Jaco pastorius bass noise

[pedro]

That 360 certainly had a sound,I don't mean the distortion, I don't hear it on the first album but... I hear it on allot of his stuff.



Aj

Jaco usually went direct.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Believe the man himself in interviews :

Invalid Link Removed

Do you get that incredible singing bass sound on an ordinary guitar, or are there some special effects that you use?

I don't use anything special... I've actually got less on it! I have a fretless bass, so it's virtually like I'm playing a wood bass. In other words, the strings go into the wood on the neck and then, being that it's a bass guitar, it gets that bright, direct sound. So I'm the first guy to be using a fretless, is actually what it boils down to, and then more, because I'm the first to really get down and play it, because other guys cannot play it in tune, y'know? I've been playing the bass guitar for almost 12 years, and I've been playing fretless for about nine, so I've got quite a bit of mileage in my hands already. I play in tune like a cello player, and use legitimate vibrato. There are no tricks... it's just all in the hands! I just have a standard 1962, I think it is, Fender Jazz bass, that I took the frets out of.

What amplifier do you use with that?

In the studio I don't use an amp, I just go direct, right into the desk. It's virtually acoustic is what I'm doing, you see?

Jaco used an actual chorus pedal occasionally.

Say what you like - I'll believe the man himself!

 

[KJung]

Not sure if this adds anything to the discussion, but the three times I saw Jaco live in the 70's, he was using a healthy dose of chorusing between two 360's and that big 2 rack space MXR Analog Flanger/Chorus unit that was mentioned.

I owned one for a while, and it was so noisy that I would guess he never recorded with it.

 

[greenboy]

Ken,

You are a liar. And so is the Joni Mitchell video.

 

[KJung]

Ken,

You are a liar. And so is the Joni Mitchell video.

I remember that we all ran out and bought those things after we saw the Weather Report tours. They were so hissy you could hardly use them live much less in the studio. Then the 'digital' version came out, and it was quiet (if I remember correctly) but didn't sound nearly as good. It's amazing that those effects units were bigger and heavier than the amp heads I'm using today!

 

[bongomania]

Say what you like - I'll believe the man himself!

That's like saying you believe OJ Simpson is innocent because he says he's innocent. If you think I'm joking, tell me the difference. There is ample recorded evidence to the contrary of what he said, and here you are plugging your ears and saying "la la la I can't hear you" and insisting he told the truth- when in fact you have no evidence that he didn't use chorus other than his claim in an interview- an interview in which he tells other lies.

 

[greenboy]

Not to mention that an interview comes from a fixed moment in time - many players might have swapped pieces in and out of their live rig 3 times in the year preceding a writeup. By the bent logic we are being presented, Ken and I obversely still have MXR rack units in our rigs - because we once did. But I'm guessing Ken doesn't and I sure don't.

Then there is what the ear hears... Any experienced effects user can hear the use.

 

[bassbones]

As for the shows I was at.....only acoustic 360 distortion and the MXR delay......maybe some younger folks dont realize that those old delays could be set really low and had rate and width functions for modulation. That was a big expensive unit back then......the programable function was in a seperate rack unit.....Four presets....WHOOOO!

John

 

[greenboy]

maybe some younger folks dont realize that those old delays could be set really low and had rate and width functions for modulation. That was a big expensive unit back then

Yah, I mentioned that the MXR rack delay could do modulated time effects earlier in the thread, including of course, choruses.

 

[Andrew Jones]

For studio stuff Just because he tracked clean that does not mean what we hear is clean.


Aj

 

[cynikal1234]

whats the effect Jaco used around 7:50 of this video?

 

[bongomania]

That's the same MXR digital delay we've all been talking about. Tweak the modulation and it goes crazy like that. Similar effects can be achieved with any delay that has modulation.

 

[JTE]

He's also known to use a Boss OC-2, which I think you can hear in Teen Town. He used the Fuzz on his Acoustic 360 sometimes for solos. I can't remember for sure but I think I read he used an EHX Polychorus or whatever, and also an MXR Delay to do his looping stuff.

Nope, he wasn't "known for using a Boss OC-2". Maybe you're confusing his work with Pino Pallidino who IS well known for the use of the OC-2 (as in Paul Young's "Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down")?

At the time he was alive, all that I ever heard him mention, or saw in any photos or video footage was the MXR delay, the built-in fuzz on the Acoustics, and playing around with the chorus effect on a Rhodes Sattilite piano amp.

jte

 

[bassman251]

Originally Posted by Jools4001 View Post
The 'chorus' effect you hear on Jaco's studio tracks is chorus in it's truest sense. Namely that Jaco doubled his own lines and consequently had minute differences in timing and intonation.

I did laugh a bit a that one. He was so good, his fingers came out a chorus sound...lol. Just as long as we don't say he can walk on water.

Jaco was a phenomenal player, that is for sure. But some people put him in such an iconic status, things tend to get blown out of proportion.

 

[EddieG]

Nope, he wasn't "known for using a Boss OC-2". Maybe you're confusing his work with Pino Pallidino who IS well known for the use of the OC-2 (as in Paul Young's "Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down")?

At the time he was alive, all that I ever heard him mention, or saw in any photos or video footage was the MXR delay, the built-in fuzz on the Acoustics, and playing around with the chorus effect on a Rhodes Sattilite piano amp.

jte

You're right, but I think later on Jaco used an octave pedal, I seem to remember hearing something like that on his live performances with Bireli Lagrene. But definitely not at the start of his career, and no way was it an OC-2 anyway, they only went on sale in 1982.

I did laugh a bit a that one. He was so good, his fingers came out a chorus sound...lol. Just as long as we don't say he can walk on water.

Jaco was a phenomenal player, that is for sure. But some people put him in such an iconic status, things tend to get blown out of proportion.

If you double track yourself, and your performances are far enough apart in timing or pitch (as is absolutely possible double tracking a fretless), you can get a chorusing effect. Of course, your experience may be different to mine....

 

[bassman251]

You're right, but I think later on Jaco used an octave pedal, I seem to remember hearing something like that on his live performances with Bireli Lagrene. But definitely not at the start of his career, and no way was it an OC-2 anyway, they only went on sale in 1982.



If you double track yourself, and your performances are far enough apart in timing or pitch (as is absolutely possible double tracking a fretless), you can get a chorusing effect. Of course, your experience may be different to mine....

Ok, that makes more sense. I guess you meant studio tricks to make it sound that way.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

and no way was it an OC-2 anyway, they only went on sale in 1982.
....

Yes - this is what I have been saying!

So in the eary 80s I was a big Jaco fan and also was playing bass in pro bands - one of which was signed to EMI.

I remember hearing about Chorus pedals in about 1982 - but we couldn't actually get them until later and by this time Jaco's recording career was over - he worked on the ill-fated "Holiday for Pans" in 1982 and that was his last work and didn't even have any bass on it!

After that there was nothing but decline into the inevitable...tragically!

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

If you double track yourself, and your performances are far enough apart in timing or pitch (as is absolutely possible double tracking a fretless), you can get a chorusing effect. Of course, your experience may be different to mine....

There have been many interviews from Jaco himself and others involved, that say this is exactly what Jaco did for tracks like "Continuum".


A quote from Sean Malone's book "A Portrait of Jaco" p13

"The deep,rich chorused tones come from double-tracking his bass, reportedly finished in two takes."

 

[fightthepower]

There have been many interviews from Jaco himself and others involved, that say this is exactly what Jaco did for tracks like "Continuum".


A quote from Sean Malone's book "A Portrait of Jaco" p13

"The deep,rich chorused tones come from double-tracking his bass, reportedly finished in two takes."

I'm listening to Continuum right now, with that in mind, and I can hear 'imperfections' in the song, where it sounds less chorused, and more double tracked. To my ears, it's most prevalent after the 2 minute mark. If it was truly in two takes, that is pretty damn impressive! Though it still goes to shows that even Jaco isn't perfect.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

I'm listening to Continuum right now, with that in mind, and I can hear 'imperfections' in the song, where it sounds less chorused, and more double tracked. To my ears, it's most prevalent after the 2 minute mark. If it was truly in two takes, that is pretty damn impressive! Though it still goes to shows that even Jaco isn't perfect.

Well - our ears actually prefer the sound of imperfection - hence why an orchestral string section sounds lush and full and preferable to one violin - it is the imperfections we are hearing - all those virtuoso string players who never play exactly the same thing and so create that lush sound, rather than just what one string player would sound like, but louder!!