Stuart Clayton

I'd recommend Zander Zon's album 'Sonorous'. He's written some really great music that you can enjoy as solo bass, but which you can also enjoy just as music - what I mean, is that it doesn't sound like a typical 'bass' album. Check out his YouTube channel: [url="http://www.youtube.com/user/Zander4724"]http://www.youtube.com/user/Zander4724[/url] I'd also recommend Michael Manring's 'Soliloquy' too - awesome stuff. Stu

Such a great song. We play it in the function band I work in since we've got an awesome singer who can really pull it off. The hardest part is getting that groove to swing - the interaction between the bass and drums is so important on this one. Fun to play! Stu

[quote name='crez5150' post='1108557' date='Jan 30 2011, 07:50 PM']Everybody dance...... that is an absolute killer to play.... took me ages to get up to speed with that one... great tune[/quote] If you can do it with the Bernard Edwards 'chucking' technique then my hat is well and truly off to you!! Stu

There's a full transcription on my site: [url="http://stuartclayton.com/media/transcriptions/"]http://stuartclayton.com/media/transcriptions/[/url] Might be some other stuff to tempt you there too... Stu

Welcome back Rich, and those are some sweet looking basses you have/had there! Stu

Without wanting to plug my own work toooo much, you could do worse than to check out this transcription book that I wrote a couple of years back which covers the funk and disco grooves of Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards: [url="http://www.basslinepublishing.com/nile-rodgers-and-bernard-edwards-funk-and-disco-grooves.html"]http://www.basslinepublishing.com/nile-rod...co-grooves.html[/url] The book contains guitar and bass transcriptions to all the hits that Nile and Bernard wrote with Chic, Sister Sledge and Diana Ross. Obvious highlights - as mentioned by some of the other posters - are 'Le Freak' and 'Good Times', but for Bernard at his best, you should check out his lines on 'My Feet Keep Dancing', 'Thinking Of You', 'My Forbidden Lover' and of course 'Everybody Dance'. Phenomenal playing and some of greatest funk/disco that you could ever want to listen to! Stu

[quote name='Conan' post='1095942' date='Jan 20 2011, 08:13 AM']Very nice. Loving the section from 0.58 to 1.06. Tasteful use of double thumbing too![/quote] Awesome tone - great job too! Stu

[quote name='silddx' post='1079583' date='Jan 6 2011, 10:29 AM']That's all fine, Stuart, but I don't have an iPad I can read on the khazi [i]I think BGM, for all its spellchecking faults is a good mag[/i] There are more faults than just spelling and grammar though, like reviewing a different bass to the pictured one, awful ratings systems for reviews, and reviews for cheap basses pitched in the same way as those for £4k basses (does the potential buyer of a £4k bass need a picture of the bridge with the caption "the bridge is adjustable for each individual string"??). Another problem is photos rarely having captions which can be very annoying. Parts of an interview was missing recently and there was no redress in the next issue, despite complaints. Dud information, incorrect transcriptions in the learning section. That awful, awful, pointless scholarship blog. The lack of any challenging editorial that gets players, manufacturers and retailers thinking. You are right that Mike is an ace interviewer and writer, and I trust his CD reviews too. Mike Brooks however has suddenly started writing like he's been told to "sex things up a bit" or something. It's not all bad, but it could be so much better with some care and attention, and a more balls.[/quote] Absolutely, care and attention is the key. The issue as I see it is that there are not enough people proof-reading the material, for whatever reason - presumably a budgetary one. I have offered in the past to help out, as well as check all the music notation and format it to the same size/font/style etc (as it should be). Unfortunately it's not something that I would do for free, and so it hasn't happened. Stu

[quote name='Rich' post='1079465' date='Jan 6 2011, 07:53 AM']+1. I used to automatically buy Bass Pamphlet, sorry [i]Player[/i] whenever I saw it in Smith's, but last time I flicked through it first and none of the few bits I could see between the adverts appealed in the slightest. So I walked away. A lack of competition doesn't excuse a lack of care though. I hate to say it, but Bassist was a far more polished product.[/quote] It will undoubtedly seem that I am saying this because I sometimes work for BGM, but do people honestly think that Bassist was a good magazine? I read it (and bought every issue) purely because it was the only UK mag available at the time, and something was better than nothing. However, the blokey, man-in-the-pub writing style was appalling, the reviews were dreadful, the editorial was poor and... well, there was that Burt Reynolds bass cartoon as well wasn't there? I did not miss it when it went. I think BGM, for all its spellchecking faults is a good mag. There are some great writers there - Mike Flynn being the one who springs to mind - and Nick has done a great job since he took over as editor. After all, taking a bi-monthly magazine to a monthly magazine during a recession can't be the easiest thing in the world to do now can it?! It's also a shame to see Bass Player US getting slimmer every month and losing staff - I was sad to see Bill Leigh go, and don't feel that Jonathan Herrera was quite good enough to replace him. I'm really hoping they keep it going and don't merge with Guitar Player. I personally think some of the online bass mags are starting to create some real competition to their printed counterparts. Stu

I just interviewed Stu for Bass Guitar Magazine, and we discussed his new bass in a fair amount of detail. There's not a lot I can add to what was said above, but the pickup configuration is unusual, and there are piezo's in the bridge. I guess it may not look much, but I think the picture is the prototype - no doubt Stu will do for a nice sparkle finish like on some of his Urge basses! I've heard Stu's album, 'Just Outside of Normal' and it's really good. Some unusual stuff on there, and some great compositions. Oh yeah, the bass playing is pretty good too... Look for out for all of the above in an issue of BGM coming soon. Stuart

Hey Grant, Not sure if it's of any use, but it's in The Mark King Bass Book - which I wrote last year. You can check the book out here: [url="http://www.basslinepublishing.com/the-mark-king-bass-book.html"]http://www.basslinepublishing.com/the-mark...-bass-book.html[/url] Hope that helps, Stuart [quote name='Grant' post='1030758' date='Nov 20 2010, 07:35 PM']Hey everyone, Would appreciate the tab of a section of this tune by Mark King if anyone has it. It's the section from 11: 45 on The Essential from his Influences solo album. Only lasts a minute, but I adore this little piece. Can anyone help...? Cheers Grant[/quote]