Reverb?? On a bass?!! No, I’m not talking about using reverb on a bass (reverb, the audio effect that makes the instrument sound like it was played in a bigger space, is generally considered not be good for bass as it muddies the sound). No, I’m talking about the website Reverb and it’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/reverbmarket/featured ). In my last post I talked about the cool series of videos they are putting out about walking bass lines. This time I want to mention another nifty little series of videos that should interest bass players. Called Bass Tricks, the videos offer overviews of a specific bass player. I’ve already talked about James Jamerson in a previous post (https://roymusicusa.com/2017/04/14/aint-no-mountain-high-enough-the-genius-of-james-jamerson/) but this video discusses his technique and the setup he used that helped to define the Motown sound. Another player highlighted is the amazing Caro Kaye. I first heard of her from the column she used to write for Guitar Player magazine. As a Los Angeles studio musician in sixties and seventies, she has played on an estimated 10,000 recordings over a span of 50 years. Probably her most well known playing was on the classic Beach Boy’s records including the epic Pet Sounds. Like the Jamerson video, this video goes over her picking technique, bass setup and playing approach.
The third video spotlights a player many bassist many not have given much thought to but who I consider to be one of the more underrated bassists of all time, Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads. Let’s face it, the bass line to Psycho Killer is an immediately recognizable classic. The video goes into Tina’s Motown influence and discusses some of her other great bass lines like the much sampled Genius Of Love.
The James Jamerson Motown Bass Sound | Reverb Bass Tricks
The Carol Kaye Bass Sound & Technique | Reverb Bass Tricks
The Bass Sound of Tina Weymouth | Reverb Bass Tricks
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