New thumper! Bass-learning record suggestions needed

[tpaul]

Hey all... I have added a new member to the "family," an '88 Squier P-bass in good old Fender yellowed-cue-ball white. This is one of the Japanese-made ones that has a 32" scale length - just a mite smaller than the standard length but a tad bigger than a Musicmaster or Mustang. Rosewood board, tele knobs, 4-way bridge. The only thing it lacks that I sort of miss is a thumb rest.

Some of you may remember I was looking for a short-scale bass some time ago... my first attempt was a Kalamazoo bass which had a great neck but that fixed bridge drove me crazy... this one is much more a real instrument I think. Got it on Ebay (duh) for $109.99! Here's a link if you want to look at the pictures.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=2568324464

Does anyone know anything about these medium-scale basses? It seems nice to me, but I'm not very informed about basses.

Also, now that I'm learning this thing I'll need some pointers on records to listen to... a sort of "bass 101" for a guitarist who wants to learn the bass-ics. All suggestions appreciated, any style.

Thanks! -T

[Tim Armstrong]

I didn't know about those shorter-scale MIJ P-Basses! Nice! That's a good-looking bass, too. Based on my experiences with an old bandmate's Mustang bass, and a fairly short-scale 60's Epiphone I used to own, I'd have to say there isn't anything particular to shorter scale basses that would make for a significant difference. Maybe, like with shorter scale guitars, you might want to go with a slightly heavier string gauge, but I never did.

My bass is also MIJ, a Tokai '57 P-bass model, and I did find a large improvement when I put a better pickup in it. I got a Voodoo pickup from fellow TDPRIer Tom Pierce (of Skull Island fame), and it added a lot of tone and growl. If you check out some of the earlier threads here, you'll find a fair number of replacement pickup reviews...

As for listening, too many to list! My personal favorites, based entirely on my own musical tastes, would include:

Paul McCartney (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!)
James Jamerson (The King of Motown)
Duck Dunn (Booker T & the MGs)
Chris Hillman (Byrds/Burritos)
Don Was (Was[not]Was, lots of work as a producer)
Hutch Hutchinson (Bonnie Rait and others)
Jim Hugart (jazz upright guy, plays wonderfully on Tom Waits "Nighthawks at the Diner" album)

Cheers, Tim

[Harvey]

As a Byrds fan I would second Hillman. That cat never got his due as a bassist. Listen to what he's doing on Notorius Byrd Brothers or Younger Than Yesterday and it's amazing. Maybe the lack of respect is why he sticks to guitar so much today.

Definately McCartney, Carol Kaye and Jamerson. One guy I haven't listen to much is Edgar Willis of Ray Charles fame. I know of him through the book Jump and Blues bass by Keith Rosier. He does bass exercises bassed on various players' styles. The two "Willisish" styled piece were the most fun to play (once you master them).

A good exercise to do is to take 50s tunes and try to come up with your own basslines (instead of copying the usually simplistic basslines on the original recordings). I did this last Christmas vacation with the Crickets' "More Than I Can Say" (the same tune Leo Sayer has a hit with later) and came up with some interesting lines.

[slauson slim]

Bill Wyman - Stones.

Jack Casady - Airplane, Hot Tuna, SVT. Yggdrasil bass. Will send chills up your spine.

Joe Osborn - on '60s pop records (Association, Spanky and Our Gang, Mamas & Papas, Johnny Rivers, 5th Dimension come to mind) - a propulsive player with impeccable time and great note choice. He lifted the material. With Hal Blaine on drums - part of the Wrecking Crew rhythm section - it's sublime and inspiring. Check out his website.

Carol Kaye - The ultimate session player. Versatile, swinging and funky. That's her on "Shaft"! Check out her website - good playing tips.

John McVie - Fleetwood Mac early, middle and late.

Andy Fraser from Free.

Trevor Bolder from Bowie's Spiders From Mars.

Chuck Rainey, Jerry Jemott and Freddie Washington - R&B session players.

David Hood - Muscle Shoals Rhythm section.

Any bass player from James Brown records from the '60s and '70s.