Krist Novoselic on his bass technique and tone

I compiled every instance of Krist getting specific about how he plays bass and his bass tone in interviews throughout the years (that I could find). As an amateur bass player myself I found his advice insightful.
sources:
• In the Room with Nirva...
• NIRVANA Interview (Sea...
www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/...
www.guitarworld.com/features/...

[@rarestnirvana]

at 4:11 i misquote Krist, he says "Jack Bruce" who is the bassist for Cream. And at 3:12 he says distortion box, not instruction box (thanks commenter). also just because I've seen a few people confused about this, only the first interview clip actually has video footage available. For all of the rest, I took footage from Krist in interviews from roughly the same time period (roughly) to play in the background. I see how that's confusing. edit: i spent way too long trying to find out who "Jack Ruse" was. now i can hear it's obviously Bruce haha

[@handwriting8804]

You also misquote him at 3:12 he says distortion box, not instruction box

[@metaphoria3]

His bass is so deep n bouncy but adds the haunting atmosphere to the real ended of their sound it’s perfect

[@morbidanimal333]

krist novelselic dr Phil crossover im here for it

[@schonthacker9641]

😂. I about spit out my coffee lmao.

[@John6-40]

Lol, I've been thinking for years that old Chris looks like Dr Phil. 😂 They should start a band called The Twinsies and recruit the drummer from RHCP and Will Ferrell. I'd go to that concert for sure.

[@Headwyres]

Krist is a unsung hero for bass

[@CT-ho6si]

When I was first learning bass in high school my buddy's dad suggested I try a lesson at the local guitar store, see if I could learn something new. The teacher just asked me if there were any basslines I wanted to learn from my favorite songs. I picked out a Nirvana song I loved and the teacher started out with this "Oh yeah this is simple you just do this" attitude. I kept pointing out all the subtle changes he was missing, and he'd be like "Oh dang you're right" and have to figure out that next part. Took him awhile but by the end of it he was impressed with the complexity and constant changes & switch-ups in the bass part. That's impressive to write parts that fit so well you can ignore them and they just blend into the song, but if you pay attention there's complexity and changes and switch-ups to hear.

[@stephenpage5687]

Dear head, Krist is not, "an unsung hero" to people who play music or those who listen closely. He is quite literally a one person band who often carried the complete timing, riffs, sound and yes, sonic vocals by himself! Krist, you are the man, in my book! 😊 sfp

[@nimitz1739]

@@CT-ho6siyeah Krist is going off

[@AcidBathSpaandResort-tn7km]

No, he’s not.

[@hermanhawtrey8578]

He’s been called “unsung” so many times for so many years that he’s definitely not unsung.

[@uncarbonatedcola9190]

Chris seems like such a fun guy to talk about music too ngl

[@gilbertcrespin5631]

Chris who?

[@uncarbonatedcola9190]

@@gilbertcrespin5631 Oh my god, shut up and do any form of research jfc

[@404TVfr]

Krist*

[@CamInABand]

Krist Novoselic is such a great bassist and person.

[@whatsfortea2431]

still under rated! always elegant, simple basslines, but also knew when to just hit the riff over and over again!

[@shanekc3502]

Love Krist, exactly what a bass player should do listen to what the song needs, parallel the vocal and the kicks your boss it’s so sick

[@DredgenX]

Krist has an amazing theory on songwriting , great tips!!

[@Intender-ytb]

I love him so much, he is a legendary bass player

[@ConcertFootageNate]

Krist was perfect bass player for Nirvana, and Kurt knew him so long that he trusted him, that means a lot when writing songs

[@modusceo]

His bass is almost the new age version of Lemmy, using chords with the massive tone. When he did that song for Foo Fighters in the documentary, it was like “oh my god, there it is” it just instantly clicked how insanely important his tone and playing was to Nirvana.

[@peterjanjanin9883]

You must be deaf....

[@WizardofFuzz]

Kinda interesting how Krist is able to geek out over bass playing on a mainstream talk show in 1990 and everyone's totally on board and the grey-haired host is like "yeah, that's an interesting way to set your EQ"

[@rarestnirvana]

the clip is actually from a different interview, I just wanted interview footage of Krist from the same time period playing in the background

[@WizardofFuzz]

@@rarestnirvana Ok, that's disappointing...

[@yetanotheruser1989]

He's such an underrated bass player. Adds so much melodic tone

[@obst7759]

All hail Krist, bass supreme. Gritty, heavy tone and awesome bass lines.

[@zaccrookmusic]

That bass line in "Dive" DOES go up to the D note. It's Kurt who goes down to a G power chord.

[@planetoftheamps3748]

4:44 Jefferey Dahmer finds Krist’s EQ very “interesting”

[@stephenkane2464]

lmfao`

[@theeggqueen]

Check out his bass fills in Serve the Servants and Heart shaped box

[@joeywilson5998]

Great video thanks for compiling and sharing

[@drunk247]

On A Plain. Damn that bass is beautiful.

[@rm25088]

He was the main reason why I started playing Bass long ago. Then a threw in some geezer, some cliff burton and it turned out nice.

[@Harrier_DuBois]

This is really good advice

[@curtisbush5728]

Krist is a phenomenal punk rock bassist! Top ten for sure!

[@kungpao-wp2sq]

Def best bass playing of the 90s IMO, maybe of all time, just so solid and cool . Always was impressed with the bass on Bleach too, particularly during the long guitar solo in Love Buzz and listen to the bass on Sifting, it’s incredible and no one ever talks about it. Obviously Lounge Act is great and the turn around son Stay Away are great as well. Oh yeah the intro to Blew is so right on it’s incredible. There’s a lot of others but those are just a few stand out parts of his for me.

[@rarestnirvana]

i feel like Krist gets overlooked for his brilliant composition skills just cause he was standing next to Kurt. all his basslines are exactly what the song needed

[@oliverb.8995]

Definitely not of all time. Far better bassists. But a good bassist Krist is, yeah.

[@Steaminlidz]

It’s not complex stuff, but you forget how funky he is. (Not in a slappin’ & poppin’ way.. but he has a swing to his playing that’s all him).

[@doomgang2541]

I enjoyed his playing, but he wasn’t an amazing bassist. His stuff was very rudimentary.

[@knightofniini7772]

🤣🤣🤣😅😅😂😂😂😂 You Fool 🤣🤣😂😅😅😂

[@bendavies8744]

Ampeg with the x2 15" Old School; that's where i'm at!

[@weswesweswesweswesweswes]

I know it's kinda unrelated but my mother before she passed away told me she interviewed Krist after kurt passed for a writing project at a (i think eyes adrift) concert in the early 2000's. I don't really listen to nirvana that much but i thought it was interesting and this channel kind of reminded me of that. She just told me he liked the interview and it was refreshing for him to hear something other than a question about kurt. I don't know if it is on tape or transcripted even, she never showed me anything of that nature.

[@rarestnirvana]

oh wow, if you ever get your hands on it a lot of people would love to hear/read it!

[@weswesweswesweswesweswes]

@@rarestnirvana Another encounter my family has had with Nirvana was in the 80's my grandpa was a huge poetryhead and where we're from in Portland, he used to do poetry readings at this library place with a stage. One day, He was reading poetry, and went away for a few seconds to go check the book, and in those few seconds, a woman got on the stage, sat on a chair facing the audience, and started masturbating. That woman was Courtney. This was before she was even in Hole, i don't know if she was crazy or something but it was confirmed. my grandpa and the hundreds that were at the reading confirmed the story is true & she got some kind of legal punishment i believe probably indecent exposure or whatever.

[@geraldfriend256]

Great when he talks about late 60s JPJones Jack Brucey stuff cuz I always thought of that vibe when I heard Nevermind.

[@johnnynbk]

He could play any bass it would sound like him

[@dallassurfersclub8872]

This is pretty cool. 5ths, brilliant.

[@aphronium7688]

Wonderful!🙌

[@RobertWalsh-vp5ui]

I think he had the right idea. Just enough changes and variations to keep it interesting without being a self indulgent virtuoso who ruins the songs. A great underrated bass player.

[@Probably.boredinPDX]

I had no idea Gerald McRaney played bass in Nirvana.

[@northernbrother1258]

Good advice for Nate Mendel of the Foo Fighters who slavishly follows the guitars!

[@McDoinky]

Nothing interesting about that band, ever

[@danduntz2539]

Everyone plays what’s best for the song, but their personal style still exists. To say a bassist should play like another bassist is bizarre. You simply have no concept that everyone plays to please themselves, and adjusts when necessary to fit into a band.

[@mikegibson4332]

Krist and kurt are soulmates

[@GinoPietermaai1999]

the video is out of sync my brother, loved the interviews tho

[@keithklassen5320]

Is it out of sync, or is it literally someone else speaking over the video? Cuz it's not just the timing that's off.

[@rarestnirvana]

only the first clip is actually from the interview, i just put footage of another Krist interview from roughly the same time over top of the audio for the second one

[@bluedragontoybash2463]

are you using bluetooth sound device ?

[@404TVfr]

​@@rarestnirvana thats legit a crap move.

[@carlr8061]

Great interview Rick. I've been waiting for someone to confirm what I've always known that Kurt although the catalyst of Nirvana didn't so totally write the songs. They sound as great as they do because it was a group effort not just Kurt did everything which has always been the popular narrative.

[@submissivelover]

I mean he still mostly was writing the songs because, Krist is working off Kurts guitar and vocal melodies, they're the foundation he's following, so the impetus for krists contribution is Kurts work and creations.

[@Geewunner4life]

Krist looks like somebody's dad these days.

[@gorillaump5869]

Why are they interviewing Dr. Phil about bass techniques?

[@no_problem8023]

“Bass is spelled B A S S, but you can also spell it B A S E, cause it’s like the bass of the aong

[@krekcabnow2910]

Click on a video and get jump scared by Rick Beato

[@DredgenX]

@4:45 is that the unibomber or jeffrey dahmer?

[@stephenkane2464]

lolol

[@LifeGrindcore]

Lmao

[@robertriley4105]

advice for bassplayers??..

[@luisgerardonunez4940]

krist was a disciple of kurt

[@Jay-xy7yi]

Jack Bruce & GEEZER...FOUNDING FATHER...GEEZER

[@unknownkingdom]

He looks like dr phil

[@markkindermannart4028]

Trigger Alert: I love Nirvana, love Krist playing, but dammit I can hardly look at him playing that bass hanging down to his knees! Ok rant over lol

[@mennobleyenberg675]

Dude looks like dr Phil now lmao

[@sbwin9732]

dr phil on bass 😎

[@ClaydenLee]

He has a cute mum

[@2manynamez938]

What he meant to say was "play the most basic shit for every single song" (Hate welcome🙌)

[@alos4025]

The awful circus music in the second clip... Wth?

[@rarestnirvana]

i've been thinking of remastering some of their interviews to clean them up and make them easier to hear

[@llnn5112]

You clearly never been at the circus or at a jazz bar.

[@peppino3609]

bro he's bald whattt

[@stephenkane2464]

is this AI ? lol

[@rarestnirvana]

Lmao I start using my real voice and people still think it’s AI 😭

[@pCeLobster]

KZbin content has a way of making the most obvious stuff seem rare and extraordinary. Like....playing the fifth? Any local shlub bass player does that. A first year bass player knows you can do that. Do we realize that grunge was a regression? It made us less sophisticated. We already had James Jamerson, Bernard Edwards, Jack Bruce, Geddy Lee, John Entwisle, Chris Squire, Carole Kaye, Klaus Voormann, Tony Levin, and countless others by that point. Playing the fifth over a chord is nothing to fawn over. It's laughable how they make shit like this seem like it's this amazing creative decision. So tired of dumb content masquerading as thoughtful and insightful.

[@pulykamell]

I mean, sure. You can play any chord tone, the third, the flat 7, the sixth, whatever the hell you want over anything. It's somewhat interesting and surprising here to play the fifth where everywhere else it's roots. Of course, root-fifth is the basic backbone to fall back on in any bass part, but a lot of the time the fifth sounds weird as the main tone, without ever playing the root to precede. Here, I wouldn't have thought to throw in a fifth instead of the root, unless it was part of some scale descending or ascending part. So, it's kinda cool. I mean, you don't have to think so, and you obviously don't.

[@djgraish]

How badly was that TV show mixed?! Turn down that sax music and let the man speak for Kirst’s sake!

[@rarestnirvana]

it was likely an impromptu interview in a public place. the footage is from a different interview from TV. unfortunate place for an audio interview for sure

[@djgraish]

@@rarestnirvana Ah that makes sense. Thanks for your reply!

[@Pixpi]

Fucking blah blah blah lmaoo

[@rarestnirvana]

what did you expect. interpretive dance? 😭

[@krispykrackers8826]

What are you yappin about

[@peterjanjanin9883]

He had no technique or tone

[@McDoinky]

Are you deaf

[@Fleig.]

what band do you play in?

[@peterjanjanin9883]

I see I struck a chord , pun intended... I saw your videos, and by your technique or lack thereof, Krist is probably your favourite bassist. Doesn't look like you're in a band either....

[@Owen-ne6pe]

This is a very subjective stance

[@McDoinky]

@@Owen-ne6pe From someone who seems like they feel they have a lot to prove, too

[@NEMESISISDEAD]

Krist is a bass gorilla he played that thing low asf...

[@sandpiper9288]

The chorus was pinched from another band xD

[@vantage11]

which

[@sandpiper9288]

@@vantage11 Nausea by X

[@vantage11]

@@sandpiper9288 like lyrically or musically

[@sandpiper9288]

@@vantage11 Music

[@rarestnirvana]

@@sandpiper9288 I love that song. which Nirvana song took the chorus you're saying?