• 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.

Carol Kaye tidbit

#126
JimmyM said:
Interesting to say the least! I discovered she's best worshipped from afar, though. She can be brutal.
Click to expand...

Brutal. I wonder how many people on earth wander around, shaking in their boots, worrying about being brutalized by Carol Kaye. Come on, she's a bass player. Most people have never heard of her. By most, I mean 99.9% or more.
 
#127
Munjibunga said:
Brutal. I wonder how many people on earth wander around, shaking in their boots, worrying about being brutalized by Carol Kaye. Come on, she's a bass player. Most people have never heard of her. By most, I mean 99.9% or more.
Click to expand...
Right, and 99.9% of people who never heard of Chris Brown don't have to worry about being brutalized by him. But Rhianna and his other girlfriends do. Come on, Munji...use your head!!! :D
 
#129
Angus said:
No, I'm not talking about missing fundamental- I'm saying that the term "undertones" as Carol Kaye calls them doesn't mean anything.
Click to expand...

Fender basses back then came with the F80 set - light gauge flatwound. The "undertones" she is referring to are probably the horrible wolf-tones that came out of the low E string, and to a lesser extent, the A string. While these strings had a "sound", they also sucked on a purely technical level. Muffling them on some level helped greatly with these "undertones", so I think that is what she is referring to.

When I bought my first precision in 1969 (I still have it), I quickly changed out the low E to a LaBella, as I just couldn't stand the Fender E. I could barely get it in tune. Before long, I switched the A too, and after a couple of years, I went to the entire LaBella set. But apparently, she did none of this.

For those of you who are too young to know, all Fender basses back then came with sponge rubber glued to the underside of the bridge cover, to assist in this "damping". So this is not at all Carol Kaye's invention. This was totally common; I did it myself as well. The first time I took the cover off I thought, wow, that's messy sounding!

I do miss the clean, fat tones of bass on 60's records. It's what inspired me to learn to play back then. The bass was so warm, clean, and up front. Now it's mostly hidden behind the kick, and often just sounds like a low "hum". (I'm talking pop records on the radio here.) But I digress.....
 
#130
Jim Campbell said:
in the early days of rock bands that played their own instruments,studio pros were often brought in to play on the recordings,ala simon and garfunkel's sounds of silence,or even zappa's early stuff so there was probably much greater demand for their services......as well the brill building style hit machinery has largely been replaced by the self contained band format of today
Click to expand...

Pro Tools can make up for all sorts of discrepancies.
 
#131
JimmyM said:
Right, and 99.9% of people who never heard of Chris Brown don't have to worry about being brutalized by him. But Rhianna and his other girlfriends do. Come on, Munji...use your head!!! :D
Click to expand...

My point was more along the lines of your earlier comment that you don't have to take that kind of crap from anyone. You're right. No one gets to abuse me, not even the Great Carol Kaye.

Rhianna made a choice to be with an abusive person (not her fault that she was abused, though). You and I would not do that.
 
#133
Yeah, she is opinionated. Stubborn. Does not suffer fools gladly. But she made the 60's and 70's pop music happen, and she has earned the right to be what she is. And I bow to her. I Still wonder what those English rockers thought when Carol showed up to play "Feeling Alright". Here is this -woman- kicking butt all over the studio, fer gawd's sake!

For those with good groove ears, listen to how Carol and the drummer lock down, and ignore the rushing piano player's arpeggio, especially when they come back in on the break down. She just hauls it right back into the groove, like "uh uh, buddy- THIS is the pocket."

I bought her bass books way back when they first came out, and studied FA until I understood where she was coming from. I mark that track as one of the milestones on my development as a bass player.
 
#135
Pro-Tools is my favorite video game. I play it all day - everyday.

Not nuts about what it's done for music production though..in the wrong hands. (I use it for VO and audio post) You can really suck the soul out of a performance with PT.....or make an incredible recording. It all depends on who's "flying the plane".

On topic. I had an exchange for a while with Carol on this. The whole "modern/hip-hop/sampling" thing. She's a PT user...and really seemed pretty cool about the whole sampling thing overall.
 
#136
chuck1073 said:
On topic. I had an exchange for a while with Carol on this. The whole "modern/hip-hop/sampling" thing. She's a PT user...and really seemed pretty cool about the whole sampling thing overall.
Click to expand...
She would...she's not a songwriter and she got her studio musician pay already, so she doesn't stand to gain if her bass parts get sampled. It's really only songwriters or artists who actually stand to gain monetarily who have a problem with it.
 
#137
azureblue said:
And I bow to her.
Click to expand...

I'll never bow to anyone but God. That's just it I don't care who you are or what you've done, we're all human beings and deserve respect. Disrespect me and you'll get none in return, period.

I hate an I'm above you attitude. I could care less of her barriers she broke, all the accomplishments she made, and the pedestal she thinks she deserves to be standing on.

She's foolish if she thinks being disrespectful will gain her any accolades.

I don't care if the electric bass was "Secretly" her idea. Her current attitude has lost it for me:confused:.

God Bless, Ray
 
#139
LilRay said:
I'll never bow to anyone but God. That's just it I don't care who you are or what you've done, we're all human beings and deserve respect. Disrespect me and you'll get none in return, period.
Click to expand...
When you put it that way, it's tough to disagree. I have no time for star-tripping a-holes, and I would be horrified if anyone thought I ever star-tripped on them on a gig.
 
#140
In the same way that Carol didn't have time to change strings back then, I don't have time to read this entire thread, but I'd still like to comment. :) (So apologies if I'm repeating anyone elses sentiments.)

I was in regular contact with Carol for a while, back in the nineties, and found her to be extremely helpful, practical and genuinely interested in other bass players around the world. I can't remember how we got in contact, but she was happy to listen to and critique my bands album at the time and offer advice on what might make us more marketable. We were doing Prog-Rock during a period when it wasn't marketable, unfortunately, but Stu Hamm was doing fine. :) I'm pretty sure she ended up sending me a heap of training material and an autographed CD for nothing, which I was very grateful for!

Not sure if Carol would be happy, but that reminds me of a funny thing that happened. During our emails, I had mentioned my wife's name and the name of our pet dog, but Carol somehow got them mixed up and dedicated the autographed CD to myself and the dog. :) There's only 2 or 3 people in the whole world that find it funny, but how can you top that sort of thing, hey. :)

Cheers,

EG
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back