Uncle Posted February 20, 2005 Share Posted February 20, 2005 (edited) How the hell does Geddy get such a growl on that bass of his. In general it has a nice growl (I'm guessing it has something to do with that rickenbacker he had but I'm to poor to afford one of them) But also it has the nicest growl and bite to it ever on different stages. Listen to the freewill bass solo (its bloody brilliant anyway). How do you get that kind of tone? Edited February 20, 2005 by Uncle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor & the Jazz Bass Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 A lot of the growl he gets has a lot to do with the strings he uses. He uses Rotosound RS66LD bass strings. The best sounding strings you can buy in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonraker Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Rickenbacker basses, such as the ones he had used during that period have a notorious growl to them. You can hear the same thing on Yes material as Chris Squire uses those basses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CygnusX-1Bk2 Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Part of Geddy's sound is also the neck on the J, the maple fretboard plus the BadAss bridges he uses. When playing a maple fretboard J next to a rosewood fretboard J there is a noticeable difference in tone. Plus the way he routes is also quite interesting with the SansAmp, Palmer cabinet emulators, various high-end compressors and tube DI. It is a very sophisticated rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penzman Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 I had the same Rickenbacker bass Geddy was playing. A Rickenbacker 4001 with Badass bridge. Although it was close, I could never get that very same growl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleTito Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 This is all great, but what about his amp settings? Does anyone know his amp settings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yyz Posted March 5, 2005 Share Posted March 5, 2005 Not sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel Rat Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 This is a great question.. I can't find it, no matter how hard I look... I have a Fender Jazz Bass, just like Geddy, but I don't know how he does it the way he does.. One point, I think I got it, then I listen to more Rush again, and it sounds so much more awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yyz Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 If you get that sound though...nice....I love the sound of his bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleTito Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 Now, I imagine that you will probably have to boost the midrange and cut the bass frequencies a bit. A healthy dose of compression will help a bit too. Please let me know if you find an article with his bass settings. I love his bass sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Quigley_Moog Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 QUOTE (Uncle @ Feb 19 2005, 07:16 PM) How the hell does Geddy get such a growl on that bass of his. In general it has a nice growl (I'm guessing it has something to do with that rickenbacker he had but I'm to poor to afford one of them) But also it has the nicest growl and bite to it ever on different stages. Listen to the freewill bass solo (its bloody brilliant anyway). How do you get that kind of tone? He plays with his fingers and not a pick. This may factor into his tone. Plus, I don't think he goes direct when he's in the studio. He has too much (well deserved) respect and dignity to go direct. He kicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My_Shrimp_Cot Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 (edited) YINGWAY (I know its spelled wrong) Malmsteen was once touring with Ted Nugent. Ted heard incredible sound coming from Malmsteen's setup and asked if he could try his rig. Yngwie handed over his guitar and the sound Ted produced when he played Yngwei's guitar sounded exactly like..........Ted Nugent. You should never try to sound like someone else. You will drive yourself crazy. Edited March 22, 2005 by My_Shrimp_Cot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmszczap82 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 QUOTE (Quigley_Moog @ Mar 21 2005, 08:38 PM) QUOTE (Uncle @ Feb 19 2005, 07:16 PM) How the hell does Geddy get such a growl on that bass of his. In general it has a nice growl (I'm guessing it has something to do with that rickenbacker he had but I'm to poor to afford one of them) But also it has the nicest growl and bite to it ever on different stages. Listen to the freewill bass solo (its bloody brilliant anyway). How do you get that kind of tone? He plays with his fingers and not a pick. This may factor into his tone. Plus, I don't think he goes direct when he's in the studio. He has too much (well deserved) respect and dignity to go direct. He kicks I read that he's been recording direct since Counterparts...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CygnusX-1Bk2 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 He's been recording direct for a lot longer than Counterparts. It is part of his tone. Even when he used amps on stage there was a certain amount of direct signal routed to the board and out to the house. It is more accurate to say he no longer runs anything to a speaker cabinet anymore. Because of the inherant nature of bass tone a better signal can be achieved going direct. But in many cases what is heard in many recordings is a combination of amp and direct sound mixed. For years Geddy has usually split at least 4 independant signals from his bass into various gear for recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My_Shrimp_Cot Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 I was looking at Geddy replica base and almost all the reviews mention the "growl" http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=bass...6/rpp=10/page=2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Posted April 3, 2005 Author Share Posted April 3, 2005 that is the kind of bass that I want. but can't afford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel Rat Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 Goodness, that has some ratings.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel Rat Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 QUOTE "I'd pay $$$ just for the neck. The tone... Features: 10 Quality: 10 Value: 10 Overall: 10 Anonymous Musician from Earth Experience: I have used it Background: Hobbyist Style of Music: Rock Aug 12, 2004 - I'd pay $$$ just for the neck. The tone is wonderful, nice and warm. If God played bass, this is the one he would play." *giggles* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylee Posted April 26, 2005 Share Posted April 26, 2005 I just posted this on another topic but in the book Rush: Merely Players by Robert Telleria I learned that the wonderful growl you hear is mostly done on Geddy's 1972(I think) Fender Jazz. Very rare and very expensive. In many of the videos Geddy is seen playing the Ric just for "effect", but in the studio most of the time, he used the Fender. He also had his stint with the wonderful Wal basses which have a unique, unmistakeable sound(Sort of like a rubber band). I believe you can still purchase a Geddy Lee Wal Bass signature(The red one) from their web site but they are very expensive due to incredible build quality. Fender still makes the Geddy Lee Jazz sig. but this is a cheap Japanese version where as what you want is the superior American made authentic 1972. Also I once owned a RIC 4001 and could never really get the growl I heard in Geddy's playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CygnusX-1Bk2 Posted April 27, 2005 Share Posted April 27, 2005 Don't knock the Japanese Geddy models. They may be inexpensive but they do have the sound. They are also very consistent. I have said it before and will say it again... Price does not dictate sound quality, nor playability. I have played meny recently made Fenders from around the world of varying pricetags. The cheaper mid range basses play and soound better than the American made expensive models. I have a Mexican J that I paid $200 for used (the same price Geddy paid for his '72), and it sounds better then many of the new American J's. I also have a Ric and the J is my better bass of the two. Wal's are fine for smooth jazz or pop but keep 'em out of Rock and Roll. They have no balls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylee Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 I completely agree that price does not dictate quality and/or playability. I just try to support American made products and no, I am not a gung ho "GO! America in anything you do" kind of person. As for the Wal bass sound, I have to disagree. One of the main things for me that makes Geddy a great bassists is his sense of tone, and he has recorded some great bass lines with "lack of balls" sounding Wal basses. I for one do not want to limit a players choice of tone in creating great music, Rock and Roll or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CygnusX-1Bk2 Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 (edited) Fender is an American company, even though they manufacture instruments in Japan, Korea, and Mexico. Wal is an English product. I am an if it sounds good it is good kind of guy. I do not steer anyone wrong or limit their choices. My reputation here speaks to that. This thread is about tone. If you don't like my opinion you have that right. Geddy went back to using the Fender because he said the Wal had no balls. He also said it wasn't aggressive sounding and didn't really suit the music they were making. Which I agree. I don't like the sound of Wals. Never did. They are too thin. I am also well documented for not liking HYF, both because of tone and inferior Rush material. For high end basses I much prefer Alembics. They are rounder and punchier and the woods they uses are both decorative and have better tone. Or even a Carl Thompson. I mean if you are going to spend stupid money on an instrument get a good one. If not buy a Fender. Edited April 29, 2005 by CygnusX-1Bk2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkd Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I have a Geddy Lee Jazz Bass (the replica kind) and with my SWR LA-35 series amp's bass all the way up and trebel all the way up and picking with your fingers in a little bit of a hook you can hear it a bit hiding back there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callmejim Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 To get something like a Geddy tone i used to just bash the strings as hard as i could on my bass,then i sounded like me.So i stopped trying to sound like someone else. Hmm....playing the Ric in videos just for effect-no.A really good way of telling the difference in Ric/Jazz bass sounds is to listen to Moving Pictures.The Jazz will have a bit of growl but the Ric will have a bit of clank(oh i miss the clank). Ric on T. Sawyer,Jazz on Limelight for example-have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarroc Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 I don't think anybody has mentioned that Geddy bi-amped his signal. At least that's what I've always read. Thus he can "distort" or overdrive his highs and high-mids without muddying the lows (which is the problem I've always had). IMHO, the quintessential Geddy "growl" was Red Barchetta. BTW, does anybody know what bass he was playing on A Show of Hands? That was a nice tone. Punchy and exciting, but clean and clear as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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