Claypool and Flea hands down. I was a drummer until I heard them.
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I wanted to start playing bass when I was 14, inspired by Cliff Burton from Metallica. His speed and presence on stage impressed me a lot and wanted to be like him haha. It's weird because nowadays i think he's extremely overrated just because he died. I also find his technique sloppy and despise his tone 
My dad was big into Cream so Jack was a big inspiration in my early life.
For me it was the dozen or so other guitar players, all of whom were better than I was. That's why I started playing bass in HS. I'm 61.
Felix Pappalardi
John Entwistle
Jack Casady
John Entwistle
Jack Casady
Someone else mentioned Jeffery Hammond-Hammond from Jethro Tull, but for me it was Glenn Cornick. The album was Stand Up. His tone knocked me out. His dexterity and musicianship grabbed me and never let go. To this day, I struggle to play the bass solo in Bouree smoothly.
- Oct 18, 2012
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My decision to play bass had nothing to do with other bass players. I started on guitar. I was in a band with another guitarist a drummer and we couldn't find a bass player. I would do fills on guitar in places in songs that needed movement or where there was too much emptiness. One night, the other guitarist said that whenever I played the fills, it sounded like I was playing bass lines. He mentioned it again a few days later so I went home and started listening to the bass lines in the songs we were covering. I found that bass came very naturally to me so I switched to bass as my primary instrument. The bassists who eventually influenced me are James Jamerson, John Deacon, Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, Box Burrell, Craig MacGregor and John Paul Jones. People have described my style as a cross between James Jamerson and John Deacon. I still play guitar and also play keys.
Honestly I didn't start playing because of anyone. But I did continue playing because of Geddy after hearing Rush on the radio with my Dad.
Jamerson, McCartney and Schacher were all early influences for me . . .
nice to see some love for John Patitucci
If you're old enough to go back to the early 60's, you were inspired to be a musician by the Beatles. if your record player could reproduce bass faithfully, you wanted to play like Paul McCartney. Even the simpler bass lines were rendered with that bouncy mojo. If you're over 65 and saw The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, how could you not have not wanted to play the walking bass line in All My Loving?
Unless you happened to be inspired by say...Motown or literally ANY pre-British invasion rock and roll group.
Garry Tallent from Springsteen's E St. Band.
I used to play along endlessly to the first 3 or 4 albums trying to get his lines down.
30-odd years later I'm still trying...
I used to play along endlessly to the first 3 or 4 albums trying to get his lines down.
30-odd years later I'm still trying...
Jason Newsted, Dave Ellefson, Geddy Lee, Tim Commerford. 1993 was an important year for me. It was when I understood what a “bass” was and what it sounded like. And to boot, the first time I pulled the E string on one, I knew I was supposed to play this instrument.
I was a keyboard player. I was in a bribe situation. There was a chance if i did straight A's, i had a shot at getting an organ, which back in the day required who knows how many people to move, plus a truck. I received a bass. I didnt even know what it was.
Ric5
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