We kick things off with Jason talking about the craziness of running in winter, and how cold it has been this year. Then we dive into how to learn basslines by ear. Jason asks Mike how he learns by ear, you learn Mike’s approach to getting the music into his subconscious mind.
Mike mentions how tricky it can be to figure out the basslines for music with the bass buried in the mix. The other challenge is figuring out how to make the sounds that you do hear.
Jason then talks about a Billy Sheehan bassline that he had a hard time trying to figure out back when he was starting – a trill that was insanely fast that continued to elude him… Back in the days before Youtube, Jason had to wait until catching Mr. Big live before he could figure out how Billy was executing his god-like technique. (Jason was pissed).
Then Mike attempts to make the sound at the end of Alice Cooper’s “Eighteen”…with mixed results.
Getting the right bass sound is “…one part execution and one part equipment” – according to Mike.
Jason in his Yoda-like way also says it’s about technique as well.
Watch and listen to the full episode below and enjoy all the music mentioned during the show as part of the playlist.