Lots of people hate Fieldys tone, even some bassists, but his approach to the instrument and tone is unique and admirable. This song is a great example of his power. There's no tone quite like his.
I love his tone because of how it works in the bands sound dynamic. Head and Munky are their own little duo, and Fieldy and David are as well. And when they all play together everything layers together perfectly. I think his tone is genius for this band because you can actually hear it frequently and it’s not masked by guitars constantly, thus giving them their unique sound.
Amen!! Anybody who talks shit about Fieldys’ tone is seriously narrow minded and doesn’t seek to experience all good forms of bass!! He’s got more groove than most bass players today!!
Yup, their first two albums are the best. I stopped listening to them after their 6th or 7th album. I heard a couple of their newer songs but wasn't impressed to check out their newer albums.
@@PS-dp8yg Yeeep. I heard Got the Life in high school, went to the local cd store and they only had the S/T. Those first 2 are the only two I still listen to, the next few are good then it yeah it all fell away from me.
"It's like a horror movie sound effect" is exactly what I love about the guitars in the verses of Korn songs. Shit like Chi sounds absolutely mechanical, inorganic and by result, super unnerving. That whaling guitar pan thing in the verses on Ball Tongue sound spooky as hell. I know this isn't a Head and Munky video but the stuff they do is so creative and cool
You mentioned their first album. BALL TONGUE always make the hair on my arms and neck stand up. Check it out. Loved your reaction to a very rare/unknown song (by most)
Hi Mark, thanks for the video! Some people hate Fieldy´s sound, but I love it. There´s no Korn without Fieldy´s percusive bass tone. It´s almost like playing drums on the bass. Check out "Need to", "Ball Tongue" or "Shoots and Ladders". They are all in the first album. Crazy bass lines on these songs. I did covers of these songs and other Korns songs and can be watched on my channel. Fieldy said once, that he activated the horns of his amp cab for getting his signature "Clicky" sound, and he only uses bass and treble. Not all amps have this horn activation feature.
I've always seen Fieldy as a percussionist. I think his tone makes a lot of sense in the context of the guitars invading the bass' space. Soo many bass players tone when detuned really low just sounds flubby to me.
Fieldy's tone is so integral to KoЯn's sound. I can't imagine their sound without him, but it's definitely not for everyone. I like it, nu-metal was always about the oddball stuff. KoЯn inspired me as well, but not with bass, but to favor seven string guitars over six, because I loved the sound of that low end growl that Head and Munky created.
What? He's only tuned down 1 whole step, like the Guitars are. So it's a 5 string bass tuned to A standard instead of B standard. He uses a lower (higher? he uses thinner strings for his tuning) gauge string and that's where the fret buzz comes from along with how hard he plays.
This is by far the best comments I've seen in years, KoЯn is my favorite band, and I started listening to them because Fieldy made them stand out from the other bands out there, he's also the reason why I picked up a bass guitar, all be it going overboard with too much slap bass in a frenzy in my debut album 🤣😜
Fieldy isn't a chops guy. That Iconic Fieldy tone is truly the midrange completely scooped out. All Bass and Treble. Rayna Foss from Coal Chamber had a VERY similar sounding tone. Check out "Loco" By CC to hear it yourself. Great Vid as always Mark!
Very cool to watch someone legit getting into Korn for the first time. The fieldy bass tone is why I became a drummer, I always thought that sound was the kick XD
I listened to that entire album yesterday. It was honestly refreshing in some ways. The drums have a huge stereo spread because they leaned on the room mics and didn’t have a ton of low end in the kick. Hearing verse guitars left and right playing different lines with different tones. Hearing bass mixed below the kick (frequency wise , not volume wise) is a very refreshing sound considering almost all modern music they highpass the bass pretty aggressively which neuters the bass tone and allows an often sampled kick sit alone in the lowest frequencies and hit hundreds of times per song making modern music feel played out very quickly. I definitely don’t see Fieldy as a virtuoso bassist. But he brought a unique style that was right for that particular band. The only player that’s been able to fill in well for Korn was Ryan from Mudvayne. Modern Korn without Fieldy sounds like Johnathan Davis solo stuff. It doesn’t really sound like korn anymore to me. From the first album I’d recommend “ball tongue” or “daddy”
Life is Peachy was my intro these gentlemen and though I agree with the other guy that they fell off after issues they'll always hold a special place in my heart for my intro into heavy music
As a long time Korn fan, I highly recommend "Ball Tongue" or "Need To" off the first album if you're looking for Fieldy. Those are also a good litmus for the rest of the album in my opinion. There's only 3 songs on the album that I don't recommend if you're there for Fieldy, and those are "Shoots and Ladders", "Helmet in the Bush", and "Daddy". For "Daddy" I just don't recommend it without people looking up what it's about first as it is very sensitive material. for the other 2 I mentioned, he's either mixed low or something else happened making it so he doesn't stand out as much as the other songs. He's definitely there though.
If you do a video from the first album and choose any song other than Ball Tongue you picked wrong- Ball Tongue has a spotlight on the bass (with intro break/solos), but also features the low slaps with the high mute notes to really bring everything together while serving the song well. It also has a bridge portion that is flat 5ths that is very stylistic of Korn.
I was in the Navy from 1994-2004… at sea all the time and there was no internet in the 90’s, I played this cd Every night on my headphones in my rack on our 6 month deployment! The memories!! ⚓️🦑🇺🇸
First album: Ball Tongue Clown Helmet in the Bush (solely because it's completely different than the bass on the rest of the album. I'm not sure if it's Fieldy or synth.)
@@TheDeadStretch we are getting into subjective territory, but, KoRn ain’t KoRn without Dave Silveria in rhythm, Monkey and Head don’t really seem to coalesce like they used to either. They still sound amazing in concert (been like 6 years atleast since I’ve even been to a concert honestly), but their newer albums kinda give me the feeling of listening to any Alice In Chains after Layne , which is unfortunately a lack of any real emotional response
@@stevenpope Spot on. I can enjoy Korn’s latest albums but every time I listen to them (which is rarely) it just makes me want to listen to the older albums
Do “Need To” from Korn’s self-titled. Bass groove is so unique. From Life Is Peachy “Porno Creep” is an extremely underrated track. “Dirty” off Issues is haunting and moody. Fieldy plays a simple but entrenching bass line on that one. Off one of their more recent albums I would recommend “The Hating” off the Serenity of Suffering. Finally, “Here to Stay” off Untouchables sounds so heavy, Fields’s tone excels on that track. Fieldy is one of the most creative bassist there is out there, no hyperbole he has inspired just as many people to pick up a bass than the other greats
Korn loves to have head and munky panned to the left and right, respectively. Just like they are live. I loved turning the balance to the left or right on the radio and just listen to what each guitarist is individually doing. GnR did the same thing. 11:56 that “clicking” is one of the guitarists tapping the pick down the neck while the other is doing the “meow” swells.
@@markallenayers5510 The high pitched clicks are not fieldy making his strings bounce of the frets. That is a guitar pick being tapped along the strings at some point on the guitar. Listen to them. The pitch descends the same way each time. There is a distinct difference between the way a bass and guitar sounds, that is not a bass tone in any way. If that isn’t enough, go watch a live performance. You will see.
Props for breaking out some good ole Life Is Peachy!!! Now I’m gonna have to jam the album after work today! It’s been years since I ran it start to finish. Thanks for bringing the vibes.
Life is peachy is such a good record. Raw, brutal, heavy, broken… and the vibey bass tones are so funky in some party, Korn are one of the best to do it. Much love.
When checking out Korn's self-titled, some songs I'd look at: Ball Tongue - easily one of Fieldy's best, the beginning would showcase some very aggressive slap to go alongside one of Korn's most aggressive songs Divine - some plucks which Fieldy tends to not do on records, and an oddly out of time bass line that leads the band in which showcases how the band would record together live Shoots and Ladders - regarding the bass and drums being synonymous, notes would match tom hits and Fieldy's slap would match the snare Clown - just a Korn classic, powerful low end that sits where the kick would
Also Ball Tongue's break section is very on-the-nose regarding their hiphop influence; I strongly believe that the tritone riff Fieldy does comes from listening to songs like Deep Cover by Dr Dre
Damn. Not a fan of the albums Side B? lol I'd throw Lies and Predictable in there too. It's some of the first songs they wrote as a band and you can REALLY hear how the bass tone brought it all together. Also on the nose? Can't get anymore on the nose than the Blind outro. It's Lick a Shot by Cypress Hill. - ruclips.net/video/hzj9bW288ek/видео.html
Need to would be a good pick for Korns first album. Love or hate his tone, when you hear fieldy’s playing you know it’s him. Isn’t that what we try to achieve? Finding our voice on a particular instrument or art form. The truth is a pretty decent limp bizkit song that gets overlooked.
I thought there were two bassist in the band, believed that for a long time until someone explained about scooped mids and it made total sense, always loved the bass in Korn.
When Brian "Head" Welch left the band KoЯn had to reinvent their sound, I love that album, actually, but check what Fieldy had to say back then...➡️ "Fieldy Of Korn: 'A Lot Of The Bass Got Buried In The Mix' On New Record Fieldy talked about the new direction of Korn and said he was somewhat disappointed with part of the untitled album's final mix." ⬅️ My favorite track is "Starting Over" ❤
You gotta check out the first album and the whole life is peachy album, also that tone could be so easy to be buried the producer knows what he’s doing
I've always found Fieldy's way of playing bass and sound amazing and that was one of the band where, as a teen, I was able to hear an authentic bass sound that was unique. I get it's not of all people's taste, but when you put that in perspective with the time it was really inventive.
Fieldy only uses 2 pedals and they are very rarely on. Boss FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz and Boss SYB-3 Bass Synthesizer. As for song suggestions: One of my fav. tracks off Self Titled is Lies. Fieldy don't do anything crazy with his playing but it's one of the first songs they wrote as a band and you can REALLY hear his bass tone and how much it adds to the overall sound.
I owe a lot of my life as a musician to fieldy from korn as well as a lot of other nu metal bassists but he is the primary reason why i even play! I am such a dedicated korn fan i took a lot of influence from fieldy and Jonathan davis in many aspects!
I'm in that same boat as your friend from middle school. I actually got an Ibanez Soundgear 305dx😊 for my 17th birthday as a result of wanting to play Korn, Limp Bizkit, Godsmack, and all of the other bands that were dominating the radio between '97 and 2000. Took that thing with me to school most days. It's still hanging on my wall. Wish i had such with the consistency of playing the whole time, but i started making an effort to go back and pick it up again this year. RUclips didn't exist back then, but now I've got tons of resources like you and SBL to sponge knowledge from, so thanks for your insight.
The first Korn album has always been their best by far. Every track is killer. Of course, you absolutely must listen to Blind, if you're not familiar with it. Although they're not considered "rap rock" necessarily, Korn did consider themselves to be hip-hop influenced, and you can absolutely hear it in the rhythm section, as well in the Morello-esque squeaks and effects they pepper those sections with, not to mention the groovy riffs. They also wore Adidas tracksuits reminiscent to Run DMC's, so it was also part of their image.
Fieldy’s bass tone is insane. It damn near sounds like drum sticks banging together. It’s arguably one of the biggest aspects of what makes Korn… well, Korn.
There's been more albums since 2016's The Serenity of Suffering (which is one of their best albums!). The Nothing (2019) and Requiem (2022). All worth listening to. The Nothing is super heavy. Fieldy has a huge range that's overlooked. I'd recommend all of Issues (1999) to get the best taste. Their musicianship really took off with that album, some of Fieldy's most beautiful work can be found there. There are a lot of very popular singles from Issues, but you need to hear it all in order. A lot of care was put into that production.
Fieldy and Jason Newsted were my biggest influences when I started playing bass in 1997. 1:52 Korn paved the way for a lot 2:47 they tuned down and scooped because the singer would have went too high all of the time 6:55 Ibanez Soundgear. Don't remember what effects he uses. Some stuff is distorted. A Standard. And he slaps at the bridge.
His original bass was an Ibanez SR1305 with the mids scooped. Then he got his signature model from Ibanez, the K5. Also in early albums, they would only mic the tweeter for the bass, that's why it's so clangy and defined. Tuning is ADGCF.
His signal was split and they recorded the lows and highs on separate channels and gave the high end a kind of brittle and snarky kind of sound to accentuate the higher frequency noise the strings produced. I don't know if they still do it that way but they did that on Korn, life is peachy, and follow the leader. It was Ross Robinsons idea.
Nu Metal is an oddball genre for sure, alot of people who definitely love it, feel like outcasts and have no space but it definitely resonated with alot of youth in the 90s and 2000s and even now, which is amazing ngl. I know KoRn aren't the most talented dudes ever but Nu Metal/Industrial Metal/Alternative Metal/Post-Grunge definitely inspired me to play guitar, bass, drums and vocals and DJ Hahn from Linkin Park makes me want a DJ turntable set
Man I can’t believe you’ve now done multiple Fieldy videos before any Jaco at all 😭 lol I’m halfway kidding, I know you’re not a jazz bass channel but still would love to see Some Havona or Kuru or something lol
Ha! I know. The thing is, I was really into Jaco and knew a lot of his music early on, I know it way too well. So, it’d be more of an analysis and there are so many fabulous bass channels who have analyzed it perfectly. I’m not sure I have much to add, but I did do a poll for it recently to gauge interest. On the flip side, I love putting the spotlight on bass players (and genres) that get overlooked a lot, and enjoy analyzing players/music that not many others have - while also still paying some homage to the greats. I still plan to though! 🙏🏼
@@LowEndUniversity completely understand where you’re coming from! I know it probably gets a little tiring having people constantly asking for songs or artists and not focusing on the artist at hand lol but I really do value what you’re doing here on your channel(even if I’m not the biggest Korn fan). I’ve looked all over the place for a proper analysis on some of the hidden gem Jaco tunes like Havona but most bassists focus on the well known ones like Teen Town, Portrait of Tracy, Donna Lee, etc. I might just suck at searching lol. But I totally get that you’re trying to branch off and do your own thing! Have a great one
Fieldy is a melodic drummer. Fieldy tunes a full step down on a 5 string, The lowest note he plays in this is a Bb. The down tuning helps to get the 'clank'. When I emulate his tone I split the signal in my helix with the crossover and compress the fell out of the low end to keep that solid fundamental, and then add some compression to the top end to taste, I think i have a gap in the crossover frequencies to create the huge scoop he has in his tone. When you play gently you only get the lows, so you can play the dubby parts and then when you dig in the brightness appears. I always think of it as two separate parts to his tone due to the lack of mids.
It’s the Ibanez k5 he explains that rattle sound comes from the neck cut out, it’s right near the top of the body just below the neck + the battery in the back for the active pickups. Also they all do a whole step down, every album.
I first heard Korn on the X Games Vol. 1 soundtrack in 1995. I was 8 years old. The song is called 'Blind'. It's from their first record. I drove my parents crazy blasting that song on repeat 😂
@leadme2thebliss21 I finally managed to see them at Ozzfest 2005. They put on a great show. I haven't followed them for many years, but I've already introduced my small children to some of the stuff off that first record. That album and Life is Peachy will always be near and dear to me.
@leadme2thebliss21 Is that right? I'll take your word for it! I just know I was still in high school and somehow managed to talk my parents into letting me ride with some friends several hours from home to see the show. Now that you mention it, 2003 does sound right. I know that I still have the t shirt I bought there buried in my closet somewhere. I definitely remember that Manson played that year. That was a great show too
@@michaelrogers9029 haha yep it was 2003 because I wanted to go really bad that year but never got the chance to. Yeah, I believe Manson played before Korn and then Ozzy. I went to Ozzfest 1999,2000, and 2001 Manson's set at Ozzfest 2001 was really good!
Great video! I'd love to hear more about how you achieved the tone you demonstrated around 10:28 -- I've got a Line 6 UX1 and have been trying to do something similar on my bass (Ibanez w/ Rotosounds)
I think fieldy's style, like u pointed out is more about how he sounds together with the other instruments. If you look at his playing, it's mostly in his fingers. How he aggressively plucks the strings and let's them buzz. He's stated he loves that clicky sound. I think his best playing is on the issues album. Tracks like hey daddy and dirty. I can't remember the album but in an interview he said he plugged his bass directly into the console. No bass rig or effects.
The bass on these first couple of albums sound to me to be 2 tracks. One with a low rumble warm tone, the other with a metallic, clangy, percussive tone. Not sure how he'd get those two sounds from one track.
It’s possible to achieve both with bi-amping or signal splitting, and many players do it for that same effect - controlling the lows and highs separately.
What Fieldy contributes to Korn is arguably 1/2 of their entire sound. No one has this guy’s style. Back in the 90s their shows were intense. They were so tight.
Check out "need to, wicked, lets get this party started, alone I break, yall want a single, open up, hold on, oildale, mass hysteria, Rotting in vain, this loss, the darkness is revealing, and the worst is on its way". Korn is one of those bands with a sound you either LOVE, or you Hate. For some generations they really brought a new love and understanding to drum and base as nu metal in general seemed to focus on but korn really set the bar. Sure there are better musicians/players out there but you can't beat a band who knows their sound and always delivers the goods with each album.
To get his tone do this: New bass strings A standard (I play drop A instead) Use a bass D.I. or an EQ pedal and boost 20-100hz by 20%, bring down the 500hz range by quite a lot. Boost 4000hz by 40-50%.
If you want to get into their first album stuff. Theres a passage in the song "need to" that you should check out. Fieldy wasnt too much of a technical player but he did have a pretty nice touch in the feel of his playing. Im surprised he never spelled his nick name feeldy lol
Few decades ago started to play Bass not because of Victor Wooten, Jaco Pastorius, Les Claypool or John Myung. Started because of Fieldy and that special bass tone sound in KoRn so... still loving it. PD: By the way nowdays for me Charles Berthoud is the Best and more virtousism bass player ever heard.
"that low tuned guitar sounds like djent" 😒 korn definitely came first, so djent guitars sound like Korn. There was nothing else like their first two albums. I'd check out Lies from their first album, but idk if the bass is interesting. I don't have the ears of a bass player but i love the guitars and the song itself.
@@Magdalena8008s just no. Fear Factory have nothing to do with djent. Messugah didn't really find that djent sound til the mid 90s, after korn broke out.
@@neilprete918 In all fairness all 3 bands listed had nothing to do with djent because he wasn't a thing back then. But yes both Fear Factory and Meshuggah pre-date KoRn. Dino was "djent" from the start since he was trying to mimic a computer playing a Guitar midi track.
Rick Beatos What Makes This Song Great on Korn has a good bit on it discussing Fieldy's bass tone and where it fits in with everything
Lots of people hate Fieldys tone, even some bassists, but his approach to the instrument and tone is unique and admirable. This song is a great example of his power. There's no tone quite like his.
As a bass player, I love his tone and his style.
Never knew people hated his tone. It’s perfect
I love his tone because of how it works in the bands sound dynamic. Head and Munky are their own little duo, and Fieldy and David are as well. And when they all play together everything layers together perfectly. I think his tone is genius for this band because you can actually hear it frequently and it’s not masked by guitars constantly, thus giving them their unique sound.
how is that even possible his tone fits with everything
no one hate his tone
"Ball tongue" is good bass driven song from their first album . Crushing bones tone .
What a banger! My favorite song from their best album.
Yes
Amen!! Anybody who talks shit about Fieldys’ tone is seriously narrow minded and doesn’t seek to experience all good forms of bass!! He’s got more groove than most bass players today!!
My favorite Korn song
it's good to hear Fieldy get some respect from a bass player. as a suggestion for an older song: "Predictable."
+1, awesome bassline!
my fave KoRn song
@@azmodai6669same actually
No. Ball Tongue or Need To
I love that song
This is SUCH an underrated song. Life is Peachy is the best Korn album and there are so many songs on that record that don’t get enough appreciation
It is one of the most raw and unhinged albums ever. Korn at their most visceral and raw imho
Yup, their first two albums are the best. I stopped listening to them after their 6th or 7th album. I heard a couple of their newer songs but wasn't impressed to check out their newer albums.
How I got into Korn...great album. First one is still the best but some of those songs on life is peachy are just as good
Ass Itch
@@PS-dp8yg Yeeep. I heard Got the Life in high school, went to the local cd store and they only had the S/T. Those first 2 are the only two I still listen to, the next few are good then it yeah it all fell away from me.
Balltongue from the first album. Bass slaps combined with some 808 drops just totally crushes
"It's like a horror movie sound effect" is exactly what I love about the guitars in the verses of Korn songs. Shit like Chi sounds absolutely mechanical, inorganic and by result, super unnerving. That whaling guitar pan thing in the verses on Ball Tongue sound spooky as hell. I know this isn't a Head and Munky video but the stuff they do is so creative and cool
jthm pfp spotted
You mentioned their first album. BALL TONGUE always make the hair on my arms and neck stand up. Check it out. Loved your reaction to a very rare/unknown song (by most)
+1 to ball tongue
Hi Mark, thanks for the video! Some people hate Fieldy´s sound, but I love it. There´s no Korn without Fieldy´s percusive bass tone. It´s almost like playing drums on the bass. Check out "Need to", "Ball Tongue" or "Shoots and Ladders". They are all in the first album. Crazy bass lines on these songs. I did covers of these songs and other Korns songs and can be watched on my channel. Fieldy said once, that he activated the horns of his amp cab for getting his signature "Clicky" sound, and he only uses bass and treble. Not all amps have this horn activation feature.
early KoRn is amazing!!! i wanna see more!!!!
Fieldy's bass is one of the many reasons why I got into KoRn. It sucks that he is no longer in the band but I will always love KoRn.
I've always seen Fieldy as a percussionist. I think his tone makes a lot of sense in the context of the guitars invading the bass' space. Soo many bass players tone when detuned really low just sounds flubby to me.
Fieldy's tone is so integral to KoЯn's sound. I can't imagine their sound without him, but it's definitely not for everyone. I like it, nu-metal was always about the oddball stuff.
KoЯn inspired me as well, but not with bass, but to favor seven string guitars over six, because I loved the sound of that low end growl that Head and Munky created.
Fieldy’s “extra” effect is how he downs tunes so much he gets an aggressive fret buzz that causes the extra “crispness” sound. Love what you do!!
What? He's only tuned down 1 whole step, like the Guitars are. So it's a 5 string bass tuned to A standard instead of B standard. He uses a lower (higher? he uses thinner strings for his tuning) gauge string and that's where the fret buzz comes from along with how hard he plays.
This is by far the best comments I've seen in years, KoЯn is my favorite band, and I started listening to them because Fieldy made them stand out from the other bands out there, he's also the reason why I picked up a bass guitar, all be it going overboard with too much slap bass in a frenzy in my debut album 🤣😜
Fieldy isn't a chops guy. That Iconic Fieldy tone is truly the midrange completely scooped out. All Bass and Treble. Rayna Foss from Coal Chamber had a VERY similar sounding tone. Check out "Loco" By CC to hear it yourself. Great Vid as always Mark!
Hell yeah. Big Truck!!!!!!
And the bassist from kittie too
Let me guess, you say he has no chops because he isn't a virtuoso shredder, right??🙄
He'll love Loco
It was the Late 1990s - Early 2000s Heavy Nu Metal/Aggro-Metal bass tone
Very cool to watch someone legit getting into Korn for the first time. The fieldy bass tone is why I became a drummer, I always thought that sound was the kick XD
😂
I listened to that entire album yesterday. It was honestly refreshing in some ways. The drums have a huge stereo spread because they leaned on the room mics and didn’t have a ton of low end in the kick. Hearing verse guitars left and right playing different lines with different tones. Hearing bass mixed below the kick (frequency wise , not volume wise) is a very refreshing sound considering almost all modern music they highpass the bass pretty aggressively which neuters the bass tone and allows an often sampled kick sit alone in the lowest frequencies and hit hundreds of times per song making modern music feel played out very quickly. I definitely don’t see Fieldy as a virtuoso bassist. But he brought a unique style that was right for that particular band. The only player that’s been able to fill in well for Korn was Ryan from Mudvayne. Modern Korn without Fieldy sounds like Johnathan Davis solo stuff. It doesn’t really sound like korn anymore to me.
From the first album I’d recommend “ball tongue” or “daddy”
Truly great read, thanks! Really astute way to describe their production, and its cleverness. Thank you!
Glad to see Fieldy getting some love. He is the reason I stated playing bass.
Meshuggah released "Destroy Erase Improve" in 1995 which is basically the first full-length djent album
First Korn album was released in 1994. Imho a few more bands than just Meshuggah contributed to what later became Djent.
Life is Peachy was my intro these gentlemen and though I agree with the other guy that they fell off after issues they'll always hold a special place in my heart for my intro into heavy music
I'd love to see a reaction to Good God. Fieldy's playing on it is wild
This is good stuff! I remember hearing these songs in the 90s and digging that bass sound. Wish I knew more of Korn’s music to suggest something.
As a long time Korn fan, I highly recommend "Ball Tongue" or "Need To" off the first album if you're looking for Fieldy. Those are also a good litmus for the rest of the album in my opinion. There's only 3 songs on the album that I don't recommend if you're there for Fieldy, and those are "Shoots and Ladders", "Helmet in the Bush", and "Daddy". For "Daddy" I just don't recommend it without people looking up what it's about first as it is very sensitive material. for the other 2 I mentioned, he's either mixed low or something else happened making it so he doesn't stand out as much as the other songs. He's definitely there though.
Hope you go back to doing more Korn, if you want to check out something from their debut the best bass line is probably on "Ball Tongue"
If you do a video from the first album and choose any song other than Ball Tongue you picked wrong- Ball Tongue has a spotlight on the bass (with intro break/solos), but also features the low slaps with the high mute notes to really bring everything together while serving the song well.
It also has a bridge portion that is flat 5ths that is very stylistic of Korn.
If you go back to the first album . Do a video on Ball Tongue 💪🏼
And definitely "Need to"
I was in the Navy from 1994-2004… at sea all the time and there was no internet in the 90’s, I played this cd Every night on my headphones in my rack on our 6 month deployment! The memories!! ⚓️🦑🇺🇸
First album:
Ball Tongue
Clown
Helmet in the Bush (solely because it's completely different than the bass on the rest of the album. I'm not sure if it's Fieldy or synth.)
Helmet in a Bush he has a Fuzz pedal on.
For anyone to credit a specific musician for the reason to play an instrument is the biggest compliment they can receive. This is a great example!
For korn the first album is the one to go with. Remember first time I heard it and first time I saw them when I was in high school.
Fieldy is the reason I ever picked up an instrument. First three KoRn albums are all S tier to me.
Untouchables album was the beginning of the end.
Came to say the exact same thing word for word.
End? They are still releasing killer music.
@@TheDeadStretch we are getting into subjective territory, but, KoRn ain’t KoRn without Dave Silveria in rhythm, Monkey and Head don’t really seem to coalesce like they used to either.
They still sound amazing in concert (been like 6 years atleast since I’ve even been to a concert honestly), but their newer albums kinda give me the feeling of listening to any Alice In Chains after Layne , which is unfortunately a lack of any real emotional response
@@stevenpope Spot on. I can enjoy Korn’s latest albums but every time I listen to them (which is rarely) it just makes me want to listen to the older albums
Untouchables is by far one of their best, even if it has one or two songs I don't get into. Been playing bass for 15 years.
As many others have said, if you are gonna check out their first album you should listen to Ball Tongue.
Do “Need To” from Korn’s self-titled. Bass groove is so unique. From Life Is Peachy “Porno Creep” is an extremely underrated track. “Dirty” off Issues is haunting and moody. Fieldy plays a simple but entrenching bass line on that one. Off one of their more recent albums I would recommend “The Hating” off the Serenity of Suffering. Finally, “Here to Stay” off Untouchables sounds so heavy, Fields’s tone excels on that track. Fieldy is one of the most creative bassist there is out there, no hyperbole he has inspired just as many people to pick up a bass than the other greats
Korn loves to have head and munky panned to the left and right, respectively. Just like they are live. I loved turning the balance to the left or right on the radio and just listen to what each guitarist is individually doing. GnR did the same thing.
11:56 that “clicking” is one of the guitarists tapping the pick down the neck while the other is doing the “meow” swells.
The water drop-ish sound is the guitar yes. The CLICK is Fieldy's strings bouncing off the frets.
@@markallenayers5510
The high pitched clicks are not fieldy making his strings bounce of the frets. That is a guitar pick being tapped along the strings at some point on the guitar. Listen to them. The pitch descends the same way each time.
There is a distinct difference between the way a bass and guitar sounds, that is not a bass tone in any way.
If that isn’t enough, go watch a live performance. You will see.
Props for breaking out some good ole Life Is Peachy!!! Now I’m gonna have to jam the album after work today! It’s been years since I ran it start to finish. Thanks for bringing the vibes.
Life is peachy is such a good record. Raw, brutal, heavy, broken… and the vibey bass tones are so funky in some party, Korn are one of the best to do it. Much love.
When checking out Korn's self-titled, some songs I'd look at:
Ball Tongue - easily one of Fieldy's best, the beginning would showcase some very aggressive slap to go alongside one of Korn's most aggressive songs
Divine - some plucks which Fieldy tends to not do on records, and an oddly out of time bass line that leads the band in which showcases how the band would record together live
Shoots and Ladders - regarding the bass and drums being synonymous, notes would match tom hits and Fieldy's slap would match the snare
Clown - just a Korn classic, powerful low end that sits where the kick would
Also Ball Tongue's break section is very on-the-nose regarding their hiphop influence; I strongly believe that the tritone riff Fieldy does comes from listening to songs like Deep Cover by Dr Dre
Damn. Not a fan of the albums Side B? lol I'd throw Lies and Predictable in there too. It's some of the first songs they wrote as a band and you can REALLY hear how the bass tone brought it all together.
Also on the nose? Can't get anymore on the nose than the Blind outro. It's Lick a Shot by Cypress Hill. - ruclips.net/video/hzj9bW288ek/видео.html
Fieldy was never technical but as soon as you hear the bass you know it is Korn
Great distinct sound and very rhythmic percussive
Need to would be a good pick for Korns first album. Love or hate his tone, when you hear fieldy’s playing you know it’s him. Isn’t that what we try to achieve? Finding our voice on a particular instrument or art form. The truth is a pretty decent limp bizkit song that gets overlooked.
I thought there were two bassist in the band, believed that for a long time until someone explained about scooped mids and it made total sense, always loved the bass in Korn.
If you’re going to check out the first album I highly recommend Ball Tongue or Need To when it comes to bass.
When Brian "Head" Welch left the band KoЯn had to reinvent their sound, I love that album, actually, but check what Fieldy had to say back then...➡️
"Fieldy Of Korn: 'A Lot Of The Bass Got Buried In The Mix' On New Record
Fieldy talked about the new direction of Korn and said he was somewhat disappointed with part of the untitled album's final mix." ⬅️ My favorite track is "Starting Over" ❤
You gotta check out the first album and the whole life is peachy album, also that tone could be so easy to be buried the producer knows what he’s doing
I've always found Fieldy's way of playing bass and sound amazing and that was one of the band where, as a teen, I was able to hear an authentic bass sound that was unique. I get it's not of all people's taste, but when you put that in perspective with the time it was really inventive.
I can’t believe you as a bass player haven’t listened to Korn. Fieldy is amazing man
Revival of Nu Metal 23/24!
Early korn was all bass and it was awesome. Gotta give Fieldy credit for that
check out "NEED TO" from Korn's self titled first album. It is mostly percussive, but it is one of the elements that make them overall unique.
Fieldy only uses 2 pedals and they are very rarely on. Boss FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz and Boss SYB-3 Bass Synthesizer.
As for song suggestions: One of my fav. tracks off Self Titled is Lies. Fieldy don't do anything crazy with his playing but it's one of the first songs they wrote as a band and you can REALLY hear his bass tone and how much it adds to the overall sound.
Tuning in A sounds like you're playing it in B. Cool video. My fav Korn album, really raw sounding and twisted album.
I like stu hamm ,primus,cliff Burton,flea funk bass
Then you very good taste my friend.
I owe a lot of my life as a musician to fieldy from korn as well as a lot of other nu metal bassists but he is the primary reason why i even play! I am such a dedicated korn fan i took a lot of influence from fieldy and Jonathan davis in many aspects!
If you ever wanna explore the first Korn album I’d highly suggest checking out the song Ball Tongue. It might be my favorite Fieldy bass part!
Their first 2 albums drop me right back into being 13 again. haha
still have all these songs memorized probably.
Meshuggah is credited for creating Djent, and their first album was released in 1998 IIRC.
It all sprung up around the same time/decade.
downtuned low-tension strings, like 125 for lowest A string ("B" string) is THE key fo the korn's bass sound
I'm in that same boat as your friend from middle school. I actually got an Ibanez Soundgear 305dx😊 for my 17th birthday as a result of wanting to play Korn, Limp Bizkit, Godsmack, and all of the other bands that were dominating the radio between '97 and 2000. Took that thing with me to school most days. It's still hanging on my wall. Wish i had such with the consistency of playing the whole time, but i started making an effort to go back and pick it up again this year. RUclips didn't exist back then, but now I've got tons of resources like you and SBL to sponge knowledge from, so thanks for your insight.
The first Korn album has always been their best by far. Every track is killer. Of course, you absolutely must listen to Blind, if you're not familiar with it. Although they're not considered "rap rock" necessarily, Korn did consider themselves to be hip-hop influenced, and you can absolutely hear it in the rhythm section, as well in the Morello-esque squeaks and effects they pepper those sections with, not to mention the groovy riffs. They also wore Adidas tracksuits reminiscent to Run DMC's, so it was also part of their image.
Fieldy’s bass tone is insane. It damn near sounds like drum sticks banging together. It’s arguably one of the biggest aspects of what makes Korn… well, Korn.
"Need to" and "Got the life" are the first two songs that come to mind when I think of prominent behs lines by Korn
There's been more albums since 2016's The Serenity of Suffering (which is one of their best albums!). The Nothing (2019) and Requiem (2022). All worth listening to. The Nothing is super heavy. Fieldy has a huge range that's overlooked. I'd recommend all of Issues (1999) to get the best taste. Their musicianship really took off with that album, some of Fieldy's most beautiful work can be found there. There are a lot of very popular singles from Issues, but you need to hear it all in order. A lot of care was put into that production.
I'm not a musician, but what attracted me to korn (circa 1995), was the base.
I happen to absolutely LOVE korn!!! I was such a new metal kid
Love this album
Fieldy and Jason Newsted were my biggest influences when I started playing bass in 1997.
1:52 Korn paved the way for a lot
2:47 they tuned down and scooped because the singer would have went too high all of the time
6:55 Ibanez Soundgear. Don't remember what effects he uses. Some stuff is distorted. A Standard. And he slaps at the bridge.
His original bass was an Ibanez SR1305 with the mids scooped. Then he got his signature model from Ibanez, the K5. Also in early albums, they would only mic the tweeter for the bass, that's why it's so clangy and defined. Tuning is ADGCF.
His signal was split and they recorded the lows and highs on separate channels and gave the high end a kind of brittle and snarky kind of sound to accentuate the higher frequency noise the strings produced. I don't know if they still do it that way but they did that on Korn, life is peachy, and follow the leader. It was Ross Robinsons idea.
Bro…
Good choice with Fieldy!
Limp Bizkit though. 😎
Sam Rivers is definitely one to dive into. Great player!
12:41 do a video on Blind 🤘
Nu Metal is an oddball genre for sure, alot of people who definitely love it, feel like outcasts and have no space but it definitely resonated with alot of youth in the 90s and 2000s and even now, which is amazing ngl. I know KoRn aren't the most talented dudes ever but Nu Metal/Industrial Metal/Alternative Metal/Post-Grunge definitely inspired me to play guitar, bass, drums and vocals and DJ Hahn from Linkin Park makes me want a DJ turntable set
Ball Tongue from the first album has alot of featured bass similar to Got the Life
Text book fieldy
First album
Song - Need to
Time - 2:46
That’s all you need to know.
If you wanna review a song from the first album, Need To is a great option
Man I can’t believe you’ve now done multiple Fieldy videos before any Jaco at all 😭 lol I’m halfway kidding, I know you’re not a jazz bass channel but still would love to see Some Havona or Kuru or something lol
Ha! I know. The thing is, I was really into Jaco and knew a lot of his music early on, I know it way too well. So, it’d be more of an analysis and there are so many fabulous bass channels who have analyzed it perfectly. I’m not sure I have much to add, but I did do a poll for it recently to gauge interest. On the flip side, I love putting the spotlight on bass players (and genres) that get overlooked a lot, and enjoy analyzing players/music that not many others have - while also still paying some homage to the greats. I still plan to though! 🙏🏼
@@LowEndUniversity completely understand where you’re coming from! I know it probably gets a little tiring having people constantly asking for songs or artists and not focusing on the artist at hand lol but I really do value what you’re doing here on your channel(even if I’m not the biggest Korn fan).
I’ve looked all over the place for a proper analysis on some of the hidden gem Jaco tunes like Havona but most bassists focus on the well known ones like Teen Town, Portrait of Tracy, Donna Lee, etc. I might just suck at searching lol.
But I totally get that you’re trying to branch off and do your own thing! Have a great one
I love Fieldy’s tone. I wouldn’t use it but it serves his band perfectly.
Fieldy is a melodic drummer. Fieldy tunes a full step down on a 5 string, The lowest note he plays in this is a Bb. The down tuning helps to get the 'clank'. When I emulate his tone I split the signal in my helix with the crossover and compress the fell out of the low end to keep that solid fundamental, and then add some compression to the top end to taste, I think i have a gap in the crossover frequencies to create the huge scoop he has in his tone. When you play gently you only get the lows, so you can play the dubby parts and then when you dig in the brightness appears. I always think of it as two separate parts to his tone due to the lack of mids.
It’s the Ibanez k5 he explains that rattle sound comes from the neck cut out, it’s right near the top of the body just below the neck + the battery in the back for the active pickups. Also they all do a whole step down, every album.
I’ve been listening to him since they came out and I have followed his tone and set ups most of my life of playing bass
I first heard Korn on the X Games Vol. 1 soundtrack in 1995. I was 8 years old. The song is called 'Blind'. It's from their first record. I drove my parents crazy blasting that song on repeat 😂
Same story here, but my first song was F@get. I just saw them live in 2022 and 2021 and they are surprisingly still amazing live.
@leadme2thebliss21 I finally managed to see them at Ozzfest 2005. They put on a great show. I haven't followed them for many years, but I've already introduced my small children to some of the stuff off that first record. That album and Life is Peachy will always be near and dear to me.
@@michaelrogers9029 Awesome! They were killing it back then but I think you mean Ozzfest 2003, they did not play there in 2005.
@leadme2thebliss21 Is that right? I'll take your word for it! I just know I was still in high school and somehow managed to talk my parents into letting me ride with some friends several hours from home to see the show. Now that you mention it, 2003 does sound right. I know that I still have the t shirt I bought there buried in my closet somewhere. I definitely remember that Manson played that year. That was a great show too
@@michaelrogers9029 haha yep it was 2003 because I wanted to go really bad that year but never got the chance to. Yeah, I believe Manson played before Korn and then Ozzy. I went to Ozzfest 1999,2000, and 2001 Manson's set at Ozzfest 2001 was really good!
Great video! I'd love to hear more about how you achieved the tone you demonstrated around 10:28 -- I've got a Line 6 UX1 and have been trying to do something similar on my bass (Ibanez w/ Rotosounds)
You should’ve seen them live when this album was released. Absolutely brutal.😊
Some of fieldys best work is ball tounge and then the entire issues album. Fieldys bass was brilliantly tracked & mic'd for issues.
Also please tune to ADGCF for future early Korn videos- you'll never be able to find that low A that Fieldy leans on if you don't.
Early KoRn? 99.8% of their songs are all in A standard.
If you love his tone their album Take a Look In The Mirror is his masterclass
I would say low action adds to his tone as much as anything else
I think fieldy's style, like u pointed out is more about how he sounds together with the other instruments. If you look at his playing, it's mostly in his fingers. How he aggressively plucks the strings and let's them buzz. He's stated he loves that clicky sound. I think his best playing is on the issues album. Tracks like hey daddy and dirty. I can't remember the album but in an interview he said he plugged his bass directly into the console. No bass rig or effects.
The bass on these first couple of albums sound to me to be 2 tracks. One with a low rumble warm tone, the other with a metallic, clangy, percussive tone. Not sure how he'd get those two sounds from one track.
It’s possible to achieve both with bi-amping or signal splitting, and many players do it for that same effect - controlling the lows and highs separately.
What Fieldy contributes to Korn is arguably 1/2 of their entire sound. No one has this guy’s style. Back in the 90s their shows were intense. They were so tight.
It's cool how he can slide around the semi-tones in the bottom of his register, and he becomes a percussion instrument. He sort of sounds like an 808.
Check out "need to, wicked, lets get this party started, alone I break, yall want a single, open up, hold on, oildale, mass hysteria, Rotting in vain, this loss, the darkness is revealing, and the worst is on its way". Korn is one of those bands with a sound you either LOVE, or you Hate. For some generations they really brought a new love and understanding to drum and base as nu metal in general seemed to focus on but korn really set the bar. Sure there are better musicians/players out there but you can't beat a band who knows their sound and always delivers the goods with each album.
To get his tone do this:
New bass strings
A standard (I play drop A instead)
Use a bass D.I. or an EQ pedal and boost 20-100hz by 20%, bring down the 500hz range by quite a lot. Boost 4000hz by 40-50%.
Alien Ant Farms bassist was pretty sick too
Dude ur really gonna love more KoRn and Limp Bizkit
Fieldy is the reason I picked up the bass.
It's in A standard.
Correct, Everything up to about 2004 is A Standard.
@@BLeeFAFO All but I'd say 4 songs are in A standard.
If you want to get into their first album stuff. Theres a passage in the song "need to" that you should check out. Fieldy wasnt too much of a technical player but he did have a pretty nice touch in the feel of his playing. Im surprised he never spelled his nick name feeldy lol
Few decades ago started to play Bass not because of Victor Wooten, Jaco Pastorius, Les Claypool or John Myung.
Started because of Fieldy and that special bass tone sound in KoRn so... still loving it.
PD: By the way nowdays for me Charles Berthoud is the Best and more virtousism bass player ever heard.
Fields has talked about that rattle sound he says it’s from the active pickups on the Ibanez
"that low tuned guitar sounds like djent" 😒 korn definitely came first, so djent guitars sound like Korn. There was nothing else like their first two albums.
I'd check out Lies from their first album, but idk if the bass is interesting. I don't have the ears of a bass player but i love the guitars and the song itself.
Definitely not first. That's Meshuggah and Fear Factory. Korn was definitely early. But in no way shape or form originated it.
@@Magdalena8008s just no. Fear Factory have nothing to do with djent. Messugah didn't really find that djent sound til the mid 90s, after korn broke out.
@@neilprete918 In all fairness all 3 bands listed had nothing to do with djent because he wasn't a thing back then. But yes both Fear Factory and Meshuggah pre-date KoRn. Dino was "djent" from the start since he was trying to mimic a computer playing a Guitar midi track.
You should check out Ball Tongue from the self titled album, that's the one!