King Crimson - The Power To Believe fretless question.

[BryLMoo]

How does he get that sound from his bass? On level five, and elecktrik?

[Benjamin Strange]

It's not a bass; it's a Warr Guitar. See?



He's using a TC Electronic G Force for effects. I'm assuming there's some envelope filtering going on there.

[BryLMoo]

i just assumed that it was a bass, since he is the bass player... I could have sworn I heard a fretless bass on that CD...

awesome disc by the way!

thanks for the help!

bryan

[Benjamin Strange]

He's not a bass player; he's a Warr player (they call it "touch guitar". I hate that term, so I don't use it.). He has a fretless version which he uses from time to time.

It is a fantastic disc. I believe it's the strongest KC album since Discipline.

[Eric Cioe]

I believe Trey has a Warr that is half fretted, half fretless, also.

As far as fretless moments on that disk- the ostinato in TPTBII is amazing.

[BryLMoo]

then who plays bass on that album lol

[Dave Grossman]

Originally Posted by Eric Cioe

I believe Trey has a Warr that is half fretted, half fretless, also.

As far as fretless moments on that disk- the ostinato in TPTBII is amazing.

I think it's a semi-hollowbody with piezos too.

- Dave

[Eric Cioe]

Originally Posted by BryLMoo

then who plays bass on that album lol

The bass chair is taken by Trey Gunn, who plays the Warr Guitar on it. Its tuning goes from Bb (or maybe C), right below or above the lowest note of a 5 string bass.

[Lackey]

9 string Warr guitar, padauk hollow body, piezo bridge pickups, half fretted/fretless, nylon strings on fretless side.

.....although he doesnt play it on the songs you've listed. Eyes wide open and Power to Believe II he does however.

[BryLMoo]

level five, and elecktrik...i can hear a fretless...

the power to believe 2...that ostinato your talking about...is that a warr guitar, or a bass?

bryan

[Benjamin Strange]

There is no bass on the album. It's a Warr.

[Dave Grossman]

Originally Posted by Benjamin Strange

There is no bass on the album. It's a Warr.

So ... wait ... who is playing bass then?

- Dave

( )

[Eric Moesle]

Originally Posted by Dave Grossman

So ... wait ... who is playing bass then?

- Dave

( )

You're not listening. NOBODY is playing bass. Trey Gunn is playing a Warr guitar, which covers much of the bass sonic spectrum. There is no bass guitar as you know it on that album.

[Dave Grossman]

Originally Posted by Eric Moesle

You're not listening. NOBODY is playing bass. Trey Gunn is playing a Warr guitar, which covers much of the bass sonic spectrum. There is no bass guitar as you know it on that album.

But ... wait ... I hear the bass. So somebody must be playing it, right?

- Dave

( - for the smiley impaired )

[Benjamin Strange]

Originally Posted by Dave Grossman

But ... wait ... I hear the bass. So somebody must be playing it, right?

- Dave

( - for the smiley impaired )

That was Greg Lake. He's back in Crimson now that Trey has left.

[Dave Grossman]

Originally Posted by Benjamin Strange

That was Greg Lake. He's back in Crimson now that Trey has left.

Wait, now .... didn't he play Warr Guitar in Emerson Lake and Palmer?

- Dave

[James Hart]

wow, that was like.... soooooooo funny





off to Misc

[Dave Grossman]

Originally Posted by speddling

wow, that was like.... soooooooo funny





off to Misc

Yes. Yes it was.

- Dave

[Lackey]

Originally Posted by BryLMoo

level five, and elecktrik...i can hear a fretless...

the power to believe 2...that ostinato your talking about...is that a warr guitar, or a bass?

bryan

*drags out folder of CDs*

Nope, those are on the full fretted Warr. While you can't always hear the "click" of the frets, it's definately fretted intonation. Any of the growling whammy type notes you hear are either string bends or Trey's method of glissing the string rapidly up and down the frets. On Elektrik you can hear the fret clack as he's digging in during the distorted opening passages. (I've also compared the CD to the live DVD several times, so I'm almost certain that's whats going on)

The sound does have a bit of "mwah" to it, but he uses a healthy amount of effects/distortion/glissing to get that tone.

And yes, it's a Warr guitar, even the fretless.

http://www.warrguitars.com/artisan.html - Imagine this with 9 strings, top 5 fretted and bottom 4 fretless. Also with no magnetic pickups and a padauk top.

http://www.warrguitars.com/tgss.html - This with 10 strings is Trey's standard axe.

www.stick.com - the "original" touch guitar, same tunings and playing style as the Warr.

www.treygunn.com - Trey's site (hasn't been updated for a while unfortunately)

These links should provide some interesting reading

[BryLMoo]

well, call me stupid, but before this thread...i didn't know what a warr guitar was...

so it has the same tonal qualities that basses do...its just...not a bass...