AndyMan
Commercial User
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John Deacon's PBass tone?
- Thread starter quadrogong
- Start date
Deacon used roundwounds as well as flatwounds:
he did use the superwound series though, but in those days they
were available as flats and rounds: 707 and 606
nowadays they are just available as normal strings: 77 and 66
and yes: he did use flats for Another one bites the dust (with the Stingray)
and this was ofcourse a pre-EB Stingray, and those sound way different from the modern Stingrays (one big influence is the laquered neck and different electronics)
he did use the superwound series though, but in those days they
were available as flats and rounds: 707 and 606
nowadays they are just available as normal strings: 77 and 66
and yes: he did use flats for Another one bites the dust (with the Stingray)
and this was ofcourse a pre-EB Stingray, and those sound way different from the modern Stingrays (one big influence is the laquered neck and different electronics)
HUGE John Deacon fan here. My drummer told me once that my playing reminded him of John Deacon and I lived on that comment for a couple of weeks!
Definitely some sort of octave effect going on with Another One Bites the Dust. I don't know if it was created with an outboard effect, or simply by double-tracking with a regular guitar or the bass an octave higher. Or maybe a keyboard as others have suggested.
Of course it is a matter of record that Deacon was paying homage to Bernard Edwards' (Chic) "Good Times" bass line with that song so I have to believe that song, at least, was tracked with a StingRay (which Edwards also played). IIRC he is also shown playing a StingRay on the video for that song.
Definitely some sort of octave effect going on with Another One Bites the Dust. I don't know if it was created with an outboard effect, or simply by double-tracking with a regular guitar or the bass an octave higher. Or maybe a keyboard as others have suggested.
Of course it is a matter of record that Deacon was paying homage to Bernard Edwards' (Chic) "Good Times" bass line with that song so I have to believe that song, at least, was tracked with a StingRay (which Edwards also played). IIRC he is also shown playing a StingRay on the video for that song.
What a super player. He may not have had a lot of room in the band, but IMO he sure was tasteful with such a variety of things he added- He could play a thundering piece for solid foundation, then get melodic, then harmonized phrases. So inventive with his playing.
AndyMan
Commercial User
Yeah... no doubt. Freddie was the best vocalist we'll ever hear. Phenomenal range, beautiful tone, immaculate pitch... he could go from an elegant shy falsetto to a snarling, almost metallic drill instructor. I listen to "The Show Must Go On" and, considering how horribly ill he was and how extreme his voice is in that song, it literally brings tears to my eyes... so powerful, tortured and glorious. There will never, ever be another.
Oh, and John was a great musical bassist with bass lines that rival the best that McCartney ever put together (and McCartney has a pretty good ear for melody!!!!) The bass lines in "Long Away," " Misfire," and "Dead On Time" are superb.
Queen was a great frigging band and I'm glad I got to see them on their "News of the World" tour.
John used Rotosound Jazz Bass strings - the flatwounds (well, actually, the Roto flats are kind of "ground down" rounds)
A bit of a derail, and certain sacrilege for some people, but I often wonder if the real source of Macca's bass lines wasn't actually George Martin. Let the flaming begin.
PS I've looked in the mirror and I'm not a troll
JD played a Rick until he had problems during recordings in 1971 (you can hear Rick only on The Noght Comes Down on their first album), then he bought two pre-CBS sunburst Precisions as his main basses, both alder-maple/rosewood. (let's call them 1 and 2)
He used 1 as his main both live and in studio at first. But around May 1975 (right before recording A Night At The Opera) he stripped the paint off his basses and had them oil-painted for sonic reasons. Simultaneously the 2 became his main bass, and the 1 was mostly used as a backup.
In early 1977 he acquired a Stingray and a a 1976 rfetless P. It was used on My Melancholy Blues (News Of The World) and on live version of '39, while the Stingray was used on Sheer Heart Attack (News Of The World), Jealousy (Jazz), Another One Bites The Dust (The Game), Back Chat (Hot Space).
Around this time he also bought a 1954 masterbuilt P. You can hear it on Coming Soon (The Game).
All three basses were sunburst w/maple necks.
Around 1980 he acquired a custom bass by Kramer. This bass had a white DiMarzio pickup, and is believed not to be used on any recordings.
However the white DiMarzio pickup was moved from the Kramer to the 1 Precision. You can see this bass with this pickup on the Flash video. I strongly believe that this combo was used for recording all bass tracks on Flash Gordon and most of bass tracks on The Game (excl. Another One Bites The Dust, Dragon Attack, Coming soon), hence the "not your typical P-bass sound" as someone said in this thread.
In 1981 while being in USA Deacon was given a special prototype P. It had an unusual finish and a preamp. The bass was used for recording Under Pressure (Hot Space) and playing it live until 1986
In 1984 he got a red Elite I w/maple fingerboard
(no info about recordings it appeared on)
In 1986 Deacon got a Wrwick Buzzard, which presumably wasn't used for recordings
At this time the 2 Precision (his main) had some serious dents repaired, it was painted black to hide the signs of restoration. It also had new bridge, knobs, presumably new frets and pickup.
Also a new bass was built for JD by Roger Giffin. It was a mahogany-bodied (I think) passive PJ. I strongly belive that it was extensively used on The Miracle album.
In his early days he is said to have used Ampeg heads with 18" Acoustic cabs.
Around late 70's he started using Sunn equipment
Around mid-80's he favoured Peavey amps and 2x15cabs (not sure)
His string choise was Rotosound, mostly flats. I only heard rounds on the 1982 Live At The Bowl concert recording on his Stingray on song called Back Chat.
It's also possible that he used Maxima strings in 1989 (and maybe even later) on his Giffin, but I'm not quite sure about it.
In studio his bass was recorded with different approach through the years. In early years it was usually a mix of DI-ed and mic-ed signals. On Jazz there were even 3 channels - DI, mic far and mic close (not the best decision IMO - too muddy). Since 1984 it's only DI (no info, my ears just tell me so)
That's it. It's all I've learned about his sound components to this day.
Obviously I could have made mistakes in the dates or amp description, but there's a lack of info and guys, I'm so tired - it's 3 AM here, i've gotta have a sleep for sure.
Any additional info (or correcting mistakes) will be apreciated.
He used 1 as his main both live and in studio at first. But around May 1975 (right before recording A Night At The Opera) he stripped the paint off his basses and had them oil-painted for sonic reasons. Simultaneously the 2 became his main bass, and the 1 was mostly used as a backup.
In early 1977 he acquired a Stingray and a a 1976 rfetless P. It was used on My Melancholy Blues (News Of The World) and on live version of '39, while the Stingray was used on Sheer Heart Attack (News Of The World), Jealousy (Jazz), Another One Bites The Dust (The Game), Back Chat (Hot Space).
Around this time he also bought a 1954 masterbuilt P. You can hear it on Coming Soon (The Game).
All three basses were sunburst w/maple necks.
Around 1980 he acquired a custom bass by Kramer. This bass had a white DiMarzio pickup, and is believed not to be used on any recordings.
However the white DiMarzio pickup was moved from the Kramer to the 1 Precision. You can see this bass with this pickup on the Flash video. I strongly believe that this combo was used for recording all bass tracks on Flash Gordon and most of bass tracks on The Game (excl. Another One Bites The Dust, Dragon Attack, Coming soon), hence the "not your typical P-bass sound" as someone said in this thread.
In 1981 while being in USA Deacon was given a special prototype P. It had an unusual finish and a preamp. The bass was used for recording Under Pressure (Hot Space) and playing it live until 1986
In 1984 he got a red Elite I w/maple fingerboard
(no info about recordings it appeared on)
In 1986 Deacon got a Wrwick Buzzard, which presumably wasn't used for recordings
At this time the 2 Precision (his main) had some serious dents repaired, it was painted black to hide the signs of restoration. It also had new bridge, knobs, presumably new frets and pickup.
Also a new bass was built for JD by Roger Giffin. It was a mahogany-bodied (I think) passive PJ. I strongly belive that it was extensively used on The Miracle album.
In his early days he is said to have used Ampeg heads with 18" Acoustic cabs.
Around late 70's he started using Sunn equipment
Around mid-80's he favoured Peavey amps and 2x15cabs (not sure)
His string choise was Rotosound, mostly flats. I only heard rounds on the 1982 Live At The Bowl concert recording on his Stingray on song called Back Chat.
It's also possible that he used Maxima strings in 1989 (and maybe even later) on his Giffin, but I'm not quite sure about it.
In studio his bass was recorded with different approach through the years. In early years it was usually a mix of DI-ed and mic-ed signals. On Jazz there were even 3 channels - DI, mic far and mic close (not the best decision IMO - too muddy). Since 1984 it's only DI (no info, my ears just tell me so)
That's it. It's all I've learned about his sound components to this day.
Obviously I could have made mistakes in the dates or amp description, but there's a lack of info and guys, I'm so tired - it's 3 AM here, i've gotta have a sleep for sure.
Any additional info (or correcting mistakes) will be apreciated.
If you listen to "Radio Ga Ga", that's definitely a fretless MM. That's not his fretless P. I own a fretless P and owned a fretless StingRay for awhile; I could nail that "Radio Ga Ga" sound perfectly. The MM sound comes right through.
But for the most part, John played variations of Fender Ps, which isn't a bad thing.
But for the most part, John played variations of Fender Ps, which isn't a bad thing.
Well, "Radio Ga Ga" is definitely played on a fretted bass, you have to listen very carefylly and you'll hear frets there. And I bet it's a P 
AndyMan
Commercial User
I think those P Basses were c. '67, not pre-CBS. I'm quite sute he used Acoustic Bass amps, then later Acoutic heads, Sunn cabs. I think at the end of his career he went with SWR stuff, i.e., the Freddie memorial concert.
A bit of a derail, and certain sacrilege for some people, but I often wonder if the real source of Macca's bass lines wasn't actually George Martin. Let the flaming begin.
PS I've looked in the mirror and I'm not a troll
Not to particpate in a troll thread... but according to Geoff Emerick in his autobiography of recording the Beatles, McCartney spent hours in the studio after everyone had gone home working out his bass lines by himself, so I don't think that Sir George had that much of a hand in it - especially after Revolver.
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