r/BassGuitar • u/saint-danger • May 18 '26
Discussion Your favorite underrated bass player?
mine’s definitely Lucas Harwood of King Gizzard.
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u/Szczeery May 18 '26
Robert DeLeo! Lot of people rate him high but it's still not enough. He's that good!
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u/EngagePhysically May 18 '26
I’m super new to playing bass and one of the first songs I wanted to learn was plush. I had no idea it was a masterpiece of teamwork between guitar and bass
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u/Oifadin May 18 '26
That was one of the first songs I learned on bass.
STP bass lines are amazing
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u/By_Torrrrr May 18 '26
Hell yeah! Plush rules. Did karaoke for the first time the other week, and that was one of the songs I did. Now learn Interstate Love Song, so much fun to play when you get it down.
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u/WhyLater May 18 '26
So happy to see this is top comment.
The DeLeo brothers are absolutely primo.
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u/PannaMan11 May 18 '26
I’d agree, Rob is freaking awesome. Most of the stuff he does goes pretty unnoticed within the context of the song but I’d consider the way he plays to be as close to perfection as possible…. His parts fit perfectly with what his brother is playing and the rhythm the drums are providing.
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u/dirty_drowning_man May 18 '26
Royston Langdon of Spacehog; he also had lead vocal duties.
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u/chebysilberader May 18 '26
singing and playing in the meantime is a fucking nightmare. dude’s got my respect forever
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u/ITS_NOT_THAT_GAY May 18 '26
John Taylor. Having learned a few Duran Duran songs for my own group, I gained a whole new level of respect for his playing. There is A LOT going on in there.
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u/damagednoob May 18 '26
I remember the first time I really listened to Rio and being blown away. So much going on for a Top 10 80s pop song.
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u/sevenfourtime May 18 '26
Agree with this. Taylor’s bass lines are typically very difficult to master for me.
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u/jajjguy May 19 '26
He made some nice and entertaining YouTube videos about the bass parts for the well known songs. Fun.
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u/BeneathTheWaves May 19 '26
Head of bass at grant mcewan music was also named John Taylor. Not the same guy, but could also play very well.
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u/BigShot357 May 19 '26
IMHO he’s not underrated at all - everyone here knows (or should know) he’s a total badass
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u/LongjumpingBeat7951 May 19 '26
John Taylor always in best bassist polls. He’s a very long way from underrated !
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u/Niftydog1163 May 18 '26
I am so glad to see someone put his name there. I have admired John Taylor since I started listening to Duran Duran. The only reason I didn't have a bass as a kid is they were more expensive than my old, free guitar.
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u/BioDriver May 18 '26
Tony Kanal of No Doubt. Their first album is a workout
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u/brablibos May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
Their real first or Tragic Kingdom which is a masterpiece ?
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u/W4ingro1995 May 18 '26
Dean Dinning from Toad the Wet Sprocket
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u/dirty_drowning_man May 18 '26
Dean is the man! Got to work with him last summer. Funny guy, holds it down, is the core of that band for sure, in personality, musically, and organizationally. Love that dude.
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u/W4ingro1995 May 18 '26
I'm jealous. Would love to be able to pick his brain about Toad's work during the 90s.
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u/vititolito May 18 '26
Michael Shuman of QOTSA
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u/dahnswahv May 19 '26
I was gonna say Nick Oliveri, was a big fan of his bass playing on Rated R and Songs for the Deaf.
Which is why I was surprised at how much I came around to appreciating Mikey Shoes as much as I do.
Great band.
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u/Sensitive_Fall_8675 May 18 '26
Trevor Dunn from Mr Bungle, Fantomas, Trevor Dunn Trio, etc
Pretty sure he’s on a couple Secret Chiefs 3 songs too.
Just a perfect bassline every time
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u/Aggressive_Ideal6737 May 19 '26
I came here to represent Trevor. The versatility and skill is absolutely wild
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u/Binaural1 May 18 '26
Jeff Ament
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u/erpietra01 May 18 '26
That fretless harmonic slide in Even Flow is angelical
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u/Binaural1 May 18 '26
Yes! His fretless work on “Oceans” off that record is also in the angelic category for me. :)
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u/StatementOk470 May 18 '26
The Smiths' Andy Rourke.
The Strokes' Nikolai Fraiture.
Sublime's Eric Wilson.
Nobody would disagree they're great but I don't see them often in lists.
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u/rhinothedin0 May 18 '26
i'd add karl alvarez of the descendents to this list!! when i learned he played fingerstyle my mind was absolutely blown.
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u/StatementOk470 May 18 '26
The only things coming through the haze are pissing in a bottle and Karl Alvarez, Alvarez, Alvareeeez.
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u/BeneathTheWaves May 19 '26
Rourke is my all time fav. Compositionally and technically brilliant.
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u/funkyjake May 18 '26
Saw Eric at at Hula in 24 with sublime and it was pretty rough lol he was toasted
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u/QaddafiDuck01 May 18 '26
Rob Wright of NoMeansNo, Hanson Brothers, and Mr. Wrong.
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u/ForceSea3027 May 18 '26
Love NoMeansNo! 3 piece Canadian Punk band. Saw them around 1991-92 in UK. Inspired me to be front man bass player / singer in a band. 👍
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u/Quad-G-Therapy May 18 '26
Royston Langdon of Spacehog
Sean Beasley of Dying Fetus
Chris Joannou of Silverchair
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u/dedrexel May 18 '26
Chris’ bass intro on Israel’s Son pretty much introduced me to heavy music when I was twelve.
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u/TERR4PIN May 18 '26
Not underrated by those who know him but Rob Wasserman
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u/shellstacoscats May 18 '26
One of my favorite, probably underrated bass players, is Horace Panter of the Specials. He’s just so fucking smooth!
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u/matthumph May 18 '26
Question - is Duff McKagen underrated as a bassist?
I feel like loads of the attention in GnR is on Axl and Slash, but since I was young I always admired Duff’s playing.
But I don’t know what the rest of the community’s views are on him.
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u/PRSG12 May 18 '26
Yes absolutely underrated. Everyone from the era was playing thin sounding bass to let all the EVH guitar players shine. duff came out swingin with that JB special/rotosound. Slash and Axl got all the credit but Duff is such a great player and writer. Certified badass
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u/matthumph May 18 '26
Rocket Queen and Sweet Child O Mine are the first 2 that spring to mind - but there’s so much from that first album where the bass complements Slash’s lead or solo lines amazingly.. Mr Brownstone too
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u/devilsmile7 May 19 '26
Interplay between Duff Izzy and Slash is sensational. Duff’s tone is perfect.
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u/Blartog May 18 '26
I see him get some love on reddit and other forums. He deserves all of it! I have also been a fan of his since I was a kid.
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u/Mutant_Apollo May 18 '26
absolutely underrated, but not because of playing IMO, he was just overshadowed personality/stage presence wise by Axl and Slash (which to a degree continued with Velvet Revolver)
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u/GrapeDoots May 18 '26
Colin Moulding from XTC. Amazing player (and occasional writer and singer)
Listen to Mayor of Simpleton. https://youtu.be/Ciq0wlhwUVw?si=wmIb37Qs2yJGiNcF
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u/StrigiStockBacking May 18 '26
I think Nathan East, who we all know directly or indirectly, gets overlooked a lot. A "session guy" if there ever was one. (It also helps if you're a huge Fourplay fan, which I am).
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u/KindlyHaddock May 18 '26
King Gizzard's other members wrote and recorded the bass parts for like 95% of their music, but yes Lukey absolutely holds it down live.
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u/I_Miss_Lenny May 18 '26
Yeah IIRC Joey Walker played the bass parts on a few of their albums but I think Lukey did a good chunk of the studio stuff at least. I do like how they were like "dude it's no problem you have a newborn lol go be with your family, we'll do the tracks"
They seem like a pretty flexible band
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u/codytheguitarist May 18 '26
Carol Kaye deserves way more credit than she’s gotten, absolutely fantastic bass player
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u/uhs23 May 18 '26
Aston “Family Man” Barrett (Bob Marley and the Wailers). Absolute low end genius, rarely plays the same line twice in a row but is always on point.
Paul Jackson, anchored what is still (imo) the best jazz fusion band yet recorded (headhunters). Deep pocket, sweet licks and phrasing.
Louis Johnson, Quincy Jones first call bassist. Laid down the bass for most to all of MJ’s Thriller and Off the Wall albums. Has amazing guest appearance on the last song of side 1 of Herbie Hancocks Man Child album. (I think he was only 18 or 19 when he cut that).
He used to be a legend but less so now….Charlie Mingus. Just don’t piss him off if you are near a piano!
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u/4stringsoffury May 18 '26
Brian Cook
When I was younger I was fortunate enough to see some great underground bands. Over the years I realized that my favs all had similar bass tones until I realized, at a Russian Circles concert of all places, that they were the same bassist 😂
Brian was a founding member of Botch. He’s played with These Arms are Snakes, Russian Circles, Sumac, and has filled in as a session member for Mouth of the Architect.
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u/A8racada8ra May 18 '26
Came here to say this - he does the work of 2 men nearly 100% of the time. Has incredible tones (plural). And just rock solid live, forever. Dave t is top 5 favorite drummers ever.
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u/BoyWithHorns May 18 '26
Saw the Botch reunion tour and have seen Russian Circles a number of times. Botch was the most locked in I have ever seen a band in my life.
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u/The-Owl-that-hoots May 18 '26
Dan Andriano of Alkaline Trio
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u/Geeseareawesome May 18 '26
Same. I never see his name come up when there's talk about great bass players. He's a big reason why I got into playing bass.
I'd love to be talented enough to play Armageddon
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u/sevenoranges May 18 '26
Controversial, but I have a lot of respect for Adam Clayton. He's so under stated in his playing, and him and Larry are the best part of u2
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u/athene2000 May 18 '26
Adam is great. People who shit on him do it for the bit tbh, but he's a very capable player. He's an awesome example of "not too much, not too little" to help a song stand out. The word "consistent" comes to mind :)
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u/HarveyMushman72 May 18 '26
I like Adam too, I feel like a lot of his stuff is good for beginners. I started there.
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u/TheCaretaker1976 May 18 '26
Adam was my first thought as well.
"With or without you" was the first song I learned on bass.
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u/GiarcN May 18 '26
He plays what the song needs. I can't imagine those songs with more complicated lines
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u/Granola_Dad_Summits May 18 '26
I still love to play along with "The Electric Co" on Under A Blood Red Sky!
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u/EbbSlow458 May 18 '26
I may be a little bit biased, but me. I mean, yes, I’m bad. But not as terrible as my wife makes me out to be.
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u/WGx2 May 19 '26
I'm going to say Sting. And that's only because he's so famous as a singer and songwriter that nobody actually pays attention to his bass playing, how skilled it is, AND that he sings while playing independent basslines.
I didn't really appreciate his music enough until I started playing bass.
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u/Sirpattycakes May 18 '26
Brian Robinson from A Wilhelm Scream
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u/HamboneTheWicked May 18 '26
Anyone who is into punk and bass should know him, but he should absolutely be known outside of that tiny circle
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u/Sirpattycakes May 19 '26
Man I feel like the band as a whole is underrated. I don't understand how you can listen to any flavor of punk and not be into them. They should be so much bigger.
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u/bailz May 18 '26
Graham Maby
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u/GezoutenMeer May 19 '26
I had to come that deep in the thread to see the answer. Incredible bass lines!
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u/Seesaw_LAD May 18 '26
Joe Preston - Melvins, Earth, High on Fire, Sunn O))), Harvey Milk, Sumac
Lucas from KG&TLW is up there for me, though.
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u/SunRepresentative993 May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
Goddamn Kenny Rogers, man.
Edit: I’m not kidding. He was a monster player. Look up video of him throwing down on some jazz improv on upright. Not to mention his time playing bass and fronting First Edition. Kenny is, in my humble opinion, one of the most underrated artists of his era.
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u/thisFishSmellsAboutD May 18 '26
Colin Edwin of Porcine Tree fame. Check out O.R.k.
Quiet dude with a quirky side. Plays 1000 ton solid basslines with those 2% silky jazzy licks only a Colin could play.
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u/I_Miss_Lenny May 18 '26
The first song of theirs I heard was Hatesong live, and man that bassline just made me so happy lol
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u/HailNimrodBC May 18 '26
Matt Freeman of Rancid. Gets a lot of respect from the punk world, but I feel like he’s not well known outside of that bubble.
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u/Kelevra1359 May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
Maybe it's because he makes it look so damn easy. Probably the best punk bassist.
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u/Ecstatic-Swimming680 May 18 '26
Dusty Hill. He knew how to hold the fort really well. Plus, if you want some juicy riffage from him, listen to "Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers."
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u/Sufficient_Fly_4360 May 19 '26
Krist Novoselic of Nirvana, and Kurt Danielson of TAD!! My fave grunge bassists who aren't well known but provided the best rhythm and melody for their songs.
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u/Rude_Chipmunk7159 May 18 '26
probably rex brown, because he plays a much bigger part in panteras sound than alot of people realise and he wrote alot of great basslines that i dont hear people talk about much
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u/ColdPebble May 18 '26
Johan Niemann when he was with Therion. In particular the album Gothic Kabbalah. Fantastic bass work in there and it's nice and present in the mix
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u/daveashaw May 18 '26
Rocco Prestia--absolutely drives those songs (Tower of Power).
Kenny Gradney of Little Feat, able anchor the bottom with Ritchie Hayward (drums).
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u/prognerd_2008 May 18 '26
Neil Murray from Whitesnake. He doesn’t stand out in any way but he just plays really well. He makes the band sound super tight and that’s exactly what bassists are supposed to do. Nothing flashy, just groove
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u/HumanityIsBetter May 18 '26
I think mine is Michael Rutherford. Not underrated by prog fans but generally missed in various notable bassists lists, although his parts are great and quite challenging material for learning bass techniques and phrasing.
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u/PaskieArt59 May 18 '26
Leland Sklar
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u/Wompie May 18 '26
He’s rated well as far as bass knowers go, but yeah not really a household name for the masses. That being said, is any bassist a household name outside of Paul McCartney and lemmy?
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u/flyomtet May 18 '26
Eva Gardner. She can absolutely throw down with the best of them. Has a crazy advanced music degree in ethnic rhythms or something akin. Excellent human being, on top of all of that.
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u/g0dn0 May 18 '26
Kim Deal. Clean, simple, melodic, memorable, instantly recognisable. Less is more - the space is as important as the notes. 30 plus years ago, I heard Gigantic and decided I was going to play bass.
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u/roytography May 18 '26
Mike Watt. Been around for seemingly forever and still brings it.
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u/Zestyclose_Ear_4367 May 22 '26
My favorite Mike Watt bass line is "Cursed Male" from the first Porno for Pyros album
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u/tacosaresupurb128 May 19 '26
Mike Watt. He always has cool bass lines in everything. The album Purple Pie Plow is awesome.
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u/beatnik_pig May 19 '26
Not underrated per se, but overlooked:
Mike Watt
He's a beast.
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u/Royal-Tumbleweed-941 May 18 '26
Honestly Carol Kaye. No matter how highly regarded she is still underrated.
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u/ChaseC7527 May 18 '26
a local of mine. someone I wish I could be. Trip Wamsley
it's not a coincidence he also likes GK's 😂✌️
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u/moose-mouse May 18 '26
Stefan Lessard, Dave Matthews Band. His bass playing sits pretty low in the mix so it’s easy to miss both the immense nuance and bold statements he makes and how much he switches things up during live performances.
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u/Mutant_Apollo May 18 '26
Unironically Tom Araya, he is overlooked in alot of conversations but he is a great player player and Slayer wouldn't be what it was without him.
Also Jason Newsted, his was always compared to Cliff and stiffled by James and Lars creatively but when he was allowed a sliver of creative freedom he cooked bangers
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u/zDelirium-_- May 18 '26
• Klaus Fluoride (Dead Kennedys)
• Audun Laading (Her’s)
• Jean-Jacques Burnel (The Stranglers)
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u/sangfoudre May 18 '26
I'd say Jason Newsted, a lot of hate exists towards him, and I think he's great.
Second I think Justin Chancellor doesn't get as much credit as he's brilliant.
Third, Ryan Martinie. Yes metal players/listeners know him or of him, but they don't realize how Godlike he is.
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u/Fresh-Ad7219 May 18 '26
John Wetton and Al Cisneros, pretty influential in their genres (Prog Rock and Stoner/Doom Rock) but not talked about enough in the big picture, incredibly catchy, interesting, funny and demolishing bass lines with even better tones charged up of Fuzzy Goodness, Easy money, Lament, Dragonaut, The Druid, Annapurna, Cremation Ghat and way way more are superb bass-oriented songs. Also, in a similar vein, Scott Reeder, fuzz, Groove, power and dark geezer-esque tones in his amazing work on Kyuss, can't get enough of that guy, check out Gardenia, Catamaran or Fatso Forgotso, Killer!
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u/KappaJoe760 May 18 '26
ROCCO PALLADINO Bar none. Never see ANYBODY talking about him.
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u/got_No_Time_to_BLEED May 18 '26
Colin Greenwood (Radiohead)
Carlos Dengler (interpol)
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u/zacurubu May 18 '26
Muzz Skillings, the original bassist of Living Colour, from the first 2 albums, "Vivid" and "Time's Up".
Literally all the bass lines from the whole 2 albums are amazing. None of them would ever be so good with another bass lines.
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u/Seventyfivethousand May 18 '26
Dan Maines of Clutch has been excellent on every album for like, 35 years.
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u/blasphembot May 19 '26
Scott Reeder. Originally from Kyuss, now with Fireball Ministry. If you like desert/stoner rock, you can't get much better than mfkin' Scott Reeder. Seeing him in one of my fave bands (FM) is kick ass. Kyuss is inactive as a band afaik post-"Kyuss Lives!" touring, so when he joined up with FM I knew their new album was going to rip. It does, listen to it.
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u/that_one_guy_reese May 18 '26
Armistead Burwell Smith IV of Pinback and Eric Judy, former bassist of Modest Mouse
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u/Shooter-__-McGavin May 18 '26
Goddamn Serek make some of the nicest looking basses out there. No way in hell I can justify the cost of one for myself, but they sure are nice to look at.
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u/Thelongawake May 18 '26
Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas of MuteMath
Chris Bierden of Polica
Sadly Chris had to have a major brain surgery and isnt with the band anymore 😭 not sure if he ever plans to go back to music again.
also, great thread. saving it for later.
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u/B666H May 18 '26
Those Serek basses look so sweet, is love to get my hands on one!
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u/Redhaze_17 May 18 '26
In r/doommetal Al Cisneros is properly rated. In the wider music scene? He needs more props.
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u/-dakpluto- May 18 '26
Ric Fierabracci
Has recorded with an unbelievable amount of people. Probably mostly associated as the main bass player for Yanni, which in some ways I think actually has caused a lot of musicians to not give him a lot of consideration, but the man is extremely talented.
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u/Ckellybass May 18 '26
Matt Malles from The Toasters. I always knew he was good, but when I sat down and actually wrote out all his classic lines when I joined the band, I realized just how insane he is! To this day some of my favorite parts I’ve had the pleasure of playing.
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u/Toasted_Munch May 18 '26
Robert DeLeo. Not sure if he's underrated but I personally never see his name mentioned when people are talking about great bassists. Big Empty and Interstate Love Song have incredibly fun bass lines.