Charles Berthoud: The Journey to YouTube Bass Stardom!

[@CharlesBerthoud]

Thanks so much for having me on your podcast - it was great chatting with you!!

[@vxrdigris]

hi

[@talkingbasslessons]

Thanks Charles!

[@BigGahmBoss]

I'm one of the 10% that watches videos exclusively off my subscription list 😂🤣

[@rafaelramos3260]

After 20 years without playing I got into bass again after watching @CharlesBerthoud video playing Mad World!

[@richardcooke7629]

"Totally cash in, time, rhythm, harmonics and notation as the overall musical display with both hands us in his playing"! As an inspiration for me taking up the base again, it's a pleasure to meet you. Thanks. RC

[@richardcooke7629]

"Totally cash in, time, rhythm, harmonics and notation as the overall musical display with both hands us in his playing"! As an inspiration for me to take up the bass again, it's a pleasure to meet you. Thanks. RC

[@garyblakemore7236]

He's a straight up bad ass. I would say at least in the top 1% world wide. And he's bringing Bass to a whole generation that might not otherwise realize the potential of the instrument. Bass On Charles!

[@_Majoras]

all he does is two handed tapping, how innovative

[@JennerationX100]

​@@_Majoras nope. He is the best In 2 handed tapping but his playstyle is a combination of almost all techniques. He is the avatar of bass.

[@wenlambotomy6231]

@@_Majoras all you can say is he does two handed tapping- how innovative your comments are 🙄

[@martinmix7464]

I'd wager he's even towards the higher end of that top 1%. I'm sure there are other unknowns out there who have been playing and practicing for years after going to college for music who are comparably talented, but I'm sure they're quite rare.

[@BrianHunsakerMusic]

​@@martinmix7464agreed. I can't name anyone better.

[@literallyloaf1]

Charles was my main inspiration to start playing bass. He's by far one of the best I've ever seen and I hope he doesn't ever get off of youtube anytime soon

[@martinmix7464]

He is one the most technically proficient bassists I've seen and has a great feel for music too. Seeing him reminded me of the first time I saw Victor Wooten with Bela Fleck at the New Orleans Jazz fest.

[@BodoSchulz-p7s]

Charles Berthoud is an unbelievable bassplayer. Besides all these great players who we all love and who gave us a lot of inspiration, Charles Berthoud brought bassplaying to the next level. It‘s great fun to hear and watch him playing. Thank you Mark for this interesting interview. You are also a great bassist and a very good teacher.

[@martinmcdermot8731]

Brilliant interview guys. Charles is unbelievable and is taking the bass to a new level.

[@kenmathews4522]

Thank you! 2 of my favorite bassist in a interesting interview. One makes bass playing make sense and the other makes bass playing look impossible! Cheers!

[@BestBassTabs]

I’m only 10 minutes in and I can see you guys have real chemistry. Awesome interview with 2 of my favourites! Thanks 🙏

[@talkingbasslessons]

Thanks a lot Mark!

[@BestBassTabs]

@@talkingbasslessons Thank YOU 🤩🤝🤩

[@martinmix7464]

Super great conversation! It's funny how quickly you both will say something about being talented and then immediately back off with "not that I'm saying I'm great". You are both extremely talented musicians so don't be afraid to own your greatness.

[@bernieconatser1028]

Thanks for the great interview. Boy howdy would I love the see Charles and Bernth play live together.

[@kenmathews4522]

Hell yeah! Bloodstream!

[@jeffberkeley9656]

Thank you very much, Mark, for having Charles on your channel. I have great respect for you (as a career teacher myself) for all you selflessly do for the bass playing community. And the talent this Charles fellow possesses is stratospheric. Been playing in bands through hundreds of gigs and I cannot touch most of what he can do.

[@martinmix7464]

I think Charles's background with piano helped. I don't think too many people who start on piano "graduate" to bass. All said, he is an amazing player and I think his talent is on par with many current greats, Wooten, Claypool, Wilkenfeld, etc.

[@bassistovgilberto]

🎉Charles tapping and slaps are incredible, am also learning alot from his techniques.Long live bro and thank you Mark for this interview.

[@fredlight]

You both more than deserve the success you have, you kick B-ASS!

[@michaelnancyamsden7410]

I am an amateur piano, flute, player. Charles's musicality, Paganini-like skill, and comedic ability got my attention from the beginning.

[@stephenstetler3324]

Charles has completely changed my perception of what is possible on the bass and made me rethink how I practice. Great discussion and so helpful!

[@hrvojebartulovic7870]

Thank you for this side of the audio story!

[@aipsong]

Great, relaxed, and inspiring interview!!! I always enjoy seeing a video by Charles show up in my subscriptions list. His playing and personality light up my day!!

[@tankmlee]

This is the crossover I've needed. P. S. I need more 12 string bass

[@Nathan_North]

I would love to see new street performance videos from you Charles! I love your live loop pedal performances and they’ve really inspired me and built upon my love for both music and bass! Thankyou Charles for all the hard work you’ve put into your videos!

[@RTPGCO]

Charles made me want to play bass. Now I am @ Talkingbass with Mark learning bass.

[@FlightofElixirs]

Good stuff. Great for bass community. Cheers

[@WhyKnotTry]

Another Great interview! I discovered Charles from Davie504 and watch him regularly. Thank you.

[@Bassdriver71]

very interesting interview. Thank you 🙂

[@TM-jo4wz]

Great video of two great bassists!

[@babaganoosh1969]

Charles is what I inspire to be as a bassist..been playing about 11 years now..but nowhere near his caliber

[@joannalewis5279]

Great interview

[@ariayudhistira881]

King Charles..

[@ericl7910]

Was really excited to see this one, and I'll still succumb to clickbait for the "If _____ was the hardest song in the world" videos when they pop up

[@i.bi.d8361]

this guy is amazing i love listening to the top players i love bass guitar but i'm not really that interested in playing like this myself i like the simple stuff i think whats happening is if you don't aspire to play like these guys then people will say you suck!! i think there was more room years ago for people who play to just be yourself which the top guys do but now i think there expecting anyone who plays bass to be able to do all the pyrotechnics when you might not want to!!thats why we had punk it told people you don't have to be a virtuoso to make music.

[@KyleS.1987]

How come ya'll stopped uploading interviews to the TalkingBass podcast feed? I listen to podcasts at work, and it's a much easier way to take in these longform interviews than watching on YT.

[@talkingbasslessons]

It’ll go on there but we’ve not had any for quite a while

[@KyleS.1987]

@@talkingbasslessons Oh, okay. Thanks for the response! But there are a bunch that have been on YT that aren't on the podcast feed. The last one to go up as a podcast was the Tony Levin interview.

[@raichoo]

I like the idea of having a show with multiple Bass players on stage. I mean, there is the G3 Tour for the guitar heads… why not make a B4 with 4 great bass players on stage?

[@soopahsoopah]

This was done 15 years ago, it was called Bx3. Stu Hamm, Billy Sheehan, and Jeff Berlin with Jude Gold backing them all up on guitar. It was a killer show if you were into bass, maybe not so much for normies, which is why it only played small clubs and didn't really make any money.

[@spridgetmidget9238]

Wonderfull video, great interviewing and honest answers 👍🙂. Charles, if you are looking for a way to take your stuff live across from youtube to live venues I suggest you have a look at Grandpoobears speedrun sessions, a twitch streamer who runs mario games who puts on live events, not the biggest live audiences and I think he does it more for fun but for connecting with your audience in real life this is a fantastic template. Keep up being awsome, love your stuff ❤ and if you ever did a live gig in Australia count me in.

[@maranathanono1510]

One of the best bassist I've been listening to says he had a lotta trouble with double thumbing, then I guess I shouldn't be hard on myself anymore. 😂😂😂

[@Chris-dp1el]

As an older dude I'm appaled vy the fact that a musician as talented as Charles isn't doing session work fot some top name in the music business, touring with some jazz/rock giant or that youtube is a better career choice than "traditional" music business endeavors.

[@soopahsoopah]

I think it's lame but I don't blame him, KZbin is simply more lucrative. But yeah I think his talents are largely wasted on crappy videos.

[@martinmix7464]

It's tough but I get it. Like Geddy Lee recently said, "I miss playing with those guys. I don't miss traveling with them." If Charles can make a living without having to be a road warrior, more power to him. I would love to see him live with a band though.

[@Fender1031]

His style and approach does not translate that well to session bassists. Most production companies and vocalists do not want a bassist to be playing something that other bassists cannot play live nor do they want a unique sounding bass on their records. They usually just want a bass line that drives the song, not overtake it. He has preformed with ensembles and bands but it would make way more sense for him to do what he is doing. The music industry is mostly a cancer and I would argue that while KZbin has its own set of problems playing with a band is probably a downgrade for him musically and financially.

[@martinmix7464]

@@Fender1031 I agree with your point about the music industry and it likely being a downgrade for him but I'm sure he is capable to tailoring his playing to what a studio/session would want or need. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if he suffered a bit from something Victor Wooten recently mentioned, being pigeonholed as a "soloist" and companies overlooking him for more traditional bass roles.

[@mv9787]

Freddie Washington is often forgotten. My favorite bass players are Stuart Zender, Bernard Edwards and John Taylor

[@rabbishekelstein]

Holy shit he got Charlie on there!

[@kahwigulum]

31:10 the word you're looking for is resentment they resent you for honing a skill that they are incapable of honing, whether by their own laziness, ignorance, or lack of intelligence and because the only person they are actually disappointed in are themselves (despite taking it out on you - yet more cowardice on their part), they can be safely ignored

[@maranathanono1510]

Wow, I thought that was your younger version Mark!, When I first saw the vid then I clicked it and then it was someone else...😮

[@scottheffel3928]

Shout out to all the bass players who popped their victor Wooten cherry with amazing grace 🎉

[@BenD_Bass]

I literally think Charles is a contender for "most technical" bass player. Like Joe Dart is my favorite and all but I believe Charles can do anything Joe can so but I don't think Joe can Charles everything can do.

[@soopahsoopah]

Ok but Joe actually plays songs.

[@BenD_Bass]

@soopahsoopah I know, i know. I never said Charles is a better bass player. I said more technical player. Like Jamerson and Pino are 2 of the best bass players of all time, but they can't do what Charles does. He even got Victor Wootens attention

[@davidbalan6571]

Liked to playing chords progressions Dm7b5 and Am or Bm or Dsus 4 . Playing musical Limp Bizkit My Generation , My way and so on .

[@thelastofthelemmings6279]

Have you ever heard of Tiago Andree?? (Check him out 😎👍) I think Charles Berthoud, Davie 504, Tiago Andree, and Mohini dey should all jam together!! That'd be awesome 😎❤️

[@seriousagan]

Who is the best bass player of the world ?Charles Berthoud or Federico Malaman ? I choose Charles of course ! Because he is taking the bass to a new and virgin lands . . . exploring and conquering new musical places Places in which you barely think this instrument can find a place, but guess what ? Charles is doing it and we can look what is he doing in real time ! Amazing ! Long live charles and long live Talking Bass !

[@ryn5671]

Jon Poole or Kev Hopper. ;)

[@martinmix7464]

I think "best" is kind of meaningless. Charles is incredibly proficient, technically, and contrary to what a few people have said here, has played well within a traditional bass role in the past and has created great songs. But "best" gets to be subjective when you get to the Tal Wilkenfeld, Charles Berthoud, Victor Wooten, level of proficiency. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Charles and definitely put him in that top tier of both proficiency and innovation in the company of Wooten and Les Claypool. Once you get into those tiers, it becomes a matter of taste, though. Enjoy, I'm glad to be alive to hear his creations!

[@ryn5671]

@@martinmix7464 I remember about 4 years into playing, all those ads w Wooten & Claypool for the ADA rack

[@effortlessguitarist]

Virtual Jeff, homage to Beck?

[@AndrewLane-pm2ro]

Charles is pretty good ... but can he play Smoke on the Water?

[@_Majoras]

qwizdala and berthod on the same day? must be 'top douchiest modern bass players' week 🤣

[@soopahsoopah]

Eh, pass. I get it, his technique is unimpeachable. So what band does he play in? The role of bass is to serve the song. Charles' brand of showmanship is just not very compelling to me.

[@pau1rose]

why does it matter if he's in a band or not? That doesn't mean anything. And any instrument should server the song, but why be limited to fit a mold? Any instrument can be soloed.

[@soopahsoopah]

@@pau1rose Because the best players come together to make something more than the sum of their parts. Jaco's playing in Weather Report and w/ Joni Mitchell is far more meaningful because the music comes together as a whole with the other musicians. It means everything. Soloing is the limitation. A great player contributes to great songs and albums. Can you name a great song this guy played on off the top of your head? All he's doing at the end of the day, is noodling.

[@talkingbasslessons]

Here’s a little food for thought. No instrument has a single ‘role’. Role is determined by the context. There are hundreds of thousands of pieces written for solo violins, violas, cellos and double basses. Those instruments can also operate as members of an orchestra, chamber orchestra, quintet, quartet, duo and many other ensembles. Their role is determined by the music not the other way round. Music is music whatever the method of creation. You can create music from a broken bottle and a puddle. An individuals taste in music is totally irrelevant and unimportant from an objective standpoint.

[@pau1rose]

@@talkingbasslessons well put. And I'm sure we can all learn something from Charles. I'm excited to finish listening to the interview.

[@JennerationX100]

​@@talkingbasslessons well said. Thank you.