trevor dunn or tom jenkinson?

i'm sorry if this has been brought up before.

but yeah. two of my favourite musicians and song writers, trevor dunn and tom jenkinson, both excel at playing the bass guitar. since i don't know much about playing the bass, though, i've never been able to answer who might be the most skilled of the two, from a purely technical viewpoint. so, tom's done some very impressive stuff (i'm mostly thinking of music is rotted one note, but also of the bass guitar solo album), but trevor shouldn't be underestimated and did play the notorious bassline from the bungle song dead goon, plus his work with john zorn is pretty spectacular.

what do you think? i'd love to hear from bass players, since you could probably flesh this train of thought out a lot.

diminished second.

yes.

  On 5/23/2011 at 10:22 PM, dr lopez said:

diminished second.

You're kind of comparing apples to oranges.

Might as well compare Tom to the first chair bassist from the London Symphony Orchestra.

damn, now i've realised my errors.

diminished second is the greatest bass player ever. how come i didn't know about this person before googling?

The winner is Donald Duck Dunn, Trevor's uncle.

i do not feel i am getting very serious replies to this typical "my first thread" thread. are you always so hurtful? i will now commit suicide.

I love yo--

I mean, read the fucking rules.

  On 5/23/2011 at 10:46 PM, baph said:

I love yo--

 

I mean, read the fucking rules.

okay, i will. i like your user name.

How can anyone vote for Tom when Trevor looks this good?

trevor is weird, man. the guy doesn't age. tom has aged the shit out of himself, and he isn't even that old. trevor still looks like that little insecure 17-year old that got forcefully dry-humped by mike patton. i'm not sure if that affects my decision though. both of them has started making more commercial music later on, but i prefer shobaleader one to madlove.

young looking guy (not actually playing bass guitar on this one, but yeah EDIT: or wait, he was. nvm)

wizened old drum n bass wizard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf1IqA9GEVw

obviously it's Mark King that's the real winner here

  On 5/23/2011 at 10:22 PM, dr lopez said:

diminished second.

I'd say the one who makes the best music

  On 5/24/2011 at 12:02 AM, Retape said:

I'd say the one who makes the best music

Little is achieved debating who is better in something as subjective as music. Now, if we were to compare the two I think we can illuminate each of their strengths and admire the contrast.

Trevor is a very well rounded musician who has played bass for innumerable bands and projects since the eighties (rock bands, jazz trios, orchestra, far out stuff). He works as a session player at times and is therefore expected to perform in a wide selection of musical idioms. Tom, by comparison has a relatively narrow trajectory and is not required to do anything other than exactly what pleases him because he is the sole performer and dictatorial composer. This contrasts the band dynamic that Trevor undoubtedly finds himself in. Trevor is highly flexible while Tom has no need to be. In the scope of western music Trevor represents breadth of understanding and techniques; Tom a focused intensity within a narrow band.

Tom only plays electric. While Trevor switches between electric and upright as the project requires it. Mind you, upright and electric demand the development of completely different techniques and are hardly interchangeable so this distinction should not be taken lightly.

I think of Trevor is a dedicated bass player, and being defined as such he has the time to explore the nuances of that role in all contexts. Dedicated players are less prone to other musical diversions such as writing, engineering, and other instruments, etc. On the other hand, I consider Tom to be a composer who plays bass (and drums, and keys, and is a monster synth programmer). Having your attentions stretched so thin does not allow one the time to explore the intricacies of each respective art to the degree that a more dedicated individual would.

Good answer.

  On 5/24/2011 at 1:37 AM, Wall Bird said:

Little is achieved debating who is better in something as subjective as music. Now, if we were to compare the two I think we can illuminate each of their strengths and admire the contrast.

 

Trevor is a very well rounded musician who has played bass for innumerable bands and projects since the eighties (rock bands, jazz trios, orchestra, far out stuff). He works as a session player at times and is therefore expected to perform in a wide selection of musical idioms. Tom, by comparison has a relatively narrow trajectory and is not required to do anything other than exactly what pleases him because he is the sole performer and dictatorial composer. This contrasts the band dynamic that Trevor undoubtedly finds himself in. Trevor is highly flexible while Tom has no need to be. In the scope of western music Trevor represents breadth of understanding and techniques; Tom a focused intensity within a narrow band.

 

Tom only plays electric. While Trevor switches between electric and upright as the project requires it. Mind you, upright and electric demand the development of completely different techniques and are hardly interchangeable so this distinction should not be taken lightly.

 

I think of Trevor is a dedicated bass player, and being defined as such he has the time to explore the nuances of that role in all contexts. Dedicated players are less prone to other musical diversions such as writing, engineering, and other instruments, etc. On the other hand, I consider Tom to be a composer who plays bass (and drums, and keys, and is a monster synth programmer). Having your attentions stretched so thin does not allow one the time to explore the intricacies of each respective art to the degree that a more dedicated individual would.

good answer. i don't think trevor's composing skills should be underestimated, but yeah, he has probably done a lot less of that than tom has, especially considering how he mostly has worked with various musicians even in his own projects. dunn's bass playing is, broadly speaking, definitely more traditional than tom's.

One of my housemates is a very seasoned bass player and he reckons tom's top league but not top level like Victor Wooton, Marcus Miller plus a few other technical wizards that i cant remember cos I'm not really into this shit which i think is also apparent if you think only tom and trevor dunn is the best there is.

  On 5/24/2011 at 4:47 PM, soundwave said:

One of my housemates is a very seasoned bass player and he reckons tom's top league but not top level like Victor Wooton, Marcus Miller plus a few other technical wizards that i cant remember cos I'm not really into this shit which i think is also apparent if you think only tom and trevor dunn is the best there is.

but i don't, and i never said i did. i just happen to listen to their music

  On 5/24/2011 at 2:59 PM, Mesh Gear Fox said:

i'd say claypool vs squarepusher is tougher.

both have done amazingly original stuff with their instruments, and both seem to be equally competent at bass shredding/general fretboard wankery.

 

I prefer squarepusher to primus so i'd probably go with tom.

No. Claypool wins.

Also Dunn > Tom

I play bass and am judging strictly on "bass playing" skills.

I would say I'm a much bigger fan of Tom's music though.

Also, Squarepusher cheats.

They are both teh awesome in different ways :sup:

And yeah, Vic Wooten is no joke!

Wooten is all show. That shit speaks not to me! I mean, it did when I was 12 and listened to Dream Theater.