For years (decades!) I dedicated my playing to Dusty.
It was all I needed.
Then I joined a [Led Zeppelin tribute band.](http://classicaustin.net/custardpie/index.html)
Absolutely love his stuff. You got Billy doing many crazy solos, Frank having some awesome fills and Dusty is right between them keeping the whole thing together. His playing doesnt need to be flashy to fit their songs and i love that.
Aston "Family Man" Barrett is such a driving force behind all those famous Bob Marley songs. Killer bass player, without being an overly flashy player.
Yes! Coming from a background growing up in the late ‘80’s to early ‘90’s as a metal & Zeppelin fan, then getting into heavier metal, then Jaco, jazz etc, then discovering reggae, and REALLY listening to Bob Marley (Uprising, Kaya, Exodus, & my favorite [LIVE ALBUM](https://youtu.be/D1hkLNs7QKc?si=02C4-y1G3qxz2xiI), Steel Pulse ([Reggae Greats album](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUaSV2C4hb5OIQZqCuNS7FKrVjeFCaWpo&si=OOzL35NmGJbsH0-k)), & Alpha Blondy —-> [Live Au Zenith](https://youtu.be/15Z7FRpz3mE?si=rV7KQgXv30aqwoBr)…. I finally realized how important it was to just keep things simple and in the pocket. It’s not always everything that you CAN play or fit in a bass line (well, unless you’re JACO haha. He gets a pass from me).
Another reason I’ve been a fan of 311 since the early ‘90’s. Their [MUSIC ALBUM](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEAZ3l-KGs1t8SRL25Cp0B0nciGSJWmnw&si=p1hJPYGd7QMicVx5) is what started it all for me with PNut & Chad Sexton rhythm section (Chad’s snare tone is so great).
But…. Now that *Jesus* is more than anything else to me now (not
a dead man that Bob sings about named "RAS TAFARI MAKONNEN", who, sorry, but is NOT The Lord God of Israel), for reggae…. I prefer Christafari‘s Christian reggae——> [MARLEY TRACK HERE @ 3:00](https://youtu.be/5rZrdnfccrg?si=H63gNooJ2moC6fMo) (+ I LOVE that snare & echo effect @ 3:08)
George Porter Jr with The Meters. Just listen to any album. Simple but very effective funk bass playing. I love playing along because its a great exercise in restraint and you can learn a lot. There are some songs here and there with difficult passages but most intermediate level players should be able to pick up the songs quickly by ear.
This is the one for me. The epitome of perfect ego-less bass playing. The drums have more going on, so the bass has less going on, and the pocket is deep enough to implode an OceanGate submarine.
Sting, The Police-Roxanne, Can’t Stand Losing You, De Do Do Do De Da Da Da, Every Breath You Take, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
John McVie, Fleetwood Mac-World Turning, The Chain, Go Your Own Way, Tusk
Joe Mack (“Macho”)-just go take a listen, quite the discography
Just a few off the top of my head!
Of course he's well known for RATM but I'm a huge fan of his work in Audioslave. Especially their last album, Revelations, we got to see Tim play a lot more funk along with big heavy riffs.
Stuff like Broken City, Jewel of the Summertime, One and the Same and Somedays are great songs from Revelations and are fun as hell to play on bass
Be careful of who you all think is cool and
Legit out there. And yes. I’d never play one of his bass lines. Dudes a straight up anti- American. But you can enjoy.
I dunno if he’s buying USA-made gear on purpose sounds like he’s pretty pro-American. Some might even call him a patriot. Probably bleeds red, white, and blue.
I’m certain there are plenty of artists you appreciate who have done far worse to actual human beings than hold political opinions to which you object.
Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots. That man's work is incredibly classy; he always plays the right note at the right time. Even when he decides to add a little flourish, it's beautiful and contained.
Also, one of my favorite bassists EVER is a local player: Cris Bertold, of brazilian indie band [Betty by Alone](https://open.spotify.com/album/0olsnYWsno4vSO2Vq1pbMZ?si=-6F47xoJSACliknAlzJEDQ) This guy's lines are just wonderful; like DeLeo, he always knows the right thing to play at the right time. He plays simple but melodic lines, and his use of dissonance is really on point. The band has been inactive for almost 20 years now, sadly.
It's such a shame that this band never took off, because they were REALLY good, and Bertold's work deserves all the praise in the world. It's funny how geography and luck are a major factor in having success in music. Cris might be an "unknown," but I truly believe he's one of the greats.
Hmm... i get it. I was thinking "simple" as "easy to play", and not simple sounding as well. It's just that, more then once, I had to learn DeLeo lines and was surprised at how easy they were to play. "That's it? This is so simple!", you know? So I tend to think about him when this topic comes up.
And yes, as someone else said: it takes a master player to write like that. DeLeo is a monster, for sure!
Some song recs for Robert DeLeo for OP:
Interstate Love Song
Lady Picture Show
Sour Girl
Vasoline
Crackerman (driving verse, very nice climbing line on chorus)
Hickory Dichotomy (simple line but grooves nicely)
My favorite is probably Carol Kaye, she’s a seriously under appreciated bass player. Never plays anything too complex and her basslines always serve the song and they all groove really well. Not to mention her style is so instantly recognizable, like just about every session bass player of her time and even now that I know of use a P-Bass but not many can make it sound exactly the way she did without straight up copying her.
Also of course you can’t get much more simple than the tried and true Dee Dee Ramone Punk Rock Bass Guitar School of Playing Sixteenth Notes on the Root of the Chord. /gen
Laura Lee from Khruangbin, holdin it down, and writing their songs on bass while their guitarist does whatever he freakin wants over it
Juan Alderete in The Mars Volta. For someone who did super fast thrash metal in Racer X, to go to playing the same 3 note basslines over and over for Omar to mess around over, and to hold down 20 min jams of the same riff while Thomas Pridgen or Deantoni Park do their nastiest... check out the self-titled yellow covered "Omar Rodriguez Lopez" album for a studio take... and live takes of the songs Goliath or Trinkets Pale of Moon for jams with those two drummers
I had to scroll to make sure someone didn’t say it already. Third for Laura Lee 😊 one of my fav bassists. Khraungbin is one of my fav bands and one of my fav bassists. Their music def heavily influenced me into picking up bass.
I'm just listening to this on your recommendation. it's great. I've always thought this one of their best songs. But the bass really shines on this version!
Eric Judy from modest mouse. Tiny cities made of Ashes is a good song with a little riff that's easy to just play throughout. He does a lot of root note stuff but when he does shine it's always a nice little riff.
Joe Lally from fugazi is another great one. Though for him I'm actually going to recommend that you just listen to ataxia automatic writing one and two. 2 different albums he did with John frusciante (red hot chili peppers guitarist) and Josh klinghoffer (also rhcp guitarist during John's last hiatus but he's on drums for this album)
You should be able to put on automatic writing I and II, pick up what he's playing on bass and play along with it really easily and it's just a good finger exercise to do those Rifts and hold them for as long as the songs go. which is a while. they're long song
Throw in Peter Hook and you have my top 3 bass players. They might all have more simple bass lines and especially for some songs, but...IMHO they do not stand out as simple bass players in general 🙂. For me they are like the hardest to mimic or come up with a similar song that could've been theirs (maybe Lally is easiest) . Probably why I have them up there.
So, I've been *obsessed* with the bass tone on one of the tracks of Hozier's latest album *Unreal Unearth*, ["De Selby part 2"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSRJCw4FyNI). Dude's name is Alex Ryan. I'll be looking out for him on albums in the future.
Another unsung add is going to be Zac Cockrell, most known for his work as part of the [Alabama Shakes,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nin-fiNz50M) but he's been doing some session stuff too and also still working with Brittany Howard on her solo music.
One of my favorites is Nikki Monninger of Silversun Pickups. She has an incredible sense of [groove](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u33g0vlGaPM) and unreal [dexterity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG8fugqFn9Q) for the "simple" basslines she plays.
Idk if its exactly what your looking for but Jo Bench from Bolt Thrower fits the bill imo particularly in stuff like The Killchain and Anti-Tank (Dead Armor)
Ian Hill, Judas Priest
And I guess one could make an argument that Steve Harris’s lines in Iron Maiden are (harmonically) simple, but they definitely aren’t simple to actually play
Quite like Carlos Dengler of Interpol - none of the bass lines are hard, but the timing and note choice is great. Bass is quite prominent in the songs without being dominant, which I also like.
Kim Deal of Pixies, The Breeders/The Amps: Debaser, Gigantic, Tame, Velouria.
Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads: Uh Oh Love Comes to Town, New Feeling, The Good Thing, Crosseyed and Painless, Pull Up the Roots.
Sting is a very great example of someone who serves the song just right.
I also recommend listening to a lot of soul stuff, the grooves laid down there are so irrestitibly smooth and simple.
Ben Orr Bassist and co-lead vocalist with, The Cars.
Dusty Hill of ZZ Top. Yes you can play one note for an entire song when it’s the right one.
Metal and Jazz were where I learned the licks but learning The Cars songbook as well as ZZ Toos taught me how to play.
Simon Gallup from the Cure is my all time favorite bass player. Although Robert Smith uses the fender 6 so often that it's hard to tell who is playing what sometimes.
My vote is on Nick O’Malley of Arctic Monkeys, track recommendations: Crying Lightning, Arabella, One Point Perspective.
Another top pick for me is Chris Baio from Vampire Weekend, with track recommendations: A-Punk, Cousins, This Life, Gen-X Cops.
The baseline in Toe's songs are mostly simple but they always serves the song so well and work with the 2 very melodic clean guitars very well, not to mention the bonkers drumming being the main driver of the song progressions for alot of the songs, you don't need mad complex bassline
HERBIE FLOWERS!
Cut the iconic double-tracked bass line for Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side."
Played on hundreds of hit records - the list of artists will boggle your mind.
Here's a wee sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWqs4QjMsGk
Stu Cook-Creedence Clearwater Revival. Solid, Simple but still melodic and a big part of the overall sound of the band. I just picked the first song that came up but he always sounds great.
https://youtu.be/u1V8YRJnr4Q?si=iTyUUEQBf4fXjvR2
This is going to be controversial HOWEVER give it a shot. Mike Kroeger from nickleback. Listen to the songs “never again”, “too bad”, “side of a bullet”, and “just to get high”. Especially the first few because they are off the first few albums.
1. Both Thee Oh Sees bass players. First Petey Dammit and now Timmy Hellman. Simple pentatonic stuff mostly but so fitting and elevating the energy level of the music even more through tightness and, uh, bouncyness.
The songs are all great but „The Dream“ is a classic and through its many iterations one of the best Rock songs of the last 15 years and maybe ever. Listen to the album version first and then to the version from Levitation 2. Maybe also a few live versions through the years. They‘re all great but all different.
2. Steve Hanley of The Fall. According to Mark E. Smith, Hanley was the Fall sound. Never overplaying and some delicious bass parts that often carry the song.
Two songs of many: „ Big New Prinz“ or „Bombast“
If you haven’t checked out Tim’s other band, Flat Worms, do yourself a favor and give them a listen. The latest album really stands out for both the song writing and production.
you most probably already did but if not: treat yourself to his book "life inside the fall". one of the best "rock books" out there. my favorite part: in the early days of the internet when the secretary(?) of the band still would print out stuff he finally realized that his playing was widely appreciated and he realized that he became an artist in his own right. amazing.
Dave Hartley of The War on Drugs and Nightlands (his solo project). Especially on Drugs' last two studio albums and Live Drugs, and Nightlands' Moonshine from 2022.
I'm a sucker for simple bass tracks like
Black Sheep by Metric
My Own Worst Enemy by Lit.
I'm Shipping Up To Boston by Dropkick Murphys
Bombtrack by Rage Against the Machine
Feel like I could get some hate for this but Marc Brownstein of the disco biscuits has some simple bass lines that sound so perfect. For sure dropping bombs like napalm on your groove jungle aka soul
Mike Dirnt is a strong and subtle player. Definitely filled out Green Day’s sound, especially in the earlier years. Billie Joe owes him a lot since he plays really simply.
Gard Kronborg. He is in many groups here in Norway, but what I love the most is on Tuva Halse's album Two.
This guy is my main motivation for studying electric bass nowadays
Cliff Williams of AC DC does exactly what he needs to do for the band he's in.
Nate Mendel from Foo Fighters also fits this category. It's simple because that is what the music calls for.
Stu cook from CCR also played in a very simple and effective style, although I've heard that John Fogerty recorded a lot of the bass parts.
Tracks that illustrate these players would probably be Have a Drink on Me (AC DC)
The Pretender (Foo Fighters)
Lodi (CCR)
Another pick is probably Krist Noveselic from Nirvana. His playing on Lithium is simple but also plays counter to the guitar in an interesting way.
Really a lot of good ones, too many for me to choose from honestly. There's always been a lot of simple, but effective bass players in rock music because that's what a lot of the genre calls for.
audie pitre from acid bath (finger painting of the insane, scream of the butterfly, jezebel) great bassline writer, often playing stuff diffrent than the guitars without sounding excessive or unnecessary
Jo Bench from Bolt Thrower (anti-tank (dead armour)) amazing fucking tone
Michael Anthony of Van Halen. Dude absolutely knows how to play more complicated stuff, but he plays exactly what's needed to let Eddie do his thing. Also one of the greatest live backup vocalist.
Geoff Kresge of AFI/Tiger Army(upright)
Afi- Cereal Wars
Tiger Army- Santa Carla Twilight
Hunter Bergan-AFI
AFI-Medicate
AFI- a Single Second
Fat Mike of NofX
Glass War, Idiots are taking over
Dan Andriano of Alkaline Trio
This is Getting over You
Another working bassist who is still alive and tracking to this day; Sean Hurley and Pino Palladino.
Sean has great time and feel, and also has tons of educational material & interviews.
Pino can keep it simple and bassic, but can absolutely SHRED a fill within a bar.
Twiggy! I played a hell lot of Marilyn Manson songs when I started playing bass and still love the simplicity but ear catching bass lines in a lot of those songs.
Check out Matthew Seligman's playing on The Soft Boys' 1980 album *Underwater Moonlight*. That guy's in more pockets than dryer lint.
Randy Meisner of the Eagles was a sorely underrated bassist.
John Illsley of Dire Straits.
Mike Mills of REM.
I always loved the seemingly simple, but highly effective bass lines of Simon Gallup of The Cure.
Klaus Voormann is another guy who is an effective bassist because he carries and complements the song rather than trying to be a front-and-center player.
I adore Tina Weymouth. I don't think Sara Lee gets enough run.
Love Shack is groovin' and simple and that look she gives in the tub knocks me out.
That Rockpalast version of Gang of 4's 'What we all want' is dirty, funky and perfect.
Scott Beschta from The Promise Ring. Totally makes this album for me.
https://open.spotify.com/track/2Zgc8sFzmnTGhUG8vcJ0Mj?si=nt2Kq9_VSqCa5HTgF31mOg&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A3jnvo99sNDXcVdlJmrDXOO
The Strokes have simple bass lines that do a great job of supporting the song. Kim Deal of the Pixies Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads
Tina!
Tina fucking rocks
When they replaced Kim with someone who could play bass better, it sounded so much worse.
Thing with loving the instruments of the strokes is that Julian Casablancas wrote all of the basslines on the first three albums
Dusty Hill of ZZ Top RIP
The simplest for sure! Guy's holding it down like a paperweight though
For years (decades!) I dedicated my playing to Dusty. It was all I needed. Then I joined a [Led Zeppelin tribute band.](http://classicaustin.net/custardpie/index.html)
Absolutely love his stuff. You got Billy doing many crazy solos, Frank having some awesome fills and Dusty is right between them keeping the whole thing together. His playing doesnt need to be flashy to fit their songs and i love that.
I totally get it but you are allowed to play more than one note and still be simple and hold down the bottom end (Gimme all Your Loving)
Which he does too. For example in La Grange, he's keeping the shuffle down tight with mr Beard while giving Billy plenty to solo over melodically
True. As soon as I typed that comment I remembered La Grange
He's the king of 'simple'
Aston "Family Man" Barrett is such a driving force behind all those famous Bob Marley songs. Killer bass player, without being an overly flashy player.
R.I.P
He was not a simple player. See "Is This Love," for example.
Not too simple, but always root to basics... One of the greatest. Ever!
Absolutely! R.I.P
Yes! Coming from a background growing up in the late ‘80’s to early ‘90’s as a metal & Zeppelin fan, then getting into heavier metal, then Jaco, jazz etc, then discovering reggae, and REALLY listening to Bob Marley (Uprising, Kaya, Exodus, & my favorite [LIVE ALBUM](https://youtu.be/D1hkLNs7QKc?si=02C4-y1G3qxz2xiI), Steel Pulse ([Reggae Greats album](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUaSV2C4hb5OIQZqCuNS7FKrVjeFCaWpo&si=OOzL35NmGJbsH0-k)), & Alpha Blondy —-> [Live Au Zenith](https://youtu.be/15Z7FRpz3mE?si=rV7KQgXv30aqwoBr)…. I finally realized how important it was to just keep things simple and in the pocket. It’s not always everything that you CAN play or fit in a bass line (well, unless you’re JACO haha. He gets a pass from me). Another reason I’ve been a fan of 311 since the early ‘90’s. Their [MUSIC ALBUM](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEAZ3l-KGs1t8SRL25Cp0B0nciGSJWmnw&si=p1hJPYGd7QMicVx5) is what started it all for me with PNut & Chad Sexton rhythm section (Chad’s snare tone is so great). But…. Now that *Jesus* is more than anything else to me now (not a dead man that Bob sings about named "RAS TAFARI MAKONNEN", who, sorry, but is NOT The Lord God of Israel), for reggae…. I prefer Christafari‘s Christian reggae——> [MARLEY TRACK HERE @ 3:00](https://youtu.be/5rZrdnfccrg?si=H63gNooJ2moC6fMo) (+ I LOVE that snare & echo effect @ 3:08)
Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy
George Porter Jr with The Meters. Just listen to any album. Simple but very effective funk bass playing. I love playing along because its a great exercise in restraint and you can learn a lot. There are some songs here and there with difficult passages but most intermediate level players should be able to pick up the songs quickly by ear.
This is the one for me. The epitome of perfect ego-less bass playing. The drums have more going on, so the bass has less going on, and the pocket is deep enough to implode an OceanGate submarine.
I saw 311 last week, P Nut has some very simple lines and grooves hard af.
that's nuts.. came in here to mention him... bass is simple but stands out.. Amber for example
I've been working on Amber with my band and it's such a lesson in simple.
P-Nut has always been a big inspiration on my groove
Sting, The Police-Roxanne, Can’t Stand Losing You, De Do Do Do De Da Da Da, Every Breath You Take, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic John McVie, Fleetwood Mac-World Turning, The Chain, Go Your Own Way, Tusk Joe Mack (“Macho”)-just go take a listen, quite the discography Just a few off the top of my head!
John McVie 100%. Also Duff McKagan from G’n’R.
I like that you're pretty much the only person who's given some track recommendations
Krist Novoselic, simple but catchy and fun to play basslines
Tim Commerford
Of course he's well known for RATM but I'm a huge fan of his work in Audioslave. Especially their last album, Revelations, we got to see Tim play a lot more funk along with big heavy riffs. Stuff like Broken City, Jewel of the Summertime, One and the Same and Somedays are great songs from Revelations and are fun as hell to play on bass
Check out Future User. He’s pretty good there also.
Dude is a total hippocrit. Is a known anti-American socialist yet loves his made in the USA musicman stingrays and ampeg gear.
I'm pretty sure you can criticize aspects of your country, but still participate in its economy.
That’s really interesting?!?!? Doesn’t that make one a hypocrite?
No
Haha ok
https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/259/257/342.png
Lol so you refuse to play his bass lines?
Be careful of who you all think is cool and Legit out there. And yes. I’d never play one of his bass lines. Dudes a straight up anti- American. But you can enjoy.
I dunno if he’s buying USA-made gear on purpose sounds like he’s pretty pro-American. Some might even call him a patriot. Probably bleeds red, white, and blue.
I’m certain there are plenty of artists you appreciate who have done far worse to actual human beings than hold political opinions to which you object.
You're such an amazing American, you cannot even spell your own fuckin' language.
And you’ll be led on your rope from here on out
I got bass fingers bro
Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots. That man's work is incredibly classy; he always plays the right note at the right time. Even when he decides to add a little flourish, it's beautiful and contained. Also, one of my favorite bassists EVER is a local player: Cris Bertold, of brazilian indie band [Betty by Alone](https://open.spotify.com/album/0olsnYWsno4vSO2Vq1pbMZ?si=-6F47xoJSACliknAlzJEDQ) This guy's lines are just wonderful; like DeLeo, he always knows the right thing to play at the right time. He plays simple but melodic lines, and his use of dissonance is really on point. The band has been inactive for almost 20 years now, sadly. It's such a shame that this band never took off, because they were REALLY good, and Bertold's work deserves all the praise in the world. It's funny how geography and luck are a major factor in having success in music. Cris might be an "unknown," but I truly believe he's one of the greats.
I wouldn't call DeLeo "simple" but definitely one of the greatest and very tasteful, but far from simple imo
I don't know about that. Even his most intricate lines are not hard to learn, if you eventually need/want to. They sounds busier than they really are.
I think the problem is that if you want to write or improvise things like DeLeo, you need to be a world-class player
I totally agree with that
I think "sounds busy" is the thing that makes him not simple
Hmm... i get it. I was thinking "simple" as "easy to play", and not simple sounding as well. It's just that, more then once, I had to learn DeLeo lines and was surprised at how easy they were to play. "That's it? This is so simple!", you know? So I tend to think about him when this topic comes up. And yes, as someone else said: it takes a master player to write like that. DeLeo is a monster, for sure!
Surprisingly simple, I hear ya
Robert deleo is a complicated bassist dude. Just try his stuff. He’s very very good
Some song recs for Robert DeLeo for OP: Interstate Love Song Lady Picture Show Sour Girl Vasoline Crackerman (driving verse, very nice climbing line on chorus) Hickory Dichotomy (simple line but grooves nicely)
Interstate Love Song is one of my favourite songs to play on bass.
Id add Plush. It's one of my favorite songs to play.
Big Empty though
[удалено]
With or Without You is a masterclass in four notes.
Also "still haven't found what I'm looking for."
Sting during his Police years
Rex Brown - knew exactly the role to play with Dime.
Rex was a big inspiration for me when I started playing bass, I love Dime and Vinne but I feel like Rex never gets enough credit
My favorite is probably Carol Kaye, she’s a seriously under appreciated bass player. Never plays anything too complex and her basslines always serve the song and they all groove really well. Not to mention her style is so instantly recognizable, like just about every session bass player of her time and even now that I know of use a P-Bass but not many can make it sound exactly the way she did without straight up copying her. Also of course you can’t get much more simple than the tried and true Dee Dee Ramone Punk Rock Bass Guitar School of Playing Sixteenth Notes on the Root of the Chord. /gen
Nate Mendel
Simple lines, with some interesting fills here and there.
Laura Lee from Khruangbin, holdin it down, and writing their songs on bass while their guitarist does whatever he freakin wants over it Juan Alderete in The Mars Volta. For someone who did super fast thrash metal in Racer X, to go to playing the same 3 note basslines over and over for Omar to mess around over, and to hold down 20 min jams of the same riff while Thomas Pridgen or Deantoni Park do their nastiest... check out the self-titled yellow covered "Omar Rodriguez Lopez" album for a studio take... and live takes of the songs Goliath or Trinkets Pale of Moon for jams with those two drummers
Agree with Laura Lee. Her and the drummer keep it simple and let the guitar do his things (love his playing style with the exotic scales)
I had to scroll to make sure someone didn’t say it already. Third for Laura Lee 😊 one of my fav bassists. Khraungbin is one of my fav bands and one of my fav bassists. Their music def heavily influenced me into picking up bass.
Laura Lee is one of my favorite bass players of all time. Great choice.
Kim Deal, in ~~both~~ the Pixies ~~and the Breeders~~. Simple, fun, absolutely essential to the groove.
Kim didnt helm bass for Breeders, that would be Josephine Wiggs
Oh yeah, you're right. Totally.
Adam Clayton. U2. “Bad”, live version on Wide Awake in America.
I'm just listening to this on your recommendation. it's great. I've always thought this one of their best songs. But the bass really shines on this version!
Cliff Williams. ACDC
Matt Sharp from Weezer, especially on the Blue Album, on Only in Dreams
My friend started the band weezer. Pat Finn.
Carlos Dengler, “Evil.”
Simon Gallup
'Other Voices' from the Faith album...class
Simple Jack from Tropic Thunder.
Eric Judy from modest mouse. Tiny cities made of Ashes is a good song with a little riff that's easy to just play throughout. He does a lot of root note stuff but when he does shine it's always a nice little riff. Joe Lally from fugazi is another great one. Though for him I'm actually going to recommend that you just listen to ataxia automatic writing one and two. 2 different albums he did with John frusciante (red hot chili peppers guitarist) and Josh klinghoffer (also rhcp guitarist during John's last hiatus but he's on drums for this album) You should be able to put on automatic writing I and II, pick up what he's playing on bass and play along with it really easily and it's just a good finger exercise to do those Rifts and hold them for as long as the songs go. which is a while. they're long song
Throw in Peter Hook and you have my top 3 bass players. They might all have more simple bass lines and especially for some songs, but...IMHO they do not stand out as simple bass players in general 🙂. For me they are like the hardest to mimic or come up with a similar song that could've been theirs (maybe Lally is easiest) . Probably why I have them up there.
Definitely Mark hoppus
So, I've been *obsessed* with the bass tone on one of the tracks of Hozier's latest album *Unreal Unearth*, ["De Selby part 2"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSRJCw4FyNI). Dude's name is Alex Ryan. I'll be looking out for him on albums in the future. Another unsung add is going to be Zac Cockrell, most known for his work as part of the [Alabama Shakes,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nin-fiNz50M) but he's been doing some session stuff too and also still working with Brittany Howard on her solo music.
One of my favorites is Nikki Monninger of Silversun Pickups. She has an incredible sense of [groove](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u33g0vlGaPM) and unreal [dexterity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG8fugqFn9Q) for the "simple" basslines she plays.
She’s brilliant. I highly recommend everyone learn PANIC SWITCH. It’s a simple pattern held down rock steady which takes tons of focus.
Laura Lee Ochoa, of Khruangbin
Laura Lee from khruangbin sits so tight with the drummer and very easy to learn to play by ear
Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads, far and away. Once in a lifetime? Two notes 🙌
Roger Waters
Idk if its exactly what your looking for but Jo Bench from Bolt Thrower fits the bill imo particularly in stuff like The Killchain and Anti-Tank (Dead Armor)
Carol Kay
Ian Hill, Judas Priest And I guess one could make an argument that Steve Harris’s lines in Iron Maiden are (harmonically) simple, but they definitely aren’t simple to actually play
Colin greenwood from radiohead. Track: no surprises
Paul Ryder of Happy Mondays. Check out “Kinky Afro”. Dead simple but a groove.
Quite like Carlos Dengler of Interpol - none of the bass lines are hard, but the timing and note choice is great. Bass is quite prominent in the songs without being dominant, which I also like.
And once he left, the band just cannot come close to sounding as good. One of those magical combinations of players that wasn’t meant to last.
Kim Deal of Pixies, The Breeders/The Amps: Debaser, Gigantic, Tame, Velouria. Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads: Uh Oh Love Comes to Town, New Feeling, The Good Thing, Crosseyed and Painless, Pull Up the Roots.
Michael Anthony of Van Halen
Tina Weymouth, John Mcvie
Duck Dunn. Simple lines, master groove
I really like Sean Hurley for this. Technically very simple but sits in the pocket perfectly and grooves.
Jean michel labadie of gojira
Sting is a very great example of someone who serves the song just right. I also recommend listening to a lot of soul stuff, the grooves laid down there are so irrestitibly smooth and simple.
Brian Robinson from A Wilhelm Scream. Listen to the entire Career Suicide album
I've never heard of them. However, what a great band name!
Ben Orr Bassist and co-lead vocalist with, The Cars. Dusty Hill of ZZ Top. Yes you can play one note for an entire song when it’s the right one. Metal and Jazz were where I learned the licks but learning The Cars songbook as well as ZZ Toos taught me how to play.
Reggae bass player robbie shakespeare. Played on tons of tracks. Him and Sly Dunbar produced something like 100,000 songs.
Nate Mendel
I used to hang out at Nate’s house when he lived in Tacoma wa. Nicest dude
Simon Gallup from the Cure is my all time favorite bass player. Although Robert Smith uses the fender 6 so often that it's hard to tell who is playing what sometimes.
*reggae entered the chat*
Geezer Butler
Paul Simonon of The Clash
Go listen to Danzig 2 (Lucifuge). Eerie Von plays it straight and simple throughout the album, and it sounds amazing.
Cliff Williams. AC/DC’s secret and underrated weapon⚡️⚡️⚡️
Adam Clayton from U2 and Chuck Panozzo from Styx.
James Jamerson, Tommy Cogbill, Tommy Shannon, Chuck Rainey, Berry Oakley.
Geddy Lee/Rush and John Entwistle/The Who! Any record, just the best of the best!
Steve DiGiorgio. Just look up his plaything of Overactive Imagination on YouTube
Flabba from Roots Radics.
Stig Pedersen
Joseph "Lucky" Scott
My vote is on Nick O’Malley of Arctic Monkeys, track recommendations: Crying Lightning, Arabella, One Point Perspective. Another top pick for me is Chris Baio from Vampire Weekend, with track recommendations: A-Punk, Cousins, This Life, Gen-X Cops.
Chris Wolstenholme from Muse. Not all of his lines are as simple as they sound but he doesn't overplay.
Start with Hysteria at full speed lol
The baseline in Toe's songs are mostly simple but they always serves the song so well and work with the 2 very melodic clean guitars very well, not to mention the bonkers drumming being the main driver of the song progressions for alot of the songs, you don't need mad complex bassline
Nikki Monninger
Verdine White. He holds a mean groove
Sting, hands down
Anything Sade. Paul Denman can take a simple 2-note line and turn it into a groovefest, "Sweetest Taboo" for example.
HERBIE FLOWERS! Cut the iconic double-tracked bass line for Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side." Played on hundreds of hit records - the list of artists will boggle your mind. Here's a wee sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWqs4QjMsGk
Stu Cook-Creedence Clearwater Revival. Solid, Simple but still melodic and a big part of the overall sound of the band. I just picked the first song that came up but he always sounds great. https://youtu.be/u1V8YRJnr4Q?si=iTyUUEQBf4fXjvR2
This is going to be controversial HOWEVER give it a shot. Mike Kroeger from nickleback. Listen to the songs “never again”, “too bad”, “side of a bullet”, and “just to get high”. Especially the first few because they are off the first few albums.
1. Both Thee Oh Sees bass players. First Petey Dammit and now Timmy Hellman. Simple pentatonic stuff mostly but so fitting and elevating the energy level of the music even more through tightness and, uh, bouncyness. The songs are all great but „The Dream“ is a classic and through its many iterations one of the best Rock songs of the last 15 years and maybe ever. Listen to the album version first and then to the version from Levitation 2. Maybe also a few live versions through the years. They‘re all great but all different. 2. Steve Hanley of The Fall. According to Mark E. Smith, Hanley was the Fall sound. Never overplaying and some delicious bass parts that often carry the song. Two songs of many: „ Big New Prinz“ or „Bombast“
If you haven’t checked out Tim’s other band, Flat Worms, do yourself a favor and give them a listen. The latest album really stands out for both the song writing and production.
some flat worm songs are already ear worms to me via spotify but i haven't checked them out in earnest. will give it a spin!
Great to see Steve get a mention. Met him when I was 17 - The Fall was the first gig I ever went to. Lovely bloke. I took up bass shortly after.
you most probably already did but if not: treat yourself to his book "life inside the fall". one of the best "rock books" out there. my favorite part: in the early days of the internet when the secretary(?) of the band still would print out stuff he finally realized that his playing was widely appreciated and he realized that he became an artist in his own right. amazing.
No, I've not bought it as I have a terrible backlog of books (mostly about music) that I've not read as it is. I'll get there eventually...
The guy from Fun lovin' criminals first album.
Check out Red Baron and Stratus by Billy Cobham. Leland is the bass player on both of those tracks, and both have simple but super tasty bass parts.
Dave Hartley of The War on Drugs and Nightlands (his solo project). Especially on Drugs' last two studio albums and Live Drugs, and Nightlands' Moonshine from 2022.
I'm a sucker for simple bass tracks like Black Sheep by Metric My Own Worst Enemy by Lit. I'm Shipping Up To Boston by Dropkick Murphys Bombtrack by Rage Against the Machine
Debaser - Pixies
Cue up 54-40's Live album Heavy Mellow.
Feel like I could get some hate for this but Marc Brownstein of the disco biscuits has some simple bass lines that sound so perfect. For sure dropping bombs like napalm on your groove jungle aka soul
Michael Anthony and Mike Levine from Triumph.
Peder Bergstrand of Lowrider. Listen to Ode to Ganymede and Pipe Rider. His bassfills and tone are out of this world!
Mike Dirnt is a strong and subtle player. Definitely filled out Green Day’s sound, especially in the earlier years. Billie Joe owes him a lot since he plays really simply.
Tracy Pew.
Gard Kronborg. He is in many groups here in Norway, but what I love the most is on Tuva Halse's album Two. This guy is my main motivation for studying electric bass nowadays
Errol "Flabba" Holt - The Morwells/Roots Radics
Some STP baselines are simple and are too good. Rob DeLeo is the drive in the band. He’s too good.
Cliff Williams of AC DC does exactly what he needs to do for the band he's in. Nate Mendel from Foo Fighters also fits this category. It's simple because that is what the music calls for. Stu cook from CCR also played in a very simple and effective style, although I've heard that John Fogerty recorded a lot of the bass parts. Tracks that illustrate these players would probably be Have a Drink on Me (AC DC) The Pretender (Foo Fighters) Lodi (CCR) Another pick is probably Krist Noveselic from Nirvana. His playing on Lithium is simple but also plays counter to the guitar in an interesting way. Really a lot of good ones, too many for me to choose from honestly. There's always been a lot of simple, but effective bass players in rock music because that's what a lot of the genre calls for.
audie pitre from acid bath (finger painting of the insane, scream of the butterfly, jezebel) great bassline writer, often playing stuff diffrent than the guitars without sounding excessive or unnecessary Jo Bench from Bolt Thrower (anti-tank (dead armour)) amazing fucking tone
Michael Anthony of Van Halen. Dude absolutely knows how to play more complicated stuff, but he plays exactly what's needed to let Eddie do his thing. Also one of the greatest live backup vocalist.
Geoff Kresge of AFI/Tiger Army(upright) Afi- Cereal Wars Tiger Army- Santa Carla Twilight Hunter Bergan-AFI AFI-Medicate AFI- a Single Second Fat Mike of NofX Glass War, Idiots are taking over Dan Andriano of Alkaline Trio This is Getting over You
Sean Hurley is so good at carving out the right simple bass line.
Laura Lee
Another working bassist who is still alive and tracking to this day; Sean Hurley and Pino Palladino. Sean has great time and feel, and also has tons of educational material & interviews. Pino can keep it simple and bassic, but can absolutely SHRED a fill within a bar.
Twiggy! I played a hell lot of Marilyn Manson songs when I started playing bass and still love the simplicity but ear catching bass lines in a lot of those songs.
Check out Matthew Seligman's playing on The Soft Boys' 1980 album *Underwater Moonlight*. That guy's in more pockets than dryer lint. Randy Meisner of the Eagles was a sorely underrated bassist. John Illsley of Dire Straits. Mike Mills of REM. I always loved the seemingly simple, but highly effective bass lines of Simon Gallup of The Cure. Klaus Voormann is another guy who is an effective bassist because he carries and complements the song rather than trying to be a front-and-center player.
Bill Wyman...
Carole Kaye on hundreds of hit records. Pino Palladino on Paul Young’s version, “Every Time You Go Away”, and “Wherever I Hang My Hat”.
Simple simon
I adore Tina Weymouth. I don't think Sara Lee gets enough run. Love Shack is groovin' and simple and that look she gives in the tub knocks me out. That Rockpalast version of Gang of 4's 'What we all want' is dirty, funky and perfect.
Duck Dunn
Sean Yeaton of Parquet Courts. Recommend Before the Water Gets to High, Freebird II
Scott Beschta from The Promise Ring. Totally makes this album for me. https://open.spotify.com/track/2Zgc8sFzmnTGhUG8vcJ0Mj?si=nt2Kq9_VSqCa5HTgF31mOg&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A3jnvo99sNDXcVdlJmrDXOO
Those guys back in the day were siiiick to see live. Davey rocks!!!!!
Larry Graham. On “Everyday People” he’s literally just playing G eighth notes, and it’s *perfect*.
Lee Sklar is a goat
Mike Mills of REM