The Top 10 Music Man™ Bass Lines

#bass #transcription #analysis #basshistory #paulthompson
Breaking down one of the most iconic sounds in music--the Music Man bass guitar--and the 10 greatest recorded bass lines that used it. From punk, to funk, to hip hop, to jazz, I'll break down my Top 10 which includes worthy contenders from Fugazi to Zutomayo to Sade to Queen to Chic and more--AND I'll attempt to recreate each line (and sound) with my trusty Sterling by Music Man™ and a little EQ.
Did your favorite make the list? Let me know in the comments!
00:56 #10
01:31 #9
02:36 #8
03:16 #7
03:59 #6
04:39 #5
05:26 #4
06:17 #3
07:10 #2
08:14 #1
09:00 Outro
Website: www.paulthompson.us
Instagram @pdbass74
Twitter @pdbass74

[@tookmyjob]

Louis Johnson slapped that bass like it owed him money.

[@darindjking7463]

It actually did...Leo Fender design it specifically for him.. he and his brother George are the 2 guitarists whose legs make up the M in the headstock emblem that spells out Musicman... it's taken from the jacket cover picture of their debut album entitled "LOOK OUT FOR #1"...Google it..😊😏😉😎👍🏾

[@marct9221]

HAH!!!! :D

[@jackv2244]

You doggone right!

[@no_problem8023]

Like Tommy Pham and Pete Alonso.

[@RumbleFish69]

It did owe him money! And he got paid lovely after each session!

[@taylortronic]

i am a setup technician at ernieball musicman... i'm going in right now to set up as many stingrays as beautifully as i possibly can. i am a long fan of your channel and your playing (the video showcasing the standup styles of different players was mindblowing). much respect.

[@hillerm]

This is totally off topic but I own a 1978 StingRay with a broken truss rod. Do you know if EB would be willing to sell me just the truss rod from one of their new Retro 70s basses?

[@Jim_S.]

Thank you for your service.

[@bradwolfe1999]

Love it. I’ve owned a stingray for 13 years now it’s so amazing.

[@notkrankykris]

Make my Joe Dart special awesome, please. ;)

[@Stanseng]

You're doing God's work, sir!

[@dwtn81]

Louis Johnson gave his input to Leo Fender when he built the MM Stingray. Mr. Fender built it w/ Louis in mind. I’m in disbelief that MM never put out a tribute bass in Louis Johnson’s honor.

[@rrdream2400]

Leo modded the active EQ frequencies for Louis that were not part of the production model. The Musicman logo is supposedly Louis and George Johnson (the righty and lefty on the headstock)

[@mr_bassman6685]

@@rrdream2400 The MM logo *does* look very similar to the photo of the Brothers Johnson used on the cover of "Strawberry Letter #23: The Very Best of..."

[@demogis]

I was not expecting to hear "Waiting Room." Good call.

[@xavierluis]

Same.

[@18JR78]

To start off the video too 💯

[@poetryofbeing]

Such a good choice!

[@flaviosan3020]

Yeeeah, fugati here, what a surprise!

[@dagobertkrikelin1587]

As soon as Bernard Edwards or Louis Johnson play one note a shiver runs up my spine...

[@djcoolcliff]

My uncle Wah Wah Watson played rhythm guitar on Get On The Floor with Luis Johnson!!! RIP to Thunder Thumbs and Wah Wah Watson!!!!!!!!!! Such a classic record!!!!

[@oholm09]

I like that riffs I got a wah wah pedal

[@djcoolcliff]

@@oholm09 Yes sir!!!!! You listening to the right cat!! Unc played on a lot of records with the same guitar I might add! A Gibson L5 that was given to him by Ray Parker Jr, his mentee!!!

[@thebassplaya34]

Bro, I just learned about your uncle a few months and was immediately blown away. He made Rhythm guitar an art form. R.I.Power.

[@ssdtrain1]

I met louis Johnson before died, he was playing a Leo Fender original MusicMan Stingray at the time. He was still in great spirits and love to jam with other bassists. He has always been my hero, the "BLAM" album is still played in my house till this very day! I wanted to have my MusicMan signed by Louis, but tragically, I was too late. He passed before I could see him again. And that will always haunt me. God Bless Louis "Thunder thumbs" Johnson and thank you for the many years of happiness, joy and inspiration you have given us all RIP Brother.

[@billball6503]

Like the P-bass, the Stingray has one fatal flaw: I must own 2 of them. One with flats, one with rounds.

[@57precision]

And a fretless, and a 2EQ, and a 3EQ, and a Sabre...it never stops.

[@walkerofbass]

Yup- a rounds, flats and fretless version of each 4-string (as well as 5-string) ought to cover it. Just 18 must-haves and the rest are just for fun

[@MrAKbass]

Another gem is the bass line of " Too Shy" played by the incredible Nick Beggs (I know, it already has been featured on your channel!)

[@arieltz23]

One of my favorites! Nick Beggs is a monster. Although he has definitely played this line live on a StingRay, I'm not sure he recorded it with a MM... 🤔

[@gazt445]

It was played on a Wal bass not a stingray

[@MrAKbass]

@@gazt445 you guys are correct, it's not a Stingray. I just read an old interview with Nick

[@mattfoley6082]

Nick Beggs plays Too Shy with a Stingray live. Several videos show it. To my ears the Wal on the record sounds very similar to a Stingray.

[@sharktroubles]

Tony Levin's Stingray bass line on Dire Straits' "One World" is...well...out of this world!

[@waynemorris4036]

All those great bass musicians, topped off with Louis Johnson. Wow!

[@FullumMusic]

omg. I never knew that was Flea on Bust A Move!!!

[@jazzpunk]

Check out the video...Flea's pants in that one is worth the price of admission. About 2:40 into the video.

[@Twobarpsi]

Yeah definitely watch the video!

[@BARTFUNKBASS]

Actually, Flea used Spector NS-2 on it.

[@rrdream2400]

Flea also played bass on "You Outta Know" by Alanis Morissette.

[@FullumMusic]

@@rrdream2400 This i knew he played with Alanis. I wanna say he also did trumpet work for her at some point too? I know he did trumpet for Jane's Addiction's "Idiots Rule." But "Bust A Move" is news to me!

[@TheMaartian]

I've been a big fan of Paul Denman for decades. Happy to see that he (and Sade) made your list. 👍 And FWIW, I have #23 of 50 of the Tim Commerford short scale passive Stingray. Rock on!

[@bassvibasics479]

YES!! Paul Denman getting some love- very overlooked player. You're one of the only YTers to give him props.

[@twobarsfourstars]

Love your wife jumping in, super cute + such a great and inspirational list and video. Bassist goals 😊 Thank you!!!

[@TheFriendlyPsychopath]

I’m glad he put Louis Johnson at #1.

[@enricoandrini4453]

He literally made the billions and history with its music man

[@jharsch3453]

Not expecting a Fugazi song, solid list for being so inclusive

[@TeclaSAPcomUlissesCarvalho]

Awesome stuff! Who's hyped for Parts 2, 3, 4, and beyond? 😎

[@57precision]

EBMM, send this man a fretless asap!

[@balloonman8796]

Wishing they had an actual fretless model that wasn't part of the custom design thing. Plus they don't offer the option of ebony fretboard

[@57precision]

@@balloonman8796 same here. Guess we should be lucky they are making them at all, it's been around 7 years since a factory fretless was offered.

[@johnpayne9437]

Also the Peter Gabriel track played by Tony Levin was indeed on a Musicman bass but he played the track with these little finger hammers he created called "funk fingers" which gave the bass a very percussive sound when he played. He also used the technique on the Peter Gabriel tracks "Steam", "BIG Time" and many others. LOVE your article !!

[@BlackRootsUNLIMITED]

I hosted Gary Grainger over here in Uganda in 2013. He's a very good Cat, down to earth. He now endorses and has his own signature PRS Bass 🖤 Bernard Edwards, that was my password when the Internet had just arrived over here 🙌🏿🔥

[@rrdream2400]

Breaking Glass by Nick Lowe is one my Sting Ray favorites. It also one of the best bass breaks in pop music.

[@lxxwj]

martin mcaloon from prefab sprout was also a music man player (tuned to Eb standard), im not sure when he started using it but i think the album "steve mcqueen" is music man. "swoon" has some crazy basslines as well, see "cue fanfare"

[@jazzpunk]

Glad to see Gary Grainger get mentioned. 30 years ago(?!?), a clinic in a local music store...2 guys from Baltimore, Larry Bright (drummer) & Gary Grainger. This bit was huge: They played a groove - Same groove with the drums displaced by a quarter note - Original groove with the bass displaced - Both bass & drums displaced. Crazy. Grainger was playing a Ken Smith for this clinic. Same bright tone as his MM.

[@EVILJAMARR]

I love my MM! I had no idea about Sade or Fugazi, and those are some of my favorite songs! Now, I can't unhear that obvious stingray tone. Bittersweet day for my ears!

[@TFEnright5]

I just got into Stingrays a few years ago. Now I have two because I love them so much. They make the sound that I have been looking for my entire playing life. They are punchy but don’t lose the warm bottom end. I wish I could afford a true American made Ernie ball, but I am very happy with my Sterling Ray34 and Ray 4HH.

[@ruminantmelanoid5444]

Louis Johnson is one of my very favorite players, and Bernard is why I picked up the bass in the first place. So of course I have a stingray (Sterling, but I'm not rich).

[@kevin.caudle2185]

In 1979 I had a music man sabre now I don't have much money but I'm going to buy me a sterling by music Man cuz I got to play

[@planetpjr]

I remember Tom Hamilton's cool Stingray on "Walk This Way". Benjamin Orr from The Cars had a cool pick sound on his and then there is your Stingray sound too! Cheers !

[@rrdream2400]

Walk This Way was a 1960 Jazz Bass

[@tylerkerxhalli7789]

Wow I was not prepared for Fugazi to lead this list what a lovely surprise!

[@azarealbheri6876]

Great idea! Months ago I was hoping someone would do a series on iconic bass lines/guitar riffs that were performed using specific guitar models...Glad Stingray is the first to feature on what I hope is going to be a long series with other models as well.. Thanks again

[@TremaynePrice]

I knew I had to watch this one when I saw the preview...Louis Johnson and Bernard Edwards started my love of the Stingray sound and influenced me to get one...and then two. The 4-string is the bass I use the most by far since I got it. And thanks for influencing me to get more practice in on it, your playing is crisp and effortless it makes me want to practice calming down to lay down grooves while laying back relaxed.

[@stevencsmith7644]

I started watching this vid thinking “surely Thunderthumbs is number 1.” 👍🏾 And you chose a great track!

[@MartinBix]

So glad Bust a Move is there ... I've been playing that as a warm up for so many years!

[@dorssberube]

Ok, we need a part 2!

[@bluecrueful]

Gary Grainger is insane. I saw the Blue Matter band in the 80s and it was life-changing

[@JustK009]

✊🏾‼️🎵👏🏽 Paul on tubular bells = Next Level

[@Lovejazz01]

Glad you featured Bernard Edward , him and Nike Roger’s music genius songs are in the bass and the guitar! Another song with a great bass is High Energy “ You’re Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else “ as well as The Jet’s “ You Got It All” ..

[@uniqueorganicshaircare9880]

Isn't that The Jones Girls' record?

[@bexlyspeed]

Pdbass I just have to say I love your channel. I have been watching for a few years now and despite not being an active player (and never a high level one) I find your enthusiasm so contagious! Thank you!

[@kato6]

Man, I love your content. Thank you for you. 🤘

[@danocatster]

Glad to see Get on the Floor get some recognition. It's overlooked often.

[@gilliebrand]

Perfect! Thanks for sharing 👍

[@marysanchez4789]

Thanks for this video... MM is a part of music history. So cool to watch this😎🙏🏻

[@chrisharrison809]

Love you included Joe! Was not expecting that. I produced a record at Inner Ear years ago and we used his old stingray. Big ❤

[@andrewpinner3181]

Thank you for this. Love all the examples you've given !

[@onanc]

Great selection!

[@martinheath5947]

Great selection! What an incredible bass designed originally for Louis Johnson, so uniquely distinctive.

[@kinsellaSE7]

Many thanks to you and your wife! You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve listened to Bust A Move in the last week 👍😊

[@DaddyBooneDon]

Thanks for this video . I never knew how much my taste was influenced by the music man bass

[@basssoul6874]

Very nice song choices. Great Video man.

[@wstks-fmworldwide5390]

Love this! All excellent picks.

[@abderrahimkoch9293]

Sade bass lines on the Stingray are my favorites. Especially The Sweetest Taboo which timing is so hard!

[@gil3green]

Learned some of my favorite bass lines came from the same brand. Agree, solo on Chic along with the bells remains an atf! Nice piece thanks!

[@charlieburns1385]

Always great vids Thanks😊

[@garybernabe9409]

That was a great post. Your slapping is right on. Wish I could do that!

[@gimmeagig]

You are one of the most informative and enjoyable bassists on you youtube for me. Your passion for the instrument, your knowledge and skill in any genre is undeniable. keep up the good work. :)

[@jaidillon1790]

Great list of great tunes, played by some great bass players on a great bass. Awesome👍

[@ElricX]

Great video! I really appreciate the high quality content you upload! Your knowledge and sincere passion for the bass is 2nd to none. Thank You!

[@PharaohLawLess1]

Another great lesson, professor

[@Soul74]

Fugazi was a nice surprise. Thank you!

[@robertogomesmusic]

Thank you!!! Awesome video!!!

[@raphaelfp]

What a marvelous list. So far away from obvious choices. I knew for a fact Tony Levin was going to make the list, but I was ready to hear the classic Sleepless riff! And I'm really glad Bust a Move was picked! Greetings from Brazil!!

[@hardcore302]

Excellent video sir

[@Twobarpsi]

Such a great list! Great Flea pick!

[@tomdchi12]

Very cool wildly diverse selection!

[@BobbyStein]

Awesome list! Can't wait for part 2. Music Man, hook this man up with a fretless!

[@musikman9103]

Another informative and entertaining compilation! I've always loved Gary Grainger's bass on John Scofield's 'The Nag.' I'd love to see you do a breakdown of Louis Johnson's incredible playing on Earl Klugh's 'Twinkle'!

[@MiddleMalcolm]

Just a brilliant tribute to the instrument! ❤ Hopefully what will eventually become a "Part 1". 😏 Of the thousand possibilities, that is the first one I would think of as the Louis Johnson signature. Also, big kudos on drawing attention to that Flea track! 👏 Serious classic. 😊

[@Below-Average_Joe]

This was fun! Thanks for making Louis Johnson number one although I am probably an even bigger Bernard Edwards fan.

[@mmachine83]

GREAT video. Also #2 made me chuckle cause it reminded me of Flea and Dave Navarro being brought into the sessions for jagged little pill to play strings in You Oughta Know.

[@jamesmacleod671]

So glad you are shinning the light on the stingray, I became aware of it's punchy sound back in the early 80s watching Pino Palladino, Tony Levin and Nick Beggs do their thing. It also made a lot of appearances on top of the pops back then as well.

[@Iconoplastt]

Great list, you covered some of the greatest and the Musicman is one I don't own but want to in the future, gonna have to settle for my Sadowsky ;)

[@Mr-Keyes]

Excellent List , well balanced. One of my favorites is "Single Life " by Cameo. I believe it was played by Larry Blackmon, but in the video, you'll see the late Michael Burnett slapping the Music Man.

[@Below-Average_Joe]

Larry Blackmon is a drummer. Aaron Mills was the bassist for just about all of the classic Cameo songs.

[@kevgamble]

What a great list. Something I love about your lists is that there are always things I either haven't heard or didn't know who played it. One line I'd add from my own list is "Heavy Horses" by Jethro Tull, played by the late, great John Glascock. He's one of my all-time favorite bassists; with Tull he started on a Precision but switched to a StingRay for this album. Cheers!

[@mmusicmann1982]

Yes….Great Video..Great Information 🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸

[@vichikes]

Love to see Fugazi here! Nice video

[@pikmin4743]

amazing choices

[@luizalbuquerque5568]

I didn't expect zutomayo, you have my respect

[@steve_rios71]

Paul Denman’s bass line on Sade’s “Cherry Pie” it’s worth checking out, in fact all of Diamond Life it’s worth checking out and her performance in Montreux 1984 has a nice track called Snake Bite where the rhythm section is amazing

[@spiderbass65]

I was waiting for Tony Levin, and you didn't disappoint. Love your channel Right To Be Wrong -Joss Stone- Memorial Hall -Plymouth, MA, and your playing is top notch!

[@osiruskingdread]

Yes Indeed the mighty ‘in the Pocket KING of Bass Paul Denman!..no one does it better… and with a Stingray.. PRICELESS!

[@dr_ma]

this video is so great!I hope to see more about P bass or J bass or other.

[@AlexandreBeckao]

Outra lição bem dada pelo Professor... Muito obrigado, abraços do Brasil!!! 👍👍👍👍

[@brianschoner3350]

Great list! The "Don't Give Up" riff is brilliant, but no one ever talks about the incredible, subtle work Tony Levin does on the outro. I've been trying to duplicate that tone for years...

[@manobap]

I have myself an amazing 93 Stingray white nitrocellulose finishing that it’s already smoked by age, tortoise pickguard with the famous birdseye maple (there’s literally 100 in the headstock!!) neck and a pau ferro fingerboard that originally was fretless and someone did the fret job. I figure that’s why it’s sooo mid range focused compared to a regular one. It’s a monster. For my taste is the most powerful and beautiful sound of bass ever!! Love your channel btw! Keep on the excellent job. Thanks!!

[@ratherbe7]

This Stingray guy is loving this!! Thank you 😊

[@josephalaguna]

Great compilation. This bass and the Rick have such distinct sounds. I love the voicing from both. I just also wondered if anyone has ever slapped on a Ric?

[@kimmorgan379]

Love this. Great list. Great video. Just wanted to add the HUGE difference between a 'Ray with rounds and flats. You can get a lovely tone rolling off the treble - and props to you for your Queen and Chic bassline demos by doing that - but the tone John Deacon and Bernard Edwards got is KILLER and all down to the combination of Singray and flats. The tone has all the midrange bark and low end punch you'd expect but loses the top end zing while still having a high-end component - iconic and unique.

[@darrylbryant499]

okay, so now I know what my next bass will be. I have been trying to justify getting a stingray for a while. I think you just pushed me over the top.

[@tonydrake821]

One word x2. Promises, Promises.

[@57precision]

That's a good one. Great exercise in leaving space in a slapped line. Also, I'm not sure I can think of an earlier song that has obvious double thumbing...1983.

[@Morbid0007]

Excellent video! The Sting Ray is my favorite bass design. My pick for most iconic Music Man bass line is 'Good Times' by Chic. It's great on its own, but the sheer number of times it has been sampled and imitated puts it at the top of my list. I also would have picked 'Joe #1' for Fugazi and 'Take the Power Back' for RATM. 'Get On The Floor' is my favorite Louis Johnson bass line, but I would have also accepted 'Stomp' or 'Ai No Corrida.'

[@estebanrodriguez9007]

I've always loved the Music Man but had no idea it was used on some of these songs. Absolutely beautiful sound.

[@mackymaca]

Thank you for this. I was thinking of selling my Stingray and this video made me decide to get re-acquainted with it.

[@CharlesRobitaille514]

I got 4 Stingray 5 string basses, and love them all. PS......LOVE the fact you added SADE!!!!!!

[@ajadrew]

Saw Gary Grainger & Denis Chambers with John Scofield on the Blue Matter tour, brilliant!

[@pumpichank]

Great video as always! You nailed so many iconic players and bass lines. I used to own a fretless MM, red w/rosewood neck. It was a great bass and I don’t know why I ever sold it! One that got away I guess. It would have been perfect for those Pino tracks. Another MM player to consider is Joe Dart, if you count his funky one knob signature model a true MM.

[@andre257]

Morning PD, have you ever heard of Tyrone Brunson, the jam is called the Smurf made in 1983. May the Music Man funk be with you.

[@deepsea313]

It doesn't get much funkier than The Smurf!

[@leonmcleodjr8278]

The whole album Sticky Situation by the late Tyrone Brunson has some great Music Man grooves to it which was produced by his label mates The Reddings which the Smurf features the late Otis Redding III on the synthesizer.

[@Whos_That_Lady_Music_Show]

Why are I singing along with those basslines, and kudos to the Mrs for chiming in on that 'Bust A Move'. It's my fave as well.

[@DavidConnorsMusic]

Crazy timing. I just pulled my Stingray 5 out of hibernation yesterday. The tone was so good, I could not put it down. My Stingray 4 is always out of its case ready to play.

[@no_problem8023]

7:52 been subbed and watching this channel since the beginning of your now regular kind of content, is this the first time Mrs. Pdbass has been ‘featured’ in a video? 😂

[@johnhowardnardine6815]

I was really glad you included Tony Levin on the list. Another long-term Stingray player is Gail Ann Dorsey who has said that she considers the Stingray her perfect all-rounder bass. What I was hoping, though, was that you would put into words what exactly characterizes the Stingray sound, and perhaps compare that sound to some other industry staple basses. I am starting to realize I may need a Stingray in my life eventually as so many of my favorite bass players rely on them. Thanks: as always top-drawer content on your channel!

[@57precision]

To me the Stingray is all about the unique EQ has a top end zing (boost at 10k which is almost unheard of and apocryphally attributed to Leo's hearing loss at the time) while still maintaining a solid and tight bottom end that doesn't get boomy. It has a natural mid scoop that makes it perfect for slapping but still punches through a mix thanks to the extreme treble.