4 Famous Bass Brands and the Musicians Who Played Them, Part 2: Fender and Music Man

In “4 Famous Bass Brands and the Musicians Who Played Them, Part 1,” we explored some notable players of Rickenbacker and Gibson basses. This time, we turn our attention to Fender and Music Man, two bass brands that share a common lineage, specifically Leo Fender and George Fullerton — the masterminds behind the long-scale electric bass guitar. Join us as we take a brief look at the history of Fender and Music Man basses and highlight some of the most famous and influential players that relied on Leo Fender and George Fullerton designs to lay down the groove!

Fender

Fender didn’t create the first electric bass guitar — that honor goes to Paul Tutmarc and the Audiovox #736 electronic bass guitar — but they did bring the electric bass into popular consciousness. Released in 1950, the Fender Precision Bass was the brainchild of Leo Fender and his design partner George Fullerton. Reminiscent of the Fender Telecaster, the original Fender Precision Bass boasted a clean and simple look and a lone single-coil pickup. The Precision Bass was a literal game changer, and it wasn’t long before working bassists were trading in their cumbersome doghouse basses for Leo and George’s portable design. The Precision Bass received an upgraded look (inspired by the Stratocaster) and improved pickups in 1954, and, by the late 1950s, it had become a studio staple. In 1960, Fender introduced the Jazz Bass, which took its visage from the Jaguar and Jazzmaster guitars and offered players a brighter tone with a more aggressive midrange and a fast-playing slim neck. Though there have been numerous variants, the fundamental characteristics of the Precision Bass and Jazz Bass have remained largely unchanged, and they have held their spot as the most popular basses on the market. So, let’s check out five Fender bass players: James Jamerson, Carol Kaye, Flea, Aston Barrett, and Jaco Pastorius.

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James Jamerson

As part the Funk Brothers, Motown’s celebrated house band, James Jamerson was the creative genius behind countless quintessential bass lines for artists such as Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Temptations, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and many others. Though James wasn’t a household name during his career, he is irrefutably one of the most important bassists of his time, cited as an influence by players as diverse as Paul McCartney, John Entwistle, Mike Watt, and Sting, to name just a few. As with the other members of the Funk Brothers, James started as a jazz musician, and he applied those sensibilities to pop, crafting complex countermelodies and rhythms that helped define the sound of classic soul and R&B. With a playing style that relied on using a single index finger, which he called “the hook,” James plucked his tasty licks on a stock 1961 Fender Precision bass, lovingly dubbed the “Funk Machine.” For that thumpy, tubby Motown sound, James strung the Funk Machine with heavy-gauge La Bella flatwounds, and, reportedly, he never changed his strings or cleaned and maintained his instrument. According to lore, James defended this seeming lack of care by claiming that the “gunk creates the funk.” Sadly, the Funk Machine was stolen shortly before James passed in 1983, and, to this day, musical historians have been actively searching for this lost icon.

Carol Kaye

Carol Kaye is a legendary session musician, having played on over 10,000 sessions during her more than 50-year career. Like James Jamerson, Carol honed her musical chops in the jazz scene before jumping into session work in the late 1950s. In fact, she started out as a guitarist prior to adopting the bass in 1963, which might explain the source of her plectrum-based playing, which became a ubiquitous style in the 1960s. Carol’s first bass guitars were made by Danelectro, but she is deeply associated with the Fender Precision Bass, which she used almost exclusively while working with the world-famous Wrecking Crew — a rotating cast of Los Angeles session players, including Glen Campbell and drummer Hal Blaine. The Wrecking Crew featured prominently in Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound productions for artists like the Ronettes, the Righteous Brothers, and Ike and Tina Turner. Because of her work with Phil Spector, Brian Wilson recruited Carol for the Beach Boys’ groundbreaking album Pet Sounds (Brian was an unabashed admirer of Phil Spector). On top of the Precision Bass, key components of Carol’s tight, punchy tone were Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats and a homemade foam mute positioned at the bridge.

Flea

While bass players in bands often don’t receive the same level of recognition as guitarists, a handful have become as — if not more — famous than their six-string-slinging compatriots. If you were to ask even casual music listeners to name a few famous bass players, then Flea certainly would be included on many of those lists. With a style that merges jazz, funk, punk, hard rock, and psychedelic, Flea is a remarkably versatile player who, in addition to his work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, has accompanied a veritable who’s who of artists, including Johnny Cash, Alanis Morissette, Young MC, Bright Eyes, Jane’s Addiction, and Atoms for Peace with Thom Yorke. Over the last 40 years, Flea has experimented with numerous bass brands from Music Man to Modulus Graphite, but he cites his ’61 Fender Jazz Bass — a gift from a fan — as the greatest bass he’s ever played. Re-created by Fender as the Fender Flea Jazz Bass, this shell-pink beauty was Flea’s main instrument on the Red Hot Chili Peppers albums Stadium Arcadium and The Getaway. Fender and Flea collaborated a second time on the Fender Flea Signature Active Jazz Bass, another shell-pink Jazz but with a decidedly modern flavor.

Aston “Family Man” Barrett

Along with his brother, Carlton Barrett, Aston “Family Man”
Barrett was responsible for the propulsive grooves that undergirded Bob
Marley’s vocal wizardry and potent social and spiritual commentary. Never
flashy, Aston was all about feel, weaving his laid-back bass lines around Bob’s
anthemic melody lines. Although Aston did end up having many children, he was
given his moniker before he became a father due to his position as the
bandleader and primary arranger for the Wailers. A dedicated Fender bass
player, Aston has stuck by Jazz basses, preferring them outfitted with an
ashtray bridge cover and strung with a custom set of strings of which he
receives six sets from Fender annually. Aston has a unique plucking style,
anchoring his thumb at the heel of the neck to accentuate the Jazz Bass’s warm,
round low-end character. Currently retired from touring, Aston has passed on
the musical torch to his son Aston Barret Jr., an accomplished bass player,
drummer, and multi-instrumentalist who assumed the role of bandleader for the
Wailers in 2016. For onstage amplification, Aston favors an Ampeg head driving
a custom double 15-inch speaker cabinet. In the studio, he combines a DI signal
with a miked single 15-inch cabinet, and he utilizes a small selection of
effects including the Pigtronix Bass FAT Drive and the Pigtronix Envelope
Phaser.

Jaco Pastorius

Jaco Pastorius was a bass player’s bass player whose innovative approach to the instrument presented a paradigm shift that would inspire legions of intrepid musicians to incorporate his virtuosic techniques into their personal playing styles. As a member of jazz-fusion luminaries Weather Report, Jaco showcased his multifaceted playing style, which drew from jazz, funk, rock ‘n’ roll, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and classical. With a deep technical prowess, Jaco spiced up his playing using artificial harmonics, chords, and fluid polyrhythms. Initially a double bass player, Jaco switched to electric bass in his late teens, starting with a Jazz Bass. For the rest of his musical career, Jaco would stick with Jazz Basses, most notably his 1962 fretless “Bass of Doom.” One of music history’s most storied instruments, the “Bass of Doom” featured a 3-color sunburst finish and the distinctive absence of a scratch plate. It is said that Jaco removed the frets himself (with a butter knife, according to some reports!) and filled them with a wood epoxy. The “Bass of Doom” was Jaco’s daily driver, but it was shattered into several pieces during an argument in the early 1980s. Jaco had the “Bass of Doom” repaired only to be stolen shortly after from a park bench in New York’s Central Park. Jaco, who passed in 1987, was never reunited with his beloved ’62 Jazz Bass. However, it showed up years later in the hands of a collector and, with the help of Metallica’s bassist Robert Trujillo, was returned to Jaco’s family. Currently, Fender offers two interpretive re-creations of the “Bass of Doom” — the Fender Jaco Pastorius Fretless Jazz Bass and the Fender Custom Shop Jaco Pastorius Relic Fretless Jazz Bass.

Music Man

Never one to rest on his laurels, Leo Fender continuously innovated throughout his life, helming not one but three major guitar and bass manufacturers, including Music Man and G&L. Due to a noncompete clause, Leo Fender was a silent partner in Music Man’s early days, but he was named president of the company in 1975, once the legal restriction expired. Early on, Music Man focused on guitar amplifiers, but they launched a line of guitars and basses in 1976, starting with the StingRay 1 guitar and the StingRay bass. The StingRay bass presented a new evolution of Leo and George Fullerton’s design ethos, sporting a number of innovative features such as an active humbucking pickup, a 2-band EQ, adjustable string mutes, and a distinctive 3+1 headstock. The StingRay shared its DNA with Leo’s previous basses, but it offered an expanded tonal palette, leading it to be embraced by a number of influential bass players in the 1970s. Ernie Ball purchased Music Man in 1984 and moved the manufacturing of its basses from Fullerton, California, to San Luis Obispo, where they are still made today. Five notable Music Man bass players are John Deacon, Tony Levin, Joe Dart, Pino Palladino, and Louis Johnson.

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John Deacon

The creator of several of rock ‘n’ roll’s most memorable
bass lines, John Deacon of Queen was an understated powerhouse of bass guitar.
In Queen’s early days, John chiefly played a sunburst Fender Precision, but he
also dabbled in Jazz Basses and Rickenbackers both onstage and in the studio.
John was a notable early adopter of Music Man basses, purchasing one of the
first Music Man StingRay basses in 1976. With its active electronics and
crushing humbucker pickup, the StingRay lent some serious gravitas to John’s
rhythmically insistent playing. For Queen’s 1977 A Day at the Races tour,
John chose the StingRay as his main instrument. While John would frequently
switch up his instruments during later tours, he would often bust out a
StingRay on Queen’s most bass-forward songs, such as “Another One Bites the
Dust” and “Back Chat.” John has remained largely outside of the public eye
since Freddie Mercury’s passing in 1991, but his many musical contributions
persist, including penning the aforementioned “Another One Bites the Dust” and
“Back Chat” as well as “You’re My Best Friend” and “I Want to Break Free.”

Tony Levin

An incredibly prolific session musician, Tony Levin has lent
his impeccable bass chops to over 500 studio albums while also playing full-time
in King Crimson, serving as Peter Gabriel’s go-to bass player, and releasing
seven solo albums. Tony’s relationship with Music Man basses stretches back
over 40 years. Originally, Tony played a 1950s Fender Precision Bass; but,
after trying out a Music Man StingRay at a session, he made the switch,
enjoying the extended low-end range and increased tonal versatility. Over the
years, Tony has acquired a number of Music Man StingRay basses, including
4-string and 5-string versions, fretted and fretless. His iconic bass line from
Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” was cut with a 4-string fretless Music Man, and
Tony was one of the first to receive a Music Man StingRay 5 in the late 1980s.
Always open to sonic experimentation, Tony has employed a range of effects —
including octave dividers, chorus pedals, bucket-brigade delays — and other
quirky gear such as the Funk Fingers, a unique set of sticks that attach to the
fingers for bright, percussive sounds, and the Chapman Stick, a combination
bass and guitar played with a tapping technique.

Joe Dart

Inspired by funk masters like Rocco Prestia from Tower of
Power, Verdine White of Earth, Wind & Fire, and session greats like Pino
Palladino (more on him in a second), Joe Dart has introduced a new generation
to the feel-good power of funk bass. Along with his fellow Vulfpeck compatriots
Jack Stratton, Woody Goss, and Theo Katzman, Joe Dart has helped reenergize
interest in the kind of ultra-tight playing and musicality common to 1960s
studio house bands like the Funk Brothers, the Wrecking Crew, and Muscle
Shoals. Though Joe is only 30 years old, he has been recognized as one of the
most proficient, groove-oriented modern bass players, and it is common for
Vulfpeck fans to sing along with Joe’s recognizable bass lines during live
performances. As far as his tone is concerned, Joe is a minimalist who uses no
effects pedals or additional processing. In the studio, he cuts his tracks
straight through a direct inject box; while, onstage, he’s committed to his
Markbass tube amp. Like others on the list, Joe started out as a Fender player,
but he was turned onto Music Man basses during the recording session for “It
Gets Funkier,” which was recorded with a Music Man clone. This led Joe to
collab with Music Man to make a customized version of that instrument. Limited
to just 50 pieces, the Ernie Ball Music Man Dart bass featured a single
humbucking pickup, passive electronics, and a volume knob. In the words of Jack
Stratton, it’s a “single-speed bass” perfectly suited for Joe’s no-frills,
funkified approach.

Pino Palladino

For the last 40 years, session bassist Pino Palladino has
had a remarkably diverse career, playing for artists across every genre from
Don Henley to Nine Inch Nails, the Who, Gary Numan, Oleta Adams, and Keith
Urban. His CV reads like a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee list. These
days, Pino tends to favor a Fender Precision Bass. But it was his passionate
work on Paul Young’s 1983 cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s
My Home)” using a 1979 fretless Music Man StingRay that sealed his position as
one of the industry’s top hired guns. A musical chameleon, Pino reinvented his
sound in the 1990s, moving away from the fretless-plus-octave-pedal sound that
made him famous and embracing tones and techniques from old-school soul and
R&B. In 2000, Pino provided the bass grooves for D’Angelo’s neo-soul
masterpiece Voodoo, which heightened his profile and led to
collaborations with contemporary pop stars Adele, Ed Sheeran, Jacob Collier,
and Harry Styles. Pino has also showed off his admirable blues chops as a
member of the John Mayer Trio with his longtime friend and fellow session
player Steve Jordan on drums.

Louis Johnson

Louis “Thunder Thumbs” Johnson was a pioneer of slap bass,
which he used prominently during his time with the Brothers Johnson and
throughout his career as an in-demand session player. During the Brothers
Johnson’s early days, Louis played Gibson and Alembic basses, but his signature
sound really came together in the late 1970s when he received his first Music
Man StingRay, built by Leo Fender himself. Although Louis doesn’t get the name
recognition he deserves outside of musician circles, he is responsible for what
is arguably the world’s most famous bass line — Michael Jackson’s “Billie
Jean.” After the Brothers Johnson disbanded in 1982, Louis put his full thrust
into studio work, bringing his unique slap and thump technique to a stunning
roster of artists including Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer, Paul McCartney,
Michael McDonald, Phil Collins, Stevie Nicks, and Björk. Louis was also a
respected educator, releasing a popular instructional bass video, Starlicks
Master Sessions with Louis Johnson, in 1985, which is considered a
foundational learning tool for bass players who want to become slap masters.

Conclusion

That’s it for our list of favorite Fender and Music Man bass players. Who are your favorites? Call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700 and let us know! And check out our selection of Fender bass guitars and Ernie Ball Music Man bass guitars.

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