Rancid & Matt Freeman on Conan

[55pbass]

I was watching Rancid on Conan and noticed that Matt Freeman switched from Ampeg to Fender amps and included a Fender tweed amp in his rig. Check it out.

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

[ODDBALL]

That was Sweet! Very Nice, Very Nice.

[lousybassplayer]

Interesting. Neat video too. I don't give a crap what anyone says, he is a talented guy and I have built a lot of punk basslines around his phrasing and technique. I probably never would have got into Rancid otherwise, and I think they get unfairly lumped with some pretty lousy pop punk garbage.

[D.A.R.K.]

matt writes some very intense basslines, more going on there than meets the eye. much better drummer than the original as well.

[Din Of Win]

Originally Posted by D.A.R.K.

much better drummer than the original as well.

Haha, that's exactly what i was noticing the whole time as well.

[sevenyearsdown]

I love Rancid, and Matt is the reason I picked up a bass when I was a kid. But....the new album is horrible compared to the rest of thier catalog.

[sevenyearsdown]

I just checked Fender's site. They have his rig listed thier - but nothing about the tweed amp. It's probably just a modded Bassman or something like it. The rest of it is just thier stock high end stuff.

I keep hoping they will come out with a Freeman signature bass, but then again all he usually plays are stock basses anyway.

[lousybassplayer]

therein lies a bunch of his appeal to me. He doesn't need a bunch of over the top fancy schmancy crap (ala real punk) but plays his instrument with style, technique and as tasteful as you can expect for the genre. Gotta agree on the newer stuff kinda not so good. After Self Titled 2000 I kind of lost track of Rancid's stuff. Still one of my number one records though.

[sevenyearsdown]

Originally Posted by lousybassplayer

therein lies a bunch of his appeal to me. He doesn't need a bunch of over the top fancy schmancy crap (ala real punk) but plays his instrument with style, technique and as tasteful as you can expect for the genre.

Couldn't agree with you more.

[55pbass]

I have to admit I'm a big Rancid fan, but the new record isn't doing it for me yet. Some of the lyrics are silly, but most of the music is really good.

[infect]

I agree on Rancid's new album being weak. It's just not very listenable or memorable compared to the rest of their records.

[failuresXbass]

guess its another case of equipment doesn't mean much. fender or ampeg, it still instantly recognizable as Matt Freeman

[Stickk]

Cool!

[Hector_G]

I was working for a club here as their runner a few years back. Social Distortion came through and Matt Freeman was playing bass for them on that tour. I was driving him and Mike Ness around town, checking out shops and stuff. Matt was one of the absolute grumpiest people I've ever met in my life. I've always wanted to talk bass with that guy. But nope, didn't even want to look at him the wrong way.

It sucked, one of my bass heroes in my car cruising El Paso, and nothing.

[55pbass]

Originally Posted by Hector_G

I was working for a club here as their runner a few years back. Social Distortion came through and Matt Freeman was playing bass for them on that tour. I was driving him and Mike Ness around town, checking out shops and stuff. Matt was one of the absolute grumpiest people I've ever met in my life. I've always wanted to talk bass with that guy. But nope, didn't even want to look at him the wrong way.

It sucked, one of my bass heroes in my car cruising El Paso, and nothing.

That sucks! I know he was waiting for his wife to give birth at that time, at least that was the "official" reason he left Social D, but definitely not an excuse to be grumpy.

[bazzanderson]

Originally Posted by lousybassplayer

Interesting. Neat video too. I don't give a crap what anyone says, he is a talented guy and I have built a lot of punk basslines around his phrasing and technique. I probably never would have got into Rancid otherwise, and I think they get unfairly lumped with some pretty lousy pop punk garbage.

Dude...what you mean he is just talented guy?!?! HE IS A FREAKIN MONSTER!

I don't pick (never learned it) but if I did......man......
I definitely site him as an influence on my lines for sure...although I'm not nearly as good / talented as he is!
For some reason I've always thought of him as the pick version of Steve Harris or vice versa.

[HogieWan]

Originally Posted by 55pbass

I was watching Rancid on Conan and noticed that Matt Freeman switched from Ampeg to Fender amps and included a Fender tweed amp in his rig. Check it out.

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

Looks like he's is using a small combo to mic for tone and a big stack for stage volume

[J. Crawford]

Im not a fan, but to each their own.

Though I will say, Conan is the man.

[lousybassplayer]

Originally Posted by bazzanderson

Dude...what you mean he is just talented guy?!?! HE IS A FREAKIN MONSTER!

I don't pick (never learned it) but if I did......man......
I definitely site him as an influence on my lines for sure...although I'm not nearly as good / talented as he is!
For some reason I've always thought of him as the pick version of Steve Harris or vice versa.

Ok, I took it a little understated, but he is far from being a real bass monster. I love what he does and I covered a good number of Rancid songs in my day (had to fudge parts of Maxwell Murder back then, and still probably would), but musically they are pretty easy lines, he just plays very fast and very cleanly. He is more technique than someone who plays all sorts of weirdo scales and modes and whatnot that I have never heard of. Those are the guys I regard as real monsters. Funny, by and large I hate their music though.

[bassgod0dmw]

Damn Tim's guitar hangs low! He looks funny with a shaved head too...