How Bass Is Shaping The Future

From Creativity, to Technology, to Social Change:
How Bass is Shaping the Future
Author: Gareth Hughes B00768977
Date: 10 January 2019
Supervisor: Dr. Adam Melvin
Word count: 6,325
This research essay is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the
Masters in Creative Music at the University of Ulster.
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ABSTRACT
This research paper aims to detail how bass players have embraced an ever-
evolving technology, to forge a new lineage in bass playing and music making.
More than this, it may have contributed to social change. This paper aims to
investigate stages of cultural evolution through the lens of bass playing and
instrument innovation, acknowledging the cause and effect the bass has had on
social change.
The electric bass, a hybrid instrument with an electric guitar and double bass
heritage, will be shown as fertile ground in a rapidly changing musical
environment. Further, how it in turn influenced a new approach to double bass
playing, and how they both morph between a position of deferential subservience
and a self-contained musical entity.
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CHAPTER 1: Our Fender who art in heaven....
While the name Fender is synonymous with the electric guitar and the myriad
styles of music in which it is used, it is rarely thought of in the light deserving
of a true revolutionary innovator. Leo Fender himself did not set out to start a
revolution. His goal was to simply use his engineering talents and his passion
for music to help some guitarist friends fill the role of the bass player in their
groups, without learning how to play the cumbersome double bass. But as is
often the case with life changing discoveries that occurred by accident, such
as penicillin and stainless steel, Fender invented something that had a much
larger reach, beyond the scope of helping a few friends.
In Jim Robert’s book, ‘How The Fender Bass Changed The World’, the
introduction of the Fender Precision Bass guitar in October of 1951 was the
catalyst that enabled the pre-existing styles of country and western, rockabilly
and R&B to slowly merge into Rock and Roll. ‘Most histories of popular music
focus on the electric guitar as the crucial instrument in the evolution of rock &
roll. It played an absolutely essential role, to be sure – but it was really the
Fender bass that made possible the forward progress of this new genre.
Without it, rock & roll might never have moved beyond the crude (if
captivating) sound of the young Elvis on That’s All Right or Chuck Berry on
Maybellene.’ (Roberts, 2001, p.42)
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Helping to forge a new musical genre is not the change that Roberts argued
for, but rather the changing of opinions, minds and, indeed, of lives
themselves. ‘It may seem simplistic to ascribe social change to the invention
of a musical instrument, but the line of causality is clear: without the Fender
bass rock music as we know it was simply not possible.’ (Roberts, 2001,
p.181)
To expand that argument, there would be no Beatles or Rolling Stones
without the Fender Bass, as the volume that these bands demanded was
simply not possible with a traditional double bass. In a 1989 interview,
discussing how the rhythms used in this new form of music called rock and
roll evolved, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards said that ‘it suddenly
changed in ‘58, ’59, ‘60, until it was all over by the early 60’s. The drummers
were starting to play eight to the bar, and I thought at first maybe they were
just going for more power. Then I realised that, no, it was because of the
bass, the advent of reliable electric bass guitar. The traditional double bass
went bye-bye.’ (Roberts, 2001, p.58)
The Fender bass now gave the bass player in any group a newfound voice,
with an authority that could not be ignored. With a clearer sound and
increased prominence on stage, musicians and arrangers were now
beginning to use different bass patterns. The simple introduction of this new
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instrument, coupled with the success of groups such as the Beatles and
various acts on the Motown label, was now beginning to affect how music was
being written and performed. Nelson Riddle, the longtime arranger for Frank
Sinatra, said that ‘all sorts of interesting lines are possible on the Fender
bass. I’m sure that many of these are possible on the string bass but, due to
the great resonance of the Fender, they sound with more authority when
played on that instrument.’ (Riddle, 1985, p.102) The rhythm section as a
whole unit changed ‘and with the change came a whole new series of bass
lines.’ (Riddle, 1985, p.101)
Contemporary with those bands was a fertile music scene that produced
bands such as Cream, The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and so
many more. The music of these bands became a uniting element for many
social movements. ‘During the 1960’s, the primordial sound of early rock &roll
was transformed into something much more potent and influential. The power
of the electric bass, in the hands of such innovators as James Jamerson (at
Motown Records) and Paul McCartney (of The Beatles), was critical in this
transformation. And rock music was no longer just a diversion; it was, as
Christopher Porterfield of Time put it, ‘the language of a new generation
determined to usher in sweeping social change.’ (Roberts, 2001, p.181)
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CHAPTER 2: Beyond Fender
Although the Fender bass has long been established as an indispensable
ingredient in countless groups in just as many genres, its success was not
instantaneous. ‘The Precision Bass was greeted with little enthusiasm and
gained limited acceptance at first. Only a few P-Basses [sic: Precision Bass]
were sold in the early 1950’s.’ (Roberts, 2001, p.180)
The electric bass was shoehorned into many situations, until enough
visionaries persevered and the instrument was rewarded with commercial
success and critical acceptance. For purists, it was to be avoided. Many of its
early adopters were either reluctant guitar players or double bassists. Double
bass players looked at it as a guitar. Guitar players looked at it as some kind
of lesser guitar. “None of us wanted to be the bass player,” admits Beatles
bassist Paul McCartney. “It wasn’t the #1 job. In our minds it was the fat guy
in the back of the group who nearly always played the bass. We wanted to be
up front singing, looking good, to pull the birds.” (Coryat, 1999, p.172) Even its
first true visionary, James Jamerson, came from a double bass playing
background, bringing much of his jazz heritage to the instrument. It would be
at least 20-25 years from its introduction until the instrument was a first choice
for an aspiring musician, someone with no association to either the guitar or
the double bass.
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The electric bass guitar, regardless of brand or manufacturer, did come to be
accepted by musicians and the public alike. This was thanks to an increasing
use by prominent studio musicians such as Carol Kaye, James Jamerson and
Joe Osborn in the US and John Paul Jones and Herbie Flowers in the UK.
The emerging popularity of the ‘British Invasion’ bands like the Beatles, the
Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann, the Kinks, the Who and many more also
played a crucial role.
Fender continued to experiment and move forward with new instruments, like
the Fender Jazz Bass, introduced in 1960. By this stage, other companies
that had initially resisted these new developments, such as Gibson,
Rickenbacker and Danelectro, began to produce their own bass guitars. Such
was the success of the Fender bass however that, from its introduction in
1951 until the early 1970s, all electric basses were referred to by the generic
name Fender, regardless of their origin.
Just as Leo Fender had been a pioneering engineer looking for a way to solve
a musical problem, so too was Carl Thompson, a luthier from Brooklyn, NY.
Whilst Fender had conceived of his bass guitar as the result of many guitar
playing friends who were losing work as they could not play the double bass,
Thompson was engaged to fulfil the desires of one individual, Anthony
Jackson. Already a successful session bassist in New York City, Jackson
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conceived the idea of a 6- string bass, with one lower and one higher string
than a regular four string bass, after practicing with records by jazz organist
Jimmy Smith. When Jackson heard Smith playing a note with the organ foot
pedals that extended below the range of a standard tuned four string bass, he
decided it was “one I simply had to play.” (Roberts, 2001, p.133) Jackson
contended that the bass guitar should have always had six strings, as he
believed it to be a member of the guitar family, not the violin family as the
double bass is generally considered. As Jackson said, “the only reason it had
four strings was because Leo Fender was thinking in application terms of an
upright bass, but he built it along guitar lines because that was his training.”
(Roberts, 2001, p.134)
Like the Precision Bass on its introduction, this new instrument, the
Contrabass Guitar, as Jackson calls it, was viewed with suspicion at first.
Comments such as “You tell Anthony Jackson if he wants to bring his ‘science
experiment,’ then let him book his own sessions. I want to see the Fender!”
(Jisi, 2008, p.32) soon made their way back to Jackson.
Thanks to Anthony Jackson’s pursuit of his musical vision, and the adoption of
that instrument by others, the 6-string bass has become an established
instrument in its own right. The synthesizer dominated sounds of the 1980s
gave way to the guitar orientated sounds of grunge by the end of that decade.
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New bands and styles were emerging in which being the front man of a three-
piece alternative band and playing a 6-string fretless bass, such as in the
case of Primus, was not as radical an idea as it might have once been.
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CHAPTER 3: Going low, going lower, going lowest
The invention, and subsequent evolution, of the 6-string bass, and its myriad
offshoots known as Extended Range Basses with upwards of seven or more
strings, would remain a small footnote in the grand scheme of music making
were it not for the new paths they helped forge.
The 6-string bass is not the only instrument that helped expand the musical
opportunities for bass players. The fretless bass, as popularised by Jaco
Pastorius in the mid-1970s, did much to show, to musicians and audiences
alike, that the electric bass guitar was as valid an instrument for making
soloistic and melodic statements as any other instrument. In short, it helped
break down any resistance that designated the electric bass guitar as always
being part of the rhythm section, instead of part of the front line of soloists and
band leaders. Although there had been several bands with bass players as
leaders before Jaco Pastorius, his musicality and popularity did much to
accelerate the evolution of the instrument, its capabilities and attitudes
towards it.
These two voices, the 6-string bass and the fretless bass, helped to establish
a lineage of exploration. Much more than adding a new sonic palette and
extending the range of a traditional four string bass, the 6-string bass opened
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up the minds of musicians. However initially, when luthier Carl Thompson was
approached by Anthony Jackson in the winter of 1974 to discuss building this
new instrument, his ‘reaction went from initial polite puzzlement, to resistance,
to anger. He didn’t see the purpose in the low B; he felt no one would be able
to hear it, as the speakers in cars and television sets were too small.’ (Jisi,
2008, p.26) Yet, 17 years later Thompson would build a 6-string fretless bass
for Les Claypool of Primus.
As Primus were one of the unlikely success stories from the alternative music
scene of the late 80s/early 90s, that bass would be featured regularly on MTV
as videos for the singles Jerry Was A Race Car Driver and Tommy The Cat
received heavy rotation. This bass-centric band were also featured in the
movie Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey, released in 1991.
Les Claypool’s 6-string fretless Carl Thompson bass, beaming brightly from
the front cover of the Jan/Feb 1993 issue of Bass Player magazine, may have
been responsible, for demonstrating that the bass did not have to conform.
One could step out of the traditional role forged by previous generations of
bass players and play an instrument that did not have four strings or the name
Fender or Rickenbacker on them. That bass, and how it was played, was the
key, in my opinion, that unlocked a world of possibilities for a new generation
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of bass players.
The Primus example was not an outlier. Anthony Jackson’s artistry elevated
the visibility, and viability, of the contrabass guitar through recordings and
performances with such high- profile artists like Chaka Khan, Paul Simon,
Steely Dan, Donald Fagan, Al Di Meola, Quincy Jones and Grover
Washington Jr, amongst others. The development of the contrabass guitar
continued and, although not his intention, was eventually met with critical and
commercial success. After hearing Jackson’s recordings, fellow session
musician Nathan East began playing a 5-string bass, with a low B string.
Relating to Jackson’s playing, he said: ‘Anthony’s performance on Move Me
No Mountain (from Naughty by Chaka Khan) should be studied by all bassists
as an example of a perfect bass part… it represents a standard of creativity
that should be the barometer for all of us who consider ourselves to be studio
bassists.’ (Jisi, 2004, p.85) Other session greats like Neil Stubenhaus, Jimmy
Johnson and Abraham Laboriel were early adopters of these extended range
basses. By mid-1985, Yamaha Musical Instruments were offering the BB5000
5 string bass in its summer catalogue. This is the first documented instance of
a mass produced 5 string bass. (Yamaha, 1985)
Helping fuel this ascension was the development of bass technology and
reproduction as a whole, across professional and consumer level equipment.
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Not only were bass amplifiers being designed that could accommodate the
low range offered by the contrabass guitar and keyboard bass synths, but
also the audio reproduction in home sound systems could now reproduce
these sounds too. ‘Bass could now be heard clearer, deeper and louder than
ever and it soon began to dominate the mix on recordings and on stage.’
(Newell, 2014)
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CHAPTER 4: Tinseltown Rebellion (Oh no, it’s the 80’s again)
This newfound popularity contributed to songs being constructed around the
bass in ways they previously had not. Again, the bass was affecting how
music was being written and performed. Hit songs like New York Minute’
(1989) by Don Henley and Wherever I Lay My Hat (1983) by Paul Young both
featured the fretless bass playing of Pino Palladino. Paul Simon's 1986 album
Graceland featured the melodic bass playing of Bakithi Kumalo heavily,
including a bass solo on the hit (You Can) Call Me Al. The chart topping
Under Pressure (1981) by Queen is anchored throughout by John Deacon's
simple but ear catching hook. While not showcasing soloistic virtuosity, the
electric bass was now being prominently featured in a melodic role.
A high mark in this development, was Billie Jean by Michael Jackson,
released in 1983. The cultural significance of Billie Jean cannot be ignored,
though its legacy is easily taken for granted. Michael Jackson as an artist
brought together black and white audiences in unprecedented numbers.
Thriller, the album from which Billie Jean comes, remains the best-selling
album of all time. (“Guinness World Records,” n.d.)
The video for Billie Jean played a pivotal role in changing the status quo of the
day. MTV rarely showed videos by black artists, and so refused to play the
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video for Billie Jean. Walter Yetnikoff, president of Jackson’s label, CBS
Records, told MTV that he would pull every CBS related video from the station
and inform the public of MTV’s racist practices. MTV capitulated and Billie
Jean was played on heavy rotation. (Lewis, 2007) The effect this had cannot
be underestimated. In an article entitled How Billie Jean Changed The World,
Joe Queenan writes in the Guardian newspaper that ‘Billie Jean transformed
MTV from a mere diversion for young people into a cultural institution that
society at large paid attention to. It
introduced the pasty-faced number-crunchers who ran MTV to the concept
that white viewers would respond enthusiastically to videos featuring a black
performer, something they had not previously believed.’ (Queenan, 2007)
Discussing the cultural significance of Billie Jean, Queenan goes on to say
that for ‘around seven years, Michael Jackson was the most luminous,
powerful, influential star in the music business, and no one else was even
close…All this began with the 1983 hit single Billie Jean. Though it may not
sound like it today, Billie Jean is one of the most revolutionary songs in the
history of popular music.‘ (Queenan, 2007)
Featuring a dominating bass line, it perfectly illustrates how the role of the
bass functions as the bridge between rhythm and harmony. The song begins
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boldly with 29 seconds of that bass line and a drumbeat, unheard of in the
three-and-a-half-minute pop world. Producer Quincy Jones wanted to cut the
introduction, but was talked out of it by Jackson who claimed ‘That’s what
makes me want to dance.’ Retelling this story to a reporter, Jones relates:
“When Michael Jackson tells you that’s what makes me want to dance, well,
the rest of us just have to shut up.” (Glentzer, 2009)
As Rolling Stone magazine noted in its 25th anniversary review of the album
Thriller, “Beat It” was the one designed to get on rock radio - but “Billie Jean”
got there first, since the rock stations played it, along with the rest of the
world. They couldn’t resist that bass. Who could?’ (Sheffield, 2008) It is worth
noting that when Kanye West removed the bassline in his 2008 remix of Billie
Jean, Rolling Stone ‘compared it to "putting (ice hockey legend) Bobby Orr on
the ice without a hockey stick". (Sheffield, 2008)
Stylistically, the feel, and sound itself, can be heard in bands performing on
the radio today. Scheduled for release in January 2019, one need only listen
to the similar opening drum beat and bass line of Líneas En Hojas by Mexican
group Lorelle Meets The Obsolete to hear the enduring influence of Billie
Jean.
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This element of a social and cultural revolution is also mirrored in the story of
legendary bass player Ron Carter. A veteran of over 2000 studio recordings,
including dozens as a band leader, Carter was also a member of Miles Davis’
second great quintet from 1963 to 1968. Having studied cello since the age of
ten, Carter was poised to pursue an orchestral career but quickly found that,
despite his training, finding an orchestral job as an African-American in the 1950s
was difficult. Sensing the futility of the situation, Carter changed both instrument
and environment by switching to the double bass and immersing himself in the
flourishing jazz scene of New York City. With barely a year on this new
instrument, Carter was accepted into the Eastman School of Music on a full
scholarship. Although he quickly ascended to a first call status in the studio and
live jazz world, a position he still retains at the age of 81, Carter has observed the
same discriminatory practices in the classical world throughout his career. Here,
Carter details the situation as he encountered it, after nearly forty years as a
professional musician: ‘I see it more than most people, because I’m constantly
threatening that environment by just standing in the doorway. I’ve done 45-
member sessions and seen only one other black musician on the date. We’re in
New York, man - you mean to tell me they couldn’t find one African-American to
play violin at 9:00 in the morning?’ (Jisi, 1994, p.41)
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CHAPTER 5: Growing up and moving out
That an instrument could be associated with cultural change may seem far-
fetched, this attribution has shown up in the fabric of music from time to time.
Synthesizers, ‘unhooked from the provenance of musical culture and
tradition’, were viewed favourably by those wishing to evoke something new.
Guitars and keyboard instruments, such as pianos and organs, can be viewed
as inherently Western based as they ‘play Western scales and tuning easily,
and anything else with great difficulty.’ (Byrne, 2012, p.103)
As Leon Theremin’s eponymous instrument bore no similarity in how it was
played to any other intstrument, its volume and pitch being controlled by
proximity sensors, David Byrne argues that though ‘Theremin was Russian,
one could say that this instrument, and some other electronic instruments and
samplers that followed, had no national or cultural provenance. They didn’t
emerge out of an ongoing tradition, and they weren’t better suited to play
music of one tradition over another.’ (Byrne, 2012, pp.102-103)
In the 1970s the Chinese government felt that the Mini Moog synthesizer was
the perfect instrument to represent their worldview. Although it was designed
to imitate the sound of other instruments, it was seen as a potentially
liberating tool if used in a different manner. ‘The Chinese, then quite
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doctrinaire in their version of communism, felt that this instrument, untethered
as it was from history and traditional culture, was perfect for their New
Society.’ (Byrne, 2012, p.105)
Just as the myriad new sounds available from a synthesizer may appeal to
those wishing to draw from an untapped musical well, so too is the reverse a
consideration. Eschewing an established sound from the past was a politically
motivated choice made by the Dixie Chicks, an American group. Session
bassist Sebastian Steinberg recalls being asked to favour electric bass over
double bass as the lead singer of the group, Natalie Maines, ‘felt it really
signified the old country world and unpleasant connotations, particularly given
the outspoken stances they're famous for.’ Steinberg felt ‘it was first time (he)
ran into the upright bass representing a political stance.’ (Prasad, 2007)
As the electric bass diverged from the guitar and the double bass to become
its own entity, it severed any link to a national or cultural heritage. This had
happened before, when the invention of the magnetic pickup made the hollow
body of an acoustic guitar redundant. This was the event which cut the
traditional ties of the acoustic guitar to the electric guitar: ‘That unwritten law
of staying true to the sound of a traditional instrument had been violently
broken…the electric guitars were breaking free of history. Their available
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range of sounds wasn’t constrained by any specific cultural trajectory. It
seemed that music would be liberated from the past.’ (Byrne, 2012, p.104)
The electric bass guitar did not come from any one tradition. It was now free
to create its own.
The genres of funk, R&B and disco did much to solidify the permanence of the
bass guitar as these styles all featured strong, repetitive and distinct bass
lines. In rock music a bass guitarist was a pre-requisite. But just as the electric
guitar has little practical relation to its acoustic forbearer, so too does the
electric bass share the same tenuous relationship with the double bass.
Adapting to new styles and sounds, even new instruments, has been a
common thread throughout the bass playing world. ‘When the Fender electric
bass began to supplant the acoustic stand-up bass, a lot of players said,
'That's the end of us,' " remembers former session player Herb Bushler. "And
it was the end of a lot of them, unless they learned to play the Fender
bass."(Walker, 1990) The dominance of synthesizers in the eighties was
reminiscent of the fifties and the growing popularity of the Precision bass. ‘The
mechanisation all happened at once: synths, drum machines, keyboard bass
became the choice; people were understandably grooving on the new
technology’ says Neil Stubenhaus, a first call L.A. Session bassist since the
seventies. ‘The answer’ says Stubenhaus, ‘is to emulate the current music
scene and embrace the technology.’ (Jisi, 2001, p.54)
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CHAPTER 6: Analogue meets digital, has child
The electric bass today is being used in ways completely unforeseen by its
inventor and forbearers, and for different reasons too. Even the double bass
has had a resurgence in popularity, and not only in its traditional settings,
ranging from popular chart-topping band Mumford & Sons to Miles Mosley
playing with rapper Kendrick Lamar, soul singer Lauren Hill and heavy metal
superstar Jonathan Davis of Korn. A combination of embracing an ever-
evolving technology and a plethora of musicians who are forging a new
lineage in bass playing is resulting in a wonderfully diverse and expansive
musical universe.
Of these bands and musicians, this combination is clearly evident in the group
Royal Blood. Singer and bassist Mike Kerr employs several effects pedals to
make his four string bass guitar sound like a standard electric guitar and an
electric bass guitar playing simultaneously. One of these effects pedals is the
Electro Harmonix POG, a digital polyphonic octave generator. The digital
technology is vital in this pedal as its analogue predecessors were unable to
track and duplicate more than a single voice accurately, rendering chords
unusable. A guitar player in previous bands, Kerr switched to bass as a
means to find a new voice. ‘I’d just started playing bass on the first record,
and I didn’t really know what I was doing. Maybe that made for some creative
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songwriting’ says Kerr in an article fittingly titled ‘Royal Blood Continue to
Rewrite the Rock Rulebook - Without a Guitar’. (Bosso, 2017)
It is worth noting that this approach is the reverse of that taken by the White
Stripes in the late 1990s into the early 2000s. On their first big hit, Seven
Nation Army, the bass line is actually a hollow body electric guitar played
through a DigiTech Whammy pedal, set to reproduce the input signal one
octave lower. (Gill, 2018) This simple usage of available technology,
employed with such confidence, can be seen as an extension of the punk rock
ethos of the 1970s, itself a reaction, in part at least musically, to the
overblown grandeur of bands like Led Zeppelin, YES, Emerson, Lake and
Palmer and the spectacle of glam rock groups such as T-Rex, KISS and Alice
Cooper.
Mark Sandman, with the groups Morphine and Treat Her Right, pioneered the
use of a two-string bass, each string tuned a fifth apart. That bass, coupled with
Sandman’s baritone voice and a baritone saxophone as the only other melodic
instrument, created a style of music known as Low-Rock. Other proponents of
this style are Chris Ballew with his three-string ‘basitar’ in the band Presidents of
the U.S.A. and Monique Ortiz, also playing the two string slide bass, in the group
Alien Knife Fight. Using a metal slide traditionally associated with standard six
string guitar playing ‘Ortiz approaches slide bass with a punk rock ethos, creating
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distorted, grinding music that is refreshingly new yet pure American rock and roll.’
(Speal, 2017)
Not surprisingly, given its penchant for exploration, it is within the jazz idiom
that much of this new ground is being ploughed. By studying the legends of
the past, and sometimes with them, bassist Miles Mosley has crafted an
environment that serves his musical vision well, and he’s done this from the
bottom up. ‘I’ve taken an upright bass, put a bunch of effects on it, changed
the groove so it’s hitting a little bit harder and feels a bit more modern, but I
can’t do any of that without understanding the bass players that came before
me, like Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford or Charles Mingus’ says Mosley. (Waring,
2018)
A motivator in exploring new soundscapes comes from being acutely aware of
the current state of the music industry and ‘music-consuming’, previously
record-buying, public at large. “We live at a time where pop music is always
on – on every YouTube ad, every commercial….but because people have so
much of that readily available, they are excited to build a relationship with a
record and put something on that takes a bit longer to develop” says Mosley.
(Waring, 2018)
Using both upright bass and electric bass, Esperanza Spalding has taken
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relationship building even further by inviting her fans to live stream the entire
recording process for her 2017 album Exposure. No music was written prior to
streaming, and viewers were invited to add comments to the proceedings.
The entire process, a total of 77 hours of non-stop streaming including rest
and food breaks, was broadcast live on Facebook. All 7,777 physical copies
of the record were signed by Spalding and included handwritten notes and
lyrics made during the recording sessions. Weaving new technology with old-
school interaction to engage with audiences at this personal level, artists are
pursuing new ways to build genuine, and hopefully long lasting, fan bases.
Echoing Spalding’s personal connection with her audience, Royal Blood’s
Mike Kerr adds that listening to what your audience wants from a grassroots
level can pay dividends. ‘The album format … has a lot of value. Also, there’s
vinyl—that’s where the format lives. A lot of our fans are into vinyl. They’re
dipping back to that ritual of buying a record, going home and listening to it,
flipping it over. It’s not as big as streaming, but it’s there. So as long as we
have that, we’ll make albums, even if less people appreciate them. (Bosso,
2017)
Even in the modern chart-topping pop world, Ted Dwane, bassist for Mumford
& Sons, has found a way to make the sound of the double bass stay relevant
by utilising modern technology. The most common method of amplifying a
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double bass is by using a piezo pickup, which sense the instruments
vibrations. However, the very nature of a double bass being a large
resonating chamber, when amplified, facilitates a feedback loop which
renders them unusable at high volumes. This problem of double bass
feedback has been solved, to a large degree, by using the technology that
spurred the development of its one-time successor, the electric bass:
magnetic pickups.
Although this technology is not new, magnetic pickups have had little
popularity with double bass players as their sonic characteristics remove too
much of acoustic sound from the double bass. Ted Dwane has found a mix of
old and new as the recipe for success in amplifying his double bass to
stadium level volume while still retaining a large semblance of the original
acoustic sound. ‘Early on, we started experimenting with things like mounting
a P-style [sic: Precision bass style] pickup to the fingerboard with gaffer tape.
Now I have a Zadow magnetic humbucker that I blend with a [sic:piezo
design] David Gage Realist SoundClip. That way, I get a lot of low-end thump
and fullness from the humbucker, and blend as much of the Realist as we can
for that woody sound. The piezos supply the percussive side, and the
magnetic pickup offers unlimited volume.’ (Fox, 2013)
Pushing the technology side further is Grammy Award-winning bassist
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Stephen ‘Thundercat’ Bruner. Besides being one of the most unique bass
players in music today, Thundercat is also one of music’s most original and
creative artists. ‘For anyone interested in the constantly evolving nexus
between jazz, electronica and hip hop, Thundercat's swiftly becoming as
ubiquitous as woolly hats and Sun Ra shout outs.’ (McQuaid, 2015)
In a telling step that reflects how popular Thundercat is, and also
acknowledging his method of creating music on his bass, instrument
manufacturer Ibanez has released a Thundercat signature bass. Featuring
standard magnetic pickups, the 6-string bass also features a piezo system as
well as a MIDI pickup. Rather than an add on accessory, the MIDI pickup,
which Bruner uses to replicate a wide variety of instrument sounds from
keyboard synths to percussion to orchestral strings, the MIDI pickup is
built directly into the instrument and has its own dedicated output. The output
options are extensive, including separate volume controls for the separate
magnetic, piezo and MIDI pickups, along with MIDI up/down switches and a
mid/dark EQ selector switch.
Julie Slick is another bassist using MIDI technology to embrace sounds not
traditionally associated with bass playing, creating soundscapes inspired by
Robert Fripp and Brian Eno. Slick uses her MIDI equipped Precision-style bass
with a Roland VB-99 signal processor, which converts bass to MIDI and streams
26
audio via USB audio sources. Bubby Lewis, producer and bassist for Snoop
Dogg and Lupe Fiasco uses the VB-99 because ‘the possibilities of what you can
do with this is endless, you can score an entire movie with this tiny little box right
here’. (Rolandmedia, 2012, 00:00:42) Gary Willis, of TribalTech and Tryphasia,
views the merging of a traditional instrument with modern technology like the VB-
99 as all part of the same user interface, recommending that ‘students and young
players can look at the instrument and the technology as a mouldable interface
for their imagination.’ (Rolandmedia, 2012, 00:17:30)
All of this seems very ‘high-brow’ and ‘muso’ – terms which rarely entice mass
commercial appeal, yet Thundercat has frequently made high profile TV
appearances, most notably with repeat appearances on The Tonight Show
Starring Jimmy Fallon. Appearances such as these, along with his Grammy
Award, are sure signs that progressive instruments such as the 6-string bass
have been accepted by mainstream musical audiences and practitioners.
27
CONCLUSION: Never backward, always forward
This research project initially sprung from the idea to investigate if there was
any substantiating evidence to support my claim that there was more to the
jokes about bass players being failed guitarists, and if there was some
genuine malicious intent in these sentiments. From the formal and informal
interviews and conversations with several bass players, of various standing in
the international music community, I arrived at the conclusion that there was
no genuine malicious intent but rather good-natured camaraderie. However,
while I believe that the bass guitar does enjoy a mutual respect shared
amongst other instrumentalists, this path of inquiry took me somewhere
unexpected. I began to ponder just why did I feel that the bass guitar, and its
player, can sometimes feel like an outsider. Could the reason lie in that, by
the very nature of its hybrid origins, it serves both the rhythm and the harmony
simultaneously and therefore can also seem to belong to neither camp
successfully?
In considering whether or not individual personalities play a role in
determining the instruments we play, take this comparative study of orchestral
instruments: ‘To outsiders, ‘the brass’ may be lumped all together but each
instrument bestows upon those who seek to master it something of its own
character. The pyrotechnics, for instance, are mostly in the trumpet…the
28
trombone is the brass’s philosopher…Others may make free with jokes about
Tubby the Tuba, but a tuba player knows how important is his contribution to
his colleagues.’ (Blandford, 1985, p.20) In understanding ones role within any
ensemble being determined by the instrument played, it is worth considering
the solitude of the piano. ‘It is indeed the stranger in the family…it does not
have, naturally, that sustained, singing tone to which musicians most readily
respond. The piano is perforce set apart from an orchestra by size,
appearance, position, sound and attack. To string players a violinist is one of
‘us’, his success is ‘ours’. A pianist is an outsider, no kith and kin of his here.’
(Blandford, 1985, p.106)
This intangible relationship that a musician may have with his or her
instrument could be viewed of as a chicken and egg scenario. Did we choose
the bass guitar or does it choose us? In describing his role in the group Spinal
Tap, bassist Derek Smalls offers this comical thought on where he fits
between the two bandleaders, both of whom, co-incidentally and yet
importantly, are guitarists. "David and Nigel are like poets, you know, like
Shelley or Byron, or people like that. The two totally distinct types of
visionaries, it’s like fire and ice, and I feel my role in the band is to be kind of
the middle of that, kind of like lukewarm water." (This Is Spinal Tap, 1984)
Although this insight is fictional, written as part of a ‘mockumentary’, I believe
this exchange speaks volumes as to the mind-set involved in why we play the
29
particular instruments that we do. The joke simply would not worked if Smalls
were not a bass player, and if he was not talking about two guitarists.
An instrument is just that, an instrument. Yet it can draw towards it a certain
kind of personality, one that finds a home in this new place. ‘According to
orchestra lore, cellists and double basses are the most warm-hearted of
sections. Is it something to do with years spent hugging their instruments? Or
do the big deep tones at the bottom attract more giving personalities?’
(Blandford, 1985, p.91) This new place, this home, in creative music making,
and sometimes culture changing, via an extended range bass or effects laden
double bass, is an exciting part of the growing legacy of being a bass player.
Far from being only a member of the rhythm section, bass players are now
involved in every aspect of the music business, from performing the music,
writing the music, arranging it, booking shows, tour managing, liaising with
record labels and the media to being the media itself. All of these facets have
become more important than ever for the individual musician to understand.
As Miles Mosley states regarding his own career, in which he balances being
a sideman with being a solo artist, and writing scores for TV and film, being “a
musician, especially in this day and age, you really are managing a portfolio of
sorts and so diversification becomes the key.” (Heath, 2017)
30
More than being any one thing, the bass is about everything. The bass, be it
electric or acoustic, can be the harmony and the rhythm simultaneously; it can
provide a main melody or a supportive counterpoint all at a whim. With the
technology available today that allows the electric bass of Julie Slick or
Thundercat to sound like any instrument possible and also allows the upright
bass to feature as a bona fide solo instrument in a rock band with Miles
Mosley, the bass is like a musical Schrödinger‘s Cat, existing in several
metaphysical states at once.
31
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Jisi, C. (2002). Simultaneous Combustion, Bass Player, (May 2002), pp.26-32
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2002), pp.40-52
34
Bergen, B. (2003). The Master’s Voice. Bass Player, (September 2003), pp.39-45
Jisi, C. (2004). Chaka Khan’s “Move Me No Mountain”. Bass Player, (August 2004),
pp.85-
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2004), pp.37-94
Fox, B. (2006). Les Does More. Bass Player, (August 2006), pp.40-50
Fox, B. (2008). Industrial Engineering. Bass Player, (October 2008), pp.26-86
Jisi, C. (2008). Contrabass Conception. Bass Player, (December 2008), pp.26-94
Jisi, C. (2008). Men In The Mirror: The Bassists of Michael Jackson. Bass Player,
(February 2010), pp.32-46
35
WEBSITES:
Speal, S. (2017) Monique Ortiz of Alien Knife Fight and Her Wicked Two-String Slide
Bass [online] Available at: https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/monique-ortiz-
alien-knife-fight-and-her-wicked-two-string-slide-bass [Accessed 01.08.19]
Liebman, J. (2019) How Bass Players Are Shaping the Future of Music [online]
Available at: http://www.jonliebman.com/how-bass-players-are-shaping-the-
future-of-music?
fbclid=IwAR0QXTx8ZlOFgrDUTQ2cbKLI4DXMBYrWp4emCnPRHgcWO5gh7vaDC-
tzr2E [Accessed 01.06.19]
Salmon, J, Gó mez , E and Serrà , J. (2012). Melody, Bass Line, and Harmony
Representations for Music Version Identification [online] Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254201061_Melody_Bass_Line_and_Har
mony_Representations_for_Music_Version_Identification [Accessed 01.06.19]
36
Salmon, J. and Gó mez , E. (2009). A Chroma-based Salience Function for Melody and
Bass Line Estimation from Music Audio Signals [online] Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252681737_A_Chroma-
based_Salience_Function_for_Melody_and_Bass_Line_Estimation_from_Music_Audio_
Signals [Accessed 01.06.19]
Akase, T, Ono, N and Tsunoo, E. (2010).Music mood classification by rhythm and
bass-line unit pattern analysis [online] Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224150511_Music_mood_classification_
by_rhythm_and_bass-line_unit_pattern_analysis [Accessed 12.18.18]
Yamaha. (1985). The World Of Musical Instrument Brochures [online] Available at:
http://brochures.yokochou.com/guitar-and-amp/yamaha/1985/en_index.html
[Accessed 12.18.18]
Newell, R. (2014). The history of the electric bass part four: how many strings?
[online] Available at: https://www.musicradar.com/news/bass/the-history-of-the-
electric-bass-part-four-how-many-strings-553839 [Accessed 26.12.18]
37
Guinness World Records. (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/70133-best-selling-album
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Star-Turned-Adult Enigma. [online] Available at:
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Glentzer, M. (2009) The Steps That Made Michael Jackson Great. [online] Available
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Sheffield, R. (2008) Thriller 25 Deluxe Edition. [online] Available at:
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iews/album/18290476/review/18305830/thriller_25_deluxe_edition [Accessed
23.12.18]
38
Prasad, A. (2007) Flexible Agendas. [online] Available at:
https://www.innerviews.org/inner/steinberg.html [Accessed 29.12.18]
Walker, M. (1990) The Plight Of The Session Player. [online] Available at:
https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/18/arts/pop-music-the-plight-of-the-session-
player.html [Accessed 23.12.18]
Bosso, J. (2017) Royal Blood Continue To Rewrite The Rock Rulebook – Without A
Guitar. [online] Available at: https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/royal-blood-
continue-rewrite-rock-rulebook-without-guitars [Accessed 23.12.18]
Gill, C. (2018) The Secrets Behind Jack White's Guitar Sound on the White Stripes'
"Seven Nation Army" [online] Available at:
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white-stripes-seven-nation-army [Accessed 23.12.18]
Waring, C. (2018) “Jazz Is Nutrient-Dense Music People Want”: Miles Mosley On
Jazz’s Past, Present And Future. [online] Available at:
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[Accessed 27.12.18]
39
Bruner, R. (2017) Why Esperanza Spalding Is the Most Audacious Innovator in Jazz.
[online] Available at: http://time.com/4931070/esperanza-spalding/ [Accessed
27.12.18]
Fox, B. (2013) Ted Dwane: Babel On. [online] Available at:
https://www.bassplayer.com/artists/ted-dwane-babel-on [Accessed 31.12.18]
McQuaid, I. (2015) Thundercat Is The Virtuoso Behind Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A
Butterfly. [online] Available at:
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kendrick-lamars-to-pimp-a-butterfly [Accessed 31.12.18]
Rolandmedia. (2012) Bubby Lewis on the Roland VB-99 V-Bass System [online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MOLsmue7mw [Accessed
01.08.19]
Rolandmedia. (2012) Roland VB-99 V-Bass System — Gary Willis Interview
[online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fotndSHFNUw [Accessed
01.08.19]
40
MOVIES:
This Is Spinal Tap. (1984). [video] USA. MGM
PODCASTS:
Heath, J. (2017) Miles Mosley on career diversification, effects, and living a creative
life. [podcast] Contrabass Conversations. Available at:
https://contrabassconversations.com/2017/03/23/326-miles-mosley-career-
diversification-effects-living-creative-life/ [Accessed 31.12.18]
MUSIC REFERENCES:
Harmony In My Head – KCRW. [online] Available at:
https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/henry-rollins
Red Callender: Speaks Low 1956 / Swingin’ Suite 1957
Lorelle Meets The Obsolete: Líneas En Hojas 2019
Michael Jackson: Billie Jean 1983
Miles Mosely: Abraham 2017
Thundercat: Drunk 2016
41
INTERVIEWS:
The following bass players were asked the same two questions.
1) During your career what do you feel have been the most noticeable
innovations, with regards to equipment, that you feel have helped you or worked
against you and how (ie: octave pedals, travel double basses, samplers, synth
bass, bass on click-track, etc),
2) In thinking of old jokes such as ’How many bass players does it take to change
a lightbulb? One, but the guitar player has to show him how to do it first’ or 'None,
the keyboard player does it with his left hand', and assuming that these jokes
come from a 'where there's smoke, there's fire' line of thought, have you ever
encountered an instance of a negative attitude towards you because of the
instrument you played, and, if so, how?
Jerry Scheff – bassist for Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Neil Diamond
#1 Of course electric basses have become more refined over the years. I
have always used Tube amps and that hasn’t changed. I used Fender Jazz and
P basses although Lakland took me on and I had a bunch of their basses
including my signature basses.
42
I have never collected instruments. I have given many away, usually to kids who
needed them. I haven’t had to supply my own amps for years but I always asked
for Ampeg b15s in the studio and SVT Ampegs with 8x10s. With Presley I
started with a Sun Tube Amp, changed to a couple of Music Mans. I used the
Sun Tube amp on the Doors LA woman album.
Now I have the newest Fender Jazz elite, and an old Lakland as my go to
basses, along with an old Hofner Beatle bass. I got a Mark Bass Standard 104
HF with 4 tens, and a Little Mark Tube 800 head for gigging around within driving
distance here in Scandinavia. I have been to Iceland, the UK and Germany for
concerts and that’s what I ask for.
So, I guess the biggest change for me is the amps. Light weight speakers and an
800 watt Tube head that fits in my carry on. A little clean for me so I like to use a
Bass Muff just barely on.
#2. Musicians always like to rag on one another. There were gun laws in
California and posters saying, “Use a gun - go to jail.” Bumper stickers soon
showed up with, “Use an accordion - go to Jail. Then Banjo jokes.
Other that those kind of jokes I can’t remember reverse reactions about being a
bass player except bass was always thought of as the instrument anybody could
play.
43
On the other hand, I never liked playing with a pick and I always stuck to my
guns about that. When I got to LA Carol Kaye and Joe Osborn were the two
busiest session players. I could have made a lot more money if I had looked at
music as a business, so my style of playing was mine and I wasn’t very flexible
about it. The only song I ever used a pick on was Neil Diamonds Song Sung
Blue. Producer Tom Catalano said it really needed the pick sound, was nice
about it and I agreed. I took flack from people who had preconceived ideas about
what a bass should or shouldn’t do. All the people and producers I worked with
liked what I did. Elvis never once told me what or what not to play.
Nick Scott – bassist for Van Morrison, Mary Black, Gilbert O’Sullivan
Okeydoke: regarding electric bass: 1) I reckon the development directly in the
instrument from the Precision onwards regarding, a) number of strings, b)
fretless, c) increased scale-length, d) pre-amps have all opened up subsequent
waves of artists to investigate new vistas in the instrument's capabilities directly,
alongside recording technology developments, led by artists like James
Jamerson (who came from upright background in jazz) through Larry Graham
(who brought guitaristic techniques to the instrument), Stanley Clarke with his
solid jazz footing and of course Jaco with his innovative adaption of a stock
Fender Jazz into a hybrid beast somewhere in between upright and electric for
expressiveness.
44
The use of pedals was I think an attempt to bring the signal control of the studio
(compression, modulation, distortion etc) to the stage; also the development of
more portable equipment from fridge-sized cabs to isobaric cubes and
miniaturised amps, the former to allow the basic to open up its sonic space and
the latter to get the message out there..! With the changing mood of the business
and tbe advent of synthesis bassists have had to become more sonically
adventurous, including bringing those instruments into their arsenal, as
sometimes that's the correct choice to use. 2) I've only ever encountered one
example and that was from an unnamed sax-player who advised he still
practiced 3 hours every day as he didn't want to end up playing the
bass...deadbeat with no idea - or interest- what a bassplayer does nor cares I
suspect.
Damian Erskine – bassist for Peter Erskine, Jaco Pastorius Big Band, Gino
Vannelli
1) During your career what do you feel have been the most
noticeable innovations, with regards to equipment, that you
feel have helped you or worked against you and how (ie: octave
pedals, travel double basses, samplers, synth bass, bass on
click-track, etc),
45
There have been so many innovations and areas of growth in
all aspects of the life of a working musician. The first thing that
comes to mind is the reduction in weight of the gear while also
increasing the power and headroom of the amps. I use Aguilar
amps and cabinets and my 410 cab weighs what my old 110
cab used to weigh. My 500 watt power amp weighs 4 lbs and
fits in a back-pack. The ease of the schlep has greatly reduced
the strain on my back with absolutely no compromise in tone.
Additionally, for touring bands, using digital boards and being
able to travel with your settings on a USB stick is phenomenal.
Just plug it in and load the exact settings from your last show.
Incredible. Basses are easier to play, amps are easier to carry
and you can backline an entire stages worth of gear and recall
settings… It’s a great time to be a traveling musician!
2) In thinking of old jokes such as ’How many bass players does
it take to change a lightbulb? One, but the guitar player has to
show him how to do it first’ or 'None, the keyboard player does
it with his left hand', and assuming that these jokes come from
a 'where there's smoke, there's fire' line of thought, have you
ever encountered an instance of a negative attitude towards
you because of the instrument you played, and, if so, how?
46
Honestly, no. Those kinds of jokes are basically only told or
understood by musicians and are just a part of the way we jab
at each other in a loving way. Even the oldest musicians seem
to still be kids at heart, in my experience, and traveling
together almost requires a certain of levity and shenanigans.
Musicians tend to tease each other incessantly. For example,
“yeah.. I like what you were trying to do there”, or “oh man, I
was at this great hang the other night. You know who was
asking about you?…. nobody”. We get brutal but it’s always in
love and laughter. I don’t know what it is. Musicians love
f****** with each other!
Conrad St. Clair – bassist for The Furious Bongos, Kicksville
1) During your career what do you feel have been the most noticeable
innovations, with regards to equipment, that you feel have helped you or worked
against you and how (ie: octave pedals, travel double basses, samplers, synth
bass, bass on click-track, etc),
A lot has changed in my 30+ years as a bassist, but no question, the number one
innovation that has affected every aspect of my career has been the incredibly
fast evolution of computers. Computers fundamentally changed the recording
47
process; computer control revolutionized the live event industry; long-distance
musical communication/collaboration has been facilitated in an extraordinary way
by the internet; using computer-based learning tools to practice and develop new
skills; and so on. To really go into all of it would require a 40-page essay - not
going there, but I'm sure there are folks who have, at length, with fancy data
tables and whatnots.
2) In thinking of old jokes such as ’How many bass players does it take to
change a lightbulb? One, but the guitar player has to show him how to do it first’
or 'None, the keyboard player does it with his left hand', and assuming that these
jokes come from a 'where there's smoke, there's fire' line of thought, have you
ever encountered an instance of a negative attitude towards you because of the
instrument you played, and, if so, how?
Q: What are the three most useless things in the world?
A: The Pope's balls, and a bass solo.
Honestly, I don't recall another musician having a negative view of me because I
play bass. Maybe a wee bit of disdain from the pure jazz bassists because I don't
play upright, but even then, it's only when talking about playing a very specific
kind of music.
48
On the other hand, I have encountered negative attitudes while working as a
sound engineer if I attempt to talk to the musicians as another musician. The
assumption, more often than not, is that if I was actually good, I wouldn't be
working as a sound monkey. Or, because I have long hair and look like a rock
dude, the assumption is that I play in a Guns & Roses cover band, with my bass
slung down to my knees.
It's actually a thing I have to dance around carefully. Working on the production
side often allows me access to the people I want to approach about possible
musical gigs, but if I handle it wrong and play into the stereotype, that musical
connection won't happen. I'll be a sound monkey in their minds from then on out
(even if they like the job I do), and won't be taken seriously as a musician.
To be fair, I have had the same thing happen in reverse while working as a
bassist. Occasionally, if I try to talk shop with the engineers or production folks,
I'll get the "oh great, another muso who thinks he's an engineer" attitude.
49

How Bass Is Shaping The Future

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From Creativity, to Technology, to Social Change:

How Bass is Shaping the Future

Author: Gareth Hughes B00768977

Date: 10 January 2019

Supervisor: Dr. Adam Melvin

Word count: 6,325

This research essay is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the

Masters in Creative Music at the University of Ulster.

heritage, will be shown as fertile ground in a rapidly changing musical

environment. Further, how it in turn influenced a new approach to double bass

and a self-contained musical entity.

CHAPTER 1: Our Fender who art in heaven....

styles of music in which it is used, it is rarely thought of in the light deserving

larger reach, beyond the scope of helping a few friends.

Maybellene.’ (Roberts, 2001, p.42)

To expand that argument, there would be no Beatles or Rolling Stones

simply not possible with a traditional double bass. In a 1989 interview,

went bye-bye.’ (Roberts, 2001, p.58)

increased prominence on stage, musicians and arrangers were now

played on that instrument.’ (Riddle, 1985, p.102) The rhythm section as a

lines.’ (Riddle, 1985, p.101)

transformation. And rock music was no longer just a diversion; it was, as

Christopher Porterfield of Time put it, ‘the language of a new generation

determined to usher in sweeping social change.’ (Roberts, 2001, p.181)

CHAPTER 2: Beyond Fender

Although the Fender bass has long been established as an indispensable

were sold in the early 1950’s.’ (Roberts, 2001, p.180)

visionaries persevered and the instrument was rewarded with commercial

bass players looked at it as a guitar. Guitar players looked at it as some kind

of lesser guitar. “None of us wanted to be the bass player,” admits Beatles

background, bringing much of his jazz heritage to the instrument. It would be

for an aspiring musician, someone with no association to either the guitar or

the double bass.

The electric bass guitar, regardless of brand or manufacturer, did come to be

played a crucial role.

that had initially resisted these new developments, such as Gibson,

name Fender, regardless of their origin.

Thompson was engaged to fulfil the desires of one individual, Anthony

Jackson. Already a successful session bassist in New York City, Jackson

(Roberts, 2001, p.134)

(Jisi, 2008, p.32) soon made their way back to Jackson.

that instrument by others, the 6-string bass has become an established

CHAPTER 3: Going low, going lower, going lowest

offshoots known as Extended Range Basses with upwards of seven or more

were it not for the new paths they helped forge.

opportunities for bass players. The fretless bass, as popularised by Jaco

Pastorius in the mid-1970s, did much to show, to musicians and audiences

soloistic and melodic statements as any other instrument. In short, it helped

accelerate the evolution of the instrument, its capabilities and attitudes

approached by Anthony Jackson in the winter of 1974 to discuss building this

for Les Claypool of Primus.

movie Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey, released in 1991.

key, in my opinion, that unlocked a world of possibilities for a new generation

Steely Dan, Donald Fagan, Al Di Meola, Quincy Jones and Grover

Washington Jr, amongst others. The development of the contrabass guitar

commercial success. After hearing Jackson’s recordings, fellow session

Relating to Jackson’s playing, he said: ‘Anthony’s performance on Move Me

No Mountain (from Naughty by Chaka Khan) should be studied by all bassists

as an example of a perfect bass part… it represents a standard of creativity

basses. By mid-1985, Yamaha Musical Instruments were offering the BB5000

a mass produced 5 string bass. (Yamaha, 1985)

reproduction as a whole, across professional and consumer level equipment.

CHAPTER 4: Tinseltown Rebellion (Oh no, it’s the 80’s again)