LeftyBassist.com

I always find it fascinating hearing isolated bass tracks of favorite songs... you hear the raw track, then the mastered track and final song, and begin to realize, and get an idea for, the final result that the band, engineer, and producer have in mind. Here's a case in point - Duran Duran's John Taylor, and his bass line for "Rio". The isolated track is very trebly -

http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2012/07/14 ... bass-line/

When listened to in the final song, it's interesting to me that it doesn't change much in tone and attack... it still stands out in the mix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XovoAKVOPOM

I find it a great learning tool to listen to isolated tracks; then listen to the final song to see how it fits in, and get and idea of what the band wanted as an end result. Plus, I'm able to hear and learn bass parts a lot easier!

Classic bass lines/performance. That is one seriously solid bass track from one of the great bassists of that era. With that tone and attack It almost sounds like he played it with a pick to get that those hiccupy ghost notes. I actually like the isolated track tone. I'm always fascinated when I hear various flubs, sloppy playing, or generally crappy tone in isolated tracks of some classic songs that make it into the final production and magically work perfectly. (Ever hear some of John Deacon's isolated P tracks? Usually solid, great performances but surprisingly ugly overdriven tone).

Case in point: John Taylor's performance here is nearly perfect, but there's a missed note at 5:15.

Love John Taylor. Love Duran Duran. Love Rio. But I never liked that ultra-trebly bass tone that the Brit bands of the time often employed, as on this track.

It does sound like he is using a pick, although you hear certain notes being snapped with his fingers as far as I can tell. But it also sounds like it could have been played entirely with fingers... anyone able to discern if he used a pic, fingers, or a combination of the two?

OK, here's a video showing John playing with his fingers... although it's an extended version. Notice how the drummer drops his stick just a few seconds into the song after giving the band the count!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN1fCcEkjyI

and in this live performance in Los Angeles in 2011, at about the 1:10 mark it shows John playing with his fingers... so that means he just - what? - grew his fingernails longer, and attacked the strings harder?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSy-mRiNS2M

Duran Duran is one of my favorite all-time pop bands... and this is one of my favorite all-time pop songs.

So much so, in fact, that I uploaded a video of me covering this tune a couple of years ago.

Watch it here, if you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljLtF1JH1uo

After hearing the isolated tracks for the first time a few months ago, I realize that what I'm playing isn't perfect... but it's actually closer than I thought it was.

Anyway, I definitely think that that he's using his fingers, and the tone proves to me that what sounds fantastic in the mix doesn't always sound fantastic by itself.