Sting and The Police - Picked or Fingered?

[theevilplankton]

Originally Posted by GLEN18INCHSPICA

No Treble has a bass track of "Next To You" it is definitely played with a pick & dirtier than I expected. http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2012/08...n-next-to-you/

Wow! Is that what a single-coil Precision sounds like with a pick?

Sounds a bit like a Ric to me!

[ggvicviper]

Originally Posted by theevilplankton

Wow! Is that what a single-coil Precision sounds like with a pick?

Sounds a bit like a Ric to me!

That's definitely a Jazz Bass. He didn't own a P yet when they recorded Outlandos.

[ggvicviper]

Originally Posted by andreaska

Nice to hear that. I'm realy sure that is the fretless Precision played with pick.
And I think he got that Ibanez Musician just after the recording was released. Though you can see that bass in the video.

How are you able to tell that it's recorded using the P? What's giving away the "P"-ness?

I do hope you're right, because I lusted after that maple fretless P, and Message in a Bottle is my favorite song. It was a new '78 model, I think. I know he got it after they recorded Outlandos.

Originally Posted by andreaska

Does anybody know a isolated bass track for "walking on the moon"?
The bass in the beginning sounds different to the end...

Regards from Germany
Andreas

I think that's the fretless P doubled with a piano, then another bass track once the verse kicks in, then by itself towards the end (2nd refrain).

Originally Posted by ERIC31

The Police live at Hatfield Polytechnic 21.02.1979

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MwKstla6w0

Fretless P-Bass from the get go! =)

Doesn't necessarily mean he recorded the song with that!

[andreaska]

Originally Posted by ggvicviper

How are you able to tell that it's recorded using the P? What's giving away the "P"-ness?

I do hope you're right, because I lusted after that maple fretless P, and Message in a Bottle is my favorite song. It was a new '78 model, I think. I know he got it after they recorded Outlandos.

What do you think? The Jazz? For me it sounds like the fretless P listening to the slides in the verse. Not 100% sure, but I think he only had these to basses for the recording.

And you are right. He bought that bass after they reached NY and played it the same evening on the first gig.

Appetizer...


Regards
Andreas

[ggvicviper]

Originally Posted by andreaska

What do you think? The Jazz? For me it sounds like the fretless P listening to the slides in the verse. Not 100% sure, but I think he only had these to basses for the recording.

And you are right. He bought that bass after they reached NY and played it the same evening on the first gig.

Appetizer...

Regards
Andreas

Appetizer, eh? Don't do that. I had a known GAS addiction which made me give up talkbass for a little over a month. I'm just starting to get it under control. My next instrument purchase is planned for mid next year, and it's going to be a build of a fretless P much like this.

The recording is obviously not the Jazz - it's definitely a fretless of some sort, but the reason why I thought it was the Ibanez was because of the sound. It doesn't quite sound like the P due to the articulated treble. I could be (and am hoping that I am) wrong, though. I love that P he played, despite it being a model from Fender's really iffy period.

Also, a lot of people say that he played with the Steinberger on Ghost in the Machine, because they saw him in concerts with it after the album's release. I'm sure that he largely played a fretted P on Ghost - and if the Montserrat documentary doesn't seem accurate enough to justify my claim, the sound of the album certainly does.

[ERIC31]

Oh no, I didn't put up the Police live show link to prove what he played on the record. I put it up because it's just so cool to see them in the early days with such clear footage! Sting rocking the fretless P bass is just gravy for me! =) Here's another show from a year later roughly with his (then new) Ibanez fretless!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bkfk...ure=plpp_video

[two fingers]

Man! Funnest thread in a while for me. Those videos and isolated tracks are awesome! Thanks for posting.

[andreaska]

Originally Posted by ggvicviper

The recording is obviously not the Jazz - it's definitely a fretless of some sort, but the reason why I thought it was the Ibanez was because of the sound. It doesn't quite sound like the P due to the articulated treble. (...)

Also, a lot of people say that he played with the Steinberger on Ghost in the Machine, because they saw him in concerts with it after the album's release. I'm sure that he largely played a fretted P on Ghost - and if the Montserrat documentary doesn't seem accurate enough to justify my claim, the sound of the album certainly does.

Maybe it depends on the way they recorded and maybe they get that sound with a miked amp, playing with a pick and so on... but who knows.

All I know about these basses is from some old picture books and interviews.
So I know also, that the Steinberger isn't used on the recording for Ghost. He got it after the recording while touring. On some tracks he used definitely a fretted P, which one you can see in the videos and the documentary. It was Andy Summers' bass and was also played on the first gigs on the Ghost tour.
picture by Andy Summers

Regards
Andreas

[ggvicviper]

Originally Posted by andreaska

Maybe it depends on the way they recorded and maybe they get that sound with a miked amp, playing with a pick and so on... but who knows.

All I know about these basses is from some old picture books and interviews.
So I know also, that the Steinberger isn't used on the recording for Ghost. He got it after the recording while touring. On some tracks he used definitely a fretted P, which one you can see in the videos and the documentary. It was Andy Summers' bass and was also played on the first gigs on the Ghost tour.

That's the one! I wonder why Sting borrowed Andy's bass, even for touring, considering he was probably pretty well off at this point in his career and could easily get one for himself.

Another fun Police/Sting fact: it's often misdocumented that during this period is when Sting got his well known beat up '57 P (also often misdocumented as a '53 or '54), because he wanted to use it for the Demolition Man video in 1981. However, Sting never had that bass with the Police during their heyday. His roadie Danny got the bass in 1994 for a different Demolition Man video. This was the rerecorded version of the Police song for the movie of the same name. In fact, you can see him with it in the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqxRgls-OEE

[andreaska]

And here Danny tells the story:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJdKXL3Mu8w

[sizzle]

he also used a fretless 8 string....not sure when or on what but have concert shots of it

[ggvicviper]

Originally Posted by sizzle

he also used a fretless 8 string....not sure when or on what but have concert shots of it

That was a Hamer Blitz 8-string fretless. Word has it he hated that thing, and someone on TB ended up buying it from a shop he sold it to in Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh?).

[Buskman]

Originally Posted by ggvicviper

That was a Hamer Blitz 8-string fretless. Word has it he hated that thing, and someone on TB ended up buying it from a shop he sold it to in Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh?).

He also had an 8-string version of his Ibanez Musician fretless. There's a cool bit in the 'Police Around The World' VHS tape (why they haven't released it on DVD is lost on me... GREAT video) of him jamming on it during a soundcheck.

IIRC, it had a maple board too...

[Misterwogan]

My sister's ex-boyfriend was once Sting's sound-tech, but I never learned form him anything like I'm reading on this thread. I'm glad I started it.

[andreaska]

Paris, April 14. 1980

[Belka]

Originally Posted by andreaska

Nice to hear that. I'm realy sure that is the fretless Precision played with pick.
And I think he got that Ibanez Musician just after the recording was released. Though you can see that bass in the video.

Does anybody know a isolated bass track for "walking on the moon"?
The bass in the beginning sounds different to the end...

Regards from Germany
Andreas

That definitely sounds like a fretless Precision. And his intonation / tuning on the f# on the d string sounds consistently flat. What's great is that things like that take away nothing from the song overall though

[ERIC31]

Now this is bass porn for sure! Gorgeous and I want one!!

[ggvicviper]

Originally Posted by Belka

That definitely sounds like a fretless Precision. And his intonation / tuning on the f# on the d string sounds consistently flat. What's great is that things like that take away nothing from the song overall though

Awesome. That makes me happy - my favorite song played on my favorite bass.

[shrimpflea]

Pick and Jazz Bass
http://fenderbassplayer.com/index.php/video/sting