Entwistle on Quadrophenia

[buldog5151bass]

I doubt Pete wrote the bass lines, and I doubt he came up with Moon's drum fills though the entire song.

 

[bbh]

I play steel rounds lots with no clank. A mix of setup, technique and eq. Back then, I don't think anyone was playing basses with action as low as we expect today. Entwistle was called Thunderfingers. Not for his sound, but because of how hard he attacked those strings. Early rounds, I suspect, would age very quickly. Maybe in an hour or two for him. Plus, recording gear back then was not quite as HiFi as it is today. Layering tracks on tape also ate some of the HiFi up after awhile. Tons of reasons he didn't "clank". But he certaiy did later. Once basses, strings, amps, recording gear, caught up with Mr Entwistle. Who was far ahead of his time, for certain.

Yeah, I don’t clank either. You can hear his strings hit the frets though. That’s where the treble is coming from. I use that technique more often than not. Pluck close to the end or on the fretboard. Bounce the strings off the frets.
I know he wrote all the keyboard parts so I’d assume he wrote most of if not all of his bass lines.

 

[jthisdell]

I think Quadrophenia is one of the he albums that really made me want to be a Bassist

 

[Michedelic]

Yeah, I don’t clank either. You can hear his strings hit the frets though. That’s where the treble is coming from. I use that technique more often than not. Pluck close to the end or on the fretboard. Bounce the strings off the frets.
I know he wrote all the keyboard parts so I’d assume he wrote most of if not all of his bass lines.

All the keyboard parts? To which songs?

 

[David McIntire]

Yeah, I don’t clank either. You can hear his strings hit the frets though. That’s where the treble is coming from. I use that technique more often than not. Pluck close to the end or on the fretboard. Bounce the strings off the frets.
I know he wrote all the keyboard parts so I’d assume he wrote most of if not all of his bass lines.

Entwistle, like John Paul Jones and Paul McCartney, prolly had a lot more to do with the end, released results of those great Who discs. He was a headstrong guy. Opinionated. And I am sure argued his points with Pete and Roger.

And yes, I can easily get his tones by reverting my technique back to the days I was a kid and flailing about. Entwistle's tone was that pluck, or pick, attack bouncing the strings off the frets. When he wanted it. Later stuff like Eminence front wasn't as "clanky", even if it's just as brilliant. Another technique that helps me get that tone is whether I play close to, or ON the fret, vs playing in the middle of the frets. I can control the Buzz and Clank varying the distance I press down the string upon the board. The farther from the fret, the more buzz and clank.

Like most tones, they're not only developed by the gear, but also the situation. When Mr Entwistle started, he was a kid. Playing rigs of the day next to Pete Townsend, who went deaf because of volume. His tone an style were developed because, like many of us next to loud guitards, we struggle to hear ourselves. Yes, Entwistle improved his gear. But that style remained. He was merciless on those strings. When called for. But he was a master. Of all technique. And dynamics. But he was a kid. First. Struggling to hear. His hands got very strong. And that stayed with him his entire career. In my opinion.

 

[mikewalker]

I read many interviews with John where he talked about his low action saying, "I like the strings on the other side of the frets." Yes, he used new strings for every gig and would change them often in the studio.

Bassically, Michael

Reading that about 30 years ago prompted a long, long search for the holy grail of "lowest possible playing action without fret buzz". Light, light touch is the answer! I do like to dig in a bit, which is a hard habit to break, especially when digging in rewards one with a likable tone.

Last year I had a bit of an epiphany when I had a beer with Larry Hartke who told me that John once told him "Fret buzz actually doesn't bother me, as long as all of the frets rattle equally"...

 

[REV]

My understanding is that for "Who's Next and Quadrophenia" Entwistle used the Frankenstein P bass.

 

[Michedelic]

My understanding is that for "Who's Next and Quadrophenia" Entwistle used the Frankenstein P bass.

One more time...
John Entwistle Gear: 1971-1974 | John Entwistle Bass Gear | Whotabs

 

[Killing Floor]

He did some of his greatest work without tort.

 

[bbh]

All the keyboard parts? To which songs?

Yikes! Sorry, memory eludes the details. However, they do have quite a bit of keys throughout their album career.

 

[mikewalker]

Yikes! Sorry, memory eludes the details. However, they do have quite a bit of keys throughout their album career.

Nicky Hopkins played keys on the first couple of albums...

 

[funkifiedsoul]

"I can make any band sound like The Who"
John Entwhistle

 

[mikewalker]

"I can make any band sound like The Who"
John Entwhistle

"I have gotten dozens of free drinks impersonating John Entwistle"
John Entwhistle

 

[Michedelic]

Yikes! Sorry, memory eludes the details. However, they do have quite a bit of keys throughout their album career.

If we’re talking about Quadrophenia only, with the exception of three tunes that featured Chris Stainton(Joe Cocker), Pete played piano and synthesizer...

Nicky Hopkins played keys on the first couple of albums...

Absolutely, Hopkins was the go-to piano guy, not only for The Who, but The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Creation, Jeff Beck, Quicksilver, Jefferson Airplane, on and on...

 

[JW56789]

I've always wondered, but are there other guys besides me that WAY prefer 'Quadrophenia' to 'Tommy' ?

I also ran across these a while back:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Real MIJ ESP, for sale on this side of the pond. 4- or 5-string, any color you want as long as it's black.

 

[HotelX]

I've always wondered, but are there other guys besides me that WAY prefer 'Quadrophenia' to 'Tommy' ?

Yes and I’m one of them. Not even close for me.

 

[JimmyM]

Despite the 4005 that I recall seeing in the album liner book somewhere - I just read recently he used a thunderbird ( not a fenderbird) for that record(??) That might explain the darker tones...

What explains the darker tones is the producers for The Who being so reticent to mix the bass as trebly as he wanted.

 

[Michedelic]

I've always wondered, but are there other guys besides me that WAY prefer 'Quadrophenia' to 'Tommy' ?

I also ran across these a while back:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Real MIJ ESP, for sale on this side of the pond. 4- or 5-string, any color you want as long as it's black.

I’m partial to these guys...

One of these days, yeah, one of these days...

 

[REMBO]

QUADROPHENIA is my favorite album! i was lucky to see them in 1996 play it at Madison Square Garden In New York!! There Is a fantastic radio broadcast of that show out as a bootleg! it may be on youtube too!!

 

[Skokiaan]

Heh. Respectfully? I disagree. Steve Harris played WAY hard, too. And got the twang/slap sound. Out of FLATS... Regardless? The question was, "How does Mr Entwistle play steel rounds and not get twang." The twang was in the strength of his attack, but he changed techniques to get the sound he was looking for. Point being, I play steel strings. Very hard. But with control. Partly from learning Mr Entwistle's lines, but also from reading the man's words. I can get that sound, or very clean sounds. It's all in the technique. That's all.

You're missing two key points. First, he would turn the treble way up on his amp - at least on stage. Second, Entwistle complained that engineers never got his sound onto tape. They changed his tone to have more bottom end (which was a wise move).

The older (and deafer) John got, the worse his tone became. It's really apparent in his later solo work. He morphed into an over-processed noisy tone. He seemed to tone it down a bit when back working with the Who, and much more so on the 1995 Ringo and 2001 Abbey Road tours.