I need help with my "Brian bass discography."

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

He did play on "Add Some Music," according to Steve Desper, although I think Bruce says he plays on that.

[Jeff Mason]

After the boys got the Moog, any impetus to play Fender bass was gone for Brian and it was pretty much keyboard bass from there on out.

??

Certainly by Holland that was true, but they had the Moog at the start of the Sunflower sessions and I hear no keyboard bass on that album.  Surf's Up has a bit but not exclusively.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

I'm saying that when and if Brian himself wanted to play the bassline, it was much less likely that he'd play a bass guitar after they got the Moog.  Obviously Al, Carl, Daryl, Ray, Bruce, etc, would still lay down Fender Bass throughout the Early 70s. 

[Endless Flight]

That's unfortunate. I always thought Brian's playing was pretty good. He should have played more, but I can also see why he used session guys like Ray.

How many big-time bass players used their thumbs exclusively? I would venture not many?

[JanBerryFarm]

I had everything else on that track as you indicate.  I just didn't know a Fender could tune down that low.  I figured that Carl was playing whatever it was.

And while I still prefer Dale's original, the BB take is nice and primitive in a good way.

I know this is old, but while poking around I see that there's a misconception about 'Miserlou'

Jon Stebbins correctly identifies the opening notes as played on a Fender Stratocaster, but Jeff Mason needs to know that the deep bass sound was not achieved by "tuning down" the guitar strings. The guitar is tuned normally. The reason it sounds deep and bassy is because back in the day surf guitar (and most all guitar) was played on heavy guage flat-wound strings, not the skinny round-wound strings found on your typical Stratocaster these days.

Try putting a set of heavy guage Flats on your Strat (or Jaguar, if you are blessed to have one) and you will get the sound of the opening measures of the Beach Boys remarkably subtle reading of Miserlou. Of course having a vintage Fender amp will contribute too.

While on the subject of Miserlou, it's interesting to note that it was recorded at the Capitol Records studio around midnight, and it took many many 'takes' to get it right, evidently. SOT #2 proves that the 'boys' were having a grand old time and if you listen with headphones you can hear the 'off mic' whooping and hollaring and sax playing that didn't make it to the release version.

If they'd had the foresight to mic the room, I'm sure the Beach Boys version of Miserlou wouldn't 'appear' so subdued.