The most amazing thing about this is that every few seconds your fingerings on the neck are all in different places, and yet he keeps track of it all. That's mastery. Reminds me of watching Phil Keaggy improv on acoustic guitar - if you think it, it comes out the fingers.
How can you compare the majesty and grandure of the soul being presented to the world as a gift through pure, unadulterated, beautiful sound? He IS the music.
The first time I saw him was at a small bar. I had no idea what to expect. He not only makes sounds I've never heard a bass make, he makes sounds I've never heard any other instrument make.
Listen on your phone if you must, but use earbuds or headphones. It deserves it. Manring singlehandedly took the bass to a new level as a new instrument. This song is a pinnacle of that achievement.
This just breaks me every time I listen. Think of the ones you have loved and lost, some dead, some just lost; in memory and heart. That's what this songs makes me think of. It's fantastic
Michael is one of the most underrated musicians alive. I think its perhaps that he is a solo bassist and people switch off when they hear about that as there are so few of us bassists who could captivate an audience like he does. He returns to Sligo Ireland this year the second year running for Sligo Jazz Project's annual summer school., where he will be e bass tutor at our event in the beautiful, if rainy, northwest of Ireland.
There are many great performances of this incredible composition on the 'Tube... but I think this one is the best. You can hear in it that Mr. Manring has not only studied Jaco closely, but is also chanelling ragas and minimal/ambient like Steve Roach or Sigur Rós. An inspiring musician.
@Flemmingdoerken Thanks for identifying the Hipshot hardware. Michael explains in the intro that his custom Zon bass "has these levers all over it that allow me to change the tuning while I'm playing". That sounds pretty deliberate to me! In a TalkBass.com discussion he also says, "The Hipshots on my basses are modified by Zon to allow me to have them on all four strings. It’s a bit tricky to get four on a headstock with enough room for them to function properly..."
i still remember it was early 1994 january, all along the city of Rome to reach one of the 5 good shops of that time to buy immediately Thonk !!! Manring proposing a massive delicious album of hot metal fusion for 1 time in his sound production, with skolnick at gtrs, and others. i love that kind or as here when music is a sculpture clearly from the silence, as for michael hedges the aerial genious. i am very happy and proud to have known their music, along lost tribe, fuze, d.torn, m.stern and the rest along the 90th
@jazzpsalti I agree. I like making these videos and hope that they help the artists, but it does concern me that people who have never heard Manring might think that the way he sounds on the video is the way he sounds live - when in fact his live sound is so much more incredibly rich. My videos of the instrumental act Aphasia also suffer from this problem. It's not such an issue if there's a singer.
@s11mac I think it probably is. Each string has three different positions with the Hipshot Extenders, so they have to be in tune in all three places individually plus he has different tunings for different songs.
@mostlytranslucent Thanks. He's playing again at the festival tonight (July 31 2011), but unfortunately I can't make it this year. Hopefully somebody else will film him.
@Flemmingdoerken There's a good video that shows how a single Hipshot Extender works. RUclips won't let me post the URL, but you can find it by searching for "installing hipshot xtender borisoff".
@ginaonthebass He did the Sligo Jazz Fest back in the summer, and has some European gigs in Finland and France coming up soon. Looks like no immediate plans for the U.K. though! He has a mailing list, and can be contacted at michael -at- manthing.com. Pretty sure he plays the U.K. fairly often.
As a bass player of many years, I didn't appreciate what Michael Manring was doing on the bass. I missed his groove oriented playing and looked at him as selling out. As I have grown as a musician, I have slowly began to enjoy his creativity and now wonder if it's just jealousy 🙄
There's a little hiccup in the video at 9:27. Is that a RUclips glitch or is it in the original? Would be lovely to have a version without that. Sublime performance.
It does kinda suck having that bump there but it is truly necessary. That glitch is there to make sure you don’t completely leave your body as his ethereal playing is sucking your soul from your very being. ;-)
I saw planets and stars, behold galaxies in my hands, to ends of universes infinite of nature, unknown to what end, I am alive but unkown through suns and clouds of dismal dust, light penetrating my eyes, and angels sing in my ears...
0:51 - "It has these leverage all over that allow me to change the tuning while I play". I would say this bass allow you to play while you are changing tunings.
I was just talking to Manring after this performance, about how you really can't put this sound in print. Watching the performance I saw. now in print, is great proof of that. Playing with the resonance and feedback to simulate ebow stuff (during the enormous room, after he puts down the actual ebow) just doesn't translate into print/video. Live, this guy is probably the greatest instrumental artist alive.
What an amazing intro for The Enormous Room,a favorite bass piece of mine....TWO ebow's, digital delay and alternate tuning.... sigh... a couple of notes a bit south, but, hey, it IS a fretless bass and he IS a human, no? If I could play 3% as well as he I would be in rapture. One can dream, no?
Terrible. Fiddling with fancy tuners and volume knobs does not make a good bass solo. Just kept waiting for it to start... it never did. Like to see what he could do with a $500 Fender. Bet he’d be great. Way better than this. The gadgets seem to distract and hold him back.
His goal isn't to woo you with ridiculous 15 notes per second licks, but instead just to make good, emotional music. And at that, he succeeded. If you want to see him going fast, he has tracks like Helios. What he does isn't bass solos, it's solo bass. As in, music that has no other instruments. That's it.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Everytime I listen to Manring I understand that questions are more important than answers. That's all.
Jaco Pastorius, Percy Jones, Michael Manring; My personal favorite originals on bass. This is not of this world.
The most amazing thing about this is that every few seconds your fingerings on the neck are all in different places, and yet he keeps track of it all. That's mastery. Reminds me of watching Phil Keaggy improv on acoustic guitar - if you think it, it comes out the fingers.
Love Phil keaggy saw him play 3 times
Every time I listen to this piece I feel like I'm being transported to another world.
Don’t even try to compare to him. He is not a bass player. He plays heaven. He invented it.
No one else can play it.
Back to our basses, guys...
How can you compare the majesty and grandure of the soul being presented to the world as a gift through pure, unadulterated, beautiful sound?
He IS the music.
Charles Berthoud is getting there!
So Beautiful! And it's amazing how you forget the stratospheric technicity behind this song to enjoy the masterpiece of music...
Always been a fan since the80s!
An absolute master at his craft.
Even the little tuning noodle at the start makes my heart jump
The first time I saw him was at a small bar. I had no idea what to expect. He not only makes sounds I've never heard a bass make, he makes sounds I've never heard any other instrument make.
So good, beautiful...from Fresno, CA
Listen on your phone if you must, but use earbuds or headphones. It deserves it.
Manring singlehandedly took the bass to a new level as a new instrument. This song is a pinnacle of that achievement.
A musical translation of the universe trying to tell us to love and respect each other
This just breaks me every time I listen. Think of the ones you have loved and lost, some dead, some just lost; in memory and heart. That's what this songs makes me think of.
It's fantastic
Michael is one of the most underrated musicians alive. I think its perhaps that he is a solo bassist and people switch off when they hear about that as there are so few of us bassists who could captivate an audience like he does. He returns to Sligo Ireland this year the second year running for Sligo Jazz Project's annual summer school., where he will be e bass tutor at our event in the beautiful, if rainy, northwest of Ireland.
There are many great performances of this incredible composition on the 'Tube... but I think this one is the best. You can hear in it that Mr. Manring has not only studied Jaco closely, but is also chanelling ragas and minimal/ambient like Steve Roach or Sigur Rós. An inspiring musician.
GOAT!
My favorite ever
The greatest bass solo I've ever heard (and I've played bass since the 70s). Superb. Thanks for posting.
Less than 50k views.. It's a shame! It's an other world composition!
@Flemmingdoerken Thanks for identifying the Hipshot hardware. Michael explains in the intro that his custom Zon bass "has these levers all over it that allow me to change the tuning while I'm playing". That sounds pretty deliberate to me!
In a TalkBass.com discussion he also says, "The Hipshots on my basses are modified by Zon to allow me to have them on all four strings. It’s a bit tricky to get four on a headstock with enough room for them to function properly..."
Amazing mind & sound, versatile player & lovely touch! Such a magical composition! Thank you!
Beautiful!
NO ONE takes you to SO many places with a Bass . . . .that you didn't even know existed . . .
i still remember it was early 1994 january, all along the city of Rome to reach one of the 5 good shops of that time to buy immediately Thonk !!! Manring proposing a massive delicious album of hot metal fusion for 1 time in his sound production, with skolnick at gtrs, and others. i love that kind or as here when music is a sculpture clearly from the silence, as for michael hedges the aerial genious. i am very happy and proud to have known their music, along lost tribe, fuze, d.torn, m.stern and the rest along the 90th
how to combine tecnique, genius and musical good taste at elecrtic bow!!! Wow Michel is the n°1.
The Sistine Chapel of harmonics. WOW
What a genius.
Music of the gods from the MASTER
I have a fretless bass. It must be broken.
Morning chuckle. Thanks
@jazzpsalti I agree. I like making these videos and hope that they help the artists, but it does concern me that people who have never heard Manring might think that the way he sounds on the video is the way he sounds live - when in fact his live sound is so much more incredibly rich. My videos of the instrumental act Aphasia also suffer from this problem. It's not such an issue if there's a singer.
this is mastery!!!
This is such a beautiful composition. You could arrange a version for string quintet, and it would absolutely work.
Настоящий виртуоз!!! Играть ТАК на бас гитаре, тут талант от бога нужен!!!
The bass wizard !
I am mesmerized.
oh ... why is there a cut right after the middle :D it shooted right into my ears ... :) I love that song :)
@s11mac I think it probably is. Each string has three different positions with the Hipshot Extenders, so they have to be in tune in all three places individually plus he has different tunings for different songs.
@mostlytranslucent Thanks. He's playing again at the festival tonight (July 31 2011), but unfortunately I can't make it this year. Hopefully somebody else will film him.
Good lord, I want to learn how to play this bass and have one of my own. ❤
The words 'magic' and 'trascendence' are just blunt, dull ways to try to express what I just watched here.
@KDMAnderson wow, so damn good. Nice call man.
@Flemmingdoerken There's a good video that shows how a single Hipshot Extender works. RUclips won't let me post the URL, but you can find it by searching for "installing hipshot xtender borisoff".
incredible use of the e bow
yes !!!
It is truly amazing the sonic possibilities.....when Michael Manring is the player! My mind is blown here! Unbelievable.....
At 5:12 you can barely hear a guy in the audience go: "This is a bass player. This is a f**king bass player!"
Mikey ! I like it ~!!
@s11mac I think there are three positions anyway... there may be more.
I would love to see him play with someone like David Sylvian, Jon Hassell or Michael Brooks.
Fantastic to see six thumbs down. I IMAGINE those guys can play much better than this. I Guess.
@ginaonthebass He did the Sligo Jazz Fest back in the summer, and has some European gigs in Finland and France coming up soon. Looks like no immediate plans for the U.K. though! He has a mailing list, and can be contacted at michael -at- manthing.com. Pretty sure he plays the U.K. fairly often.
As a bass player of many years, I didn't appreciate what Michael Manring was doing on the bass. I missed his groove oriented playing and looked at him as selling out. As I have grown as a musician, I have slowly began to enjoy his creativity and now wonder if it's just jealousy 🙄
@Jonlock00 I just posted it a couple of days ago...
There's a little hiccup in the video at 9:27. Is that a RUclips glitch or is it in the original? Would be lovely to have a version without that. Sublime performance.
It does kinda suck having that bump there but it is truly necessary.
That glitch is there to make sure you don’t completely leave your body as his ethereal playing is sucking your soul from your very being. ;-)
I think they edited out a whole piece....
I saw planets and stars, behold galaxies in my hands, to ends of universes infinite of nature, unknown to what end, I am alive but unkown through suns and clouds of dismal dust, light penetrating my eyes, and angels sing in my ears...
Hallo👋🏼🇩🇪
0:51
- "It has these leverage all over that allow me to change the tuning while I play".
I would say this bass allow you to play while you are changing tunings.
I was just talking to Manring after this performance, about how you really can't put this sound in print. Watching the performance I saw. now in print, is great proof of that. Playing with the resonance and feedback to simulate ebow stuff (during the enormous room, after he puts down the actual ebow) just doesn't translate into print/video. Live, this guy is probably the greatest instrumental artist alive.
jazzpsalti agreed. I was blown away by his set. Very out there stuff. A total mind blowing experience. Great guy.
If Michael hedges was still alive those two would make some amazing stuff together. Adhan reminds me of ignition and other stuff he did.
@KDMAnderson Cool - good choice. Does he play here a lot? I've only seen him twice, both times at the festival.
I was there!
first song is adhan
What an amazing intro for The Enormous Room,a favorite bass piece of mine....TWO ebow's, digital delay and alternate tuning.... sigh... a couple of notes a bit south, but, hey, it IS a fretless bass and he IS a human, no? If I could play 3% as well as he I would be in rapture. One can dream, no?
i thight victor wooten had a good grasp on the natural harmonic range of the bass... damn..
Contrary to popular belief, Michael Manring is in fact your Father...
now that i have tuned my bass ,lets play some status quo
FREEBIRD!
Apart from genius, e-bow is really cool
Only real musicians even know who he is
What am I missing?
Kinda hard to groove when you're fishing around for levers ever 4 seconds.
You're missing the fact that it's aiming to do things other than groove
masters of the instrument. for me its either manring or percy jones
8-0
Is fiddling with the tuners part of the act ?. Very distracting.
So good... a bit 'chilled' as in 'actress/actor' or 'chilled out' professionalism. Otherwise; a great player as I've known him for years
my day WAS boring :)
Terrible. Fiddling with fancy tuners and volume knobs does not make a good bass solo. Just kept waiting for it to start... it never did. Like to see what he could do with a $500 Fender. Bet he’d be great. Way better than this. The gadgets seem to distract and hold him back.
His goal isn't to woo you with ridiculous 15 notes per second licks, but instead just to make good, emotional music. And at that, he succeeded. If you want to see him going fast, he has tracks like Helios. What he does isn't bass solos, it's solo bass. As in, music that has no other instruments. That's it.