How's this guy playing this?

adman148 · #1 11-26-2009, 11:34 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgtqyJ3biv0

Obscure cut with a great bass line.

I'm a keys player and a Dj, and am pretty ignorant to bass outside of some bare competence on a mexican jazz bass for the purpose of writing.

That being said, I'm pretty baffled as to whether the opening bass groove is being fingered or thumb slapped, or a combination of both.

That as well as what kind of tone is being applied to give it that brighter tone (compared with what I'm getting out of my J-Bass).

Any ideas, anyone?

BananaKing · #2 11-26-2009, 11:56 PM

Sounds like he is double thumping it (Up and down through the string with the thumb) and popping it.

Also sounds like tone is full on, bridge pickup is full on and the neck pickup is low (or the other way around). I might be wrong, though, since this is off the top of my head.

DrSmaggs · #3 11-27-2009, 12:08 AM

Wow, it sounds like some popping of the higher strings with sort of a picking rather than a lot of slap with the thumb. I'm not sure if this is a good way to say it.. lol

It even sounds like there might be more than one bass track part way in there for a bit. Then again, some bassists are really good at giving that illusion. That's a cool bassline

Grantrudd · #4 11-27-2009, 12:10 AM

either he amazing at muting the strings, or that is a synth.

fourstringburn · #5 11-27-2009, 12:28 AM

For a key player, you should recognize that as a MIDI bass patch. I have a patch on my Roland sound module that sounds very similar. The whole song sounds like the typical 80's dance music backing tracks like for Janet Jackson. Back then a lot of music like this was all electronically created using MIDI keyboards and sequencers.

adman148 · #6 11-27-2009, 12:53 AM

Pardon me roy, but the track is from 1983. The year MIDI was introduced. And the middle slap bass groove could have never been programmed given the muting and popping.

At best it could have been a patchwork of live playing and DX-7, but given that this was released on a small, independent New York label before digital midi sequencing hit this kind of scene around late 1984-1985. Hence even the likeliness of a DX-7 (the only digital synth widely available that year) being used is quite low. Rough tape multi-tracking was common on this label (West End). So it could have been cleverly done, but given the rest of the releases on this label, it is more than likely an unnamed studio ace who did multiple punch-ins.

Hence, Its not MIDI. Any other going theories? If there are multiple punch ins, lets say the line is broken down into three fundamental licks

1)Ascending Third
2)Ascending Slap Bass
3)16th note Octaves

Could the 1st and 3rd licks be fingered and just have a lot of tone control on them? I truly have no idea.

MattyBass · #7 11-27-2009, 01:15 AM

You can get this type of effect when using bass synth pedal and or envelope filter...
When tracking it is not as precise as we are and cant quite keep up.., giving it a Mechanical feel... And the whole thing about two parts.. he could've done just the slap and then just then then just the simple low part... but it sounds like the bass definetely has a synth effect added..... But to tell you the truth... those other keyboard patches sound pretty good and I am not a keyboard expert but it does sound like keyboard bass to me... especially in volume and tone, it seems really mechanical.. that could be just the synth pedal.. but ????????? In other words if the other keyboard patch sounded as 80's as it does, I believe that they would have had a comparable slap bass sound.

In any case...
if it wasnt keyboard bass... It is some sort of Synth effect as above stated...
Peace...
MattyBass

MattyBass · #8 11-27-2009, 01:20 AM

Just did a search... and found out that Stanley Clarke did some work for Sybil....

Not saying he for sure played on this song for sure...
But that would explain alot i think....

and if you don't know who stanley clarke is...
Yous on the wrong page.....
lol.. j/k...

I hope I have been Helpful..

f'nar f'nar · #9 11-27-2009, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattyBass

and if you don't know who stanley clarke is...
GET THE HELL OUT OF TALKBASS

Fixed it for you

fourstringburn · #10 11-27-2009, 01:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adman148

Pardon me roy, but the track is from 1983. The year MIDI was introduced. And the middle slap bass groove could have never been programmed given the muting and popping.

At best it could have been a patchwork of live playing and DX-7, but given that this was released on a small, independent New York label before digital midi sequencing hit this kind of scene around late 1984-1985. Hence even the likeliness of a DX-7 (the only digital synth widely available that year) being used is quite low. Rough tape multi-tracking was common on this label (West End). So it could have been cleverly done, but given the rest of the releases on this label, it is more than likely an unnamed studio ace who did multiple punch-ins.

Hence, Its not MIDI. Any other going theories? If there are multiple punch ins, lets say the line is broken down into three fundamental licks

1)Ascending Third
2)Ascending Slap Bass
3)16th note Octaves

Could the 1st and 3rd licks be fingered and just have a lot of tone control on them? I truly have no idea.

pardon me Roy, but Midi was introduced in 1982 and exploded in a lot of the dance music of the era. Suddenly, musicians were being replaced by machines and studios were spewing out this cold and sterilized music. And in my humble opinion, this sounds just like that type of music.

I can only speculate on this track being it is obvious that there is alot of keyboard sounds on the track. Now as then, this bass slap& pop with it's nuances associated with it can be duplicated and we all heard it on that style of music back then. With Midi, all sounds are layered out just like a multi-track recorder so all the bass sounds could have been layered too, don't you think? I could duplicate this on my keyboard myself.

I can't find nothing on the web about this artist's bio and/or any musicians credited on this track, so for now, it is speculation. I freely admit this. I read speculation on your theory too!

Mark Olson · #11 11-27-2009, 03:17 AM

All you need is a Stingray bass and to get handy with the Larry Graham style of playing on it. There's no mystery to this track, just a hi fi bass and a good deal of skill.

wizay · #12 11-27-2009, 03:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BananaKing

Sounds like he is double thumping it (Up and down through the string with the thumb) and popping it.

Sounds like this to me to, of course it can be some kind of MIDI thing. But its have a little wooten feel, in my ears..

Mrdak · #13 11-27-2009, 03:43 AM

Sounds a whole lot like a synth to me, not a bass guitar.............

jerry · #14 11-27-2009, 04:57 AM

Sounds like a sequencer being doubled with the bass, Marcus used to do that a lot in the 80's.

Christopher · #15 11-27-2009, 08:09 AM

This sounds a lot like Louis Johnson to me. Apart from the octave pop/slaps, I think it's just someone plucking HARD.

Lewis7789 · #16 11-27-2009, 08:17 AM

^^^ I agree. It's in the key of D and goes to A, so there are plenty of open strings that can be used. I know Stanley plucks really hard so it almost sounds like a slap. I'm sitting with my bass in my lap playing along with the track right now. I think it is a bass guitar, there are a lot of slides and slight nuances of the strings hitting the end of the fingerboard. It starts to get easier to tell around 4mins into the track. Cool groove though and hats off to whoever it is playing!

Clark Dark · #17 11-27-2009, 08:53 AM

Kae Williams Jr. from Breakwater

michael_atw · #18 11-27-2009, 09:03 AM

I thought it was a synth keyboard at first but then I listened harder and I feel like the popping doesn't have the same synth keyboard possibility as the slapping. I could be wrong. One way or another - tone's a bit too bright for me.

Clark Dark · #19 11-27-2009, 09:21 AM

I should've said Kae Williams Jr. or Steve Greene from Breakwater. Steve was the bassist but Kae played keys and bass...Philly funk

adman148 · #20 11-27-2009, 03:07 PM

Wow! Thanks guys. I knew Kae produced these sessions. But did NOT know he doubled on bass.

It definitely isn't synth I know that much- though the production does a great job of getting the bassline to meld with the other parts.

This is most likely Kae Williams doing the aforementioned Larry Graham style on a bright sounding bass. You guys think it would have been done on a Stingray?- def. doesn't seem like its a Fender sound.... when you guys say a hi fi bass, how would that differentiate from a P or J bass and what kind of older basses would have fallen into that category? Just really into the bass playing from this period (79-83), so always curious as to how it was done. Definitely has a Louis Johnson type of tone to it...

Thanks for everyone being so insightful!