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American bass tones 60s/70s


Paultrader
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[quote name='Paultrader' post='1183592' date='Mar 31 2011, 05:25 PM']....I've got a playlist on my Ipod of 60s and 70s American music. Bands like The Allman Brothers, Little Feat, The Byrds, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Steve Miller, Canned Heat etc. I love this stuff - I've always thought that the Yanks make amazing music....[/quote]
You're right, that was a golden period of music, but don't read too much into the bass on records made by these bands and many others at this time. Many of these bass players would have "their sound" decided by the producer. They were not always big on democracy back then and most of the band was probably absent when the tracks were mixed down.

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[quote name='Balcro' post='1183903' date='Mar 31 2011, 08:58 PM']Ah! so that explains it. The English soft bass and the drier faster attack with stronger fundamental of the American gear. I can remember back to about '67 & on to 74 and wondered why it sounded different. Marshall ruled the roost back then but if you couldn't afford Marshall then it was Sound City. If you had some cash to spare you used Orange or Hi-Watt.

Balcro.[/quote]


And I am forgetting the B102 from Eminence used in SVT and such like still a very good speaker, but back them pretty amazing...

Edited by dan670844
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[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='1184089' date='Mar 31 2011, 11:17 PM']Isn't it a combination of these things mentioned above; the instruments, the players, the available technology at that time and of course, the skill / attitudes of the engineers, producers and arrangers..

Great thread btw![/quote]

And don't forget the magical ingredients; the denim, the hair, and the weed :)

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[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1184109' date='Apr 1 2011, 12:35 AM']All I can say reading this thread is...








Welcome to my world! :)[/quote]


Hell yeah :)
I love 70`s Rock Music and i love the whole sound of those bands. (Also Mentioned Scheff on Suspicious mind at Aloha from Hawaii is some really amazing playing:))
The 70`s bass sounds organic, rich and full and natural. I think people will deliver more more "thirst" for those sounds as i recognized some kind of developement in sound preferences of my friends as well.
I think we have all enough from this loudness war (you may youtube this, if not familiar) and like life always is, a development in up and downs, we are going back to natural and organic again. The first steps are done and we will walk on..

As for my personal sound, i take an old vintage P, flatwounds and a sunn tube amp. (which was not used for the following recording), but one thing i have to complain,
those mentioned jeans hurt after 3 songs :lol:
If you like those 70`s sound, you may have a listen and you maybe will like the sound as well. it is overdubbed on 1975 Purple`s Love Child.
[url="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4194859/lc%20vitjo.mp3"]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4194859/lc%20vitjo.mp3[/url]

great thread!

Edited by 73Jazz
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[quote name='73Jazz' post='1184217' date='Apr 1 2011, 07:57 AM']Also Mentioned Scheff on Suspicious mind[/quote]

What I love about his playing on The Way It Is is that whilst the rest of the band seem to be doing a pretty formulaic job, albeit as tight as a camel's etc, Scheff just seems to go completely off on one and gets away with it. We were watching it in my studio a week or so back and our singer - not and Elvis fan by any measures - was completely blown away by it, and was amazed that any bass played would be given such freedom in such a structured and drilled setup. He's getting the message slowly :)

Talking of denim and the King of Rock and roll in this thread, is the Levis/Elvis thing a coincidence or is there a conspiracy we need to know about?

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[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1184109' date='Mar 31 2011, 11:35 PM']All I can say reading this thread is...








Welcome to my world! :)[/quote]
Wondered when you`d pop up on this one, Tim.

Back in the days when a bass actually sounded like a bass, I`m getting all nostalgic now.

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[quote name='Lozz196' post='1184539' date='Apr 1 2011, 01:09 PM']Wondered when you`d pop up on this one, Tim.

Back in the days when a bass actually sounded like a bass, I`m getting all nostalgic now.[/quote]


.... If you need a strong shoulder to cry on, i am there for you :)

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Definitely my favourite era of music, so much 'space' in the music and prominent, full bass tones aplenty.... :)

My personal faves HAVE to be Peter Cetera (Gibson EB3L & Fender P) on the first 11 'Chicago' albums...... and Tiran Porter (Gibson EB3L, Fender P & Gibson Thunderbird) during the original Tommy Johnston-era 'Doobie Brothers' . Both played with taste, melody, rhythm and finesse..... and their bass parts were clearly audible!

Also love Joe Puerta (Ambrosia), Leon Wilkeson (Skynyrd), Kenny Gradney (Little Feat), Dave Hope (Kansas) etc... :)

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[quote name='cetera' post='1184577' date='Apr 1 2011, 12:29 PM']Definitely my favourite era of music, so much 'space' in the music and prominent, full bass tones aplenty.... :)

My personal faves HAVE to be Peter Cetera (Gibson EB3L & Fender P) on the first 11 'Chicago' albums...... and Tiran Porter (Gibson EB3L, Fender P & Gibson Thunderbird) during the original Tommy Johnston-era 'Doobie Brothers' . Both played with taste, melody, rhythm and finesse..... and their bass parts were clearly audible!

Also love Joe Puerta (Ambrosia), Leon Wilkeson (Skynyrd), Kenny Gradney (Little Feat), Dave Hope (Kansas) etc... :)[/quote]

Now we're talkin!

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Sony have been putting out 5 CD packs under the title Original Album Classics priced the same as a single CD which covers a lot of this era. I'm working my way through them, discovering the likes of Kansas, Spirit, Mountain, Little Feat, Argent and more - some amazing tunes and really wonderful bass playing.

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[quote name='Doctor J' post='1184600' date='Apr 1 2011, 12:38 PM']Sony have been putting out 5 CD packs under the title Original Album Classics priced the same as a single CD which covers a lot of this era. I'm working my way through them, discovering the likes of Kansas, Spirit, Mountain, Little Feat, Argent and more - some amazing tunes and really wonderful bass playing.[/quote]

Yep, I picked up the Little Feat one for £9.99 new!

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[quote name='Telebass' post='1183965' date='Mar 31 2011, 08:31 PM']Yes, he did. However, I'm doing it all with flats on a Precision, and it's close. I've no idea what strings he used. More research needed![/quote]
He was using a range of gear - mostly Orange and Acoustic amps, and Fender and Alembic basses - but tracks on Rumours were recorded in a number of ways (some live with mic and amp, some direct, and some utilising a combination of those sources). In addition, a number of tracks were recorded combining a direct signal with a mic'd Pignose (the Pignose being inside a flightcase). At the time he was using Pyramid strings, although at some point he switched to using heavy gauge D'Addario strings.

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[quote name='noelk27' post='1184640' date='Apr 1 2011, 01:00 PM']....In addition, a number of tracks were recorded combining a direct signal with a mic'd Pignose (the Pignose being inside a flightcase)....[/quote]
A few years later John McVie also did the same thing on some live shows. He would be standing in front of 2 900 watt SWR stacks but FOH was being fed from a backstage SWR Baby Blue in an acoustic box.

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[quote name='chris_b' post='1184655' date='Apr 1 2011, 01:08 PM']A few years later John McVie also did the same thing on some live shows. He would be standing in front of 2 900 watt SWR stacks but FOH was being fed from a backstage SWR Baby Blue in an acoustic box.[/quote]


Haha and you think anything is different now ha ha ha. James johnstopn the biff for example 1 Little bastard 2 BTA 300, if you like the sound of the LB preamp surely the logical step would be to use a 2x 427's the same preamp as the LB ha ha ha ! same with Geddy lee 2 x AB200, and a 320U rack full of effect and poweramps haha!!

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[quote name='chris_b' post='1184655' date='Apr 1 2011, 01:08 PM']A few years later John McVie also did the same thing on some live shows. He would be standing in front of 2 900 watt SWR stacks but FOH was being fed from a backstage SWR Baby Blue in an acoustic box.[/quote]

I built a fender champ 5E3 with negative feedback for just such a purpose I run it through and old hartke 1x10 with a Emminence BP102 in it sound fantastic! Ill post some pic of it if anyone interested..... no i am not gonna sell it ha ha

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