Top 20 Basses of Famous Rock Bass Players

This is our new top list at Clickenbacker, ENJOY!

This first list is supposed to be famous instruments, not players; but there is some crossovers to my favorites.

 1. Les Claypool – Carl Thompson Bass – Talk about Bass Magic? Amazing talent Primus Bass Player Les Claypool took over where Frank Zappa left off w/ some of the greatest modern progressive music known to man! Les made the Carl Thompson Bass famous originally in the "John the Fisherman" video.

2. Steve Harris - Fender Precision Bass- This is the reason I started playing bass! Say no more, Steve Harris is the ultimate bass player in my eyes, a warrior of he 4 string!!!

3. Paul Mcartney 1965 Rickenbacker 4001  - Since the time he obtained his Bass in 1965, Paul McCartney’s original Rickenbacker 4001S bass (actually made in 1964) has “evolved” through Numerous modifications. Using the 4001C64 starting point, the 4001C64S fast forwards to incorporate these changes to replicate his Bass as it finally exists today. Most evident is the reshaped body, zero-fret Fingerboard, pickup type, and tailpiece detail. A satin sealer-only finish helps protect The natural Maple body and neck, as well as the Rosewood fingerboard. I saw the movie (Magical Mystery Tour) at the Orsen Wells Cinema, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA, in 1976 w/ my parents.

4. Flea, Music Man Sting Ray - For me, no one says it more for bass guitar than Flea. In a week’s time I was exposed to the Higher Ground Video, Knock Me Down, David Letterman Appearances, then came the “Bust a Move” Video, which blew me away. Making the Music Man Sting Ray, always the main stay Flea bass!

5. John Entwistle’s Alembic Explorer Bass - This bird’s eye maple bass was featured in 1978’s “The Kids are Alright,” and remained The Ox’s main bass up until the ‘90s.  Entwistle was famous for his collection of vintage basses – any number of which were well worthy of this list.

6. Jaco Pastorius’ 1962 Fretless Fender Jazz Bass - Influential American jazz musician, Pastorius is known for his unique playing style, his intricate solos in the higher register and for the “singing” quality he achieved on his 1962 Fretless Fender Jazz bass. In 1988, Pastorius became the only electric bass guitarist ever inducted into the “Down Beat” Jazz Hall of Fame. The original 1962 Fender is now owned by one of today’s most exciting bass player, Robert Trujillo, currently of Metallica and formerly of Suicidal Tendencies.

7. Phil Lesh’s Guild Starfire with Alembic Electronics - After a few less-than-favorite instruments including a Gibson EB-O that  “had telephone poles for strings”, The Dead’s famous bassist, Phil Lesh met his match in his Guild Starfire Bass.  Dubbed the “Godfather”, the instrument had 3 Alembic pickups – a quad pickup with four outputs (one for each string) and standard bass and treble humbuckers. How did he get that amazing sound? The bottom half of the bass is loaded with electronics and the top half is full of foam rubber to eliminate feedback.

8. Dee Dee Ramone – Fender Precision Bass – 1-2-3-4-GO!

9. Geddy Lee – Fender Jazz Bass – Let’s face it, there are a lot of Rics on this list, I prefer Geddy on the 4001 vs. the Jazz Bass, but he really seems to like them, and who can forget him playing one on the video for “Vital Signs?” 


10. Gene Simmons’ Axe Bass - As if their pyrotechnics and shock-rock make-up weren’t enough, Gene Simmons’ flair for the fantastic even made its way to his instruments.  In the late 70’s, there was no bigger band in the world than KISS, and Gene Simmons wanted the most rock-n-roll bass guitar ever. He hired guitar luthier Steve Carr to design an instrument with shock value. Given that one of the big moments in a KISS live show was when Simmons spit blood all over the stage, he wanted his bass to resemble an olde English executioner’s axe. As ornate as the instrument looks, it’s actually simple and effective – just one pickup, one volume knob and one tone knob. It was originally manufactured by Kramer guitars with the aluminum neck designed to increase the sustain and improve structure and durability. Probably the most famous  kramer bass guitar ever, these guitars are extremely rare and definitely not cheap. Original run of Axe basses was intended to be 1,000  but collectors feel that the number actually produced was much lower, with only around 500 original Axe basses around today. Most have been signed by Simmons himself.

11. Mike Watt – 1963 Gibson EB-3 Bass STOLEN in 2008! Mike Watt is an American Bassist, most famous for fireHOSE, Minutemen and the reunited Stooges. An underrated genius, amazing bassist and staple in punk rock American roots was famous for playing this modified EB-3 w/ a Dimarzio neck pickup and a badass bridge.

Check out Mike Watt's Opera "Hyphenated Man"

12. Sting, Ibanez Fretless Musician Bass - As seen on Don Kirshner's Rock Cocert, this neck-through Japanese beauty was Sting's bass of choice for the Regatta de Blanc period of the Police. I can remember watching the VCR tapes my Dad recorded me and took note of his masterful playing.

13. Stanley Clarke’s Alembic Signature Standard with Bigsby Vibrato is the classic jazz bassist’s most recognizable instrument. It not only donned the Cover of “I Wanna Play for You,” but it’s vibrato adds extra flavor to the album’s track, “School Daze”. Alembic honored Stanley by offering a signature model Stanley Clarke bass, the first time in the company’s history of making only custom built instruments to do so. Whatever the instrument: acoustic bass viol, electric bass guitar, tenor bass, piccolo bass, acoustic bass guitar, electric upright, or any of the hundreds of axes in his arsenal, Stanley’s musicality and command of these instruments clearly define him as the greatest living bass virtuoso in the world, second to none, hands down, end of discussion.

14.Bootsy Collins - Space Bass - William Earl “Bootsy” Collins made his name in the 60’s with James  Brown, and in the 70’s with Parliament-Funkadelic. His trademark Space Bass was made by Larry Pless of Gus Zoppie’s music store, based on a hand drawn picture Bootsy brought into the shop. Pless made the now famous, star-shaped bass for him, and when the original was stolen, Pless was asked to make another. The first bass had a mahogany body and a maple neck. The second was made with a basswood body and a maple neck. Bootsy preferred the first bass. He lucked out when the original was found in a Cincinnati pawn shop and returned to him.  Ed Roman makes a respectable copy of the original. There is also a Warwick Bootsy signature model, but it lacks the Space Bass shape.

15. Jack Bruce Gibson EB-3 - The classic Gibson EB-3 was made famous during Cream’s live tours during the 60’s, one of the most famous Vintage Gibson Bass Guitars. By cranking up the volume on his Gibson EB-3, Bruce unwittingly produced the heavy distorted sound he made popular. Later, by installing a diode into his EB-3’s wiring, Bruce was able to produce the same effect without overdriving his amps.

16. Tom Peterson of Cheap Trick-12 String Hamer Bass - Tom Peterson of Cheap Trick played the first-ever 12 string bass guitar. It was created by The Hamer Guitar Company in the late 70’s, by combining a 4-string bass with a 12-string guitar. (Think 4 bass strings with 2/3s of a 12-string guitar, 4 + 8). It’s really just an extension of the 8-string bass invented in the ‘60’s by the Hagstrom Guitar Company. The 12-String Bass has grown in popularity and is probably best known in the intro. Of the Pearl Jam Classic, Jeremy, when played by Jeff Ament (honorable mention).

17. Mike Gordon of PHISH's Modulus 5 String Bass - Ten years ago this would have been the Paul Languedoc Dragon Bass, but Mike has been steady with the Modulus for some time now. One of the world's underrated bass players, Gordon brings 100% of the funk every show.

18. Cliff Burton’s Rickenbacker 4001 Bass – Cliff Burton, Metallica Bass Player for its glory days of its first 3 albums was a unique thrash metal bass player who uniquely played lead bass lines with signature fuzz that declared a dominant existence on some really classic tunes.

19. Allen Woody of Gov't Mule's Gibson Thunderbird Bass – Woody was a gear head and a lover of Gibson Basses. He played SG’s, Hofners, even an 18-String Bass. Epiphone has a signature model that combines Gibson-esque features w/ a touch of Hofner, which is a great instrument, but his bestr work was what he did on the Gibson Thunderbird.

20. Roger Glover’s Rickenbacker 4001 Bass – Although not famous for playing a unique branded instrument, I feel Glover deserves to be on this list. I have seen him play Fenders, Ovations, Music Mans and others, but his coolest instruments by far were the 4001’s he played w/ Purple in the 1970s. Always has been a favorite, steady player, who has had the responsibility to have played on some historical rock classics.

A Breath of Fresh Dare; Jack White III

Jack White is busier than ever these days. He released his first solo album, Blunderbuss, in 2012. He reached the top of the charts in the US, UK, Switzerland, and Canada with this album. Following its release, he toured in England, Japan, Belgium, and all over the US. For his solo shows, he tours with two bands. One, The Peacocks, is all-female. The other, The Buzzards, is an all-male band. No matter who he plays with, White seems to be able to project deep emotion while he plays, which keeps fans craving more.

On with the Buzzards and the Peacocks
No dates have yet been announced for 2013, but White made it clear in an interview with Rolling Stone that he is recording more solo material. He also mentioned that he’s recording  with members of The Raconteurs and The Dead Weathers. Both bands are from live in Nashville,TN.

In 2013, White was nominated for three Grammy awards   for his Blunderbuss album. He didn’t win,  but he did give a rocking performance of two songs from the album, “Love Interruption” and “Freedom at 21”.

A Magic Number
Meanwhile, White’s record company, Third Man Records, released its first series of archival blues recordings on January 29th. The records are called Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order. The first volumes have been released on CD and vinyl for legendary blues players Charley Patton, Blind Willie McTell, and the Mississippi Sheiks. Further volumes are to follow.

One out of Ten in the “D”
White grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and was the youngest child in a family of ten children. He began playing the drums at age six, and picked up the guitar at fifteen. In addition to the guitar and drums, he can play the mandolin, keyboard, bass guitar, and xylophone. He is best known for his role as vocalist and lead guitarist in The White Stripes, a band he started with Meg White in 1997.

Brother Where art Thou’

In the early phase of their careers, Jack and Meg White claimed to be brother and sister. In truth, they had been married in 1996. They divorced in 2000,  just as the band was getting big. In 2001, the secret of their marriage became public knowledge. When asked about the reason for their secrecy in a 2005 Rolling Stone interview, Jack White said “When you see a band that is two pieces, husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, you think, 'Oh, I see...' When they're brother and sister, you go, 'Oh, that's interesting.' You care more about the music, not the relationship—whether they're trying to save their relationship by being in a band.” The band played for 11 years following Jack and Meg’s divorce, then broke up in 2011 for “a myriad of reasons”.

Life after Meg
Jack White started Third Man Records in 2001, and started using it to produce The White Stripes’ albums. In 2005, White started the band The Raconteurs with some friends. They have been moderately successful and have released two records via Third Man Records.  The band is still active today. In 2009, White was touring with The Raconteurs and had lost his voice. He asked Alison Mosshart of The Kills to fill in for him on vocals.

He later asked Mosshart to record with him. Together, they joined Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence to form the band, The Dead Weather. The Dead Weather released an album that same year, and another album in 2010, both through Third Man Records. Instead of guitar, White plays drums for the band. When he plays with them, he uses a custom Ludwig Classic Maple drum kit in Black Oyster Pearl.

The Hardest Button
Despite the rocky relationship, The White Stripes were very successful, and Jack White has remained a successful guitarist since the band broke up. He was ranked number 70 in Rolling Stones’ “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”, an honor which he undoubtedly earned. He has several vintage guitars that he uses live. Two of them are 1965 JB Hutto Montgomery Airlines. He has a three pickup Airline Town & Country, a 1970’s Crestwood Astral II, a 1950’s Kay Hollowbody, and a Harmony Rocket. He seems to favor his Gretsch guitars. One is a White Penguin, and the other is a custom Gretsch Ranger Falcon acoustic guitar. He occasionally plays a Gibson J-160E and a Vintage Fender Telecaster .

Chet Atkins: From Great Depression to Country Great

Chet Atkins, also known as “The Country Gentleman”, is a legend among country music enthusiasts. Born in 1924 in Nashville, Tennessee and the youngest of four children, Chet grew up poor during the Great Depression. His childhood was made even more difficult by a bad case of asthma which made it necessary for him to sleep in a straight-backed chair. This practice lasted his whole life. But during early years of adversity, something wonderful happened -- he picked up his first guitar.  At the age of nine, he traded his brother a pistol and a number of chores for his first guitar. It wasn't much to look at, but it served its purpose. So beaten up, only the first few frets could be used, with only a nail for a nut, the imperfect instrument was the start off a perfect career.

Early Ambitions
Chet became skilled at the guitar in high school. He heard Merle Travis playing on WLW radio and adopted Travis’ picking style. Chet practiced his guitar in the bathroom at school, claiming that the acoustics were better in there. As a teen, Chet bought a semi-acoustic electric guitar and an amplifier, but had to travel for miles to use them because there was no electricity in his home. Wanting to focus on his passion for guitar instead of living a conventional lifestyle, Chet dropped out of high school in 1942.

His first job out of school was working for WNOX-AM radio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Moving on, he played fiddle and guitar with the Dixieland Swingsters, the station’s house band. Three years later, following in the steps of one of his heroes, Chet got a job at WLW-AM in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Merle Travis had previously worked.

Not Truly “Country”
Chet had a hard time holding a job but it was certainly not for lack of talent. It was primarily due to his unique sound which many felt was not truly “country”.  He bounced around from one radio station to another and was fired frequently, but was able to get new jobs easily because of his incredible skill.

Chet married a woman named Leona Johnson and began playing for KWTO-AM in Springfield, Missouri in 1946. The following year, he was invited to make some recordings with RCA, but they didn’t sell as everyone expected. In 1949, he started playing with June Carter in Mother Maybelle & The Carter Sisters on KWTO.

In the 1950s, Chet became a part of the Grand Ole Opry. He also recorded his first hit singles with RCA, “Mr. Sandman” and “Silver Bell”. His record sales started increasing. He also got a job as a designer for Gretsch, who sold a line of Chet Atkins guitars for many years. Played by numerous guitar legends, the original Gretsch Chet Atkins signature model is a highly sought after vintage guitar.

Mister Guitar
Chet became the manager of RCA’s studio in Nashville which allowed him to both make and produce music.  He became widely known as “Mister Guitar”, which inspired his album with the same name. The unique style of picking with his thumb and first two fingers which made him famous became extremely popular.

Atkins played in the White House for presidents Kennedy through George H. W. Bush. In the 1960s, he was producing music for RCA, and was responsible for helping to shape the careers of Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Jerry Reed, and other renowned country artists. In 1965, his hit single “Yakety Axe” came out. He produced music heavily in the 60s, and returned to playing and performing in the 70s. In the mid-1970s, he stopped working with Gretsch and started designing guitars for Gibson. It was there that he created the Gibson Chet Atkins SST, a revolutionary instrument. The solid body acoustic/electric guitar with no sound hole is now considered one of the legendary vintage Gibson Guitars. It is the perfect acoustic guitar for live music.

A Lifetime of Awards
In his lifetime, Atkins received 14 Grammy awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He also received nine Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year awards. He is renowned for his broad influence in the development of modern country music. Chet was diagnosed with cancer in 1996, and died in 2001. True to his country roots, he was buried in Nashville. In 2002, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.