Identify This Bass..old 60's recording

TonyFranklinFan · #1 08-02-2009, 12:55 AM

Ok this is corny and cheesy but my favorite vintage sound out of a bass guitar of all time. It's the Disneyland Haunted Mansion graveyard scene bassline {no vocals,just bass and guitar and bells and some tamborine}. My question is what kind of bass does this sound like to you Gibson EB3 or Fender P-Bass or OTHER and what mods do you think he had or does it sound stock with a foam mute and pick? This was recorded in the mid to late 60's in Los Angeles and is still used today on the ride. Thanks.

http://www.supload.com/listen?s=6b0lLg#

Munjibunga · #2 08-02-2009, 02:19 AM

It sounds like something Carol Kaye would play. Probably a Fender with mutes under the strings.

TonyFranklinFan · #3 08-02-2009, 04:20 AM

Haha Carol Kaye is an awesome woman..I heard the guy's name though through certain circles who played it so it's not her. So you think Foam mutes near bridge?

markjazzbassist · #4 08-02-2009, 10:16 PM

sounds almost like a baritone guitar to me.

soma89 · #5 08-02-2009, 10:20 PM

It sounds like one of the old Fender or Danelectro 6 string basses. They're sorta like baritone guitars.

dmusic148 · #6 08-02-2009, 10:31 PM

^ Yeah, I'm not sure, but it doesn't quite sound like a P bass to me. Whatever it is, the player sure could play it great.

LowBSix · #7 08-02-2009, 10:33 PM

THE GRAVEYARD JAMBOREE April 18, 1969
Walt Disney Productions Recording Stage
Contrabass, Bass Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Drums, and Organ

"Al" Hendrickson

The Haunted Mansion Main Theme. Every cue in the ride is synchronized to this basic track. (Excluding the organs in the Foyer and Ballroom) It was recorded in to stages, first the rhythm section (guitars, contrabass, and drums) then the organ was recorded on a separate track. This track also serves as the underscore of all cues in the graveyard sequence. Musically, the graveyard score is programmed very much like a parade score in reverse. Where as the individual units are faded in and out with a basic underscore.

TonyFranklinFan · #8 08-03-2009, 01:38 AM

LowB6: Yeah Al Hendrikson...that's him. So what is a contrabass? I mean in orchestral circles that is a tuba or upright bass.

dmusic148 · #9 08-03-2009, 01:49 AM

http://www.hago.org.uk/guitars/contra/

LowBSix · #10 08-03-2009, 11:10 AM

IMHO: Contrabass on this track was a Contrabass guitar....

Per Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrabass

TonyFranklinFan · #11 08-03-2009, 12:52 PM

So you think that jazzy bassline was a contrabass guitar and not an electric bass that Al was Playing? I can almost nail that tone with my Yamaha P-bass from 79' with the EMG pickups,flatwounds,and foam mute with a hard finger style played near the bridge...but still not crisp enough.

lunarpollen · #12 08-03-2009, 01:24 PM

That would be a double bass (a.k.a contrabass) and a bass guitar playing mostly in unison (there are a few moments where he throws in a few extra bass guitar rhythm fills on top of longer double bass note). The bass guitar is being played with a pick and is slightly muted and not very trebly. If the bass guitar were muted anymore and there was more treble, you'd have some "tic-tac" bass going on.

And it could be a P bass, or a Bass VI, or something short-scale like a Mustang or something. Hard to tell...

Goatman · #13 08-03-2009, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LowBSix

IMHO: Contrabass on this track was a Contrabass guitar....

Per Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrabass

Quote:

Originally Posted by lunarpollen

That would be a double bass (a.k.a contrabass) and a bass guitar playing mostly in unison (there are a few moments where he throws in a few extra bass guitar rhythm fills on top of longer double bass note). The bass guitar is being played with a pick and is slightly muted and not very trebly. If the bass guitar were muted anymore and there was more treble, you'd have some "tic-tac" bass going on.

And it could be a P bass, or a Bass VI, or something short-scale like a Mustang or something. Hard to tell...

Ah, now I think we may have it...
I hear the double bass playing a slightly less busy line undernearth, like lunarpollen says, though I challenge his interpretation of the main voicing to be a bass guitar. I think it is an upright bass playing along with a contrabass guitar.

My reason for not thinking it's a bass guitar is that (unless I'm mistaken) foam or palm muting adds a little depth to the tone of the string while this recording features a very thin quality that is quite unlike a bass guitar string. Also keeping in mind that a bass guitar in this era would likely be wearing flatwounds, which certainly aren't very thin and crisp!

And for what it's worth - this song seems to be rooted in 'nawlins' flavor, which is rarely complimented by an electric bass guitar.

Any thoughts on my audio and/or cultural interpretation?

TonyFranklinFan · #14 08-03-2009, 02:09 PM

Well, the mansion is designed after an 1800's era Louisiana Bayou home anyway so culturally you are right. I will have to listen for an upright bass again, whoeever did the engineering,editing,and mastering was a freakin' genious because I have a very good ear for picking out instruments in recordings and dont really hear an upright...but either way, wow excellent job if there is.

On Edit: So when it changes key at about the 50 sec. mark into "B" from "Bb" you hear a couple extra plucka plucka's from the "contra guitar" or whatever that is than the deeper bass part in the back. Man, the two tracks are layed so perfectly on top of one another it's remarkable.

LowBSix · #15 08-03-2009, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LowBSix

THE GRAVEYARD JAMBOREE April 18, 1969
Walt Disney Productions Recording Stage
Contrabass, Bass Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Drums, and Organ

"Al" Hendrickson

The Haunted Mansion Main Theme. Every cue in the ride is synchronized to this basic track. (Excluding the organs in the Foyer and Ballroom) It was recorded in to stages, first the rhythm section (guitars, contrabass, and drums) then the organ was recorded on a separate track. This track also serves as the underscore of all cues in the graveyard sequence. Musically, the graveyard score is programmed very much like a parade score in reverse. Where as the individual units are faded in and out with a basic underscore.

^^^^^^^ Please see bold above

TonyFranklinFan · #16 08-03-2009, 07:34 PM

Yep..so it's an electric bass and contrabass {upright}..still awesome layering on the master track! Still wondering and scratching head about the brand of electric lol

LowBSix · #17 08-03-2009, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyFranklinFan

Yep..so it's an electric bass and contrabass {upright}..still awesome layering on the master track! Still wondering and scratching head about the brand of electric lol

I believe it is a two electrics, one short scale contrabass and a standard 34" scale "Fender bass" as all electrics were referred to in that era...

lunarpollen · #18 08-04-2009, 10:53 PM

They wouldn't have listed it like "contrabass, bass guitar" if they didn't mean a DB and a BG. I think the BG is a Bass VI just from the sound of it, but who knows.

TonyFranklinFan · #19 08-05-2009, 01:19 PM

Do you have any pics of this "Bass VI" you are talking about? I was born in the late 70's so that escapes my knowledge LOL...what brand are you referring to here?