that Wooten is in a class by himself, technically. In fact, I wouldn't disagree with you on that. However, if you are talking about overall musicianship then I would still stand by my decision of the two above. Their note choice is better than Wooten's, imo.

Yea, but Wooten doesn't play to be the bottom base and be the solid musician that being a bass player in something like a jazz or rock band requires. He shares the stage with a banjo, much like 2 guitarists in a rock band.

Its just 2 different scenarios and its so hard to compare since bassists very rarely get center stage like Vic does.

[Hard`]

Personal favorites:

Primus's Les Claypool
Rancid's Matt Freeman

[megatron]

Victor Wooten
Les Claypool
Tony Levin

[maizy]

victor wooten

[Acharne]

Wooten or Claypool. This threads over.

Honorable mention goes to Flea.


Flea is easily the best bassist you'll hear on the radio, the other two are the best you'll hear ever.

Thrash, I love you.

Also, can you send me the Soulfly series of songs?

[Thrash]

Hit me up on AIM, ignore the away message.