Roundabout sound

xXMurderSoulXx · #1 03-25-2007, 10:22 AM

Hello,
I want my bass to sound liek that of Yes in roundabout. How can it be done? Is he using a guitar amp? Distortion? What do you guys do to get that good sound?

JimmyM · #2 03-25-2007, 01:06 PM

I'm not sure about his exact setup, but I do know that he would often plug into a Marshall guitar amp along with a bass amp.

bassjamn · #3 03-25-2007, 01:36 PM

Rickenbacker and a pick

xXMurderSoulXx · #4 03-25-2007, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassjamn

Rickenbacker and a pick

I thought he was slapping?

JimmyM · #5 03-25-2007, 06:44 PM

I just found a killer site called www.getthatsound.com, and according to it, Chris used a Rick with Rotosound Swing Bass strings into a Marshall Super Bass amp and Marshall 4 x 12" cab, then he overdubbed the bassline an octave up on Steve Howe's Gibson ES-175 guitar unamplified and mic'ed.

WalterBush · #6 03-25-2007, 06:53 PM

Not sure if he did it for Roundabout, but Chris Squire regularly used his Rick-o-sound output to send the output of his neck pickup to his bass amp and his bridge pickup to a distorted guitar combo for his sound.

moogboy · #7 03-25-2007, 07:24 PM

they forgot one thing on that site. it was the fact that Yes are so cool and they got so much Mojo, that that song had incredible tone fom that alone. but, seriously, i saw some Pics of his Fishness playing through 2 Fender amps. so, he might have used the Marshall on the Bridge pup and a Fender on the neck. that album also has one of my favorite Yes tunes on it-Heart Of The Sunrise. that song has Tremeloe on it, so i would think that maybe Chris used the Fender amp Trem?

moogboy · #8 03-25-2007, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xXMurderSoulXx

I thought he was slapping?

slapping wasnt one of Chris's many talents at that time, in fact, im not sure he ever used slapping.

Ryan Smith · #9 03-25-2007, 07:29 PM

I always thought my DOD 250 made me sound more like Chris squire.

moogboy · #10 03-25-2007, 07:32 PM

wassa DOD 250 do?

bass_drum · #11 03-25-2007, 08:18 PM

It's a guitar overdrive pedal that works well on bass as well

DemoEtc · #12 03-25-2007, 09:50 PM

Didn't Wakeman also double the part on clavinet?

Dr. Eagle · #13 03-25-2007, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassjamn

Rickenbacker and a pick

There you go...

I saw them play that tour (Fragile) and the following two after (close to the edge and Tales of Topographic Oceans). He was using Sunn equipment at each concert, different cabinets at each one (6 x 12" cabinets that were in 2 rows of 3 speakers canted toward each other at the Close to the Edge concert). He used tube amplification from Sunn and of course the Rickenbacker. He did use the Stereo setup so he may have used a guitar amp as well... I was too far up in the rafters to tell for sure.

NKUSigEp · #14 03-25-2007, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

I just found a killer site called www.getthatsound.com, and according to it, Chris used a Rick with Rotosound Swing Bass strings into a Marshall Super Bass amp and Marshall 4 x 12" cab, then he overdubbed the bassline an octave up on Steve Howe's Gibson ES-175 guitar unamplified and mic'ed.

I've heard this before! One of those "friend of a friend who knew a guy who rode the bus once with a guy who knew the 2nd cousin of John Squire who was not related to Chris Squire but DID go to a couple of Yes concerts and ran into the soundguy who told him that" kind of stories. Well...maybe not that long and drawn out but you get the point.

Although in the rendition of the story I heard, he used the bridge out to a Marshall Super Bass and the neck out to a Fender Bassman, and double-tracked with the Gibson. And a pick was definitely used.

Regardless of how it was done, it's still inarguably one of the most badass bass tones ever recorded.

jenderfazz · #15 03-25-2007, 11:26 PM

On that album Chris was known to play a Fender guitar amp (trem on Heart of the Sunrise). Other than that, it's probably standard tube fare (Marshall or Sunn).

Dr. Eagle · #16 03-25-2007, 11:38 PM

Get That Sound says he used a Marshall to record it. I remember seeing the Sunn amps on stage at the Forum in LA when I saw them...

JimmyM · #17 03-26-2007, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NKUSigEp

I've heard this before! One of those "friend of a friend who knew a guy who rode the bus once with a guy who knew the 2nd cousin of John Squire who was not related to Chris Squire but DID go to a couple of Yes concerts and ran into the soundguy who told him that" kind of stories. Well...maybe not that long and drawn out but you get the point.

No I don't.

Cristo · #18 03-26-2007, 07:09 AM

Don't know about the amps, but I read in more than one interview that he used a quarter for a pick.

I don't play with a pick so it's pretty hard for me to do anyway, but that is one heavy pick. Gives you a lot of scratchy sound also.

NKUSigEp · #19 03-26-2007, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cristo

Don't know about the amps, but I read in more than one interview that he used a quarter for a pick.

I don't play with a pick so it's pretty hard for me to do anyway, but that is one heavy pick. Gives you a lot of scratchy sound also.

American or British equivalent?

saxnbass · #20 03-26-2007, 10:17 AM

It's a Rickenbacker played with a pick near the bridge pickup (just a little towards the neck from it) and a distortiony overdrive, not a lot though.