Tried listening to The Stranglers today....

[Beedster]

Just now, Stub Mandrel said:

 

@Si600 started this off by asking for Stranglers resources!

Ah, thanks mate 👍

[Grooverjr]

@thebrig that's pretty damn close. Good stuff

[Beedster]

2 minutes ago, Grooverjr said:

@thebrig that's pretty damn close. Good stuff

Agreed 👍 

[Velarian]

26 minutes ago, thebrig said:

Although my playing isn't great, JJ's tone is achievable (within reason), with a little bit of tweaking, probably good enough in a live situation?

The bass has been removed from all these backing tracks, so what you hear is my take on the bass line.

 

 

 

 

 

Nailed it!

 

 Are you able to share how you did that?

[thebrig]

32 minutes ago, Velarian said:

Nailed it!

 

 Are you able to share how you did that?

Here's my cover of Peaches, I recorded the songs a couple of years ago so I would have to go back and see what effects I used at the time, but I achieved the tone on three different basses, it's not perfect, but I was quite happy with the tone at the time.

 

[Lozz196]

Great tones @thebrig, and great playing too, what’s the bass in the No More Heroes clip - Lakland of some sort?

[thebrig]

6 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Great tones @thebrig, and great playing too, what’s the bass in the No More Heroes clip - Lakland of some sort?

Thanks Lozz, it was my Lakland Bob Glaub PJ, it was a lovely bass and great to play, but as much as I loved it, I prefer a straight P, there's no need for the extra pickup. imo. 😉

Edited February 21 by thebrig

[Beedster]

10 minutes ago, thebrig said:

Thanks Lozz, it was my Lakland Bob Glaub PJ, it was a lovely bass and great to play, but as much as I loved it, I prefer a straight P, there's no need for the extra pickup. imo. 😉

Agree 👍

[Marky L]

 

@thebrig

This guy, Davey,  has gone through most of The Stranglers catalogue and uploaded play along bass. No tabs BUT you can hear the bass lines much better and get a damn good idea of what he's playing by watching the video.

 

It's been great watching him get more confident as he goes and his bass lines are nigh on flawless. I have learnt lots of bits watching him, that maybe I didn't make enough effort to figure out before.

 

Give him a sub and enjoy.

 

TheRavenofGenetix1979 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 23 by Marky L

[Si600]

No, I am not buying @Dannygno123's P-Bass to fit in with the look.

[Muzz]

On the subject of JJ's live tone, last time I went to see them (tour before last, IIRC) they'd switched to inears/no backline, and it was dreadful; that indistinct, scooped sub-bass rumble you get at 90% of big venues. I dragged my other half all round the Apollo trying to find somewhere I could hear properly, but to no avail. It really pisht me off, we left early. When I go to see JJ, I'd like the bass (on the earlier songs, at least) to take the top of my head off, please...

 

I mentioned this to Jon Shuker when i was picking up my JJ Sig from him, he said he'd chatted with JJ (I wasn't the only bassist to mention it) and they were 'still working through some issues'. Apparently it got better last time out, but I didn't go.

 

The JJ Sig is based largely on the legendary Green P, I can confirm it's a very angry P, so it's not the bass.

[Beedster]

25 minutes ago, Muzz said:

On the subject of JJ's live tone, last time I went to see them (tour before last, IIRC) they'd switched to inears/no backline, and it was dreadful; that indistinct, scooped sub-bass rumble you get at 90% of big venues. I dragged my other half all round the Apollo trying to find somewhere I could hear properly, but to no avail. It really pisht me off, we left early. When I go to see JJ, I'd like the bass (on the earlier songs, at least) to take the top of my head off, please...

 

I mentioned this to Jon Shuker when i was picking up my JJ Sig from him, he said he'd chatted with JJ (I wasn't the only bassist to mention it) and they were 'still working through some issues'. Apparently it got better last time out, but I didn't go.

 

The JJ Sig is based largely on the legendary Green P, I can confirm it's a very angry P, so it's not the bass.

 

Stranglers without that bass tone are not Stranglers, certainly not if they're doing tracks from the first three albums which I'm guessing they are, it would be like Rush without Geddy's voice...

 

Venues seem to want all performers/performances to conform to this audio algorithm these days, to the point that I wonder if there's anxiety among venues that any deviation from the usual thump-gap-highs model will be seen by the vast majority of punters as poor quality sound; lets's not forget that the vast majority of under 30's have only experienced relatively poor quality sound in every application from domestic audio to large-scale venues...... 

[Cosmo Valdemar]

2 minutes ago, Beedster said:

 

Stranglers without that bass tone are not Stranglers, certainly not if they're doing tracks from the first three albums which I'm guessing they are, it would be like Rush without Geddy's voice...

 

Or without Geddy's bass, which was how I saw Rush at Wembley. All boom, no top. I was heartbroken.

[Beedster]

2 minutes ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

Or without Geddy's bass, which was how I saw Rush at Wembley. All boom, no top. I was heartbroken.

 

Of course 

 

And damn, you'd have thought that Rush of all people would be on top of their live sound  

[Cosmo Valdemar]

1 minute ago, Beedster said:

 

Of course 

 

And damn, you'd have thought that Rush of all people would be on top of their live sound  

I expect trying to manage sound in Wembley Arena is a battle you're unlikely to win. 

 

Luckily I saw them at the O2 a few years later and it was glorious - apart from delays caused by a trespassing fox inside the arena, but that probably wasn't Rush's fault.

[Beedster]

The corruption of live pop/rock sound is to my mind equivalent to going to see an orchestra playing a well known symphony only to find that the midrange instruments haven't showed up, and it's all either violins/flutes/trumpets or double bass/tuba/timpani. If that happened most of your average orchestral audience would walk out and demand their money back. Pop/rock audiences just appear to put up with it 

[BigRedX]

6 minutes ago, Beedster said:

Pop/rock audiences just appear to put up with it 

 

Why?

 

If you really feel strongly about it you should be naming and shaming the idiot behind the mixing desk at these gigs.

 

I don't go to very big gigs, mostly because the bands I like never get to be that popular, so I haven't really come across this phenomenon. Also the sorts of bands I go and see these days (post-punk/goth/electronic) tend to have a sound where the bass needs to be distinct.

 

However should I have the misfortune to attend such an event I would have no hesitation in taking a photo of the sound engineer and posting it across the social media for the band/promotor/PA hire company and letting them know exactly what I thought of their "skills".

 

IMO the sound at these gigs tends to be like it is because insufficient people complain.

[ezbass]

I complained about the bass sound on a band’s interactive webpage, following a gig and they merely leapt to the sound man’s defence; I was standing right next to the desk at the gig.

[BigRedX]

2 minutes ago, ezbass said:

I complained about the bass sound on a band’s interactive webpage, following a gig and they merely leapt to the sound man’s defence; I was standing right next to the desk at the gig.

 

I'm sure for the band it probably sounded great on stage or in the IEMs. There is also the possibility that if they are mid-way through their tour and they agree with you, imagine how terrible the sound engineer can make them sound if he really tried. And if it's just one or two punters you can be easy to ignore and brush off. It's going to need a concentrated response by lots of fans to make a difference.

[Beedster]

8 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

Why?

 

If you really feel strongly about it you should be naming and shaming the idiot behind the mixing desk at these gigs.

 

I don't go to very big gigs, mostly because the bands I like never get to be that popular, so I haven't really come across this phenomenon. Also the sorts of bands I go and see these days (post-punk/goth/electronic) tend to have a sound where the bass needs to be distinct.

 

However should I have the misfortune to attend such an event I would have no hesitation in taking a photo of the sound engineer and posting it across the social media for the band/promotor/PA hire company and letting them know exactly what I thought of their "skills".

 

IMO the sound at these gigs tends to be like it is because insufficient people complain.

 

I agree, but.....

 

I genuinely think that it's not done in error, it's the sound the venues aim for, and in some cases, the only sound they are equipped for (as well as no doubt cost cutting in both people doing the sound and the quality of the gear the sound is going through). So in my view it often not the sound engineers we should complain about, it's the venues. More specifically, bands whose fans complain about poor sound at venues need to either take some responsibility or should not play the venues in question in future. 

[Beedster]

Just now, BigRedX said:

 

I'm sure for the band it probably sounded great on stage or in the IEMs. There is also the possibility that if they are mid-way through their tour and they agree with you, imagine how terrible the sound engineer can make them sound if he really tried. And if it's just one or two punters you can be easy to ignore and brush off. It's going to need a concentrated response by lots of fans to make a difference.

Exactly, so if JJB is reading this, mate, sort your sound 👍

[tauzero]

40 minutes ago, Beedster said:

Stranglers without that bass tone are not Stranglers, certainly not if they're doing tracks from the first three albums which I'm guessing they are, it would be like Rush without Geddy's voice...

 

Not really, JJ's bass tone doesn't stop me listening to the Stranglers.

[PaulWarning]

as I mentioned earlier, they've got their own sound guy, so to a large extent they get the sound they want, I know different venues have their own characteristics but a decent sound man should be able to cope.

I once went to a festival about 15 years ago and the sound was awful all weekend, all thump thump bass drum, the Ruts came on and their sound was spot on, Segs Jennings' bass sounded awesome, I even messaged him about it and he confirmed they had their own sound guy

[Beedster]

8 minutes ago, PaulWarning said:

as I mentioned earlier, they've got their own sound guy, so to a large extent they get the sound they want, I know different venues have their own characteristics but a decent sound man should be able to cope.

I once went to a festival about 15 years ago and the sound was awful all weekend, all thump thump bass drum, the Ruts came on and their sound was spot on, Segs Jennings' bass sounded awesome, I even messaged him about it and he confirmed they had their own sound guy

 

Sounds like they took control, which is what more bands should do 👍

[Lozz196]

Given JJs pretty famous sound I’m surprised he hasn’t put some form of Sansamp in his rig, it would def get nearer to that tone than he currently gets. Unless of course he wants to not be quite so full-on nowadays.