The Last Bass Outpost

Main Forums => The Bass Zone => Topic started by: nofi on May 05, 2016, 06:06:39 AM

Title: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: nofi on May 05, 2016, 06:06:39 AM
hardly a legend as the article states but some of his prices seem legendary.

https://reverb.com/shop/stus-gear-outlet
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: Pilgrim on May 05, 2016, 09:19:23 AM
Those are what I'd call "well heeled collector" prices.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: Dave W on May 05, 2016, 09:40:13 AM
Stu came up with some excellent bass lines back in the day but I'd hardly call him a legend or say that he "helped define the genre" of electric bass.

Nothing there I would pay a premium for, although he has some nice basses.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: Alanko on May 05, 2016, 11:44:22 AM
I'm not sure if Reverb can handle the pressure, because all the basses were definitely on there earlier. At the moment I can't see any of them, but Stu has had them up on his personal page for years at similar prices (I saw the Reverb page earlier), so I'm not sure what is going on.

My honest thoughts were that it was mostly bunch of overpriced 'meh', a tasty Rickenbacker and a trippy Jazz bass with a suspiciously absent decal. I quite like the Jazz pickup worked into the Rickenbacker, complete with plastic plate modeled on the footprint of a horseshoe pickup. I am interested in what that sounds like, or what the thought process was there.

No sign of this one though!

(http://www.rockstarsguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/486.jpg)
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: nofi on May 05, 2016, 04:01:57 PM
research shows stu is worth 20 million. i think he can lower the prices a bit.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: bobyoung on May 05, 2016, 09:15:32 PM


My honest thoughts were that it was mostly bunch of overpriced 'meh', a tasty Rickenbacker and a trippy Jazz bass with a suspiciously absent decal. I quite like the Jazz pickup worked into the Rickenbacker, complete with plastic plate modeled on the footprint of a horseshoe pickup. I am interested in what that sounds like, or what the thought process was there.

No sign of this one though!

(http://www.rockstarsguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/486.jpg)

I wouldn't pay anywhere near what he wants for the Rick, especially with it being modified like that even thought it's been on a few very famous albums. I would however have liked to buy Ron Wood's Tele bass when it was for sale a few years ago in London, but it was a little rich for me at 5 grand, never mind 16 thousand and change for a modified Rick.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: FrankieTbird on May 06, 2016, 02:41:23 AM
I would however have liked to buy Ron Wood's Tele bass when it was for sale a few years ago in London, but it was a little rich for me at 5 grand, never mind 16 thousand and change for a modified Rick.


Is that what he used on the Jeff Beck Group records?
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: Alanko on May 06, 2016, 02:58:06 AM
I like Ron's bass playing with Jeff Beck. Fender should make him a sig bass. ;D
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: uwe on May 06, 2016, 01:32:28 PM
So does Gene Simmons - he regards Ronnie Wood as pivotal for his own early style. You can hear some of it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5zzTzGCtQ8

And even here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA2aoSsDEnQ

Stu Cook? I've heard even his former singer won't speak to him anymore.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: Dave W on May 06, 2016, 08:20:47 PM
I'm not sure if Reverb can handle the pressure, because all the basses were definitely on there earlier. At the moment I can't see any of them, but Stu has had them up on his personal page for years at similar prices (I saw the Reverb page earlier), so I'm not sure what is going on.


I don't understand what you mean about handling the pressure.

...
Stu Cook? I've heard even his former singer won't speak to him anymore.

John Fogerty has been a complete jackass towards Cook and Clifford, and reportedly wouldn't visit brother Tom when he was dying. In one interview he even went as far as to claim that he wrote all the parts, and when the author disputed that, he then claimed that, well, he didn't actually write them but he told them exactly what they needed to come up with. The guy has been full of hatred and resentment for years.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: Alanko on May 08, 2016, 01:34:39 PM
I don't understand what you mean about handling the pressure.

I looked at the Reverb link several times the day it was first posted. Twice I saw a full list of Stu's basses, and twice I saw a blank, empty store. I think that because Stu's basses have been posted in so many places (forums and social media), Reverb couldn't handle the number of hits, akin to a DoS attack, and was periodically falling over as a result.

I'm not seeing any basses on his page right now. Have they all sold?
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: Dave W on May 08, 2016, 08:25:58 PM
At those prices? I'm posting 8 hours after you and I see all the same ones that were there yesterday. But your guess may be right, maybe there were too many hits.

Or maybe it's a DoS attack by John Fogerty.  ;D
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: Alanko on May 09, 2016, 12:42:05 AM
I'm not up to speed with the acrimony within the CCR ranks. I'm guessing John Fogerty treated the other guys like hired guns?
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: uwe on May 09, 2016, 06:15:06 AM
Dave is right, Fogerty has been extremely harsh with his bandmates. All the hatred he has for Saul Zaentz/the Famtasy Records Label was projected on his bandmates when he felt that they eventually sided/acquiesced with Zaentz rather than fighting him til death us part (Fogerty was even nasty about Zaentz's Alzheimer death). Not a nice facet of his personality at all, too true. What to them was recognition of the unalterable facts, was backstabbing to him. Since I'm not the person that dwells on past (perceived or real) injuries and insults, I tend to be with the other band members on this one.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: Alanko on May 09, 2016, 06:24:16 AM
I thought he was some chill old hippie dude with a flannel shirt...  :o

Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: uwe on May 09, 2016, 06:33:18 AM
He's been at war with Fantasy Records since the late 60ies. That is why you will never get a greatest hits album from CCR endorsed by him, much less with liner notes or an interview. The other (surviving) two, sans songwriter credits from the bulk of CCR's work, simply could not afford and sustain that type of longliving hatred for their former record company.

Fogerty seems to believe that he is the only person on earth that got an unfavourable record and publishing deal in the 60ies. He's manic about it.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: Dave W on May 09, 2016, 12:53:09 PM
He didn't treat them like hired guns back in the day. He wasn't even the original frontman when they formed as the Golliwogs, brother Tom was. But in recent years he's revised the band's history in his own mind so now he believes that they were just trained monkeys following his orders. It's sad, really. He's still consumed by bitterness.

IIRC Fantasy was a struggling jazz label, Zaentz was a sales rep for them and knew Fogerty who worked in the shipping department. Zaentz wound up buying the label and gave the Golliwogs a chance b/c of his friendship with Fogerty even though it wasn't the label's usual fare. Turned out to be an unexpectedly brilliant move.

Sure, the recording contract benefitted the label over the artist, that's what recording contracts do, but it was just a standard contract for an unknown band. Yet Fogerty resented being bound by it so much that he gave up all his rights to CCR songs just to get out of it, and then publicly trashed Zaentz for years even though it was his own choice. He even refused to play any CCR songs at gigs for years. Then when Cook and Clifford started touring as Creedence Clearwater Revisited, Fogerty really upped the acrimony.

See this (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/creedence-clearwater-revisited-chose-not-to-be-bullied-by-fogerty-20141211). I don't know the current status.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: westen44 on May 09, 2016, 03:16:58 PM
I used to be in a band that did lots of CCR covers.  They were real crowd pleasers.  But you can get weary doing stuff like that too much.  Also, I can't name any singer that's easier to sound like than John Fogerty.  Depending on a person's taste, you can get praised or cursed for singing his songs.  I've experienced both.   

My sister probably hated CCR more than any band on earth.  Even though I think we covered their songs pretty well, I think she had nothing but utter contempt for our CCR covers.  Frankly, she was probably pretty much sick of hearing us play anything, though.  Relatives can be your worst critics.  But I remember an outstanding lead guitarist from another band who really complimented us on our CCR covers. 

As for John Fogerty, I haven't kept up with him much through the years.  But from reading all this stuff here I'm not too impressed with his attitude. 


Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: uwe on May 10, 2016, 05:11:29 AM
A CCR reunion world tour would make bucketloads of money (I'd go) - those songs and their original sound have become ingrained in our collective consciousness. And though the lines between John Fogerty and CCR blur just as much as those between Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, Rod Stewart and The Faces, Paul Weller and The Jam, Sting and The Police or Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople, the CCR brand would still be a huge draw.

Always liked CCR, never belittled them. Like Bad Company or ZZ Top, there is nothing superfluous in their arrangements which gives them a timeless quality. I always thought that John Mellencamp, when at his best, owed more than a nod to John Fogerty.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: westen44 on May 10, 2016, 06:16:05 AM
I have been around people who actually did belittle CCR, though.  I never did that.  I did kind of get tired of some of their songs.  To this day, however, I still like songs such as "Bad Moon Rising" and "Who'll Stop the Rain."  Songs like that were gems, IMO, and also very fun to do. 
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: Dave W on May 10, 2016, 11:31:53 AM
I did get tired of CCR a few albums in. That doesn't diminish their earlier work, though. Green River (the album) really made me sit up and take notice, I still enjoy listening to it. Uwe is right, nothing superfluous.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: westen44 on May 10, 2016, 12:15:39 PM
Come to think of it "Proud Mary" wasn't as easy to sing as the other CCR songs.  It would help to be John Fogerty on that one.  I thought the melody was really interesting on "Who'll Stop the Rain."  We never did "Lodi" but I really like that CCR song, too.  I think my sister disliked their music so much because she was a Motown fanatic.  She would barely even listen to any rock (with a few exceptions of course.)  It reminds me of a co-worker who told me he once had to take a long trip with his sister.  He carefully chose the music for the trip.  But his sister's response was so negative he actually seemed shocked by it.  I think the only two bands my sister and I both liked were the Beatles and Deep Purple. 
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: Pilgrim on May 10, 2016, 05:14:41 PM
Some of CCR's stuff still ranks among my favorites, but I didn't play it in bands so I haven't suffered the repetition fatigue some of you have. 

Born on the Bayou and Bad Moon Rising are still good...and my band does play Fortunate Son, and i enjoy it. I like Willie and the Poor Boys, too.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: westen44 on May 10, 2016, 06:47:40 PM
Some of CCR's stuff still ranks among my favorites, but I didn't play it in bands so I haven't suffered the repetition fatigue some of you have. 

Born on the Bayou and Bad Moon Rising are still good...and my band does play Fortunate Son, and i enjoy it. I like Willie and the Poor Boys, too.

We also played Fortunate Son, but not Born on the Bayou.  I have a feeling that that one would have been one of the more difficult CCR songs to play. 
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: gearHed289 on May 11, 2016, 08:11:03 AM
When I was younger, I kind of thought of CCR as a little hillbilly band. My bro-in-law's white trash neighbors used to crank them all the time, and we would poke fun at them. So I didn't really give them a chance. Fast forward to 2010 - I got tapped to play bass with a CCR tribute band for a one-off gig. Pop star P!nk threw a surprise birthday party for her dad in Philly, and he and his Vietnam vet buddies are big CCR fans. Once I sat down to learn the material (LOTS of songs), my mind changed completely. There's some beautiful songs in that catalog. "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" is a favorite. Fogerty has an amazing voice and soul. I did one more gig with those guys. Fun stuff.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: westen44 on May 11, 2016, 03:49:46 PM
When I was younger, I kind of thought of CCR as a little hillbilly band. My bro-in-law's white trash neighbors used to crank them all the time, and we would poke fun at them. So I didn't really give them a chance. Fast forward to 2010 - I got tapped to play bass with a CCR tribute band for a one-off gig. Pop star P!nk threw a surprise birthday party for her dad in Philly, and he and his Vietnam vet buddies are big CCR fans. Once I sat down to learn the material (LOTS of songs), my mind changed completely. There's some beautiful songs in that catalog. "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" is a favorite. Fogerty has an amazing voice and soul. I did one more gig with those guys. Fun stuff.

It sounds like you really did get immersed in CCR's music.  I agree there are some beautiful CCR songs.  I think John Fogerty's voice somewhat takes away from how melodic some of those songs are.  But I suppose that's the way it's supposed to be. 
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: Pilgrim on May 12, 2016, 11:48:53 AM
To me, the distinctive quality of John's voice is one of the most compelling aspects of CCR's music.  I have his Blue Moon Swamp CD and I like the stuff on it very well.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: westen44 on May 12, 2016, 01:07:08 PM
To me, the distinctive quality of John's voice is one of the most compelling aspects of CCR's music.  I have his Blue Moon Swamp CD and I like the stuff on it very well.

As someone who got into bands in the early days more for my singing than my bass playing, this kind of thing is something I really had to focus on.  I stated in an earlier post that it was easier to sound like John Fogerty than anyone else.  But I think as humans there is a natural tendency to want what we can't have.  I wanted to sound, for instance, more like Peter Cetera and Terry Kath on vocals.  But it was way harder to sound like Chicago than CCR (for several reasons I might add.)


Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: mc2NY on May 22, 2016, 08:35:32 PM

I don't think it's easy to sound like John Fogerty's vocals. He has a very distinct sound and odd pronunciation of words....almost like a fake Southen accent under his California accent. I used to say Kurt Cobain would have sounded good covering Creedence songs.

But CCR was ranked among the TopTen American bands in its heyday, with John Fogerty writing most of the songs and singing all the leads.  The band had at least a dozen hits and still gets major rdio airplay with a fair number of those hits.

You'd be bitter and pissed off too if you weren't making a cent off those songs if you're were Fogerty.
That is easily $Millions$ in royalties he never received.
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: TBird1958 on May 23, 2016, 09:42:21 AM


 I've always really liked CCR, what you saw was what you got, no BS.

This is probably my fave of theirs with "Run through the Jungle" not too far behind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmjNIJ4YIFI
Title: Re: Stu Cook Basses
Post by: Dave W on May 23, 2016, 11:49:31 AM
I don't think it's easy to sound like John Fogerty's vocals. He has a very distinct sound and odd pronunciation of words....almost like a fake Southen accent under his California accent. I used to say Kurt Cobain would have sounded good covering Creedence songs.

But CCR was ranked among the TopTen American bands in its heyday, with John Fogerty writing most of the songs and singing all the leads.  The band had at least a dozen hits and still gets major rdio airplay with a fair number of those hits.

You'd be bitter and pissed off too if you weren't making a cent off those songs if you're were Fogerty.
That is easily $Millions$ in royalties he never received.

I'd call it a fake southern Louisiana accent. Whatever it's supposed to be, it's worked for him.

He never received those millions in royalties b/c he voluntarily relinquished his rights to them in order to get out from under his contract. He's never had anyone to blame but himself.