Top 25 Favorite Bassists countdown thread! (ON HOLD!!)

[KevShmev]

Alright, since we have done singers, guitarists and drummers, time to show bassists the proper respect and do them as well! 

I will count down the 25 bassists in order, and they will be taken from lists of anyone who wants to send me theirs via PM. Do not post them on the forum here. Send them to me via PM.  I will take all of the lists and come up with the cumulative list and do the countdown from 25 to 1.

The rules:
-Bassists must be listed from 25 to 1 in order (in reverse order), with no ties.  No having three bassists at number 4 or anything like that.  DO NOT list your bassists with the points total. List them in your order (I will figure out the points on my end).
-Any list submitted with the bassists not numbered will be ignored.
-Anyone wanting to submit a list must do so by the end of day, Saturday, July 1st.  I will then begin the countdown shortly thereafter.
-The list will be tallied numerically in a simple way. On each list, whatever bassist is at number 1 gets 25 points, number 2 gets 24 points, number 3 gets 23 points, etc.
-List each guitarist by their stage name (first and last name or just one name if it's someone who goes by just one name like Flea; do not send acronyms or just first or last names assuming I will know who you mean).
-PROOFREAD YOUR LISTS BEFORE SENDING THEM.  Any list with the same bassist mentioned twice will be not be counted.

Feel free to post in this thread as well that you have PM'd me, if for no other reason than to bump this back up for others who may want to participate who may not have seen the thread yet.

This ranking engine link below works great if you have too much difficulty making one on your own. You can input all of the bassists you want, and then you pick your favorite of every 1-on-1 matchup and then it spits out your list.

https://www.pubmeeple.com/ranking-engine

[ReaperKK]

I'll start getting a list together today!

[King Postwhore]

Nice

[Metro]

List sent

[lonestar]

Just started writing down names, 25 might be tough without just adding a bunch of the bigger band's bass players at the end, but I'll give it the old college try.


Top 5 is already firm though.

[SwedishGoose]

Names popping up.... will try to send a list

[HOF]

Awesome! This will be fun.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

25 names will be very easy.  Putting them in a coherent order?  Yikes...

[Jamesman42]

Kev, when we PM you, do you want a numbered list? I'm not sure based on your post.

[HOF]

Kev, when we PM you, do you want a numbered list? I'm not sure based on your post.

“Bassists must be listed from 25 to 1 in order (in reverse order),”

I guess it’s not explicit, but I always number mine.

[Jamesman42]

I was that kid in class who wanted to make sure I followed every detail correctly

[KevShmev]

I can already foresee my reaction when I get Jamesman42's list...

[Jamesman42]

I can already foresee my reaction when I get Jamesman42's list...

And then when you actually read some of the list

[TAC]

Made a quick list of 20 bassists at lunch today. Gonna have to look through my collection to see who I forgot.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

This may be just as hard as the drummer list, trying to widdle it down to 25.

[King Postwhore]

Made a quick list of 20 bassists at lunch today. Gonna have to look through my collection to see who I forgot.

Bread
Mayo
John Paul Jones
Peanut butter
Steve Harris
Milk
...

[TAC]

Mayo and peanut butter do NOT go together!

[Adami]

Dammit! Thought it was gonna be keyboardists first and started that list.


Bassists should be easy enough!

[King Postwhore]

Mayo and peanut butter do NOT go together!

It's a shopping list silly. 

[TAC]

Mayo and peanut butter do NOT go together!

It's a shopping list silly.

Oh OK. Well, I mentioned I was at lunch so I thought you were making me a sammich.

[King Postwhore]

You're married all ready. Lol

[pg1067]

Wow...this came out of the blue.  Cool!

I assume I'll be on everyone's top 10.

[The Realm]

Nice one. Like the drummers list and unlike the guitarists list, might be a tight battle at the top.

[pg1067]

Nice one. Like the drummers list and unlike the guitarists list, might be a tight battle at the top.

There's a clear #1 for me, but if I take some of the subjective factors out of it, my top 4-5 are separated by paper-thin margins.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

I think moreso than any other instrument, a lot of bass players are probably going to be overlooked, certainly on mine.  If there aren't a lot of overt bass intros, breaks, fancier fills, active counterpoint lines and such, much less solos, a lot of solid bass playing is felt more than heard.  The song feels emptier if you take it out, but you often forget it's there. 

[twosuitsluke]

My list is for sure gonna have some punk rock bassists, which I’m sure will be overlooked by the majority of those who send lists.

[The Realm]

Nice one. Like the drummers list and unlike the guitarists list, might be a tight battle at the top.

There's a clear #1 for me, but if I take some of the subjective factors out of it, my top 4-5 are separated by paper-thin margins.

I was referring to the overall list not my own personal list. ie Petrucci smashed the top guitarists, however the top drummers was won by 1 vote. I think the top bassists will be tight at the top.

Like you, I have a clear number 1 and then a handful that I really love. After that I really need to think hard about this....

[HOF]

I think moreso than any other instrument, a lot of bass players are probably going to be overlooked, certainly on mine.  If there aren't a lot of overt bass intros, breaks, fancier fills, active counterpoint lines and such, much less solos, a lot of solid bass playing is felt more than heard.  The song feels emptier if you take it out, but you often forget it's there.

I think bass tends to be felt more than heard in a metal context, but in pop and other less heavy riff based music bass is sometimes one of the more prominent instruments. It’s kind of the one thing you can get away with being sort of active with on a pop song.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

It's really hard to compare across genres.  There are certainly niches of each that have much more active bass playing.  Tons of prog/tech metal bands with noodly fretless players, for example.  A few might make even make my list.  But there are lots of bands where it's just the guitar's octave pedal or hardly even present in the mix. 

My list is for sure gonna have some punk rock bassists, which I’m sure will be overlooked by the majority of those who send lists.

I may have at least one or two, or adjacent ones. 

[Adami]

It's really hard to compare across genres.  There are certainly niches of each that have much more active bass playing.  Tons of prog/tech metal bands with noodly fretless players, for example.  A few might make even make my list.  But there are lots of bands where it's just the guitar's octave pedal or hardly even present in the mix. 

My list is for sure gonna have some punk rock bassists, which I’m sure will be overlooked by the majority of those who send lists.

I may have at least one or two, or adjacent ones.

But would those bassists that are just doing an octave lower and barely noticeable be making a list of favorite bassists?

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Maybe.  Sometimes having a cool tone might be enough, even if they're playing little more than roots and doubling.  We've touched on this in each of these so far, but I do tend to think that if you listen to and love a band enough, there can be a glow that can make certain elements seem better than they otherwise might be. 

[Adami]

Maybe.  Sometimes having a cool tone might be enough, even if they're playing little more than roots and doubling.  We've touched on this in each of these so far, but I do tend to think that if you listen to and love a band enough, there can be a glow that can make certain elements seem better than they otherwise might be.

I guess we all have our own legit reasons for picking who we do. I personally can’t see choosing a bassist just because his presence adds a little bit of low frequency. I need a bassist to have personality. If not in their playing, then in their other additions to a band.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Maybe.  Sometimes having a cool tone might be enough, even if they're playing little more than roots and doubling.  We've touched on this in each of these so far, but I do tend to think that if you listen to and love a band enough, there can be a glow that can make certain elements seem better than they otherwise might be.

I guess we all have our own legit reasons for picking who we do. I personally can’t see choosing a bassist just because his presence adds a little bit of low frequency. I need a bassist to have personality. If not in their playing, then in their other additions to a band.

This is how I look at it. Does the bassist make the song more interesting? Do they add something to the music that makes it stand out in a good way?

[Adami]

I totally agree. But to the topic being discussed, does an octave lower of the guitar at a low frequency count as that since it’s quite literally the bare minimum a bassist can add. And justice for all aside.

[TAC]

I basically named 20 guys that I could think of. I'm going to have to throw 5 random dudes at the end.