I met Entwistle several times, including shortly before his death, and never saw him wear a hearing aid. Stories of his (and Pete's) hearing loss are greatly exaggerated. I had no problem having a quiet conversation with him.
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Bass/Amp Combo for John Entwistle tone?
- Thread starter fetfet
- Start date
I met Entwistle several times, including shortly before his death, and never saw him wear a hearing aid. Stories of his (and Pete's) hearing loss are greatly exaggerated. I had no problem having a quiet conversation with him.
I think a brand new Roto Sound Swing Bass 66 set of strings get you about 75% there for the Entwistle sound. Can you afford to buy a new set everyday?
His recorded tones don't do him justice.
Listen to My Generation isolated bass from Live At Leeds on YT to get a better idea of his technique and tone, it's stunning.
In other isolated tracks you can hear him clearly controlling the fret buzz, so it comes on after the initial clean attack at exactly the same time on each held note. I'll try to find the song that has this in spades, it's cool to hear.
His technique was stupendous to be able to play so controlled at such high SPLs with so much treble in his sound, and he was very dynamic and would also control the amount of harmonics, buzz, and OD just with his touch, often at great speed and with no extraneous noise and perfect note separation. Mind blowing player and impossible to truly copy IMO.
Listen to My Generation isolated bass from Live At Leeds on YT to get a better idea of his technique and tone, it's stunning.
In other isolated tracks you can hear him clearly controlling the fret buzz, so it comes on after the initial clean attack at exactly the same time on each held note. I'll try to find the song that has this in spades, it's cool to hear.
His technique was stupendous to be able to play so controlled at such high SPLs with so much treble in his sound, and he was very dynamic and would also control the amount of harmonics, buzz, and OD just with his touch, often at great speed and with no extraneous noise and perfect note separation. Mind blowing player and impossible to truly copy IMO.
He switched to Maxima bass strings and changed those twice a day: a set each for soundcheck and the gig.
He switched to Maxima bass strings and changed those twice a day: a set each for soundcheck and the gig.
And eventually went back to Rotos.
Imagine being the idiot who decided to no longer offer The Ox free strings? Entwistle not only made them what they were and probably had more to do with the original success of the company, and who was the single best advertisement for them? Especially since he mentioned his displeasure often in interviews and pushed the Maximaas for years instead.
For his late 60s/Live at Leeds tone, a Precision with Swing 66s into a Sunn 2000s rig can get pretty close. Just set it on the edge of break up, and then work on the technique.
I am an Entwistle fan in a big way and trying to achieve that tone has been a journey for me. Copying the various rigs is relatively easy: P Bass + Sunn = Leeds; Thunderbird = Quad; Alembic + super fancy stuff = late Who; Buzzard + Ashdown = reunion tours. All of the recommendations about playing with low action and a light touch are spot on too. To replicate his general sound in a smaller rig, I would keep this in mind: I found that a good combo of compression and distortion with a standard tube or solid state combo amp will get you very close to something that can emulate Entwistles tone. Some Class D amps even have good compression for this, like a Genz Benz or TC Electronic, and I'm sure others do as well. I use a Keeley Compressor with a Earthquaker Devices Monarch and I feel really good about the tone I get. Somehow I get stuck using house amps alot and that combo with my 71 P Bass works on almost any house rig. Remember to that the bass will have to cut through a drummer trying to "Keith Moon" it up and some guy trying to do windmills.
godofthunder59
Life is short, buy the bass.
- Feb 19, 2006
- 9,060
- 38,448
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Cataldo Basses, Whirlwind products, Thunderbucker pickups
70s Hiwatts and 60s nonreverse Thunderbirds are my main rig. I have used Roto Sound RS66LDS since 76 maybe even earlier. I think getting Entwistle's on a budget using Roto Sounds and low action is key. I also thinkif you don't have a tube amp, for grit use something like a Ibanez tube screamer on a low OD setting. My newly formed Who tribute second low volume rehearsal. My 66 NR through a Fender Rumble 200. Oh yeah, crank the treble!
LAL huge benchmark!
godofthunder59
Life is short, buy the bass.
- Feb 19, 2006
- 9,060
- 38,448
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Cataldo Basses, Whirlwind products, Thunderbucker pickups
I played in a Who tribute band for about 6 years and I always liked his Live at Leeds tone the best and tried to emulate that. I played a passive J style bass through a Tech 21 Landmark 600 and used a vintage Rat distortion pedal for some overdrive. The ability to blend the two channels really helped get me where I needed to go.
Tone is in the fingers, & the ox used his whole hand for tone. But you cant go wrong with a pbass & hiwatt.
I have been studying The OX and experimenting with sound trying to emulate him for over 35 years now. I have a Fenderbird, an Explorerbird, Alembic, a couple of different Precisions and I even built a 66 slab to try to cop his various tones. I also impersonate him in a Who tribute band. I've gone through many thousands of dollars throughout all those years in my quest. His tone after 1985 never impressed me as much as all his prior years.
His sound really is all in his hands. Contrary to believe, he DID NOT have a light touch and his set up has a lot to do with his tone. My best advice is to find a good Fender Precision with a maple neck. Set the string action to just a hair above the frets to the point where they start to buzz. Rotosound does not make strings as good as they used to anymore so try a set of Ken Smith Burners 45 to 105 , you will be pleasantly surprised. A good amp ( Ampeg, Ashdown, TRace Elliot, ect) with a boost such as a Sans Amp DI or the new Ampeg sci di will just about hit the spot.
3 1/4 bass, full treble, mids anywhere between 4 and 6 on BOTH the amp and the box and volume as loud as you can stand. Play the notes as if you were tapping a drum with your fingers, in between all of this watch all the live segments of the Kids are Alright film daily.
The amp, bass, set up and box configuration should cover a similar tone up until the Quadrophenia album, after that you will need a Tbird but this configuration will get you in the ballpark all of the OX tone for a while.
His sound really is all in his hands. Contrary to believe, he DID NOT have a light touch and his set up has a lot to do with his tone. My best advice is to find a good Fender Precision with a maple neck. Set the string action to just a hair above the frets to the point where they start to buzz. Rotosound does not make strings as good as they used to anymore so try a set of Ken Smith Burners 45 to 105 , you will be pleasantly surprised. A good amp ( Ampeg, Ashdown, TRace Elliot, ect) with a boost such as a Sans Amp DI or the new Ampeg sci di will just about hit the spot.
3 1/4 bass, full treble, mids anywhere between 4 and 6 on BOTH the amp and the box and volume as loud as you can stand. Play the notes as if you were tapping a drum with your fingers, in between all of this watch all the live segments of the Kids are Alright film daily.
The amp, bass, set up and box configuration should cover a similar tone up until the Quadrophenia album, after that you will need a Tbird but this configuration will get you in the ballpark all of the OX tone for a while.
Really succinct analysis. I'm gonna use this when we do "A Quick One" next month!
That is absolutely true! The key components of Entwistle's sound, even more than the type of bass used, are a setup featuring very low action with very little relief and fresh roundwound strings, especially Rotosounds. Without those things you just can't cop his tone.
Another thing: I play Alembics and Thunderbirds myself, and it's important to know that if you play a current model T-Bird (meaning one made from 1987 onwards) with the stock plastic covered pickups it will be difficult to sound like Entwistle because the current pickups are very different than the originals. If you are using a T-Bird I would strongly recommend replacing your pickups with vintage reproductions made by Lull (my favorites), Thunderbuckers or Lollar.
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godofthunder59
Life is short, buy the bass.
- Feb 19, 2006
- 9,060
- 38,448
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Cataldo Basses, Whirlwind products, Thunderbucker pickups
Definitely get rid of the modern Thunderbird pickups! Search ebay there are really great $50 reproduction 60s spec pickups available from Hong Kong.
The guy in this tribute band has got great Entwistle tone, IMHO. Looks like Sunn amps, maybe?
