• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

I want Geddy lee's tone...

#21
I must admit it is a great tone.
To get close,sansamp or behringer clone-good dollop of gain,plenty presence ie 3 oclock is a good start,bass n treble middled,blend all the way round.
A good sized amp at least 250 watt eq flat,everything middled,twin pick up basses both on-selector in the middle or pan pot in the middle,single pick up everything maxxed.
This is a good start and close to Geddy,Bruce Foxton and all the full range cutting in your face bass players and growls like a good one.
A small tweak here and there will change your sound and you will find one you like.
Hope this helps.
 
#23
So full of it - Geddy's tone has changed through the years - just pay attention to the recordings.
What has not changed is HOW he plays... his STYLE or TECHNIQUE.
That style and technique does attribute to his tone, but it is not the ONLY source.
This new CD coming out in 2011, I think will have the 'Orange' sound (have heard 2 cuts from it already)... waaaaay different tone than any other CD, BUT - you can hear his style and technique in there - THAT is what people hear when they mean 'Geddy's tone'.
Anyone on YouTube that cops his tone well - watch how they play... all very, very similar.
You want 50% of Geddy's tone - study that; the other 50% is magic and belongs to him and him alone.
 
#25
Fender Jazz Geddy Lee Model ----> Rototsound Swingbass 66 strings ----> Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver or Tech 21 SansAmp VT Bass as a preamp into whatever power amp and (I'm gonna assume) a bunch of 10's. Keep your action low for some buzz and your preamp gain mid-high for some dirt.

Play hard.
 
#26
All the time I see people posting "Geddy Lee always had the same tone" and "Geddy Lee gets the same tone out of any bass"

and I'm like .. Wut? No!

Which period of Rush's career do you most like the tone?

His original tone was P Bass, Played hard. But he soon changed to a Ric for the second album right through to about 1980 when he started recording with Jazz basses. At this time it becomes confusing as to which bass he uses becasue there is so much "effect" (sansamp - probably) on the tone.

Then the Steinberger and especially the Wal .. well that was a MILLION miles from his classic tones.

:hiding:
 
#29
derridiandrift said:
I was wondering why nobody had said that yet.
Click to expand...

Because most who replied to this post were more concerned with saying "don't try to cop Geddy's sound!". I posted what I think he uses now (based on the last time I read about his current gear).
I owned the Geddy Jazz Bass and a SansAmp (and a Rickenbacker), and if you attack it the right way, you CAN get part the way there. It's pretty much impossible to cop another musician's sound entirely, but using the right gear and technique helps. Help is what this forum is for, right?
 
#32
gregoryisrael said:
Because most who replied to this post were more concerned with saying "don't try to cop Geddy's sound!". I posted what I think he uses now (based on the last time I read about his current gear).
I owned the Geddy Jazz Bass and a SansAmp (and a Rickenbacker), and if you attack it the right way, you CAN get part the way there. It's pretty much impossible to cop another musician's sound entirely, but using the right gear and technique helps. Help is what this forum is for, right?
Click to expand...

Abso-friggin-lutely!
+1 (and more!)

Too much 'knock-down' and not enough 'help-up' these days.
 
#34
I was going to say "which tone?" but jedw beat me to it. I can tell just by listening to a song without him singing that its Geddy, but he has had different tones throughout the years. My fav is the Wal, which I can cop a decent facsimile with my G&L L2000, next fav is the Ric. The jazz sounds good on the old recordings (find the isolated bass tracks from moving pictures and listen to Tom Sawyer...that sounds great), but Im not a fan of his buzzy sansamp treble jazz tone. And, this is just my opinion but I liked his Steinberger tone alot more than most. If you compare the tone he got live on the Grace Under Pressure tour (on youtube) to something more recent, the Stein sounds so much better.
 
#37
Josh,
I don't know how to link you to it, but do a search for Geddy's tone. I ran across a long thread with a lot of valuable information much of it was posted by Geddy's bass tech Russ Ryan. Of course you never know for sure if people are who they claim to be, but this guy seemed legit.

Anyway, best of luck
 
#38
jgroh said:
I was going to say "which tone?" but jedw beat me to it. I can tell just by listening to a song without him singing that its Geddy, but he has had different tones throughout the years. My fav is the Wal, which I can cop a decent facsimile with my G&L L2000, next fav is the Ric. The jazz sounds good on the old recordings (find the isolated bass tracks from moving pictures and listen to Tom Sawyer...that sounds great), but Im not a fan of his buzzy sansamp treble jazz tone. And, this is just my opinion but I liked his Steinberger tone alot more than most. If you compare the tone he got live on the Grace Under Pressure tour (on youtube) to something more recent, the Stein sounds so much better.
Click to expand...

That is the problem with the question to begin with: He had many different tones over the years as result of bass/rig selections. I want to say he used the Jazz bass the most (I believe he used it to record even in the days when he used a Rickenbacker live), so if I had to choose 1 bass to acquire his sound, that would be it. Ultimately throughout all the gear changes, his hands were the tool that created "the sound".
 
#39
jedw said:
All the time I see people posting "Geddy Lee always had the same tone" and "Geddy Lee gets the same tone out of any bass"

and I'm like .. Wut? No!

Which period of Rush's career do you most like the tone?

His original tone was P Bass, Played hard. But he soon changed to a Ric for the second album right through to about 1980 when he started recording with Jazz basses. At this time it becomes confusing as to which bass he uses becasue there is so much "effect" (sansamp - probably) on the tone.

Then the Steinberger and especially the Wal .. well that was a MILLION miles from his classic tones.

:hiding:
Click to expand...

If you're going to try and be smart about, maybe you shouldn't say Geddy used Sansamp in the 80s.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back