Bass Arena's Hall Of Fame Bassists 2017

Last edited:
I read this thread the other day while I was having a bit of a lurk, and its a real tricky one to answer if you can only pick five. So I have gone for the five that have been the biggest influence on me. So here they are in the order I discovered them and the amount of influence they had on me personally.

1. Steve Harris ( the reason I picked up the bass was that I thought he looked so cool when I was 12., also a great player with a truly unique style and tone)
2. Geddy Lee (I'm a massive Rush fan, and well just listen to the bass tone on Clockwork Angles... just wow)
3. Les Claypool (Truly unique style and tone, you can learn to play his lines but only Les sounds like Les)
4. Robert Trujillo (Not so much for Metallica but it was hearing the Infectious Grooves that got me into slapping)
5. Jaco (I actually wrote my dissertation on Jaco when I was at Uni... a genius in every meaning of the word)

Also a few other mentions:
Bootsy Collins (Almost the entire history of funk wrapped up in one guy
Lemmy (Truly a unique player, and if you ever saw Motorhead live you know what I mean when I say he didn't play that Riki he smacked you in the face with it.
John Deacon (Just listen to the Millionaires Waltz on a Day at the Races... sublime

This list could go on all night.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RIP
Lockie said:
I read this thread the other day while I was having a bit of a lurk, and its a real tricky one to answer if you can only pick five. So I have gone for the five that have been the biggest influence on me. So here they are in the order I discovered them and the amount of influence they had on me personally.

1. Steve Harris ( the reason I picked up the bass was that I thought he looked so cool when I was 12., also a great player with a truly unique style and tone)
2. Geddy Lee (I'm a massive Rush fan, and well just listen to the bass tone on Clockwork Angles... just wow)
3. Les Claypool (Truly unique style and tone, you can learn to play his lines but only Les sounds like Les)
4. Robert Trujillo (Not so much for Metallica but it was hearing the Infectious Grooves that got me into slapping)
5. Jaco (I actually wrote my dissertation on Jaco when I was at Uni... a genius in every meaning of the word)

Also a few other mentions:
Bootsy Collins (Almost the entire history of funk wrapped up in one guy
Lemmy (Truly a unique player, and if you ever saw Motorhead live you know what I mean when I say he didn't play that Riki he smacked you in the face with it.
John Deacon (Just listen to the Millionaires Waltz on a Day at the Races... sublime

This list could go on all night.
Click to expand...
Surprisingly, you are the first member to mention Steve Harris and Lemmy
 
Updated before tomorrows last entries

Name / Votes
Jaco 6
James Jamerson 3
Paul McCartney 3
JPJ 3
Geddy 3
Les Claypool 3
Bootsy 2
Alex Webster 2
Marcus Miller 2
Phil Leash 1
Rodger Waters 1
Ron Carter 1
Charles Mingus 1
Billy Gould 1
Carlos del Puerto 1
Niels Henning Orsted Pederson 1
Chris Squire 1
Doug Pinnick 1
Chris Wolstenholme 1
Bobby Vega 1
Stu Hamm 1
TM Stevens 1
Marcel Jacob 1
Pascal Mulot 1
Donald "Duck" Dunn 1
Flea 1
Manring 1
Chi Cheng 1
Guy Pratt 1
David Gilmore 1
Dan K. Brown 1
Mick Karn 1
Dee Murray 1
Anthony Jackson 1
Scott Ambush 1
Michael Manning 1
Stanley Clark 1
Victor Wooten 1
Hellmutt Hattler 1
Jason Raso 1
Tony Levin 1
JPT 1
John Entwistle 1
Matt Freeman 1
Evan Brewer 1
Steve Harris 1
Robert Trujillo 1

Mentioned / No Votes
Jack Bruce
Larry Graham
Louis Johnson
Mark King
Bob Daisley
Bernard Edwards
Carole Kaye
Eberhard Weber
John Deacon
Pino Palladino
Naco (Member)
 
James Jamerson for playing incredible grooves with one finger.
Steve Harris for his unique technique, essentially playing slap bass in a metal context.
Steve Bailey because his technique and fluency on the fretless is just scary.
Justin Chancellor for pick-playing amazingly creative bass lines with his band.
Gary Willis for being the supreme fretless master, using a unique right hand technique.

You will notice I picked bassists with an unusual approach to the instrument, but that's almost always the case when someone plays the bass. There's just so much diversity in instruments being played and approach of the player.
 
- James Jamerson
- Jaco Pastorius
- Anthony Jackson
- Richard Bona
- Carles Benavent (invented flamenco bass from scratch playing with Paco de Lucía, Camarón etc... it takes some serious balls, skills and talent to do that)
 
Its March 1st and the votes are in

Here is the top 5 vote getters for our inaugural inductees.....

Name / Votes
Jaco 7
James Jamerson 5
Paul McCartney 3
JPJ 3
Geddy 3
Les Claypool 3


Honorable Mentions

Name / Votes
Bootsy 2
Alex Webster 2
Marcus Miller 2
Anthony Jackson 2
Steve Harris 2
Phil Leash 1
Rodger Waters 1
Ron Carter 1
Charles Mingus 1
Billy Gould 1
Carlos del Puerto 1
Niels Henning Orsted Pederson 1
Chris Squire 1
Doug Pinnick 1
Chris Wolstenholme 1
Bobby Vega 1
Stu Hamm 1
TM Stevens 1
Marcel Jacob 1
Pascal Mulot 1
Donald "Duck" Dunn 1
Flea 1
Manring 1
Chi Cheng 1
Guy Pratt 1
David Gilmore 1
Dan K. Brown 1
Mick Karn 1
Dee Murray 1
Scott Ambush 1
Michael Manning 1
Stanley Clark 1
Victor Wooten 1
Hellmutt Hattler 1
Jason Raso 1
Tony Levin 1
JPT 1
John Entwistle 1
Matt Freeman 1
Evan Brewer 1
Robert Trujillo 1
Steve Bailey 1
Justin Chancellor 1
Gary Willis 1
Richard Bona 1
Charles Benavent 1

Mentioned / No Votes
Jack Bruce
Larry Graham
Louis Johnson
Mark King
Bob Daisley
Bernard Edwards
Carole Kaye
Eberhard Weber
John Deacon
Pino Palladino
Naco (Member)
Rocco Prestia
 
Simpsons-angry-mob-pitchfork-torches.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: RIP
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top