I love making lists like these.
But I also hate arts of it.
Because I will never make everyone happy.
In fact, it virtually impossible to make anyone happy.
Everyone is likely to have a problem with at least one of my inclusions. Or with an exclusion.
And that means a lot of hate.
So I ask of you. Don’t hate me. But feel free to disagree with me. And you can let me know in the comments below. Ideally without wishing a violent death upon me.
Worst Bass Players
These are all bassists I personally find did not live up to the rest of their bands, or to their potential. For whatever reason. Most were effective, but far from great.
Sid Vicious of Sex Pistols
Sid Vicious is the icon of punk rock and the person who probably embodied everything this musical movement stood for the most. He is arguably one of the most important bass players of all time.
In fact, his vibe and energy were so strong that casual music listeners mostly failed to notice that he maybe wasn’t the most virtuosic player out there.
As a music genre, punk doesn’t necessarily need a good bass tone or good bass lines, so dubbing Sid’s bass playing “bad” is a bit of an oxymoron.
However, he showed little regard for improving the musical aspect of his role in the Sex Pistols. As the story goes, Motorhead’s Lemmy attempted to help Sid build up his chops a bit, but to little effect. Sid had no time for bass exercises.
From downright missing notes to fumbling palm mutes, slides, and other fairly basic techniques, Sid’s live performances weren’t too great from a technical standpoint. However, his pulsating energy made up for the lack of bass-playing ability. That much is certain.
Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy
The title of the worst bass player is heavily contested by a musician who actually can play well when he wants.
As famous as he is for being the long-running bass player of Fall Out Boy, Pete is also famous for shenanigans like openly stating that he dislikes his band’s material and doesn’t even listen to the music they made.
This wouldn’t be too important if he was out of the band. But apparently, he is still playing the same 3-note lines that most beginners could figure out as soon as they picked up the bass.
Similar to Sid, Fall Out Boy’s music doesn’t necessarily need a top-notch bass player. Pete is often seen jumping and making a show rather than playing ridiculously elaborate licks. But the fact that he often misses some of the simplest riffs makes him a guest of honor on this list.
Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue
A little disclaimer. Nikki Sixx is easily the best bass player on the list of the worst bassists in big bands. And similar to Pete and Sid, some of his bad habits got in the way of his playing more than the lack of skill.
Namely, Motley Crue is notorious for its big indulgent binges, some of which are even documented in Nikki’s latest book. He’s an amazing songwriter and composer, but heavy drinking and playing music rarely results in pristine musicianship.
He had far more opportunities to decorate his licks than Pete, for instance, since Motley Crue songs aren’t exactly casual rock. The open animosity most of the band harbored for each other in certain periods also played a role in Nikki sometimes not playing as well as some of his fans may have wanted him to.
An isolated track of his Anarchy in the UK bass line also showcases the fact that Nikki sometimes didn’t really care about his tone, or that he was more occupied with interacting with the crowd to notice that his bass got a bit muffled along the way.
Ultimately, Nikki is a talented musician. But in certain environments when indulging came ahead of music, his skills and impact as a bassist weren’t on par with the level Motley Crue is on.
Krist Novoselic of Nirvana
Again, a bit of a disclaimer. Krist Novoselic might be an awesome bass player if his chosen genre was anything else than the grunge we all know him for.
He’s more overrated than he is a downright bad player, although there were times when he tripped on surprisingly simple lines, with the most notable example being one of Nirvana’s biggest hits: In Bloom.
The issue with playing slow and steady lines as a pocket bass player is that it requires a lot of self-control. This is especially true for bass players who saturate their tone with so much gain that it’s difficult to set it apart from the guitar’s tone.
With Krist, he’d sometimes have difficulties containing such high amounts of distortion in his tone. And since Nirvana didn’t have a second guitarist or percussionist to cover these little mishaps, any mistake he made would be twice as apparent.
Krist Novoselic is not the definition of a bad bass player, but he took quite a bit of time to pinpoint the tone he wanted to use. Once again, take a listen to You Know You’re Right. It’s almost as if a different person was playing.
Alec John Such of Bon Jovi
One of the founding members of the legendary Bon Jovi, Alec John Such built a band that was arguably a bit too large for his shoes.
As with most glam rock projects of that time, Bon Jovi put a large emphasis on the looks. And there’s plenty of early footage of the band as proof that Alec couldn’t get enough of the camera. So much so that he’d completely stop playing, so that he could catch the lens for a nice photo.
That aside, Alec was almost a decade older than John and the rest of the band. Without the accessibility of music lessons we are now privy to, Alec wasn’t in his prime when the band peaked. And he had trouble keeping up, while the rest of the group flourished.
Even though he’s not the most notorious example of a bad bassist in a big band, he simply never caught up with the requirements in time. And then the motorcycle accident made it almost impossible for him to continue playing. So even though he’s not bad per se, he’s certainly unluckier than most.
Fieldy of Korn
Reginald Arvizu, more popularly known as Fieldy, is only a bad bassist if we gauge his skills based on absurdly strict metal bassist standards. It is the norm for bass players in heavier metal styles to be as accurate as clockwork. Anything remotely sloppy is considered a cardinal sin.
In an old playthrough of Freak On a Leash Fieldy makes just a few subtle mistakes, which the community of metal elitists won’t forget anytime soon.
More importantly, Fieldy appears to have bitten more than he could chew, creating very deliberate and intricate lines in lieu of the swings and grooves for which nu metal is more famous.
Worst Bass Players Of All Time: Final Thoughts
All of the above bass players played in huge bands, so they were obviously doing something right. And most of them do have talent. But for whatever reason, they never fully applied that talent.
As a result, they just don’t stack up the to greatness of their respective bands. Are they the worst bass players ever? Far from it. But they are the worst players in huge bands. And their shortcoming are even more apparent when you compare them to the best bassists ever.
And again, I know almost everyone will agree with at least some of my choices. And will likely have other suggestions you feel should have made my list. Go ahead and let me know in the comments below. I’ll be happy to add good suggestions. I won’t remove anyone from my list, though.
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