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Allen Woody - Bass Hero!!!!!

#2
One of my favorites...I learned SO much from that guy.

The dude played an amazing variety of gear, for one thing..... he had about a warehouse full of stuff and he used pretty much all of it at one point or another, and changed things around pretty frequently.

here's PART of his collection:

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with the Allman Bros he used primarily Alembics, a Modulus, gibson T-birds, a few Hofner clones, etc, and once in a while a 12 or 18-string.... he used the 18-string on Whipping Post, ala the Great Woods DVD. He used an Alembic preamp-- I think an FX1B-- and a Crest poweramp and a variety of cabs.

With Mule, he used primarily old T-birds, EB-3s, Eb-2s, EB-0s... basically if it was a Gibson bass, he had it and used it. The amps he used with Mule typically were a 70s SVT with 8x10 and some other amp-- sometimes a Marshall, sometimes others-- for distortion. He also had a hodgepoge of custom basses-- doubleneck bass/mandolins, a 12-string Flying V bass made by Chandler, etc.

He mostly played with a pick with those two bands, but he was also a competent fingerstyle and slap guy. He also played several other instruments quite proficiently.... He really had the whole 16th-note thing down.

Here's a couple articles that might help ya: Invalid Link Removed

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12stringbass.net also has a tribute page for him under the 'players' section.


What other kind of stuff are you looking for?
 
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#3
Lurker pretty much covered everything, I just wanted to add that I'm a big fan of Woody's legacy. If you think about it, his style [especially with Mule] pretty much went against the grain of what was happening bass-wise in the 90's, everybody was going high-tech and he was using Gibson basses through vintage amps with a pick. :bassist:
 
#4
Actually, his "70's SVT" was a V-9 head into an old SVT cab. Not that much difference, really, but worth noting.

One great thing about Woody was that he was just a super-nice guy. I was lucky enough to talk to him several times and he was always really cool, despite his appearance.
 
#5
Woody also had a Hot Licks instructional video that you should be able to find somewhere online. He used a cool circular picking pattern that he describes in the video.

The movie "Rising Low" will give you some more insight into the man. The film was made by Mike Gordon, bassist from Phish, and documnets the making of the two "Deep End" tribute CDs.

Also, check out http://www.muletracks.com/. In addition to releasing board tapes of all of their current shows, there are some recordings of The Mule with Woody. I particularly recommend the Sept 98 performance from Mama Kin's in Boston, MA.
 
#7
There is no full lendth DVD of Woody with Mule, that I am aware of. Just snippets on Rising Low. There is an Allman Brothers DVD, Live at Great Woods, with Woody that was adapted from a Japanese TV show. There is a bunch of interviews mixed in with the concert footage, and not too much of Woody. You do get to see him playing the Modulus 18-string bass on "Whipping Post" at the end of the DVD.
 
#9
Several years ago Govt.Mule and my band were taping a TV show in Austin, there was much down-time and Allen and I got to talking basses. He was VERY cool, and all he could talk about were short-scale basses. I love 'em too so we had a real good talk, he especially loved Hofners, and you can see a Hofner influence in his Epi AW Bass.
The Modulus 18-string originally belonged to Tom Petersson.
 
#10
mchildree said:
Actually, his "70's SVT" was a V-9 head into an old SVT cab. Not that much difference, really, but worth noting.

One great thing about Woody was that he was just a super-nice guy. I was lucky enough to talk to him several times and he was always really cool, despite his appearance.
Click to expand...
ooo, hadn't heard this... where'd you find this out? (looking for new info to devour)....


Some pix of the man...

ones of an alarmingly young-looking woody [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]....dunno what that fretless thing is.

woody.jpg


woody_gathering.gif

back with the Artimus Pyle band

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] Live in 99

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] Live in 99...

Just FWIW.... the band Big Sugar were buddies with Warren, Woody, etc. Their last album, Brothers And Sisters Are You Ready, had a song on it named Nashville Grass which is an elegy for Woody.... Gordie Johnson from that band also played bass at one of the One For Woody shindigs:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#15
rulyøngo said:
Definitely one of my favorite bassists!!!! To me his best representation on cd is the Live... with a little help from my friends box set... simply AMAZING!!!
Click to expand...


+1, over four hours of sublime Woody groovin'
 
#16
The Lurker said:
Just FWIW.... the band Big Sugar were buddies with Warren, Woody, etc. Their last album, Brothers And Sisters Are You Ready, had a song on it named Nashville Grass which is an elegy for Woody.... Gordie Johnson from that band also played bass at one of the One For Woody shindigs:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

I think Gordie Johnson co-produced the new Mule album that came out Tuesday, I'm hoping the mailman brings it today.:hyper:
 
#20
I'm catching the Mule this October. The last time I saw them, it was with Dave Schools, we'll see how Andy Hess does. If it was like before, he'll have to play through Woody's old SVT head and cab. It's their way of keeping Woody an active influence in the band. Not sure if that's for real or just a rumor. Allen was one of the only bassists that made me consider using a pick instead of my fingers.
 

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