Cloreen said:

weirdozmedia said:

ufoclub said: It does, there's a sampled bass loop layered under it as well, but even it is just a basic walking line. This guy has absolutely no idea what's he's talking about (unless he's trolling on purpose),

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A) So what's wrong with a synth bass? It's the song's bottom. When discussing bass, we talk about it.

B) So what's wrong with a walking bass line? Would love to hear what you would play under a song called, get this, "Strollin'."

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You are knocking synth bass lines and walking bass lines? Are you sure you know what you are talking about or are you just trolling?

Maybe because you're picking one of his most simple and somewhat generic bass tracks as his "best"? I'm not knocking Gett Off in any way, because the bass worked perfectly for that song, but it's hard to justify it as his best, or legendary in any way. It'd be like pointing to Eddie Van Halen chugging power chords as his "best guitar moment". The way Prince was slapping and popping throughout the 80s, that took far more skill and was what a lot of bass players were actually trying to emulate. It takes a lot of time and skill to master that style of playing and Prince had already mastered it fairly early on. But no, let's point to a somewhat generic sequenced bass track that anyone could program in about 2 minutes and point to that as an example of his best bass guitar playing.

Cloreen said:

weirdozmedia said:

It'd be like pointing to Eddie Van Halen chugging power chords as his "best guitar moment".

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That's incredible that you say that. YES! Eddie chugging power chords on "D.O.A." IS his best moment! I have always said that. Getting down and heavy and dirty on two chords...yes, that is Eddie's best for me. No joke, "Dead Or Alive" is miles ahead of that silly tapping masturbatory noodling Eddie does in his solos.

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My friend, we definitely listen to music differently. "Gett Off" is what bass, bottom, is supposed to be. Only you seem to think it doesn't work because it is too simple. You sound like an elitist. Eddie has to play a thousand notes a measure or it is garbage in your opinion. Give me that two chord rhythm of "D.O.A." any day of the year. You can have that idiotic solo to "Beat It."

I don't see anyone differentiating between technical prowess and the ability to move people en masse. Those are two very different things. The Beatles weren't virtuosos and they didn't have to be, they were great songwriters and they had a presence that communicated to a lot of people. Same with any star. Elvis was a pretty simple guitar player, never wrote a song and yet he's considered one of the giants of american music. Truth is, good musicians are a dime a dozen, in and of itself it usually doesn't mean anything unless it's paired with other things. Prince had so many other things that he did exceptionally well that some things get distorted. You take other guitarists who people would say are better than Prince, like Van Halen, he really only does a few things well and only one thing great, play guitar. I never considered him a great songwriter, he only sang backup vocals, his music didn't really represent a whole lot and although he was a better guitarist, he needed other people to even make his playing and his music commercial. Prince had so many things rolled into one. Dude was a force of nature. Bass playing? I don't know, how often did Prince even feature his base playing.

The basslines he came up with were plenty funky, probably not that intricate or hard to play but when you talk about what moves the bootie, he could do it. The Time's music was him at his absolute funkiest, he didn't feel safe releasing that kind of stuff because he was trying to crossover. So, while he put out Controversy, the Time got better music for their first album, and a lot of the credit.

controversy99 said:

Cloreen has a point regarding the Beatles and their fans. It would be extremely unusual for a Beatles fan to claim that Ringo, John, or George were, say, among the 10 best all time on their respective instruments. (I have seen claims that Paul is a top tier bassist so that is one exception.)

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Yeah, Beatle fans do rightly place Paul on a very high level of bass players. Many place him second only to James Jamerson. To be honest, I am one of those fans. What Paul did on bass was stunning. Technique wise..maybe not. But his musical sense, his melodic strength on bass is about the best there ever was.

PeteSilas said:

Elvis was a pretty simple guitar player, never wrote a song and yet he's considered one of the giants of american music.

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Nobody was following Elvis for his guitar playing. It was his voice and his persona. He was king in both those departments. Still untouched by any other performer in those two areas. It's what made him the giant of American music.

Cloreen said:

PeteSilas said:

Elvis was a pretty simple guitar player, never wrote a song and yet he's considered one of the giants of american music.

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Nobody was following Elvis for his guitar playing. It was his voice and his persona. He was king in both those departments. Still untouched by any other performer in those two areas. It's what made him the giant of American music.

that's somewhat my point, it doesn't really matter that much in the bigger picture. I play piano and sing, I often point out to people how flawed my playing is, they usually say the same thing "no one cares" they like it anyway.

PeteSilas said:

it doesn't really matter that much in the bigger picture. I play piano and sing, I often point out to people how flawed my playing is, they usually say the same thing "no one cares" they like it anyway.

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Yeah, but this whole thread started because Questlove said Prince bass playing is better than his guitar playing. Merely pointing out how absurd that is. Which is to your point, does it even matter? Big picture, we weren't buying Prince music for his virtuoso performances on bass or guitar. Leave that to Joe Satriani fans.

Cloreen said:

PeteSilas said:

it doesn't really matter that much in the bigger picture. I play piano and sing, I often point out to people how flawed my playing is, they usually say the same thing "no one cares" they like it anyway.

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Yeah, but this whole thread started because Questlove said Prince bass playing is better than his guitar playing. Merely pointing out how absurd that is. Which is to your point, does it even matter? Big picture, we weren't buying Prince music for his virtuoso performances on bass or guitar. Leave that to Joe Satriani fans.

I'd be more interested in why quest said that and examples, not just the statement itself which can have different interpretations. Prince's bass writing was damn good, that's what counts to me.

PeteSilas said:

PeteSilas said:

I don't see anyone differentiating between technical prowess and the ability to move people en masse. Those are two very different things. The Beatles weren't virtuosos and they didn't have to be, they were great songwriters and they had a presence that communicated to a lot of people. Same with any star. Elvis was a pretty simple guitar player, never wrote a song and yet he's considered one of the giants of american music.

That's great, but this thread is specifically about Prince's skill as a bassist.

The basslines he came up with were plenty funky, probably not that intricate or hard to play but when you talk about what moves the bootie, he could do it.

More insanity, here's a breakdown of one of his early songs - "Let's Work", not exactly rudimentary: https://www.youtube.com/w...uhOoylZ_BU

weirdozmedia said:

PeteSilas said:

I don't see anyone differentiating between technical prowess and the ability to move people en masse. Those are two very different things. The Beatles weren't virtuosos and they didn't have to be, they were great songwriters and they had a presence that communicated to a lot of people. Same with any star. Elvis was a pretty simple guitar player, never wrote a song and yet he's considered one of the giants of american music.

That's great, but this thread is specifically about Prince's skill as a bassist.

The basslines he came up with were plenty funky, probably not that intricate or hard to play but when you talk about what moves the bootie, he could do it.

More insanity, here's a breakdown of one of his early songs - "Let's Work", not exactly rudimentary: https://www.youtube.com/w...uhOoylZ_BU

you're missing my whole point(s) that how hard something is to play really doesn't mean that much. world is full of musicians who no one wants to listen to and many of them play as well as anyone. believe me, I see them all the time and they can't even make a living, that's important. anyway, I'm hesitant about saying much about his bass playing, only that I, as someone who knows very little about what it takes to be a good player, can only say so much. Was he as good as Bootsie Collins? I don't know, Larry Graham? I don't know. I know that he wasn't as innovative as Graham or Jamerson on the base but he was pretty good, way past "rudimentary" if that makes you happy.

didn't brownmark do much of the funk writing in the peak years? I think he gets cheated a little, no one gives that quiet guy no props and he did some funky shit if that was him on parade, that shit was fonkay!

Bdul4c said:

NikkiH said:

Man his bass work on Alphabet Street is insane. I'm surprised no one brought it up...

I was about to lay it on here!

Now let's remember this:

And these.

[Edited 5/16/16 22:18pm]

Bass player Ted Gould talks about Prince's bass player specifically on the song Uptown.

lrn36 said:

Bdul4c said:

I was about to lay it on here!

Now let's remember this:

And these.

[Edited 5/16/16 22:18pm]

The subject of this thread isn't whether Prince is a great bass player or not - he definitely is a world class, amazing funk bass player.

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However, he's an even better guitar player. One of the best ever, and he got better and better up until the end. Check out some soundboard shows from 2009 - 2015.

stinasings said:

Questlove tweeted the other day that he thinks Prince is a better at the bass than the guitar. He mentioned his work on the Time album. I honestly never focused on his bass playing before. What do ya'll think?

I take Questlove's opinion on Prince with a grain of salt. He also claimed that House of Pain "Jump Around" sampled Prince, when the sample in question is pretty clearly from another song.

http://www.newsweek.com/princes-gett-and-24-year-mystery-hip-hop-sample-456856?piano_t=1

PeteSilas said:

didn't brownmark do much of the funk writing in the peak years? I think he gets cheated a little, no one gives that quiet guy no props and he did some funky shit if that was him on parade, that shit was fonkay!

Yeah Brownmark was great with his unique style along with the Mazarati stuff, there was a podcast were he was interviewed not too long along, will have to find it again..

8675309 said:

Cloreen said:

Askani said:

What do you mean it's not a bass line at all?

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You think that's a bass line? Try writing it out. It will be all xxxxxx.

It's 90% muted percussion.

Muted bass strings. Of course that's a bass line

NikkiH said:

Prince just had a great feel. He could do so much with one note. There was one outtake for a song that had all the instruments separated. I forgot the name. The bass track sounded sloppy to my ears, but when you hear it in the completed song it sounds perfect. It's that raw, dirty approach that makes him a great bass player, but technically I think he is a better guitar player.

[Edited 5/17/16 12:16pm]

lrn36 said:

Prince just had a great feel. He could do so much with one note. There was one outtake for a song that had all the instruments separated. I forgot the name. The bass track sounded sloppy to my ears, but when you hear it in the completed song it sounds perfect. It's that raw, dirty approach that makes him a great bass player, but technically I think he is a better guitar player.

[Edited 5/17/16 12:16pm]

G-Spot?

jdcxc said:

Am guessing many orgers are familiar with this interview from Bass Player magazine but its quite interesting:

http://princetext.tripod.com/i_bass99.html

and this too about playing the bass line in Lets Work.

http://bassmusicianmagazine.com/2016/01/prince-lets-work/

I went to BrownMark's You Tube page where he's thrashing on "Let's Work" and "Pow" (by Sir Laurence Graham). BrownMark was always my favorite funky P bassist. He could play what was on the record and add his own flair to it in concert.

I've been reading Questlove's auto-bio and the guy is such a HUGE music nerd & Prince fan, I don't know if he's right regarding Prince's bass playing but he does know what he's talking about.

The book is worth reading just to read about the time he met Prince and turned into a jibbering mess!

Isn't the bass easier to play? four strings instead of six. All those complex bends. Foot boxes and such.

Cloreen is a troll.