How to get Lemmy Kilmister's sound?

[JohnnychristFTW]

I know Ive asked ALOT of questions on this site and I wanna thank every one whose helped this young bassist through his first year of playing. I have another question. I love the way lemmy sounds. I heard he runs his bass through a marshall stack. I attempted this at my bands practice and my rythm guitarist runs over to me and unplugs me saying ill blow it up. Would i really blow it up? Does Lemmy really get his sound simply through a marshall stack or are there effects involved?

[rodl2005]

An EHX Bass Big Muff, or similar.
A Tech 21 VT Bass pedal are 2 of the best bass grind pedals that'll get ya very close.

[CL400Peavey]

Originally Posted by JohnnychristFTW

I know Ive asked ALOT of questions on this site and I wanna thank every one whose helped this young bassist through his first year of playing. I have another question. I love the way lemmy sounds. I heard he runs his bass through a marshall stack. I attempted this at my bands practice and my rythm guitarist runs over to me and unplugs me saying ill blow it up. Would i really blow it up? Does Lemmy really get his sound simply through a marshall stack or are there effects involved?

Marshall yes. Guitar stack no. His signature gear is a 100 watt tube head on a 415 cab.

[PunkRocker33133]

Originally Posted by rodl2005

An EHX Bass Big Muff, or similar.
A Tech 21 VT Bass pedal are 2 of the best bass grind pedals that'll get ya very close.

Not really, the first is a fuzz, and the second is an Ampeg emulator. I'd go with a low wattage tube head (preferably marshall styled) into a ton of speakers. Or ask Clammy, because he does it well

[runmikeyrun]

Used peavey Windsor heads are around $225... You listen to mine and tell me what you think:

Peavey Windsor head demo with bass guitar - YouTube

[bongomania]

To be absolutely clear, the key is to use BASS speaker cabs with a cranked distorted amp. The amp itself won't get damaged no matter how you turn it up--but the speakers must be able to handle huge wattage spikes.

There are actually several pedals that emulate the sound of a cranked Marshall; search on "Marshall" here in the fx forum to find them.

[Downunderwonder]

You're lucky you didn't collect a smack in the mouth before the telling off. Guitar speakers can't make lows, they will die trying.

[whoatherechunk]

Do lots of drugs and play a Rickenbacker

[waleross]

+1 I got a Ric years after I stopped the drugs. I think a Marshall with 4 x15's puts you in the neighborhood before your neighbors call the cops....................

[rodl2005]

I was suggesting the pedals as a cheaper alternative to buying a Marshall amp & a 412 & 415 & destroying the neighbourhood.
I know the VT is Ampeg biased, but, imo, it gets close. Ymmv
Hadn't thought of Marshall pedals tho

[Mr. Foxen]

Lemmy's sound doesn't have lows, they are only bass cabs in that a bass is plugged into them, they are glorified guitar cabs. All the distortion and the OT cuts lows, the fact they are sealed cabs cuts lows and doesn't let the cones unload and break from overexcursion. You'll only blow up guitar stuff if you try and force it to sound like a bass, or it is badly maintained (in which case guitar will blow it up too).

[cracked_machine]

Watch that film they made recently on him. I think it was actually called "Lemmy".
There's a great bit where he is asked what makes his sound, so he shows them whilst onstage doing a sound check.

Two things: Marshall stack with lots of gain and a Ric.

Was surprised to see how much he favors playing the D and G string. He was almost playing it more like a guitar than a bass.

Saying that, with my Jazz and a muff pedal I can play the Ace of Spades riff on the D string and it sounds pretty close to the original.

[NortyFiner]

Doing a little research would also help. From Wikipedia's entry on Lemmy:

Lemmy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He uses hot-rodded Marshall JMP Superbass II amplifiers from the late 1960s/early 1970s. Each amp, with a nominal output of 100 watts, is used with a 4x12 speaker cab and a custom-made 4x15 cab. He uses two such stacks, one on each side of the drum riser. For many years the amps were nicknamed "No Remorse", "Killer" (left side amp) or "Murder One" (right side amp) with appropriate nameplates. "No Remorse" was subsequently replaced by a new amp nicknamed "Marsha" when, as Kilmister said in an October 2004 interview, it "blew up". "Killer" and "Murder One" were believed to have been destroyed in Argentina when all the other equipment was stolen but this was later proven to be untrue. In 2006 Marshall designed new, prototype versions of "Murder One" which were then put into production, and the original amplifier was retired. A limited number of these bass heads have been released by Marshall in 2008 as the "1992LEM", a signature series copy of Lemmy's 1992 100 Watt Super Bass Head, "Murder One".

The phrase "everything louder than everyone else" sums up Lemmy's sonic approach, as he plays at the loudest possible levels. He uses the bridge pickup exclusively (giving his bass sound more definition) and turns all the tone and volume knobs on the bass up full. On the amplifiers, he turns off the bass and treble and he turns the midrange up all the way, with the volume and presence up to the "3:00" position. The result is a biting, mid-range, almost guitar-like tone which is somewhat distorted but not "fuzzed out" or "blurry", a formula well-suited to his use of open-string drones and power chords. Lemmy uses no effects pedals: the distortion is produced naturally by the amplifiers, as they are set at such a high volume.

[Kevindm215]

Lemmy uses no effects pedals: the distortion is produced naturally by the amplifiers, as they are set at such a high volume.

What a Legend.

[Geddyfleaharris]

You will need this:



And some sort of a version of this:



The cab in my pic is a 412.

Then turn everything up louder then everything else.

[hdracer]

A Jazz bass with the bridge pup cranked and bright rounds will work but you need a lower powered tube amp CRANKED.

[armybass]

Stop practicing or paying attention to technique completely or maybe try playing with your feet?

[timber22]

Originally Posted by whoatherechunk

Do lots of drugs and play a Rickenbacker

I love Lemmy, but unfortunately this is true. Take lots of speed, play as hard and fast as you can with a pick on a Ric with the tone pegged, and with the amp turned up as loud as it will go without blowing up.

Please understand that I DO NOT recommend this (especially the drugs part) but that's how you sound like Lemmy.

[timber22]

Oh, and if you gargle with a mixture of sulfuric acid, glass shards and razor blades, you can sing like Lemmy also.

[hdracer]

Originally Posted by timber22

Oh, and if you gargle with a mixture of sulfuric acid, glass shards and razor blades, you can sing like Lemmy also.

No, You need years of Jack & Marlboro's.