Cliff Williams (AC/DC) bass tone

[iSteen]

I like the way his bass sounds and sits in the mix.
Does any of you know if he uses any effects, or just his amp?

 

[Slater]

No effects. Angus doesn’t even use effects!

 

[Briton]

He used Flatwound strings.

 

[Gene Machine]

He also uses Musicman basses, mostly. They are active and have a lot of tonal control right from the bass.

 

[JimmyM]

Cliff's always been bass into DI and amp. Live he eventually settled into 70's Stingrays and an SVT 4 Pro powering a couple 810e's after a period of experimenting around with different basses. In the studio he often used a Precision with very high action and flats, though in later years he started using the Stingray more and more.

 

[Briton]

On the Highway to Hell and Powerage LP's he also used a Jazz Bass and a B-15 Flip Top

 

[Johnny Znuff]

I’ve begun playing in an AC/DC tribute. The guitar player told me to try flatwounds, which I did, and they sound great. I’ve also rolled off the treble settings on my bass (a Ray34) and amp. Playing with a pick then brings a little brightness to the otherwise muddy settings. I also use a chorus pedal for the Sin City bass solo, for a bit of presence (although I don’t think Cliff does that)...

 

[descendent22]

effects?! Are you serious?acdc using effects? Obviously you know NOTHING ABOUT AC/DC! Cliff uses a couple 810 SVT cabs and I’ve seen him use SVT heads, SVT pro 4 heads and possibly SVT pro 3 at times. He’s used many basses throughout the years but he’s consistently used stingrays with some kind of flats. SMH, AC/DC with effects. That’s insulting

 

[JimmyM]

effects?! Are you serious?acdc using effects? Obviously you know NOTHING ABOUT AC/DC! Cliff uses a couple 810 SVT cabs and I’ve seen him use SVT heads, SVT pro 4 heads and possibly SVT pro 3 at times. He’s used many basses throughout the years but he’s consistently used stingrays with some kind of flats. SMH, AC/DC with effects. That’s insulting

Nope, not anymore. Angus uses a Rocktron Hush pedal and a Schaffer Replica, which is Schaffer-Vega Diversity wireless unit from the 70's without wireless capability. It's got a companding circuit that many folks really loved back then. And Stevie uses a Mooer Pure Boost for the intro of TNT to thicken up the sound when he's playing by himself. Cliff...still bass and amp, though.

 

[descendent22]

Nope, not anymore. Angus uses a Rocktron Hush pedal and a Schaffer Replica, which is Schaffer-Vega Diversity wireless unit from the 70's without wireless capability. It's got a companding circuit that many folks really loved back then. And Stevie uses a Mooer Pure Boost for the intro of TNT to thicken up the sound when he's playing by himself. Cliff...still bass and amp, though.

Yeah, I don’t really consider boost or a wireless unit in the category of effects

 

[bobyoung53]

I’ve begun playing in an AC/DC tribute. The guitar player told me to try flatwounds, which I did, and they sound great. I’ve also rolled off the treble settings on my bass (a Ray34) and amp. Playing with a pick then brings a little brightness to the otherwise muddy settings. I also use a chorus pedal for the Sin City bass solo, for a bit of presence (although I don’t think Cliff does that)...

It's amazing how good flats can sound played with a pick, I think they cut better than round wounds.

 

[iammr2]

Nope, not anymore. Angus uses a Rocktron Hush pedal and a Schaffer Replica, which is Schaffer-Vega Diversity wireless unit from the 70's without wireless capability. It's got a companding circuit that many folks really loved back then. And Stevie uses a Mooer Pure Boost for the intro of TNT to thicken up the sound when he's playing by himself. Cliff...still bass and amp, though.

I thought Cliff retired?

 

[JimmyM]

I thought Cliff retired?

Cliff just recorded with them last year. Brian and Phil were there, too.

 

[starjag]

How do you know so much current AC/DC stuff Jimmy? Fav band?

Cliff just recorded with them last year. Brian and Phil were there, too.

 

[JimmyM]

How do you know so much current AC/DC stuff Jimmy? Fav band?

One of them, but it was all over the music news last year.

 

[descendent22]

I thought Cliff retired?

He retired when it was just going to be angus and his new version of the band with Axl.now that the back in black lineup minus Malcom is reunited cliff is back.he only retired cause he said it wasn’t the same without Phil and Brian along with Malcom.he had a commitment in 2016 to finish that tour .its not that hard to stay up to date with these things when you can just read about it on google and easily have so many resources to stay up to date

 

[iammr2]

He retired when it was just going to be angus and his new version of the band with Axl.now that the back in black lineup minus Malcom is reunited cliff is back.he only retired cause he said it wasn’t the same without Phil and Brian along with Malcom.he had a commitment in 2016 to finish that tour .its not that hard to stay up to date with these things when you can just read about it on google and easily have so many resources to stay up to date

JimmyM's word is quite enough.

 

[descendent22]

JimmyM's word is quite enough.

Yeah well you should notice the Jimmy is agreeing and liking my comment

 

[dougjwray]

It's amazing how good flats can sound played with a pick, I think they cut better than round wounds.

Absolutely. It's the percussive element.

 

[dougjwray]

Some of my favorite "pick and flats" sounds are on McCartney things like "Savoy Truffle" "Lovely Rita" and "Baby You're a Rich Man" (all with the Beatles, of course).