Alannah Myles - Black Velvet

[Funky Dunky]

Just heard this on t'wireless - what a lovely bass part, particularly the fill leading into the verse. Cracking tone, too - sounds like a fretless for sure.

Apparently, however, it's a synth?? An interview with Alannah revealed it to be a Korg synth with some kind of pitch wheel?

Anyway....really nice. Might have to learn it. Anyone learned it?

Edited September 20, 2016 by Funky Dunky

[KevB]

I did ages ago, cant remember it now. Oddly, as I was learning it I couldnt help thinking 'this feels like something written on a keyboard rather than a guitar' so it came as no surprise that it turned out to be a synth part.

[DaytonaRik]

I learned it ages ago and oddly enough came back to it a few weeks ago..lovely line to play - drop tuned to Eb IIRC

[fretmeister]

My old band covered it.

It's an Eb tuning job. Just doesn't sound right in E, and certainly doesn't sound right just shifting up an octave for the affected notes.

It's a great tune and just about every pub crowd knows the words. Always goes down well.

[JTUK]

I had to dep this the other day... the crucial thing is the drummer gets the heartbeat.
The difficulty of the little frill depends which key you play it in but it also depends if the drummer is up to it which in turn dictates how hard he will make the whole track.
If the drummer has got it, it is mainly a chick song as invaribly every girl singer wants to do it.

On songs like these...bass players get hung up on the fill, when the essense is somewhere else.
No good nailing that fill if the song groove sucks. Check the drummer.

[Funky Dunky]

Yeah I would imagine if the drummer rushes it, it could get ugly.

Someone said 'heartbeat' - that sums it up quite nicely I think. That song is dependant on a steady pulse, and if you blow it, the whole thing would be ruined.

[Woodinblack]

Wasn't it played on a synth?

[Funky Dunky]

Yeah, I alluded to this in the initial post, Alannah Myles confirmed it in an interview a while back.

Edited September 20, 2016 by Funky Dunky

[lojo]

Gigged it for a while a few years back , lovely bass line , all I could do was add chorus

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1474391797' post='3137646']
Yeah, I alluded to this in the initial post, Allanah Myles confirmed it in an interview a while back.
[/quote]

In which case, it is good keyboard playing!

[spectoremg]

That's the most convincing synthesized bass sound I've ever heard!

And another devil's spawn in Eb: Beat It, Purple Rain, anything by Stevie Wonder....

[Funky Dunky]

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1474395065' post='3137698']
That's the most convincing synthesized bass sound I've ever heard!


[/quote]

It really is! So much so that I'm still not 100% convinced it could have been a synth, in spite of Ms. Myles' testimony! So authentic-sounding. It sounds woody and everything!

[JapanAxe]

@ Funky Dunky, I have done a transcription for 5-string in the original Eb, plus an adaptation for 4 in E. PM me if you want the pdf (standard notation only).

[BottomE]

Years ago in a galaxy far etc etc i did this in a band. Can't remember how we played it though.

[Funky Dunky]

Duder be rockin' a fretless in the video:

http://youtu.be/tT4d1LQy4es

[wateroftyne]

The producer confirmed it too - An Akai 900 sequencer or something. I'll try and find the interview again.

[Funky Dunky]

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1474396035' post='3137711']
@ Funky Dunky, I have done a transcription for 5-string in the original Eb, plus an adaptation for 4 in E. PM me if you want the pdf (standard notation only).
[/quote]

That's really good of you, thank you!

I can't read music though

The shame!

[Funky Dunky]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1474396649' post='3137732']
The producer confirmed it too - An Akai 900 sequencer or something. I'll try and find the interview again.
[/quote]

Tell you what - they've done a helluva job. Sounds like legit bass to me.

[alyctes]

Tune down a semitone?

[drTStingray]

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1474397240' post='3137738']


Tell you what - they've done a helluva job. Sounds like legit bass to me.
[/quote]

Agreed - I was astonished when I got involved in a past thread on here and was told it was a keyboard. It came on the radio the other day and I listened to it very carefully. Sounds like a Fretless bass to me.

I liken the sound to a slightly warmer fatter version of the sound on the theme to the TV show Bergerac (which sounds like a Fretless Wal or Musicman to me). Even the slides and vibrato.

[fleabag]

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1474402947' post='3137798']
Tune down a semitone?
[/quote]

[quote name='DaytonaRik' timestamp='1474381628' post='3137521']
I learned it ages ago and oddly enough came back to it a few weeks ago..lovely line to play - drop tuned to Eb IIRC
[/quote]

Edited September 21, 2016 by fleabag

[spectoremg]

So let's get this straight; you've synthed/sampled a bass to play it on a keyboard so it sounds like a bass anyway. Something fishy going on.

[neilp]

I don't care whether it was a synth or not. It's a fretless line. Played this on a dep the other week. It sits nicely under the fingers, not hard at all, you just have to make the groove nice and greasy and away it goes. Cracking simple little line

[artisan]

Agreed an old band I was in covered this,it sounded great on my active fretless bass strung with flats of course 😀

[BigRedX]

I haven't heard this track in years but on a quick re-listen, to me it's obvious that the whole rhythm section is synths/samples and sequenced. In fact I suspect all the instruments except the main guitar parts are synths/samples that have been sequenced, and maybe even the acoustic guitar isn't 100% played.