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Anthony Jackson's TONE?

sargebaker

sargebaker

Builder - Island Instruments
Supporting Member
Commercial User
May 2, 2004
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Montreal QC CA
www.island-instruments.com
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owner/builder, ISLAND Instrument Mfg.
#1
I'm not the biggest fan of Anthony... it's more that I haven't heard much of his work but love what I did hear. I've been watching some videos on youtube and while his playing seems great his tone seems questionable... at times it seems to be very uneven (in the mix) and sort of out of place....dare i say hollow? What the general consensus on his tone?
 
#2
Anthony Jackson is a perfectionist and very knowledgable about electronics. Whatever his sound may be, it is never an accident. I thnk that his tone is usually beautiful. His pick tone is perfect, and he is the best string muter in the world. AJ is why I never, ever consider flatwounds!
 
#6
I saw AJ in NY at Bar 55 with a fusion/jam trio.

I was standing two inches away from him (there is no stage at this bar, so you can actually stand two inches away from the musicians).

I thought his Fodera lacked definition -It sounded like a muddy P-Bass at times. And he plays lots of fast passages that might have gotten lost in the mix. I have many of his recordings (Michel Camilo's, for example) and he's got a pretty particular sound, like between a P-Bass and a Stingray - kinda growly, but still not neccesarily defined.

I think the "sweet spot" he chose for his single-pickup position is the reason for all this - because most Foderas (and I am a die-hard Fodera fan) are one of the most focused and clear basses.

BTW, his action was really high - I could not believe this man played a 6-string with such high action. He was really struggling.
 
#11
sargebaker said:
The vids I'm referring to are Invalid Link Removed

and http://youtube.com/watch?v=1EcxC5AgnPU notably when he does that big swinging pop on the B and from there on. Jaw dropping solo on this one though.

And whats AJ have to do with flatwounds? is he against them?
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I don't know if AJ dislikes flatwounds, but when I was coming up, he was defining his sound and it involved bright roundwound strings. His tone, along with Chris Squire and Geddy Lee, really made me a fan of bright round wound tone, something I am to this day. When I was kid, my goal was to play funk and sound like Chris Squire! Kind of like he did on a few cuts on Fish Out of Water. The result was that I played funk with a pick on Rickenbacker for many years!:p BTW, speaking of pickwork, Anthony Jackson is a master there too. Remember the Ojays For The Love of Money and his stuff with Al Di Meola? Also don't forget Tim Landers, he killed with a pick on DiMeola's stuff too.
 
#16
I'd say firstly that you've got to be careful if you're only judging his tone based upon video recordings like these, especially if you've got crappy little computer speakers as I do! :rollno: But I wouldn't characterize his tone as hollow. From what I've read (both interviews and biographically) he is going for a big tone. Check out Naughty by Chaka Khan. . . man, you can always tell when AJ's on the case because his tone is HUGE compared to the other cats on the CD (Marcus and Willie Weeks, to name two :eek:). Also, keep in mind that he's on Fodera number 10 or so. Depending on whether he's using the Working Girl or one of his Contrabasses, his tone is probably going to vary to one degree or another.

Dr. Cheese said:
I guess that seminal jamerson influence has re-emerged.:cool:
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:D
 
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#18
Dr. Cheese said:
That's my favorite AJ! Naughty and What'Cha gonna Do for Me feature Anthony Jackson at his height!
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Man, that stuff grooves so hard, and he is at the top of his game. I love Steve Ferrone's playing also - so tasteful. For sure this is my favorite stuff of his as well. . . :bassist:
 
#19
about AJ's tone and action. I remember reading an article on an old bass player mag where he talked about setup and level frets. He argued against relief (something that I relate to) but he also argued that the height of the string should be the same at the nut and at the 24th fret. hmm. strange. Also, remember his basses are 36" scale, so that also affects the tone.

His tone comes mostly from his setup and from that massive humbucker placed in the P position. If you listen to Michael Camilo's Rendevouz album (some friggin grooving stuff in there!) you can hear AJ's tone very well. It's definetely a P bass style sound.
 

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