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'Arry's rig

username n/a

username n/a

May 14, 2007
5,356
13
34
Clarkston, MI
#1
ok so i have the 2 finger gallop down and kindof a clanky tone so the next step is an amp i know his rig on the powerslave tour and im trien to get that sound so his rig on the powerslave tour is as followed

3 nady 700 wireless recivers
+5 transmiter,extenal antenna
Pete Cornish switching network
(A/B input,amps off[with remote on stage]tuner feeds,A/B outputs)
4 Alectron preamps
3 DBX 160 compressers
6 RDS 800 B/C amps,2X400 watts ea.
8 marshall 4x12 cabnits with electrovoice EVM 12-L speakers
3 krog tuners

so i need to know how to get that sound with out spending a lot of money
 
#2
So how much money are you willing to spend? I've taken a few years and many hours on craigslist to gradually get most of the gear on that powerslave tour gear list. You can come fairly close though without doing that. What sort of amp are you using right now?

If your amp has just a regular 4 band EQ, your best bet is just to cut a lot of the low mids, boost the high mids and treble, and add decent amount of bass. Crank the tone knob on your p-bass, of course, and set the action as low as you can. Wear your bass pretty low so yo can use your whole hand and whole arm as a sort of hammer to smash the strings against the fretboard like there's no tomorrow. Be sure to bash them down into the bass instead of plucking them up towards your body.

Anyhow good luck with that. Give me a more specific gear list and a budget, and I'd be happy to give you more specific advice :bassist:
 
#3
Naggon said:
So how much money are you willing to spend? I've taken a few years and many hours on craigslist to gradually get most of the gear on that powerslave tour gear list. You can come fairly close though without doing that. What sort of amp are you using right now?

If your amp has just a regular 4 band EQ, your best bet is just to cut a lot of the low mids, boost the high mids and treble, and add decent amount of bass. Crank the tone knob on your p-bass, of course, and set the action as low as you can. Wear your bass pretty low so yo can use your whole hand and whole arm as a sort of hammer to smash the strings against the fretboard like there's no tomorrow. Be sure to bash them down into the bass instead of plucking them up towards your body.

Anyhow good luck with that. Give me a more specific gear list and a budget, and I'd be happy to give you more specific advice :bassist:
Click to expand...

right now im useing a kustom 1X8 10 watt combo with volume low mid and high knobs, thair isnt really a set budget but it cant be to outragus because id like to have all the stuff by spring for my schools battle of the bands hope that helps
 
#4
Ok, so only a 3 band EQ. If I were you, I'd try the low mid knob at about 4, the highs at about 7, and the bass at about 6. Just play with it until it sounds good though.

Look into getting a new amp next. Your p-bass is probably just what you need right now, but your ten watt amp won't be loud enough for jamming with drums, or for the talent show (I'm assuming you won't be mic'd or DI'd for that....I never was for talent shows) You'll need at least 100 watts, preferably more. I'd recommend something like this:
http://www.traynoramps.com/products.asp?type=7&cat=64&id=372
One you get that, you won't need a new amp for quite a while. That one is nice because it has 2x10 speakers rather than 1x15, for example, so the sound is going to be brighter.
 
#5
username n/a said:
ok so i have the 2 finger gallop down and kindof a clanky tone so the next step is an amp i know his rig on the powerslave tour and im trien to get that sound so his rig on the powerslave tour is as followed

3 nady 700 wireless recivers
+5 transmiter,extenal antenna
Pete Cornish switching network
(A/B input,amps off[with remote on stage]tuner feeds,A/B outputs)
4 Alectron preamps
3 DBX 160 compressers
6 RDS 800 B/C amps,2X400 watts ea.
8 marshall 4x12 cabnits with electrovoice EVM 12-L speakers
3 krog tuners

so i need to know how to get that sound with out spending a lot of money
Click to expand...
'Arry's rig information and how to get his tone has been posted by many people (including me) on this forum...please do a search before starting a new thread.

In terms of using a conventional amp to get his sound, Harris said playing through a vintage Ampeg SVT was the only thing that came close. The Ampeg SVT-VR is expensive, but probably a lot cheaper (new or used) than all the gear you listed. If the VR is out of the question, and Ampeg SVP-CL is the same preamp as the SVT-VR (and can be found used for between $300-400)...find a good power amp to pair with the SVP-CL ([Invalid or Expired Link Removed]maybe?). Put either the SVT-VR or the SVP-CL + Power Amp on top of a 212 or 412 speaker cabinet of your choice ('Arry always seems to use 12" speakers...maybe an Avatar 212 or two would do ya :)), and you're golden. :bassist:

That being said...I can also cop a very decent Steve Harris tone with my current "budget" mini-rig of doom, a Carvin BRX112NEO combo on top of an [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] (obviously the extra 112 speaker is optional if you don't want to spend a ton...I got my Aggy from TalkBass for a great price...you can find great deals here on used gear from good guys and gals!) and my cheap little [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] box (or you could buy a used [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] and have piece of mind that your pedal isn't a Behringer ;)...the Behringer sounds virtually the same to me and is a LOT cheaper) set to "SVT" settings with a little tweaking of the "Drive" and "Presence" knobs to get that clank.

I also agree with Naggon's advice:
Naggon said:
Your best bet is just to cut a lot of the low mids, boost the high mids and treble, and add decent amount of bass. Crank the tone knob on your p-bass, of course, and set the action as low as you can. Wear your bass pretty low so yo can use your whole hand and whole arm as a sort of hammer to smash the strings against the fretboard like there's no tomorrow. Be sure to bash them down into the bass instead of plucking them up towards your body.
Click to expand...
and
Naggon said:
If I were you, I'd try the low mid knob at about 4, the highs at about 7, and the bass at about 6. Just play with it until it sounds good though.
Click to expand...

Heavy gauge Rotosound flatwound strings are Steve's thing, but you can get the tone with roundwounds too (in fact, for me, I've found I can get the tone with stainless steel roundwounds and use better technique...if you get heavy gauge flats, you HAVE to beat on them to get clank...the clank comes more naturally for me from stainless rounds).

Your current p-bass is perfect...you got the right bass and that is half the battle!! Setting your price range for your rig would really help us help you out.
 
#12
spideyjg said:
Biggest thing for me getting the Maiden sound was slapping on some Steve Harris flats.

That alone got closer than anything else did.

Jim
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, the strings are super important of course...only bloody expensive! You've gotta change em really often to get the proper tone ('Arry changes them for every show, and has said in interviews that they even start to go dead during one show). I can't afford a new set every show, of course, so I put 'em in Methyl Hydroxide (or whatever that stuff is called) and change em every month or so.

xsogol mentioned using 12 inch speakers, too. From my experience, normal 12 inch bass drivers really haven't been that much better than 10 inch ones (which are much easier to come by). 'Arry actually uses guitar speakers, EVM 12L's, which I just recently got, and help with the tone a LOT. Expensive, though...
 
#14
username n/a said:
whats the difference between the EVM12L Classic and the EVM12L Black Lable?
Click to expand...

Might actually be the same thing...but don't quote me on that. All I know is that they stopped making EVM12L's years ago, but Zakk Wilde wanted them anyways, so he got electro-voice to design him a custom speaker based on the original, put his band's name on it, and now they charge obscene prices for it. After that, they re-released the EVM12L classic, but as a weaker speaker than the original design. (New ones are 200 watts vs. 300 watt originals.)

I just read that Geezer Butler now uses 12L's too. Just shows how good they are:smug:
 
#15
Holy crap $200-$250 a speaker?!?!?!

I'd just get a good cabinet with 12's and concentrate on the strings, bass, technique, and amp first. Unless you got the kinda cake to drop that much on the speakers. :confused: :eyebrow:

I've gotten that sound with Epifani cabs, and Wanda gets it with Schroeders.

Jim
 
#17
username n/a said:
right now im useing a kustom 1X8 10 watt combo with volume low mid and high knobs, thair isnt really a set budget but it cant be to outragus because id like to have all the stuff by spring for my schools battle of the bands hope that helps
Click to expand...

I absolutely guarantee that using a 1x8 10W amp is like trying to prevent yourself from sounding like Iron Maiden. There is no other effect, transmitter, switcher, compressor, or strings you can buy that will have as much of a positive impact on your situation as buying a real amp. In fact, I will 100% guarantee that if you can actually play his lines well, using any bass, through a good enough amp, you will be respected and admired; but if you spend all your money and time on signature strings, and all the other accessory equipment of a stadium touring rig, people will only shake their heads and laugh at you.
 
#18
Inside the sleeve of the first Maiden album there is a group pic with him next to a Peavey Bass amp...

His sound started on a budget like all of us, I'm sure anybody can aproximate the sound good enough to sound decent in a band situation with a P-pickup configuration and the right EQ'ing.
 

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