My first bass in 1971 was a Univox because Fenders were expensive.
Bread was about $.39 per loaf.
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Great music recorded on cheap instruments
- Thread starter ElectroVibe
- Start date
Bread was about $.39 per loaf.
About as much as you would pay for an American made one today. So not exactly cheap.
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Don't remember now but he definitely used a Stingray for some disco tune. Can't recall the title now. It's one that was remade with vocals. The bass was Probably a rental.Never saw him using a Stingray, what tracks did he cut with one?
Everything else on that list definitely fits the "cheap instruments" category: being remarkably good players and engineers definitely helped I'm sure
I simply added more cheap basses you hadn't mentioned, I wasn't contradicting your statement.
The first album was cut with a Fender Telecaster Custom and a fretted Jazz Bass. By the second album Sting had a fretless Precision Bass and a top of the line Ibanez Musician. I don't recall them ever using cheap gear.
- Steve
A few people mentioned The Beatles who certainly cut their teeth with inexpensive gear. By the time they started recording at EMI studios John and George had obtained good American-made guitars from Rickenbacker and Gretsch, but Paul's famous Hofner 500/1 bass would still have been inexpensive compared to electric basses from Fender and Gibson...and if that's not enduring music, I don't know what is!
- Steve
- Steve
Tons of it cause cheap does not equal bad tone.
Conscious Club sounds very much like a Stingray to me. He's also playing one in an early video, possibly Fugue State if I remember correctly, but that doesn't necessarily mean he used one on the recording. I'd bet money that Conscious Club was done with a Stingray or Stingray type bass.
Here you go. Up for all sorts of awards in old blighty, badass music, great musicians, great use of tech, brilliant singer.....bass player using a Westone Thunder I (and she uses it religiously) . I have a Thunder II v3 and it is ace. She has great taste and must be strong too coz they are HEAVY.....
I’d make the case that the best music recording producer in history of recorded music could make just about anything sound fantastic. It was almost cheating to work with Martin.
Hound Dog Taylor and Howlin Wolf
BobDeRosa
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- May 16, 2012
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I believe that until recently, Laura Lee from Khruangbin used an SX that her father bought her for all recordings and performances.
Fair enough. I interpreted "cheap" as "mass produced and easily available". Those are all standard issue pro-level instruments, versus boutique custom shop stuff.
Though I concede if that were the rubric nearly all music would have been recorded on cheap instruments.
Mike Rutherford plays Squier Bullet Strats nowadays. He got one when he was stuck in South Africa during quarantine and decided he liked it because it was smaller and lighter than he was used to playing, and now he has a bunch of them. I think he uses the stock pickups but replaces the tuning heads.
Jeff Healey used a Squier for most of his shows and recordings. If those were not great recordings not sure what would be.
All the way to the end. That little Yamaha EM-100 PA amp/mixer with built in reverb that Tim Lefebvre used to record on Blackstar comes to mind.
