Hello
I’m Artem, I play guitar and I have a confession to make.
I am absolutely in LOVE with bass.
Every instrument is cool in its own right and has its place. especially if it makes its player happy.
I’m a huge rock fan and mostly listen to rock, blues and metal. And the last Sunday I’ve listened to one Sabbath live album (The End - Live in Birmingham) and on this weekend I was listening to some Maiden on shuffle and I just have to say it somewhere: I LOVE BASS!
I always liked it, but when I first got into guitar and music I even searched for videos like “songs with and without bass” to hear the difference. But since then I learned to listen a bit better and got better earbuds, which also helps.
And I awlays loved Geezer’s playing, but maybe I got in the right mood last week, because I was listening to it even more than to the guitar for the whole record. It’s so loud, huge and powerful and combined with Iomi’s god-like riffing it’s… It’s the sound of heavy metal.
Bureau of Weights and Measures have to have a recording with Mr Butler’s bass part as an example of perfect bass sound.
And then there’s Iron Maiden and Steve Harris. His playing is fast and aggressive. And he plays with such a clang that you can hear all that power and it drives me crazy. I don’t know the right adjective to describe Maiden’s sound and Steve’s playing but the pure perfection.
And while I’m a guitarist and will play the guitar untill the end, one day I will buy a bass and gonna rock it so hard.
So, since I already wrote that wall of text and created this topic maybe you’ll name some of your favorite bass players.
I also have to name Jack Bruce and Paul McCartney as one ofy favorites too.
Not enough strings! This is going to be a 4 vs 6 string war now .
For real, there’s a reason bands usually have a bass player, and 2 pieces ala white stripes or black keys either use pitch shifters or tour with a bass player.
Perhaps you have already done this, but if not, listen to Metallica’s Master of Puppets album followed directly by …And Justice for All, the lack of bass in the latter is notorious (poor Jason ). The comparison with the MoP album makes it incredibly stark. Then search online for people who have re-recorded the bass in Justice and it sounds so much better.
You’ve already named two of my favourite bassists, but a few more to shout out would be Lemmy, Cliff Burton, Tom Araya and Alex Webster
Your post ended up with me getting an ear worm. I couldn’t help but think of the song Radar Love because of the strong bass line. If you don’t know it, check it out.
Hehe, is this where we all pile in with our favourite bass driven hot tunes?
My go to is the final scene from Hair (the film). Nifty bit of cinematography to boot
I had the pleasure of seeing Mr Big at Marina Bay Sands Theatre a few weeks ago.
Not only is Paul Gilbert a great guitar player (and a decent drummer, as it turns out) but Billy Sheenan is a virtuoso on the bass. Most of the time, he plays in quite an understated way, but give him a solo slot and the guy can shred:
This isn’t my footage, by the way. I did capture this, but my recording is from the other side of the theatre, and is a bit grainy.
Yes! I thought that I forgot someone very important. I listened to all three Winery Dogs records this summer and was just blown away. I already knew Mike and Richie and it’s always a pleasure listening to them, but discovering Billy was one of the greatest musical moments in recent months for me.
Gotta add one more legendary name. Haven’t listened to Queen in a long time and I almost forgot how great John Deacon is. Have to finally listen to their whole discography.
Possibly not quite a legendary bass player compared to some of the others in this thread, but definitely one of my favourites is Mike Rutherford. His bass lines, as his guitar riffs, were always tastefully done and completed the song.
His work ranges from the sometimes frenetic, and often odd-meter work on tracks like Supper’s Ready, In the Cage, and Firth of Fifth where he often played both bass guitar and bass pedals at the same time, to more poppy numbers:
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Good for you, Artem! 
Lovin’ the enthusiasm! 
…Bass is more than 4 strings very often 5 or 6 
