Geddy Lee's Teardrop

[Yakob]

Many times I've heard that it was a P bass on the first album, however I'm sorry, every time I listen to it I hear the Ric loud and clear. Maybe its just his amp settings or somthing.

Much of a person's tone is in the fingers. Geddy Lee has switched gear A LOT, but his tone has stayed relatively consistent because he has used the same fingers his entire career.

(Sorry if someone beat me to this, I didn't read the whole thread )

 

[IronLung1986]

No, it is just his style. Ever notice how he gets a similar (not identical, but similar) sound out of all of the basses he has played over the years even though he has also switched up his gear quite often? So much more of one's sound is in the fingers than people seem to be willing to believe (at least in my opinion).

i wonder if he changed his finger technique somehow during the Wal years or if that bass/rig was just so different that it changed his sound regardless. funnily enough that's one of my favorite geddy tones, even though it's not the one he's most famous for.

 

[Rocinante_x1]

i wonder if he changed his finger technique somehow during the Wal years or if that bass/rig was just so different that it changed his sound regardless. funnily enough that's one of my favorite geddy tones, even though it's not the one he's most famous for.

He's always had a bit of a flamenco style, but in the 80's that style really became more of HIS. His tone stayed the same, but was tweaked a bit with the changing of basses, from Ric to Jazz to Ric to Steinberger to Ric to Jazz to Wal to Jazz. You can tell who it is just because the way it sounds, I think.

 

[Meddle]

Here it is pre-mods.

I think the better question is this. If it sounds like a Ric on the first album, is that because when you think of a Ric sound you think of a Geddy Lee sound?

 

[Gin]

I couldn't find the picture, but there was an interview with Ged and he talked about his tear-shaped P bass...

 

[AltGrendel]

You mean the Gibson Dove?

No, he means that chunk of firewood.

 

[derJackal]

He's always had a bit of a flamenco style, but in the 80's that style really became more of HIS. His tone stayed the same, but was tweaked a bit with the changing of basses, from Ric to Jazz to Ric to Steinberger to Ric to Jazz to Wal to Jazz. You can tell who it is just because the way it sounds, I think.

His flamenco back in the 80's was more a single down stroke though. It was primarily to facilitate a faster transition to the keyboards. It really became part of his whole sound on Counterparts. And even that was a transitionary style change for the next album.

There is a core "sound" for him, but honestly I don't hear a Ric on that first album at all. It's too dead in the middle and fat at the bottom end for a Ric IMO.

i wonder if he changed his finger technique somehow during the Wal years or if that bass/rig was just so different that it changed his sound regardless. funnily enough that's one of my favorite geddy tones, even though it's not the one he's most famous for.

The Wal has a sound of its own, but he was also using totally different strings on there. The Rotosound FM66s are piano wound where only the core dropped over the saddle, and they were stupid crazy light gauge (.35 to .90).

Having played those strings for a while on an active (EMG) Jazz bass, it was a whole different sound, even using the same backline that I had been using for ages.

And I love the Wal sound on those albums too..

 

[4001]

In that pic, he looks like Jeff Spicoli with a dye job ......gnarly !

http://www.youtube.com/v/uf5rIuJPTt0&hl=en_US&fs=1

 

[Floyd Eye]

No, he means that chunk of firewood.

It's a ridiculously valuable chunk of firewood.

 

[LanceSulton]

Speaking from personal experience, chopping up a Precision to approximate the look of Geddy's teardrop is NOT a good idea: I saw a picture of Geddy playing the teardrop live in Cream magazine circa 1978/1979 and thought it look really cool. Around 1985, even though I grew out of my Rush phase, I thought it would be cool to make a teardrop bass, too. After cutting off the upper and lower horns of an ESP Precision, the tone turned absolutely atrocious ... the instrument became instantly useless. Sigh. Youth.

 

[DuckButler]

Greetings, fellow bass-players (pardon my presumption).

You might find the one photo interesting. Some of you HAVE to be familiar with this act.

What's more, the cover art is by Hugh Syme and the portrait is by Andrew McNaughton.

 

[JonahTheAmazing]

Would've never guessed that he chopped up a P like that. Pretty insane. If he thinks it sounds bad, I'll take it.

 

[D.M.N.]

Many times I've heard that it was a P bass on the first album, however I'm sorry, every time I listen to it I hear the Ric loud and clear. Maybe its just his amp settings or somthing.

I don't know, I think it definitely sounds like a P-bass. I think a big part of it, aside from just the bass, as you mentioned, was the rest of the rig's set up. He was using Swing 66s (I believe) on the P with the volume and tone flat out, using either a Sunn or Ampeg. When I run my P with Swing 66s into my Sunn 2000s rig, it can definitely get into that first album territory. If you can find live pictures of them from 73/74, you can often see him with the P in its original form going into a Sunn 2000s (?) into a Marshall cab and a Sunn cab, later accompanied by Ampeg gear as well.

 

[the wako kid]

I know somebody who did the sam e thing with a precision style yamaha,only way smaller(like ukelele sized).havent talked to the guy in a while to get a chance to play it,but I imagine it will be awful.

 

[maxiegrant]

Many times I've heard that it was a P bass on the first album, however I'm sorry, every time I listen to it I hear the Ric loud and clear. Maybe its just his amp settings or somthing.

It is not a Ric. It sounds like a P to me . . . and you can even see him playing it here

He did not get the Ric until after the first album.

 

[whitespike]

It always perplexes me when players think they have the expertise to hack up a perfectly good instrument, thinking they may make something superior. The designers that made these instruments were passionate about what they do ... just as we are about using those tools creatively. Being a good player does not make one a designer of any sort.

 

[maxiegrant]

It always perplexes me when players think they have the expertise to hack up a perfectly good instrument, thinking they may make something superior. The designers that made these instruments were passionate about what they do ... just as we are about using those tools creatively. Being a good player does not make one a designer of any sort.

Well, I have to say Geddy was just a kid when he did that. He also, speaking of hacking up instruments, had at one time wired his Taurus pedals into his Oberheim synth so he could control it with his feet. He had MIDI years before anyone else . . .

 

[4001]

 

[GreggBummer]

That tear drop P bass may not sound very good, but it sure is pretty.

 

[georgestrings]

Much of a person's tone is in the fingers. Geddy Lee has switched gear A LOT, but his tone has stayed relatively consistent because he has used the same fingers his entire career.

(Sorry if someone beat me to this, I didn't read the whole thread )

While I agree with the "tone is in the fingers" theory, I also think there's another thing to consider: an accomplished player will usually find a tone that works for them, and probably fiddle with their gear - both instrument and amp - to obtain that tone... That's probably why they still sound like themselves even after running thru numerous different amp brands...


- georgestrings