Added: 5 years ago
From: KillerFridge
Views: 131,790
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  • Thanks for the lesson what kind of Warwick is that and do u know how much it costs

  • Notes aren't right, but the right strings and rhythm are there and solid

  • Its a E power chord on the d string, then the open E to g hammer on thing, mute slap two times, then do the F to g hammer on, on the d string.

    

  • Wrong chord and wrong notes i met les at one of his shows backstage and asked him to teach me some songs... And it was nothing like ur version

  • @Brian19451 Great - are you going to share this knowledge, or just dangle over people who have put the effort in to transcribe it and teach people?

  • @Brian19451 Okay, If you really did meet Les Claypool and he actually gave you a free bass lesson and taught you (some random person) his songs, and you know how to play this, then why are you watching this video?

    He has put his time in, to work out this song, and to teach us and help us play it, and you ungrateful pathetic liar, cant appreciate that. Thank you KillerFridge. :)

  • change the tone. The notes aren't taking any shape.

  • @PvtParts111 Or it might be that it is being recorded on the worst webcam known to man. And the strings were dead as hell.

  • @KillerFridge Idk just more high end? The webcam doesn't convert high end to low end.

  • @PvtParts111 Ah, then I refer you back to super old strings :)

  • @KillerFridge Okay still, thank you for the video!

  • Nice. Is that a thumb?

  • @squiresuzuki Why yes, yes it is :)

    In this video it does have some modifications though - Dimarzio Model J pickups and John East Preamp.

  • Thanks. that sounds pretty good. His stuff is so percussive, it makes it very difficult to figure good job !!

  • I think you're playing this way closer than most the other people who have tried this.

  • @raybirdman Thank you!

  • Les has differnet was of playing Tommy the cat as well as a double bass version.

    Thanks fridge, very helpful

  • @Tomsthumb Not A problem, It's nice to see that people are still watching these vids!

    Hopefully, someday there will be some new ones!

  • the first part is really good but there is a progression on the second part that les starts on the the 4th fret, e string for a 4string, and works the slap and pop down to the 3rd then the 2nd then open right then it starts over.

  • bang on brother. first one i've seen who can do it fo real

  • You sure all those E string muted slaps in the middle to end of the line are muted? I thought he slapped 5, 4, and 3 on the E string between the G note pops

  • I like Warwicks.

  • This is a cool bass line. Saying that its not tommy the cat! ;/

  • It's unbelievable. I watched so many instructional videos for "tommy the cat" now, and NO ONE could do it right. Damn.

  • aggreed

  • please turn your tone up.

  • watch a video of les playing this song live, he uses a 4 string, except on the bill n teds bogus journey movie and about a handful of other show back in the early 90's!!!

  • Thank you!

  • @heymanthisisfun Primus was in that movie? Holy shit, I need to watch it again! Haven't seen it in forever.

  • @heymanthisisfun This song was written on a 6 string fretless bass. Yes he does play it on 4 string sometimes but only Les can play it properly, people need to stop trying.

  • @polkafrenzy666 this song was written on a 4 string fretted bass. first appeared on the Suck on This album, way before les ever touched a 6 string let alone a fretless

  • originally on a 4 string

  • once again, ORIGINALLY played on a 4 string

  • ive got the same bass :)

  • the skin at my nail started bleeding after playing this stuff for 15 minutes =D

    gotta say, nice song

  • at first i had no idea what the fuck you were talking about, then i saw the blood on my strings

  • haha me too

  • i dont see what peoople are talking about. I Played this and yeah my thumb kinda hurt but it wasnt like bleeding or anything. and as for my nailit was just scratched from the strumming. hmmm

  • another part of myself is bleeding,maybe i should try to use my fingers now....

  • Dude, thank you. I was never sure about that first chord/strum thing (turns out I was playing it wrong). Seriously, thank you. This song's given me a ton of frustration.

  • he has 3 4 strings, 2 5 strings, and 2 6 strings. and tommy the cat is played on a 4 string but he recorded it with a six which he does with almost every song primus recorded

  • What do you mean about him recording almost every song with a six-string? I have not heard this.

  • EVERY song is a bit of an exaggeration, but this one was. Alot of other ones you might not think were, too. Wynonas, for instance. Unfortunately elitists and children just watch the videos and decide that what's in front of them is the way it is.

  • Eh, I dunno about them being elitists, just people arguing on the Internet about things they have read on the Internet... which is 50% of what happens on the Internet.

    But I think it must depend on which version people are talking about, because "Tommy the Cat" was on Suck on This which I'm pretty sure was before Les even used a 6-string. But I suspect you're talking about the Seas of Cheese version.

  • thanks for teachme, very good explication

  • i love you

  • Thats not tommy the cat, this lesson should be banned!!!

  • But Claypool has more strings on his bass

  • thats not true..

    tommy the cat is played on a 4string bass..

    he uses his 5 and 6 stringers for other songs..

    greets

  • That's very strange then because on the Tommy the Cat video he plays a 6 string and even on the battle of the bands scene from Bill & Ted he's playing Tommy the Cat on a 6 string also.

    Maybe it's my eyes then...[as he knows the claims will be checked]

    Have fun.

  • no floling, he used his 6 to record tommy the cat. and he doesnt even play a 5 string btw...

  • sure why not?

  • He used a 6 string to record it but usually use a 4 string when he plays shows.

  • this is totally wrong. PRIMUS SUCKS!

  • Evidently someone is not a Primus fan (and I don't mean you, I mean whoever voted you down who clearly doesn't know what cheers to yell at a Primus concert).

  • dud worry i fixed it =)

  • yo dude get some more strings your getting there but no cigar bro!!! you good but missing ..... only just but keep it up !

  • WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    is that the UK version ?

    you should hear the Primus version.

    it totally sucks.

  • pretty cool but that ain't it man

  • Thank you boy , now I can play Tommy the cat !

  • ??? soz, that was a responce to bbender1986

  • yeah that's not it mate.

  • pretty cool

  • nice to see the english have good taste in music

  • Lol i disagree. I'm English and all the music you get here hip-hop and r&b. I don't know what happened but what happened to out beloved punk, and metal??? :( Primus Rule!!!

  • @bbender1986 very strange thing to say

  • So close. but you're not realizing like many others... that its really not muted notes.... I cant even explain it on here without tab'ing it... but learn it the right way and you'll sound 10 times better then you realize, watch the original TTC video. You'll hear it.

  • Can you make tabs?:D PLEEASE!

  • in the next couple days ill either tab or post a video response.

  • Wrong :|

  • thanks heaps for posting this you have a great technique.

  • i'm pretty sure the first chord is just an e5 strummed twice, but when you're playin that fast it really all sounds the same...

  • Yep, the first chord should really be an inverted E5 chord if played on a 6 string. Playing on a 4 string its still an E5 chord with 2nd fret of a D string and 4th fret of a G played together.

  • thats pretty cool!

    im still learning

  • Les has played it many a time on a four string. The recorded version is on a six-string. good job man!

  • this reminds me of how much i need to practice but nice tutorial on the riff dude, maybe 'an thats tommy the cat' is abit strong tho lol.

  • it sounds good, it's a good tutorial for people that want to try playing this song with a 4-string. though the tabs are clearly for 5-string basses. if not, you have to improvize with the tones. good job on it.

  • Hey thanks alot man...I didn't understand this song at all 'till you showed me :)

    Think you could do Wynona's Big Brown Beaver next?

  • I suck at slap and pop at the moment, but one day I may return to this video ..

  • Great! Sure the best Tommy the Cat tutorial I've seen so far.

  • worked for me cheers

  • sweet!

    this vid's a lotta help mate,

    cheers

  • Dude you need to chill out. Sloppy is a constructive criticism. That means you need to tighten it up a bit. But more importantly, why the hell does everyone play this song incorrectly? And honestly, I don't think I've seen any correct tab for this either. The best way to learn it is to watch a vid of Les live and slo-mo it.

    And btw, if you put a vid of yourself on youtube, you're gonna get negative responses. Deal with it, you're not God's gift to bass.

  • Whats with all the hostility?! I dont claim to be "gods gift to bass", this was just meant to be a helpful video for people who had asked for it. Yes, I understand that I will get negative comments, but does that mean that I cannot respond to them?

    I do agree though, that i have never seen a correct tab for this, hence why I put this video up of one of the ways that les plays it.

  • Dude your kidding me right?

  • Im, sorry, I didnt realise you know how I like to have my strings. And for the record, its just a crappy mike, not dead strings. And would you care to elaborate on "sloppy". I like critisism, but only when its constructive

  • sloppy... as in tighten the fuck up.

  • hey dude when are you going post your vlog? can't wait to see you play.

  • that sounds cool dude.. i'm glad there r primus fans across seas!

  • Makes me wish I still had a bass!!! TY

  • t6hanks for that

  • sounds great! thanks for this :)

  • thats not how you play it,I got tab out the the book,and I know if differently,good try though

  • Thank you for pointing that out. However, this is from the live version where its played on a 4 string, not the album version

  • yea it is a corvette i know because i have one myself:)

  • No, it realy isnt. Its a Thumb.

  • Lol...

  • warwicks = secks

    is that a corvette?

  • Thumb

  • i love warwicks

  • Doesn't sound anything like Tommy the Cat, but it was some good bass playing. Just nothing like Tommy the Cat at all.

  • dude, did you even watch the whole thing

  • Yeah I did and it just doesn't sound right at all but... it's strange cause I just watched the other video of him playing it and it sounds perfect... God damn Claypool!!!

  • beautifal work man, at first when you were playing it slow, i said to my self "this guy is off his rocker, it sounds nothing like tommy" but then when you played it at normal speed, i saw were quite sane, so i tak ebakc the insane comment, lol, thx for posting, helped alot. CHEERS

  • YES Nice man, you're the best, i'm playing it like that a lot now. And please tell me how you learned this or any other of your bass techniques, you seem quite professional!

  • actually, i was wrong. i double checked on my bass and it's not a slide cF to dG it's gF to aG. see we all make mistakes.

  • it's alright, man, but you totally miss the slide from cF to dG and the low pull off aG - g#G - gG, where the small letter is the lower note. i'm not going to tab it out here. everyone i've seen on here does the exact same thing. also, a split second before the f#B pop, there is a left hand hammer on of both notes. that said, keep it up. it takes immense dedication to become a fundamentally good bassist.

  • Very solid technique on the old slap mate, nice.

  • your voice sounds like dom/matt from muse lol

  • Really? Ive never heard them talk, and so wont know!

  • i cant quite put my finger on which 1

    i think it was matt

    lol

  • wow someone needs to relax a bit. Cough* puckett22 cough* Seriously if its such a simple slap line why did you willingly choose to watch a video with this title?

  • killer shirt bro.

  • this is cool dude, i learnded this song officially from YOU!! thanks alot man!

  • nice shirt man!

  • cool

  • perfect, cheers.

  • great advice, thanks alot man

  • thank you soooo much for this!

    i was in the dark untill i watched this!

  • hey compliments to who eveer made the vid!

  • sick tutorial dude. i watched this about seven times and played along. i think i got it now! ;)

  • This is one confusing song lol, but I almost have it :)

  • cool tip thanks

  • alright! thanks dude

    but one thing though, you got a wierd looking warwick... nevermind all of them look like that.

  • OMFG ty u are a FANTASTIC person! im so estatic that ive finally gotten it. and your technique is great! do you have a teacher? or have you learnt youself !? plz plz plz pm me !

  • Hey man, thanks for posting this video. I've been trying to play this song forever! Apparently I kept following bad tabs. I'm still not able to play it perfectly, but I'm a lot closer now, thanks to you!

  • I do a cover of this song and my band mait are impressed wit it but Im leaving out half of the riff! God i SUCK!!

  • wait...warwick thumb or rock bass? tring to redeem myself. you know what i mean killer fridge!!! nice technique. very different from my own. i learnt from flea and jaco with a hint of wooten, but not much wooten, mostly flea!

  • Aye, tis a Warwick Thumb. And good to see you have good influences :D

  • Holy shit!

    i had to figure this out too.

    i was thinking the other day, i should post a video on how to properly play this song... thanks so much for making this, now maybe people can learn how to play without looking at all of the incorrect tabz. you're a very good bassist by the way

  • haha whoo I can play it, wtf? C'mon you lot, it's piss easy, only took me 20 mins and I aint exactly good at bass, just practice

  • Yeah, but It sounds allot harder than it is, so people either look at bad tabs, and learn an incredibly bad version of it (like I did when I first learnt it), or just give up before getting anywhere. I thought I would help them out.

  • nice dude

    this is awesome

    u really helped me learn this song

    thanks a lot

    cya

  • you can play a madd bass,dude!

    Primus SUCKS!

    You SUCK!

  • could you post a tab for this? i got most of it down, but there is one note that i can't figure out, if you do thanks, if not thanks for posting the video

  • which it didnt

  • --4---------------------------­------

    --2----------3--5----5---5---5­------

    -----0--3-x-------------------­------

    -------------------5---4---3--­--0---

    if that worked you should see the version I play it

  • the video of addicted to that rush i asked you to watch isnt mr big playin, its me n my friend ian.

  • Very very very very helpful. Thank you so much for this. With some practice, I'll have it down soon, thanks to this.

    As for Pucket22, I encourage you with much gusto to try for a career in stand-up comedy. It'd be great. You could tell the audience they're faggots and then say you banged everyone's mom. Now THAT is fresh humor. Did you come up with those jokes by yourself? I haven't heard them 1,000,000 times yet.

  • Yeah, it took me a while (and was taught many different versions) for me to get this. It took a good part of 3 months or so to get it down right (or as well as I can consider right), and the hardest bit is getting it to flow, and to get the rythmn of the muted notes

  • Actually.. I still can't get this thing... can't seem to fit the 16th slapped notes into the rythem of the song... I'll get there... perseverance (perseverEnce?) will pay off.

  • What tuning are you playing it in, is it just standard, maybe my bass is out of tune, hmmmmmm......Anyhow, great vid, im actually learning Tommy The Cat by Primus, didnt see this happening for maybe another 5 years or so, thanks!

  • towards the end i can see how it sounds like tommy the cat, good job

  • Oh no, I laughed at you making an ass of yourself to the world, trying to be cool. I am however, helping people, on a song that allot of people find hard. Way to make a dick out of yourself.

    Again.

  • Learn how to spell.

  • I don't like getting involved in this sort of taintless confrontation, but christ, is this guy a prick. With that attitude you will NEVER get anywhere with bass, or anything in music. Get a grip.

  • nice flow! but it doesn't sound 100%, but at least 99%

  • Doubt Les is 100% on how to play the damn thing... well, that's one more Primus song I can scrath off being able to play now. Thanks a lot. What's next... maybe Wynona.

  • some of the notes don't seem to fit.....hmmm...

    but i give you props for what you did do

  • Yeah, Im not entirely sure on what the actually fully correct way of playing it is, its just this is a close as I have managed to get to sounding like it!

  • no way. ive been goin nearly 2 1/2 years but I dont do much slap which is why yours sounds less sloppy + my bass is kinda cheap which is half the reason why im not a great slap player.

  • sick. how long you been playin'?

  • 2 Years in October

  • well got rid of a bit of immaturity when they banned me i guess. but what i got banned for was a lot less than i've seen others do, i was just having fun. so i wont' bother going back

  • i got banned a while back on there, could go back now if i wanted but i'm chosing not too, just go to talkbass now. yeah i'm fortunate enough to get labgnat anywhere i register

  • Yeah, Im on talkbass too. I recognise your name from MX, but I barely go on talkbass (although Im starting to more now that MX has turned so immature)

  • oh wow, kick ass bro, thanks a lot for that, you get on musician forums dont' you, i think i recognize your name killerfridge

  • Yup, I'm there. This whole Youtube thing started out as a test for my new Dimarzios in the Thumb. The Name "killerfridge" is thankfully (as far as I know, never come across it anywhere but from me) only used by me. Everywhere!

  • woot, that was fucking sweet!!! holy shit your the man!!!

  • So many people asked me to do this I felt obligated! Theres a fairly large debate about how its meant to be played, but I feel that this way comes closest to how Les plays it (although he mixes and changes it allot too)

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