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Berry Oakley

#42
JTE said:
Do you NEED a Darkstar installed in a Jazz to get close to that sound? I dunno, but equipment isn't the most important part of getting sound. Have a good sounding rig, know your EQ, and work on the attack. Sounds like he hit the strings fairly hard with a pick, didn't have too much bottom (he had a good low end, but it's never muddy and the mids are very prominent), and play with the same attitude. That'll get you into the sound.
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I admit that the equipment is not the only part, or the most important part of the sound, but I have a lot of basses with different pickups (combinations), but with my Tractor I get the best "Fillmore-sound" of all these basses in my ABB-tribute-band. I use SIT Silencers (semi-flats) on it.

The bass which is closest to the sound of my Tractor is a Jazz which I modified with ChiSonics:
260320101565.jpg
 
#44
newbold said:
The great thing about having a custom bass made is that one isn't limited to stock pickup spacing.

The J pickups could easily be positioned more toward the neck - so just a bit fatter than the 60's placement and a bit fatter than the '70's placement, and the Darkstar/Mudbucker/whatever could be a bit closer to the neck.

Of course that would be a different animal, but it seems that Berry's pickup placement was limited to one router job.

I certainly have my ideas but until I take them to another level I'm just thinking about this.
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I would think if you change the positions of the Jazz or Precision pups, you would lose one of their main sonic ingredients... As I understand it, at least the "middle" position pup is placed beneath the string's "harmonic" point. This is an electrical engineers thinking - brilliant! It is also why the J sounds clearer than the P... Since all the magnets line up in "the zone," and the P straddles the harmonic point... It's been a few years since I'd read this, and it's a some-wat foggy point... So, I could actually be "thinking of two other trees." :D
 
#45
tifftunes said:
I would think if you change the positions of the Jazz or Precision pups, you would lose one of their main sonic ingredients... As I understand it, at least the "middle" position pup is placed beneath the string's "harmonic" point. This is an electrical engineers thinking - brilliant! It is also why the J sounds clearer than the P... Since all the magnets line up in "the zone," and the P straddles the harmonic point... It's been a few years since I'd read this, and it's a some-wat foggy point... So, I could actually be "thinking of two other trees." :D
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Not to be out of line, but the Tractor Bass has an extreme bridge pickup, and the '70's Jazz has its bridge pickup placed closer to the bridge than a '60's J.

'The Zone'?? there's the sweet spot (stingray placement) while J basses cut differently mostly because of phase cancellation and a higher/lower harmonic response than a fatter-than-sweet-spot P pickup.

I'm presuming that there's something to what you're talking about but I'd like to read what you read.
 
#46
MF_Maher said:
IMGP9174.jpg
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If you look in the right side of the picture, with the black and white, it almost looks like he had another jazz pup up near the neck, but I'm sure it's just reflection off of the Hagstrom. However, this does remind me of Dickie Peterson's (Blue Cheer) jazz, which had three jazz pups, like a strat.


Peer75RI said:
151120091032.jpg
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Total Mel Schacher going on there. He had a EB pup in the mid position of a jazz. You can see it in early Grand Funk videos.
 
#50
dave2 said:
I can say that I saw the original Allman Brothers - with Duane and Berry - way back when.
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So did I, at A Warehouse in New Orleans. They were second on the bill with Country Funk opening and Pink Floyd headlining, who were on their Ummagumma tour. The Allmans played until nearly midnight and then the Floyds played until 2AM or so. To this day it's in the top 10 (or 5) shows I've seen.

Four bucks.
 
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#51
tifftunes said:
I would think if you change the positions of the Jazz or Precision pups, you would lose one of their main sonic ingredients... As I understand it, at least the "middle" position pup is placed beneath the string's "harmonic" point. This is an electrical engineers thinking - brilliant! It is also why the J sounds clearer than the P... Since all the magnets line up in "the zone," and the P straddles the harmonic point... It's been a few years since I'd read this, and it's a some-wat foggy point... So, I could actually be "thinking of two other trees." :D
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Think about it; that "harmonic point" moves every time you fret a different note.
 
#53
As much as his technique is a huge part of his sound, I have to say, a Bisonic type pickup is pretty vital. I used to think I could get a pretty close tone with my Precision, at least enough to be satisfied with it. However, since installing a Dagstar in my Jazz bass, it's SO much closer and you can really hear the difference. It's just a big sounding pickup. Here's mine:


2012-08-08022659.jpg
 
#54
Al3x said:
I know I'm resurrecting a long dead thread, but I found something that may interest many of you (including myself) that are seeking his tone:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Allman-Brothers-Band-Berry-Oakley-Fender-Bass-Amplifier-/160548851326?

(Yes, I do know the pictures aren't there, but it includes a description of it)
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I'm $17,000 short here. Too bad the auction ended. It would have been nice to see pictures of the amp. I'm in my second Allman Bros. tribute band. I've never tried to emulate Berry's sound. I have copped a lot of his licks and style though. What a ridiculous player he was, as we all know. Talk about inventive.
 
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#55
Really old thread I know but I'm thinking about building a replica of the Tractor and as far as I can understand the neckpickup is moved in between the bridgepickup and the bridge, wouldnt this be weired with the stringspacing and the spacing of the polepieces of the neckpickup?
 
#56
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