now *this* is a rig (Noel Redding content)

[catcauphonic]

Honestly I'm surprised this awesome thread (with his name right in the title) made it to 6 pages before some troll came here to talk sh!t about the man

[beans-on-toast]

Actually Jimi was a pretty good bass player. He hated his singing voice though. I guess he got a pass, nobody ragged on him.

Here are some Jimmy James photos from his early days. The bass player is using a B-15.

[pedro]

As I said before, we'll just have to agree to disagree. I don't think he was very good and I don't think he served the band particularly well. There were plenty of other bass players around at the time that would have been a much better choice IMO. I think it best for me to leave it there.

[chadds]

Originally Posted by dvlmusic

Here's a few things to consider about Hendrix:

1) Look at the size of his rig - he used to play that as loud as possible. It's the only way he was able to do a lot of his signature moves - controlled feedback, crazy sustain, etc.
2) When The Experience was recording at the BBC the studios were in the basement of the building. Hendrix was so loud that the engineers were getting complaints from the 6th floor.
3) He was also so loud that the glass in the control room was visibly moving when he played.

If this is the case, it's no wonder that Billy & Noel needed to have such a huge rig - otherwise they never would've been heard.

May I humbly disagree about 1). Our Man was able to do his stuff with a 50 watt Bassman head on a Marshall cab.

I never would take away from his incredible talent, hard work experience, and creativity by putting too much importance on his gear.

More on point a Sunn 2000s with just one cabinet could blur your vision! I saw Noel using the three complete systems at the Baltimore Civic Center. Mitch was doing one hand snare rolls. Frightening!!

[JimmyM]

For that matter, Jimi could get by with 25w and a single 115...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmFQq0PuIg0

Seen better copies of this that show it better, but Jimi's plugged into a B-15N.

[D.M.N.]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

For that matter, Jimi could get by with 25w and a single 115...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmFQq0PuIg0

Seen better copies of this that show it better, but Jimi's plugged into a B-15N.

You sure? The other Dick Cavett clips show him plugged into a Marshall with what looks like two 4x12s next to each other.

However, regardless of what he was using here, he was well known to use a wide variety of amps in studio, including various Fenders and Sound Citys and Marshalls. Live I've seen pictures and clips of him with Marshalls, Sunns, Fenders and Sound Citys.

[JimmyM]

I'm dead positive he's using a B-15 playing "Hear My Train A-Comin'." Seen that video a lot and can easily spot the B-15, but for some reason Youtube had a much better copy of it before, and this copy is all dark where the amp is.

[beans-on-toast]

I heard that Sony keeps claiming ownership and requests that it be removed but it keeps popping up. In the previously posted versions the resolution was higher and, as Jimmy said, you could see the B-15. Just Jimi plugged into the amp.

Other Dick Cavett shows had Hendrix with his band and he used a Marshall. There is a video available with all of the Hendrix appearances on Dick's show.

I wish I had kept an image of Hendrix playing a through a B-15. I do have a photoshopped image of him playing an accordion which is almost as good.

[D.M.N.]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

I'm dead positive he's using a B-15 playing "Hear My Train A-Comin'." Seen that video a lot and can easily spot the B-15, but for some reason Youtube had a much better copy of it before, and this copy is all dark where the amp is.

Very cool. That's a great tone he's getting. That's also probably the grooviest version of Hear My Train I've heard. Billy's doing some cool stuff there.

[chuck3]

may seem off-topic, but since I played a Hagstrom bass back in the very era we are discussing, I was interested to come across this (including Noel Redding content):

[chuck3]

... but this is more what I'm looking for -



also this historical perspective for what it might or might not be worth -

Noel David Redding was born in Folkestone, Kent. He played guitar and sang in a few cover bands including a stint in the Hamburg clubs. In late September 1966 Noel heard about an American guitarist auditioning to form a band. He turned up with his guitar but Chas Chandler asked him straight away, "Can you play a bass?" Noel was desparate for a job and said yes. "You've got a job for a few weeks touring France" - Chas liked his hair style . Chas lent him his Gibson EB2 and Noel started to learn to play bass. A week later on 5th October, John Mitchell auditioned and the legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience was formed.

Initially Noel struggled to master the bass using the Gibson, a six string Danelectro (actually a Baritone guitar) and finally, on the advice of John Entwistle, a Fender Jazz with light gauge LaBella strings. The Burns amp was quickly replaced by a Marshall Stack.
The initial work with Jimi involved playing basic bass riffs on his R&B songs. Touring began on the 13th October in France with there first studio session on the 23rd. The temporary band had become a permanent trio with a rapidly growing reputation.

Noel played the bass with a plectrum, reflecting his guitarist background. Initially it must be said that his playing was barely adequate but it provided a simple foundation for the Hendrix pyrotechnics. As his skills and confidence grew he began to extend the blues based riffs into more complex melodic counterpoints. Noel adopted a similar role to John Entwistle - the foundation for the battling drums and guitar. And like John and Jack, he filled out the sound with a more trebley bass sound.

In 1968 Jimi and Noel's relationship soured as Noel wanted more independence in his playing. He was also itching for a change in musical direction and began to rehearse with a band called Fat Mattress. 29th June 1969 was the last gig of the Experience as Noel left. One of the reason's he gave was that he was sick of the endless time wasting in the studio. It was also clear that Jimi and him were simply no longer getting on. Also Noel was not fitting into Jimi's evolving music - Jimi had ended up playing bass on a few tracks on the Electric Ladyland sessions (1983, Gypsy Eyes)

Noel continued to work with Fat Matress until they fired him. He was never able to take advantage of his reputation. He was a limited song-writer, had only a modest voice and without the rhythmic impetus of Hendrix/Mitchell, his bass playing failed to stand out. In 1978 he withdrew from the music business and he spent much of his time trying to recover his royalties from the JHE recordings.

Noel's reputation as a bass player comes from his work with Jimi. He was not a virtuosi like Jack or John, nor have an instantly recognised sound of a Jack Cassidy. He was a lithe and effective bass player for a guitar genius and his master drummer. His contribution to Hendrix's classic recordings and involvement in some incendiary concerts places him amongst the Lords of the Bass.

[Aussie Player]

This is an Interesting thread because it helps explain how bad things were back then.
If I had the gear I own now back then.............

[GlennW]

Originally Posted by chuck3

may seem off-topic, but since I played a Hagstrom bass back in the very era we are discussing, I was interested to come across this (including Noel Redding content):

And here's the Man himself with a Hagstrom 8-string bass.

[Sartori]

Originally Posted by D.M.N.

And doesn't that just say it all? A man with little to now experience on the bass was chosen to back Mr. Hendrix? Speaks to his abilities, doesn't it? And it's not as if the man had never picked up an instrument in his life. He'd played guitar for a number of years before switching over to bass. Hmmm, what other bass players did that? Oh, Berry Oakley, Jack Casady, Macca, to name a few, yet they aren't consistently attacked in the same manner Noel is. Now, I'm not saying Noel was nearly as virtuosic as those players, but making the argument that just because he was not an experienced bass player first is just silly. That said though, I respect your opinion to not enjoy his bass playing. Just don't come into a thread praising him to trash him. That's just asking for trouble.



Oh, don't feel bad for all of us. Some of us know what it's like to stand in front of a wall of speakers and amps. I'm 20, and here's my default big rig:



And what I'm currently experimenting with:

Hell yes, I say.


Also, Redding sounds great on the Live at Winterland CD. So I don't know what people are talking about saying he's not good.

[GlennW]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Who DIDN'T play guitar before they switched to bass in the 60's?

Me, I started on bass. I've been weird a looooooooooooong time.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by GlennW

Me, I started on bass. I've been weird a looooooooooooong time.

There's always one

[chadds]

I started on upright 9th grade.
In 11th grade Mike Casady (yes, Jack's brother) offered to sell me this no name bass. I kept looking at his '66 Sunburst P bass.
So I was always a bassist.

[godofthunder59]

I started out on bass also all I ever wanted to play. I did pickup some guitar, piano and mandolin along the way though.

[Sartori]

I started on bass, not guitar, as well.

But some of my favorite bassists originally were guitarists.

[JimmyM]

OK! OK!