For the love of the bass

[Rarebird]

That is a LeFay D-Tuner: https://equipboard.com/items/lefay-d...-4-string-bass. I think that's a discontinued model. The closest they have in their current line is the Singer: https://www.lefay.de/index.php/EN/bass_models/singer.

The upper horn of these basses pays a bit of homage to the Ric 4001/4003 bass, but there's nothing else Ric about it, including the sound, imo.

Bill

Pretty expensive basses. The Waran would look nice in Magma.

[dropforge]

Yeah, there are tons of players now with spectacular chops- and many of htem leave me cold. I think Mohini Dey is hugely accomplished but I find her repetitive high-speed tapping exhausting rather than musical.

I get where you're coming from, but Mohini's all about the music. Right now, she's touring as part of Greg Howe's trio.

I appreciate someone like the late Rocco Prestia.

Rocco's appearance at Bass Day 1998 was one for the ages. Dave Garibaldi on drums.

[wideopenears]

I'm a Jaco fanboy, and by extension, a Manring fanboy, and Manring has definitely taken the instrument further. His 2005 album Soliloquy consists of realtime solo bass recordings with his custom Zon bass: no overdubs and no accompaniments. It's a five-star album if you enjoy that sort of thing.

Jeff Berlin is Jeff Berlin. He proffers no shortage of provocative viewpoints, sure, but he's one of the few who can at least back up his claims. He won't flex for the sake of a flex. That being said, we don't have to agree with everything.

As for Vic Wooten, I think he's awesome, and I always have. I don't think Jaco would've recorded a piece like Woot's "Classical Thump" — which Charles Berthoud does an impressive cover of (and it's now eight years old).

Love all those players, for sure. Jaco was the revolution. Agree that Manring has taken it out into the stratosphere, and I think Wooten also upped the ante in terms of technique.

Berlin has his own unique voice on the instrument, and he can blow over changes like nobody's business--I think he set the bar higher than Jaco in that regard. Berthoud is a wizard, but his tuff does not move me the same way some of the earlier guys do....but it's partly due to the style of music, I think....my musical diet is probably 75% jazz and jazz/rock and fusion. the older I get, the less into flash I seem to be, and the more I appreciate playing from the heart--not that they are contradictory. Alain Caron on fretless playing a melodic, lyrical solo over a ballad slays me.

[dropforge]

Hardly en expert, but...

it sounds and looks a modified/customized Rickenbacker, but is it one?

Asked and answered! To my knowledge, Berthoud has never recorded with a Rick.

[Dana5140]

Funny you mention the work with Greg Howe, because it was this video that I was thinking of- it is technically truly impressive but really does nothing for me.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Yeah, there are tons of players now with spectacular chops- and many of htem leave me cold. I think Mohini Dey is hugely accomplished but I find her repetitive high-speed tapping exhausting rather than musical. One of the reasons I like Federico Malaman is that his playing is usually in yoke to something- there is logic to it and he does not slap and pop just to do so. My fave bassists all play bass more like it should be- whether it is any Magma bassist, Jack Cassady, Jack Bruce, Pino, or others, they are playing the tune- which is why Tal Wilkenfeld's solo on "Lovers" was so well done- no flash, just music.

This is why I love someone like Rocco Prestia in TOP. Listening to him supporting the band and the singer, just great!

That was what (back in the day) we would have called wicked cool. Thank you, it made this Thursday morning much better.

[dropforge]

Berthoud is a wizard, but his tuff does not move me the same way some of the earlier guys do....but it's partly due to the style of music, I think....my musical diet is probably 75% jazz and jazz/rock and fusion. the older I get, the less into flash I seem to be, and the more I appreciate playing from the heart--not that they are contradictory. Alain Caron on fretless playing a melodic, lyrical solo over a ballad slays me.

I've chilled on his recent stuff, too. Years ago, he wowed everybody, but slappity-slap is his default setting, and he loves him some note blizzards.

Speaking of older players, one guy I never "got" was Gary Willis. I know I should like his stuff, I feel like I'm supposed to, but everything I heard by Tribal Tech always left me cold.

[dropforge]

Everyone should follow pdbass! He's got moves.

[Rick L.]

What's his fourth favorite bass line in 17/16?

[Dana5140]

I knew once he said it was 17/16 it had to be KC. Interesting analysis.

That was what (back in the day) we would have called wicked cool. Thank you, it made this Thursday morning much better.

Rocco Prestia is what brought me to Tower of Power, who were more funk than I normally like. But these guys are all stellar musicians, even if they look like your next-door blue-collar worker. In the case of this clip, Stefanie Heinzmann was the winner of a contest that brought her to play with TOP and now she is pretty well known in Europe and mainly Germany, though she does not look anything lie she did in this video. She has bleached white hair that is cropped short now.

[dropforge]

What's his fourth favorite bass line in 17/16?

He covers Zappa in an earlier video.

[Watanabe]

post-70s jazz-rock/fusion is such a creatively stagnant genre; granted, it's probably better over the last 15-20 years than it was during the 80s/90/ mid 00s, but hearing a band/player that can back up their chops with strong composition/original atmosphere is still rare. So many of the bassists just seem to think filling up as much space as possible, as often as possible, is key to an interesting groove/riff.

[Trane]

post-70s jazz-rock/fusion is such a creatively stagnant genre; granted, it's probably better over the last 15-20 years than it was during the 80s/90/ mid 00s, but hearing a band/player that can back up their chops with strong composition/original atmosphere is still rare. So many of the bassists just seem to think filling up as much space as possible, as often as possible, is key to an interesting groove/riff.

agreed. 70's JR/F became somewhat the 80's Smooth Jazz (which I loathe), a bit, IMHO, via the successs of the ECM label's soft music.

TBH, many of the later 70's jazz-funk bassists don't do much for me, and the unofficial race to the "biggest string slapper" trophy bores me.