Yeah, in some aspects, that's really ****ty. In other aspects - raw live show and ammo to make fun of them afterward.

Yeah, I guess. And don't diss the old schooly stuff! That's like second on my list though(first is an endorsement deal w/ spector )

Shit, man. I literally can't dis the old-school. Cuz "there aint no school like the old school, and Im the head-****in'-master!".
... alright. maybe the last part isn't true, but I learned on a fret-less Fender Jazz bass. How old-school can you get? Besides maybe learning stand-up?

yeah man, old school is where it's at. this guy i know used to have a Gibson bass similar to that one. his was more yellow and had different pickups. i think he sold it to get a van.

Yeah, it's a classic. I wouldn't be surprised if one Gibson Grabber fetches a good 2 grand or so. The thing that sucks is that the only place you can buy 'em is Ebay, because they are no longer in circulation. BTW your buddie's bass was most likely a Ripper, which is like the twin. Gene Simmons played one.

good call. that's exactly it. either way his attitude towards the instrument pained me when i first met him. he was a diehard punk who adhered to the belief that you only needed the low E and the other 3 were just there to keep it in tune.

we worked him out of that attitude over the years haha.

LMAO are you sure your buddy's not Gene himself?

haha yeah i'm pretty sure he's not Gene :p:

i don't think Simmons would need to sell a bass to buy a used family van haha

good point LOL
so who's your favorite bassist of all time?

Speaking of old school... Who knows who Stanley Clarke is?

it's not that Stanley Clarke isn't ridiculous awesome... but if i'm feeling old school it's all about da mingus YouTube - Charles Mingus Oslo 1964

Stanley is beast. So is Mingus. What about Jaco?

I'm not really one for bass soloists, but I'd say he's pretty good.

i'd hardly call Jaco a big soloist, especially not compared to modern virtuosos. sure he would take solo spots here and there but he also knew how to get in the pocket and stay there. consider something like 'used to be a cha-cha' from his S/T album. it's not really that tough of a bass line, until you try playing it that fast for that long.

i think my favourite thing about Jaco is how he definitely still cared about how it used to be done but didn't seem to give a crap about actually doing it that way. i get the impression his preferred jazz trio would have been bass, drums, and steel drums (which is one element of his music i can't get enough of Othello Molineaux = awesome).

it's really too bad mental illness still carries the stigma it does, especially towards men in our society. that's the real tragedy of his demise.

Yeah, his work with 'Weather Report' was top notch. Their music really got me into jazz at a young age. Before I thought it was just a bunch of crappy improvised wind instruments and piano :crazy:. Of course that was way back in my early RadioMute days. Once I realised there was so much more to it (including incredible bass playing). I was hooked. Jaco P. was a huge influence to me as a young bass player.

I've listened to Weather Report here and there, but I never listened to Jaco. I don't know why. It seems like something I should be into, but I guess its the fact that if its something that Im supposed to like because I've been playing bass since I was a child, I seem to avoid it. That's just the way it is. I'm not huge on bass soloists, either, but I appreciate the talent and dedication it takes to make it to that level of skill.

I wasn't saying that Stanley Clarke is my favorite. I don't know if I have a favorite.... I'd have to ponder on that one for a while.

It might still be Cliff Burton after all these years, with the mix of attitude, performance and talent.

Highly recommended reading for any bass player:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...SH20_OU01_.jpg

nice. i've been slack on getting my hands on a mingus book.

what really turned me onto pastorius was this one. the more i read about his life the greater his music sounded to my ears.

i've also been in the same boat as elephant sack as well, there are plenty of groups that i've avoided because i was 'supposed' to like them based on other preferences. sometimes i was right in sticking with my convictions, often i was not haha his self titled debut is fantastic.

Jaco: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius: Deluxe Edition

burton was effing great too.