Definitely an amazing bass wizard @Krescht
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As @Krescht says this thread’s a bit old, but I guess that being a newbie I’m somehow entitled to also contribute… and it’s a topic I definitely love.
Thing is for me it’s extremely difficult picking up only one bassist, so I’ll go for two I see somehow akin; I would love someday I was able to play just a tiny fraction of what they do!
I’m originally a metalhead who went proggy while also diving into jazz and fusion of all sorts, so my picks would be:
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Jonas Hellborg, the Swedish great, summarizes perfectly all that I love in bass playing and that I somehow aim at: absolute technical prowess, slaps like a beast, was part of John Mclaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, has put out several solo bass record (something I love), had this awesome musical partnership primarily in trio format with shredder phenomenon Shawn Lane, has dived deep into indian/karnatic music, and has a prog/jazz/metal project called Art Metal everybody should check out
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Pepe Bao: IMO the Spanish counterpart to Hellborg, simply swap the Indian Karnatic component for an Andalusian Flamenco fusion mastery that is absolutely jaw dropping. In case somebody is interested:
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Even as I knew the answer right away, I took my time until now, for me it’s Rory Macdonald (bachground-)singer, songwriter and bassist of the Scottish folkrock band Runrig. His melodic playing style touches my heart every time. In bad and good times or moods.
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Thanks for reviving this thread, guys! I will wait for a few more contributions and then try to update the list. But, remember, it was really about naming just one player (I know, super tough, but that’s what makes it a bit “challenging”, and makes you reflect on why that player means to you)
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You’re right, I didn’t quite fulfill the purpose of the thread!
I’ll then name Jonas Hellborg as my aspiration as a bassist, I know this is setting the bar very high but hey, I’m on my way! 
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Amos Williams, TesseracT.
To sum up:
He knows his sh*t from the ‘feel’ to the ‘technical’, plays with some crazy syncopation and odd time signatures, his slap technique in a lot of their music brings a certain subtle element of funk to an otherwise all metal sound.
Also he just seems a genuinely great guy. Instead of collecting rare guitars he got rid of one of his main basses that was made from wood that is no longer certifiably sustainable, and his signature Kiesel bass is insane.
Cool vids to see into his mind:
His signature bass:
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@renouf I couldn’t name the bassist even if I do know the band 
Thanks for sharing those videos, very interesting and insightful 
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Thanks for sharing, @renouf!
I totally respect people being conscious about sustainability and rare woods (and we should all think along those lines), but I have to admit I don’t quite understand what he did here… I mean, this bass is already made… the “damage” is done, so to speak! By “getting rid of it” he is not bringing that tree back to life!? Not using rare, endangered woods going forward is the right choice 
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Haha yeah I totally get where you’re coming from! I suppose it’s more that as a member in any band with a reasonble following you are a public figure (to varying degree), so will be seen doing certain things or with certain gear - if it’s something you don’t want to associate with going forward then you don’t need it!
Imagine someone decided to start living a vegan life then they probably wouldn’t want to keep anything they have made out of leather any longer! Probably not a great example but I can’t think of another way of putting it right now 
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Good points! I guess I would have been a bit more “large” before giving away a vintage bass
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This is such a hard question. The bassist I became is an amalgamation of so many. Les Claypool, Flea, Geezer Butler, Cliff Burton, James Jameson and Victor Wooten are all huge influences on me, and they all come through in my playing. So I like where I am at (and seek to improve) with my style.
If I had to pick one guy though? I’d go Les Claypool. His percussive style and strange sense of timing and note selection inspired me to play bass, and he is probably the most unique bass player…nobody sounds like him, and you can tell it’s him no matter where he goes.
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Here is an example of how my style has come to be.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YgAiO2SZKBkyKKg2EdYrJhVrd4O0gVqW/view?usp=drivesdk
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That’s quite a unique style you have developed there
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So cool man!! 
Are you using a looper or my ears deceit me?
Do you usually use just the higher strings to do those chords?
Thanks! Yeah that’s a looper in there. Generally on bass you will use the higher strings to do chords as a the lower strings get muddy if you play chords on em. You can mix a low string and high string to get cool chords too.
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Thanks! I don’t play the most complex stuff, but I try to make it groove and have a unique sound.
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I do love most of the bassists you’ve mentioned, and Claypool in particular is really one of a kind, aside from Primus I love the Colonel Claypool’s Bucket Of Bernie Brains project.
Once I complete the course and make some actual further advancement I’d like to get me a Fender J-Bass and also a 5-string… And in some years time maybe also a fretless, supposing I’ll have the chops to play it… 
Try out a bunch of basses. I ended up falling in love with Schecter and had no idea I would. Man, fret less is ambitious! That’s cool as hell. Keep it up man, starting from a solid foundation like what Josh has here is a great place to start.
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Yeah you’re right, fretless is so cool, think Jaco Pastorius, Michael Manring, Percy Jones… Awesome stuff.
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Respect!
Amos plays Ibanez basses these days. The band did some online stuff during Covid19 with some of the boys in the U.K., the drummer in the US, Amos in France - hanging with “French Josh” no doubt!
TesseracT - Amos Williams - Eden 2.0 - Bass Play Through - YouTube
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