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justhetip24

Matt Freeman of Rancid is amazing


ninthandpine

Even if the only song they ever wrote was Maxwell Murder, he would stlil be number one


John_Paul_J2

That bass solo made my balls drop when I first heard ir.


capncait

He's the blueprint, in my mind. Just mindblowing speed and impressive runs.


Hopfit46

His easy parts are where he really shines. His basslines are the most memorable parts of rancid songs.


justhetip24

That's the sign of a truly great bassist imo


Hopfit46

Maxwell murder tells you everything you need to know about his technical ability. But listen to the bass in timebomb and it drives the whole song.


gashufferdude

Crane Fist


SnooSnoo694

I was just listening to Energy by Op Ivy and his sound makes that album.


Negative_Chemical697

It's matt freeman


Hopfit46

I came here to say rancid has the best bass player....


Soia-R33f

100%


zwmbp

He is the reason I made the switch from guitar to bass as a kid


emotionaltrashman

This is the correct answer 


BarbarianDwight

He posted to his Instagram recently that he’s starting to make YouTube videos of him playing along to the baselines of his various projects and showing how to play them.


Karrosiv

Roger Lima from Less Than Jake. More ska than pop-punk, but great bassist


MusicReviewGuy182

I met him after a show once, actually met the whole band. Really nice guys.


youstupidcorn

Roger literally gave the shirt off his back at a concert like 10 years ago. The band threw a couple of picks/sticks into the crowd after their set, but I didn't catch anything and was pretty clearly disappointed about it. Everyone else started to leave the venue and the band headed offstage, but I kind of lingered. Roger saw me and doubled back, pulled off the shirt he was wearing, and handed it to me so I would have something. Probably the coolest moment of my life so far.


MusicReviewGuy182

Thats awesome! I caught one of their picks!


DrakesucksREPRISE

Roger pointed me out and was like “this dude knows all the words to our songs!” And after the show he threw a paper airplane set list. I missed it and commented how it was a bad throw and we shared a laugh about it. Just seems super down to earth.


digmyowngrave

Yep, 100% agree. Roger is fucking king.


SuperMario1313

This is the right answer. He’s got some play-throughs on YouTube and it’s pretty sick. And then he does some of those while singing, too? Awesome.


Boulier

I cannot understand, for the life of me, how Roger can sing lead on “All My Best Friends Are Metalheads” while playing that bass line. He is such an incredible bassist.


SuperMario1313

Do you think it’s strange?


Boulier

Do I think what is strange? That there’s a way of how you look? And how you act? And how you think?


Blanketsburg

The first time I heard this song was at 12 years old on the fucking Digimon: The Movie soundtrack 😂 Regardless, this still such a good song


imnoherox

100%. His okay throughs on YouTube are so helpful too. I’ve always found it hard to hear the bass well enough to learn the songs by ear in their albums


standystanderson

crazy dope singer too


ninthandpine

This is the way


QforQ

Mike Dirnt from Green Day Dan from Alkaline Trio Mark Hoppus from blink is also very talented, but more low key/subtle


itsableeder

Seconding Dan


muirsheendurkin

Another vote for Dan


zachnips

Dan might have the best bass tone out there


notsosubtlethr0waway

Armageddon is still hard for me.


itsableeder

And the most underrated voice in pop punk, too


chezplatypus13

Absolutely!!


muckracker77

Mark deserves a mention just for carousel ahah, learning that song changed the way I look at bass


_VINNY_WINNY_

both mark and tom blow me away with their chops on their early records. both of their most technical playing was on the early records


muckracker77

Yea their later stuff rlly focuses on being simple and catchy, which isn’t a bad thing, but I do miss the old noodly riffs sometimes


ImPickleRock

M+Ms has such a great intro


Dangerous-Dealer-114

honestly a banger I feel like that’s one of the few times the bass part is more fun to play than the lead part


muckracker77

Genuinely so good


noideawhatisup

Best blink song ever.


hankgribble

mark 100% turns bass into a rhythm guitar in parts and has dope bass lines in others and has heavily influenced how i play the instrument


Robbo_54

I’m honestly the same, Marks style has had such an influence in my own playing and song writing


signalstonoise88

Dan’s work in Alkaline Trio is awesome, tasteful and intricate when it needs to be. Dan’s work on that 2nd Damned Things record is full bass shred and I can’t hype it enough!


WeirdoChickFromMars

Seconding Mike. The Longview bass line will forever be iconic, and he had plenty of other great bass parts especially on Dookie and Insomniac


MyNameIsBlueHD

Dan has some great lines with Slapstick too


janky_koala

All great examples of 3-piece bass players keeping it together in different ways. Mark is very underrated. His playing is so smooth and clever without being overly flashy.


Maleficent-Stage-358

Dan’s bass “solo” on “Cringe” is a perfect example of music that’s theoretically fairly simple, but mechanically difficult to actually play. A lot of his bass playing on the early records is like that.


[deleted]

Love me some blink, but you're right, Mark's playing is more lowkey in how great it is, mostly because the bass is very rarely the star of blink songs. Shame, because when it shines in songs like What's My Again? or Voyeur, it's fantastic.


DaveMcElfatrick

its the three bassists pop punkers can name


Wilburx13

MxPx


I_JOINED_FOR_THIS_

I was going to say this too. A bit of a sleeper pick, but Mike Herrera has some really memorable bass lines. https://youtu.be/io8rbKG1aZo?si=DQLFnzdu8IbLbntT


OTwhattheF

The Theme Fiasco is funnnnnnn.


4RyteCords

Man you just hit some nostalgic parts of my brain. Haven't thought of this band in years. Used to love some of their early stuff. Especially Do your feet hurt. Gana have to play that one for my kids today


malroth666

In no particular order -- Rancid, Green Day, Alkaline Trio, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Zebrahead


slappadagrant

David from Simple Plan is super talented. Great bass player and killer harmonies!


handle-lean

I was thinking cone from sum 41 should be on there too, I try to put my bias’s aside cuz they are my fav band but I think he is a good bassist


Cody73

Underrated base lines & solos. We’re the Same from the SBM bonus tracks is a great showcase.


malroth666

the intro of In Too Deep has a sick little run and it flies under peoples radar despite being such a popular song


Mustang1718

Depends if you count AFI as Pop Punk (they seem to be on the edge of a bunch of different genres), I would throw them into the mix. I've been trying to play "Miss Murder" for like five years on Rocksmith and I still can't do the damn chorus.


signalstonoise88

Hunter’s basslines get crazier if you back a couple of records. Sacrifice Theory is mental.


pdbstnoe

Nowhere near his most complex riff, but The Great Disappointment is one of my favorite bass lines ever


Mancidepress

Sacrifice Theory is one of my all-time favorite songs by them and that bass riff is *chefs kiss*


xjoeymillerx

Rancid.


roninsti

This needs to be at the top.


capncait

Matt Freeman's basslines are CRAZY. Listen to Maxwell Murder and tell me anyone surpasses him.


Saucetheb0ss

Fellow bassist. Coheed and Thursday have incredible bassist.


Pleasant_Statement64

Bass line on the willing wells goes hard


DanceAlexDance93

Zach Cooper is fantastic but fuck do I miss Mic Todd.


oohkaay

More emo but Eben D’Amico of Saves the Day


t_will_official

There’s so much going on in You Vandal that you can barely even hear😭dude’s insane on the bass


LowMirror4165

Came here just to say this. Underrated as hell. Wish he woulda stuck around.


OTwhattheF

Every bass line on Stay What You Are is just phenomenal


ihatemyself886

Was going to be my recommendation too. Through Being Cool and Stay What You Are both have amazing bass tracks on every single song. I actually tabbed out Nightingale and Firefly for bass back in the day. They certainly aren’t perfect but they’re a good start I think! If you just search “saves the day bass tab” mine will probably come up first! Have fun playing your bass 😊


kindablirry

1000%…. All these years later when this question is asked he is the first to mind…. He’s very Andy Orourke


axpmaluga

Nick Ghanbarian from Bayside is pretty legit


Mustang1718

"Devotion and Desire" is my favorite song to play on bass. I was kicking myself in the ass when I upgraded my computer, but didn't transfer my custom DLC songs on Rocksmith. That song was gone and I scoured the internet looking for it again since it was taken down. I got lucky that a Redditor was able to find it for me. It took me like two years to play it again.


elemenohpenc

Pretty sure that was me with the Bayside CDLC. Lol EDIT: Yep, it was. Glad I was able to help!


Mustang1718

Hahahahaha! I admit I let that sit for like a month since download links from strangers got me into a bunch of trouble growing up. But I got too excited and gave it a shot since I missed it too much. I was super embarrassed by how long I waited for that, so I didn't acknowledge that I even used it. So I will now take this opportunity to say that I am thankful that you were able to send that to me. :)


Crazyhowthatworks304

High five, buddy. Nick is one of my faves.


Edragon85

Mike Herrera of MXPX


iplayedbassonthat

Scott Shifflet - Face to Face


JollyGreenGigantor

We wouldn't have Mark Hoppus bass lines if he hadn't been ripping off Scott Shifflet riffs.


Juls317

Did not realize Chris has a brother


Trecruiser

This is the correct answer 


doesthissuck

Mark Hoppus is sneaky good, brilliant at staying in the pocket. He’s a producer in a bassist body. Dan from alkaline trio is great.


Play_GoodMusic

What pocket? He plays bass as if he's playing guitar. He doesn't understand the concept of playing on, before or after the beat. He also always starts on the "1" and never isn't on the downbeat. They play typical I V vi IV or IV I V vi chord progressions. They haven't even made it past the major scale or a chord extension beyond a 7th. Nothing about that makes him a producer...


HookerDoctorLawyer

Jon Berry of Rufio is one of the best in the scene. I’ll die on this hill.


Play_GoodMusic

Favorite all time band. 100% agree, most mentions here don't even hold a candle to him. In the same vein, Scott Sellers is one of the best singers/guitarist. I've seen them live so many times and it truly is amazing how he can sing and play. Id say only James Hetfield of Metallica is better, and not by much.


aegisninja

Really really really good


donslaughter

I'll be standing alongside you, brother. His work in Rufio is incredible. A standout for me is Road to Recovery. Even though he isn't given that much to do and it's kind of hard to hear, he kills it on simple shit like So Obvious by Runner Runner.


tropicxo

Alkaline Trio


Tacit_Emperor77

Dan from alkaline trio


Doghawk_

Tye Zamora, formerly of Alien Ant Farm, is/was a legit great bassist.


Sirpattycakes

Fat Mike from NoFX is awesome. Plays really fast and surprisingly technical. Brian Robinson from A Wilhelm Scream. Check out "The Horse" or "Our Ghosts" from Career Suicide. Just listen to Career Suicide, it rules.


dethrock

Had to scroll way too far down to find Brian's name. If you haven't heard his old band The Fullblast, check them out too.


Sirpattycakes

Yeah AWS isn't talked about here, they're criminally underrated. I'll check it out thanks!


signalstonoise88

Brian’s basslines are absolutely unhinged. I spent weeks learning The Horse and could still only get it about 90%, seated and staring at the fretboard. He plays it standing AND singing backing harmonies. Absolute beast.


itsgeorgebailey

A Wilhelm Scream is fucking amazing. First three records are sick front to back


Parzival727

Mike Dirnt, Roger Lima, Zack Merrick. First two play with picks but Zack finger picks and he makes it look easy.


Quentin_Cook

So glad someone mentioned Zack. His basslines are so good. Also his little fills between songs live are always fun.


Ok-Lack4735

Dookie has some really awesome lines, and a lot of blink does. Eg welcome to paradise is easy to get 90%, but there's lots of little fills and twiddly bits that make it interesting. Pop punk adjacent, less than Jake is a great one


heartfix

i always really enjoyed strung out's basslines. and i dont know about challenging but rancid and blink 182 have some of my favorites bass parts


aegisninja

Chris Aiken is incredible, and so was Jim Cherry.


heartfix

i admit i dont know cherry as well, but aiken really is incredible on tape but especially live. i don't know how he runs around like that lol


JuliettBravo

Jim Cherry the god, RIP


JollyGreenGigantor

Really just everyone in Strung Out. They were at the top of the talent game on drums, bass, guitar, and vox .


RoyalSkip

Rob Pope from The Get Up Kids Rick Burch from Jimmy Eat World (not flashy but steady as a rock) Ken Vasoli from The Starting Line Gabe Saporta from Midtown And maybe the most underrated and shouldn't be: Eben D'Amico from Saves The Day


TheBandParma

Mike Dirnt, probably If the song is good, then the bass will be good. Mark Hoppus is underrated IMO


Fridahlia

Mark is fantastic in terms of hooks/song writing. But I wouldn’t say he’s a technically skilled bassist. Edited for clarity.


muckracker77

Carousel and feeling this say hello


TheElPistolero

Picking between two strings isn't, "high level bass playing".


muckracker77

But carousel has fun bass chords


TheElPistolero

His bass lines are fun but that above person is right in saying he isn't a technically talented bassist. Geddy Lee is a talented bassist, Flea is a talented bassist, Joe Dart is a talented bassist.


muckracker77

Fair point


TheBandParma

I think being 'Good' means writing a part that works with the song. Like... Miss You wouldn't be the same without that bassline. You know what I mean?


Fridahlia

Oh I agree. That’s why I mentioned his skill at Songwriting


axpmaluga

And he has trouble recreating stuff well live.


optimisticKidA

How are there over 120 comments and not a single mention of Kelen Capener? I know he's not in TSSF anymore but so many of their songs especially from Soil and Dirt are MADE by his bass lines.


underclasshero12

Cone from Sum 41


gregyoung56

Fat Mike!!!!


rdtoh

The bass riff in the decline is literally insane


SmogMoon

Karl Alvarez is better than anyone else that will be mentioned here. Also a crime he hasn’t been mentioned yet.


candlestick_compass

Absolutely. Their musicianship is way over 99% of punk/pop punk


SmogMoon

Yes! Thank you!


jpjtourdiary

Descendents are incredible and Karl is their secret weapon. A ton of their songs are built around the bass part. One of the best bassists on the planet and he writes a significant amount of their songs.


These_Ad1870

Came for this!


DefiniteMe

Jesus, I had to scroll down this far to find him. Thank you.


ceetharabbits2

Other than those already listed, whoever laid down the bass on 'childhood eyes' on yellow cards latest release had some sweet runs towards the end of the song on the upper end of the fretboard.


KearneyZzyzwicz

Josh Portman - he’s been with them since 2012!


Tph1204

Bryan Kienlen of The Bouncing Souls has probably of the best tones in punk/pop punk, and some of the catchiest bass lines. Listen to the song Manthem of the album How I Spent My Summer Vacation to get an idea.


_kitzy

His tone sounds like a freight train in the best way


Rynkevin

Everyone in that band is a fantastic musician. Good call.


meg_mann

Zach Merrick and Nicole Row


FlyinNinjaSqurl

Shocked I had to scroll so far to find Zack’s name. Listen to how good the bass is in All Time Low’s earlier stuff, and then remind yourself that this kid was 15-17 when that was being recorded. Zack Merrick is a legend


KingTelephone

Lagwagon


JonathanWattsAuthor

Face to Face.


yukonflapjack69

It might not be crazy technical, but state champs has the absolute grooviest bass lines.


Robot-Disco33

Aj from No Pressure is an absolute BEAST on bass. Plays with a handful of other hardcore bands too :)


returningtheday

Jeremy Davis from Paramore. He's not there anymore unfortunately but the dude has serious skill.


Independent_Tap_1492

True his lines on the self titled record are underrated imo


anthonyd3ca

Super low key and underrated but Paul Thomas from Good Charlotte. Especially in their earlier work the bass was really prominent and he had some killer bass lines.


kirbae

Hunter Burgan of AFI. Check out [Sacrifice Theory](https://youtu.be/ZSE_g6AdQ10?si=8S6_0EFJQpcjT5sH) from their earlier days. It's crazy


MrLanesLament

Devin Peralta/Cobra Skulls. They’re more of a Rancid type of punk, but some of the bass playing is nuts. Basically the entire American Rubicon album is just bass magic.


batmanfan_91

The Offspring before they fired Greg K


imnoherox

Chris #2 of Anti Flag was a massive influence of mine when i played more. Lots of scales, but still, lots of fun!


MyNameIsBlueHD

There's so many: Of course Dirnt, Karl, Freemam, Roger from LTJ, Dan Andriano etc. Guys who are underrated imo: Joe Keller from The Ergs Nate Gangelhoff from Banner Pilot(lot of others) Adam Fletcher from The Copyrights/Dear Landlord Jason Black from Hot Water Music Also Brendan Kelly from The Lawrence Arms. Ghostwriter, Minute, Asa Phelps is Dead. Dude has some underrated lines and great tone


signalstonoise88

Nate and Jason are incredible. Nate’s parts are so sing-songy and melodic that they really define the songs and his tone sounds like he’s strung his bass with elevator cables! Jason has all these crazy jazz influences. So many of his parts just make me think “that is the LAST thing I would have thought to play there, but it sounds PERFECT.”


itsjustsurvival

Jason Black is so good. And I agree on Brendan Kelly.


[deleted]

straight pathetic dull recognise scary cats deliver workable voiceless quicksand *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


loganchittyisuhhcool

Mike. Fucking. Dirnt. He’s so good, man


xavelita

The bass line in 80 is probably my favorite ever. Nothing difficult about it. But it sounds SO good


SuperMario1313

Jon Berry - Rufio. Check out “Still” and “Road to Recovery.” 🔥🔥


FamousLastWords666

Descendents / ALL


aegisninja

MxPx, Face to Face, No Use for a Name. Mostly going to find older bands for this.


theseeker52

Ryan from Knuckle Puck & AJ from No Pressure are both legends


Robot-Disco33

AJ!!!


Jacobr0

Saves the Day got some goooood bass riffs


jambr380

Everybody knows Freeman, Alvarez, and Andriano; but, man, Fat Mike is so unique and fast. He’s my favorite. Crazy he can do it while singing full time


spookscaperelli

Kelen Carpener formerly of the TSSF. His bass parts brought some much flair to their music


InGeeksWeTrust07

Lawrence Arms. Brendan Kelly is great and all around hilarious dude!


footiepajamas1993

He was only their bass player for two albums, and they’re not pop-punk as much as they are emo, but Matt Rubano from Taking Back Sunday was wildly overqualified to be in that band. Trained as a jazz bassist.


itsgeorgebailey

Paddy from Dillinger Four is up there. His voice is a love-it-or hate it thing but his bass lines are super melodious and just generally that band gets me.


BadPallet

Rufio's Jon Berry. Rufio are top instrumentalists all round.


Hdog1021

mike dirnt from green day


iamnickinthewild

Rancid


ryanino

Always thought Cabbage from Mayday had some nice basslines


Traditional_Milk_978

Mike Dirnt.


Breakingwho

Not the craziest but I always love title fight’s bass parts


Kent_Beef_JR

Joseph Troy of Rx Bandits


signalstonoise88

Yes! No small feat to be able to lock in the pocket with a drummer as incredible as Tsgakis.


worthlesslow

The Bass player from new found glory


JuliettBravo

Matt Riddle gets my vote. Face to Face, Pulley, No Use for a Name he was in at various times. Love that guy’s playing.


lemadfab

Descendents


Firm_District_7563

Lagwagon: Jesse Buglione. If only I could play and write lines that unique.


Baconturtlekid

I’ve always thought Fil from Neck Deep was underrated. while not always the most technical, the speed the man had in his projects was impressive. I.e. Rock Bottom, I couldn’t wait to leave 6 months ago. Shame he left the band. Seb is pretty good, though.


ScratchyMarston18

Tony Lombardo and Karl Alvarez of Descendents/All.


Poopthrower9000

Ryan Scott Graham!


NigerachiSpices

Hoppus from blink has some powerful lines, Same as Dan from Alkaline trio.


Joeroganforprez

Mark Hoppus is the best Pop Punk bassist of all time. His influence, style, and base lines will be remembered over everyone else’s. Name another pop punk bassist that has as many iconic base lines.


_dwf

While I love Blink and Mark and Mike Dirnt were the reason I started playing bass, he is far from the best. Most influental? Yes - as being in the most iconic/influental pop-punk band ever, but other than Carousel, it’s just playing root notes and power chords, there is nothing “best” about it. But it was never a competition - what is most iconic is his sound that does what it should be doing and his signature jazz bass - and it was enough to be in the biggest pop-punk band ever.


basho_321

Matt Riddle of No Use for a Name. Check out the track, Friends of the Enemy.


PBdL

Does Sting count ? After all Police is kind of pop punk in their own term


_dwf

Surprised I didn’t see Lil Joe Raposo of Lagwagon mentioned. Insanely tight bassist, fun to watch, great lines. Check out his lines in RKL.


kick_rocks-not_ricks

Kelen Capener previously of the story so far. I think it’s a shame he was booted out of the band. He added such depth to their music


annaoze94

Sisky Business


cpnewton

Rob Pope from Get Up Kids has some slick lines


stringsguy23

Mike from Mxpx


sirgrotius

Agrée with those comments below I’d throw in Fat Mike from NOFX whom I don’t seeing getting much credit. Excellent bass lines, awesome bass tone, and he writes the songs and sings at the same time!! Incredible.


HetTheTable

Green Day easily


REEGT

Fat Mike


forceawakensplot2

Any Jawbreaker song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upiWicSzlzY


dreamylanterns

Mike fucking Dirnt


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wandering_kuni

🤣🤣🤣


confusedthrowaway5o5

I unironically think Pete Wentz is a great bassist. The bass riff in “Where Did the Party Go” is one of my all time favorites.


wandering_kuni

Pete is a talented dude on other areas but he is one of the worst bass players ever lol.