David J - Bauhaus. Whacked out bass tone..how?

[Marky L]

So I love me old Bauhaus stuff and David J did wrench out some interesting tones from his fretless P bass. Certainly some sort of distortion pedal was used, but what else??

Anyway, I'd love to know how he got the fruity noise used in this little ditty - St Vitus Dance - any ideas? (I'm a pedal doofus BTW!!)

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW2cmsMS4BU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW2cmsMS4BU[/url]

Oh and how do you embed a Youtube clip??

[mcnach]

[quote name='Marky L' post='1177472' date='Mar 26 2011, 06:17 PM']So I love me old Bauhaus stuff and David J did wrench out some interesting tones from his fretless P bass. Certainly some sort of distortion pedal was used, but what else??

Anyway, I'd love to know how he got the fruity noise used in this little ditty - St Vitus Dance - any ideas? (I'm a pedal doofus BTW!!)

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW2cmsMS4BU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW2cmsMS4BU[/url]

Oh and how do you embed a Youtube clip??[/quote]


It sounds a lot like an EHX Bassballs to me.

[meatbingo]

Big fan of Bauhaus myself. I always figured he was running his bass through the filter input on some old analogue synth, triggering the envelope. They were keen studio experimenters, so this would fit in.

[BigRedX]

I saw Bauhaus live several times in the early 80s and he had some sort of effects device stuck to the front of his bass. Small case with a single knob and a slide switch - Electo-Harmonix something?

[TimR]

Bauhaus now that's a blast from the past. Thanks. A night of Patti Smith and Bat Cave stuff awaits. The Sky's Gone Out!

Use [ instead of <

<youtube>hW2cmsMS4BU</youtube>

hW2cmsMS4BU is the code from the end of the youtube URL in the address bar.

Edited March 26, 2011 by TimR

[chrismuzz]

Wow this reminds me of being a teenager I never realised that filter sound was being produced by the bass back then! Shows how much one's ears mature over time! Sounds to me like you could get this exact sound with the EHX Bassballs, even if that's not what David J used

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Definitely a bassballs. I used to get the exact same sound out of mine. Unlike David J I never found a use for it as its an really stupid and annoying sound.

[ahpook]

[quote name='TimR' post='1177661' date='Mar 26 2011, 09:26 PM']The Sky's Gone Out![/quote]

seriously freaky album !!

[Spike Vincent]

A collection of half finished demos,from what I recall,although my memory is somewhat drug addled.I'm pretty sure it was indeed an EHX Bassballs,and there was a Roland Cube involved somewhere.He was also an arrogant tosser.

[Cat Burrito]

I was distracted by the YouTube comment;

Listening to Bauhaus is kind of like getting beaten up by a ghost made of broken glass, and enjoying the experience.

Those Goths were a funny lot!

[Marky L]

Thanks everyone.

Yes he certainly did used to have a small pedal stuck on his bass for a while, I thought it was a distortion pedal of some sort as he certainly laid into a distroted tone regularly.

I do love them with their experimental stuff and no one did doom and gloom with so much skill and humour too. They were the proto goths and no-one IMHO has ever come close. So there!!

[thisnameistaken]

I don't know if it's a Bassballs, it sounds like the resonance is peakier than you can get from a Bassballs. Most quality envelope filters will be able to make that sound, just give it a slightly dirty signal and away you go.

[Jerry_B]

How long has the EHX Bassballs been in circulation?

Anyway, David J was the player who inspired me to take up the fretless. I'm still a big fan of Bauhaus, as well as one of the side projects to come from them (Tones On Tail).

[BigRedX]

Bassballs definitely was around in 1981 - I can remember the bassist from another Nottingham band using one to great effect back then

[mcnach]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='1177664' date='Mar 26 2011, 10:31 PM']Definitely a bassballs. I used to get the exact same sound out of mine. Unlike David J I never found a use for it as its an really stupid and annoying sound.[/quote]

oh, put it together with an EHX micro Q-tron... sticky toffee on bass!
I use that for "Sir Psycho Sexy" (RHCP) and similar sounds.

[matski]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1177591' date='Mar 26 2011, 09:13 PM']I saw Bauhaus live several times in the early 80s and he had some sort of effects device stuck to the front of his bass. Small case with a single knob and a slide switch - Electo-Harmonix something?[/quote]

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