Iron Maidens Powerslave on bass

[bassist 4 life]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1w4QLVQMBk

i'd really appreciate it if you rated and commented on youtube. I tried to nail Harris's tone as close as possible using my digitech bp200. still its a far from perfect effort though.

thanks!

[bassist 4 life]

bump

[Thunderitter]

Good stuff! Sounds like you've got the notes - you're 1/16ths sound good, being ultra critical maybe just a bit more pratice to get it silky smooth.

As for the sounds; Steve Harris gets a lot of his signature sounds by playing right back at the bridge, there you'll lose the string against pup noise and get more of his signature 'clack'. You'll need strong fingers and good callouses back there! You'll also need to get used to no pup to rest your thumb on!

Up the Irons!

[Risen Ashes]

UP THE IRONS!

[JC Dillon]

I'm a huge Harris/Maiden fan. I'll check it out tonight. I've played most of that album for years. The tone he gets on the "Peice of Mind" album is one of my favorites, especially on "Where Eagle's Dare." Steve's sound and style is one of the primary reasons I play bass now.
I love the whole "Powerslave" album. You should do the Mariner next...

[JC Dillon]

Oh, I forgot....
UP THE IRONS!

[Naggon]

Originally Posted by Thunderitter

...Steve Harris gets a lot of his signature sounds by playing right back at the bridge, there you'll lose the string against pup noise and get more of his signature 'clack'. You'll need strong fingers and good callouses back there! You'll also need to get used to no pup to rest your thumb on!

Up the Irons!

No, this isn't true. Harris playes right in the middle, with his thumb resting on the pickup. You can see it in videos, and he says it in interviews. If you try to play closer to the bridge, you will find the string is tighter, and its more difficult to bounce it off the neck when you pluck, which makes the signature "clankey" sound.

[Foxworthy925]

holy ****! you did it his style with two fingers, right? damn, I wish I could mover two fingers that fast. first time I've heard the song, but that was some great playing.

[bassist 4 life]

hehe, thanks everyone! Yeah, playing near the bridge = tighter strings = less clank.

95% of this is using 2 fingers, i just used 3 fingers in one bit to make it look more flashy lol .

youtube rates/comments appretiated ^_^

thanks again.

[Thunderitter]

Nobody likes a "smart fart" and I don't want to get into a bun fight on this (Harry actually moves his hand around from bridge to neck) but part of his signature playing is done rearward off the pup with floating thumb, where the strings are tight and you need not only strong but very hard fingers! See image below!

[bassist 4 life]

Steve does play there, but he also plays in other places too, its not just there.

see images : he plays with his right hand near the pickups.




but of course if you look at other pics (like this one http://www.iron-maiden.ru/photos/steve/90steve14.jpg and the one u posted) you'll see that he has his hand somewhere else... i suggest watching videos, u'll see that sometimes hes playing over here, and then hes there... so we're both right... heh

enough offtopicing :P

[Nino Valenti]

Good playing but you could of made sure the bass was in tune.

[Naggon]

heh...I just downloaded one of the same pics as bassist 4 life to post up...but you beat me:P

I think the deal is that his hand moves all over the place because he's sprinting and leaping around so much, and he doens't put much weight on the pickup when his thumb is resting on it. But I DID read in an interview (that I'll try and find, when I get home from work) that he likes to play in the middle because it gives the best clank.

Anyhow...sorry to derail the thread

[Thunderitter]

I don't think we're derailing the thread(!) as bassist for life was looking to nail the sound of Harry!

I've always found if you get too forward the 'clank' becomes more of a slappy sound a little of which I heard in the YouTube clip - granted these laptop speakers are not the best!

However Harry doesn't 'clank' ( ) all the time I think we can say that when he's not 'clanking' his hand is likely back and for the real 'clanky' stuff like 'Two Minutes' he's going to be more forward.

If Harry is a TB'er I sure he'll add his comment!

Anyway, 'clanking' aside, I've saw a lot of Maiden in their early years in the UK (yes, I'm an old fart!) and I think it's great to see younger bassist out there still getting into Harry and co! I know he's what got me started playing!

Good on you bassist 4life! Like the other post let's see you do 'Rhyme' as you next one! That was one of my fav Maiden covers to play.

[bassist 4 life]

Thanks everyone, yeah harry is a big influence... him and jason newsted are the main people that made me start playing bass back when i was 12. Steve's sound has gotten clankier and clankier over the years.

[fourstringgirl]

Have you tried Program 3 on the Digitech? It's called 'Growl'. I own one of those as well and I too have dabbled in replicating Steve's sound. That program worked well for me. Also dialing up the tone just a little on your bass. Not all the way though!

[ALiP BoB]

You really are good for your age man. Keep it up!

[Modo74]

Good work!

Steve Harris was why I started playing bass. Nice one 'Arry

[bassist 4 life]

Thanks everybody, oh and Nino, about the tuning. You can say i have the worst tuning pegs on this planet , they move all the time, play the E and A strings and they'll vibrate a bit too . I dont think the tuning is that much off in this vid though.

Fourstirnggirl, yes i've tried Growl, and its pretty good, but the one i'm using in the vid is a custom made preset though.

[markdavid]

Nicely played, that is not an easy song to play very close to his tone. I have found the best way to get a sound like steve harris is to bounce your fingers off the strings as if your slapping the strings but with your fingers intead of your thumb , that way the strings bounce off the frets and you get the clanky sound that he has