The ultimate 'Lead' Bass

[Mmm..Yamaha]

I was watching some Billy Sheehan stuff recently, and noticed that some of his solos sounded a little messy/muddy (tone-wise) - got me to thinking.
What would be the perfect set-up for a 'Lead' bass?
Guitar, strings, amps, effects, the whole lot.
What would be the coolest sounding, and still most...bass-like sound you could get, if that makes sense.
Any and all suggestions/tips are helpful

[ALiP BoB]

Want to lead?






Don't play bass.

[TrooperFarva]

Originally Posted by ALiP BoB

Want to lead?
Don't play bass.

+10000000

[animal52]

oh come on, give the guy a break. There are many bands in which a lead bassist works very well. It depends on what type of music. And to be close-minded about an instrument is only going to limit what you can do with it.

I would say that wooten has a very nice tone for lead, but my favorite is Claypool.

[James Hart]

Originally Posted by ALiP BoB

Want to lead?
Don't play bass.

-50,000,000

Be a musician, express yourself however you wish.

To answer the question... it seems a 2 amp setup seems to work best

[Grueber]

Originally Posted by Mmm..Yamaha

I was watching some Billy Sheehan stuff recently, and noticed that some of his solos sounded a little messy/muddy (tone-wise) - got me to thinking.
What would be the perfect set-up for a 'Lead' bass?
Guitar, strings, amps, effects, the whole lot.
What would be the coolest sounding, and still most...bass-like sound you could get, if that makes sense.
Any and all suggestions/tips are helpful

I think Marcus Miller's lead tone still has good amount of bass.

his website talks about his gear
http://marcusmiller.com/faq.html?cat...b255b7bfc5c015

[James_B]

Steve Harris is a lead bass player if I've ever seen one.

[santucci218]

I would personally take the stanley clarke way of lead. what he does to get his bass perfect sounding, excluding the 20,000 dollars his bass is, is the fact that he uses a ton of different cabs. he even uses a marshall guitar 4x12 to "add grit" to his tone. he has one tone that is clean, and one that has some minor effects on it. amazing sounding instrument.

[SirCanealot]

Originally Posted by ALiP BoB

Want to lead?
Don't play bass.

Geddy Lee.

Thanks

[ALiP BoB]

Originally Posted by animal52

I would say that wooten has a very nice tone for lead, but my favorite is Claypool.

He's talking about shredding. That kind of lead.

[ALiP BoB]

Originally Posted by James Hart

-50,000,000

Be a musician, express yourself however you wish.

To answer the question... it seems a 2 amp setup seems to work best

Ok2, I stand corrected. But I still say that shredding is not the purpose of bass. Oh well, everybody has their opinions.

And yea, two amps. One (guitar amp i think) for the guitar er, "defined" sound and the other for the "meat" bass sound. Or at least that's what Jason Newsted does.

But then, he's not a lead bassist.

[ALiP BoB]

Originally Posted by SirCanealot

Geddy Lee.

Thanks

Ouh damn, good point.

[Mitchell Royce]

Rickenbacker 4003
Sunn 300/Mesa 400+ etc,
Mesa Boogie Diesel 2x15"(EV speakers are key)

will get you there. As much lead as you could want.

I don't know Peter Hook's setup, but he's arguably the original lead bassist, so why not take a nod from him?

[Phalex]

Alembic Stanley Clarke Signature.

Stanley does some very cool "Leadish" stuff.

[Dash Rantic]

Justin Chancellor (Tool) is one of my favorite lead-ish bass players.

Wal bass, pick, GK heads... Great sound

Alip Bob, TrooperFarva: You might want to check out some of the artists this threat is mentioning. You might be suprised at what you find, and how well it works out.

-Dash

[Matt Till]

Originally Posted by Tired_Thumb

I don't know Peter Hook's setup, but he's arguably the original lead bassist, so why not take a nod from him?

Very arguable!


Seriously, Hooky and the boys got started in the 80s, right? If not, LATE 70s. If we are talking "rock" John Entwistle is the original lead bassist.


That said, Who "Live at Leeds" still the greatest "lead" bass tone ever.

[Rattman]

Originally Posted by SirCanealot

Geddy Lee.

Thanks

+ 1
Yeah... thats what I'm thinking too.. with his tone, phrasing and excellant grasp of structure, he is my fav lead bassist too.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

re. Billy Sheehan's tone being muddy, i wonder if that's due to the woofer neck pickup he uses.
maybe he'd get a clearer tone if he just put the P pickup through clean and distorted amps.
IMO you get plenty of lows from the P pickup alone.

[SoulStabber]

Originally Posted by ALiP BoB

He's talking about shredding. That kind of lead.

There was no mention of shredding..Please read the posts CAREFULLY.