I like the oldtime boomy bass sound
MCAS NV
Sun" or some james brown stuff. Flatwound bass strings and front loaded
cabinets, tube bass amp turned up real loud. I hate the "modern" bass sound,
it hurts my ears.
But then, I like Mantovani and dim light for romance....
Lawrence Welk at 130 decibals
PMG
Was that a question?
Do you mean bass as in:
"In this dirty old part of the city
Where the sun refused to shine
People tell me there ain't no use in tryin'
Now my girl you're so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true
You'll be dead before your time is due..." ??
Now that was a cool old bass line IMO
Pete
--
Can I borrow a bucket of worms
and a keg of gunpowder? --Froggo
Kent Pearson
On 5-Jun-2001, PMG <avo...@mediaone.net> wrote:
> >Like they had back in the '60's. Sort of like the bass on 'House of the
> >rising
> >Sun" or some james brown stuff. Flatwound bass strings and front loaded
> >cabinets, tube bass amp turned up real loud. I hate the "modern" bass
> >sound,
> >it hurts my ears.
> >
> >But then, I like Mantovani and dim light for romance....
> >
> >Lawrence Welk at 130 decibals
>
> Was that a question?
>
> Do you mean bass as in:
>
> "In this dirty old part of the city
> Where the sun refused to shine
> People tell me there ain't no use in tryin'
> Now my girl you're so young and pretty
> And one thing I know is true
> You'll be dead before your time is due..." ??
>
> Now that was a cool old bass line IMO
Chas Chandler [of The Animals] was a pretty cool bass player. Check him out
on "Boom Boom", or for shear power, listen to him on their version of
"Inside Looking Out"!
That was an Epiphone semi-hollow bass, shaped like a Gibson ES-335, the Epi
version of the same Gibson bass. I can't remember the name of it. It was
also, most likely, played through a Vox amp. It was ALSO, frequently,
slightly out of tune. But that bass sound help shaped the character of
those timeless classics by The Animals, one of the greatest British Blues
bands of that era.
Another bass player who used the same bass and achieved similar results was
the guy in The Nashville Teens. Neither teens, nor from Nashville, they
were the British band who scored big with Tobacco Road. The Nashville Teens
were one of the earliest bands to use and promote Marshall amplifiers. I've
seen footage of then, circa 1966, with a complete back line of Marshall half
stacks. The guitarist used a fat bodied Gibson hollow body, I believe it
was a Barney Kessel (sp?) model.
One of the most famous bassists ever to get that real deep, woofy bass sound
was Paul McCartney. The Hofner violin bass, in my opinion, is one of the
worst excuses for a bass that one could play. Floating bridge, wierd neck
shape, low tension strings, woofy bass sound or honking mid tone . . . but
the man made it work. Who can argue with his recorded "proof"?
It is possible to get fairly good **BASS** out of a Fender, if you roll off
the tone pot and set your amp up for it - AND throw away the pick. A better
bet would be to install one of those massive Gibson bass humbuckers at the
neck position of a Fender bass and run stereo out. The Gibson pickup would
go to an amp set up for "earth moving", while the Fender p/u would go to
another and be set up to provide the mid punch and the note definition that
can get lost with a pure bass tone.
The other end of the spectrum is that twangy, clanky, trebley "bass" sound
of Chris Squire and John Entwhistle. I used to like it as a kid. I outgrew
it. That sound has no soul whatsoever, and you're right, it hurts. But the
worst thing is these guys I hear in the music stores, who are into this
string popping thing - and can't seem to play anything straight. I try to
explain to them that it's a BASS, not a popcorn machine!! Oh well . . .
~Kent Pearson
Kerry Smith
blowing the speaker right out of the cab. I guess it's all the fundamentals
that make that big, flatulent bass sound so difficult for speakers to
handle. If there's a sound that will give my Voigts (admittedly not a
low-bass speaker) fits, that's the one. Some bass-heavy hollowbody jazz
guitar cds have a similar effect, but to a lesser degree.
Personally, I like the bass sound they got on all the old classic motown
records. I always assumed it was a P-bass into an Ampeg. Anybody know?
Kerry
Kent Pearson wrote in message ...
Morgan Coe
>
> I remember that song! You're right, it sounds like the bass player is
> blowing the speaker right out of the cab. I guess it's all the fundamentals
> that make that big, flatulent bass sound so difficult for speakers to
> handle. If there's a sound that will give my Voigts (admittedly not a
> low-bass speaker) fits, that's the one. Some bass-heavy hollowbody jazz
> guitar cds have a similar effect, but to a lesser degree.
>
> Personally, I like the bass sound they got on all the old classic motown
> records. I always assumed it was a P-bass into an Ampeg. Anybody know?
I thought James Jamerson was known for playing Jazz basses.
But through what amp, I have no idea.
Morgan.
--
Updated 3/4/1901, with mp3s...
The High Steppin' Nickel Kids AND Leatherface
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Venue/8518/
GAX70
wrote:
>Chas Chandler [of The Animals] was a pretty cool bass player. Check him
>out on "Boom Boom", or for shear power, listen to him on their version of
>"Inside Looking Out"!
>That was an Epiphone semi-hollow bass, shaped like a Gibson ES-335, the Epi
>version of the same Gibson bass.
another great hollow body bass, the Guild Starfire, Jack Cassady used
it for quite some time. My all time fav.
>One of the most famous bassists ever to get that real deep, woofy bass sound
>was Paul McCartney. The Hofner violin bass, in my opinion, is one of the
>worst excuses for a bass that one could play. Floating bridge, wierd neck
>shape, low tension strings, woofy bass sound or honking mid tone . . . but
>the man made it work. Who can argue with his recorded "proof"?
as i recall my buds had shitty pickups too, microphonic.
Stu
> Kerry Smith wrote:
> >
> > I remember that song! You're right, it sounds like the bass player is
> > blowing the speaker right out of the cab. I guess it's all the fundamentals
> > that make that big, flatulent bass sound so difficult for speakers to
> > handle. If there's a sound that will give my Voigts (admittedly not a
> > low-bass speaker) fits, that's the one. Some bass-heavy hollowbody jazz
> > guitar cds have a similar effect, but to a lesser degree.
> >
> > Personally, I like the bass sound they got on all the old classic motown
> > records. I always assumed it was a P-bass into an Ampeg. Anybody know?
>
> I thought James Jamerson was known for playing Jazz basses.
>
> But through what amp, I have no idea.
Jameson played the same 60's Fender P-bass on most
of the Motown hits. He used a 50's model with a
maple neck early on, then switched. He played through
Ampeg B-15's for the most part I believe.
Much of the Motown stuff was recorded with live
room mics into a console with tubes from what I read,
this way the sound was baked in, and they did not isolate
drums, bass whatever, part of the magic of the sound.
He was an upright bass player, and had his
action set very high, other players hated playing his
bass, saying it was near unplayable.
He used the same set of flatwound strings too,
year after year he never changed them,
but that led to his not getting work in the 70's
when sound, styles and recording techniques
changed. But in the 60's, when he would tour with
a group, singers would actually hold off recording
an album, just to wait for him to return.
He was the Motown sound, the Beatles
of session bass playing IMO.
Stu
Stu
> It is possible to get fairly good **BASS** out of a Fender, if you roll off
> the tone pot and set your amp up for it - AND throw away the pick. A better
> bet would be to install one of those massive Gibson bass humbuckers at the
> neck position of a Fender bass and run stereo out. The Gibson pickup would
> go to an amp set up for "earth moving", while the Fender p/u would go to
> another and be set up to provide the mid punch and the note definition that
> can get lost with a pure bass tone.
Another option is the Telecaster bass they made in the70's, the one that had the
pickup by the neck.
It was real beast to play, but what a deep sound.
Check out Nick Lowe playing one
on "And So It Goes" and I think on "Breaking Glass"
too, he played with a pick, but got some real
boom, and you got to listen to that album on vinyl too,
wooooom...
I really love the old bass sounds too, another good player
in the 60's was Duck Dunn, he played on the Stax/Volts
stuff IIRC, Sam and Dave etc... He played in the
Blues Brothers too, P-Bass/Ampeg B-15, love it!
Stu
Kerry Smith
bass sounds going. I think part of the magic was also due to _not_ trying
to fill up all the available sonic space. Those records breathed. The
polar opposite of the Phil Spector approach.
What is it about the Ampeg that produces such a big, round bottom? That's
probably too simple a way of looking at it, since it was a combination of
player/strings/bass/amp/room/etc, but it is interesting that so many of the
early records were made with Ampegs.
I just don't hear that tone on too many records these days. Mind you, I
pretty much stopped listening to the radio when I realized I was gritting my
teeth the whole time it was on. I suppose nearly everyone is recording bass
direct to the board now.
Kerry
Stu wrote in message <3B1E4A96...@banet.net>...
Kent Pearson
On 6-Jun-2001, Stu <inc...@banet.net> wrote:
> Another option is the Telecaster bass they made in the70's, the one that
> had the
> pickup by the neck.
My all-time favorite bass is the Telecaster that came out in 1968 (IIRC)
~kp
Morgan Coe
>
> Morgan Coe wrote:
>
> > I thought James Jamerson was known for playing Jazz basses.
>
> of the Motown hits. He used a 50's model with a
> maple neck early on, then switched. He played through
> Ampeg B-15's for the most part I believe.
>
> action set very high, other players hated playing his
> bass, saying it was near unplayable.
Wow, you learn something every day.
> He used the same set of flatwound strings too,
> year after year he never changed them,
> but that led to his not getting work in the 70's
> when sound, styles and recording techniques
> changed.
This sounds like an after school special: "Change
The Strings, James!"
> He was the Motown sound, the Beatles
> of session bass playing IMO.
Yes.
Stu
> Yeah, I was going to mention Stax as well. Motown and Stax had the best
> bass sounds going. I think part of the magic was also due to _not_ trying
> to fill up all the available sonic space. Those records breathed. The
> polar opposite of the Phil Spector approach.
I find that true in modern music, and the bass itself,now it has so much bottom,
mids, treble, it's everywhere,
amps with tweeters etc... I played bass for
years in bands and switched to guitar
a few years ago. I often played a Musicman Stingray, sounded
great by itself, the P-bass kind of bland, but sound people used to
tell me the P-bass sits so nice in the mix, under the band,
when I played the Musicman it was clashing with guitars, drums, vox etc...
hogging the spectrum.
> What is it about the Ampeg that produces such a big, round bottom? That's
> probably too simple a way of looking at it, since it was a combination of
> player/strings/bass/amp/room/etc, but it is interesting that so many of the
> early records were made with Ampegs.
I don't know what it is, but they were the Vox/Marshall/Fenderof bass amps. I
had an SVT and a B-15 at one time and sold
both (Doeh!) they get basically one sound, just plug in
and you are ready to go. They always sounded better to
me when the band was playing, which is what really matters.
They cut through, with out being harsh. Fender with an Ampeg
is as good as it gets for me.
> I just don't hear that tone on too many records these days. Mind you, I
> pretty much stopped listening to the radio when I realized I was gritting my
> teeth the whole time it was on. I suppose nearly everyone is recording bass
> direct to the board now.
I don't run into that tone either on the radio, it all soundsbig and full and
whatever, basses with preamps on board,
but it lacks character to me . I loved
the bass on the 70's Bowie albums, punchy but not harsh.
Elvis Costello's bass too was great, old P-basses.
I found a video of new wave bands and it had the
original Pretenders playing Brass In Pocket at their
practice space before their 1st album came out,
and the sound Pete Farndon was getting was way
huge, and was the same darn P-bass into an
Ampeg I believe. It seems it starting changing in the
80's, I find vintage guitars and amps are still
used much more than the bass gear for whatever reason.
Good bass talk, thanks!
Stu
Kent Pearson
On 6-Jun-2001, Stu <inc...@banet.net> wrote:
> I often played a Musicman Stingray, sounded
> great by itself, the P-bass kind of bland, but sound people used to
> tell me the P-bass sits so nice in the mix, under the band,
> when I played the Musicman it was clashing with guitars, drums, vox etc...
> hogging the spectrum.
I had two separate experiences recording with two different bands in the
past, each recording with the Musicman Stinkray bass. In both cases we
found that there were some objectionable overtones coming from the MM basses
that made them undesirable. We switched to Fenders for the rest of the
sessions. It's the only "real man's" bass!
~kp
Stu
I think the early precisions looked likewhat became the Tele bass, and the one
you speak of that came out in the late
60's was the "telephone pole"
and I think they stopped making them
in the late 70's. The guy in ZZ Top played
one in the 70's, but they were practically
giving them away at one point, now they
are "collectable", I would love to have one!
Stu
GAX70
wrote:
i think Guild Starfires eat em for a snack an don't tell Jack Bruce
that, hehe.
Stu
It's a personal thing, I like basses in general.The Musicman has a classic sound
too, it's great
for funk, great bass on all those Chic records,
and Louis Johnson of the Bros. Johnson.
It's also the bass used on AC/DC's Back In Black
album, which is a GREAT sounding record with
lots of guitars. I never cared much for Ricks,
but McCartney got a wonderful sound out of them,
even the Precision and Jazz bases are VERY
different, I had a few and they never took bites
out of each other!
Stu
Rich Koerner
ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DAMN,!!!!!!!
On the same page again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, is someone would only tell 90% of those dudes with the more than
four string basses with graphite bells and whistles that.
I can't stand bass players with the body under the arm pit, making faces
as they play, all the while looking like a spazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!
What happened to the days when the band all had the STEPS to move
together to the music.
I loved working with the R&B bands with front line horn sections!!!!
God, the FRONT LINE STEPS!!!!!!
Try playing bass and doing the steps!!!!!!!
<thinking>
Damn, we had to do more than walk and chew gum at the same time.
We had to play bass too!!!!!
Not to mention, also singing on pitch and not choking on the gum!!!!
<thinking>
Blowing bubbles while playing and singing is a definite art in
itself!!!!
The trick is to pop the bubbles and not get the gum on the bass!!!!!
Regards,
Rich Koerner,
Time Electronics.
http://www.timeelect.com
Specialists in Live Sound FOH Engineering,
Music & Studio Production,
Vintage Instruments, and Tube Amplifiers
Joe McNamara
direct to the board now.<<
As was the majority of Motown bass and guitars.
Lord Valve
Kerry Smith wrote:
(snip)
> What is it about the Ampeg that produces such a big, round bottom? That's
> probably too simple a way of looking at it, since it was a combination of
> player/strings/bass/amp/room/etc, but it is interesting that so many of the
> early records were made with Ampegs.
I have a big, round bottom; believe it or not, I like
to record direct to the board. Unless, of course,
I need to hear my rotors spinning. Did I mention
I was a Hammond player? ;-) I'm not kidding
about recording direct to the board...I really
like the crisp jazz tone I can get from my B-3
that way. Leslies are great, no doubt about it,
but sometimes direct is the way to go.
LV
Joe
of strings
Kent Pearson
On 7-Jun-2001, Stu <inc...@banet.net> wrote:
> I think the early precisions looked likewhat became the Tele bass, and the
> one
>
The first P bass was a Tele bass
> you speak of that came out in the late
> 60's was the "telephone pole"
Yeah, it had a neck like a telephone pole, that's right.
> and I think they stopped making them
> in the late 70's. The guy in ZZ Top played
> one in the 70's, but they were practically
> giving them away at one point, now they
> are "collectable", I would love to have one!
The good news is that they're making them again.
~kp
Bcoolstuff
>>
Ahhh - don't listen to Joe. He doesn't know ANYTHING. And he's a salesman. With
a plaid sports coat. :-)
Wasssup Joe?
Billy
Kent Pearson
On 8-Jun-2001, Rich Koerner <ri...@timeelect.com> wrote:
> I can't stand bass players with the body under the arm pit, making faces
> as they play, all the while looking like a spazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!
>
Me too! Take the bass out of the picture, and they'd look like Joe Cocker .
. . or moreso, one of Don Martin's characters out of Mad Magazine.
> What happened to the days when the band all had the STEPS to move
> together to the music.
>
Oh boy . . . . the Louie Louie steps!
> I loved working with the R&B bands with front line horn sections!!!!
>
> God, the FRONT LINE STEPS!!!!!!
>
>
> Try playing bass and doing the steps!!!!!!!
>
>
> <thinking>
>
> Damn, we had to do more than walk and chew gum at the same time.
>
> We had to play bass too!!!!!
>
Hey, how about some of the ones Paul Revere and The Raiders used to do?
Especially that hop-skip one where they'd alternated which foot to bounce
off of! Fang doin' it with the Vox Phantom IV, then fliping it over to
reveal his name on the back while he side stepped across the stage . . .
those guys were fun! (And good, too)
~kp
MCAS NV
>
I think "Him or Me" is one of the greatest records ever recorded during the
1960's.