WHY MAKE MUSIC… Episode 035 It’s All About That Bass Hey hey heyyy… you already know who it is. It’s your girl DJ Warm Cookies, and if you’re hearin’ my voice, then you’ve tuned in to another smooth, soul-shakin’ session of Why Make Music… Now before we dive into tonight’s groove—a low-end tribute called All About That Bass—let me give out some love. You know we never start off with the shout-outs, so let’s go ahead and get it in, get it right. First things first: big love to everyone streamin’ us across the known universe. Whether you’re listenin’ on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Amazon, wherever—you part of WDMN now, You didn’t just stumble into this. No, no, no… this is divine rhythm intervention. And we gotta give a massive shout to the ThinkTank itself—my partner in rhyme, my favorite co-conspirator, the man behind the mission—T H I N K T I M M. Don’t forget to follow @ThinkTimm on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, BlueSky, and wherever else brilliant minds gather. He has music out there on all major streaming platforms. From NomenClefture… Verbal Scales to Demotional… Caught Feelings, to the full instrumental sagas—go press play. Let the music speak. And oh yeah—shout out to WDMN. DamnationThat’s the vibe. That’s The Loop That’s the movement. We makin’ noise. We makin’ music. We makin’ moments. Tap in, lean in, or just nod your head—whatever your flavor is, we got it on deck. Special love—and I mean real warm, soulful love—to all the bass players out there. From the pioneers with fingers of thunder to the new wave funk magicians slidin’ on six-strings and loop pedals—this one’s for you. Whether you’re thumpin’ the one, walkin’ a groove, or just stayin’ low and mean—trust me, we see you. We feel you. We hear you. Now look… y’all know we been knockin’ these last few episodes out like clockwork. We’ve been rollin’ ‘em out in tight timeframes, makin’ magic happen with efficiency. But tonight? We slowin’ it down… just a little. This one’s goin’ long. Real long. Because we got mad love for the bass, and baby, you can’t rush that bottom end. This episode right here? It’s a whole groove journey. A buffet of funk. A deep-fried dissertation on the art of the low note. So if you like it short and sweet… sorry baby, you gon’ have to wait ’til next week. This time, we goin’ extra. Extra smooth. Extra funky. Extra long. Alright… you ready? Take a breath… roll that neck… crack the window… let the air hit your skin just right… Because up next… is All About That Bass. Hosted by ThinkTimm & Willa May. Sit back. Lock in. Turn your speakers up. And let the low end lead the way. Welcome to Why Make Music… Dot Dot Dot Intro & Personal Connection to Bass: ThinkTimm: Hey everybody, welcome to Why Make Music…. This is Episode 035, and tonight we’re going “All About That Bass.” I’m ThinkTimm, your host – a bass player and lifelong lover of the low end. With me is my fantastic co-host, DJ Warm Cookies – also known as Willa May – ready to drop some knowledge and vibes. DJ Warm Cookies: [warm, enthusiastic] You know it! I’ve got my headphones on and the bass turned way up for this one. Hello, beautiful people. Whether you’re a musician or just a music lover, you’re in for a treat. Today we’re shining a big spotlight on the electric bass guitar – that unsung hero in so many songs that really makes the music move. ThinkTimm: The bass has always been personal for me. Quick story – when I was a kid, I remember hearing the bass line to Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” vibrating through the floor at a school dance. I didn’t know what instrument it was at the time, I just knew it made me feel something new. It was like discovering the heartbeat of music. Fast forward a few years, I picked up a bass guitar and never looked back. Playing those low notes felt like tapping into a power source. DJ Warm Cookies Bass does that – it connects with you physically. It’s the instrument that you feel as much as hear. And it’s often the glue holding everything together, even if it’s not always in the spotlight. ThinkTimm: Exactly. And today we are putting it in the spotlight. We’ll talk about the pioneers of the electric bass, the slap bass revolutionaries, the funk-rock-fusion masters, modern experimental wizards, and some amazing women in bass who’ve paved their own grooves. We’ve got legendary names from Larry Graham to Thundercat, from Carol Kaye to Esperanza Spalding, and so many more. Plus, stick around for some personal anecdotes – I’ve got one about seeing Meshell Ndegeocello live in Philly that I can’t wait to share. DJ Warm Cookies: We’re also going to get into gear a bit – those signature bass guitars, pedals, and sounds that helped define these players – and ultimately wrap up with why the bass still matters in music today (as if it was ever in doubt!). ThinkTimm: I’m excited. Let’s kick it off by rewinding to where it all began for the electric bass guitar. Cue a little vintage bass groove in the background… maybe a walking bass line from a ’50s jazz track? Pioneers of the Electric Bass: DJ Warm Cookies: The electric bass guitar itself was invented in the 1950s – Leo Fender’s Precision Bass came in 1951 and changed everything. But it really took visionary players in the ’60s and ’70s to show what this new instrument could do. Let’s talk pioneers of the electric bass – the trailblazers who made the bass guitar a force in music. We’re talking names like James Jamerson, Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins, Stanley Clarke, and a certain fretless phenom we’ll mention too. These folks wrote the vocabulary of bass that everyone else builds on. James Jamerson: In the early 1960s, James Jamerson was the heartbeat of Motown Records. He was the uncredited bassist on dozens upon dozens of Motown hits – seriously, the man’s resume of number-one songs eclipses even The Beatles and Rolling Stones . If you’ve grooved to Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, The Temptations’ “My Girl,” The Four Tops’ “Bernadette,” or Stevie Wonder’s “I Was Made to Love Her,” you’ve been grooving to Jamerson’s bass lines . Jamerson had a jazz background and brought a melodic, fluid style to R&B that just hadn’t been heard before. He played mostly one finger (the famous “Hook” finger) on his right hand, and he rarely, if ever, changed the flatwound strings on his bass. The instrument he used was a stock 1962 Fender Precision Bass that he nicknamed “The Funk Machine,” and its sound was a deep, warm thump with just enough punch to carry those intricate lines . ThinkTimm: Jamerson’s lines were just…beautiful. They had this dancing quality, full of syncopation and passing tones. He treated bass like a musical voice, not just root notes. Take “Bernadette” – during the chorus, his bass is practically singing a counter-melody beneath the vocals. And yet, he always locked in with the drummer (the Motown Funk Brothers’ drummer Benny Benjamin or Uriel Jones) to drive the song forward. Story goes, when Marvin Gaye recorded “What’s Going On,” Jamerson laid down that famous bass line while lying on the studio floor, half-drunk, because he’d been out gigging and was called into the session late – and he still nailed it in one take. That’s raw talent and feel! DJ Warm Cookies: And it wasn’t just the notes he played – it was the sound. Jamerson kept his Fender Precision’s tone controls low and often stuffed foam under the bridge cover to mute the strings, achieving that signature muted, fat Motown tone. On recordings, it sat in the mix like a friendly giant – supportive but unmistakable. It’s been said Motown producers had to fight to get his bass high enough in the mix; the result was those songs having a warmth and groove that powered the Motown sound . Jamerson truly set the standard for bass as the soul of the rhythm section. Larry Graham: Now, on the West Coast and a few years later, Larry Graham comes along and invents an entirely new way to play the bass. That’s not an exaggeration – he’s universally credited with creating the slap and pop technique on electric bass . Larry was the bassist for Sly & The Family Stone, one of the great funk-rock-soul bands of the late ’60s. Songs like “Dance to the Music” and “Thank You (FOR LETTING ME Be Mice Elf Agin)” feature this thumping, percussive bass style that nobody had really heard before Larry did it. What happened was, in an earlier band, Larry found himself without a drummer, so he started playing the bass in a way that covered the drum parts – thumping the lower strings with his thumb to emulate a kick drum and popping the higher strings with his fingers to emulate a snare . He later said, “I was basically trying to play drums on the bass” . And thus slap bass was born out of necessity and ingenuity. ThinkTimm: Picture it: It’s the late ’60s, you’re at a Sly & The Family Stone show, and Larry Graham steps up with his bass. Instead of the usual finger style walking or grooving, he whacks the string with his thumb – BOOM! – then tugs and snaps a string – POP! It must’ve been like a rhythmic shockwave. On “Thank You (FOR LETTING ME Be Mice Elf Agin)”, that rubbery, aggressive groove hitting your chest was like nothing before. Larry’s innovation expanded what the bass could do – he made it both a rhythm and a lead instrument simultaneously . He took that style forward with his own band Graham Central Station in the ’70s, on tracks like “Hair” and “The Jam,” which are like textbooks for slap bass players . DJ Warm Cookies: And technically, what Larry did was bring an old upright bass trick into the electric era – jazz and blues upright bassists had been “slapping” the string against the fingerboard for percussive effect for decades, but nobody applied it to electric bass guitar until Larry came along . Once he did, it opened a floodgate. The tone he got was a very snappy, bright sound (he often played a Fender Jazz Bass early on and later a custom Moon bass), with a deep bottom and a percussive smack on top. It gave funk music its signature sonic kick. Songs like “Thank You…” and “Everyday People” (though that one’s more conventional) put the bass guitar front and center in pop music in a whole new way . And let’s mention: Larry Graham’s thumpin’ and pluckin’ inspired basically every slap bassist that followed – from Bootsy to Flea to Marcus Miller. He’s rightfully called the Godfather of slap bass. Bootsy Collins: Speaking of Bootsy – DAMN man, Bootsy Collins is a character and a half, and also a titan of funk bass. Bootsy came on the scene at the tail end of the ’60s as a teenager playing bass for James Brown. James Brown really Bootsy was only about 18 or 19 when he recorded classics like “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine” in 1970 with James Brown. His style back then was actually pretty straightforward funk – rock-solid on the groove, hitting “The One” (James Brown was all about accenting the first beat of the measure – “the one” – and Bootsy delivered that fundamental foot on the floor) . But Bootsy’s story gets wilder: after a short but significant stint with James Brown, he and his brother Catfish Collins left the band… and got scooped up by George Clinton for Parliament-Funkadelic. That’s where Bootsy’s full persona blossomed. He became this sci-fi funk superhero with star-shaped sunglasses and even a star-shaped bass to match – the infamous “Space Bass” . ThinkTimm: Bootsy’s Space Bass is legendary in itself – a custom-built star-shaped bass guitar covered in crazy colors and lights. But beyond the look, Bootsy brought a feel. He took what Larry Graham did and added a whole lot of psychedelic grease to it. Listen to Parliament’s “Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)” or Funkadelic jams like “Flash Light.” On “Flash Light,” Bootsy actually played keyboard bass, but he dialed it in to sound like his style – that elastic, booty-shaking groove. He’s got this way of playing behind the beat, a lazy funk swagger, and he’ll often use effects to make the bass sound almost like a synth or a spaceship taking off. He was one of the first to really push effects pedals for bass: the Mu-Tron III envelope filter (giving that wah-like funky quack) was a key part of his sound – he even said “Without it, there ain’t no Bootsy” about that pedal . Fuzz, wah, phasers – he’d use it all to get that trippy funk tone. DJ Warm Cookies: And Bootsy’s persona – we have to mention it – he wasn’t the sideman hiding by the drummer. He was often front and center, shouting out funky slogans, dressed in starry freaky costumes. He brought a showmanship to bass that was totally new. Yet, for all the flash, his bass fundamentals were tight as anything. Take “I’d Rather Be With You” by Bootsy’s Rubber Band – it’s a slow jam but the bass carries the whole song with this gooey, seductive groove, and then he uses a bit of distortion and filter to make it almost talk. Or “Bootzilla”, where he literally uses the bass to converse (with that “Bootzilla, baby!” falsetto in tandem). Under George Clinton’s mentorship, Bootsy basically solidified funk bass: heavy on the one, make it fun, make it deep. By the way, Bootsy’s famous advice to bass players: “Keep it on the one!” – always come back to that downbeat. James Brown drilled that into him (“You ain’t on the one, Bootsy!” he’d say when Bootsy got too busy ), and Bootsy carried that lesson through his career, even as he got wild and woolly on top of it. Stanley Clarke: Now shifting gears – in the jazz fusion realm, one pioneer stands tall: Stanley Clarke. Stanley came up in the early ’70s and co-founded the seminal fusion group Return to Forever with Chick Corea. He’s important because he was really the first electric bassist to become a bona fide superstar as a soloist in jazz . I mean, he was headlining shows and selling out venues as a bassist – that was unheard of before. Stanley Clarke’s 1976 album “School Days” has a title track which turned into an anthem for bass players; that track starts with Stanley slapping and popping an Alembic bass like it’s a lead guitar, and it blew everyone’s mind. He showed that bass guitar could be a lead instrument in jazz and not just a background rhythm section thing . ThinkTimm: Stanley’s style combined insane technical proficiency with musicality. He could play lightning-fast runs (he has huge hands and could span crazy intervals on the fingerboard) and also bow an upright bass beautifully. On electric, though, he really showcased slap and chordal playing in a jazz context. Listen to “School Days” or “Lopsy Lu” – he’s thumping out funk on an Alembic in one moment, then playing a lyrical melody the next. And he had this Alembic short-scale bass that gave him a distinctive tone – very bright and hi-fi, almost like a piano in the low end. In fact, Stanley once said he wanted his bass to have the range and clarity of a piano, and those Alembic basses (handmade, active electronics) delivered that. He was also the first jazz-fusion bassist to really tour like a rock star. By mid-70s, he was headlining his own shows, doing bass solos for big audiences – that blazed a trail for folks like Jaco Pastorius and Marcus Miller later, proving audiences would indeed come out just to see a bassist if the music was compelling . DJ Warm Cookies: Something I love about Stanley Clarke – he could groove hard when he wanted (as in his work with George Duke – check out tracks like “Reach for It” where Stanley’s groove is so deep in the pocket you can’t even see daylight), but he also expanded the bass’s role. He’d play lead lines in unison with Chick Corea’s keyboards, he’d do unaccompanied bass solos that had fans screaming (in Return to Forever live shows, there was always a Stanley solo spot), and he even experimented with piccolo bass (a bass tuned an octave higher) to take solos in the guitar range. He basically said, “there’s no part of music the bass can’t be part of.” And historically, he’s a giant: the first fusion bassist to have gold records and Grammys and all that as a bandleader. Truly a pioneer. Jaco Pastorius: We can’t discuss pioneers without talking about Jaco Pastorius – even though the prompt didn’t list him explicitly, I think everyone would agree Jaco belongs in this pantheon. Jaco came a little after Stanley, mid to late ’70s, and he revolutionized the bass in a different way. He was the master of the fretless bass. Jaco pulled the frets out of his Fender Jazz Bass (famously filling the lines with wood filler and coating it with marine epoxy) , and that gave him a singing, sliding tone that was completely fresh in electric music. On top of that, he had ridiculous technique – super fast, precise, and imaginative. He could play chords, do this thing with harmonics (like bell-like tones by lightly touching the string) – listen to his composition “Portrait of Tracy,” which is basically a bass harmonics masterpiece, it sounds like droplets of water and chimes, all done on one solo bass. And then he could groove like no other too – his bass line on Weather Report’s “Teen Town” is a sprinting funk-jazz clinic. ThinkTimm: Jaco called himself “the world’s greatest bass player” – and you know, he kind of backed it up! He had swagger and a rock-star attitude (shirtless with long hair, doing flips on stage sometimes), but also the musical depth to live up to the hype. With Weather Report (the premier jazz fusion band of the 70s), Jaco brought the bass up in the mix and into the spotlight. Tracks like “Birdland” – he’s not just underneath; he’s doubling melodies, sliding in fills. One of his signature moves was using chorus effect on his fretless bass to give it an even more lush, singing quality, like on his famous solo piece “Continuum.” And his groove on Joni Mitchell’s “Coyote” or Herbie Hancock’s stuff – it showed he wasn’t just about flashy soloing; he could sit in the groove and lift the whole band. Critics and musicians often say Jaco Pastorius is arguably the most influential electric bassist ever , because after him, everyone approached the instrument with new eyes. He expanded the vocabulary – funk, jazz, R&B, world music, he could do it all, on a fretless bass which in lesser hands can sound out of tune or wobbly. With Jaco, it just sang. DJ Warm Cookies: Absolutely. And Jaco’s influence is heard in so many who came later – from Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten to rock bassists who might not even realize they’re channeling Jaco when they play a certain melodic fill. He set a gold standard for virtuosity and musicality on bass. Sadly, Jaco’s life was short and troubled (he passed away in 1987), but in a brief time he took the electric bass to heights people didn’t imagine possible. Songs like “Teen Town” or his work on “Hejira” with Joni Mitchell remain reference points for what a bass guitar can do. (Transition sound – maybe a brief clip of Larry Graham’s slap, then Bootsy saying “Yeah baby!”, something fun to bridge sections.) Slap Bass Innovators: ThinkTimm: So after those pioneers laid the foundation, by the late ’70s and into the ’80s, slap bass became the hot thing – everyone wanted that funky thumb sound in their music. This era gave rise to some slap bass innovators who took Larry Graham’s thump-and-pluck concept and pushed it to new extremes or fused it with other genres. Let’s highlight a few: Victor Wooten, Flea, Norwood Fisher, Mark King, among others. Each of these players made the slap technique their own, influencing countless bassists (and frankly, helping sell a lot of thumb-worn bass guitars!). DJ Warm Cookies: Victor Wooten – where do we start? Victor is often hailed as one of the greatest living bass players. He came to prominence in the late ’80s as a founding member of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones – a group that mixes bluegrass, jazz, funk… just about everything. Victor is a 5-time Grammy Award winner , and he’s basically a virtuoso who treats the bass like a full-range solo instrument. What makes Victor an innovator in slap is his development of the “double thump” technique. Traditional slap involves hitting the string with your thumb (downstroke). Victor popularized the idea of also doing an upstroke with the thumb on the way back, effectively using the thumb like a pick going down-up-down-up. It allowed him to play incredibly fast, seamless lines that mix slapped notes and popped notes at blur-speed. If you want your jaw dropped, watch a video of Victor Wooten soloing – he’ll slap, pop, tap (with his other fingers on the fretboard, like a pianist on the neck), even use the bass’s harmonics for melody. Yet, crucially, he grooves hard. One of his famous pieces is “U Can’t Hold No Groove (If You Ain’t Got No Pocket)” – that title says it all; no matter how fancy you get, the groove comes first. And Victor’s groove is monstrous. He can hold down a song in 4/4 and still make it dance. Rolling Stone Magazine once listed him among the Top 10 Bassists of All Time (alongside legends from earlier eras) . He’s also been called “the Michael Jordan of the bass” – he’s that impactful. ThinkTimm: I’ve seen Victor live a couple of times, and each time I basically spend half the show shaking my head in disbelief and the other half grinning ear to ear. He’ll do things like play a heartfelt, slide-filled rendition of “Amazing Grace” on bass using harmonics – it sounds like an entire gospel choir humming – then seamlessly break into a dirty funk groove that makes the whole audience shout. And he often does solo bass sets where he’ll use a looper pedal to lay down a slapped beat, then layer chordal comping, then solo over it – all on bass. It’s one of those experiences that redefines what you thought a bass could do. Importantly, Victor is also a teacher and thinker about music (he wrote a book called The Music Lesson). He emphasizes feeling and listening as much as technique. So even though he’s a slap monster, he always reminds people: groove and musicality first. DJ Warm Cookies: Now, Flea – real name Michael Balzary – of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. If you grew up on ’80s-’90s rock, Flea’s slap bass was unavoidable in the best way. Flea was heavily influenced by Bootsy Collins and Larry Graham, as well as punk rock energy . RHCP started out as a wild funk-punk band, and Flea’s bass was basically the lead instrument many times, because the guitar (Hillel Slovak, then John Frusciante) often played more textural or riffy stuff while Flea was going off on these popping funk lines. “Give It Away” – that bass line is pure slap swagger, an incessant pop-and-slap riff that drives the whole song. Or their cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” – Flea’s slapping all over that with a super aggressive attack, really digging in. His approach was often to slap almost every note of a line (as opposed to intermixing slap and fingerstyle) when he wanted that percussive effect. But here’s the thing: Flea can also be incredibly melodic and choose not to slap. By the time the Chili Peppers did “Under the Bridge” or “Californication,” he mostly stuck to fingerstyle and showed his range. Still, slap is a huge part of his toolkit and identity. He often used Music Man StingRay basses early on, which gave him that bright, zingy tone, and later a Modulus bass with graphite neck, and currently often a Jazz Bass – but regardless of the bass, when Flea slaps, you know it’s Flea. There’s an urgency and attack that matches his on-stage persona (the man basically bounces around like he’s on a trampoline while playing). ThinkTimm: One of my favorite Flea moments is the song “Aeroplane.” The main groove is a plucked funky line, but in the bridge, Flea breaks into a slap bass solo that’s both funky and kind of…beautiful? He uses the slap technique to create a syncopated, almost Latin percussion vibe before sliding back into the groove. And live, man, Flea would throw in slap fills even where they weren’t on the studio record – it’s like he can’t resist because that’s part of how he expresses himself. Another track, “Stone Cold Bush,” from Mother’s Milk album, is slap insanity – a flurry of notes, very fast and gritty. But importantly, Flea’s slap always served RHCP’s songs, which mix funk and rock. He wasn’t doing it to show off (okay, maybe a little in the early days!), he was doing it because that fiery slap sound was the Chili Pepper attitude: funky, rebellious, a bit chaotic but totally infectious. Norwood Fisher: Let’s give some love to a perhaps lesser-known but utterly badass slapper: John “Norwood” Fisher from the band Fishbone. If you don’t know Fishbone, they’re a legendary Los Angeles band formed in the late ’70s/early ’80s that blends funk, punk, ska, and rock – real high-energy, eclectic stuff. Norwood’s bass often had to hold together all those changing styles and manic arrangements. And boy, did he. He’s known in the bass community as a powerhouse of slap and fingerstyle. One moment he’s popping a funk line, the next he’s walking a ska bassline, next he’s doubling a metal riff – all in one song. Check out Fishbone’s “Bonin’ in the Boneyard.” Norwood kicks that off with a gnarly slap bass solo lick – it’s hyper, frenetic thumb slapping and popping, really announcing “the bass is here!” Then the groove comes in and he keeps slapping these wild lines that interplay with horn hits and guitar. It’s a workout. In fact, a Guitar World article noted that Norwood’s “hyperactive thumb and inventive basslines” should’ve made him as big a name as Flea or Les Claypool – he was that good. Fishbone never got quite the mainstream breakthrough, but among musicians, Norwood is hugely respected. DJ Warm Cookies: Norwood learned slap young – there’s a story he tells about seeing someone slap in a music store when he was a teenager and it blew his mind . He went home and basically reverse-engineered what he saw until he could do it. You can hear influences of Larry Graham in his thumb technique, and Flea was actually coming up around the same time in the same city, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they were aware of each other. Norwood often plays with a very punchy tone – I recall he’s used Music Man and Warwick basses, 5-strings sometimes, to get both the deep reggae-ish lows and the bright slap tone. He’s the kind of player who, if you see Fishbone live, will drop your jaw. He might not be as famous as some others we’re talking about, but any bassist who mixes genres like that while slapping like a monster deserves the “innovator” tag. He effectively showed how slap could work in punk and ska contexts, not just straight funk. Songs like “Everyday Sunshine” have him doing a simpler groove, but then live he’d embellish with pops. And let’s just say, if there were an Olympic event for stamina in slap bass, Norwood could contend – their music is fast and he’s slapping at crazy tempos! Mark King: Jumping over to the U.K., we have Mark King from Level 42 – a slap bass pioneer on the pop charts. Mark King is often called “Thunder-Thumbs” (a nickname he earned just like Louis Johnson of the Brothers Johnson did) because of his blistering slap technique. In the 1980s, while a lot of slap was in funk and R&B, Mark brought it into a jazz-funk-pop context with Level 42. He was not only the bassist but also the lead vocalist of the band – so here’s a guy slapping these incredibly fast, complex lines while singing. That’s like rubbing your belly, patting your head, and reciting poetry at the same time – not easy! Listen to Level 42 songs like “Love Games,” “Sun Goes Down (Living It Up),” or their big hit “Lessons in Love.” The bass is front and center, snapping and popping in tight sync with the drums, essentially acting as both rhythm and a bit of melody. One track beloved by bass players is “Mr. Pink.” There’s a live version where Mark King’s slap bass solo intro is just insane – a flurry of 16th-notes that are clean, musical, and superhumanly fast. It almost sounds like someone programmed a drum machine with bass notes, but nope, it’s Mark’s two hands. ThinkTimm: What set Mark King apart was how clean and precise his slap is, even at ridiculous speed. Part of his secret was using very light-gauge strings (like .30 to .90 gauge, which are almost floppy) and a bright, scooped tone, plus he wore his bass high on his chest which gave him more control. He often used boutique U.K. basses – in early days a Jaydee bass, later a Status Graphite bass – those gave him a very bright and even tone. He also used a bit of chorus or reverb occasionally to thicken the sound. And he would often slap chords or double-stops, not just single notes, which made his parts sound very full. A fun fact: he was originally a drummer, which he credits for his approach on bass . He basically applied drum rudiments to thumb and finger combinations. So his bass lines sometimes feel like a drum pattern in terms of rhythm – very percussive and structured – but they carry harmony too. As a singer, he kept his bass lines busy but rhythmic enough that he could kind of sing “around” them. It’s mind-boggling to me. If you try karaoke-ing a Level 42 song and air-slapping the bass line at the same time, you realize how much skill that takes. Mark King’s success (Level 42 had multiple hits and world tours) brought slap bass to a mainstream pop audience. Suddenly, kids in the ’80s who heard “Lessons in Love” on the radio were humming a bass line without even knowing it. DJ Warm Cookies: Right, and Mark’s style is distinct from the American funk slappers because it has that English pop sensibility – it’s very upbeat, almost cheerful funk. He showed that slap bass could be melodic and pop-friendly. To this day, he’s still revered; bass magazines always include him in the “slap hall of fame.” And get this – even today in his 60s, he can still pull off those crazy lines live, and sing. He’s a machine (or maybe an alien? in the best way). (Brief music cue idea: A montage of a couple slap licks – maybe Flea’s “Higher Ground” riff into a Victor Wooten lick, into Mark King’s “Love Games” riff – as a transition.) Funk, Rock & Fusion Players: ThinkTimm: Now, not every great bass moment comes from slap or even from being a pioneer. Sometimes it’s about groove, taste, and blending into genres in just the right way. Let’s talk about some bass giants in funk, rock, and fusion who might not all be known for flashy technique but are known for legendary grooves and contributions: Marcus Miller, Verdine White, Bernard Edwards, Geddy Lee, John Paul Jones, etc. These are players who each have a distinct fingerprint on the music world, whether through unforgettable bass lines, songwriting, or signature tone. DJ Warm Cookies: Marcus Miller – the man is a groove factory. Marcus came on the scene in the late ’70s and by the ’80s he was everywhere in the studio world. He’s a multi-instrumentalist, but bass is his primary axe. Marcus is known for his work with Miles Davis (he was Miles’ bassist and producer on Tutu and Amandla albums), with Luther Vandross (he played those catchy R&B bass lines on hits like “Never Too Much”), and countless others from Michael Jackson to Chaka Khan . As a solo artist, Marcus has a ton of jazz-funk albums. Signature-wise, Marcus Miller is often associated with a 1977 Fender Jazz Bass – natural ash body, Maple neck – which he hot-rodded with a preamp. That bass sound is crystal clear and punchy. When Marcus slaps (yes, he’s a slap master too), it’s like a gunshot followed by a piano’s clarity – so clean and snappy. Check out “Run for Cover” (one of his famous solo tunes) or “Power” – his thumb is like a drumstick, super precise. But Marcus isn’t all slap. He has a smooth fingerstyle groove – for example, his bass line on Luther Vandross’s “Never Too Much” is fingerstyle, busy but perfectly pocket, and it absolutely carries that song (seriously, that line is the song’s hook in a way). He can lay down deep groove in funk and then turn around and play lyrical jazz solos with a fretless (yes, he sometimes plays fretless too, and even bass clarinet – but that’s another story!). ThinkTimm: Marcus Miller also has that composer/arranger brain. He’s often the producer in sessions. So he has a knack for knowing when the bass should step up or step back. When he worked with Miles Davis, he wasn’t just playing bass, he was crafting the whole vibe – the title track “Tutu” is basically Marcus’s composition where the bass sets the moody tone and even plays the main riff. One of my favorite Marcus grooves is “Detroit” (from his album Silver Rain) – it’s fingerstyle but with such a bounce that it almost feels like slap; he’s ghost-noting and grooving so hard. Also, fun fact: Marcus often employs double-thumb and pluck (like Wooten style) in his slap to get 16th-note rolls, but he does it in service of taste, not just to show off. And the dude’s won Grammy awards, is in the Jazz Hall of Fame, etc. – he’s world-class. A testament to his versatility: he’s played with jazz legends, R&B divas, pop icons and always fits right in. Marcus Miller personifies the modern funk/fusion bassist who can do it all. DJ Warm Cookies: Verdine White – if you’ve ever danced to an Earth, Wind & Fire song, you’ve danced to Verdine’s bass. Verdine White is EWF’s bassist and one of its founding members (and yes, brother of the late Maurice White). He has a distinct style that’s smooth, buoyant, and joyful – much like his on-stage persona (he’s that slender guy with long flowing hair you’ve seen in all the EWF live videos, absolutely smiling and grooving every second). Verdine’s bass playing might not be as showy as some others we’ve discussed, but it’s fundamental to some of the greatest funk, soul, and disco tracks of all time. Songs like “September,” “Let’s Groove,” “Boogie Wonderland,” “Shining Star” – all driven by Verdine’s solid lines. What’s interesting is Verdine was classically trained on upright bass as a young man , and he brought a certain finesse to electric bass because of that. He took lessons from Louis Satterfield (a Chess Records session bassist) and combined that with a love of funk . The result: lines that are melodic and bouncy. For example, in “September,” he’s not just hitting root notes; he’s doing melodic runs that interplay with the horn lines, but you almost don’t notice because they fit so well. In “Shining Star,” he famously doubled the guitar riff in parts, adding a fatness to it. And live, Verdine would take an occasional solo where he’d show off some fast runs and bluesy licks (check out some live EWF from the ’70s – Verdine could shred a bit when allowed). But mostly, he focuses on groove – I recall him saying in an interview that he realized “the song was king” and he didn’t worry about the bass being complex for its own sake . He’d serve the song melodically when needed, and hold down the groove when that was needed. ThinkTimm: Also worth noting: Verdine White’s stage energy is infectious. He’s often hopping around, dancing in sync with the other band members, all while never missing a beat on bass. That showmanship, combined with tight musicianship, helped Earth, Wind & Fire become one of the biggest bands ever. Gear-wise, Verdine has used a Fender Jazz Bass for a lot of his career (he even has a signature model now). The Jazz Bass, with its smoother attack and a bit of scoop in tone, helped his notes blend—perfect for a big band with horns, guitars, and vocals all in the mix. He also often plucks over the fretboard (a little trick to get a softer, rounder tone). If you ever solo his bass lines (some isolated tracks are out there), you realize he was doing some walking bass techniques under EWF’s funk – likely that jazz influence. And those “sneak up on you” bass lines – like in “Serpentine Fire,” where he’s pumping eighth notes and then throws in a quick fill – are just tasty. Verdine White exemplifies the bass player as the unsung hero: not flashy like a slap soloist, but absolutely integral to a band’s sound and feel. DJ Warm Cookies: Bernard Edwards – now here’s a name every bassist speaks with reverence. Bernard was the bassist and co-founder of the band Chic, and along with guitarist Nile Rodgers, he wrote and produced a string of late ’70s hits that basically defined disco-funk elegance. If you’ve ever grooved to “Good Times,” “Le Freak,” “Everybody Dance,” or Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family,” that bass you’re grooving to? That’s Bernard Edwards. His style is the epitome of tasteful funk. He didn’t slap – in fact, he stuck to fingerstyle with a very cool, muted tone – but he played some of the funkiest bass lines ever recorded. The “Good Times” bass line is historic: not only is it a killer groove on its own, it became the DNA of hip-hop (Sugarhill Gang sampled it in “Rapper’s Delight”) and even influenced rock (John Deacon of Queen admitted he was inspired by “Good Times” when writing “Another One Bites the Dust” ). Bernard’s touch was smooth – he often slightly muted the strings with his left hand to get a short, warm pulse on each note. And his note choices were perfect; he’d often outline the chord and then throw in a little melodic skip or walk that just makes the groove. Listen to “Chic Cheer” or “My Forbidden Lover” – fantastic bass work that never overplays. ThinkTimm: Bernard Edwards had a signature move too – he’d sometimes do this “chucking” technique in unison with Nile’s guitar, a kind of percussive muted strumming on the bass to create a chic-a-chic rhythm (you hear a bit of that on “Le Freak” during the breakdown). It basically turned his bass into a rhythm guitar for a bar or two, adding incredible rhythmic drive. Gear-wise, Bernard started on a Fender Precision in Chic’s early days (’77 era), but soon switched to a Music Man StingRay around 1978 . The StingRay, with its active electronics, gave him a round, beefy tone that still had clarity – you can hear the difference: the Risque album (1979, which has “Good Times”) has a really thick low end which is likely that StingRay. He kept his tone dialed pretty flat and warm – not a lot of treble. And here’s the cool part: he wasn’t about flashy technique; it was his time feel that was impeccable. The placement of his notes was always in that pocket where it feels like the groove is effortlessly rolling. He had this laid-back yet driving feel – a paradox that only masters achieve. If you isolate “Good Times,” the way he plays is so relaxed; he’s not rushing, he’s just fat and on it. That’s what makes you want to move. Sadly, Bernard Edwards passed away young (in 1996, at 43), but he left an immortal legacy. His bass lines are required learning for funk bassists. And as a producer (he and Nile produced for Diana Ross, Sister Sledge, etc.), he knew how to craft rhythm sections that served the song but were also incredibly hooky on their own. In short: Bernard’s bass was the good time. DJ Warm Cookies: Shifting to rock, let’s talk Geddy Lee from Rush. Geddy is a prog-rock icon – known for his high-pitched vocals, keyboard playing, and wicked bass skills, often all at the same time! In a power trio like Rush, the bass has a lot of room (and responsibility), and Geddy filled that space with inventive lines that became integral to Rush’s sound. Early on, Geddy was very influenced by Jack Bruce (Cream) and Chris Squire (Yes), meaning he wasn’t content to just play simple backing – he made the bass a lead voice alongside the guitar. Take “YYZ” – an instrumental where Geddy’s bass riffs carry as much melodic weight as Alex Lifeson’s guitar. Or “Red Barchetta,” where during the guitar solo, Geddy’s bass is doing a counter-melody rather than just root notes. One of his standout moments is the bass solo in “Freewill” – he unleashes a flurry of notes up and down the neck in a very melodic way, and it’s all while the band is in complex 13/8 timing! Geddy often played with a bright, grinding tone – thanks in part to using a Rickenbacker 4001 bass in the ’70s. That Ric had a crisp attack and he’d run it through powerful amps (sometimes splitting the signal to get both low end and a distorted top end). He later switched predominantly to Fender Jazz Basses – which he said gave him a bit more low-end heft – but he dialed in the tone on those to still have that aggressive edge. In the ’80s, for songs like “Tom Sawyer,” he even played synth bass for deep drones while plucking bass guitar – talk about multitasking. And live, he’d trigger keyboard bass pedals with his feet while singing and playing bass. There’s practically a joke among Rush fans that Geddy Lee has three brains to do all that. ThinkTimm: Musically, what I love about Geddy is that he found the sweet spot between technical and tasteful. Rush’s music often has odd time signatures and rapid changes, so he had to be technically strong. But he also has a killer sense of melody; a lot of Rush songs have the bass as a hook. The bass intro of “Spirit of Radio” – that jazzy walking bit into rock riff – that’s Geddy. The growling opening of “Roundabout”—oh wait that’s Yes (Chris Squire)… but funnily, Rush often got compared to Yes in their early days. Geddy’s tone and approach in the 70s definitely had Squire’s influence (Squire also used a Rickenbacker and had that piano-wire sharpness). However, Geddy made it his own, especially as he embraced the Jazz Bass. By “Moving Pictures” era, Geddy’s lines like in “Limelight” or “Vital Signs” are groovy, even reggae-tinged at times, but still uniquely Rush. Plus, he anchored a lot of Rush’s sound since Alex Lifeson (guitarist) often used chorusy, spacious guitar tones; Geddy would provide the low-end and rhythm, effectively part bass, part second guitar. One of the ultimate showcases is “La Villa Strangiato” – an instrumental where Geddy navigates through rock, funk, and swing sections, sometimes doubling guitar lines with astonishing precision. And did I mention he sings like an air-raid siren on top of it? That still baffles me. Geddy Lee proved that rock bass could be complex and prominent without sacrificing the power trio punch. A lot of rock bassists cite him as the guy who made them realize the bass could be as interesting as the lead guitar. DJ Warm Cookies: On the subject of rock bass, we must mention John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. Now, Zeppelin’s often lauded for Robert Plant’s vocals, Jimmy Page’s guitars, John Bonham’s drumming – but John Paul Jones was the secret glue and a phenomenal musician in his own right. He played keyboards and arranged songs too, but let’s focus on his bass. JPJ (as he’s affectionately called) had a more supportive role in Zeppelin compared to someone like Geddy in Rush, but his bass lines are incredibly musical. For instance, “Ramble On.” During the verses, he plays this beautiful melodic line that walks up and down outlining the guitar chords, adding a light, almost folksy bounce. It’s not just root notes – it’s a counterpoint to Plant’s vocals and Page’s acoustic guitar. Then in the chorus he locks in with Bonham with a more driving groove. Or “The Lemon Song,” where he basically does a blues bass solo throughout the song – he’s improvising around the blues scale the whole time, and it’s brilliant (he even throws in a bit of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor” riff). “Good Times Bad Times” – the very first track of Zeppelin’s debut – has JPJ doing rapid-fire triplets on bass behind the chorus (a technique he achieved with fast three-finger plucking). That was flashy for 1969 rock, and it kind of announced “this band has a bassist who’s got chops.” ThinkTimm: John Paul Jones often used a Fender Jazz Bass (a 1962 Jazz was his main axe in the early years). That gave him a warm, round tone that could punch when needed. He wasn’t about distortion or extreme brightness; he often sat just below the guitar in frequency, holding down the fort. A perfect example of his supportive genius is “Stairway to Heaven.” People rarely talk about the bass in that song because there’s so much else – but when the drums and bass come in, JPJ plays a lovely moving line that adds weight without overpowering the delicate guitar and vocals. It’s exactly what the song needs at each moment. Another is “Black Dog.” The riff is famous, but note when the band stops and starts, JPJ always comes in a fraction of a second behind Page’s guitar riff – giving it that swagger. Whether intentional or just feel, it’s so cool because it makes the groove sound greasy and heavy. And live, because Zeppelin was just one guitar, JPJ often had to fill space; he’d sometimes use an 8-string bass or effect to thicken the sound, or play keyboard bass on songs like “No Quarter” (while foot-pedaling the actual bass notes!). He even had a custom triple-neck instrument at one point (one neck being a 8-string bass) to pull off some live arrangements. DJ Warm Cookies: Importantly, John Paul Jones came from a session musician background – he arranged and played on pop records before Zep – so he brought a lot of versatility. He could throw in funk – listen to “The Crunge,” Zeppelin’s James Brown-esque funk jam: JPJ’s bass is super syncopated and playful there. He could do folk and country vibes (“Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” has him on fretless acoustic bass guitar). He even dabbled in using a fretless electric later. But primarily, he’s revered for rock solid lines that groove hard (you can absolutely nod your head to Zeppelin thanks largely to him and Bonham locking in) and yet are musically interesting. Many a hard rock bassist learned that you can be creative because of JPJ – not by soloing, but by writing bass parts that stand as memorable in their own right. If you hum the riffs of “Ramble On” or “Good Times Bad Times,” you’re humming bass lines. That’s legacy. (Transition: maybe a gentle fade of a Zeppelin bass riff into a modern electronic bass drop, signaling moving to modern era.) Modern & Experimental Bassists: ThinkTimm: As music headed into the 2000s and 2010s, bass playing continued to evolve. New genres, new technologies, and new musical philosophies gave rise to a crop of modern and experimental bassists who are doing really exciting things. Let’s highlight four: Thundercat, MonoNeon, Michael League, and Jamareo Artis. They each represent a different aspect of today’s bass landscape – from futuristic funk-jazz fusion to genre-blending world music to straight-up modern pop-funk. DJ Warm Cookies: Thundercat – real name Stephen Bruner – is one of the most celebrated bassists of the last decade. If Larry Graham and Jaco Pastorius had a child in a cosmic jazz nebula… well, that child might be Thundercat. He’s known for his solo albums (like Drunk and It Is What It Is) where he sings and plays bass, and for his collaborations with artists like Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar. Style-wise, Thundercat plays a six-string bass, often a hollow-body Ibanez custom, which gives him extended range to play chords and high melodies. And boy, does he use that range. One moment he’s holding down a funky R&B groove, the next he’s shredding lightning-fast jazz-fusion lines or soloing like a lead guitarist, all on bass. His sound is very distinct – he often uses effects like chorus, wah, and reverb to create almost an “electric keyboard” or synth feel from the bass. Take his popular track “Them Changes.” The bass line (which slyly is built on a sample of the Isley Brothers’ “Footsteps in the Dark” drums) is a chunky, soulful riff that drives the song and also acts as a hook. He sings over it in a laid-back, high voice. Then on other tracks like “Uh Uh” (an instrumental), he unleashes virtuosic runs that are lightning fast but still somehow groovy and cheeky (that track is under 3 minutes and basically melts your face with bass). Also, notably, Thundercat’s bass playing on Kendrick Lamar’s “These Walls” and other cuts on To Pimp a Butterfly helped bring live jazz-funk bass into modern hip-hop in a big way. Kendrick’s album won a Grammy and a Pulitzer, and Thundercat’s fingerprints (or, should I say, finger-plucks) are on a lot of its sound. ThinkTimm: Thundercat’s technique is formidable – he does rapid-fire 16th-note riffs with ease, aided by that six-string and his use of both thumb and fingers (not traditional slap, more like a flamenco guitarist at times). But he’s also got deep groove. You can hear the influence of people like Stanley Clarke in his playing, but also someone like Pino Palladino (who played a lot of R&B bass – Thundercat has mentioned loving J Dilla beats, and he kind of humanizes that swung feel on bass). He’s a huge anime fan and that quirky, colorful personality comes out in his music – it’s adventurous. Some songs will suddenly shift tempo or style, and the bass often leads those changes. Thundercat has made young audiences pay attention to bass again. You’ll find teenagers who might not know Jaco, but they know Thundercat and are impressed that a bass player can be a frontman and shredder. It’s done a lot for the instrument’s cool factor in the modern era. Plus, seeing him live is something – he’ll be up there with just a drummer and keyboardist sometimes, and yet fill the sonic space fully, because his six-string bass covers basslines, chords, and melodies as needed . It’s a far cry from the “just stand in the back” traditional bass role. DJ Warm Cookies: MonoNeon (Dywane Thomas Jr.) – talk about unique. MonoNeon is an experimental funk bassist known as much for his eccentric style (both musically and fashion-wise) as for his deep groove. He was actually the last bassist to work with Prince – Prince caught on to his viral videos and invited him to Paisley Park, which tells you Prince recognized his talent. MonoNeon often plays a left-handed bass strung upside-down (he’s lefty but leaves the strings in righty order, meaning he’s effectively playing the low string with his bottom fingers – a very unusual setup). This contributes to his peculiar sound – he might finger-pluck the high strings with his thumb and index in a way others don’t. His sound is heavy, dirty funk with a twist of the avant-garde. You’ll hear him lay down a super greasy old-school groove reminiscent of the Stax Records/Memphis soul (fitting since he’s from Memphis), but then he’ll throw in outside, dissonant notes or crazy slides that add a quirky flavor. A track like “Hot Cheetos” (yes, he has a song by that name) shows his wild side. But then he has jams on albums with Ghost-Note (a funk/jam band spinoff of Snarky Puppy) where he’s just in the pocket, nasty. MonoNeon also became famous for those social media videos where he’d improvise bass lines to random YouTube clips (like people speaking in funny voices or viral videos) – he’d match the tonal inflections with bass notes. That’s a whole new level of ear training and creativity, basically turning speech into music on the fly. It’s weird, hilarious, and musically brilliant all at once. ThinkTimm: MonoNeon’s gear and tone often involve flatwound strings for a thumpy sound, and he’ll put like a sock or cloth by the bridge to dampen the sustain (old-school trick) but then pump that through effects – like octave pedals, fuzz, and filters – to get these wobbling, almost synth-like bass tones. In essence, he merges the vintage and the modern. And the dude’s chops are serious. Listen to the song “Smoke Break” (with Snoh Aalegra) that MonoNeon played on – the groove is so tight and swaggering. Or his contributions on Mac Miller’s last album; MonoNeon can be very tasteful when needed. But he really shines in free-form funky improvisation. Seeing him live, he might hold down a P-Funk style groove for a while, then suddenly you hear these microtonal slides or a flurry of pops – he keeps you on your toes. He’s showing a new generation that funk can be experimental and that “out there” art can still groove hard. And again, Prince’s endorsement of him speaks volumes – Prince had an ear for great bassists, and MonoNeon joining that lineage (including Larry Graham, Louis Johnson, Rhonda Smith, etc.) is a big nod. DJ Warm Cookies: Michael League – you might not immediately think “bass hero” with Michael, because he’s more known as a bandleader/composer, but that in itself is significant. Michael League is the founder of Snarky Puppy, the Grammy-winning ensemble that marries jazz, funk, and world music. In Snarky Puppy, Michael plays bass and is the primary composer/arranger – so he’s often in the background on stage (usually sitting on a stool grooving with a baseball cap on) while the rotating cast of soloists do their thing. But don’t underestimate his playing. He is a groove specialist. Snarky Puppy’s music can be complex, but the bass lines are always tasty, often deep in the pocket and with a cool, understated funkiness. Check out Snarky’s track “Shofukan.” The bass line is a repetitive groove that anchors the tune through all its dynamic shifts; it’s not flashy, but if you took it away, the whole track would lose its glue. In “What About Me?” he uses a rolling bass line that drives the odd-meter groove with authority. Michael’s tone is usually warm and supportive – I believe he often uses a 5-string electric bass (he has used Fodera and Fender, and now has some custom ones) with maybe a bit of tube amp grit for presence. He’s not slapping or soloing in Snarky Puppy; he’s the one making sure that 10+ musicians stay grounded. And given Snarky Puppy’s success (they’ve won multiple Grammys – e.g. that viral live-in-studio performance of “Lingus” featuring Cory Henry on keys), Michael League has proven that a bassist can be the mastermind behind a large, popular musical project . ThinkTimm: Beyond Snarky, Michael League has branched out. He started a music label (GroundUP Music) to promote other genre-blending artists and even formed a world music supergroup called Bokanté (where he actually plays baritone guitar more). But on bass, I think of him as a modern heir to the tradition of great musical directors who play bass (like Marcus Miller did for Luther/Miles, or Paul McCartney in the Beatles context even). He’s always serving the song. A great example of his less-is-more prowess: Snarky Puppy’s “Deep:” It’s basically a slow 6/8 groove – Michael sits on these simple, fat bass notes that just ooze soul and let the other instruments fly. He could play ten notes, but he chooses one or two, and it works. Also, because Snarky Puppy blends styles, Michael’s very adept at switching tone/feel – one minute laying a straight funk line, next minute doing a reggae-dub bass, next doing Afrobeat style repetitive groove. It’s subtle sometimes, but he’s absorbing and reflecting a lot of traditions. In doing so, he’s inspiring many young bassists to be musicians first – to learn theory, arrangement, and not just licks. I’d say he’s a modern role model for the bassists who want to run the whole show (in a good way!). DJ Warm Cookies: Finally, let’s highlight Jamareo Artis – a name that might not be as widely known as Thundercat, but tens of millions have heard him play. Why? He was the bassist for Bruno Mars and is the one laying down that juicy bass line on “Uptown Funk” , one of the biggest hit songs of the 2010s. Jamareo represents the bridge between classic funk/R&B bass and modern pop. He grew up on old-school funk (he cites people like Verdine White, Larry Graham, etc. as influences), and it shows in his playing with Bruno’s band, The Hooligans. Before hooking up with Bruno Mars, Jamareo actually won P. Diddy’s MTV show “Making His Band” in 2009 , which is kind of like a reality competition where musicians audition to be in a band. That gave him some exposure, and not long after, he landed the Bruno Mars gig as a young guy. Talk about a rocket launch – by his early 20s, he’s playing the Super Bowl halftime show (Bruno’s 2014 halftime performance, that funky band up there? That was Jamareo on bass) and touring the world. ThinkTimm: His playing style is deeply rooted in funk and R&B tradition but presented in a slick pop context. On “Uptown Funk,” the recorded bass line is actually a synth bass doubled by Jamareo’s live bass (and he appears in the music video prominently grooving with that line). It’s a line straight out of the early ’80s funk playbook – you could easily imagine it on a Prince or Gap Band record – and Jamareo brings the feel to make it convincing . Another great example is Bruno Mars’s “Treasure.” That song is an obvious homage to ’70s disco-funk (sounds like Chic meets MJ), and the bass line pops and grooves just right – Jamareo nails that classic vibe. When he plays it live, he’s bouncing, doing choreography, and keeping the pocket tight. He often plays a Fender Jazz Bass or a Music Man – I’ve seen him with both – getting a nice punchy tone that works for the retro vibe. He’s not overly busy; like a true funk bassist, he finds a solid line and then might embellish it tastefully on turnarounds or live jams. And he definitely knows how to “give the one” – always accenting that downbeat to lock in the audience’s body. DJ Warm Cookies: What I admire is that Jamareo has helped reintroduce real bass playing to mainstream pop audiences. In an era when so much pop and dance music uses programmed synth bass, Bruno Mars having a live band with a bassist like Jamareo really stands out. It brings that human feel that makes people dance differently – it’s the old Motown/Stax/Prince live band magic in a modern pop show. And clearly it works – I mean, “Uptown Funk” spent 14 weeks at #1 and was absolutely ubiquitous . That bass line in the verses – so catchy, you hum it. Also, credit to Jamareo and Bruno’s band: they put on a show. Jamareo would do those classic moves – you know, in unison with the band, stepping and sliding – a bit of The Time’s influence there – while funking out. He’s basically living the legacy of folks like Jamerson and Louis Johnson in the pop world today. After years of maybe bass being less visible in pop, the fact that a huge star like Bruno insisted on that funky bass presence is a big deal. Jamareo Artis, through a platform like that, has inspired a lot of young players (especially African-American kids seeing someone who looks like them in a mega-pop band) to pick up the bass and learn what those grooves are about. And that ensures the bass tradition keeps going strong. (Transition music: perhaps a calm groove to lead into a reflective/personal segment.) Female Bass Player Spotlight: ThinkTimm: We’ve talked about a lot of bass legends so far, but I want to make sure we shine a special spotlight on the female bass players who have made monumental contributions to music. The bass world, like much of the music industry, was historically male-dominated – but these women broke through that and carved out their own legacy. Let’s celebrate Carol Kaye, Tina Weymouth, Meshell Ndegeocello, Esperanza Spalding, Nik West, Ida Nielsen, and we could name others too (shout-out to Tal Wilkenfeld, Gail Ann Dorsey, Rhonda Smith, Kim Deal – the list goes on). Each of these women not only held their own; they’re giants in their genres. DJ Warm Cookies: Carol Kaye – you might not recognize her face, but you have absolutely heard her play. Carol Kaye is often called the First Lady of Bass. She was a top session bassist (and guitarist) in Los Angeles in the 1960s, part of the famous “Wrecking Crew” group of studio musicians. She’s credited with playing on an estimated 10,000 recordings – which is mind-blowing . Her work spans from the Beach Boys to Frank Sinatra to Simon & Garfunkel to Motown tracks cut in L.A. (yes, she played on some Motown sessions when they’d do West Coast recordings). Some iconic basslines of hers: The “Mission: Impossible” TV theme – that cool, driving bass riff, that’s Carol . The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” – she played electric bass (along with an upright bassist) to create that rich bass part . Sonny & Cher’s “The Beat Goes On,” Joe Cocker’s “Feelin’ Alright,” Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman” (she famously came up with the bass intro on the spot) , Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” and many more – all Carol. She often played with a pick (plectrum) on a Fender Precision Bass, which gave her a bright, punchy sound that producers loved because it defined the notes clearly on AM radio . You’ll also notice on many tracks she used damped picking – often with foam mutes – to get that tight 60s bass sound. Carol’s feel was solid; she could swing, she could rock, she could groove – whatever the job required. And all this in an era when it was almost entirely men in the studio. She has spoken about how sometimes the guys would be skeptical when she walked in, but by the end of the date her playing did the talking and earned respect. ThinkTimm: Carol Kaye is a pioneer not just as a woman in a male field, but as a bassist who helped define the sound of recorded music in the 60s. The “California Sound” of the Beach Boys owes a lot to her bass lines . She had jazz chops too – early in her career she gigged in jazz clubs, which gave her the improvisational skill to come up with creative lines quickly in the studio. One famous anecdote: on “The Beat Goes On,” the producer wanted something more from the bass, so Carol improvised that descending line that anchors the song. It’s simple but so effective – and that was her genius: musical simplicity. Another one: she played on “Homeward Bound” by Simon & Garfunkel – a beautiful, subtle bass part. She knew when to sit back and when to shine. Carol also wrote bass instructional books starting in the late 60s, sharing her knowledge with countless students. So she wasn’t just in the background; she actively shaped bass education too. Today, when you hear isolated Wrecking Crew recordings (some have circulated), her precision and consistency are unreal – remember, this is pre-digital, often one or two takes, and she’s locking in like a machine with soul. Carol Kaye’s legacy is basically “the bass player on everything.” It’s awesome that in recent years she’s gotten more public recognition – documentaries, interviews – because for a long time session players were unsung. She’s in her late 80s now and still sharp, giving interviews, correctin’ folks on her credits on internet forums (don’t get on her bad side!). A legend, plain and simple. DJ Warm Cookies: Tina Weymouth – founding bassist of Talking Heads and later Tom Tom Club. Tina brought a whole different vibe in the late 70s: arty, minimalist, and super groovy in a new-wave kind of way. She essentially taught herself bass to join Talking Heads (David Byrne and Chris Frantz were her boyfriend-now-husband and friend at the time and wanted her in the band, so she picked up bass!) . What she might’ve lacked in traditional technique early on, she made up for with creative feel. Tina’s bass lines are often deceptively simple, but they’re absolutely infectious and serve the quirky songs perfectly. “Psycho Killer” – check that bass: it’s basically an 8th-note pulse with little walk-ups. Very sparse, very tight – it leaves space and gives the song its nervous energy. “Once in a Lifetime” – famous song; the bass is mostly pedaling one note in a hypnotic rhythm, with a little octave jump here and there. That trance-y groove is the anchor while all the weird stuff happens above. Tina understood the power of repetition and space. As she said, she wasn’t into being flashy; she’d rather play one note that felt really good than a flurry that doesn’t . Her style often had a reggae and funk influence but filtered through a cool, downtown New York art-rock lens. And it cuts – her tone had enough mid-range that you can hum her lines. Also, being one of the few prominent women in that CBGB punk/new-wave scene playing bass, she inspired many future musicians (Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, for example, cited Tina as an influence). ThinkTimm: Gear-wise, Tina Weymouth often played short-scale basses. She’s known for using a Höfner Club Bass (a hollowbody short scale – kind of like Paul McCartney’s Hofner violin bass but a different shape) , and also used Fender Mustang Bass and a Fender Musicmaster Bass early on . These shorter-scale basses have a plunky, thumpy tone and are physically easier to handle if you’re smaller – which suited Tina (she’s said the Hofner’s light weight and smaller size helped her perform freely) . That contributed to her distinctive sound: tight and not a ton of sustain, which was perfect for those staccato lines. Production-wise, Brian Eno worked on some Talking Heads records and the minimalism of her bass against the complex percussion and keyboards was a deliberate artistic choice. It’s fascinating – when others were doing more notes, she did less, and it stood out more. And in Tom Tom Club (the side project she did with Chris Frantz), you hear her in a more playful, funky mode – “Genius of Love” has a fun, bouncy bass line (that song itself became a heavily sampled track in hip-hop). Tina’s playing was absolutely central to Talking Heads’ identity – the rhythm section in that band was the secret sauce in making their oddball songs into hits you could dance to. If you listen to Talking Heads: 77 (their first album) up through Remain in Light, you can literally hear Tina growing more confident and funky each album. By the time of “Burning Down the House,” she’s grooving hard. She embraced simple grooves wholeheartedly – saying a lot with a little. A great example: Stop Making Sense live album – listen to “Slippery People” or “Life During Wartime” – she’s locked in, and it’s fire. Many post-punk and alternative bassists cite Tina Weymouth as an influence because she showed that bass in rock could be danceable and bold without being technically over-the-top. She really is a legend in that regard. DJ Warm Cookies: Meshell Ndegeocello – talk about a multi-dimensional artist. Meshell (sometimes Me’Shell) emerged in the early ’90s and was arguably the first prominent Black female bassist-singer-songwriter to break big since the ’70s (I’m thinking of Amina Claudine Myers in jazz maybe, but in mainstream music Meshell was unique). Her music spans funk, soul, hip-hop, rock, jazz – it’s hard to classify, which is exactly how she likes it. As a bassist, Meshell Ndegeocello has feel for days. She can sit in a groove and make it simmer or explode as needed. Her bass lines can be minimalist dub one minute, and slippery funk the next, and then she might pick up a pick and give a punky edge on another tune. Check her album Plantation Lullabies (1993) – it announced her as a serious groove artist. The song “If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night)” has a fat, syncopated bass line that drives the neo-soul/hip-hop vibe of the track. It’s funky but not in a cliched way; it’s like James Brown meets hip-hop meets sultry R&B. Then she can flip script: on Peace Beyond Passion (1996), she covers Bill Withers’ “Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?” with a laid-back, almost reggae feel – her bass line is super sparse but dripping with attitude. She also did a whole record in tribute to Nina Simone where her upright and electric bass work is so emotive. Meshell often plays a Fender Jazz (4 or 5-string) and sometimes a Music Man StingRay , through warm-sounding amps that give her a deep round tone. She’s known to favor the bridge pickup a bit for a tighter sound when doing funk fingers style, and she’ll also not hesitate to use a fuzz pedal or envelope filter for effect when a song calls for that dirty funk or psychedelic vibe. ThinkTimm: Meshell’s bass playing is closely tied to her songwriting. Many times, she writes songs starting from a bass riff. So the bass isn’t an afterthought, it’s often the DNA of the song. On “Earth” (a track from her album Bitter), she basically uses the bass almost like a guitar to strum chords that set this hypnotic folk-soul mood. On the flip side, in “Pocketbook” (feat. Missy Elliott) you hear her pumping out a mean low riff that could be straight from a go-go or hip-hop track. As a session bassist, Meshell has popped up on some cool projects too – e.g., she played on Alanis Morissette’s “So Unsexy” and the Rolling Stones’ “Saint of Me” in the ’90s, and brought her distinctive groove to those . And how about this: she appeared in that documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown singing and playing James Jamerson’s lines – imagine, Jamerson inspired her and years later she’s paying homage to him on film . Full circle. Meshell has earned 10 Grammy nominations over her career , which shows the respect she has in the industry. She’s fearless in shifting styles – she might release an album that’s pure funk, then another that’s very introspective acoustic soul, then another that’s experimental or political. Through it all, her bass is like this grounding voice. And her live performances? Magic. She often reinterprets her songs on stage, but no matter how she arranges them, the groove is deep. She can make a whole venue sway with a single bass line repeating like a mantra. Trust me – I’ll get into a personal anecdote about seeing her live in Philly a bit later – it was almost a spiritual experience for me. Meshell’s playing reminds us that groove and expression top flash any day. It’s all about honesty in the music with her. DJ Warm Cookies: Esperanza Spalding – if there’s a modern jazz “rockstar” (or perhaps “jazz-star”) bassist, Esperanza is it. She’s a prodigy who exploded onto the scene in the late 2000s, releasing albums where she sings and plays upright and electric bass. In 2011 she did the unthinkable: won the Grammy for Best New Artist – the first jazz artist ever to do so – beating out the likes of Justin Bieber and Drake . It was a real signal that musicianship and artistry can still get mainstream recognition. Esperanza primarily is known for her jazz double bass playing, but she also plays electric (often a fretless Fender Jazz or similar) and has some serious funk chops when she wants. Her music spans jazz, Brazilian, soul – often all mixed together. On her album Radio Music Society, check out “Black Gold” – she lays down a funky electric bass groove while singing empowering lyrics. On earlier records like Esperanza, there’s “I Know You Know” where she’s plucking a lively upright bass line and scatting along with it in unison – a virtuosic move reminiscent of classic jazzers but given a fresh spin by her. Her upright playing is phenomenally good (she was a professor at Berklee College of Music in her 20s because she’s that proficient), but focusing on electric: she often uses a fretless bass to get a rich, warm tone that complements her vocal nicely . For example, in some live performances of “Overjoyed” (Stevie Wonder cover), she plays a fretless electric and sings – her intonation and groove are spot on. Esperanza’s also not afraid to plug in and get funky; she’s performed with acts like Herbie Hancock, and she can throw down a Jaco-influenced electric solo if the moment calls. Another dimension: she’s a composer who’s done wild conceptual projects (like an opera and an experimental album where she created an alter-ego Emily). Yet, in all these, the bass underpins everything. ThinkTimm: When Esperanza plays live, it’s often jaw-dropping to see her, much like it was with Jaco or Stanley for folks back in the day. Because she’ll be singing these complex melodies while her fingers are doing something completely different on the bass, often in tricky time signatures or rapid lines. It’s a coordination feat of the highest order. And the thing is, her stage presence is so joyful and natural that she makes it look easy, all while wearing a huge afro and a bright smile – she became sort of an icon for making jazz cool and relevant to younger audiences. Her accolades include multiple Grammys (I think she’s up to five now) , and she’s collaborated with legends (Prince invited her to jam at Paisley Park too – showing how much respect she commanded). Esperanza’s electric bass technique is interesting in that she brings some upright phrasing to it – like she might slide into notes like on a fretless, or she might keep her lines more legato. But she can also slap a little or get percussive when needed (there’s a tune “Funk The Fear” where she thumps a bit). She’s truly versatile. Perhaps one of her coolest electric bass moments is on “Cinnamon Tree.” The studio version is upright, but I saw a live clip where she played it on electric – she held down this neo-soul groove and improvised little fills between her vocal lines, almost like call-and-response with herself. It was masterful. Esperanza Spalding has broadened the image of who a “bass hero” can be – she’s a young Afro-Latina woman who conquered jazz and stepped beyond it. For many girls (and boys!) seeing her, it’s hugely inspiring. And she’s still early in her career, so who knows what boundary she’ll break next. DJ Warm Cookies: Nik West – now here’s a ball of energy and funk in the modern era. Nik West is often immediately recognized by her look: she sports a flamboyant colorful mohawk (shaped like a bass clef symbol, no less) and high-fashion stage outfits. But as soon as she starts playing, any notion that she’s just about image goes out the window. She pummels the bass with slap and funk grooves that prove she’s got the substance to match the style. She’s about the same generation as me – came up in the 2010s making waves on YouTube and through collaborations. Nik West counts Prince as one of her big admirers; she jammed with him, and he praised her stage presence and musicianship . She’s also worked with people like Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) and even had a cameo on the TV show Glee as bassist. Her style is heavily influenced by Larry Graham, Louis Johnson, and Marcus Miller – essentially, she’s a disciple of the slap-funk tradition . If you watch her covers or her original tracks, you’ll see thumb slaps, pops, double-thumbs, slides – all the tricks – but used in service of very fun, danceable music. A track like “Purple Unicorn” (fitting title, she’s kind of like a funky unicorn on stage) has her thumping out a catchy riff and singing in a soulful belt. Or her cover of AC/DC’s “Back In Black” – she transforms that rock riff into a slap bass extravaganza, and it works shockingly well. ThinkTimm: She often plays a Fender Jazz or a Warwick (and she’s even had signature gear, like a Nik West Fender Bass amp head with her neon colors on it). Her tone is bright and punchy – great for slap – but she can dial it back for R&B slow jams too. She’s definitely a showwoman in the mold of Bootsy or Larry – meaning she’ll pull out choreographed moves, interactive call-and-response with the audience, and just generally put on a spectacle. I think that’s fantastic because it brings that element of entertainment to bass playing, which historically has often been a backline thing. Nik West steps out front. Also, being a young black woman in rock/funk, she challenges stereotypes in multiple ways and she’s very outspoken about empowering others to play. She’s done bass clinics and camps aimed at young players, especially girls, to get them involved in music. Musically, one of my favorite Nik West moments is her live bass-off video with the late Bootsy Collins on YouTube – she holds her own trading funk licks with Bootsy, all while wearing some crazy outfit and heels. It just looked like the torch being passed – Bootsy even gave her a shout: “She inspires me” he said . You can’t get a better endorsement in funk than that! So yeah, Nik West merges the classic funk tradition with a modern flair, and she’s helping ensure the bass is seen as well as heard in today’s music scene. DJ Warm Cookies: Ida Nielsen – to round out our female spotlight, here’s another modern funk queen. Ida Nielsen is from Denmark and might be best known for being one of Prince’s bass players during his final years (around 2010-2016) . She was part of Prince’s all-female band 3RD EYE GIRL (along with guitarist Donna Grantis and drummer Hannah Welton) as well as his larger New Power Generation band. If Prince chooses you to hold down the low end, that’s a serious seal of approval. And Ida delivered. On tracks like Prince’s “Breakfast Can Wait” or live jams like “Stratus” (a cover they often did), Ida lays down funky, crisp lines with a flavor that’s somewhere between old-school and new. She’s great at classic slap (there’s a live video of her funking out a slap solo during a Prince medley – she’s popping octaves and thumping quick pentatonic licks like it’s nothing). But she also plays fingerstyle funk beautifully – tight 16th-note grooves and melodic fills. After Prince’s passing, Ida’s been releasing her own music, and it’s pure funk celebration – songs like “Showtime” or “Tank Girl” show her popping, grooving, and even rapping a bit. She clearly carries on Prince’s ethos of real musicianship meets fun. ThinkTimm: Ida Nielsen often plays a 5-string bass. I recall she has a signature Sandberg bass – a beautiful funky-looking 5-string – and she also has used MTD basses. Her tone is very punchy with a nice top-end snap (you need that if you’re slapping and want to cut through, especially in Prince’s dense mixes with horns, keys, etc.). One hallmark of her playing with Prince was discipline – Prince was known to be a taskmaster; he wanted the groove exact. Ida could sit on a one-bar funk groove and make it feel hypnotic. Listen to Prince’s live versions of “Cool” or “U Got The Look” from the early 2010s – Ida is just nailing the synth-bass lines on electric bass, super steady, and Prince is free to wail or dance on top because that foundation is rock solid. Yet she can also step out: Prince often gave his bassists a spotlight solo segment in concerts (because he loved bass), and in some shows Ida would do a slap solo where she’d interpolate famous funk riffs (a bit of “Thank You (FOR LETTING ME Be Mice Elf…)” here, a bit of “Another One Bites the Dust” there, etc.) and the crowd would eat it up. She has a playful approach in those moments. Being from Scandinavia, she might not have grown up in funk’s birthplace, but she clearly studied the greats intensely and Prince evidently sensed that funk in her. Offstage, Ida’s got a quiet, humble vibe – but put a bass in her hands and some funky Dr. Martens boots on her feet, and she’ll groove ferociously. I admire that she continues to fly the funk flag globally – her albums are a reminder that funk is an international language now. She also often mentions how Prince taught her to always keep it about the feel and the audience – not about showing off. Good lesson for all bassists (and musicians in general). (Cue a reflective, story-time background riff – something smooth and narrative-friendly) Personal Anecdotes (Meshell in Philly): ThinkTimm: So, I want to share a personal story that really encapsulates why I love the bass so much, and it involves one of the players we just talked about: Meshell Ndegeocello. I call this story “Meshell in Philly”. It was a few years ago in Philadelphia – Meshell was doing an intimate show at a venue called Chestnut St Cabaret (great acoustics in that place). Being a huge fan, I got there early and snagged a spot maybe 10 feet from the stage. The setup was simple and easy: she had a drummer, two keyboardist, a guitarist and Meshell herself on electric bass and vocals. When she walked out, she had this quiet, humble air – no flashy outfit, just her bass (a worn Fender Jazz Bass) strapped on. She greeted the crowd softly, and then… boom, she hit the first note. It was a low E (or maybe D, I’m not sure if she was detuning), and it just vibrated the room in the most warm, enveloping way. She rolled right into a deep groove. Here’s the thing: I’ve seen lots of shows, but this was different – Meshell’s groove grabbed you by the soul. I realized after a few minutes that something was unique: Meshell never once took off her bass that entire show; she played bass on every song, continuously, almost like an extension of her body – she never put it down . In some concerts, singers might set the instrument aside for a ballad or something, but not her. She was singing, yes, but the bass was leading the night. She played songs from Plantation Lullabies funky jams to mellow, folky tunes. At one point, she did her rendition of She played the bas line from “Let’s Work” The groove on that was so thick; it wasn’t loud or aggressive, it was just fat. Meshell stood mostly still, eyes closed, just swaying a bit, but her fingers were dancing on the fretboard. She would lock into these deceptively simple bass riffs, and then subtly vary them – a little slide here, a skipped beat there – the kind of nuances that make a groove really live and breathe. I found myself not just hearing it, but feeling it – like the whole crowd was riding this gentle wave together. During one particularly soulful song"Shoot'n Up and Gett'n High", which live became this spacious, almost dub-like piece, she had this moment. The drummer and keys were laying way back, sparse, and Meshell was just pulsing single bass notes… and then she played this fill, maybe five or six notes walking up, so quietly yet it was like the entire room’s air changed for a second. I get chills recalling it. It was that perfect fill you’d put in a textbook on taste. A few of us in the audience who were obviously musicians just gasped or hollered “yeah!” spontaneously. Meshell cracked a little smile at that – she heard us hear her, if that makes sense. It felt like a conversation, with her bass doing the talking and our reactions answering. And that’s something special about small shows with masters like her: it’s intimate, almost communal. Between songs, she was actually pretty shy. She’d nod or say a brief “Thank you” when people cheered, but no long banter. It’s like her expressiveness comes out through the instrument more than words. She also performed "Outside Your Door" – one of her more well-known tunes (and an emotionally heavy one). For that, she switched to a picked style – using a pick on her bass to get a harsher, more driving tone – and it was like a heart ripping open. You could feel the hurt in every note of that bass line. Honestly, I was near tears; it was that powerful. The crowd was dead silent during the quiet parts – you could hear the proverbial pin drop – and it was the bass and her voice carrying this profound vulnerability. I remember walking out of that venue feeling almost high. My friend ( you know microphone mover 1 0 1) and I just kept repeating, “That groove… that groove.” I’ve seen technically flashier bassists, sure. But Meshell gave me something else: a reminder that the bass, at its core, is about connection. It’s the connector – between rhythm and melody, between the stage and the audience, between one note and the next. That night in Philly, Meshell Ndegeocello turned a simple club gig into a soul-sharing experience using her bass as the conduit. I’ll never forget it. In fact, the next day I practiced my bass with a new kind of intentionality, focusing on making one note feel as good as possible. That’s the Meshell effect. Gear, Pedals, and Signature Sounds: DJ Warm Cookies: Alright, let’s geek out a little on something every bassist loves to jaw about: gear and tone! We’ve been dropping hints about famous bass models and pedals throughout the episode, but this section is for tying it all together – how the sounds we associate with these players are achieved, and how gear influenced the evolution of bass playing. It’s not just for tech’s sake; it’s actually a big part of why bass shifted styles over the years. So, let’s talk about some iconic bass guitars, amplifiers, and effects – and how different players forged their signature sounds with them. ThinkTimm: Basses – the actual instrument – is the first factor in sound. Perhaps the two most iconic electric basses are the Fender Precision Bass (P-Bass) and the Fender Jazz Bass (J-Bass). Early pioneers like James Jamerson used a Precision. A P-Bass has a split-coil pickup, giving it a punchy, warm tone with strong low-mid presence. Jamerson’s 1962 P-Bass “The Funk Machine” had flat wound strings and very high action; that, combined with the P-Bass tone, gave him that deep thump you hear on Motown records . He reportedly never changed his strings (he’d say the gunk in them was “the funk”), which made the tone even more dead and thumpy – great for the mix in those days. Carol Kaye also used a Precision (with a pick), which yielded that clear attack on the records she did . So the P-Bass basically wrote the book on foundational bass tone – if you want that classic “sit in the mix” bass that can thump or punch a bit when you dig in, a P is it. The Jazz Bass, introduced by Fender in 1960, has two pickups and a slimmer neck. Players like Jaco Pastorius, Geddy Lee, Marcus Miller gravitated to Jazz Basses because of the versatility. You can solo the bridge pickup for a honky “burp” (Jaco did that to get his singing fretless tone ), or both pickups on full for a scooped, bright slap tone (Marcus’s signature slap sound is a ’77 Jazz Bass with both pickups on and an active preamp boosting lows and highs). Geddy Lee used a Jazz in later years because he said it had more bottom end than his Rickenbacker and just felt more fluid to play . A Jazz Bass with round wound strings has a certain growl – think of Geddy’s isolated bass in “YYZ” or Jaco’s in “Teen Town” – there’s a midrange bark that cuts through. That’s the Jazz Bass talking. Marcus Miller’s Jazz (with a Sadowsky preamp originally, and now his own line of basses) can get an ultra-sizzle slap tone or a fat finger style – he often slightly favors the rear pickup for slap to get clarity. Now, outside of Fender, a huge one is the Music Man StingRay (designed by Leo Fender in the ’70s after he left Fender). It’s got a single humbucker pickup and active EQ. That active circuit was a game changer – suddenly you could boost lows/highs on the bass itself. Louis Johnson’s slaps on a StingRay (like on Brothers Johnson tracks or Michael Jackson’s “Off The Wall” album) had this bright, aggressive snap with solid bottom – that’s the StingRay sound. Bernard Edwards used a StingRay extensively – that rich Chic tone on “Good Times,” that’s a StingRay with probably a bit of bass boost, giving it that round but clear sound. Flea famously used a StingRay on early RHCP albums like Blood Sugar Sex Magik for songs like “Give It Away” – that grinding, in-your-face tone (especially with Flea’s aggressive slap approach) is StingRay all the way. StingRays tend to have a lot of zing and a very even response, great for funk and rock where the bass needs to be felt and heard. On the flip side, Rickenbacker 4001/4003 basses – Chris Squire, Geddy Lee (70s), Paul McCartney (on some later Beatles) – have their own vibe: a trebly, almost guitar-like clang when played with a pick, and a piano-like ring when played fingerstyle. Squire ran his Ric in stereo (pickup outputs separated) to get an insane tone on Yes records (one channel super trebly, one bassy). Geddy used a Ric in Rush’s early days to cut through the heavy guitars. A Ric’s sound can be heard on something like Yes’s “Roundabout” (all that metallic grind) or Rush’s “Red Barchetta” – it’s gritty but defined. Not many mentioned here besides Geddy used Rics, but it’s a signature sound worth noting in rock. And then Alembic and other high-end boutique basses (Alembic for Stanley Clarke, Fodera for Victor Wooten, Ken Smith for many gospel/funk players, etc.). Alembic was one of the first with active electronics and multi-pickup configs; Stanley’s Alembic gave him that hi-fi tone for “School Days” – clear top, solid bottom, almost no traditional Fender muddiness. That allowed him to solo like a lead – every note rang out. Victor Wooten’s main bass is a Fodera Monarch (nicknamed “Yin-Yang” for its paint job) – that bass has dual pickups, 24 frets, and is built for extended techniques. He can do two-octave tapping and chordal stuff on it easily. A lot of modern virtuosos use boutique 5 or 6-string basses (like John Patitucci with his 6-string Yamaha) because they need the range and clarity for complex music. Thundercat’s Ibanez 6-string is semi-hollow, giving him a bit of warmth and woodiness even as he shreds – which matches his blend of electronic and organic sound. Now, Amplification and effects: This is huge in crafting a signature sound. Early on, most bassists just plugged into big tube amps (like Ampeg B-15s in studio, or SVTs live) which give a natural warm compression and a bit of grit when pushed. Jamerson used an Ampeg B-15 flip-top in the Motown studio – that contributed to that round sound we hear . John Paul Jones and John Entwistle in the 70s started using Sunn and Acoustic amps that could be very loud and bright; Entwistle actually used guitar amps too to get distortion. But pedals – that’s where unique sounds really come in. For instance, we mentioned Bootsy Collins and the Mu-Tron III envelope filter . An envelope filter (aka auto-wah) basically makes that “waka-waka” funk tone following your note’s dynamics. Bootsy made it his trademark – hear Parliament’s “Sir Nose D’Voidoffunk” or Bootsy’s own “Ahh…The Name Is Bootsy, Baby” – the bass is going “bowwwww” with each note. That’s envelope filter funk. Almost every funk bassist after used some form of that for flavor (Flea hits an envelope filter on “Sir Psycho Sexy” for a moment, for example). Distortion/Fuzz: Chris Squire and Lemmy used overdrive to practically make their bass a rhythm guitar; more recently, players like Muse’s Chris Wolstenholme use heavy fuzz (fuzz + synth pedal) to make huge sounds (check “Hysteria” or “Time Is Running Out” – sounds like a synth, but it’s bass with fuzz and octave). Cliff Burton of Metallica ran a fuzz-wah combo for his lead parts. So distortion is key in rock/metal bass for a grinding tone. Geddy Lee started running a SansAmp preamp in the 90s to emulate his old overdriven amp sound in a controlled way – thus maintaining that growl even as he switched to cleaner Jazz Basses. Compression: not a flashy effect but almost everyone uses it especially for slap and funk to even out volume spikes and add punch. Marcus Miller uses compression heavily – it’s part of why his slapped notes pop so uniformly and his sustain is controlled. In the studio, Jamerson’s tone got a lot of compression too (that made his soft thumpy notes audible in the mix). Chorus: Popular in 80s (Jaco used a little on “Continuum”; Peter Hook of New Order used it to get his dreamy melodic tone; Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses used chorus on “Sweet Child o’ Mine” intro for a subtle effect). Chorus can give bass a thicker, shimmery sound – Esperanza Spalding sometimes has a slight chorus effect on her fretless to accentuate the singing quality, akin to Jaco’s style. Octave pedals: These generate a note an octave below what you play. They became big in the funk and pop world. Early example: the Boss OC-2 pedal was beloved – Prince actually often had an OC-2 on his bassists. Listen to some live Prince jams: the bass suddenly sounds super subby – that’s an octave pedal doubling the low note. Pino Palladino (famous session bassist) used an octave on Paul Young’s “Everytime You Go Away” to get that synthy bass tone in the 80s. MonoNeon and modern players use octavers to get crazy subharmonics or even octave-up effects for solos. Tremolo, delay, looping, etc. – more niche, but players like Michael Manring have done wild stuff with delay loops, and Victor Wooten often uses a looper to layer basslines live. Also, the strings used and setup matter. We mentioned Jamerson’s flats; flats are warm but thud, rounds are bright but can be noisy. Most slap/funk guys prefer roundwounds for the brightness (Larry Graham actually used flats on Sly’s early stuff, but by Graham Central Station he was on rounds for more zing). Jaco used roundwounds on a fretless (which eats the fretboard but gave him that mwah sustain). Many rock players use roundwounds (Rotosound Swing Bass strings were a popular choice – Entwistle helped develop them; they have a piano-like ring, which Geddy also used). Setup-wise, lower action allows faster play but can buzz – sometimes desirable for grind (a la Jaco or Geddy). Higher action gives you more dynamic range (Jamerson had super high action – you had to dig in, which also meant when he plucked hard it didn’t buzz but gave a big tone). So, when you hear a “signature sound,” it’s the sum of a lot of choices: the bass model, the electronics, the amp, any pedals, the strings, and the player’s hands. Like, no one sounds like Jaco even on his bass, because his hands did a lot – but having that fretless Jazz with bridge pickup on and chorus was part of it . No one will quite replicate Lemmy’s tone without a Rickenbacker into a Marshall at full blast – but also, his crazy aggressive pick attack was key. DJ Warm Cookies: One cool example of gear influence: When Doves Cry by Prince famously has no bass line in it (radical move). Why? Prince reportedly tried bass on it and it sounded too “normal,” so he took it out . But on tour, guess what – he had bassists play a line live to fill it out. The absence on record ironically highlights how much bass contributes normally. ThinkTimm: And how about styles influencing gear: When slap bass got huge, bass manufacturers responded with things like built-in preamps, graphite necks (Modulus, Status) to get snappier tone, 5-string basses so you could play those low funky synth-bass notes (low B became more common in 80s and 90s for that reason – thank you, Anthony Jackson for pioneering 6-string with low B). In modern experimental music, someone like Thundercat will use pedals almost like a guitarist – he’ll have fuzz, wah, and even whammy effects to make his bass sound otherworldly. MonoNeon will intentionally use lo-fi sounds or detune to get microtones. There are also MIDI pickups now that let bass trigger synths – some use that for huge EDM drops. But that’s another rabbit hole. At the end of the day, while gear shapes tone, it’s still the player. Give ten bassists the same Precision Bass, and you’ll get ten sounds. Carol Kaye with a pick, Jamerson with the hook finger, and a modern funk player with slap – all on a P – will still be very different. The gear is the palette of colors, and the bassists are the painters. Our pioneers chose the gear they had and then made it sing. Modern players have a massive menu of sounds to choose from. It’s exciting – there’s never been a more versatile time for bass tone. From vintage thump to futuristic synth, bassists can do it all now. And trust me, we love fiddling with it (sometimes too much – I’ll admit I’ve spent an afternoon lost in tweaking pedal settings). But it’s all in pursuit of that perfect groove tone that feels right. DJ Warm Cookies And when you hear an unmistakable tone – like that first popping thump of Larry Graham, or the spacey wobble of Bootsy, or the fretless glide of Pino or Jaco – you realize how much the sound itself hooks you, not just the notes. It’s part of the signature. I think of it this way: The bass is like the voice of the music’s body. Changing the bass’s tone is like changing the singer’s timbre. We’ve grown to love certain bass “voices.” And as tech evolved, bassists got to develop their own distinct voices more and more. In summary: P-Bass gave us foundational fatness (Jamerson, Kaye), J-Bass opened up versatile voices (Jaco, Geddy, Marcus) , active basses like StingRay and Alembic provided clarity and punch for funk (Bernard, Louis J., Stanley) , and effects/pedals allowed funk-rock astronauts (Bootsy, Flea, modern guys) to go to the sonic stratosphere . But no matter what the tools, the end goal was to serve the music – make people feel that rhythm or emotion. The gear is cool, but it’s all about what you do with it. ThinkTimm: Couldn’t have said it better. One fun quick example: You’ve heard that “Seinfeld” slap-bass theme? That sound – believe it or not – wasn’t even a real bass, it was a synth bass guitar patch, because the composer wanted a very specific compressed slap tone. It’s almost cliché bass (pop-pop-wah riffs). That’s like the sound of bass reaching even sitcom culture. It shows how identifiable certain gear-influenced sounds (in this case, a very ’80s slap tone with heavy compression and chorus) have become in pop culture. We can laugh at it, but also celebrate that bass sounds are iconic. Like the moment you hear a wah-bass, you think ’70s funk; you hear a fretless slide, you think deep ballad or fusion; you hear a pick on rounds with distortion, you think hard rock or post-punk. It’s a language of tone that parallels the language of notes. Alright, I think we’ve gotten nicely deep in the gear weeds – hopefully in an enjoyable way. Let’s step back out and wrap this baby up with why all this – the players, the stories, the gear, the grooves – really matters. Outro: Why the Bass Still Matters Dj Warm Cookies; We’ve traveled through decades, genres, and heard from a pantheon of bass legends tonight. It begs a question: after all this time, after technology changes and music trends come and go, why does the bass still matter so much? I think the answer has been woven through every story and groove we’ve shared. Bass matters because it’s the heartbeat. It’s the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) force that makes music feel alive. Whether it’s Carol Kaye in the ’60s providing the pulse of the song behind the scenes , or Thundercat in the 2020s taking the bass to outer-space and back, the bass is often what moves you, even if you don’t realize it. ThinkTimm: Absolutely. You might not always single out the bass when you listen – a lot of casual listeners focus on vocals or guitar or the beat. But remove the bass and something vital goes missing. That Motown track loses its soul without Jamerson’s fluid line. That rock anthem loses its guts without the bass holding down the fort. That funk jam loses its funk – quite literally – without the bass groove. The bass is both foundational and transformational. Foundational because it supports the harmony and locks with the drums, and transformational because a clever bass line can redefine a song’s character (think of how “Under Pressure”’s bass line is basically the whole identity of the song – you hum that before any lyric). DJ Warm Cookies: And the role of the bass has grown. Today’s music is very bass-driven in production – 808 bass drops in hip hop, sub-bass in EDM – it’s all about that low end impact. It’s funny; even when it’s not a bass guitar, the concept of the bass – that low rhythmic/melodic element – is crucial. Producers spend hours getting the bass right in a mix because they know that’s what can make people physically respond to a track. Our ears hear melody and words, but our bodies feel bass. The famous quote “if you’re listening to a band and you suddenly find your body moving, you can thank the bass player” holds true. ThinkTimm: We also have a new generation of bassists pushing boundaries, as we discussed. That means the bass is not static – it’s an evolving instrument, adapting to new styles. It’s equally at home in a dusty blues bar or a high-tech DJ’s rig or a virtuoso jazz quartet or a pop stadium tour. And why? Because everything in music benefits from a good foundation and a great groove. The tools might change (synth bass, five-string, heck, maybe in the future some AI-generated bass accompaniments), but the role and need for bass won’t go away. What’s especially cool is seeing bassists step forward as bandleaders and composers (Esperanza Spalding, Michael League, Stephen Bruner aka Thundercat, etc.). The bass, traditionally seen as a background instrument, is front and center in many modern creative projects. It shows that thinking from the bass perspective can lead to really innovative music. A bassist often thinks both rhythmically and harmonically, which is a great mindset for composition. DJ Warm Cookies: On a human level, I think bass matters because it teaches us cooperation and listening. You can’t be a good bassist without ears – you’re constantly monitoring the drums (locking in the kick drum pattern, adjusting dynamics) and also the melody/harmony (making sure your note choices support the chords and don’t clash). Bassists often are the unsung heroes balancing the band. That cultivates a certain humility and awareness. Many of the folks we talked about – sure, some had ego (hey, Jaco called himself the greatest!). But a lot, especially the ones like Jamerson, Carol Kaye, etc., were all about service to the song. That ethos is so valuable. In a world of showboating, the bass player often exemplifies the power of serving the greater groove. Also, bass has been a place for inclusivity and breaking barriers, as we saw with our female bassist spotlight. It’s an instrument that welcomes whoever wants to hold it down. It’s physically and sonically grounding, perhaps that draws grounded individuals to it – or helps shape them. ThinkTimm: For me, on a personal note, bass matters because of what I felt that first time I really heard it, and what I continue to feel every time I lock in with other musicians. It’s almost therapeutic. If I’m jamming and I hit that sweet pocket where my bass, the drums, and the rest all click – it’s like a runner’s high. You transcend thinking and you’re just in the music. I suspect every bassist knows that joy. And listeners, even if they don’t play, feel that too when the bass and drums are cooking – it’s a unifying force. Let’s not forget its emotional range either – not just for making people dance. Bass can be haunting (think of a solitary upright bass in a ballad, or Pino’s fretless singing out a sad melody). The low frequencies resonate with our chest cavity. There’s almost a physiological comfort in well-played bass – like a mother’s heartbeat to a baby. It’s fundamental. DJ Warm Cookies: After tonight, I hope if someone wasn’t a “bass person,” they’ve gained a whole new appreciation. Maybe you’ll go back to your favorite songs and find the bass lines, hum along with them, notice what they’re doing. Maybe you’ll discover “wow, I never realized the bass in that pop song is doing some cool stuff under the hood.” And for those already in love with the low end – I bet you were nodding and smiling at a lot of these stories and maybe even learned something new or were inspired to check out a player you hadn’t before. The bass community, by the way, tends to be super supportive. Bassists love sharing knowledge – probably because of that cooperative spirit. So if you’re thinking of picking up bass, do it! You’ll find tons of resources and fellow bass players happy to groove with you (in spirit or literally). ThinkTimm: Well said. The bass still matters because music still needs that glue and that glue can be artful. Also, in the age of computers, when some might say “oh I can just program the bass on a keyboard,” the nuance a real bassist brings – those slides, that human timing, that tonal variation each note – it’s unbeatable. Human rhythm feel is something that quantization can’t truly replicate. That’s why even producers who use synth bass often either play it by hand or bring in bass guitar to get feel. I’ve seen hip-hop producers freak out in a good way when a live bassist replayed their synth bass line – it suddenly had this depth and groove they didn’t anticipate. So yeah, bass isn’t going anywhere. From local jam sessions to the biggest stages, you’ll see a bassist, head bobbing, fingers or pick or thumb working those strings, keeping the music grounded and grooving. DJ Warm Cookies: And we love them for it. Let’s give a little metaphor: if a band is a building, the bass is the cornerstone of the foundation. If the band is a body, the bass is the heartbeat and the hips (it makes you shake what you got!). If the band is a painting, the bass might be the undercoat that all the other colors need to shine and have context. It might not always be obvious, but remove it and everything falls apart or looks flat. ThinkTimm: Couldn’t agree more. After exploring All About That Bass in this episode, one thing stands out to me: whether it’s a flashy slap lick or a single sustained whole note, the effect of a bass part can be profound. It drives emotion and physical response perhaps more directly than any other instrument. That’s the magic and yes, the mystery of the bass – often felt, not explicitly heard. As a bassist myself, I feel really proud to be part of this lineage we talked about. It inspires me to practice, to live up in some small way to the standard these greats set, and mostly to keep the music in my own bands honest and grooving. And as a fan, I’m thrilled for the future – I mean, who knows what the next Jaco or Meshell is gonna come up with, or from where? Someone out there is probably woodshed-ing right now, developing the next evolutionary slap technique or a new tonal approach, and in 5-10 years we’ll be talking about them. The bass guitar is only about 70 years old – it’s a relatively young instrument. We’ve seen it do so much, but there’s plenty of frontier left. DJ Warm Cookies: One last anecdote: I once asked a drummer friend, “If you could magically be amazing at another instrument overnight, what would it be?” and he said “bass” without hesitation. I asked why, and he said “because then I’d truly control the groove – both the rhythm and the melody aspects.” That stuck with me. The drummer knew the power of the bass! ThinkTimm: Haha, that’s great. Hopefully tonight we’ve all gotten a sense of that power, and the personalities who wield it. This has been one of my favorite episodes to explore, I won’t lie. I got to nerd out on heroes and hopefully convey why they matter. DJ Warm Cookies: And I had a blast being the funky Greek chorus here! I learned some new things too – definitely going to revisit some of these tracks with fresh ears. So to all our listeners: thanks for coming on this low-end journey with us. Now go put on your favorite bass-heavy song – maybe something we mentioned tonight or something new you discover – and listen actively to that bass. Maybe it’s James Jamerson’s buttery runs on “What’s Going On” , or Carol Kaye making “Good Vibrations” vibrate , or Stanley Clarke plucking “School Days,” or Geddy’s roaring in “YYZ,” or MonoNeon just flat-out weird-funking somewhere on YouTube. Let the bass speak to you. ThinkTimm: And if you play, keep at it. Remember what Bootsy said: keep it on the one and put your stank on it. Each of these legends became great by finding their own voice. You have one too – whether it’s in music or whatever you do. Bass teaches us that individuality can thrive within harmony. Alright, that’s my philosophical sign-off! DJ Warm Cookies: I love it. To wrap up formally: You’ve been listening to Why Make Music… Episode 35 “All About That Bass.” I’m DJ Warm Cookies, aka Willa May, sending you much love and good vibes. ThinkTimm: And I’m ThinkTimm – thank you for lending us your ears and time. It’s been a groove. Until next time, keep your ears open, your soul tuned, and don’t forget… it’s all about that bass (’bout that bass, no treble… sorry, couldn’t resist!). Stay groovy, everyone. (Outro music: Perhaps a collage of famous bass lines fading out, or an original funky groove inspired by them, to play us off.)