Technique for RHCP...

[Tym2cu_bass]

Ok... So the Red Hot Chili Peppers are cool and i love their song "Around the World" but i dont get what tech. they are using on it...

I know he has a distorter on, and i have the tabs for it and stuff so i know the notes, but the intro is almost like a popping but im not sure how to do that. And if it a popping, then i cant pop that fast and im not sure where to go from here. So could someone give me some pointers on how to drill this song?

-thx

[Adam Barkley]

Originally Posted by Tym2cu_bass

Ok... So the Red Hot Chili Peppers are cool and i love their song "Around the World" but i dont get what tech. they are using on it...

I know he has a distorter on, and i have the tabs for it and stuff so i know the notes, but the intro is almost like a popping but im not sure how to do that. And if it a popping, then i cant pop that fast and im not sure where to go from here. So could someone give me some pointers on how to drill this song?

-thx

First, a few things to consider:

1. Flea has extremely low action, thus when he plucks normally he gets some buzz in his tone; he hard plucks the intro to get the grindy/buzzy sound. Combined with the graphite neck of his bass gives his a thinner, more defined tone.
2. He used a Boss ODB3 for the intro, which is extremely processed/digital/harsh sounding.

Use any extreme distortion combined with hard plucking to nail that sound.

[Ray Salamon]

I'd also suggest, perhaps, trying a pick seriously, it helps.



Ray

[Matt Till]

Fingerstyle all the way through. He might palm mute the chorus I'm not sure. But like stated earlier, low action, and he digs in like a mad man. Bad technique, but it sounds cool.

[Ray Salamon]

Originally Posted by Matt Till

Fingerstyle all the way through. He might palm mute the chorus I'm not sure. But like stated earlier, low action, and he digs in like a mad man. Bad technique, but it sounds cool.

Eh, I like playing it with a pick heh....


Ray

[Scot]

Ditto fingers and ditto plucking hard. I used to have one of those little Zoom effects pedals and it had a factory preset that pretty much nailed the intro sound (the riff in "E"). Balls-to-the-wall distortion and compressed to the max. Maybe it was called "fuzz".??? On the verse (in G - without the distortion) I've noticed that you also really have to dig in hard to make it sound right. When I try to relax like I normally do it doesn't quite sound right. I guess that's what makes Flea Flea - that funk/punk approach.

-Scot

[Figjam]

I play it with a boss odb-3 and my godin has the same action idea as flea's bass..when i play hard or by the neck pickup i get that growly buzz so it sounds funky/like popping almost, hence the intro.

[Matt Till]

Originally Posted by Bad_Habit_Bassist

Eh, I like playing it with a pick heh....


Ray

I'm just talking about the way Flea does it. Hey whatever sounds good, do it.

[I-Love-Ratm]

Yup its just diggin hard with low action

[Circus]

I found that using a distortion pedal works well. Its not what he does, but to me it sounds wicked, at least as good as the real thing, and it is much easier to get that sound.

[Figjam]

Originally Posted by Circus

I found that using a distortion pedal works well. Its not what he does, but to me it sounds wicked, at least as good as the real thing, and it is much easier to get that sound.

What do you mean its not what he does? Hes using distortion for the intro.

[Tym2cu_bass]

thx... ill give it a new try

[I-Love-Ratm]

Ya hes uses the Boss OD3 for the recording but live sometimes he plays it clean

[the low one]

Originally Posted by Figjam

I play it with a boss odb-3 and my godin has the same action idea as flea's bass..when i play hard or by the neck pickup i get that growly buzz so it sounds funky/like popping almost, hence the intro.

What settings do you use on the ODB3 ?

Also, Flea uses a pick on songs like Fortune Faded and The Zephyr Song.
I think the phraise I'm looking for is 'horses for courses'

[shwan81]

Does he pick that little solo/fill part he has in the song too? it at about 2:14 into the song. i always thought that part sounded a little different, but i'm not sure how he does that.

[the low one]

Originally Posted by shwan81

Does he pick that little solo/fill part he has in the song too? it at about 2:14 into the song. i always thought that part sounded a little different, but i'm not sure how he does that.

He did when I saw them recently

[Figjam]

Originally Posted by the low one

What settings do you use on the ODB3 ?

Also, Flea uses a pick on songs like Fortune Faded and The Zephyr Song.
I think the phraise I'm looking for is 'horses for courses'

Settings.. if i recall correctly, level is about at 12 o clock, then the lows are at 2 o clock and highs at 1 ... gain is probably at 9 o clock (not very high) and level of OD is near dry. I dont use too much dist. , just enough.

[ZenBass]

WIth my GB and my EBS Fafner i can nail that sound perfectly without any pedals...just turn the drive knob up to half..

pan both pickups to center and dig in hard between the pickups...ihave my action stoopidly low as well cause i like the sound...

Digging in at this point on the string will help.. there is no slapping in around the world...

the riff is easy... just thing e major scale and ur there ...

[heath_the_great]

1. fingerstyle
2. really dig in
3. play on bridge pickup
4. from what ive heard flea pretty much boosts bass and treb all the way while dialing the mids almost completely out

[Scot]

Originally Posted by ZenBass

just thing e major scale and ur there ...

You must mean the E minor pentatonic scale: E,G,A,B,D.

-Scot