The bass tone on this album is just heavenly. It sounds like a Precision bass, but anyone know what strings (flats or rounds), amp might have been used? Looking for sounds like Tears Before Bedtime and Beyond Belief in particular.
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Elvis Costello Imperial Bedroom tone?
- Thread starter lastminute
- Start date
well, it was the incredible Bruce Thomas on bass as part of Elvis's band of the time ... The Attractions. Bruce has pretty much been known as a Pbass (or P clones like the Profile) player, so there you go.
I've always liked Bruces playing style and while he does use a P, I think he would sound pretty much like himself on pretty much any bass. He has a very distinctive, hard hitting and sometimes melodic style that goes all over the neck.
I've always liked Bruces playing style and while he does use a P, I think he would sound pretty much like himself on pretty much any bass. He has a very distinctive, hard hitting and sometimes melodic style that goes all over the neck.
Weirdly, the one time I saw the Attractions live back in the 90s, he played a Dano longhorn (or clone). Murky hall acoustics, I couldn't tell what he was playing at all - very unfortunate as they're a great band! I remember they played "Beyond belief" from that album VERY fast.
Bear in mind that what you're hearing is after the producer and engineer have finished recording, EQ'ing, mixing and mastering.
BT played an early 60's Precision with Rotosound Rounds, 55-115 gauge set, sometimes with a foam mute. And was one of the very best bassists of that era, along with Graham Maby, Bruce Foxton, Colin Moulding, Tina Weymouth, etc.
Those parts are so satisfying to play. So melodic. Every time our band talks about new covers to learn I try to get another Attractions song on the list!
It does sound like a P bass on that album to me, no idea what beyond that.
It does sound like a P bass on that album to me, no idea what beyond that.
I actually played this bass. Stage manager at Univ. of MD in 1981 when they came through town. Road crew let me play the bass backstage. Early 60's Fender with round wounds. Sounded great in the hall and pretty average unamplified.
Great player and I wish some of his playing style had rubbed off on me, but I'm just nowhere near that good.
In a 1987 interview for Guitar Player Magazine, Bruce stated that he had three Fender Precisions; a sunburst '59, a pink '64, and a red '66. He had some other basses, but everybody knows he's a P-bass guy.
In the same interview, he also stated that he used GHS roundwounds and that he didn't change them very often as he thought they sounded better after the "twang like Chris Squire" wore off. He thought the gauges were .110 for the E.
In a 1987 interview for Guitar Player Magazine, Bruce stated that he had three Fender Precisions; a sunburst '59, a pink '64, and a red '66. He had some other basses, but everybody knows he's a P-bass guy.
In the same interview, he also stated that he used GHS roundwounds and that he didn't change them very often as he thought they sounded better after the "twang like Chris Squire" wore off. He thought the gauges were .110 for the E.
hmmm, compression and EQ maybe, but I'm thinking that in 1982 there was not a lot of amp modeling going on dude. Bruce was the real deal on bass.
gave you the benefit of the doubt my man, don't make me regret it
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I saw that tour and still have a very ratty sleeveless from it but no idea what the strings were. Great bass player.
Saw them twice in ‘78 and once in ‘80, and as I recall he was using a Peavey rig with a 2x15 cab. In the studio, at that time, who knows?
That album, besides the Nashville side trip of Almost Blue, was the first to not be produced by Nick Lowe; instead it was produced/engineered by Beatles associate Geoff Emerick, who was spliting his time between that and engineering a McCartney album. Much more experimentation/change in direction was attempted, as Costello’s popularity had waned a bit by then.
That album, besides the Nashville side trip of Almost Blue, was the first to not be produced by Nick Lowe; instead it was produced/engineered by Beatles associate Geoff Emerick, who was spliting his time between that and engineering a McCartney album. Much more experimentation/change in direction was attempted, as Costello’s popularity had waned a bit by then.
I went to one of the shows on the Imperial Bedroom tour (at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre) and the bass was 98% inaudible in the house. About all you could hear was the amp sound very faintly being picked up by vocal mics or other open mics on stage. Being a huge fan of Bruce's playing and the Imperial Bedroom album, I was very disappointed to say the least. My thought at the time, which I still think was the case, is that Bruce must have really pissed off the FOH engineer, who retaliated by taking the bass out of the mix!
Re. the bass sound on the album, it sounds to me like heavy compression from an 1176 or other similar unit. There is also some reverb on it at times.
Re. the bass sound on the album, it sounds to me like heavy compression from an 1176 or other similar unit. There is also some reverb on it at times.
- Sep 4, 2010
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+1. Imperial Bedroom is in my mind also an engineering/producing tour de force among many great big loud and well defined bass guitar tones on countless 80s albums. tBH I think gear and strings matter the least if you take the basssound on the finished album as the yardstick.
