Mel Schacher of Grand Funk: The God Of Bass
Man! This guy is great. What a great dude. What talent. If more people were like this guy we wouldn't be in this god damn mess.
'kay- leave lots of positive comments about this dude.
posted by Bobby Lightfoot at 12:17
23 Comments:
Definitely in my top 5 bass-players of all-time.
Wrote some damn good songs too, not the least of which is "I Remember The Sun."
I wish I had his hair, he has great hair.
I don't think he played bass on English Settlement.
Don't remember him writing "I Remember The Sun".
I think you guys are thinking of Colin Moulding of XTC.
Yeah, great hair, though. That's fer sure.
dbpljubi
Sweet. Like when Karen Carpenter took best drums and Neil Peart got all pissed.
Peter Hook. Archetypal great New Wave bassist. Yup.
Flea.
I kicked his ass once in Sheboygen.
kdngz
Simon- not "too young"
Rather, "too utterly fucking fortunate".
Although I have to say they have had a lot of face time in our little quadrant of th' bliggiverse.
wnmey
Greetings, Mel has a big impact on my bass playing still to this day,playin loud & proud and with feeling. he got that big sound with a Fender jazz bass with a gibson EB-1 humbucker pickup black tapewound strings & a pick. and thank GOD when they recorded his sound they miked it, so that it capured a live sound. Its better than lining the bass into the board witch results in a very flat rubbery sound. PS McCartneys bass amp was always miked with the Beatles. Dave60
I just heard some ominous tapping on my window, and it was fretless. I'm outta here.
Greetings, Hey John R Is there any way I can touch base w/ Mel ? I was lucky that after 22 years I met Mel backstage in Jax Fl in March 1998. I told the then manager that I was waiting to get Mels autograph and is he coming by the backstage door because I have waited 22 years to meet Mel. He dissappered for a couple of moments then the backstage door opened and he said YOU, COME HERE so I did and was finaly able to meet Mel. I had a quick picture taken and I was back out the door,I was happy but I though damn why didn,t I at least ask some questions! I though he was busy so I didn,t want to be a pain BUT I sure would Like to talk with Mel I have so many questions, MEL YOUR THE MAN, Thanks Dave60
Mel was the main reason I became a huge fan of the Railroad back in the day as a young man.
His booming fretless Fender Jazz Bass carried me through my youth. He was barely a young man when he started mesmerizing people with his work.
He is the best bassist I've ever heard in my 50 years, by far.
As for Farner, unlike some people here, I have to give the man his due. Someone said he couldn't sing, what a crock of schit that is. The guy had an amazing voice, once he got into his mid-20's.
Yes, Mel was by far my favourite but the 3 of them TOGETHER made GFR special.
Too bad they couldn't all get along, I went to a show of theirs here a few years ago not realizing Mark wouldn't be there and it was a bitter sweet experience.
I was very happy to see and hear Mel and Don but really disappointed to see someone other than Mark trying to look like Mark, complete with Indian style clothing, not cool.
All the best, Mel.
For those ranking on Farner here, GFR without him is not GFR. Farner is not only a strong and emotive singer and songwriter, his playing, while perhaps not technically stellar, gets at the rock n roll heart of the working class in a simple and affecting way; hence, the platinum and the gold and the hits and the legacy. Listen again to Inside Lookin' Out at the Atlanta Pop Festival, or Are You Ready. The testosterone levels are palpable and through the roof! No disrespect at all for Kulick, but ... Bruce, Don and Mel? Please.
A great player all around, but wish that he'd let go of the pick...
West amps kids. The magic was in the West amps Mark and Mel played through. And let's get something straight here. GFR is Mark, Don and Mel, and anyone who doesn't shoot blood from every pore trying to air guitar, bass and drums at the same time to "Live Album"..... well, maybe you should just act on your New Kids On The Block tribute on karaoke night.
I plan to pick up a used Fender J bass and install an EB-1 p/u in search of THE tone. Can anyone tell me if Mel simply replaced the neck p/u with the humbucker and left the wiring otherwise stock, with the original bridge p/u in place?
Mel is the reason I picked up the bass back in the late 70's and remains an inspiration to this day.
Thanks for the help.
Mel is a man among men, he is a saint among saints, and a bass player among bass players. A true musicians musician.
He's the Mel of Mels!
Just saw the 2010 tour...Bruce played the way Mark did on the "red album", almost note for note. All involved are "caught in a class act"...
Absolutely one of the Greatest Rock
Bass players EVER! His playing on the song In Need on GFR's second album is spectacular to say the least. You gotta love that FAT,HEAVY
SOUND! Definitely one of my top 3 Bass Players!
Wish I could take lessons from this dude!I am working on a few of his tunes! Love his playing style!
Hi west amp sounded the way it did because he purposely put the wrong tubes in it and they gave it "THAT" sound...hos stage hand would stand on a chair behind his stack and swap out tubes as they blew every other song!
I remember buying the live album and listening to it a lot. The bass was incredible to me. Like Mel was playing a mean solo on every song but matched the music perfect.
You are right about Mel. Totally underrated. He was my hero. I started playing bass because of him and picked up and played live album. Also, send my condolences on the loss of his wife.
it's too bad about people raggin' on this member or that member of a band because it didn't work out. they are all human beings with faults...like all of us. grand funk was a great band. it was the result of those three guys and the chemistry. it was great while it lasted and nothing, i mean nothing, last forever. we were lucky to hear it. and that's all there is to say about it.
I bought my first Fender bass in 1970 because of the Red album cover, I bought a P bass though, didn't know the difference back then. Mel has one of the best if not the best rock bass sound ever. He did it with an EB-0 or EB-1 pickup in his Jazz bass, I doubt he used an EB pickup as they were rare and were single coil pickups, (the EB-1 was a reissue EB with an EB-0 pickup made for Felix Pappalardi). He cranked the West amps, I believe it's another rock & roll myth (like purposely ripped speakers) that they put the wrong tubes in them. Bassists, check out Talkbass and search for Mel Schacher, we've done several long threads on him, he's revered over there by a lot of us.
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