#anthrax #frankbello #metalbass Metal Bass Microscope Episode two featuring Anthrax bassist Frank Bello. We'll go over his history, tone, gear and technique.
Oh man I couldn’t agree more with Frank Bello & his youthful energy, it’s awesome!! I’m a bassist as well & play fretless as well & was influenced by Sadus,Charred Walls Of The Damned,Testament,Death etc bassist Steve Digiorgio. I was also heavily influenced by Peter Steele of Carnivore & Type O Negative.
Man I love this series. Both Bello and D. D. Verni were two of my biggest influences, along with Ellefson and McKagan, when I started playing. And c'mon, Bello is just badass, for me he is the personification of what a thrash bassist should look and sound like. One bassist I would really enjoy for you to cover is Jesse de los Santos, ex-bassist for Havok. Super underrated player with great fingerstyle technique and sound. Waiting for the next episode!
Frank is one of my favourite bassists. He's so much fun to watch live, and his bass playing really drives Anthrax's songs to another level. 🤘😈🤘 Plus, he's a really cool guy in person, too! 😁 Cheers!
I was lucky enough to meet Frank and chat with him at length and an event put on by Bass Player magazine a few years ago. Not only was he a huge influence on my bass playing but he is one of the most likable and humble people you'll ever meet. He's one of those that you'll never forget.
Totally agree. I talked with him at the NAMM convention a few years ago. Super cool, and nothing but enthusiasm. Glad you got to talk with him. Thanks for watching!
Funny story about Anthrax: when I was in highschool in 2009, they played a one-off show right next to my school on the east river in NYC which also featured a professional snowboarding competition. They performed with a singer everyone thought sucked because he wasn't Joey Belladonna. Years later I found out the singer (Dan Nelson) was fired the day after because the band was so angry with him they used the show to dump him back in NY before continuing their tour. So I got to see I think the only performance in the US featuring Dan Nelson on vocals.
I'm an veteran of the OG thrash of the 80s since it's inception. Frank Bello was the best of the thrash era and proves it on from his debut on Spreading The Disease to Among The Living, State of Euphoria and Persistence of Time.
Never meet your heroes. Unless your hero is Frank Bello. In that case,yeah,do it. He's a great funny human who treats YOU like the rock star! Also...the bass lines in the fast part of "the horror of it all" Instant Classic! Excellent video.
Frank is one of the bassists that made me pick up the instrument. Fantastic musician... and you're not to shabby yourself. Still waiting on more Voice Of Dissent \m/
Bello, Daisley, and Butler were the first bassists that jumped out at me, even as a kid who had no clue how to listen for the bass. Frank has a bell-like tone, almost sounds like a big, deep piano note every time he hits the strings.
@@mattbuza8964 Nee strings is a factor. He also doesn’t just scoop mids like everybody else. Maybe a little, but not nearly as much as someone like ellefson
I've tried playing my bass the way he does and DAMN. It might just be me still being fairly new but it hurts my arm trying to play that fast and aggressively
I just started watching the Metal Bass Microscope and I’m very fascinated by it. My favorite bass players are Cliff Burton, Steve Harris, Frank Bello, D.D. Verni, and Geezer Butler. I would appreciate if you do a Metal Bass Microscope on Cliff Burton, especially since he has been a huge influence of mine.
Hey Kevin, thanks for watching! Glad I could cover a couple of your favorites already. Cliff will most definitely get an episode, as well as Harris and Butler. All three are legends that no metal bass list would be complete without. I'll look forward to your feedback on those when they get released. Thanks again for watching!
Frank is my second favourite bassist, behind David Ellefson. Obviously, Cliff Burton is up there, along with Steve DiGiorgio, DuG Pinnick, Greg Christian and Danny Lilker.
I appreciate that. I'm trying to strike a good balance in talking about important players that don't get the spotlight enough as well as the obvious metal gods
EXCELLENT !!! Episode ! You nailed it , very informative , great choice of bass player for all the episodes , they all really deserve it My suggestion for a future episode also a great and very underrated bass player Eddie Jackson from queensryche. Thanks for your contribution for the bass community
Thanks for the kind words and comment! Eddie Jackson is a fantastic player. I'll definitely be covering him in the not too distant future. Thanks for watching!
Frank and I went to the same high school. We are from the same neighborhood. My mom worked in that high school for years, so I was able to get a copy of his year book. I seen him walking one day at a place called "the square" (in the Bronx) and it was out of context, so I didn't put it together that it was him walking toward me. As he passes me, he said "great band" as he pointed to my Megadeth shirt. I stupidly yelled out, "My Anthrax shirt was dirty." Awkward. I always think of that moment and how I wish I said something a lot cooler or stopped to get his autograph. Oh well.
Another great episode mate, love it. Another player who I always considered criminally underrated is Billy Gould from Faith No More. He certainly had some stand out moments and his style and tone obviously evolved to fit with their music from album to album. But I’ll never forget the first time I heard Zombie Eaters off The Real Thing. First time I’d ever heard bass with massive distortion that just blew me away. Looking forward to the rest of the series 😊
Funny, I was just listening to them a few days ago and thought the same thing! Zombie eaters is amazing. I thought he had to be using a metal pick or something at the time. It was so aggro! Thanks for checking in tossing out a great idea.
Rodney McG no problem mate, another player who I really admired tonewise was Micheal Bishop (aka Beefcake the mighty) from Gwar. However I couldn’t see an entire episode on him given the revolving door Gwar had on bass players. However Bishop had an amazing tone on America must be destroyed, especially on the song Pussy Planet where he kicks off with this heavy/punchy low end that was distorted for metal and yet had an almost overall funk/fusion vibe about it. Possibly attributed to his finger style playing as well as his gear. And like Frank when you listen to intro of Gor Gor you hear Bishop providing something extra in the background as the guitars just ride out over a chord. And of course him playing the upright bass on the intro to Have you seen me? provided that nice club jazz feel. Definitely versatile player. So many great musicians from this time period, but then again they had to be. There was no assisting tools to get by with back then, you either nailed your craft or you were extinct.
@@hbomb495 He may be someone to add on a "worthy of mention" episode of bassists due credit, but not a full video. There's a few i can think of like that. And you're dead on about how things have changed. I see a lot of video shred masters that just can't pull it off live these days. It's a shame for sure.
never actually noticed how he found his sound and drove it home for all those years. It must have made a big difference on how the albums came out but we still had a solid familiar grounding to pummel our ears. Very interesting concept in sonic familiarity. killer
Great video Rodney! Frank is the man. One of my favourite metal bass players 🤘🤘. Worth noting too that the Sansamp Bass Driver DI was and is still a big part of his tone for blending in some overdrive with his amp sounds. Keep up the great content !
Thanks for the kind words! Yeah, I remember seeing Frank actually go on in a video about his sansamp. He's one of the people who got me to look into them. That tone is crushing! Thanks for dropping in with the knowledge!
I definitely intend to. It's difficult because of youtube copyright issues. If i can't find a good work around, i'll continue the series on another platform. Thanks for watching.
Piano is a clean instrument. So why when you add overdrive to a Bass Guitar tone...it becomes very piano like? Yeah, to me Frank's tone sounds like someone is pounding on a gigantic grand piano...which I think is pretty cool.
Pianos have a lot more harmonic content naturally than bass. So when you have new roundwound strings + distortion/overdrive. You basically get the same effect since both of those give you extra harmonics
Felipe Andreoli (Angra) is a fingerstyle player worthy of review. His hand whipping technique (described on the english-subbed video on 3 finger technique: 3 dedos) gives him a clean midsy growl like none other.
Hey man, awesome series. I think you covered a lot of ground in your analysis/retrospective of Frank's playing (as well as DD Verni's in the other installment). One thing I wanna suggest is to simply provide more varied examples of his standout basslines, such as ones in which he breaks out of unison patterns with the band/guitars and does his own thing, and the embellishments he makes to the basic song arrangements. You kinda touched on how he does this but I feel that examples would be good. But all in all, awesome job man and I really enjoy your enthusiasm. For your next installments, may I suggest doing one on Rex Brown (Pantera, Rebel Meets Rebel, etc.) and Dan Lilker (SOD, Nuclear Assault, etc.)? I think an episode analyzing Rex's style and how he shifts from tight unison picking and incorporates his jazz influences in some of the walking basslines he played under Dime's solos (and especially in that Rebel Meets Rebel record, where he's just INSANE) would be fucking awesome. Also, I know he's not a metal player and I dunno if you like the Stones or not, but I'd love to see you do an analysis on Bill Wyman (The Rolling Stones et al) as he's one of my all-time favorites and has got a really original approach.
Thanks a lot for the kind words and great commentary. I would love to do more examples, but have to be careful. Unfortunately, even though I believe the examples fall under fair use, i still get copyright hits from youtube. More the more audio I use, the more likely I am to get a strike, or have actions taken against my channel. That keeps me at a certain amount of audio I don't want to step over. I'm looking into other ways of getting it done. Great feedback though. Rex Brown is definitely on the list and coming up!
I found this series searching for videos on DD Verni's solo project. I' glad I checked it out. The mention of Frank and David Ellefson's project got me to look into that. What I've heard there so far is pretty cool. Frank was playing with a pick on that, at least the song Here Again.
Love your channel, thanx for all the work you must put into it, great insights. Could I ask you give your take on a bassist from here in England, Jo Bench from Bolt Thrower? They put out some blistering stuff back in the day.
Thanks for the kind words and taking the time watch. I'm a fan of Jo as well. There are a number of bassists that I don't know would fill a whole episode, but that i want to cover. I will probably do an episode of bassists worthy of mention. Like a top 20, etc. I will definitely include him in there. \m/
Great vid. An thanks for the Schecter bass reviews you did a lil while back. It helped me settle on Schecter, as well as which to choose between the Apocalypse and the SLS Elite. I grabbed the Evil Twin version of the SLS in the end, so I can play anything an get the best sound. Id be Interested in a Cliff Burton vid. Id be interested to hear your view if thats someone youd be interested in. Cheers, keep rockin.
Glad the review helped out! The Evil Twin is a beast. I might have to grab one myself! Cliff is definitely on the list. No metal bass list is complete without him!
Hi This is a great series and very informative. Steve Harris is who got me playing at high school and I still am awe struck by him. A suggestion on who I would love to see reviewed is Ron Royce from the band Coroner. When I first saw the clip for Masked Jackal I played it over and over in amazement. This guy is seriously fast, and singing at the same time. A much underrated band. Interested in hearing your thoughts
Love some Frank Bello Bass Playing! One of my favorite bassists of all time! I got me a black ESP Surveyor Bass, Black Frank Bello EMG Pickups, D'adderio strings, Ampeg SVT Bass Amp, Ampeg 8x10 cab, Sans Amp DI Bass Driver Pedal. Yea, Frank Bello is my Bass Hero!
@@RodneyMcG Its been 2 yrs in the making. Ever since my divorce I went kind of crazy working overtime and buying all my dream gear I been dreaming of since '91. Just taking a while. I got a Ampeg SVT 4 and getting ready to get a Ampeg SVT- VR. I got 2 US Fender P basses, a Duff Mcagan Fender P-J bass, Gibson Thunderbird, Players Fender P Bass, the ESP. Got a Geezer Butler Wah, Morley Power Wah, Big Muff Pi, Corona Chorus, Boss Bass Chorus, MXR envelope, MXR octave,, more pedals, plus a Fender Rumble combo. Planning to get a Rickenbacker, Aria Pro 2, Music Man Bass. Just taking a while being I'm also working on my 6 string- guitar gear too. I always wanted a jam house filled with dream gear since '91, and now getting on it since my recent divorce with nobody telling me I can't get gear. Thanks for saying that man. I really love your video, and you know your stuff! Looking forward to every other vid you put out. Just subscribed
These bass microscope vids have been so informative, iv always wondered these things when iv listened to Frank Bello and DD Verni. Could you please do a dive into Cathedral's bass tone? Particularly on on album "The Ethereal Mirror". Much like DD Verni making a drastic transition in tone between a first and second Overkill albums, Cathedral did the same with their sound between Forest of Equillibrium and The Ethereal Mirror. Much of this is owed to them getting a professional studio for Ethereal Mirror, but the bass tone is the clear show-stealer on this album. Iv been chasing that sound forever but am still lost.
HELMET... next video about just the opening bass line to milquetoast :-) loves me my squier bello with geezer pj passives, hi-mass bridge and decent tuners... only missing speed holes at this point! :-)
@@RodneyMcG i was blown away learning he uses fingerstyle..... he must absolutely slam the strings. He sounds like he uses a pick honestly. I just saw the Overkill episode. To me that gentleman's tone is pretty similar but one uses a pick and the other does not. Frank's tone is crazy consistent throughout no matter how crazy things get
He does and he doesn't. It's more how he attacks. We use a similar approach, but he uses a lot more wrist motion. You can get a pick tone with fingers easily if you know the right adjustments to make.
Frank bello was a huge influence on me as a player, i play with 2 fingers instead of three though, his tone on for all kings was massive and had the big low mid bump without being muddy, it just sliced right through the guitars especially on the intro to the song breathing lightning
I agree, it's a really interesting new direction for him. He's been reliably badass for decades, and he's still growing. EMG is sending me some of the new pickups he's using to demo out, i'm psyched to hear them in person.
I was 12 when i saw overkill the first time. It was during years of decay tour. Im mostly a guitarist but when i play bass i try to dial in a D.D. tone if i cant its dave ellefson or Frank Bello
I dig this video, and I'll definitely check out more. Just a couple notes...when Got the Time is playing, the wrong album cover is shown. Also, I wish you'd showcased the bass on A Skeleton in the Closet. That may be my favorite Bello bassline.
I found the fingers are natural for playing the Bass guitar 🎸 me favorite instrument 😊,got the time is the first song I've been trying to play by anthrax seen them 7 times in concert great show's
Great video, one suggestion for a future edition, Dan Lilker from Nuclear Assault, that guy does a phenomenal job in the metal bass, thanks and great channel Rodney,.
Hey Brother, Love your vids. I'm a late bloomer to your channel but you have me hooked. How about a Metal Bass Microscope episode about Steve Digiorgio? I apologize if you already did one on his playing. Thanks!
I just scrolled thru the comments, I'm shocked, literally shocked, that I'm the 1st to say Roger Patterson. I pray it's not a sign of his being forgotten too soon !! Cmon kids ???!😊
I have seen Got The Time played with a double slap/down & up style before. I thought it was Frankie that I seen but it may have just been someone here.
I like Frank Bello, and I like David Elefson. I like their playing, their tone and approach to the instrument bass. Last not least I like them both playing Larry Hartke's stuff, he again has a good name in the metal bass players community, and Larry deserves this. His amps and cabs do have all the tone and power you need, and though they had the reputation of beeing "beginners or at best, student grade gear" for a long time, the Hartke amps have been sturdy and built like tanks, a lot like older Peavey amps. It feels like a lot bass players switched to Hartke after Ampeg cheaped out all their products not made in overseas. The only thing I didn't like from the Hartke stuff - the cabs. As I liked the early cabs with the aluminum speakers, their nice high end and high mids made the bass tone cut through, I couldn't stand the VX 4.5 and other cabs with paper cone speakers. When the HighDrive series of cabs came out, the cabs became even better. More bottom end, mids became s bit smoother, and a pleasing high end and high mids. They are cabs made for a metal tone. To be honest, I don't own Hartke gear, but had it countles times as a rented backline. Several times the Kilo with two Hydrive 410", sometimes with two Hydrive 115", a cab I like a lot. But it needs lots of power to push some air. Even more often than the Kilo I found a LH 500 or LH 1000 on stage, two simple but powerful amps you dial in your tone in no time - if you know how to handle a tonestack.
Frank switched to Hartke because the Ampeg stuff didn't appear as good as it was back in the days, with poor quality control but high prices for amps made in China. Lots of bands switched from Ampeg to the good old GallienKrueger 800 RB or Hartke on their tech riders. And Hartke. Hartke amps seem to be simple, and don't get a lot of good rap because they are cheap. But its not a matter of the price, its a matter of consistency in quality and tone, and the amps are available literally everywhere. Larry Hartke stands with his products because "its my name that is on the amp", as he says. And he is super nice to his artists. At least everybody is hoping that Ampeg will improve the overall built quality, quality control and customer service after they are now in the Yamaha family.
You're right on all counts. Alot of long time Ampeg guys jumped ship - Billy Sheehan, Rex Brown, etc. They really did some damage to themselves. I've talked with Larry before and he's a great guy. He definitely has pride in his work. I thought the Kilo was a killer amp and was disappointed when they discontinued it. Great info, thanks for watching!
@Rodney McG do you think his SansAmp was used in the album too? Or he might be using something else on his chain? I always think of the possibility of the bass on this album being slightly overdriven by a tube distortion rather than using SansAmp. What you think?
I'm asking that because I wanted to make a bass tone that will get as closer as possible to his tone. So I decided that I will make my own bass with EMGs and try to get my rig as close as I could.
@@RodneyMcG Also, I try to follow his style as much as I can (this became natural for me) I have a programable SansAmp and stuff, but I still feel despite I can get somehow close,, I'm far from the "gorgeous" part of his sound in this album, that piano like attack.
One of the problems I run into when trying to fit into the mix is getting too harsh of a sound whenever I turn up the treble. I need enough treble to hear the notes I'm playing, but that amount also is too much for the mix. I know that having a sound similar to Frank Bello will fit in the mix. I was wondering if there are any ways to get around this.
2:25 "While having so much motion..." I assumed you were talking about how he is on stage - The guy is constantly running around while playing this stuff!
I thought it was got the time he was most known for don’t get me wrong among the living is one of my favorite albums and frank is one of my influences but I think got the time is more icon like people who aren’t metal heads are more likely to know got the time because it’s not as heavy
Hey, you've likely got this suggestion multiple times, if so maybe it'll just reinforce the idea to you. If not, wtf is wrong withe young bassists these days?? Anyway, the name: Roger Patterson, the band - Athiest-. Amazing bassist who was sadly taken from his human shell too early like cliff! PLEASE!!! DO R.PATTERSON
A player who never lost his youthful energy.
Isn't that the truth?! I wish I had half his boundless enthusiasm. Thanks for watching!
Like Steve Harris.
Oh man I couldn’t agree more with Frank Bello & his youthful energy, it’s awesome!! I’m a bassist as well & play fretless as well & was influenced by Sadus,Charred Walls Of The Damned,Testament,Death etc bassist Steve Digiorgio. I was also heavily influenced by Peter Steele of Carnivore & Type O Negative.
One of Anthrax’s greatest assets 🤘🏾
King of the clank.
Man I love this series. Both Bello and D. D. Verni were two of my biggest influences, along with Ellefson and McKagan, when I started playing. And c'mon, Bello is just badass, for me he is the personification of what a thrash bassist should look and sound like.
One bassist I would really enjoy for you to cover is Jesse de los Santos, ex-bassist for Havok. Super underrated player with great fingerstyle technique and sound.
Waiting for the next episode!
Thanks a lot for watching and the kind words! I'll look into Jesse at some point i'm sure. I'm working on Ellefson now, he's up next!
Frank has a amazing voice and his guitar playing is amazing.
Frank is one of my favourite bassists. He's so much fun to watch live, and his bass playing really drives Anthrax's songs to another level. 🤘😈🤘
Plus, he's a really cool guy in person, too! 😁
Cheers!
Man, thanks for putting spotlight on 2 of my favorite yet extremely underrated bassist in DD and Frankie!
Glad you enjoyed it!
DD has the best bass tone. And I love me some Frank.
I was lucky enough to meet Frank and chat with him at length and an event put on by Bass Player magazine a few years ago. Not only was he a huge influence on my bass playing but he is one of the most likable and humble people you'll ever meet. He's one of those that you'll never forget.
Totally agree. I talked with him at the NAMM convention a few years ago. Super cool, and nothing but enthusiasm. Glad you got to talk with him. Thanks for watching!
Funny story about Anthrax: when I was in highschool in 2009, they played a one-off show right next to my school on the east river in NYC which also featured a professional snowboarding competition. They performed with a singer everyone thought sucked because he wasn't Joey Belladonna. Years later I found out the singer (Dan Nelson) was fired the day after because the band was so angry with him they used the show to dump him back in NY before continuing their tour. So I got to see I think the only performance in the US featuring Dan Nelson on vocals.
I remember that guy. Rob Caggiano was an aquiantance at the time and I got some of the behind the scenes info on him. A real douche bag apparently.
I'm an veteran of the OG thrash of the 80s since it's inception. Frank Bello was the best of the thrash era and proves it on from his debut on Spreading The Disease to Among The Living, State of Euphoria and Persistence of Time.
He's a legend, no doubt. Thanks for watching!
What is OG?
Never meet your heroes.
Unless your hero is Frank Bello. In that case,yeah,do it.
He's a great funny human who treats YOU like the rock star!
Also...the bass lines in the fast part of "the horror of it all"
Instant Classic!
Excellent video.
True! I got to talk bass with Frank at the NAMM show a while back. Super nice and just as you described. Excellent guy.
Frank is one of the bassists that made me pick up the instrument. Fantastic musician... and you're not to shabby yourself. Still waiting on more Voice Of Dissent \m/
Frank is a true beast. I appreciate the kind words, and some new VOD may be popping up soon😉
I agree and his live performance is awesome.
Frank is a beast on stage! Thanks for watching!
Bello, Daisley, and Butler were the first bassists that jumped out at me, even as a kid who had no clue how to listen for the bass. Frank has a bell-like tone, almost sounds like a big, deep piano note every time he hits the strings.
Big influences for me too. Especially Daisley
@@RodneyMcG I've recently taken up the bass after 30 years as a guitarist. Finally learning all those tasty Daisley licks!
I’ve been calling it a piano tone for years, like he’s banging on the low keys, it’s awesome.
@@mattbuza8964 Nee strings is a factor. He also doesn’t just scoop mids like everybody else. Maybe a little, but not nearly as much as someone like ellefson
I've tried playing my bass the way he does and DAMN. It might just be me still being fairly new but it hurts my arm trying to play that fast and aggressively
Frank is about the best thrash bassist you could hope for. Not only due to his tone, but his abilities.
Very under-rated player. Amazing bassist and over all humanitarian 🙏🤘
I just started watching the Metal Bass Microscope and I’m very fascinated by it.
My favorite bass players are Cliff Burton, Steve Harris, Frank Bello, D.D. Verni, and Geezer Butler.
I would appreciate if you do a Metal Bass Microscope on Cliff Burton, especially since he has been a huge influence of mine.
Hey Kevin, thanks for watching! Glad I could cover a couple of your favorites already. Cliff will most definitely get an episode, as well as Harris and Butler. All three are legends that no metal bass list would be complete without. I'll look forward to your feedback on those when they get released. Thanks again for watching!
Said it before, I'll say it again, Bello's the king of the clank.
Great video! Definitely a well explanation of Frank and what he’s all about
I love that I can always go back to these to appreciate the greats and get some inspiration
Awesome! Can’t wait fir the next episode.
Thanks, glad you're enjoying them!
Frank is my second favourite bassist, behind David Ellefson. Obviously, Cliff Burton is up there, along with Steve DiGiorgio, DuG Pinnick, Greg Christian and Danny Lilker.
All great names. Keep an eye out this week for a suprise on the channel from your favorite 😉
These are great videos, really enjoying them!
thanks a lot! New one coming this week
BTW, I love that you cover bass players that are not talked about ad-nauseum.
I appreciate that. I'm trying to strike a good balance in talking about important players that don't get the spotlight enough as well as the obvious metal gods
EXCELLENT !!! Episode ! You nailed it , very informative , great choice of bass player for all the episodes , they all really deserve it
My suggestion for a future episode also a great and very underrated bass player Eddie Jackson from queensryche.
Thanks for your contribution for the bass community
Thanks for the kind words and comment! Eddie Jackson is a fantastic player. I'll definitely be covering him in the not too distant future. Thanks for watching!
This series is awesome! You deserve more subs dude.
Thanks for checking it out! Hopefully the subs are coming. New episode up in a few days.
I read an interview with Frankie YEARS ago, where he spoke about his love for Rush. He absolutely loved the album Hempispheres.
Doesn't surprise me a bit. I'm sure there's some geddy in his playing. Thanks for watching!
I love Tom Sawyer that's one of my favs
An appropriate follow-up to the DDVerni video.
Much appreciated. Thanks for checking it out
Frankie is the man! He's not a 4 string rhythm gtr player. A real deal bass player!🤘
Nothing wrong with 4 string rhythm guitar! We wouldn't have Motorhead without it!
@@danieljuhasz685 ya got me there!🤣🤘
Frank and I went to the same high school. We are from the same neighborhood. My mom worked in that high school for years, so I was able to get a copy of his year book. I seen him walking one day at a place called "the square" (in the Bronx) and it was out of context, so I didn't put it together that it was him walking toward me. As he passes me, he said "great band" as he pointed to my Megadeth shirt. I stupidly yelled out, "My Anthrax shirt was dirty." Awkward. I always think of that moment and how I wish I said something a lot cooler or stopped to get his autograph. Oh well.
I think you're less generic memory is probably a lot more fun! Thanks for sharing it.
I can’t believe I’m just now finding this channel. Stupid algorithm… Anyway great insight on Bello. A huge influence for me. Subbed.
Welcome aboard!
Yes , Frank Bello is underated Bass player and a very consistent member of Anthrax , without him Anthrax will sound very different .
Another great episode mate, love it.
Another player who I always considered criminally underrated is Billy Gould from Faith No More. He certainly had some stand out moments and his style and tone obviously evolved to fit with their music from album to album.
But I’ll never forget the first time I heard Zombie Eaters off The Real Thing. First time I’d ever heard bass with massive distortion that just blew me away.
Looking forward to the rest of the series 😊
Funny, I was just listening to them a few days ago and thought the same thing! Zombie eaters is amazing. I thought he had to be using a metal pick or something at the time. It was so aggro! Thanks for checking in tossing out a great idea.
Rodney McG no problem mate, another player who I really admired tonewise was Micheal Bishop (aka Beefcake the mighty) from Gwar. However I couldn’t see an entire episode on him given the revolving door Gwar had on bass players.
However Bishop had an amazing tone on America must be destroyed, especially on the song Pussy Planet where he kicks off with this heavy/punchy low end that was distorted for metal and yet had an almost overall funk/fusion vibe about it.
Possibly attributed to his finger style playing as well as his gear.
And like Frank when you listen to intro of Gor Gor you hear Bishop providing something extra in the background as the guitars just ride out over a chord. And of course him playing the upright bass on the intro to Have you seen me? provided that nice club jazz feel. Definitely versatile player.
So many great musicians from this time period, but then again they had to be. There was no assisting tools to get by with back then, you either nailed your craft or you were extinct.
@@hbomb495 He may be someone to add on a "worthy of mention" episode of bassists due credit, but not a full video. There's a few i can think of like that. And you're dead on about how things have changed. I see a lot of video shred masters that just can't pull it off live these days. It's a shame for sure.
After an episode of DD, my favorite bass player you’re doing this one, my second favorite bassist of my favorite big 4 band
Thanks again for checking out the episodes. Frank is really under appreciated in my opinion. David Ellefson episode will be up after this weekend.
@@RodneyMcG
That's Great. I would enjoy watching. Love Your details
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks again.
@@RodneyMcG
Thanks. I will Not miss It)
Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
DD Verni!! Overkill 🔥🤘🔥
never actually noticed how he found his sound and drove it home for all those years. It must have made a big difference on how the albums came out but we still had a solid familiar grounding to pummel our ears. Very interesting concept in sonic familiarity. killer
Yeah, Frank has been the anchor from the start.
Only one "thrash" metal bassist better than Frank and that is Cliff. Bello's an amazing live performer too. Anthrax is such a great live band
Great video Rodney! Frank is the man. One of my favourite metal bass players 🤘🤘. Worth noting too that the Sansamp Bass Driver DI was and is still a big part of his tone for blending in some overdrive with his amp sounds.
Keep up the great content !
Thanks for the kind words! Yeah, I remember seeing Frank actually go on in a video about his sansamp. He's one of the people who got me to look into them. That tone is crushing! Thanks for dropping in with the knowledge!
Please do more of these, I really love ghe series
I definitely intend to. It's difficult because of youtube copyright issues. If i can't find a good work around, i'll continue the series on another platform. Thanks for watching.
Love Frank!
Piano is a clean instrument. So why when you add overdrive to a Bass Guitar tone...it becomes very piano like? Yeah, to me Frank's tone sounds like someone is pounding on a gigantic grand piano...which I think is pretty cool.
Pianos have a lot more harmonic content naturally than bass. So when you have new roundwound strings + distortion/overdrive. You basically get the same effect since both of those give you extra harmonics
Awesome stuff! You got yourself a new subscriber!
Thanks, Mark! Welcome!
Great Job, love the series! Of course we have to see episodes on Steve Harris and Geddy Lee but I'd like to also see Steve DiGiorgio. Thanks
Thanks for watching! All 3 of those are on the list!
@@RodneyMcG You're a pretty outstanding player yourself! I watched your Bad Omen cover, Awesome playing and without a pick! Keep it up!
@@pupstop1 thank you! Much appreciated!
On a interview his influence was Rush Geddy Lee..
Geddy was definitely an influence along with many others. Thanks for watching!
You can certainly hear it
I love the attention you guys give to unsung thrash bassist. Great stuff here 🔥
Glad you enjoyed it
@@RodneyMcG Subscribed and will be checking for more 🤘🏾
I play bass and I like Frank Bello. He’s a cool bass player. Anthrax is awesome. Other than that, cool:).
Felipe Andreoli (Angra) is a fingerstyle player worthy of review. His hand whipping technique (described on the english-subbed video on 3 finger technique: 3 dedos) gives him a clean midsy growl like none other.
That's a great suggestion! I'll check it out!
Hey man, awesome series. I think you covered a lot of ground in your analysis/retrospective of Frank's playing (as well as DD Verni's in the other installment). One thing I wanna suggest is to simply provide more varied examples of his standout basslines, such as ones in which he breaks out of unison patterns with the band/guitars and does his own thing, and the embellishments he makes to the basic song arrangements. You kinda touched on how he does this but I feel that examples would be good. But all in all, awesome job man and I really enjoy your enthusiasm.
For your next installments, may I suggest doing one on Rex Brown (Pantera, Rebel Meets Rebel, etc.) and Dan Lilker (SOD, Nuclear Assault, etc.)? I think an episode analyzing Rex's style and how he shifts from tight unison picking and incorporates his jazz influences in some of the walking basslines he played under Dime's solos (and especially in that Rebel Meets Rebel record, where he's just INSANE) would be fucking awesome. Also, I know he's not a metal player and I dunno if you like the Stones or not, but I'd love to see you do an analysis on Bill Wyman (The Rolling Stones et al) as he's one of my all-time favorites and has got a really original approach.
Thanks a lot for the kind words and great commentary. I would love to do more examples, but have to be careful. Unfortunately, even though I believe the examples fall under fair use, i still get copyright hits from youtube. More the more audio I use, the more likely I am to get a strike, or have actions taken against my channel. That keeps me at a certain amount of audio I don't want to step over. I'm looking into other ways of getting it done. Great feedback though. Rex Brown is definitely on the list and coming up!
I found this series searching for videos on DD Verni's solo project. I' glad I checked it out. The mention of Frank and David Ellefson's project got me to look into that. What I've heard there so far is pretty cool. Frank was playing with a pick on that, at least the song Here Again.
Yeah, it's interesting hearing Frank take on a different kind of role. A really versatile player.
Love your channel, thanx for all the work you must put into it, great insights. Could I ask you give your take on a bassist from here in England, Jo Bench from Bolt Thrower? They put out some blistering stuff back in the day.
Thanks for the kind words and taking the time watch. I'm a fan of Jo as well. There are a number of bassists that I don't know would fill a whole episode, but that i want to cover. I will probably do an episode of bassists worthy of mention. Like a top 20, etc. I will definitely include him in there. \m/
Great vid. An thanks for the Schecter bass reviews you did a lil while back. It helped me settle on Schecter, as well as which to choose between the Apocalypse and the SLS Elite. I grabbed the Evil Twin version of the SLS in the end, so I can play anything an get the best sound.
Id be Interested in a Cliff Burton vid. Id be interested to hear your view if thats someone youd be interested in.
Cheers, keep rockin.
Glad the review helped out! The Evil Twin is a beast. I might have to grab one myself! Cliff is definitely on the list. No metal bass list is complete without him!
Hi This is a great series and very informative.
Steve Harris is who got me playing at high school and I still am awe struck by him.
A suggestion on who I would love to see reviewed is Ron Royce from the band Coroner. When I first saw the clip for Masked Jackal I played it over and over in amazement. This guy is seriously fast, and singing at the same time. A much underrated band. Interested in hearing your thoughts
Steve is coming up, and Ron is on the list of guys to look into. Great suggestion! Thanks for watching!
Love some Frank Bello Bass Playing! One of my favorite bassists of all time! I got me a black ESP Surveyor Bass, Black Frank Bello EMG Pickups, D'adderio strings, Ampeg SVT Bass Amp, Ampeg 8x10 cab, Sans Amp DI Bass Driver Pedal. Yea, Frank Bello is my Bass Hero!
That's one hell of a rig!
@@RodneyMcG Its been 2 yrs in the making. Ever since my divorce I went kind of crazy working overtime and buying all my dream gear I been dreaming of since '91. Just taking a while. I got a Ampeg SVT 4 and getting ready to get a Ampeg SVT- VR. I got 2 US Fender P basses, a Duff Mcagan Fender P-J bass, Gibson Thunderbird, Players Fender P Bass, the ESP. Got a Geezer Butler Wah, Morley Power Wah, Big Muff Pi, Corona Chorus, Boss Bass Chorus, MXR envelope, MXR octave,, more pedals, plus a Fender Rumble combo. Planning to get a Rickenbacker, Aria Pro 2, Music Man Bass. Just taking a while being I'm also working on my 6 string- guitar gear too. I always wanted a jam house filled with dream gear since '91, and now getting on it since my recent divorce with nobody telling me I can't get gear. Thanks for saying that man. I really love your video, and you know your stuff! Looking forward to every other vid you put out. Just subscribed
All the best to you for moving on in life. I've been there and it's a tough hurdle. Much appreciated for the sub!
Thanks alot man. What other bassists have you covered?
Here's a playlist - th-cam.com/play/PL3rH6vZdEUWUR2TE6FYqulX0RgUk07bp4.html
These bass microscope vids have been so informative, iv always wondered these things when iv listened to Frank Bello and DD Verni.
Could you please do a dive into Cathedral's bass tone? Particularly on on album "The Ethereal Mirror". Much like DD Verni making a drastic transition in tone between a first and second Overkill albums, Cathedral did the same with their sound between Forest of Equillibrium and The Ethereal Mirror. Much of this is owed to them getting a professional studio for Ethereal Mirror, but the bass tone is the clear show-stealer on this album. Iv been chasing that sound forever but am still lost.
HELMET... next video about just the opening bass line to milquetoast :-) loves me my squier bello with geezer pj passives, hi-mass bridge and decent tuners... only missing speed holes at this point! :-)
He's amazing. Huge fan of his playing and GREAT tone. And you bet , those albums are things i have played to
And to top it off, a truly cool dude.
@@RodneyMcG i was blown away learning he uses fingerstyle..... he must absolutely slam the strings. He sounds like he uses a pick honestly. I just saw the Overkill episode. To me that gentleman's tone is pretty similar but one uses a pick and the other does not. Frank's tone is crazy consistent throughout no matter how crazy things get
He does and he doesn't. It's more how he attacks. We use a similar approach, but he uses a lot more wrist motion. You can get a pick tone with fingers easily if you know the right adjustments to make.
Frank bello was a huge influence on me as a player, i play with 2 fingers instead of three though, his tone on for all kings was massive and had the big low mid bump without being muddy, it just sliced right through the guitars especially on the intro to the song breathing lightning
I agree, it's a really interesting new direction for him. He's been reliably badass for decades, and he's still growing. EMG is sending me some of the new pickups he's using to demo out, i'm psyched to hear them in person.
Rodney McG cool, are you going to try replicating his tone or a more modern kind of sound or both?
@@woofystevenson2943 I'm just going to see what sounds good to me and what I like hearing out of them. Should be a fun experiment
I was 12 when i saw overkill the first time. It was during years of decay tour. Im mostly a guitarist but when i play bass i try to dial in a D.D. tone if i cant its dave ellefson or Frank Bello
I dig this video, and I'll definitely check out more. Just a couple notes...when Got the Time is playing, the wrong album cover is shown. Also, I wish you'd showcased the bass on A Skeleton in the Closet. That may be my favorite Bello bassline.
I found the fingers are natural for playing the Bass guitar 🎸 me favorite instrument 😊,got the time is the first song I've been trying to play by anthrax seen them 7 times in concert great show's
Great video, one suggestion for a future edition, Dan Lilker from Nuclear Assault, that guy does a phenomenal job in the metal bass, thanks and great channel Rodney,.
Dan is definitely on the list for the future. Thanks for the suggestion!
Great content!! you just got another Sub 🤘🤘💀💀
Thanks for watching! Welcome!
How about Rex from Pantera?
Definitely coming up!
Hey Brother, Love your vids. I'm a late bloomer to your channel but you have me hooked. How about a Metal Bass Microscope episode about Steve Digiorgio? I apologize if you already did one on his playing. Thanks!
Frank also uses Sansamp Preamp DI :)
Correct!
I just scrolled thru the comments, I'm shocked, literally shocked, that I'm the 1st to say Roger Patterson. I pray it's not a sign of his being forgotten too soon !! Cmon kids ???!😊
Sick. He's killer.
Definitely under rated
I have seen Got The Time played with a double slap/down & up style before. I thought it was Frankie that I seen but it may have just been someone here.
I've never seen Frankie thumb anything, so that would be pretty crazy!
Please do one on David Ellefson
Coming next!
I really like his playing, as for anthrax themselves I feel they have become an awesome cover band and a parody of themselves .
I like Frank Bello, and I like David Elefson. I like their playing, their tone and approach to the instrument bass.
Last not least I like them both playing Larry Hartke's stuff, he again has a good name in the metal bass players community, and Larry deserves this.
His amps and cabs do have all the tone and power you need, and though they had the reputation of beeing "beginners or at best, student grade gear" for a long time, the Hartke amps have been sturdy and built like tanks, a lot like older Peavey amps.
It feels like a lot bass players switched to Hartke after Ampeg cheaped out all their products not made in overseas.
The only thing I didn't like from the Hartke stuff - the cabs. As I liked the early cabs with the aluminum speakers, their nice high end and high mids made the bass tone cut through,
I couldn't stand the VX 4.5 and other cabs with paper cone speakers.
When the HighDrive series of cabs came out, the cabs became even better. More bottom end, mids became s bit smoother, and a pleasing high end and high mids. They are cabs made for a metal tone.
To be honest, I don't own Hartke gear, but had it countles times as a rented backline. Several times the Kilo with two Hydrive 410", sometimes with two Hydrive 115", a cab I like a lot. But it needs lots of power to push some air.
Even more often than the Kilo I found a LH 500 or LH 1000 on stage, two simple but powerful amps you dial in your tone in no time - if you know how to handle a tonestack.
Great bit of input. I almost grabbed a Kilo myself. I was bummed they discontinued it.
Amazing videos! Please consider Joey Vera, Joey DeMaio, Markus Grosskopf and Jeff Pilson... Cheers
Thanks Chris! I'll take a look at those. Joey Vera is already on the list!
I saw a video with Frank on I got the time and he said he only uses a pick for the intro and switches back to fingers
That's correct, that's why i only featured that part. Thanks for watching!
Steve Di Giorgio from Death
Steve is definitely on the list!
What about Doug Keyser of Watchtower, he's so underrated...
Wow! That's one i haven't thought of. Great suggestion!
Doug Keyser has undoubtedly been an influence on so many. Tech/prog metal bassists.
The best album from Anthrax was state of euphoria.
You already did video about Jr. but, how about video of my second favourite bass player ( after Jr.) Jason Newsted?
I did one on him that met with some copyright issues. I'll probably release it again, but on another platform
@@RodneyMcG ok, thanks
Frank switched to Hartke because the Ampeg stuff didn't appear as good as it was back in the days, with poor quality control but high prices for amps made in China. Lots of bands switched from Ampeg to the good old GallienKrueger 800 RB or Hartke on their tech riders. And Hartke.
Hartke amps seem to be simple, and don't get a lot of good rap because they are cheap. But its not a matter of the price, its a matter of consistency in quality and tone, and the amps are available literally everywhere. Larry Hartke stands with his products because "its my name that is on the amp", as he says. And he is super nice to his artists.
At least everybody is hoping that Ampeg will improve the overall built quality, quality control and customer service after they are now in the Yamaha family.
You're right on all counts. Alot of long time Ampeg guys jumped ship - Billy Sheehan, Rex Brown, etc. They really did some damage to themselves. I've talked with Larry before and he's a great guy. He definitely has pride in his work. I thought the Kilo was a killer amp and was disappointed when they discontinued it. Great info, thanks for watching!
Yup
Can you do a show on Harley Flannagan of the Cro Mags?
@Rodney McG do you think his SansAmp was used in the album too? Or he might be using something else on his chain? I always think of the possibility of the bass on this album being slightly overdriven by a tube distortion rather than using SansAmp. What you think?
Which album?
@@RodneyMcG Among the living. It's kinda a mistery for me what he used to produce that sound.
I'm asking that because I wanted to make a bass tone that will get as closer as possible to his tone. So I decided that I will make my own bass with EMGs and try to get my rig as close as I could.
@@RodneyMcG Also, I try to follow his style as much as I can (this became natural for me) I have a programable SansAmp and stuff, but I still feel despite I can get somehow close,, I'm far from the "gorgeous" part of his sound in this album, that piano like attack.
One of the problems I run into when trying to fit into the mix is getting too harsh of a sound whenever I turn up the treble. I need enough treble to hear the notes I'm playing, but that amount also is too much for the mix. I know that having a sound similar to Frank Bello will fit in the mix. I was wondering if there are any ways to get around this.
What you're after is upper mids - 1.5-3k. Most treble dials are set in the 5-8k area and aren't the region you're looking for to cut through.
@@RodneyMcG thanks!
2:25 "While having so much motion..." I assumed you were talking about how he is on stage - The guy is constantly running around while playing this stuff!
I was- Frank has the best cardio in metal!
I don't know where all that energy comes from unless he is add. Or adhd?
@@RodneyMcG Frankie
I do think Danny Lilker needs a look too.
A good suggestion, thanks!
oddly around 9:00 when you refer to Persistence of Time, you display the State of Euphoria album cover.
Everybody screws up once in a while 😉😂
@@RodneyMcG I screw up a lot more often than that!
did you discontinue the series?
I can only find numbers 1,2,3 then 5 & 6.
I backed off for a while when one was taken down. I'll be doing more soon. Possibly on another platform if the copyright issues seem too heavy.
Is Got the Time a cover song??? (also, not on State of Euphoria)
Argh! You caught a slip up! Well done! It was persistence of time. Yes, it's a cover of a Joe Jackson song. Thanks for watching!
how about Eddie Jackson from Queensryche? He had some great dynamic bass lines
Definitely on the list! He's totally under appreciated. New episode coming today, BTW. Thanks for watching!
Yes please!
The big 4? It’s all about the bass. Think about it.
Frank Bello and Steve Harris are why I play p basses.
no wonder he superglues his finger tips while on tour
And one on Joey DiMaio?
I thought it was got the time he was most known for don’t get me wrong among the living is one of my favorite albums and frank is one of my influences but I think got the time is more icon like people who aren’t metal heads are more likely to know got the time because it’s not as heavy
Love Bello. Off topic: are you from Maryland?
How did I give it away?!!
@@RodneyMcG your accent! I'm from NC but I have an aunt from Pokemoke city and I always pick up on the accent! Love it!
Most people don't hear it as it's not thick. Great ear!
@@RodneyMcG it's not a bad thing, I think it's cool. Very coastal!
Suggestions for future segments, Greg Christian, Mike Kaufmann, and Paulo Jr.
Excellent suggestions. Greg is already on the list. I'll definitely look into the others. Thanks for watching!
Paulo Jr? Kkkkkk
Any relation to Maria Bello?
Talk about The Persistance of Time album, show a pic of the album State of Euphoria. LoL
😂😂
Billy Sheehan Please!!
Definitely coming! Thanks for watching
Frank is a lot like Eddie Jackson in that he only goes to the pick when the song requires that attack solely in that situation.
Exactly! Eddie will be an upcoming episode for sure
Hey, you've likely got this suggestion multiple times, if so maybe it'll just reinforce the idea to you. If not, wtf is wrong withe young bassists these days?? Anyway, the name: Roger Patterson, the band - Athiest-. Amazing bassist who was sadly taken from his human shell too early like cliff! PLEASE!!! DO R.PATTERSON
How 'bout Dan lilker?
Good suggestion!