Stuart Clayton: D-Code (Alain Caron Cover)

Stuart Clayton shared his brand new video with us, performing Alain Caron’s “D-Code” on his newly acquired Bogart bass.

“This great track by Alain Caron features some innovative slap techniques that I have been working on for the past few months,” Stuart shares. “I was inspired to work on this piece again after picking up this Bogart bass at the London Bass Show 2012. The audio was recorded into Logic and some chorus and compression were added. This was take 1, at 10am! No punch-ins either!”

Check out Caron performing this tune live after you watch this one.

(And while we love Stuart’s wardrobe choice here, it had nothing to do with us picking this as the video of the day. Really.)

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Leave a Reply to Dov Sherman Cancel reply

  1. I love it when the slap technique is combined with great phrasing and melodic substance!

  2. Super rendition of Alain’s “D Code”… must’ve taken a few months and lots of patience!

  3. Its come to this…bedroom bass videos are now 2 camera shoots. :)
    Awesome stuff, can’t recommend Stuart’s book about slap highly enough. Awesome book. If you want to play like this, it’s all in his book.

  4. Yeah, the mans got great taste in clothes alrighty! Are those screen protectors that stuck to that bass and one of them hanging on the wall? Nice JD bass and Jaco poster too. Real mancave for sure! Oh yeah, most importantly awesome playing, love the cool lines and feel.

    • Hey Tony, they aren’t screen protectors, they are 3mm think pieces of perspex (ramps) used to decrease the string to body distance at the end of the neck. Makes techniques such as double thumbing/popping a lot easier. Alain Caron has the same thing on his basses.

    • Ahh cool. Sort of like something I saw on an Ibanez Bass – but can’t remember who’s signature model it was? Interesting idea.

    • Yeah, exactly like that. I think you’ll be thinking of the Gary Willis signature model. He has a ramp in between pickups to enable that cool fingerstyle technique he has.

    • Yes, Gary Willis, that’s precisely who I was thinking about. I’d be keen to find out more about the techniques you were, using as I’m getting to the point where I find myself playing the same way all the time and I need to break out of the habits and try some different styles.

  5. This is great! And looks so effortlessly played, although it surely took a lot of work. Nice bass too by the way!

  6. I don’t know what’s more brilliant, the originality of AC’s composition or your being able to figure it all out and and play it back so faithfully.

  7. Damn, nice work, especially the solo break where you keep it TASTY. 5 stars!

    • Thanks Nathaniel. The solo is actually Alain’s solo from the original studio version, which I transcribed – it is indeed a TASTY solo. As I’m not at the point where I can solo using Alain’s unique slap techniques, this seemed like a great place to start. Thanks again!

  8. SO light on his fingers.

  9. Nice work stuart now teach me how to play that!

  10. I would’nt mind a cheeky hand on this mastery either!!!

  11. does your bass tune at both ends?

  12. This man can obviously play but why do so many bass players (especially, it seems) put so much effort into copying other people’s stuff? Why not play your own music? Or play Caron’s tune YOUR own way rather than copy note-for-note. I find this to be a disturbing trend in so many of the videos posted on this site.