• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Arctic Monkeys - Nick O'Malley - NEW BASS??

#42
joker820 said:
I’m ok with changing the sound but the songwriting is pretty bad. They should’ve titled this one after the closer. “The Ultracheese” is a good way to describe the lyrics and structure.
Click to expand...

I'm actually surprised to hear a comment like this. I only listened to the title track once and didn't pay a lot of attention to the lyrics, but Alex normally has some very witty/clever lyrics. When I thought of great songwriters, his name would often be the first name to pop up. I'm going to have to give this album a good listen just to hear it for myself.
 
  • Like
Reactions: joker820
#43
Matthew_84 said:
I'm actually surprised to hear a comment like this. I only listened to the title track once and didn't pay a lot of attention to the lyrics, but Alex normally has some very witty/clever lyrics. When I thought of great songwriters, his name would often be the first name to pop up. I'm going to have to give this album a good listen just to hear it for myself.
Click to expand...
He’s normally an amazing songwriter but a lot of this album comes off as clunky and forced. SIAS has some cheesy lyrics in the first half but the second half more than makes up for it. For every “don’t sit down...” you have gems like “love is a laserquest” to balance it out. The first three albums are damn near flawless IMO.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Matthew_84
#47
I have to admit being rather ignorant of the Arctic Monkeys. I'd heard the name but none of their music before a few weeks ago. I assist with a local Youth and Family Services sponsored Youth Open mic, where several of us adults were enlisted to help by providing backing for anyone that wanted it. Last month the guitarist and I were asked to learn "Do I Wanna Know" for one of the kids that wanted to sing it. I was happy to find that it wasn't the typical 1-4-5 progression, and in fact though at first listen it seemed to symmetrically repeat for the second verse, it didn't really, and there were some interesting wrinkles in it, enough that I wished the guitarist and I could get together before the open mic and make sure we were on the same page.

Then both the girl that wants to sing it and the guitarist were sick and couldn't make it to the open mic. Now I have to learn it all over again for the next one, because of course it didn't stick in my head. But I ended up thinking that I should check out more AM music.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheIndieKid
#48
JIO said:
Thanks for this - I absolutely love having "those who know" weigh in on a topic! I'm hoping for his sake that the one played by Nick O'Malley is lighter! :D
Click to expand...

I've had several Burns guitars inc a 'Double Six' twelve string that was so unbelievably heavy I couldn't wait to see the back of it.

Luckily Sonic basses aren't! I've had a couple and they are pretty cool, really light and small, the open low E string tends to get lost but whaddya gonna do.

I don't post often btw, just searched cos I saw him playing it on Fallon and wanted to see if people were gonna start sweating them all of a sudden ;) Pay no more than £300ish imo!
 
  • Like
Reactions: JIO
#50
mgeek said:
I've had several Burns guitars inc a 'Double Six' twelve string that was so unbelievably heavy I couldn't wait to see the back of it.

Luckily Sonic basses aren't! I've had a couple and they are pretty cool, really light and small, the open low E string tends to get lost but whaddya gonna do.

I don't post often btw, just searched cos I saw him playing it on Fallon and wanted to see if people were gonna start sweating them all of a sudden ;) Pay no more than £300ish imo!
Click to expand...

All it takes is someone playing one on TV and boom - cult status, deserved or not.
 
#53
jazznrick said:
so I think he has flats on that Burns bass. Are Burns basses hard to come by? Could I just buy a JMJ mustang with flats and get near his tone? Opinions, please
Click to expand...
It’s really a mystery as to what strings he uses. I mean, he stated in a BGM interview once that he hates the sound of new strings, so he boils them in a butter and water mixture and quote “plays the f***” out of them for a few hours” unquote, to wear them in. That suggests roundwounds, but it’s hard to say. Could be Rotosound 77s but there’s a world of possibility. The only place I have seen that sells Burns basses is Thomann, but there is bound to be a few stores in the US. The bass he is using is an early Burns Sonic short scale. You want a bass with single coils situated in the mudbucker position and in the bridge, but in a jazz bass position works also. As for amp tone, it’s hard to say. I’ve seen a few people say for songs where palm muting isn’t used, boosting the high mids and bass works. But I often see him do what I think is rolling off the tone knob.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: jazznrick
#55
Picton said:
Butter and water?

Sheesh. I must not care enough about tone.

Big AM fan here. Balaclava is one of my favorites.
Click to expand...

That is dead rounds on a Rickenbacker 3000 or P-Bass I think, with the slight grit giving more harmonic clarity.

“The confidence is the balaclava, you’re sure to baffle em’ good, with the endless reek of salty cheeks and runny makeup alone”
 
  • Like
Reactions: jazznrick
#56
TheIndieKid said:
It’s really a mystery as to what strings he uses. I mean, he stated in a BGM interview once that he hates the sound of new strings, so he boils them in a butter and water mixture and quote “plays the f***” out of them for a few hours” unquote, to wear them in. That suggests roundwounds, but it’s hard to say. Could be Rotosound 77s but there’s a world of possibility. The only place I have seen that sells Burns basses is Thomann, but there is bound to be a few stores in the US. The bass he is using is an early Burns Sonic short scale. You want a bass with single coils situated in the mudbucker position and in the bridge, but in a jazz bass position works also. As for amp tone, it’s hard to say. I’ve seen a few people say for songs where palm muting isn’t used, boosting the high mids and bass works. But I often see him do what I think is rolling off the tone knob.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the Thomann tip!! I don't know if I can justify $833 for the sound of one album (and I'm gassing for a JMJ mustang). I would absolutely kill for a picture of his current pedalboard!
 
#57
joker820 said:
He’s normally an amazing songwriter but a lot of this album comes off as clunky and forced. SIAS has some cheesy lyrics in the first half but the second half more than makes up for it. For every “don’t sit down...” you have gems like “love is a laserquest” to balance it out. The first three albums are damn near flawless IMO.
Click to expand...

Alex is a smart guy but pop/indie/rock anthems are where he shines. I have no problem with them branching out in other directions, but that means they can't always make perfect material.
 
#58
TheIndieKid said:
That suggests roundwounds, but it’s hard to say.
Click to expand...
I find it hard to believe roundwounds. When I tried them on mine they were so ridiculously twangy that I threw them away, and that was at a time when a new set of strings was a really big deal for me. After that I went back to the nylon tape strings it came with. They do have the advantage that they hardly get any duller when they get older, so I never changed them till the tape fell off. I never felt tempted to try flatwound.

I tell you, if he's getting that sound with roundwound strings the eq is earning its living. Mine's just come out into the light for almost the first time in 40 years and I did a google search for fun and was gobsmacked to find a guy in a major band using one on stage...
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back