TOP THREE!

[allihts]

Flea - Chili Peppers - got me into bass by making it sound interesting/cool!
Ross McNae - Twin Atlantic - Plays really clever lines without making it sound too busy/failing to hold down the low end
John Deacon - Queen - Needs no explanation

[witterth]

Palladino,Edwards and King in no order........well...allright possibly Pino at no:1 but then I do like a bit of King,but then again he, himself would say that Edwards was the funk player that he was infl.............(and so on)

[Lylodile]

1. Flea
2. Norman Watt-Roy
3. Les Claypool

Others I would have put on the list are:
• Sneaky (Fingathing)
• Bruce Thomas

[Wil]

Juan Alderete - his playing in the Mars Volta is so solid, inventive and just plain [i]cool[/i]. He is capable of shredding round the fretboard at a rate of knots but crucially doesnt 99% of the time. He's a bit like a modern John Paul Jones in my eyes.

Cass Lewis - Serious chops and my benchmark for rock playing from his work in Skunk Anansie. Brilliant, aggressive Stingray tone, totally underpins the band and his fills are always bang on for the song. He throws in some great funk and dub influenced lines too.

Stuart Zender - Inspired me to actually become a decent bass player. When I first picked up the bass, aged 10 or so, Zender's playing caught my ear and made me want to be a good enough player to make the bass groove and flow within the song like he did.

[Chris2112]

1) Stuart Hamm - I've loved his playing since I was about 15. He's the reason I've owned two Kubicki Ex Factor basses, as I love the tone he got out of them. So to be able to use that sound myself is very cool! He's one of the most complete players around, he is the man.

2) Mark King - Probably the most obvious influence on my playing, I often try to come at things with my Mark King hat on and impart some up front, funky sounds to things. His playing is incredible: awesome slap skills, brilliant burpy fingerstyle lines and impeccable note choice and timing. Others grovel at his feet!

3) Geddy Lee - the master of fingerstyle bass playing. Incredible note choice, dead on timing, brilliant tone (especially with a Wal). He's about as close to a bass god as I can imagine. Amazing song writer too. Power Windows and Hold Your Fire define good music for me.

honourable mentions:

Jonas Hellborg, Tony Butler, Jaco

[JamieBenzies]

Edgar Meyer? Anybody?

[Chezz55]

1 John Entwistle
2 Charles Mingus
3 Me

[charic]

1. Dave Ellefson (Megadeth)
2. John Myung (Dream Theater
3. Chris Wolves at home* (Muse)

*Couldn't remember the correct spelling

Edited September 20, 2010 by charic

[Lozz196]

I can only name two, as there are many other great bassists out there, but these two are the ones that really influenced my playing:

1. Bruce Foxton - The Jam
2. JJ Burnell - The Stranglers

If pushed for a third, would be between Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols) Adam Clayton (U2) or John Deacon (Queen).

[Low End Bee]

Mark Flea

or

JJB
Robbie Shakespeare
Paul Gray - Eddie & the Hot Rods, Damned, UFO one not the Slipknot one.

[mcgraham]

Hadrien Feraud - only since seeing him live recently and can say he's improved loads, and I mean that in a musical/taste sense.
Vic Wooten - can't think of anyone else who grooves that hard and has such epic technique.
Matt Garrison - huge inspiration for me in years gone by both in terms of technique, phrasing, and vision.

Others who are fairly high up my list:
Janek Gwizdala - also great groover, GREAT tone and soloing voice, and still an inspiration for me.
Bill Dickens - great groover and makes Vic look pedestrian at times.
Flea - I have to own up and say he was the reason I took up bass - a true bass player who has written some killer riffs/hooks and really serves the song.

Mark

[Chris2112]

I'm not sure I'd agree that Dickens makes Vic look pedestrian, but I do really like his playing (his fingerstyle soloing is fantastic!). Also, I think he's the only person I've really seen use that pluck-hammer-slap thing for playing triplets.

[mcgraham]

Well you're entitled to your opinion There's a particular video I saw a few years ago that exemplifies this. It's Bill Dickens, Victor, Steve Vailey, Oteil Burbridge and perhaps one more bassist (whose name escapes me), and Bill absolutely steals the show.

[Noisyjon]

My top 3 are:
1. Flea,
2. Cliff Burton (Original Metallica man),
3. John Paul Jones.

Interestingly as much as I revere these Guys, their style doesn't obviously influence my playing that much!

JTB

[Cat Burrito]

Avoiding the obvious choices & sticking within the genre I play;

Skip Battin
Chris Etheridge
Chris Hillman