What's your style of playing, Influences

[Lynottfan]

Pick, fingers, thumb, effects to, use what you can when you can, when the song need its, always use what you can as a musician, never stunt yourself. Players, The GREAT Phil Lynott, Nard', Macca, Louis Johnson, Bruce foxton and Bruce Thomas, Mario Cipollina, Richard Page, Timmy C and The OX!

 

[Russel]

I have far too many influences to name; just about every bassist I hear. Biggest ones: Dirk Lance, Les Claypool, Larry Graham, Flea, Jamerson, John Paul Jones, Rocco Prestia.

I'm a groove oriented guy; solid, pocket lines and interesting fills when the music calls.

I do an equal amount of slapping and fingerstyle, and occasionally I'll break out a pick, but that's just when I'm bored. Curiously, nobody in my immediate musical surrounding appreciates slap-style bass.

As far as philosophy for playing goes, I treat the instrument as if it were an extension of my body. Which it is. Harmony with the instrument yields the best playing.

 

[Basspro]

Yeah gotta love Alex, aka Dirk Lance. He's a great guy, and a great musician.
You hit the nail on the head. Your instrument is an extension of your body and become one. And for me, the best playin comes from your soul. You just gotta feel it!

 

[Aussie Mark]

Rock, blues, old school real R&B (ie. not kids with caps on backwards holding their genital area while they sing). 4 string only. Used to use pick and fingers, but fingers only for the past 20 years or so. Have used flatwound strings exclusively for 15 years or so. Another "less is more" proponent when it comes to style. No slapping for me, thanks. Main influences are guys like James Jamerson, John Paul Jones, Ric Danko, Paul McCartney, John Entwhistle, Bill Wyman.

 

[r goldsmith]

I've dipped my toe in a few styles. Playing in a covers band forces you to look into stuff you probably wouldn't otherwise do. Even though I'm old I have dabbled in some Flea, Zender etc. in my attempt to do the songs justice. But my comfort zone is Stones, Stax, Atlantic, Motown - all older stuff, pretty much pop/rock, R&B and soul based, and the odd country or blues gig. 99% finger style, no slapping unless the song absolutely requires me to do it (badly) in my covers band.

 

[CFA]

I've use my fingers primarily for about the last... year or two. I still use a pick once and a while, mostly for chord stuff. I don't really know about my influences, because by my definition an influence has to show through in your own work, and I can't really think of any bassists I truly admire that do show influences in my work that way. My favorite bassists right now, that I would like to be able to play like are probably (In no particular order)
-Flea
-Tim Commerford
-Jesse F. Keeler
-John Entwitstle
-John Frusciante (I love the "bass solo" in Dark/Light)
-Judd Gruenbaum
-Some Japanese guy who's name I don't know(Dunno who played on the tracks)
-Brad Stewart

 

[bovinehost]

Style: minimal, tending toward nonexistent. I started with fingerstyle, used a pick for a LONG time, been back to only fangers for 12-15 years now.

Like many my age, heavily influenced by Sir Paul. I have two older sisters who loved Motown, Stax, all that good early R&B/soul stuff, so maybe I absorbed some of that, too.

Later influenced by John Siegler (Todd, Utopia) and even Roger Glover (Deep Purple). Tony Levin has been a constant since I was a Genesis fan and then followed Gabriel after The Big Split. I love the Crimson et al stuff but get more real useful licks and ideas from the more "rock" stuff Tony does....Jules Shear, Willie Porter, that sort of thing.

 

[EBMM7181]

My dad got me started on bass, so I guess he's #1 ...... But here's some bassists that I like their styles.
Robert DeLeo ( STP )
Mark Stoermer ( The Killers )
Gail Ann Dorsey ( Bowe )
Steve Marshall ( Kenny Chesney Band )
Mark James Klepaski ( Breaking Benjamin )
Flea
Ben Alsup ( he's amazing )

 

[Russel]

Yeah gotta love Alex, aka Dirk Lance. He's a great guy, and a great musician.
You hit the nail on the head. Your instrument is an extension of your body and become one. And for me, the best playin comes from your soul. You just gotta feel it!

I know more about that band than any other in my vocabulary, so I guess that makes them my favorite. Katunich was one of my earliest tonal influences.
I almost ended up with a Warwick because of him.

I like Ben Kenny alright I guess. But incubus just isn't the same. Dirk had the funk, man! fungus amongus is one of my favorite albums.

 

[gafman]

I started off using a pick 20+ years ago. I had a few lessons about 6 months after picking up my first bass and the teacher I had was big on fingerstyle.
Needless to say, I have played fingerstyle ever since and couldn't imagine using a pick. I do slap and make no apologies for it. I just love the percussive nature of it and to my ears sounds great, but there is a time and a place.
Influences? So many and where to start. Stu Hamm, Billy Sheehan, Jaco, Les Claypool, Larry Graham, Steve Harris, Jim Hilbun and Flea just to name a few.

 

[Jornan]

I play with fingers and thumb. I almost never use a pick.
Influences are John Myung, Flea, Jaco, Chris Wolstenholme, Roger Glover and many others!

 

[iamcatwarrior]

I play a lot of rock 'n' roll, jazz, and prog. My playing style is exclusively with my fingers, no picks or slapping (I just don't care for slapping, personally). Most of what I play is played fast and somewhat ornamental.

Influences: Geddy Lee, John Entwhistle, Bill Gould, John Myung, Colin Edwin, Billy Sheehan, Troy Sanders, and others.

 

[Basspro]

I know more about that band than any other in my vocabulary, so I guess that makes them my favorite. Katunich was one of my earliest tonal influences.
I almost ended up with a Warwick because of him.

I like Ben Kenny alright I guess. But incubus just isn't the same. Dirk had the funk, man! fungus amongus is one of my favorite albums.

They are a great bunch of guys. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with them in Calabasas through a mutal friend in their early days.
They are not the same without Alex. I'm not real fond of BK either.
And yes, Fungus Amongus is the shizbah, they were actually just messing around during the recording sessions. That go's to show, you never know!

 

[BassArtIsCure]

Definitely Simon Gallup (The Cure ).... but there are few others I enjoy listening (Peter Hook -> Joy Division, Tony Levin)

Mostly pick style, fingers from time to time --> depending on the song...

Bye!

 

[thunder]

simon gallop. it wasn't intentional just happened.

 

[Alvabass]

Mainly rock and tropical music. Stuart Hamm is my biggest influence (without a doubt), but I've also tried to learn stuff from Jaco and Geddy, just to name a couple big names. I've used a pick, but I'm by no means a pick player. Fingerstyle, traditional slapping (no double thumping) and tapping are the techniques I feel the most comfortable with.

 

[RockinRayDuke]

Let's see.....

McCartney
Carol Kaye
Joe Osborn
Tommy Cogbill
Duck Dunn
Chris White (Zombies)
Trevor Burton (The Move)
Jack Bruce
Noel Redding
Billy Cox
Hendrix

After 40 years of doing it I still don't know if I have a style. These are some of the people I think of when I play. I use a pick, fingers, whatever it needs.

I'm no bass virtuoso just a guy that tries to play what I think needs to be played to make it groove and swing.

 

[bovinehost]

Oh, you DO have a style, Ray. I could definitely pick you out of a crowd.

 

[RockinRayDuke]

Thanks. Bottle of Finlandia on the way.

Wait-is that a good or bad thing?

 

[patobrujo]

I play fingerstyle mostly but in some songs i slap and do some tapping too, nothing too fancy in any case, never use a pick and i'm a 6er for 5 years now.

My biggest influences are Cliff Burton, Geddy Lee, Flea, Les Claypool, Jorge Campos, and a large etc.