Frédéric Leclercq of DragonForce - ESP Signature Bass Interview

[COBbassmaster]

Fred is a french? 

[dsisa27]

@COBbassmaster yep, before Dragonforce he played a solo guitar in a french power metal band Heavenly on their first album Coming From The Sky (2000) :)

[COBbassmaster]

@dsisa27 Thanks :) this ltd fl 600 is great! where buy it?!

[Kip779]

Random straight jacket....?

[C4LXD]

To be fair, Dragonforce do have quite a lot of 'fun' and sometimes complex bass fill-ins. He's not a bad bassist to say how prominent the guitar is in the band.

[Demyxthelegend]

Is it just me, or did he get shy when he mentioned his girlfriend?

[RaZe681]

0:20 :D

[agony664]

NOT FUNNY

[Basstard22]

this is metal? sounds like pokemon...

[bartfoppes]

dragonforce > 10 december karlsruhe

[surfertron20000]

@Deatrus Aye, I wanted something I could just pick up and play quickly, I have other basses set up for slap, melodic tapping and all that with wierd actions and tunings not really suited for harder rock or metal. Don't expect a million tones, it's simple, plays great, No problems. Fantastic little bass, plus it looks quite neat as well :D

[perjamesbond]

DAT BASS

[smithy10932]

The body seems really simular to hermans signature ibanez accept without the hand grip and the deeper cut. still its weird ESP dont have it on their site anymore, the only ones they have are the korn signature, mark hoppus signature and another one out of my price range.

[sunnyjim98]

you know you suck when the manufacturer will only let you have a budget end instrument xD! its the same with that fag from fallout boy! he has a squier instead of a fender xD!

nah im kiddin ROFL!

[DragonForceprimeiro]

in the album Valley of the Damned you can hear the bass in EVERY song. just pay atention

[smittybang]

FUCKING FLAMES ON A GUITAR AND HE LIKES IT? FUCKING FRENCH PEOPLE.

[ACRedsCreations]

1:45 That' why he my favorite PRESENT DAY Bassist XD

[robertoamor2011]

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[DriftKingJames]

That bass isnt on the ESP website anymore along with the Children of Bodom Bass, did ESP Discontinue them?

[shellslug1]

i laughed so fuckin hard when i found out dragonforce had a bassist because its so pointless for them to have n you never hear them n ive listened to their albums!

[CheezeFox]

@shellslug1 Let's be honest- there's only about five metal bassists in the world you can hear on the albums...

[Grafit3D]

@CheezeFox lol? metallica, iron maiden, dream theater, tool, black sabbath, judas priest... i have 6, and i counted only popular ones...

[CheezeFox]

@Grafit3D I'm exaggerating... and anyway I don't consider Tool to be Metal, so that's still five.

[Grafit3D]

@CheezeFox yes i know you are... but saying that there is no bass in metal songs is like saying that dragonforce is good...

[CheezeFox]

@Grafit3D Oh, there's plenty of bass in metal, just not enough bass guitar...

There's only a few guys out there who play the bass like a real instrument, the rest just generate low-end noise for live shows and people with sub-woofers.

Also: Ooh look a slam on Dragonforce, that's not something I've seen about five billion other times on this site, is it?...

[Grafit3D]

@CheezeFox there is just enough bass guitar in metal albums i listen to...

PS: just checked your channel, now i understand why you think theres not enough bass guitar in metal...

[kane916]

@shellslug1 i can hear it on the song at the beggining of the video

[certaintubes]

@shellslug1 You can hear it in the songs, but only if you listen carefully, and some more than others. In "body breakdown" there is a slap bass solo. But apart from that it's not really a dominant instrument. But it would be very noticable if it wasn't there.

[guydude446]

that bass looks cool as shit, but it doesnt seem really versatile for everyday play

[locohellraiser]

i've never been a big fan of dragonforce but mannn that bass is FUCKIN' evil! i love it!

[ryde99]

Whats the name of their previous singer? Before this Marc Hudson?

[orangebiggy]

@ryde99 ZP Theart

Note: ZP doesn't stand for anything, his name is literally just 'ZP'.

[ryde99]

@orangebiggy Oh, okay. Thanks..

[JohannesFrykholm]

I talked to him last week when he was playing guitar with Sabaton, he's fucking awesome :D

[demencia1010]

what is a first song??

[Blo0dredRidingHo0d]

@demencia1010 Learn THE FORCE, its last journey home XD

[sebsoriano19]

too bad hey don't make this bass anymore

[Hideisalegend]

and he is FRENCH ! we've got talent after all

[TheCindyPreston]

hes awsome!

[OMMIAMSalvation]

@tronisawesomeful STRAIGHTjacket. Lol.

[nova495]

what up with the mental thing

[hsjrogier]

It is I Lèclerc 8-)

[tallicafan250169]

He's the coolest member of Dragonforce. The rest of them are pretentious dicks, that think they're the coolest.

[morbideddie]

@tallicafan250169 theyre not that bad. i see them at gigs all the time in camden and theyre pretty down to earth, good to have a chat with

[AlanxGalneryus]

and the playing?....

[OMMIAMSalvation]

@AlanxGalneryus beast mode=ON

[henhustle]

dammit i need to know what song this is at the beginning. i am now a dragonforce fan.

[MINDthatGUY]

@henhustle the last journey home

[80depp]

Yeah! Former HEAVENLY guitarist!!! \m/

[VictumRoManius]

Wtf? 1:46

Why is he doing that O_o

[PeopleR2sensitive]

His voice reminds me of the guy from the movie District 9.

[TheOnlyKristar]

ikke mer en 200? ka feiler folk. han er jo best

[ACBrotherhood5]

200th Like :D

[5stringgod]

arned you want my shit... i don't think you can actually hear the bass in a dragonforce production... their live is just as crap as their composition.... only for shitty video games

[ChuukeseStink]

When you talk about an Instrument you should do what it does......MAKE SOUNDS!

[PyjamaTed]

@ChuukeseStink it's a bass, as a bassist, I can say they're not always very good at that :P

[masterdeth64]

he should make his own line of Basses

[xxHolyxxWolfsbanexx]

Fred's a petty cool guy. 

[Killdo2112]

He should actually play something so you can hear what it sounds like.

[Mertius1]

i like his bass solo in cry for eternity

[reaperontherun716]

@Mertius1 cry for eternity doesnt have a bass solo....body breakdown does have a really short bass solo tho...

[MercyfulBates]

@Mertius1 That's not actually Fred, its Adrian Lambert, who did the bass on both Sonic Firestorm and Inhuman Rampage, Fred came in after Adrian left (for whatever reasons) as a touring bassist originally, then stayed full time.

[bluexbabex1o7]

These guys are so funny... i love them

[Arnedsomedude]

I WANT THAT BASS

[jsh16]

@Arnedsomedude it prolly costs like almost 1000 if not more. I want it too. BASS ENVY!!!

[stranglechord]

@jsh16 herman lis sig guitar is 7000...

[jsh16]

@stranglechord but we're talking about Frédéric Leclercq the bassist. Not the guitarist Herman.

[stranglechord]

@jsh16 You were talking of the cost of his bass... I told you the cost of another instrument from dragonforce.

[jsh16]

@stranglechord Oh sorry I didn't understand what you were trying to say there. I thought you were just throwing it out there. lol I didn't mean to cause any confusion or fights.

[RandomoVideos]

I love this dude, he has a great sense of humour :P

[Nosferaiden]

wtf

[hatekillripstab671]

He just said Sam Tomtam was the main songwriter, WTF? The only other caseof the 2nd guitaist being the main song writer i can think of is izzy stradlin in guns n roses

[kablorte]

@hatekillripstab671 Well, actually sam is the main songwrites, just check the credits of any of their albums ;-)

[hatekillripstab671]

@kablorte i wasnt saying he was wrong, i was just mentioning that usually the lead guiarist is there because he is better and has put more time into expanding his music palet, which in turn means that you woul expect the lead guitarist to be better at sonf writing than the rythm guitaris.

[SlimyMarmot]

@hatekillripstab671 How is Totman is any way a rhythm guitarist? He does at least half of all leads, and is usually pretty equal with Li.

[RestlessMalevolance]

@SlimyMarmot AND he does pretty much all the songwriting.

[Ibik]

what son is that on the intro?

[ChucklesMginty]

@Ibik The Last Journey Home.

[reaperontherun716]

@Ibik Last Journey Home by Dragonforce

[chowderbombs]

i like frederic with the beard that he had in heroes of our time. makes him look manly, like "don't mess with me or i'll hit you with my immortal bass several times while i eat a donut!!"

[ITwest97]

KICK ASS BASS!

[bassmusicmanAHS]

haha he sounds like yngwie

Bust seriously he's got crazy endurance.

[caiowariel]

Why he doesn't play with the fingers??? PEOPLE TRY TO LISTEN TO FELIPE ANDREOLLI, THE ANGRA BASSIST. HE is the BEST!!!

[MrSchwermetalle]

2:08 HOLY SHIT a member of dragonforce has a girlfriend WTF?!?!?

[CheezeFox]

I think the bass would have a bit more presence in any band if they had more treble. I'm no expert, but when comparing, say, Iron Maiden with Dream Theater (both great bands with equally talented bassists) you can hear Steve Harris much better than you can John Myung, and I think it's cos Myung has less treble and more bass. Yeah, he's still just as integral to the song, but he's not quite as prominent.

[invaderdarck]

the best crap ever this shit is the black sheep this music is a kick in the balls - listen this music or cut my hands and eyes cut my hands and eyes sounds rlly cool ¬¬

[svenroos1]

you think you don't hear the bass so good but thats becouse of the frequency. becouse of the frequency of a base guitar, you can't really "place" the sound. becouse of the frequency's of all the other instruments you can "place" them. thats why you think you don't hear the bass. but when you mute it you understand the diffrence.

[gunlover19112]

No offence but me as a bass player can say that bass in dragonforce is stupid, the guy doesnt even play what theguitar does it just hammers on open strings. Wana hear bass real bass (just bvecuase you can hear it doesnt mean heplayes well) listen to slipknot mudvayne,otep even three days grace.

[Haddockxyz300]

@gunlover19112

You've just mentionned bands tath are not even metal,

[gunlover19112]

@Haddockxyz300 They dont need to be in order for them to have cool bass lines, and slipknot,muvayne,otep,opeth are metal, just not the shity 80s glam metal.

[Haddockxyz300]

@gunlover19112

Well if you want to hear real bass,go listen to "Real Bass"

[reaperontherun716]

i can hear the bass in lots of DragonForce songs...true its not heard clearly cuz of keyboards n drums n dual guitars...but @Icanownchucknorris is rite...bass muted makes a shitload of diference

[tuliplord]

lol jimmy Hendrix was actually a lieing bastard

[TerminusCOBHC]

QUESTION TO ANY/ALL PICK-USING BASSISTS ON HERE: In parts ov a song where the guitarists are palm-muting, does the bassist palm mute as well or does he just pick the strings like normal?

[Zorofar]

@TerminusCOBHC Most likely like Normal because I play Bass but I don't use a pick that often so I'd find it hard to Palm Mute with no pick.

[oreotron0411]

WITH MY NAME BEHIND!! xD He's so epic.

[Destroyah5000]

Nice fast motion funny faces. It's a lot funnier than listening to ZP twist the lyrics to "Now here we stand with their c**ks in our hands". Don't know how the band feels about it, but I'm glad that guy's gone.

[reaperontherun716]

@Destroyah5000 and "Now here with stand with the tits in our hands" xDD

[MsGuitarChicky]

Great

[Chris08166]

There's a bassist in this band!? Wow, I haven't noticed.

[brightguy01]

you too man good luck

[DJnaggin]

hes ill but that sucks that he just plays the instrument cause thats what the empty spot was, idk but i just feel there should be some real emotion toward your craft, a passion if you will, gotta want and love what you play espechially primarialy,never the less dragonforce rocks!!!!

[freemusictutorials1]

is it just me or is fred the only member of dragonforce that doesnt swear every second word?

[25ThunderbirdIV25]

@freemusictutorials1 Well, he's quite silly, so that's HIS thing instead of swearing.

[brightguy01]

all i get from my friends is grief cause i play bass that i'm crap yea i've only been playin since july but i think i am ok, but ino bass is important but hey lol when i'm touring the would they will be sorry lol

[25ThunderbirdIV25]

@brightguy01 Hell yes! Dude, if anyone says bass is not important, or that it sucks, kick them in the teeth. The sound of a song would be so empty without the bass filling in the low ends. That and we are the rythmn link between the drums and the guitar.

Oh, and we're over all cool :)

And we share the same dream, my friend, good luck in your quest to tour.

[1Almo2]

riduculo

[2012wyvern]

Is it a light weight Bass?

[aassyr1111]

hahahaha he used to pronounce E S P as espe hahahahaha

[drzip1993]

This guy is a guitarist who doesn't know shit about the bass that he "designed"

[MultiMoonkin1]

fred is cool

[Mordadigsjalv]

This guy is fucking retarded and his english is horrible

[9Martel9]

this bass costs 1k euro

[kfchrist]

can you buy this bass?

[AttitudeCastle]

whats the bass he is playing in those videos?

Is it the but with two pickups?

[Ironjack97]

Io,da bassista di una band,dico ke qst basso di uno dei miei favoriti bassisti,è a dir poco meraviglioso :-)

[Icanownchucknorris]

The bass is actually a very important part of the song. You may think you can't hear it but trust me, listen to a song with the bass muted and you'll know the bass makes a shitload of difference.

[fadingshadow122]

@Icanownchucknorris i guess another way to put it is in fingerstyle acoustic songs (off the top of my head "medieval song" by frederic mesnier) you see a bass line in addition to a treble line, and it's very hard to get used to playing both, so those who say oh all i need is the treble line, they learn it and play it and say well this doesn't sound right at all cause the bass line makes all the difference although it does seem to be a subtle difference

[Majesty85]

@Icanownchucknorris

you're right, but for some reasons, in some bands (like, for me, Dragonforce, but also Sonata Arctica) bass is put under a second stage of importance during post-production. I play guitar, but I believe bass is a really important instrument for a band. If only you could listen to it...sometimes you can't, and it's annoying.

Ad Maiora.

[acidviper13]

@Icanownchucknorris  If I had a nickel for every time I've had to tell someone that...

[25ThunderbirdIV25]

@Icanownchucknorris Not only do basses make a difference, but when you have a bass as badass looking as Fred's, it makes it even better :P

That, and Fred is just a silly person.

[richogem]

@Icanownchucknorris the bass isnt very important - its the most important for many reasons.. ill specify if u talk to me in private msg

[RinkuChan44]

@Icanownchucknorris And Justice For All is a good example of what happens when you mute the bass.

[metaltag2007]

@Icanownchucknorris very true.

[kunaikai]

@Icanownchucknorris not in this band

[Shink5]

@Icanownchucknorris Lol exactly what i always try to tell ppl , you take away the bass and the guitars and drums will sorta blend together and it'll sound like shit

[commbat1]

i lov his style

[syuaizuddeen]

great !

[RockFan9927]

he said he switched to guitar when he was a kid, and dragonforce asked him to play bass for them, i wonder how good he would be on a lead guitar, he's gotta make a video for that sometime

[Ibik]

@RockFan9927 yeah he has his own band too where he plays guitar, he's good

[RockFan9927]

@Ibik whats the band called? i have to know so i can hear them

[AmethystDew]

@RockFan9927 Find his other group Maladaptive on YTube. Listen to 'Burn the witches' - he wrote the song and is lead singer and lead guitar. You will hear how good he is on lead guitar. This guy is awsome and verrrry talented in his own right.

[iAmRobertTrujilloFan]

that bass is so awesome

[doosierty]

Fred ROCKS! He seems like a cool dude.

[Hatoakazo]

he just play in the band because all band need a bass player....

[TheHawke52]

Fred is my idol, but i cant find any bass music for "Heroes of our Time", anyone know where i can find any?

[runeblade806]

"Now get me outa here"

Genius guy, HE should be the one doing lead vocals in Dragonforce now, no one want a random guy from youtube.

[RikkudoSennin]

Have they already announced a new vocalist? o_O

[runeblade806]

@RikkudoSennin No, but they are doing a search on youtube (just read about it on their webpage) and I think they should use Fred instead of a random dude from youtube...

Hard times for a Dragonforce fan...

[RikkudoSennin]

Ah jeeze. @_@ Yeah, Things are a bit hard as a DragonForce fan. ;/ Tis a shame, But if thats how they want to find Talent, I guess that's okay. I hope they meld well at least.

[Joeyboy180]

@runeblade806 so what happened to the first singer?

[runeblade806]

"Dragonforce split with singer ZP Theart.

It is with great regret that DragonForce announce a parting of the ways with singer ZP Theart. This is due to insurmountable differences of musical opinion but the rest of the band sincerely wish ZP great success with his future projects."

This is from their website, you should read the whole thing there

[igordmw]

very crazy frederic.hey dragonforce,god luck to the new singer audition.god luck

[joey1364]

i cant find this bass anywhere

[Sean1547]

@joey1364 theres a few sites that have it, gearhounds is the best i found

[jedivolt]

"i think hendrix is actually a lying bastard"

*hits a note with his teeth*

"E"

xD

[guitargrinder1]

LOLthis is great

[chentemccloud]

lol hes in a straight jaket

[scottdylan20]

And I'm still waiting for a kickass Bass solo From him, I think he should do a Bass solo in a song, and compete against Herman Li, that'd be awesome.

[TacoHuman419]

he did one in body breakdown. it was short but it was there

[scottdylan20]

I agree, he might be a really good bass player, but I can't hear the bass in the songs, so is hard to tell... nice bass by the way.

[fukinguitar]

he looks like the singer from keane :D

[jestsumguy]

That's an awesome looking bass!

[usedbandage9]

1:51!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CrimzonAE]

What the hell O.o

Funny ass video! xD

[arnikidda]

@MissEgasMoniz its funny that the instrument you dont hear and when you take them away you can hear a diffrence

[JOECOXISAWESOME]

@MissEgasMoniz I can hear the bass. And I'm not a player.

[Spermwhales93]

@MissEgasMoniz The bass is there, it's just not very loud.

[HugeIronMaidenFan]

He can play fast! lololololol

[solangertk]

adoro dragon force e rock mesmo é :D +

[TheVGguitar]

I really like that design

[aaron1schmidt]

great

[0verlord1841]

ok..

three words

what

the

fuck?

[Coldretter]

Frédéric, send me a bass like that! I will love you! Message me

[0XiiG3n]

why is he in a straight jacket?.......

[hermanliisgod1]

agreed....

[Shuwiy]

thats a really cool bass design :O

[benn3633]

i may be slightly in love with you :) marry me??

[stiiliios]

yeaH Brilliant(Genial) but I need them subtitle in Spanish

[fisherbassed]

love that design

[shawnl91]

this guy is an awesome guitarist too. when i saw them live he did a guitar solo with vadim

[KonguAwesome]

do you know what guitar he used?

[shawnl91]

yeah he used an esp horizon

[Kiewicz92]

epic bassist :D

[DragonforceRocksAll]

fred is so awesome!! ^^