# Best modern bass player **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 19, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823 "2003-06-19T00:30:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![moejuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@moejuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejuck)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/1 "2003-06-19T00:30:21Z")
Vote all you want, just make sure that the guy STARTED playing no more than 25 years ago. This eliminates guys like Geddie Lee, John Entwistle, Ray Brown, and so on. My vote goes to the amazing Victor Wooten, with Les Claypool running a close second. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/2 "2003-06-19T00:53:44Z")
I’d have to say Oteil Burbridge, who I imagine a Victor Wooten fan would’ve heard of, but not a lot of other people. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/3 "2003-06-19T00:54:59Z")
A vote for Les. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/4 "2003-06-19T01:00:05Z")
Can I nominate Justin Chancellor and Paul D’Amour from Tool? Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, too. ---
**Author:** ![Berserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Berserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berserker)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/5 "2003-06-19T01:00:35Z")
Flea and Les Claypool. ---
**Author:** ![verbenabeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/6 "2003-06-19T01:14:32Z")
gotta be Vic Wooten ---
**Author:** ![moejuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@moejuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejuck)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/7 "2003-06-19T02:02:24Z")
**Marley23** , Yes I know Oteil, and that is a great suggestion. Looks like there might not be a lot of big bass lovers in this forum tonight, hopefully we will pick up some new stuff by tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![greenphan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c37758/32.png) [@greenphan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greenphan)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/8 "2003-06-19T04:59:10Z")
I gotta go with Les Claypool on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/9 "2003-06-19T05:31:07Z")
Shavo from SOAD… Greg K from Offspring… ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/10 "2003-06-19T05:57:10Z")
While I don’t listen to a lot of new new new music, what I _have_ heard of the modern metallists shows little of the inventivenes of Les Claypool. He’s the Neil Peart of bassists, to me. hrh ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/11 "2003-06-19T06:15:44Z")
I think its actually a guy called Michael Manring. I’ve heard one piece of his on the radio. It was a solo bass piece of unbelievable complexity and musicality. It made anything I’ve heard by my favourite rock bassists sound very pedestrian. Here are two sites about him. [bassically.net](http://www.bassically.net/featured_artists/michael_manring/) has a profile. Check out the transcriptions. [His own site](http://www.manthing.com/) lists his concert dates. Apparently he can get away with doing solo gigs playing 3 basses at once. I can’t find any of his music in Australia. Has anyone else heard him or heard of him. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/12 "2003-06-19T06:29:49Z")
Les Claypool naturally. Honorable mention to Matt Freeman (because I rarely recognize musical talent and he’s one of the few bassists besides Claypool that really blows me away) ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/13 "2003-06-19T08:25:39Z")
Another vote for Les. His new album _Purple Onion_ is great if you haven’t heard it. The Frog Brigade puts on a great live show as well. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/14 "2003-06-19T09:37:29Z")
Justin Chancellor has done some interesting work with Tool since joining the group in late '95. He won’t set any speed records, but he does some creative things with effects. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/15 "2003-06-19T09:40:49Z")
Mark King, from Level 42? Might be too old. Otherwise, Red Hot Chilli Peppers dude. ---
**Author:** ![Skip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@Skip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skip)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/16 "2003-06-19T09:47:51Z")
Tye Zamore from Alien Ant Farm can really lay down the tracks. ---
**Author:** ![GUINNESS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@GUINNESS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GUINNESS)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/17 "2003-06-19T11:06:50Z")
…Peter Hook from Joy Division/New Order…didnt we just do this topic,or was it somewhere elese?..:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/18 "2003-06-19T11:13:27Z")
Damn beaten to it. I second Peter ‘Hookie’ Hook. ---
**Author:** ![threeorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@threeorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threeorange)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/19 "2003-06-19T13:39:02Z")
This might be a technicality, but in the original post, Moejuck requested one who didn’t start playing more than 25 years ago. Les Claypool and Flea are both about 40, and I believe both were playing bass by age 15; they just weren’t famous yet. ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823/20 "2003-06-19T13:42:10Z")
Actually, Joy Division (then known as Warsaw) formed in 1977. teherfore Peter Hook must of been playing for at least 26 years. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-modern-bass-player/182823.md?page=2)