What overdrive/distortion/etc. would you recommend for that slightly hairy Moving Pictures era studio sound?
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Jazz bass strung with Rotosound 66's, tone full on, pushing a tube amp hard will get you most of the way there.
Play like Geddy Lee.
Play like Geddy Lee.
If the OP is asking for recommendations for the dirt tone from that specific album I’m sure the OP knows to use a Jazz (‘70s spacing) with Rotosounds.
Don’t forget Geddy also used a Rickenbacker on Moving Pictures and I’ve heard that apparently the neck pickup of his Jazz was weak for several years after he got it. IIRC he had both pickups from he Jazz rewound a few years ago.
As for pedals for that Moving Pictures tone....
Personally, I like the SGFX Beta Deluxe with my Geddy Lee Jazz for Rush songs, but it doesn’t have quite enough high end to get really Moving Picturesy.
It’s not a pedal, but I wonder if the Tech 21 Geddy Lee Sansamp could get that tone?
Daring Audio Laser Cannon HD - there's a demo of Trip Wamsley getting some Moving Pictures tones on Youtube
Was that the Maytag era, or Kenmore?
Just about any of the Tech21 SansAmp bass pedals should get you there.
If the OP is asking for recommendations for the dirt tone from that specific album I’m sure the OP knows to use a Jazz (‘70s spacing) with Rotosounds.
Don’t forget Geddy also used a Rickenbacker on Moving Pictures and I’ve heard that apparently the neck pickup of his Jazz was weak for several years after he got it. IIRC he had both pickups from he Jazz rewound a few years ago.
As for pedals for that Moving Pictures tone....
Personally, I like the SGFX Beta Deluxe with my Geddy Lee Jazz for Rush songs, but it doesn’t have quite enough high end to get really Moving Picturesy.
It’s not a pedal, but I wonder if the Tech 21 Geddy Lee Sansamp could get that tone?
Bridge pickup actually. The neck pickup was fine and is quite prominent in his sound.
Ah darn. I knew it was one of the pickups.
Definitely in the Geddy Lee tone ballpark, but I wouldn’t say it’s very Moving Picturesy, I’d say it’s closer to his current tone (R40, Time Machine, Yes Rock Hall induction, etc.)
Great playing btw
Ah darn. I knew it was one of the pickups.
Definitely in the Geddy Lee tone ballpark, but I wouldn’t say it’s very Moving Picturesy, I’d say it’s closer to his current tone (R40, Time Machine, Yes Rock Hall induction, etc.)
Great playing btw
Tim's quite a talented fellow, isn't he?
He has a couple of Geddy basses - IIRC one has EMG JVXs (??) and the other is dead stock. If that's the EMG one that could be part of the added brightness you're hearing, and I agree that the MP tone is a good bit darker overall than that. But if you're that close you might be able to dial in the rest via EQ or just turning off the tweeters in your cab.
I've heard there are very preliminary talks about a Ged-2112 pedal, but nothing firm yet. If they have success with their DuG pedal, I'd bet one would happen next year.
From the Signals Tour book...
"2 Ashley Preamps powered by 2 BGW 750-B Amplifiers into 1 Thiele design 2 x 15 cabinets and 1 Ampeg V4-B cabinet with JBL K140 speakers.
"I run this in stereo for the Rickenbacker..."
Of course, this is one album and a year+ later, but I THINK he was still using this during MP (and add the J-bass in there as well)...
The Tech 21/SansAmp stuff (GED2112) will get you within shouting distance of his last few albums/tours tone, but in no way does it sound like the MP tone, IMHO.
"2 Ashley Preamps powered by 2 BGW 750-B Amplifiers into 1 Thiele design 2 x 15 cabinets and 1 Ampeg V4-B cabinet with JBL K140 speakers.
"I run this in stereo for the Rickenbacker..."
Of course, this is one album and a year+ later, but I THINK he was still using this during MP (and add the J-bass in there as well)...
The Tech 21/SansAmp stuff (GED2112) will get you within shouting distance of his last few albums/tours tone, but in no way does it sound like the MP tone, IMHO.
As much as I absolutely love Tech 21 products, I've found Geddy's tone over the past few years to be complete and utter garbage... razor thin... trebly... dirty... complete lack of b*lls.
Yup, I wrote it.
Completely disagree. I think the Clock Work Angels album is absolute butter. Balls the size of Montana.
Yeah you wrote it. Then I read it. And I agree with that 100%. I've said it myself!
I recall @tech21nyc saying when the preamp came out that there wouldn’t be a pedal because there’s simply too much in the preamp to fit in a pedal.
The preamp was also designed for Geddy Lee. He’s not a pedal guy so I can’t see a pedal coming in the future being very likely.
I think his tone has gotten better over the past few years (Time Machine album onwards). The absolute worst was his tone on the Rock in Rio album.
Rock in Rio was actually a pair of plain vanilla Tech21 RBI preamps.
Later DVD's showcase tech 21 RPMs.
Of course, it isn't all just those preamps. He fed them through Palmer Speaker emulators, as well as DI's off Avalon U5s.
The actual "tone" everyone hears live is really up to the sound guy (live at least. With DVD/live recordings, at least there is a CHANCE to fix it in the mix!).
Too bad we didn't get to actually hear the GED2112 in action (yet?)...
Here's the thing. You can never play "clean" and nail the Geddy tone from any era. Clank and fret buzz is a huge part of his sound (much like Chris Squire). So no matter what kind of dirt you run it through, if your action is perfect and your technique is clean, you ain't gonna get there.
Don't worry. I'm not knocking his playing or tone. I just think early on he embraced the noises a bass makes other than clear notes and use those noises as part of what he was going for.
But, yeah, you gotta smack the crap out of your strings. Your strings gotta smack the crap out of your fretboard as often as not. And you gotta embrace what a bass does when it's not sounding like a piano.
Don't worry. I'm not knocking his playing or tone. I just think early on he embraced the noises a bass makes other than clear notes and use those noises as part of what he was going for.
But, yeah, you gotta smack the crap out of your strings. Your strings gotta smack the crap out of your fretboard as often as not. And you gotta embrace what a bass does when it's not sounding like a piano.
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