DUFF (The King of Beers) McKAGAN -- Underrated Bassist?

[dalsh327]

 

[Gackt]

His songwriting is okay at best, but his talents as the right-hand man of the frontman are second to none, up there with the likes of David Ellefson

[Kickingthehabit]

His isolated bass on Jungle is KILLER.
 

 

[RONIN]

7 hours ago, Gackt said:

His songwriting is okay at best, but his talents as the right-hand man of the frontman are second to none, up there with the likes of David Ellefson

He wrote It's so easy. Possibly the most badass appetite song.

[Gackt]

2 hours ago, RONIN said:

He wrote It's so easy. Possibly the most badass appetite song.

West Arkeen also had a hand in that song  nothing against Duff, but Believe In Me is by far one of the worst GnR related solo albums

[JohnnyGtar]

Duff is fucking a monster on the bass. I play drums and guitar, and I'd love to jam with him. I got to attend a Velvet Revolver rehearsal at Mates in North Hollywood years ago, and it was pretty awesome. I worked in L.A. for one of the music gear companies that endorsed them, and McBob was kind enough to invite me down to a rehearsal. When I walked in, VR was working on Aerosmith's version of Train Kept a Rollin. It was cool to see that bands big or small go thru the same motions learning a tune, as in "Hey, how does that one part go?" When they finished that tune, Slash nodded to me, walked over, shook my hand and said hi. Very cool guy.

Anyway, the band (minus Scott) was there, their techs, and me sitting on a leather couch watching them play about 5 feet from the stage. I was their sole audience. Kinda wild. LOL Later on, 2 guys from Duesenberg guitars came down and Slash checked out a guitar they made for him. 

Back to Duff, I was sitting right in front of him and let me tell you, the way that guy plays is a drummer's wet dream, and his tone is SICK. I was smiling the whole time I was there. All the guys in VR were very cool to shoot the shit with.

Funniest thing about that day was Matt going "Sooo, where's our singer?" LOL

Edited July 18, 2016 by JohnnyGtar

[JohnnyGtar]

On 7/13/2016 at 11:15 PM, Top-Hatted One said:

Absolutely. Best bass tone in the biz

DAMN RIGHT.

[Silverburst80]

On 16/07/2016 at 10:49 PM, dalsh327 said:

 

The second interview there sums up what i was trying to say about him in the not overplaying department. Having Slash and his solo bursts and drum fills and the like you obviously can't be too flashy or the song would fall apart or just be too busy. When he did lay a flashy run though it is generally pretty memorable and added to the song.

[Top-Hatted One]

8 hours ago, JohnnyGtar said:

Duff is fucking a monster on the bass. I play drums and guitar, and I'd love to jam with him. I got to attend a Velvet Revolver rehearsal at Mates in North Hollywood years ago, and it was pretty awesome. I worked in L.A. for one of the music gear companies that endorsed them, and McBob was kind enough to invite me down to a rehearsal. When I walked in, VR was working on Aerosmith's version of Train Kept a Rollin. It was cool to see that bands big or small go thru the same motions learning a tune, as in "Hey, how does that one part go?" When they finished that tune, Slash nodded to me, walked over, shook my hand and said hi. Very cool guy.

Anyway, the band (minus Scott) was there, their techs, and me sitting on a leather couch watching them play about 5 feet from the stage. I was their sole audience. Kinda wild. LOL Later on, 2 guys from Duesenberg guitars came down and Slash checked out a guitar they made for him. 

Back to Duff, I was sitting right in front of him and let me tell you, the way that guy plays is a drummer's wet dream, and his tone is SICK. I was smiling the whole time I was there. All the guys in VR were very cool to shoot the shit with.

Funniest thing about that day was Matt going "Sooo, where's our singer?" LOL

That is an amazing story man! So lucky!

[tbaugerud]

On 13. juli 2016 at 10:04 PM, moreblack said:

Is he a gifted technician wizard? no. But he always plays the right thing for what the song needs. That's a gift in itself.

What are you takling about? Even an amateur/hobby guitarist can play the bass if the want to adapt. 

I am so sick and tired of metal heads thinking an abundance of notes equals good music. That's the biggest misconception of the metal head community. Less is more, more often than not.

I can guarantee you one thing: there are 6 year old asians AT THIS VERY MOMENT that would outplay both Mozart and Beethoven on a piano.

So many people get it all wrong. Being a song writer has nothing to do with being technically gifted.

[moreblack]

So you're saying he plays the right thing for what the song needs?

Edited July 19, 2016 by moreblack

[tbaugerud]

Yes, of course. And that is the miracle that is GnR, Beatles, Stones etc:

Their biggest gift was their chemistry. Every member seems to almost instinctively play the perfect stuff to make the resulting song something special. 

The logic that more technically gifted players are "better players" is just as flawed as, for instance, saying that all the smartest people in the world are physicians.

It has nothing to do with that.

I would even go as far as saying that many metal musicians cover their lousy song writing talents by impressing head banging fans with technicalmasturbation.

[moreblack]

22 minutes ago, tbaugerud said:

cover their lousy song writing talents by impressing head banging fans with technicalmasturbation.

That's not new, it's been all over Jazz too back in the day, hell any kind of music where they play a lot without saying anything suffers from that sort of deficiency. Even if it's not technical.

But Duff is definitely a team player. He'll accent and push/pull with the drums to drive the groove, the swing, as far as it can go. I love the interplay between him and Adler, and also with Sorum on Contraband especially.

Edited July 19, 2016 by moreblack

[EvanG]

2 hours ago, tbaugerud said:

What are you takling about? Even an amateur/hobby guitarist can play the bass if the want to adapt. 

I am so sick and tired of metal heads thinking an abundance of notes equals good music. That's the biggest misconception of the metal head community. Less is more, more often than not.

I can guarantee you one thing: there are 6 year old asians AT THIS VERY MOMENT that would outplay both Mozart and Beethoven on a piano.

So many people get it all wrong. Being a song writer has nothing to do with being technically gifted.

You're completely right, but all that moreblack was saying is that he's not a technical player and that's right. And is it important to be one? No, but I think we all agree on that.