John Deacon sound?!

[B-Mac]

to straighten things out a bit, this is what John has been using through the years:

-Around '72/'73 he used an Rickenbacker, but couldn't
get a usable sound from that bass

-So during approx. mid '73 he bought 2 almost identical
sunburst Precision basses, a '67 and a '68
one of those got strung with Flatwounds and the other with
stainless steel roundwounds from the brand Rotosound, this
set up has been used throughout his whole career as his main
axes.

-Around '75 he stripped of the sunburst laquer and gave the
bodies an oil treatment, and as from then they where both natural

-Towards the Wembley '86 concerts he got the '68 Precision re-finished

-The last time he was seen with his (still natural looking) '67 Precision was in the video from the song The Miracle
in a black colour and also had the hardware goldplated



Now we go back in time take a look at his backup basses:

-In '74 Queen did a performance on Top pop, during that mimed performance from the song Killer Queen John used a natural '74 Jazzbass with maple neck and pearl block inlays, but the sound of that bass didn't seem to work for John, so he hasn't used it anymore since then

-During the American tour in '76 he got his Sunburst Musicman
Pre-Ernie Ball Stingray with the radioknobs, he strung these with Rotosound flatwounds, he used it for some songs on A day at the races and also used it live during Earls court '77, and from that concert the bass solo during the song Liar you can hear very clear he uses flatwounds

-Then in '77 he got his fretless Precision with a fretless maple board, the colour was sunburst, which he used live for the song '39, and in the studio on several songs like: Melancholy blues, Bicycle race, Radio gaga, Show must go on and Slightly mad

-Somewhere between '78 and '79 the Fender custom shop gave him a '54 sunburst Precision, he didn't used it a lot, as far i know he only used it on the song Coming soon (with Rotosound swingbass)

-In 1980 he got a hold of his Kramer DMZ-4001 bass in natural finish, he used this bass for things like Play the game and Las palabras the amor

-Around '81 he got a Precision Special, this one has a maple neck and also features a 2-band E.Q., he ended up using this bass for Under pressure (live as well), on the studio version you can clearly hear the flatwound strings

-Between '83 and '84 John got a Precision Elite-1, this bass had a special electronic circuit and special P-bass pickups, John used it on: One vision, I want it all and Headlong, and most likely on Innuendo as well

-Around the same time he bought a Roger Giffin bass, this bass can be seen on these video clips: Princes Of The Universe, Breakthru, The Invisible Man and Scandal

-Then finally, being influenced by The Who's John Entwistle in '86 Deacon also got a Warwick Buzzard bass, he only used it for the video Friends will be friends and some mimed performances


The amplification:

*.... - '73: Orange
*'73 - '76: Hiwatt
*'76 - '80: Acoustic corp.
*'81 - '84: Sunn
*'86 - '91: SWR

That's all folks!

Great research!

 

[elberon]

to straighten things out a bit, this is what John has been using through the years:

-Around '72/'73 he used an Rickenbacker, but couldn't
get a usable sound from that bass

-So during approx. mid '73 he bought 2 almost identical
sunburst Precision basses, a '67 and a '68
one of those got strung with Flatwounds and the other with
stainless steel roundwounds from the brand Rotosound, this
set up has been used throughout his whole career as his main
axes.

-Around '75 he stripped of the sunburst laquer and gave the
bodies an oil treatment, and as from then they where both natural

-Towards the Wembley '86 concerts he got the '68 Precision re-finished

-The last time he was seen with his (still natural looking) '67 Precision was in the video from the song The Miracle
in a black colour and also had the hardware goldplated



Now we go back in time take a look at his backup basses:

-In '74 Queen did a performance on Top pop, during that mimed performance from the song Killer Queen John used a natural '74 Jazzbass with maple neck and pearl block inlays, but the sound of that bass didn't seem to work for John, so he hasn't used it anymore since then

-During the American tour in '76 he got his Sunburst Musicman
Pre-Ernie Ball Stingray with the radioknobs, he strung these with Rotosound flatwounds, he used it for some songs on A day at the races and also used it live during Earls court '77, and from that concert the bass solo during the song Liar you can hear very clear he uses flatwounds

-Then in '77 he got his fretless Precision with a fretless maple board, the colour was sunburst, which he used live for the song '39, and in the studio on several songs like: Melancholy blues, Bicycle race, Radio gaga, Show must go on and Slightly mad

-Somewhere between '78 and '79 the Fender custom shop gave him a '54 sunburst Precision, he didn't used it a lot, as far i know he only used it on the song Coming soon (with Rotosound swingbass)

-In 1980 he got a hold of his Kramer DMZ-4001 bass in natural finish, he used this bass for things like Play the game and Las palabras the amor

-Around '81 he got a Precision Special, this one has a maple neck and also features a 2-band E.Q., he ended up using this bass for Under pressure (live as well), on the studio version you can clearly hear the flatwound strings

-Between '83 and '84 John got a Precision Elite-1, this bass had a special electronic circuit and special P-bass pickups, John used it on: One vision, I want it all and Headlong, and most likely on Innuendo as well

-Around the same time he bought a Roger Giffin bass, this bass can be seen on these video clips: Princes Of The Universe, Breakthru, The Invisible Man and Scandal

-Then finally, being influenced by The Who's John Entwistle in '86 Deacon also got a Warwick Buzzard bass, he only used it for the video Friends will be friends and some mimed performances


The amplification:

*.... - '73: Orange
*'73 - '76: Hiwatt
*'76 - '80: Acoustic corp.
*'81 - '84: Sunn
*'86 - '91: SWR

That's all folks!

So I think the lesson here, as I read it, is the player makes a lot more difference than the equipment they use. If you think you'll sound like a particular player just by using the same setup you're missing a big piece, the way the bassist actually plays the instrument.

 

[B-Mac]

So I think the lesson here, as I read it, is the player makes a lot more difference than the equipment they use. If you think you'll sound like a particular player just by using the same setup you're missing a big piece, the way the bassist actually plays the instrument.

Even then, you’ll always still be you when you play with your sound. Inspired? Definitely
The same as? Nope.
It’s good to have goals to shape your own sound though.

 

[elberon]

I agree, get your optimum setup in place that gives you the best chance and inspires you but then it’s time to get to work. Some can take equipment to an extreme by trying to tailor it to any and all bassists that you’re trying to emulate. I think it’s best to have a few basic options that are versatile. You can cover a huge amount of musical ground with either a precision or a stingray, both would be great instrument choices.

 

[Bass4LifeRS]

So maybe the OP bought a p-bass 17 years ago when he started this thread... Hope he is alive and well.

 

[eccles77]

Lol hey everyone I came across this thread, and yes I'm replying to it 8-ish years after the last reply... I'd be surprised if anyone actually saw this. But I thought I'd comment on it. Deacy's natural P bass... or his black/gold one from the Wembley tour he threw across the stage at the end Queen's very last concert with Fred at Knebworth Park. It wasn't smashed to pieces, it did get repaired, he's seen using it on their 1997 song "No One But You", the Queen and Elton John performance of "The Show Must Go On" in '97 as well, and the music video of "These Are The Days Of Our Lives"

Well it`s not everyday you get quoted from 8 years ago! This is the thread that refuses to die lol.

I think John had 2 natural P basses, one of which ended up being the black one with gold hardware. I have enclosed a copy of the magazine piece that Phil Harris, once of Harris Hire (formally one of the leading supplier of hire gear in the UK and the one time custodian of Peter Green`s Les Paul) made the quote about John`s P bass.

I`m not saying that you are wrong by the way, I`m not a big Queen fan and have done bugger all research but it was good to delve into my old hard drive and dig this out. And reading it again all these years later, Phil might have been refering to the bass John had used in the video?