Just a Touch of Love - Slave (1979) - bass track fill-in

Now isn't this the perfect song to try out a Jazz Bass 1978/1980 ? You just can't mistake this sound for any other type of bass.
It must have been played on a JB close to these years of production.
Also, needs to be played using lots of meat and strong attack, and that fits exactly the way I like to play.
As always, eager to share my enthousiasm with my fans ;), I'm doing this sloppy playalong/fill-in that has several errors in it, including on the fly corrections that do not turn out so well. But hey, I'm no studio musician, never intended to be one (although have been offered the opportunity on several occasions throughout my life).
Also goes to show that this is a typical bass line that has been played rather freely with lots of improvs by the original player (Mark Adams, R.I.P. 2011), but once you start deviating from the basic groove, and you're not the original bass player, it almost never works. So therefore, I am drifting in and out of the pocket because my mind thinks I need to make this interesting for the listeners, while bass is just an accompanying instrument. And when I realise this, several times during the recording (2nd take), I return into the pocket. But Adams had that distinct style (already, at the age of only 19!), it defines a lot of the character of their songs, and when he improvises, it always works. Fabulous.
Recorded with Jazz Bass 1978-1980, roundwounds (medium fresh), both pickups and treble full open, into mixing console, than into notebook Mic In, no other effects/EQ/pre- or postprocessing. The sound of the bass as it comes out of the jack. Wonderful !
Backing track gotten from a Russian site with "remix packs"... hastily slapped on some Reaper built in reverb effects, EQ and "compciter" to get an acceptable rough mix.
The studio tracks contain a direct-in bass track and an amped bass track that has a lot of "room" color in it. A judicious mix of these two created the monster sound so typical for M.Adams.

[@MitchMitch77-77]

NOBODY could phrase like the Mighty Mark! RIP!

[@robinafrica3456]

Mark Adams would approve and so do I!!! This is my all time favorite song, I was 14yrs old when this song came out and I still listen to it a few times a week!!

[@stephendgoughsr4580]

I was waiting on the Bass to explode or the strings to break!!! EXCELLENT JOB!!! This sounds fantastic !!🙂

[@johnwelch3016]

You did a very good job can’t even tell The difference from way back then to now really good job😊

[@rastaman1017]

This song is repeats itself over and over so it can get hard to stay focus , Adams mixed it up a little bit that slide and trill is classic Mark Adams

[@charlescarr2869]

Not bad!!! Mr. Mark is the reason I play Bass💯🤘🏿

[@Law-hi8un]

Me too

[@OswaldBatesIIIEsq]

That's why I love the jazz bass. It's that tone. Awesome playing.

[@Below-Average_Joe]

You nailed! Mark Adams is looking down smiling.👍🏿

[@heathertea2704]

A teenager JAMMING and LOSING MY MIND 2 this JAM!!!💗🔥💗🔥

[@tyronegreen2035]

Masterfully Done !

[@XMAN4708]

Great Job!!! 🎸 🔥 🔥 🔥

[@kevinlynch2248]

The growl of your Fender Jazz is delicious! Excellent cover as always!!

[@BelgaBass]

Yes, the more I play it, the more I find it a very interesting bass. You can easily overplay it (too much attack and it is only growl), but when backing down and using a somewhat more controlled attack, it returns this interesting mix of growl + undertones...

[@kevinlynch2248]

BelgaBass One of my Fender Jazz basses is like that too - it’s a late ‘90’s active bass with the original John Suhr pickups and preamp in it. It took me a while to learn how it liked to be played, so to speak. It isn’t an overly aggressive instrument, tone wise, despite being an active one. The Suhr preamp doesn’t color the tone of the bass as it only enhances or subtracts specific frequencies. I wondered for some time after buying it whether I had made the right decision or not. But now, I play it more than any other bass I have and the tone is absolutely stunning.

[@BelgaBass]

I just want to point out that this '78-'80 Jazz Bass is passive and has the original pickups... but the clarity and responsiveness is remarkable. I went through my experimental phase in the late '90s, buying the Marcus Miller Jazz Bass that was available back then with active pickups and whatnot... only to resell it really fast, because it was not what I was looking for. Now, many years later and having learned a lot, I am staying with the old, vintage instruments. Modern instruments with customs parts etc. can come close soundwise to their original ancesters or may even be more versatile and exciting, and probably are technically superior. But I have yet to see a grim expression on a studio or live sound engineer's face when you come in with a vintage (well set up) Fender. They are still the reference instruments, an amazing feat, now 50-60 years after their creation.

[@dwayneaguiar1148]

Damn brother I love the way you play.🥁😎🥁

[@Khalid15325]

Mark Adams should be proud of you man 😉.

[@stanojevicmarko]

Wonderful indeed, man. I just love how nicely you exploit the 80'-ish JB's growliness, and by rough meatiness of your finger technique suceed to make slaps and pulls reduced to rare and rewarding occasions, while the slappy feeling persists throughout the song. Chapeau once again, my friend!

[@vittorio870]

What a definition 🤯

[@lauranicolai7630]

Loving it. This guy put it down. Videos, like this inspire me to play my bass harder. I appreciate, the guy that put this together..

[@EarthWindandFirepower0990]

WINNER WINNER!!!

[@JulieDebout2025]

J'aime votre interprétation 👍 🤩

[@MarcG7424]

Fantastic bass cover of this song the best I've heard so far

[@buckcannon1811]

That’s great, I been playing it for years, but you put a little more funk in it. Mark would be proud. His son is carrying on in his Dads name!

[@BelgaBass]

Thanks! Really ? Is he posting ?

[@agochoa]

This was awesome. If I could learn only one song, I think this would be it. Loved it.

[@bootzy1]

Very very funky!!

[@haroldalexis4200]

My favorites of SLAVE songs! Great Bass you play of this song.🎶🎵🎸

[@MichaelFearnleyBass]

Incredible job as always. I'm always impressed at how you can generate such a punchy saturated sound using the power of your fingers against the passive bass pickups.

[@BelgaBass]

It's the bass, nothing but the bass ;). Another demonstration for the younger generations that it really does not take any special gear to get an authentic sound - indeed: the less the better - but only the right instrument and a certain amount of fingerwork. (meanwhile I was pointed to Vulfpeck's bass player, he really has this down 200% on minimal equipment and is setting a new direction for the younger generations I hope)

[@BelgaBass]

Tech note: after comparing, it seems this passive JB produces almost the same volume as my active Sabres... go figure!

[@BassGods]

Jesus Christ. No disrespect to my childhood idol Mark Adams. But this was right up there. You added your own flavor to it. I recently finished this one, but I went note for note. I like to play exactly what I here, then maybe throw in a little of my flavor once Im able to play freely, without mistakes. This was awesome dude.

[@BelgaBass]

Thank you. I never was "into" his style or sound when the music came out at the time I was young. But now in retrospect it is interesting, the way he plays and intonates. This was just my humble attempt at assimilating his style and feel a bit. Certainly not perfect.

[@BassGods]

@@BelgaBass Great Job. I am Humbled by your creativity.

[@joevandura9625]

Sehr gut!! 👍Ich liebe das lockere Groove Jam mit Improvisation und original Sound direkt vom Gehäuse.

[@essiejames9492]

2024 very good bass cover excellent 👌

[@mr.melody5225]

Excellent

[@royreed8732]

TOP MAN

[@142521strato94]

Merci pour ces lignes de basse bien Groovy ! Great player

[@stephenspivack4343]

damn this is sick, well done mate

[@richardrichard5409]

Wow, brilliant thanks for the upload

[@vittorio870]

WOW, butter fingers !!

[@121212kj]

That was good!💯💪🏾

[@Thedearster]

Nice finish on that bass!!

[@TXFRecords]

About time........Next stop Don Blackman - Heart's Desire!!

[@BelgaBass]

Thanks for putting this on my radar. Never heard of him, and so did many others, according to that video's comment section.

[@rynjor]

Good job! Mark Adams is my favorite bass player. His sound and bass lines are the best! Can you try playing Dreamin by Slave? I would love to hear your take on it. A few others have tried it, but have not mastered it.

[@mattfoley6082]

You got the sound, my friend.

[@beebong1]

YOUR PLAYING IS AWESOME!!!! This one has become one of my favorites! (Stomp! is my absolute favorite! :-) ) If you take requests, could you play "Ladies Night" by Kool & the Gang as well as "Lessons in Love" by Level 42? Keep up the GREAT WORK and keep posting videos!!

[@grega1972]

Damn Dude You choked the Funk out of that Thunder Stick !!!!

[@driven64]

WOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!! SIR YOU AND YOUR AXE ARE OFFICIALLY MARRIED!!!! NICE NICE COVER!!!!

[@BelgaBass]

:) Nice. But on the other hand... I'm not monogamous

[@robwhoot7686]

I hate to say it bro, but I think your bass playing is great!

[@richardpacheco3165]

That was badass

[@Dyna_Bruh]

Fantastic..!

[@JKIRWI]

Beautiful!

[@Brajpitt]

Not far from the original bass sound. Good job... again :)

[@TDProduction58]

Nice.

[@iamLexxKelsey]

Nailed that tone

[@worksajtube]

Great tone....

[@worksajtube]

U really did well

[@richardpacheco3165]

Badass.

[@fipzee]

Great upload, I love this track. I've been working on this song for a while now. Nice to see your take on it. The strong attack really sounds like Mark Adams style. Try playing "When I Come Home" by Aurra...another Mark Adams bassline.

[@BelgaBass]

Yeah, just discovered Aurra yesterday... quite some interesting licks

[@Below-Average_Joe]

Steve Washington, Slave’s trumpeter, played bass for Aurra, not Mark Adams. Washington is much more of a slapper than Adams. Adams slapped, but his slides and very treble finger tone were his trademark.

[@BelgaBass]

Yeah, I read an entire discussion about who played bass on exactly which Aurra song in the comment section of an Aurra song. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYK7ZqiVeaqGfZo Let me give my 2 cents as a practicing bass player for over 35 years. I'm only a few years younger than Mark Adams. So at the time he was recording the Slave grooves and other work, he was 19-20, and I was 16-17. At that time, in Europe, we were exposed to a lot of disco music through the Top of the Pop programs from that era. I was personally sold on Chic's work and still finding my way through B.Edwards' playing style. The more nasty bass work like Slave did not pass below my radar entirely, but it was more obscure here in Europe because it didn't make it into the charts, so did not really get a lot of public exposure through Top of the Pops TV programs. Also, we did not have a dedicated TV show, at least not that I am aware of on any Dutch, Belgian, French or German TV channel, like the US SoulTrain program, where many black funk and soul artists got exposure. However, the black funk music was alive and known in "black" discotheques in the big Belgian town were I live, and there were some record shops that imported these records straight from the US. Now, being too young and too timid to go out to these discotheques, so I heard Slave and other black music only "in the margins", I did not know either of the bass players involved and never really studied their work, their sound, their playing style. Remember: we are talking about an pre-Internet/Wikipedia/KZbin era - no other info was available then word of mouth or the LP sleeve notes. It is only now, through KZbin, that I am discovering the same black music we did not have access to in the '80s, but which is now readily available and sometimes even brought to you by KZbins link algorithms without you specifically looking for it (you watch a video, and the site makes a ton of suggestions). With my experience, and my fresh ears :) not having been influenced by liner notes on album sleeves, just listening to the bass work on some Aurra's songs, I conclude the following: - the Aurra song "When I Come Home", as suggested by fipzee, clearly is Mark Adams. The exaggerated slides on the E string, the double octave playing, and the trebly buzzy bass sound is 100% certainly M.Adams, whatever the notes on the album sleeve may or may not say - however, a song like "Are You Single" is a similar bass sound (probably Jazz Bass as well), but the musician playing it is not Mark Adams. The bass playing is too controlled, too measured, too systematic and patternwise too consistent , with none of the wild improvs that were clearly Adams' signature. Those songs will probably have been recorded by Steve Washington or someone else.

[@GP2141BC]

Adams didn’t play for aurra

[@moeanthony9308]

Messed up at 2:50 mark.. Lucky recovery Jumped ahead a tad but overall lit.

[@BelgaBass]

See my previous comment :)

[@sylviamaua745]

Very skillful playing and your playing is always true to the original. Are you taking any requests? How about the bass part of "I should've loved ya" by Narada Michael Walden?

[@HenryMSmith-zq1vu]

T.M. Stevens is the bass player on that song

[@BelgaBass]

@@HenryMSmith-zq1vu A small attempt... kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6HCYq2ZbLKAY7c

[@degeest5571]

Nice punchy sound

[@chrisfunky91]

Bravo , super groovie , et le Son de ta pas , ça pète grave !!! :) J'en avais fait une version , mais des notes m'échappe , je vais pouvoir donc essayer de corriger ça , pour que ça groove mieux , comme toi.

[@chrisfunky91]

par contre après le slide à 4min18 ? et la fin me parait bizarre , la reprise vers 5min , mais bon on fait ce qu'on veux du moment que ça FUNK ;)

[@chrisfunky91]

elle groove à mort cette ligne de Bass , avec "good times" c'est vraiment le top du top . Moi j'vais récupérer un midi file que j'ai monté , mais du coup j'ai que l'instru , j'ai pas les voix , bien cette version Backingtrack sans bass

[@Julientonif]

At 1:40 this part sound very very similar at Come Back lover by fresh band !

[@ATLienForLife]

Love that song and that bassline!! Have you done any songs featuring "Ready" Freddie Washington?

[@BelgaBass]

Thanks ! I'm not too wild about FW, but I did something with "Forget me nots" a few years ago, you can look it up in KZbin if you want.

[@ATLienForLife]

@@BelgaBass Thanks for the response. I'll look for it.Thanks for the response. Either way, appreciation for the Hansolar, Mark Adams, is mutual! He was one BAAAAD bassist.

[@VashtiKeyys]

🔥🔥🔥🔥😁😎

[@tk3567]

🔥🔥🔥

[@nileworthy9629]

That' song was definitely right!!

[@simonrodriguez944]

Is good

[@vincentmarq9409]

👍

[@k60bassman]

YEAH MAN!!!!

[@rickb1266]

Nice attack, Mark Adams was a very aggressive player, not many players can come close to his sound and style.

[@rickb1266]

Mark Adams style is perfect for starting out on this bass, but challenging, thanks for taking the request!

[@BelgaBass]

Only was a question of time, first had to exhaust al the other music I needed to play :).

[@altate6550]

Before Keith sweat was steve Arrington .

[@1rythm1]

lol

[@moeanthony9308]

Stevie is still rockin it today.

[@GP2141BC]

Really good ... tone is great did your own thing on the solo tho... shine next!

[@paolozak3014]

Yeah ...goes to show growl is also in the fingers

[@moeanthony9308]

Not bad. Caught some minors errors.

[@BelgaBass]

Of course... I'm not perfect. It's also more about the genuine feel & sound, not about exact note for note reproduction, because I never played this song before (knew it vaguely since it came out, but never was attracted to this bass player's style in my younger years)

[@rickb1266]

I know you take a lot of requests but can you revisit this song and throw in the improvs? There is a good video of BassByTheBay doing a short tuitorial. He is the only one so far to play it close to the original, I believe you can do the same, no offense please! I have played bass to many of these songs on your channel, I just don't post anything because I don't have the right equipment for good video & sound. Thanks!

[@rickb1266]

Does it sound like he is using a light chorus effect in the original recording?

[@BelgaBass]

Hm, I'm not into redoing this song in more detail. I found it charming to throw myself into it "quick and dirty", but - although interesting and really remarkable that this was played by a 19 yo but with already such maturity in sound and creativity - I cannot say it that it goes to the core of where my fondness of '70s bass playing lies. This sound and playing style is more at the outskirts of my bass/musical interest, if you know what I mean. (sorry if I am not making myself clear enough, trying to explain a subtlety here, but English is not my native language and in such a situation it sometimes fails me) Re. chorus: yes, there is definitely some chorus very subtly added in the mix, but the studio tracks contain a miked and a direct-in track (both without effects) that sound entirely different, so mixing those two already could already by itself give a hint of a chorus effect.

[@BelgaBass]

And BassByTheBay is really doing a clean job of demonstrating this line, but he does not fully perform himself the "aggressively plucking" as described.

[@rickb1266]

@@BelgaBass thank you spending time with details, keep up the good work, I always enjoy watching your videos!

[@johnwelch3016]

This was 1976 I remember a good year

[@rickb1266]

I have a fun song for you (same style) by Odyssey called "Inside Out" played by Samuel "Sandy" Anderson, RIP, another victim of COVID19.

[@myklallen7184]

Pretty decent but, left out a lot of trills on the "d" & "g" strings...

[@BelgaBass]

I know... I have not immersed myself enough in his style to assimilate that

[@zaragocilla12]

Get cover not that easy good job uhh

[@g7tfg]

Звучит как старая колымага

[@GP2141BC]

Weird edits

[@BelgaBass]

No edits !

[@MuammarHamed]

AND THAT'S HOW ITS DONE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! GREAT DEAL!