Most recognizable bass guitars sounds, Steve Harris,Joey DeMaio?

Since a few days my car CD player is locked (since I removed the battery for a quick fix on my car) and because I am moving into a new apartment, I can not find car’s support leaflet with the unlock code. That’s why I use a portable mp3 player. This gives me an other point of view on the music I listen.

For example, this morning, I realized that there are particular bass guitar sound for specific bands, a bass guitar sound that defines the band’s sound in general. Some I could easily spot were Iron Maiden and Manowar. If you take Steve Harris’ bass sound and style of playing, I think you can not miss it. If you listen carefully, his way of playing, with his fingers gives a smooth, “puffy” sound for the bass (yes, this is my perception of it, despite the musical style,Harris would probably kill me for this), while it also sounds like the strings are loose, like he is somehow tuned 2-3 tones below. Also consider that “riding” style of playing and you have Steve Harris’ unmistakable bass sound!

How about Joey DeMaio? Manowar has a sound that you can not miss it, for sure and the bass guitar is a big part of this sound. Joey DeMaio uses a lot of custom bass guitars, with very narrow and thin neck, a lot of the times using a distortion. When I first listen Manowar I didn’t know if it is an electric guitar or a bass. It was a bass…However, it is HIS OWN sound, part of the Manowar’s history.

Now, there are others too. Think Stu Hamm, which is a master of bass guitar, think Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, think Jaco Pastorius, think Billy Sheehan. There are other too. How could I miss John Myung of Dream Theater? All these are great bass players, but the post is not about great bass players, it is about an unmistakable bass sound and in my opinion, the first 2 are there.

Can you think of other bass players I missed, that have an unmistakable sound?

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