Geddy lee distortion

[Limelight]

In the exit stage left era, did geddy use any distortion on his bass, if not how did he get that tone, when I use distortion on my bass, it sounds too much like a guitar, should I lower it? please help

[Mark Wilson]

No.
IIRC he's never used distortion.
He always has new strings (Rotosound Roundwounds), and his high mids are WAY up there.
Also, his fingers are like bloody hammers on those strings.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by Mark Wilson

No.
IIRC he's never used distortion.

Hey Mark! Sorry to contradict you, but...

From Bass Player Magazine, August 2007:

What are some of the lessons you've learned after playing so many live shows?

A clean bass sound sometimes doesn't knit in the mix with the guitar -if you listen to my bass on its own, it sounds really ratty and nasty. The right kind of distortion helps knit the overall sound together. Using distortion live is the key for me. Also, I always want my bass louder in the mix. You bassists who think that your bass isn't loud enough, you're right!

And, according to Russ Ryan, his bass tech...

From Bass Player Magazine, August 2007:

"Geddy sends his bass to the house via three channels: An Avalon U5 DI, a Tech 21 SansAmp RPM preamp, and a Palmer PDI-05 Speaker Simulator.

"Geddy uses the RPM for his dirtier, distorted sound", says Ryan. For years Lee had used the SansAmp RBI; he switched to the newer RPM model after auditioning it in his home studio. "The RPM's sound has a little more detail than the RBI, and the distortion is a little more controllable", says Geddy.

The most esoteric piece of gear in Geddy's rack is the Palmer Speaker Simulator. "These are older models, from the '90s", Russ points out. "They're very hard to find, because most musicians won't give them up". "The old Palmers have a really warm bottom -they add a nice low-end distortion", adds Geddy.

I'm pretty sure that Mr. Ryan also mentioned it in the "Geddy's bass tone" thread.

[Mark Wilson]

Ah!
I stand corrected!
Thank you Alvaro!

[onlyclave]

Wait wait wait, the OPs question was how was he getting his distorted tone back in 1982 during the Exit Stage Left era. Now if he's using Palmer speaker emulators from the early 90's then I detect a rift in the space time continuum.

Thanks for quoting an article from less than 1 year ago which would explain the tone he's using live now, but what was he doing 25 years ago?

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by onlyclave

what was he doing 25 years ago?

For years Lee had used the SansAmp RBI; he switched to the newer RPM model after auditioning it in his home studio. "The RPM's sound has a little more detail than the RBI, and the distortion is a little more controllable", says Geddy.

I think that's the answer. I'll try to find more on that.

[73jbass]

He's used a lot of different stuff over the years.In that era,I think he was using an Ashly BP-41 preamp,and BGW poweramps live. There is a site on the net somewhere that lists all his recording and live gear over his career.

[theanalogkid63]

In the exit stage left era (more appropriately '81-'83 years), I believe Geddy was using MULTIPLE Ashly SC-40 (not BP-41, those came out in '85) preamps, Ashly SC-66(a???) stereo parametric equalizers, and BGW 750c power amplifiers driving various 2 x 15 speaker cabinets. Geddy may have also incorperated into his live rig Ashly SC-50 compressor/limiters (which would smooth out his sound and give excellent sustain). Now about his "distortion". Geddy's tone is a combition of clean bass-heavy tones and OVERDRIVEN mid-high tones. An overdriven tone is much smoother and warmer and practical for bass than a distorted tone which is more harsh. So how did he get that particular tone during that era? First he took advantage of his Rickenbacker 4001s' (my guess the one in the video is a '75 Ric) stereo bass output. He ran the stereo signal out to a "Y" splitter sending the outputs of the neck and bridge to seperate rigs. The neck pickup signal went to "System A" for the bass-heavy tone, and the bridge pickup went to "System B" which was set for a high-gain overdriven midrange/treble tone. Now, here's the secret of the overdriven tone: The Ashly SC-40 has an effects loop - simple in/out 1/4" phone jacks. Smooth distortion can be obtained by wiring two 1N914 diodes paralleled in opposite directions between the ring and tip connections of a standard 1/4' phone jack and inserting into the effects loop SEND. All this added to his unique playing technique gave him that mysterious mammoth bass sound. Added note: watch the ESL video and you'll see Geddy constantly tweaking the controls on the Rickenbacker rolling on and off the volume controls to give him the amount drive needed for a given part of a song.

[Pacman]

moved to effects

[Rickett Customs]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

I think that's the answer. I'll try to find more on that.

Alvaro,He had to have been using something other than a Sansamp back then. B Andrew Barta didn't start Tech 21 until '89.

WIKI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geddy_Lee
Lee's amps in the early days were arena-ready Sunn and/or Ampeg models. By the late seventies, his backline had evolved into a unique configuration of Ashly preamps and BGW power amps, which were run in stereo with his 4001 bass. The neck pickup was sent to one amp and set for a clean, bass-heavy tone, while the bridge pickup was sent to the other amp which was set with an exaggerated treble boost, and extra gain in the preamp. This defined Lee's bass sound from 1977 to 1982. Though he would change basses, the amplifier setup remained constant through 1991. For the Roll the Bones tour (1991-1992), Lee switched to Gallien-Krueger amps, and later to Trace Elliots.

[Cristo]

Originally Posted by theanalogkid63

In the exit stage left era (more appropriately '81-'83 years), I believe Geddy was using MULTIPLE Ashly SC-40 (not BP-41, those came out in '85) preamps, Ashly SC-66(a???) stereo parametric equalizers, and BGW 750c power amplifiers driving various 2 x 15 speaker cabinets. Geddy may have also incorperated into his live rig Ashly SC-50 compressor/limiters (which would smooth out his sound and give excellent sustain). Now about his "distortion". Geddy's tone is a combition of clean bass-heavy tones and OVERDRIVEN mid-high tones. An overdriven tone is much smoother and warmer and practical for bass than a distorted tone which is more harsh. So how did he get that particular tone during that era? First he took advantage of his Rickenbacker 4001s' (my guess the one in the video is a '75 Ric) stereo bass output. He ran the stereo signal out to a "Y" splitter sending the outputs of the neck and bridge to seperate rigs. The neck pickup signal went to "System A" for the bass-heavy tone, and the bridge pickup went to "System B" which was set for a high-gain overdriven midrange/treble tone. Now, here's the secret of the overdriven tone: The Ashly SC-40 has an effects loop - simple in/out 1/4" phone jacks. Smooth distortion can be obtained by wiring two 1N914 diodes paralleled in opposite directions between the ring and tip connections of a standard 1/4' phone jack and inserting into the effects loop SEND. All this added to his unique playing technique gave him that mysterious mammoth bass sound. Added note: watch the ESL video and you'll see Geddy constantly tweaking the controls on the Rickenbacker rolling on and off the volume controls to give him the amount drive needed for a given part of a song.

PHEW!

Where'd you get all that business about the diodes? Not saying it is false, just wondering where it came from. That's the first I've ever heard of that method...

[theanalogkid63]

Originally Posted by Cristo

PHEW!

Where'd you get all that business about the diodes? Not saying it is false, just wondering where it came from. That's the first I've ever heard of that method...

The "diodes" trick came from the owners manual for the SC-40 (circa 1982).