Duff McKagan......Sound

[Stick_Player]

Lots of "ghost musician" work going on in L.A. during this time period.

[kevmc28]

I'm not crazy about chorus on bass. But the bass lines in Mr. Brownstone and some of the lines on Paradise City and Welcome to the Jungle are really good.

[Pablito82]

Originally Posted by Blackbird

I'm anxious to hear your playing.

+1

[4dog]

Compression pedal and chorus ,was listening to appetite this eve thats what i got , and i think hes pretty rockin for the band he was in , one of you dislikers need to post a video of you playing your own "better" basslines , we can all judge it.

[baddarryl]

He may not have been the best by any stretch, but he sure put together some good line to 'serve' the songs of the GNR days.

[Stick_Player]

Originally Posted by baddarryl

He may not have been the best by any stretch, but he sure put together some good line to 'serve' the songs of the GNR days.

I'll repost:

Lots of "ghost musician" work going on in L.A. during this time period.

[baddarryl]

Originally Posted by Stick_Player

I'll repost:

Lots of "ghost musician" work going on in L.A. during this time period.

Can you explain what you mean by that?

[Stick_Player]

Originally Posted by baddarryl

Can you explain what you mean by that?

Producer bringing in studio/session-level players to replace the poorly played track.

This has been going on since day-one and continues through today.

More reliance on sound replacing, timing correction, and pitch correction applications today.

[baddarryl]

So are you saying his tracks were likely 'improved'?

[BullHorn]

Whenever I hear his name, this comes to mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC8N_betq4Y

Just puts their sound in proportion. Slash can go rest in the corner.

[E.J. T.N.T.]

Oh man Duff is kicking so much ass. He and Jason Newsted were the guys that made playing with a pick ok for me. I am really surprised this video hasn't popped in the conversation yet.

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

Here is a rundown of his (relatively) current gig.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANPhIB3dckE

Last but not least I think I found his tone secret
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VN9vdwxw8M

4:41, that looks like a sansamp bddi to me.

Moreover I think his tone at least on the first video is pretty simple. To me the key elements to his tone are the clarity of the solid state amp, the pick and the J bridge pickup. Concernig the EQ having played a GK rig for quite some time to me it seems that he makes extensive use of the Contour knob essentially giving him a middle mid scoop(that was not a typo)
and he then boosts the low mids just a bit to get that punchy low end.

The guitarist in my band has a pretty big Slash complex so it made a lot of sense to go for a Duff inspired tone. However I am not giving myself away the same way he does (He has A LOT of Slash Signature equipment). I play a J with quarterpounds through a SA-450 Markbass and a Mark cab loaded with 10'' drivers and I get as close to Duffs tone as I want to get.

But man other than his awesome rock tone, I think Duff is a great songwriter and a really cool bassist. Sure his lines are simple always so groovy. He is also a really smart guy and hard working guy. I used to read his finance articles and always found them really interesting. I am really happy he is through with all of his substance abuse problems and that he can put so much work out there.

I really hope I didn't sound like a fanboy...