Primus' Pink Floyd Cover

Ovenchicken · #1 07-09-2009, 02:16 PM

Hey guys. For a while I've been trying out how Les acquired the tone that he uses for their cover of "Have a Cigar". Whether it be pedals, the type of amp, I dont know. Any help, please, would be greatly appreciated. It is off of the album "miscellaneous debris".

CrispyDelicious · #2 07-09-2009, 02:18 PM

Always helps to post a link man.

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

Fretless with some mild OD, it seems.

Gubna · #3 07-09-2009, 02:19 PM

I don't know if he used it on that but I think he used to use a modified ADA MB-1 preamp

http://www.vito-bratta.com/images/mp1.jpg

MonkeyBass · #4 07-09-2009, 02:19 PM

If I'm not mistaken Les used the ADA MP-1 preamp back in those days. That is of course his Carl Thompson Rainbow Bass 6-string fretless on there as well.

He usually uses some very mid-rangy distortion for his tone.

That's as close as I can figure anyway.

MonkeyBass · #5 07-09-2009, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gubna

I don't know if he used it on that but I think he used to use a modified ADA MB-1 preamp

http://www.vito-bratta.com/images/mp1.jpg

... or MB-1... It's been so long since they've made those I forgot the model number.

Ovenchicken · #6 07-09-2009, 02:22 PM

Sorry about the no link. I'm playing a fender am p std thru the ampeg ba115. I have the boss bass odb-3, just got the pedal haven't had too much time to tinker. Is it at all possible i'd be able to grab that tone with what i've got? I love it.

thanks guys

CrispyDelicious · #7 07-09-2009, 02:26 PM

LOL no. Fretless, man. He's playing a fretless bass. No way you can cop that sound with fretted bass. That's about 90% of that sound.

EDIT: The rest being amp and overdrive.

riker1384 · #8 07-09-2009, 03:00 PM

See here about the distortion: http://www.ram.org/music/primus/articles/bp1.html

Quote:

"So I went into the studio with an old Syntrex Harmonic Energizer, which is the coolest pedal in the world, ran my bass track through it, and cranked it. You can distort specific frequencies with that pedal, and that's what gives the bass that strange buzzing sound."

Yeah, it has to be fretless. To get the exact sound you'd want a 36" scale, ebony fingerboard, light roundwounds and an EMG pickup. There's a guy on Youtube who had a pretty good copy of the Rainbow bass made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lecy...eature=related It really sounds like Les.

Apparently Carl Thompson is now making a copy as well, which he used to refuse to do. Scroll to the bottom of this page: http://www.ctbasses.com/56pics.html

Getaway Driver · #9 07-09-2009, 03:28 PM

...most of claypool's sound is his technique. EQ and Distort it all you want, but you'll never get it perfect.

NKUSigEp · #10 07-09-2009, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Getaway Driver

...most of claypool's sound is his technique. EQ and Distort it all you want, but you'll never get it perfect.

+1

You have to have "amazing hand dexterity".

JimmyM · #11 07-09-2009, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NKUSigEp

+1

You have to have "amazing hand dexterity".

And a knack for hitting notes just out of tune enough to where they make you grind your teeth but not to where you notice it as being out of tune. I don't know...this is certainly one of his easier tunes to play, and between a fretless, a very middy overdrive, and slightly questionable intonation, sounds like that's all you need.