Geddy and His Bass

[toymaker]

I think Lee is plunking two strings at a time (D and G), making "bass chords," and alternating with the A string. It's pretty quick. I don't know if that's what folks mean when they say it's difficult.

 

Geddy sounds awesome on the Rick in the 70s - esp on Natural Science

 

;)

 

.

 

:cheerleader: :cheerleader: :cheerleader:

[MMCXII]

Always thought this part was cool:

 

[EagleMoon]

Always thought this part was cool:

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cikmJqSm9EE

 

Kind of cheating to play it on a 6 string. ;)

[EagleMoon]

Saw this one pop up after the above one was over. Some funky tone going on there.

 

Edited December 22, 2015 by EagleMoon

[Lucas]

With so many great and memorable bass moments, Red Barchetta usually isn't the first that comes to mind, but the bass is incredible .. Such great feel and balls - he's not playing with guitar gauge strings like some bass players do

 

[MMCXII]

Always thought this part was cool:

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cikmJqSm9EE

 

Kind of cheating to play it on a 6 string. ;)

 

It's easier to play on 6 string? I don't play but I was wondering if 4 strings would be harder. It's a cool section anyway and looks HARD to play!

[EagleMoon]

Always thought this part was cool:

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cikmJqSm9EE

 

Kind of cheating to play it on a 6 string. ;)

 

It's easier to play on 6 string? I don't play but I was wondering if 4 strings would be harder. It's a cool section anyway and looks HARD to play!

 

Generally yes it's easier to play with more strings because you don't have to move around as much to different positions on the neck.

[Fridge]

Why start a topic about Geddy's fish?

 

Why not?

You got a point when you look at most of the other threads started in the Rush section. At least a thread about Geddy's fish hasn't already been made over a thousand times.

 

Be grateful I didn't start a thread: Geddy and His Crabs ;)

 

or Geddy and his Rod

[New Digital Man]

The challenging part with a 6 string bass is the muting and of course the size of the neck! More isn't always better and many of the worlds top players like Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Jeff Berlin, Billy Sheehan, Adam Clayton and of course Geddy all primarily use a 4 string bass!

[ctbadger]

Studio:

YYZ

Turn The Page

Digital Man

Anthem

Malignant Narcissism

Show Don't Tell

La Villa Strangiato

 

Live:

Leave That Thing Alone (TM tour)

Where's My Thing? (RTB & CA tour)

Red Barchetta outro (TM tour)

Driven (Vapor Trails tour)

 

Amazing stuff.

 

Just rewatching the R40 concert this morning and he totally tears it up on Working Man.

[toymaker]

I was thinking the thread title should be changed to "Geddy and his many, many, many basses."

 

In Geddy's case, "bass" is a short form for "badass."

 

If Geddy did go fishing and catch a bass, it would probably have four strings.

 

If Geddy did go fishing and catch a bass, he would probably make music with it.

 

It doesn't surprise me a bit that Geddy's favorite sport is baseball.

Edited December 23, 2015 by toymaker

[Lorraine]

A basket full of talent too.

 

That's our Geddy and His Bass.

Edited December 23, 2015 by Lorraine

[toymaker]

A bastion of talent too.

 

That's our Geddy and His Bass.

 

He bastes every song with just the right kind of bassy butter.

[Lorraine]

Studio:

YYZ

Turn The Page

Digital Man

Anthem

Malignant Narcissism

Show Don't Tell

La Villa Strangiato

 

Live:

Leave That Thing Alone (TM tour)

Where's My Thing? (RTB & CA tour)

Red Barchetta outro (TM tour)

Driven (Vapor Trails tour)

 

Amazing stuff.

 

Just rewatching the R40 concert this morning and he totally tears it up on Working Man.

 

I could watch Geddy and Alex doing Working Man from the LA show over and over and over. The both of them gave that possibly last ever performance of that song everything they had left.

[micgtr71]

Back in the day when I was learning to play his bass lines the most difficult by a country mile were Circumstances and YYZ. The solo section from La Villa was another beast. Prime Mover and Turn the Page kept me up late as well. As much as people dislike it, Tai Shan has some challenging lines. In fact, HYF is one of the most challenging bass line albums since Hemispheres.

[micgtr71]

Oh, and the Trees... Cinderella Man. If you are a bass player, being a Rush fan is going to school... In a good way. Edited December 25, 2015 by micgtr71

[AnEggplant]

Geddy's Bass:

 

7/10 needs more Rick

[Verena]

Why start a topic about Geddy's fish?

 

Why not?

You got a point when you look at most of the other threads started in the Rush section. At least a thread about Geddy's fish hasn't already been made over a thousand times.

 

Be grateful I didn't start a thread: Geddy and His Crabs ;)

:spitwater:

 

 

Well, I already saw what people songs people posted here. To add something about it, I think Red Sector A, Territories and Headlong Flight can belong to this list.

[Geddy's Soul Patch]

Why start a topic about Geddy's fish?

 

Why not?

You got a point when you look at most of the other threads started in the Rush section. At least a thread about Geddy's fish hasn't already been made over a thousand times.

 

Be grateful I didn't start a thread: Geddy and His Crabs ;)

:spitwater:

 

 

Well, I already saw what people songs people posted here. To add something about it, I think Red Sector A, Territories and Headlong Flight can belong to this list.

Red Sector A?

[Verena]

Why start a topic about Geddy's fish?

 

Why not?

You got a point when you look at most of the other threads started in the Rush section. At least a thread about Geddy's fish hasn't already been made over a thousand times.

 

Be grateful I didn't start a thread: Geddy and His Crabs ;)

:spitwater:

 

 

Well, I already saw what people songs people posted here. To add something about it, I think Red Sector A, Territories and Headlong Flight can belong to this list.

Red Sector A?

No?? Are you sure? Ok then...

[Geddy's Soul Patch]

Why start a topic about Geddy's fish?

 

Why not?

You got a point when you look at most of the other threads started in the Rush section. At least a thread about Geddy's fish hasn't already been made over a thousand times.

 

Be grateful I didn't start a thread: Geddy and His Crabs ;)

:spitwater:

 

 

Well, I already saw what people songs people posted here. To add something about it, I think Red Sector A, Territories and Headlong Flight can belong to this list.

Red Sector A?

No?? Are you sure? Ok then...

It's just that, Red Sector A has no bass

[Lorraine]

Why start a topic about Geddy's fish?

 

Why not?

You got a point when you look at most of the other threads started in the Rush section. At least a thread about Geddy's fish hasn't already been made over a thousand times.

 

Be grateful I didn't start a thread: Geddy and His Crabs ;)

:spitwater:

 

 

Well, I already saw what people songs people posted here. To add something about it, I think Red Sector A, Territories and Headlong Flight can belong to this list.

Red Sector A?

No?? Are you sure? Ok then...

It's just that, Red Sector A has no bass

 

It doesn't? That's funny. I don't care for the song, never listen to it, and always skip it when watching live shows, so I wouldn't know.

[Verena]

It's just that, Red Sector A has no bass

It seems to have it. Thanks for saying. :)

[Geddyleecruz]

Hello, this is my first post, but not really. I used to post here under the name (geddy one kenobi), but have mostly lurked since I don’t think I have too much to add. This post caught my eye, since the questions and answers all seem very engaging.

 

Lorraine, you asked a lot of good questions about Geddy’s playing and you wanted some input from bass players. Since I am a bass player, I’ll take a stab at it.

 

What are Geddy’s most intricate bass lines and why? I would not disagree with any of the songs or reasons why Geddy’s playing is so challenging thus far. I can only give my perspective, and maybe some of the other bass players may agree or disagree. In my eyes Geddy has incredible groove. That may sound controversial, since Rush is not a groove band, but a technical band. I think if you listen to Geddy, he has some major groove and he is instinctive all get out. Listen to Malnar. It is fast, but sick funky. As others have mentioned, he is lighting fast, and out of nowhere he just explodes, ie. the end jam of Leave that thing Alone (live). Another thing that Rush and Geddy do that is hard, is what I call the count songs. Cygnus, Far Cry, end of Jacob’s, and Caravan are good examples. In these songs Rush will sit on one note or play a pattern that is near impossible to count, and then play it flawlessly. LaVilla, Freewill, Turn the Page are all very hard, and technical, not to mention trying to find a guitar player and drummer who can keep up.

 

Geddy’s Style. Some of you mentioned how he does his right hand like a pick. The technique that he is employing I believe, is he is raking his index thumbnail across the strings (his noisy bastard) and it produces a trebly-pick like sound. Listen to the Pass and Main Monkey, he uses it big time in those songs. I think he calls himself the only flamingo bass player because of it. I took lessons for a while and my teacher tried to break me of it, but it is really cool if you can master it.

 

Songs I find hard. To me Rush songs are hard to play because they sound (and are) so complex, and one can get overwhelmed. I think that has been my mistake in trying to tackle Rush songs. I overthink it and give up. Someone mentioned Hemispheres and 2112. These songs have a ton of pieces, and it’s very hard for a guy like me play all of 2112. That song is not so technical, but it has so many parts to keep straight. I completely agree with the others that Rush’s timing is impossible. I don’t know how the guy sings and plays like he does.

 

Again, sorry to put so much in one post. I do hope it provides some flavor. I’m an average bass player. I play a lot of gospel and christian worship music at church on Sundays, but I challenge myself with Rush, my alltime favorite band and bass player.

[EagleMoon]

Hello, this is my first post, but not really. I used to post here under the name (geddy one kenobi), but have mostly lurked since I don’t think I have too much to add. This post caught my eye, since the questions and answers all seem very engaging.

 

Lorraine, you asked a lot of good questions about Geddy’s playing and you wanted some input from bass players. Since I am a bass player, I’ll take a stab at it.

 

What are Geddy’s most intricate bass lines and why? I would not disagree with any of the songs or reasons why Geddy’s playing is so challenging thus far. I can only give my perspective, and maybe some of the other bass players may agree or disagree. In my eyes Geddy has incredible groove. That may sound controversial, since Rush is not a groove band, but a technical band. I think if you listen to Geddy, he has some major groove and he is instinctive all get out. Listen to Malnar. It is fast, but sick funky. As others have mentioned, he is lighting fast, and out of nowhere he just explodes, ie. the end jam of Leave that thing Alone (live). Another thing that Rush and Geddy do that is hard, is what I call the count songs. Cygnus, Far Cry, end of Jacob’s, and Caravan are good examples. In these songs Rush will sit on one note or play a pattern that is near impossible to count, and then play it flawlessly. LaVilla, Freewill, Turn the Page are all very hard, and technical, not to mention trying to find a guitar player and drummer who can keep up.

 

Geddy’s Style. Some of you mentioned how he does his right hand like a pick. The technique that he is employing I believe, is he is raking his index thumbnail across the strings (his noisy bastard) and it produces a trebly-pick like sound. Listen to the Pass and Main Monkey, he uses it big time in those songs. I think he calls himself the only flamingo bass player because of it. I took lessons for a while and my teacher tried to break me of it, but it is really cool if you can master it.

 

Songs I find hard. To me Rush songs are hard to play because they sound (and are) so complex, and one can get overwhelmed. I think that has been my mistake in trying to tackle Rush songs. I overthink it and give up. Someone mentioned Hemispheres and 2112. These songs have a ton of pieces, and it’s very hard for a guy like me play all of 2112. That song is not so technical, but it has so many parts to keep straight. I completely agree with the others that Rush’s timing is impossible. I don’t know how the guy sings and plays like he does.

 

Again, sorry to put so much in one post. I do hope it provides some flavor. I’m an average bass player. I play a lot of gospel and christian worship music at church on Sundays, but I challenge myself with Rush, my alltime favorite band and bass player.

 

Welcome back to posting again. :) I love reading other bass players viewpoints on Geddy. It's always fascinating.