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John paul jones bass tone

D

darknes40

Oct 11, 2011
137
1
#1
So hooked up my record player to the surround sound system today and threw on some zeppelin, and once again my mind was blown, yes I have them on my iPod but on original vinyl through the surround it took it to a whole new level AGAIN.

I was especially struck by John's bass in Ramble On. That tone!!! It was the most beautiful thing ive ever heard. I'm not a huge jpj buff but what is that, just straight bass and amp? Or was there some compression/chorus at work? It was just beautiful clear and perfect,
 
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#3
I don't know the answer about how it was recorded, but I agree with you, it's a stunningly great tone. Probably some compression in the mix, but it's far from brickwalled, and recording to 2" tape provides a natural clip/compression as well that just sounds so very good. I think it's a 62 jazz bass with flatwounds, and he I know he plucks very close to the fretboard. He was using Acoustic amps at this time.

There's a cool interview with him on YouTube where he talks about and shows how to play some Zep classics. It's really casual, just him playing a Jazz bass unamplified, and at one point he forgets some of his own lines that a billion other people can play note for note...

JPJ is a total badass genius, and in my opinion the only thing interesting about TCV. Just my opinion, but i thought that was a pretty generic showing from his bandmates.
 
#5
TripleDouble said:
I think it's a 62 jazz bass with flatwounds, and he I know he plucks very close to the fretboard. He was using Acoustic amps at this time.
Click to expand...

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think JPJ used flats; I believe he says so in that casual interview you mention. The video quality is terrible on that film, but it's amazing... Just a wonderful thing to hear him talking and playing like he's right there in your living room.

--Steve
 
#7
I know he said in that interview that he stopped using flats when he was doing session work (pre-Zep), or something like that, however, I think his recollection is a bit off, or, quite possibly he is being deliberately contradictory (he has been known to do that too).

First, just simply listen to the first two Zep albums, flats, period. And on Zep I, I think he still had the felt mutes on. (There is photo and video from 1969 out there to back this).

But ultimately I think his Guitar Player interview in 1977 is the definitive statement on what he used, he goes into quite a bit of detail.

When discussing strings he stated:
Jazz bass – Roto flats
Fender single coil P Bass (or possibly an early Tele bass, he calls it a Tele) – Roto Rounds
His Alembics – Roto Rounds (“I tried flats on it, and lost half the instrument, same with the Tele bass”)

He also talks about his Gibson Violin bass and the fretless Fender P (nothing special), but doesn’t mention strings.

He said he typically went straight into the recording console, but sometimes mixed in some amp. I would imagine there would be a UA compressor on there too, they were the $hit back then (and still are, to some extent).
 
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#8
One of my buddies is OCD on getting every live Zep show he can beg borrow or steal. In the last week on my work commute I've played Toyko '71, London '72 and Inglewood California '77, 3 discs each. These are just the most recent shows he's traded for.

The band was definately tighter and more concise on the earlier '70s gigs but over the course of listening to this disparate and career spanning canon, I'm convinced they never played the same show twice, which is a refreshing take on the band.
 
#9
Ramble On is surely the 62 Jazz Bass with Flats through and acoustic amp. Funnily, I can get close to his tone using my Fender Mustang w/ nickel rounds, and tone rolled off.
About JPJ's strings, early days are flats for sure, but i'm not sure when he switched to rounds. No doubt that on Presence he used rounds.
 
#10
Spectrum said:
I've always loved his metallic tone on the Presence album. Very different from his blues bass tone.
Click to expand...

IIRC JPJ was getting pretty heavily into his Alembic 8-string bass during that period and I believe it made its way onto several of the tracks on the Presence album. That has to a big reason behind the noticable difference in tone.

Presence gets dinged by a lot of Zep fans but I actually think it's one of their more interesting discs and certainly has some noteworthy work by Mr. Jones.
 
#12
YOu pretty much get his exact tone on Dazed and confused:
A 60s RI Jazz-bass
Both pickups all the way up; tone fully open,
Rotosound Swing 66's
Foam mute under the bridge
Bass on 8, treble&mids @5.

(Note: Be sure to pluck as close to the end of the fretboard as possible.):bassist::ninja:;)
 
#13
Stev187 said:
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think JPJ used flats; I believe he says so in that casual interview you mention. The video quality is terrible on that film, but it's amazing... Just a wonderful thing to hear him talking and playing like he's right there in your living room.

--Steve
Click to expand...

Yeah I don't think he used flats at all. As far as I'm aware his main rig (live and early zep stuff) was an acoustic 360/361 amp with a 62 jazz bass. He rolls off the tone and bridge pickup a fair amount as well.
 
#14
KoalaBass said:
Ramble On is surely the 62 Jazz Bass with Flats through and acoustic amp. Funnily, I can get close to his tone using my Fender Mustang w/ nickel rounds, and tone rolled off.
About JPJ's strings, early days are flats for sure, but i'm not sure when he switched to rounds. No doubt that on Presence he used rounds.
Click to expand...

He rolls the volume off of the bridge pickup and keeps the tone low on his J-bass using primarily the neck pick up which is why that mustang (or a P-bass) with the tone rolled off works well. The single coil on the neck pick up (I believe) is essentially the mustang basses split pick-up not split? i could be wrong, but I always thought that was the case as I can get my J-Bass sounding pretty damn near a P-bass using some tone and mainly the neck pick-up.

Separate note, I used to own a Mustang before my J-Bass and I miss it dearly. Underrated basses IMO. I loved that thing
 
#15
You can find some stems from Zeppelin II online, and the bass sounds pretty trebly suprinsingly. Sounds like round wounds with a pick on whole lotta love, that's the one of I've listened to most. Heartbreaker is through a Leslie speaker, which I never knew either, but it works in the context.
 

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