LeftyBassist.com

If you've never listened to them, they're a goldmine of bass.

One of my favorites is John Lennon playing bass on "Helter Skelter" on a Fender VI:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PxVrOuMxy0

Or Paul McCartney playing "Hey Bulldog":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWGLRaH57YY

You can really hear the attack as well as the notes. You also get to see that when you record yourself playing alone and it sounds crappy, it's because you're missing all the other instruments. All these isolated bass tracks were taken from the original recordings, mistakes and all.

The first fretless bass line I ever learned:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9GeWdObMQY

I never noticed how sloppy the bass was on Helter Skelter

I now feel much better about my playing technique

Wow! First off, I never knew that Lennon played bass on Helter Skelter. And what an ugly sloppy mess! Which means, naturally, that it's perfect.

McCartney's tone on Bulldog sounds like the Hoffner to me, but based on the studio video footage out there he played the Rick. Just goes to show how similar they could sound when mixed/EQ'ed a certain way.

Message in a Bottle was one of the first bass lines I ever learned too, along with The Go Gos, "We Got the Beat."

Deja vu.

AzWhoFan wrote:I never noticed how sloppy the bass was on Helter Skelter

I now feel much better about my playing technique

That's exactly how I felt.

Some of the isolated John Entwistle lines are amazingly sloppy. But still great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8-iRKEstBA

It just shows you shouldn't be too hard on yourself.

Never thought to look on youtube for isolated parts... cool vids!