best bassist

[Indiaman]

Personally, I like Cliff Burton, just cause he was the one who really made people look at how cool the bass could really sound. once again, they excel in their own areas. Flea with his slapping, Stu Hamm with with his tapping. Jaco (RIP) with his harmonics

[Mount_Happy]

Flea is the best bassist in my book
But other close nominees would be:
Duff McKagan
Roger Waters

[KinkyKlown]

Les Claypool
P Nut
Flea

[ozz]

mister steve harris

[Sezril]

I have much appreciation for Jaco P. I don't know where I'd place him in terms of technicality, but still.

[Ajax]

Flea or Billy Cox are amazing bass players

[sparrky]

flea and les claypool are my favorites.

[Wurby Tictoc]

Flea's good, but I voted Les Claypool. His bass playing pretty much made Primus what it is.

[lameassdude]

Flea

Primus pisses me off or I would have probably voted for Claypool

[Tucker1616]

My favourites are Flea and Duff McKagan, but since Duff isn't on there I voted Flea.

EDIT: 100th post, no longer a n00b!

[BigMattTheHobo]

My favourites are Flea and Duff McKagan, but since Duff isn't on there I voted Flea.

EDIT: 100th post, no longer a n00b!


You're still a noob.

And Jaco owns you all.

[lameassdude]

You're still a noob.

And Jaco owns you all.


Am I still a noob?

[parabolic]

i voted les, he is very innovative and has great style. he sings while he plays too.. more challenging

if i made the poll i would have added:

Justin Chancellor from tool (wowwwwwwwwwwwwwww)
Tim C. from RATM (funkadelic)
geddy lee from rush (k, maybe not for everyone but he is still amazing.. go listen to spirit of radio or one of those tunes)

[BigMattTheHobo]

Am I still a noob?


If you have to ask, then yes.

[joekickass]

flea. You forgot duff though. Hey what are the names of the incubus bass players?

[lameassdude]

If you have to ask, then yes.

Hell yeah! and i give hella people reps

[EndOfTime]

Flea Is definately One of the best, he Gets My Vote.

[eightbitstereo]

Has anyone HEARD Victor Wooten??????? his fucking number one, even flea himself looks up to that guy. anyone who's been playing the bass for a long time (good bass players, none of that blink182 shit) will tell you Victor Wooten is fucking god.

[nvrsurrender]

Les...he is their whole band.

[vfrex]

Myung. He's got some pretty sick chops, but writes very riffs. Usually is supporting the sound, rather than creating a new one. I like how his playing enhances the sound and thus listening experience.

[Tucker1616]

You're still a noob. Really? shit.

[Shiggity Shwa]

John Myung, Dude! Have you heard that bass solo in Metropolis part 1?

[JayShavesHisLeg]

Victor wooton is that shiznite

[Last_Words]

My fav bassist is Ryan Martini (Not sure about the last name) from Mudvayne.

[Stupified]

The dude from mudvayne.

[vfrex]

John Myung, Dude! Have you heard that bass solo in Metropolis part 1?

Have you heard the bass solo in The Dance of Eternity?

[Indiaman]

Has anyone HEARD Victor Wooten??????? his fucking number one, even flea himself looks up to that guy. anyone who's been playing the bass for a long time (good bass players, none of that blink182 shit) will tell you Victor Wooten is fucking god.

holy hell, yes! listen to sum of his songs like "classical thump" or "me and my bass guitar"

[Darkslide632]

Anyone who voted that :

Cliff Burton
Flea
Jaco Pastorius
Geddy Lee
Les Claypool
Steve Harris

Are better bassists than Stu Hamm, Wooten or Myung are either completely dense, or know nothing about playing bass. I am a big fan of everyone on the above list (minus Geddy and Jaco, though I respect their playing) but none of them even come close to playing the things that Hamm and Wooten play. Myung is debateable, so I through him in with Wooten and Hamm just because I still think he is better than the above listed, but still not as skilled as Stu or Victor.

There is someone who even Wooten bows down to who is not listed on this poll and who I would give my vote to, and that is Bill "The Buddha" Dickens (http://www.billthebuddhadickens.com/). He is a technical master, and when someone like Wooten is in awe of the guy, then you know he is not to be taken lightly.

For what it's worth, I have held both the "Slap" and "Tapping" championships in the bass section at www.guitarwar.com for like 5 months now.

[Sezril]

Anyone who voted that :

Cliff Burton
Flea
Jaco Pastorius
Geddy Lee
Les Claypool
Steve Harris

Are better bassists than Stu Hamm, Wooten or Myung are either completely dense, or know nothing about playing bass. I am a big fan of everyone on the above list (minus Geddy and Jaco, though I respect their playing) but none of them even come close to playing the things that Hamm and Wooten play. Myung is debateable, so I through him in with Wooten and Hamm just because I still think he is better than the above listed, but still not as skilled as Stu or Victor.

There is someone who even Wooten bows down to who is not listed on this poll and who I would give my vote to, and that is Bill "The Buddha" Dickens (http://www.billthebuddhadickens.com/). He is a technical master, and when someone like Wooten is in awe of the guy, then you know he is not to be taken lightly.

For what it's worth, I have held both the "Slap" and "Tapping" championships in the bass section at www.guitarwar.com for like 5 months now.
I voted for Jaco because I happen to enjoy him the most, which was actually pretty dense of me, considering that isn't what this thread is about.

But yeah, I hear people call Claypool "The best bassist to people who have only listened to three bassists". :p Although, I have to say I still like Les. Not for his ability to play bass, but to be an audacious, indentifiable song writer and band leader.

[Race Hazard]

Jaco is by far the best. Technically is perfect, he is fast and accurate - and his intonation is superb considering he usually plays a fretless.

Being technically good doesn't automatically make him the best at bass. His ensemble skills are sublime, multiplying and entwining with the upbeat piano techniques of Joe.

His bass playing on all the Weather Report albums is the best I have ever heard. Jazz is the hardest music to play ( :p I'm a jazz pianist )

Flea is pretty good, but his riffs and fills are unadventerous and often innaccurate.

[Ajax]

Has anyone HEARD Victor Wooten??????? his fucking number one, even flea himself looks up to that guy. anyone who's been playing the bass for a long time (good bass players, none of that blink182 shit) will tell you Victor Wooten is fucking god.


He sucks! Blink 182 sucks so much cock

[DeftonesBoy]

Chi Cheng... i would love to play like that.

[UltimateFIEND78]

I'd have to say me. No I'm jusyt kiddin. I'd go with John Myung

[Darkslide632]

I voted for Jaco because I happen to enjoy him the most, which was actually pretty dense of me, considering that isn't what this thread is about.

But yeah, I hear people call Claypool "The best bassist to people who have only listened to three bassists". :p Although, I have to say I still like Les. Not for his ability to play bass, but to be an audacious, indentifiable song writer and band leader.

I agree. Had this post been about who my favorite bassplayer was, I would have clicked Stu Hamm without a second thought.

I certainly enjoy Les' music more than I enjoy Dickens or Wootens, but that doesn't make him a better bassplayer.

To the guy who was talking about Jaco... I agree for the most part. But Jaco was also a very focused bassplayer. What he did, he did great, but there is more to playing bass than that. Had he lived longer than he did, maybe he would have destroyed the current slapper and tappers, b ut he didn't. He was very very good at fingerstyle bassplaying, but that was pretty much it. People like Dickens, Wooten and Hamm are all fantastic fingerstyle bassists (Arguably better than Jaco himself, but I will concede that point for the sake of saving an argument) however, each of them is far beyond anything Jaco ever did when it comes to slapping or tapping on a bass.

In my opinion, Jaco WAS the best bassist at one time... much like many people claim about Hendrix. However, compared to current musicians (who no doubt built on what people like Hendrix and Jaco started) the older players fall quite short. Obviously it is an unfair advantage. Jaco started the harmonic craze on bass with songs like "Portrait of Tracy" but current musicians have had years and years to take it to a level beyond what he did.

[gigatonblast]

Just old school thinking.No mention of two brothu's that really revolutionized what the bass is today.The godfather and grandfather of the bass hands down :D Stanley Clark Listen to "Rock And Roll Jelly"....That was done 30 years ago... Phil Linot of Thin Lizzy Rest In Peace Great List! I HAD to mention the two pioneers who really were WAY ahead of there time.

[FatherOfMine]

Gotta go with Flea. I love the stuff he does with RHCP.

[banjo1735]

I like Jaco, especially Birdland. But I also like John Deacon from Queen. His rhythm is solid, and, the bass lines are very creative.

[Mister King Boo]

Flea is the best bassist. he plays so fast that it took a part of his thumb out so he put super glue to fill the gap.

[lameassdude]

Flea is the best bassist. he plays so fast that it took a part of his thumb out so he put super glue to fill the gap.


really?....

[Chewy]

Billy Sheehan... That why I chose other :D I like the way he uses artificial harmonics and de-tunes and tunes his bass to make it sound like he's using a wammy bar.

[rhcp pman]

from the Chilis!!!

[ypsidan04]

Of the ones listed, it's Flea, easily. But if I can nominate a few others...(probably not better, but deserve to be mentioned):

Jim Creeggan - Barenaked Ladies (specifically here) (http://launch.yahoo.com/musicvideos/player/default.asp?videoID=173975)
Tim Commerford - RATM/Audioslave
Arion Salazar - Third Eye Blind

[joekickass]

tim commerford good... RATM has very good basslines in it.

[emilybradley]

I think Flea is the best bassist ever to pick up a bass guitar. He was my inspiration to start playing bass guitar in the first place.
Go Flea!!!

[tripb19]

I think Flea is the best bassist ever to pick up a bass guitar. He was my inspiration to start playing bass guitar in the first place.
Go Flea!!!

Die Emily Bradley! :mad:

[Pizzafb]

I chose Flea because I like how he plays, and the music he makes with RHCP.

[SAPAiC]

As a bass player I'm disgusted that flea has not only a decent number of votes, but he has the most by a landslide. I know all those bass players and I know so many of them could school Flea in any aspect that he 'excels' at.

[Sezril]

CID VISHUS RULz111

EDIT: Actually, I now see that almost three (!) years ago, I voted for Jaco. 'kay then. I don't think I've listened to anything he's done since.

[CavortingKron]

why hasn't john entwistle been mentioned in this thread?? Do you people listen to music...?? I'm not even a big Who fan but come on..haha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVl39LBZGMw

[Pizzafb]

^^ Wow that was an awesome bass solo, I completely forgot about him. Good find.

[dude22]

Who cares about bassists anyways? You can barely hear it.

[Dr Jones]

the linkin park bassist. what's his face.


/thread

[reagnweb]

Glad someone mentioned Sheehan. He's a hell of a bassist, that's for sure.

[temp100]

Who cares about bassists anyways? You can barely hear it.

No, you can't... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bia3o_0xx4k) :rolleyes:

[tripb19]

No, you can't... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bia3o_0xx4k) :rolleyes:

That was fucking sick, thankyou for posting!!!!

[Sezril]

Gotta love DiGiorgio, metal's traveling bass slut. I once read he's been in every band ever, confirm/deny? ;)