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Geddy's bass tone

#61
Russ,

How involved are you when the guys are writing? I mean, do you get a call that they are going to start working on an album and they have studio time booked, or are you just always "around" (from pre-production on)? Or, do you get more involved when a tour rolls around?

Thanks
John
 
#63
I was quite involved for the Snakes & Arrows album. Myself and Lorne Wheaton, Neil's drum tech, were around for the beginning of pre-production through the full recording session. I wasn't around for the final mixing as there was no need for me to be there. Geddy & Alex usually start writing at Ged's home studio. We aren't around for that.
We then went into a small studio in Toronto after that because this is were Neil comes in. We set-up and mic his drum kit and now the pre-production really starts. This lasted around two months. Once they were satisfied with the songs and arrangement, we now went to a different studio to start the actual recording of the album.

The studio where we did the album was amazing! Allaire Studios in Upper New York, in the Catskills. Check out their website. They basically recorded the whole album in 6 weeks! The studio was originally booked for two weeks to just record drum and bass tracks. Everything else was going to be done back in Toronto. After the first week, Geddy & Alex loved the place and the vibe, we booked it for another 4 weeks and did everything there.
The album was mixed in Los Angeles.
After that, I'm just waiting around for rehearsals to start for the tour.
The other few albums they did since I've been with I wasn't involved that much because I was busy touring with other people. They called me quite ahead of time for the Snakes album so I made myself available to them. Rush are such great guys to work for. No ego's, no Rock Star crap. They treat us crew extremely well. The have a great sense of humor so it always fun.

jgroh said:
Russ,

How involved are you when the guys are writing? I mean, do you get a call that they are going to start working on an album and they have studio time booked, or are you just always "around" (from pre-production on)? Or, do you get more involved when a tour rolls around?

Thanks
John
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#66
Russ Ryan said:
...Rush are such great guys to work for. No ego's, no Rock Star crap. They treat us crew extremely well. The have a great sense of humor so it always fun.
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That's one of the reasons I love that band...the guys are awesome players, but they seem really down to Earth about the whole thing in spite of the success they enjoy.

I think Rush is one of rock's best success stories as far as a group doing music and their career on their own terms and making a great living off of it as well. You don't get any sense that record companies tell them what to do.

I can't think of many bands that have that kind of control and success. Perhaps U2, REM, Yes...I'm sure there's more but it's a small club.

Okay...back on topic!
 
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#67
Interesting. Since I've been with Ged, this last tour is the first time he used the Ric. I have never worked with Ric's that much and never opened them up to check out the electronics. I didn't know about the cap thing. If he uses it again, I will certainly check this out. Thanks for that!

RR



keb said:
Hey Russ, cool of you to hop on board and share your insights and experiences. Hopefully you're not getting flooded with private messages! ;)

I can attest to the stability of Ricks... I don't think I've adjusted mine in... years! Does Ged's Rick still have the little capacitor inline with the bridge pickup? As you may know, a lot of players bypass that little cap to get more low end out of their old Ricks and I've always wondered if Ged did the same.
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#70
Russ Ryan said:
Interesting. Since I've been with Ged, this last tour is the first time he used the Ric. I have never worked with Ric's that much and never opened them up to check out the electronics. I didn't know about the cap thing. If he uses it again, I will certainly check this out. Thanks for that!

RR
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No problem! There are the two tone control caps and then a smaller value one in series with the bridge pickup wiring, effectively rolling off everything below 500Hz or so. Rickenbacker did that back in the early days to emphasize the treble response (the famous "Rick jangle"), and I think partially to get more perceived volume out of the lower-powered amplifiers of the time.
 
#71
What a great thread! I saw Rush in Saratoga and Montreal last year. My Wife and I brought our 3 year old Daughter to the Montreal show. (With hearing protection of course!) I traded our floor seats with some random people worrying about my Daughter being able to see anything and would you believe the seats I received in the trade were about 3-4 rows up from Geddys basses. When the Guys came on my Daughter started clapping and started saying "Geddy!, Geddy!". During Neil's drum solo Geddy sat down and took a much deserved break almost in front of us. My Wife wanted to take our Daughter down to see if she could get Geddy's attention but he looked like he needed the "alone time". Bummer. I'm sure he would have gotten a kick out of seeing a cute little 3 year old dancing around with headphones!
Russ, I did see you as well. But you looked like you were a little too busy to chat! What a pleasure to hear from you on talkbass though. I hope Geddy and Rush know how much they have touched so many of us. Geddy is the reason I started playing bass in the first place.
Take Care,
Brent
 
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#72
I'll second Brent's comments!

I'm sure Geddy hears this a lot, but he is the main reason a lot of bass players are bass players. I know very many that list Geddy as one of their main inspirations.....please tell Geddy that for us!

And to the comment about sense of humor, that is another reason I admire Geddy, and the rest of the guys for that matter. I love Geddy's interviews with his terrier, Big Al's beach house, Geddy's public service announcements on sledding, his work with Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas and yes, the dryers.....although the chicken cookers were extremely thought provoking and somewhat philosophical, the dryers are where it is at!
 
#73
Thank you for having hearing protection for your Daughter! Believe it or not, most of us "Roadies" actually care about this. I and most other techs always have a large supply of ear protection handy for when we see fans with young children at shows and no protection. It actually really bothers us to see that.
Thanks!


BrentSimons said:
What a great thread! I saw Rush in Saratoga and Montreal last year. My Wife and I brought our 3 year old Daughter to the Montreal show. (With hearing protection of course!)
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#74
ksandvik said:
So true! Especially if you put the pick aside. --Kent
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That sounds like a pick diss . . .

Same goes for pickstyle in my book. Think about Squire, or McCartney, or any great pickstyle player. Everybody has their own way of striking the strings, plus there's even more personal nuance added by the relationship of how you pick or pluck, combined with how you fret, and just how you wrangle the instrument overall.
 
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#75
Russ,

Does Geddy's playing primarily consist of the "flamenco" technique he has developed (using the one finger back and forth at an angle, simulating a pick), or does he vary it with a more standard finger plucking depending on what the song calls for?

Thanks
John
 
#76
jgroh said:
Russ,

Does Geddy's playing primarily consist of the "flamenco" technique he has developed (using the one finger back and forth at an angle, simulating a pick), or does he vary it with a more standard finger plucking depending on what the song calls for?

Thanks
John
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You can answer this one yourself by watching and listening to Geddy play on any Rush dvd after he really got into the flamenco thing.
 
#77
Chris2112 said:
You can answer this one yourself by watching and listening to Geddy play on any Rush dvd after he really got into the flamenco thing.
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Cool I will have to check that out...I dont have any of the DVDs so I knew a little about his playing technique but just wanted to get Russ's thoughts...and, Russ, did Ged's technique rub off on you at all? Have you found yourself tempted to try the flamenco thing on your own and if so, how did it turn out? :)
 
#78
Oh Man. I'm not a bass player. I used to play guitar in bands in my teens and early twenties. When I first started working for Ged I noticed the flamenco thing. I tried it for a giggle and wondered how he was able to do it so fast and hard. Obviously many years of practice but I was sure impressed.


jgroh said:
Cool I will have to check that out...I dont have any of the DVDs so I knew a little about his playing technique but just wanted to get Russ's thoughts...and, Russ, did Ged's technique rub off on you at all? Have you found yourself tempted to try the flamenco thing on your own and if so, how did it turn out? :)
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