Best bassists EVER.

[Guest thefrenchargel]

I play bass and I tend to dwell on these things, so let's hear some props to the member of the band that historically gets the fewest chicks; the bass player.

 

1.Les Claypool. He owns. Period.

 

2.Victor Wooten (not a fan of the style of music so much but god DAMN is that dude good.)

 

3.Jaco Pastorious (see number 2. He'd be higher probably if I was more familiar with his work.)

[Guest redbaron51]

John Entwistle: This guy is probably the most influential bassist of all time, plus if you listen to Live at Leeds, or seen any Who video's, he took the ordinary bass beat, into a remarkable instrument.

 

Cliff Burton: Nuff said.

 

Steve Harris: He doesn't get that much credit as other great bassist, but his fast playing is what made Iron Maiden so succesuful.

 

Other nominations:

 

Les Claypool

Jason Newsted (he doesn't get enough credit as a good bassist)

John Paul Jones

[Guest sk8420kid]

Paul Hinojos- He is the reason I picked up a bass. Relationship of Command may be alittle overrated, but it is a bass playing masterpiece.

 

Jason Black- If you've ever seen HWM live, you know how good he is.

 

Tim Payne- the bassist from Thursday. I have a friend who hates Thursday but can listen to it just because of the bass. Understanding... is one of the most beautiful basslines I've ever heard.

[Guest saturnmark4life]

i too spank the 4 string plank, and Claypool is definitely my favourite. i too am not not a fan of Wooten's music but he's fucking good, as is flea. Others i really like are

Phil Lynott

Andy Rourke (smiths)

matt fucking freeman from rancid

gene simmons (he wasn't great by any stretch, but 70's KISS was so fantastic)

[Guest Coffin Surfer]

Mike Watt(Minutemen)-kicks Claypool's ass.

Fred Smith(Television)

Sean Malone(Cynic, Death, Aghora)

Jason Black(Hot Water Music)

Darryl(Bad Brains)

Derf Sratch(Fear)

[Guest The Man in Blak]

Where in the hell is FLEA? One post? Geezus.

 

Here's my three:

 

Les Claypool

Flea

Cliff Burton

 

Other mentions would go to John Entwhistle, Paul McCartney (yes - seriously), and John Paul Jones.

[Guest Hogan Made Wrestling]

1. John Paul Jones

 

2. Roger Waters

 

3. John Entwhistle

[Guest ArkhamGlobe]

1. Chris Squire (Yes)

 

2. Bootsy Collins

 

3. John Entwistle (The Who)

[Guest evenflowDDT]

Les Claypool, Bootsy Collins, and... I guess Flea by default because he's the only other bassist I know by name. I usually don't pay too much attention to the bass, because it's usually not the focus of attention, but it is for Claypool and Collins, so I notice it.

[Guest Cerebus The Aardvark]

My picks:

 

1. Les Claypool

2. Steve Digiorgio

3. Mike Watt (and I hate The Minutemen and his solo stuff; he's just good)

[Guest TheyCallMeMark]

Stu Hamm is my favourite.

 

Pastorious is better than Claypool but Claypool's music sounds cooler so whichever you want to go with is fine with me, mwah!

[Guest thefrenchargel]

NO GEDDY LEE mentions yet? I mean, I know it was only a top three list, but I'm amazed no one's even said the dude's name...He'd be number 4 on my list, followed closely by Entwhistle. You all should download YYZ by Rush. (Don't worry, it's instrumental, for those that hate his vocals.) My god..it's insane. He was the inspiration for Claypool.

[Guest redbaron51]

I left a lot of bassist on my list, Like Lee, Myung, Geezer, Claypool, etc...

[Guest CoreyLazarus416]

Steve Harris: One of the few metal bassists that you can hear in every song. He can play damn fast, and his basslines are great.

 

Cliff Burton: "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth" says it all.

 

Les Claypool: It's a given. The man plays a 6-string bass, and plays it great.

 

Honorable Mentions:

Lemmy Kilmeister (not great by technical standards, but he plays bass like no other)

Geezer Butler (one of the reasons Sabbath was so amazing)

Geddy Lee (yes, Rush is good)

Flea

[Guest KANE]

In no particular order:

 

P-Nut (311)

And even though I'm not a fan of either, I have to give props to:

Flea (RHCP)

Fieldy (Korn)

[Guest BobbyBacklund]

Yeah I was wondering about Flea as well.

 

What about Justin Chancellor from Tool? Every bassist I know pretty much tells me that he is one of the best bassists in the world.

[Guest Lord of The Curry]

Flea

John Entwhistle

Tim Bob (Rage Against the Machine)

Les Claypool

Geddy Lee

[Guest TheyCallMeMark]

What about Justin Chancellor from Tool? Every bassist I know pretty much tells me that he is one of the best bassists in the world.

 

They're crazy.

[Guest pearljamfan]

1.Geddy Lee

2.John Entwhistle

3. Roger Waters

 

sorry I havent heard much of Claypools stuff

[Guest mesepher]

I just wanted to let everyone know who posted Roger Waters as "best bassist" that while in the Pink Floyd, in every 9 out of 10 studio songs, David Gilmour played the bass parts instead of Roger due to the fact that it sounded much nicer with Dave. Then there are songs with two bass lines (One of These Days) where Dave and Rog play.

 

Roger said it himself that he is tone deaf, so in my mind, that disqualifies him from best ever. but to each his own.

 

best ever is hard to call... considering all the jazz bassist out there.

 

for Rock and Roll my picks are:

 

Les Claypool - his studio stuff is pretty amazing... I'm mainly familiar with the side projects and not Primus. Seeing this guy live was another thing though. He was SO entertaining to watch, the way he trotted around on stage while playing. next time the Colonel and his Fearless Flying Frog Brigade are remotely close, check them out!

 

Allen Woody - besides WildPegasus, I'm the only one on this board to know who this beast is/was. He started out playing bass in Artimus Pyle's (drummer from Skynyrd) band and soon began playing with the Allman Brothers Band. Alongside Warren Haynes, the Wood and Warren developed a friendship and started a side project called Gov't Mule with Matt Abts. This guy was simply amazing! Had he not died in August of 2000... Ephiphone now has a tribute bass out for him.

 

John Entwistle - the Who's rhythm section was simply amazing. Entwistle was a monster on the bass, and he will be missed greatly. I was really looking forward to hearing/ seeing him and Townshend battle this summer on stage!

 

 

other mentions...

 

Geddy Lee - because RUSH is amazing.

 

John Myung - he has a degree in music, how often does that happen. he's a big RUSH fan... and an incredible bass player. I must see them in September

 

Dave Schools - he's a heavy weight Jesus.. and he's a pretty amazing player in concert.

 

edit: yay, 100 posts.

[Guest FeArHaVoC]

Billy Sheehan. It looks like none of you remember him. Maybe, because he played in a shitty band like "Mr. Big" and he also played on one of David Lee Roth's albums. The guy is awesome and you would never know it by those albums. He is like the Steve Vai of Bassist.

 

Steve Harris, Iron Maiden: Kicked ass and I loved the sound he got from the Fender Bass. I love Metal Bassist that can keep up with the Drums.

 

Frank Bello, Anthrax: Same as Steve Harris.

 

Of Course:

 

Les Claypool

Flea

Cliff Burton

Neddy Lee

[Guest Alice_In_Chains_Chick]

Cliff Burton- Enough Said

[Guest GeneMean]

Steve Harris

Billy Sheehan

John Alderete (Racer X), Like Billy Sheehan who could keep up with Steve Vai, Alderete was the perfect compliment to Paul Gilbert

[Guest saturnmark4life]

the tool bassist isn't one of the greatest, not even close. Love the bass sound on tool songs, love tool, but he doesn't do anything mind-blowing in terms of skill.