Great Freddie Washington Interview

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

This might be his best yet. Great info on his basses , technique , and discography .



Freddie must have the lightest touch and most precise sound I’ve ever seen and heard.

 

[jro]

What a great interview and man what a sound. His playing is so perfectly timed and restrained. He could probably make any bass sound good but that P bass is amazing. The B on the Ken Smith is impressive too.

 

[Killing Floor]

One of my favorite bassists. Such feeling.

 

[Geepers]

Beautiful hands …

 

[fretlessbass]

This might be his best yet. Great info on his basses , technique , and discography .



Freddie must have the lightest touch and most precise sound I’ve ever seen and heard.

Thanks so much for posting this; Freddie’s one of my absolute favorites!

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I noticed that Freddie has Bartolini pickup in his vintage PBass. I wonder which model it is.

 

[fretlessbass]

Idk….but they sure sound great!

 

[GMSweet]

I'm halfway in and would love more interviews like this! What a creative mind, tone, and memory for those songs. Recording "Forget me Nots" with just a DI and a click. Wow!

As for the pickups, I'm the 1984 Bart catalog shows three options. Probably not the 8E:

• 8S Exact replacement for Fender Precision Bass*. Excellent clarity, punch and balance with least noise. The 8S Is a pair of single coil units.
  
  
• 84L Precision Bass* quadraphonic pickup with separate coils for each string.
  
  
• 8E active Precision Bass* pickup. Built in special TC3 preamp extends frequency response and has low midrange control feature. This pickup can be wired to a 3-position switch {DPDT on-off-on) to give full range, upper midrange or treble boosted sounds all at the same output level. In addition, the low midrange can be contoured in the same way as with our TCT module (see page 12). The 8E pair requires a single 9V battery which will power it for 4 months of continuous use.

It ALMOST makes me want a P-bass. Almost.

 

[LG TPAFL]

And you know.....that guy is a great interviewer, asking some great questions. Mason from Vertex effects? Kinda reminds me of Chris Farley interviewing Paul Mc on SNL.....

 

[MixBass]

Good interview and fun to watch him play those iconic parts!
I saw him with Steely a few years ago and quickly realized I was watching one of the greatest living P bass players!

 

[GeeBass]

Has anyone seen any 'confirmed' info (in interviews, etc.) regarding the Rotosound string gauges Freddie used on his P Bass for these original iconic tracks?

Also - just curious if anyone knows what brand the black silk end strings he is using on his P Bass in this video are?
Although they sound like rounds - in some close ups of the P bass, they don't appear to have a round wound wire texture.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

To all of us gear lovers, it is worth noting that probably 95%+ of his 48 year studio career has been played on two basses.

One thing that has really become clear to me is the difference between being able to play a song and truly mastering it. You don’t get where Freddie Washington is without putting in serious time into your craft.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

When I hear Freddie Washington play, it makes me want to practice. Another thing he does is make me look at my gear and realize that I have all the tools I need. In other words, no excuses, just practice.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

To all of us gear lovers, it is worth noting that probably 95%+ of his 48 year studio career has been played on two basses.

One thing that has really become clear to me is the difference between being able to play a song and truly mastering it. You don’t get where Freddie Washington is without putting in serious time into your craft.

I think the same can be said of quite a few studio players of that era. Marcus Miller , Louis Johnson , Lee Sklar, James Jamerson, Anthony Jackson, Carol Kay, Jaco, ect.

 

[Jannosch]

Thank you for posting this interview!

Freddie Washington is such an exceptionally musical and likeable person!

 

[Swerve]

Love this interview. Did anyone ever find out what strings he's playing on his P bass in this video. I feel like it was mentioned but I forget. They appear to be rounds with black silks at the end.

 

[Swerve]

I'm thinking they are GHS Pressurewounds. Black silks at the tuner end. No silk at the bridge end, and ball ends are brass.