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John Paul Jones tone
- Thread starter BulbousMoses
- Start date
Quality player = quality sound
I would think that he can get very close to the recorded tone you all are talking about with any of the above mentioned Fender basses
Also think that his bass playing was brillant and would continue to be considered classic even if the tone was much different at the time
I would think that he can get very close to the recorded tone you all are talking about with any of the above mentioned Fender basses
Also think that his bass playing was brillant and would continue to be considered classic even if the tone was much different at the time
I didn't say that set up was crappy, than that set up was the most upscale bass rig. Give it to Marcus Miller and he would never sound like Marcus Miller.
Our needs were progressing and bass players were searching for different sounds.
Recording old sets was a painful process. What we can hear today is filtrated version of 30-40 years analog equipment.
You cannot hear the buzz 50(60)Hz on records. Than, it was present everywhere. You cannot hear hissing sound. Because it was filtered through many different pieces of recording devices. Sometimes, higher frequencies were scarified for clear sound.
It's just different time and different technology. It is very difficult to emulate exact sound like on records, today.
What is mostly missing is that the rig, settings and playing technique depend on whole band and overall sound "picture" of the song and the band.
Younger generations are focused on "emulation" of some other times. That does not work and that's why we have such music production today - faceless and without soul.
So, today, I would rather focus on the sound of the band that one playing in, than on one particular bass player, who has his time in history.
That "sound" might work in one song, or for one particular band situation. But, it would be really boring to listen to the certain band with constant "JPJ" bass sound.
Any bass player with any sense of reality would tell: "Be yourself. It does not matter WHAT you play, than HOW you play". Larry Graham had almost the same rig like JPJ and Larry is the Larry, JPJ is the JPJ...
No, he did NOT use a EB1 on early recordings. That is a jazz bass. The EB-1 only appeared on the revolving wheel of Zeppelin III. He used his Jazz on all his session work from roughly 61-62 (I believe his Jazz is actually a 3 knob 61, not a 62) until he got into Zeppelin. He never switched over to a Gibson during his early time with Zeppelin. The first other bass he used with Zeppelin besides the jazz was a 51 Precision Bass.
He used flats on his jazz and rounds on his precision. I read an interview from an old guitar magazine from the later 70's where he says what kinds of strings he used. He said that he tried flats on his alembic but didn't like the way it sounded. After reading the most recent article from BP, it sounds like maybe the memory ain't what it used to be, lol.
It really does sound like flats on his jazz, anyway. Especially some of the songs where he has his tone up, Baby I'm Gonna Leave You and Dyer Maker.
It really does sound like flats on his jazz, anyway. Especially some of the songs where he has his tone up, Baby I'm Gonna Leave You and Dyer Maker.
The fact that the man's hands were great aside....a good vintage Jazz Bass run wide open into the Acoustic folded horn rig gets pretty close. I've got a couple 371 stacks which are very close to the 360 and they have pretty good "vintage" treble response but you have to turn them past 2, which most players can't because they are LOUD.
Sorry folks, he did not use a pick in that song, it's all fingers!
He was not opposed to using a pick when he wanted that tone but I can't think of too many tunes from the first two albums that he utized the pick.
Like a preveous posted astutely noted coping the tone will be tough because so much of the tone on the albums are not only the result of his playing, his bass, and his amps, but recording technique!
A jazz bass with Rotosounds is a great place to start. I play this song with my right hand way up on the neck and I come pretty darn close.
He was not opposed to using a pick when he wanted that tone but I can't think of too many tunes from the first two albums that he utized the pick.
Like a preveous posted astutely noted coping the tone will be tough because so much of the tone on the albums are not only the result of his playing, his bass, and his amps, but recording technique!
A jazz bass with Rotosounds is a great place to start. I play this song with my right hand way up on the neck and I come pretty darn close.
Not exactly on point, since he's on an Alembic and I think this photo is from about '76 or '77 but I love the expression:
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And his 8 string Alembic, circa '79-'80:
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And his 8 string Alembic, circa '79-'80:
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That sounds most likely to me too now that I think about it. I said earlier I though it was a '62 or '63, but the 3 knobs did appear on production models as early as mid '61, the string mutes were standard in '61, and the above-the-body ground wire to the bridge would have been much more common in '61 than in '62 or '63.
Here's a question for the Zepheads,
Why is the bass missing the fender logo on the HS? Was it the type of decal that sat above the finish (like on the CS '64 RIs) and it just wore off, or did he sand it off?
Surprisingly, this Rig + Any Passive Jazz bass will give you the JPJ Tone...never should have sold it...
Great thread lots of meat. I'm just coming back from a session where there was a poster of Led Zep on the wall and my jazz with flats, a pick and a Fender amp was pumping out JPJ riffs all night.
I'm sure the JPJ vibe can be captured with spirit as much as gear.
Great great player, always inspiring.
I'm sure the JPJ vibe can be captured with spirit as much as gear.
Great great player, always inspiring.
Not exactly sure when they changed but i think that until late 60s fender applied the decal on top of the finish and didnt spray them.
My 66 has the decal unfinished...
I'm looking for the rarest vintage color (other than Shell Pink) for a '64 Jazz Bass before I buy one. Has anyone brushed up on their vintage Jazz Bass colors? Input would be greatly appreciated.
I would suggest this.
The BassPODXTLive here has a tweaked patch using the "HUGE 360" and it works very well for that era of JPJ.
I had an Acoustic 370 & 301 setup in the 70's~early 80's so I KNOW what it sounds like.
My patches are tweaked using basically FLAT speakers(ACME B2's at close range).
The Line 6 factory patch was OK but not "on the money". I used a frequency chart to boost the fundamentals
on the D and G strings especially on the upper registers. With the Line 6, having the "TONE" controls AND an
EQUALIZER built in lets you do this. I know, with an 18" speaker(simulated) some of that "high end" goes away
but with full range available AND what JPJ(and others) had RECORDED required that the Line 6 patch have this
boost to make upper register notes as loud and full as lower. The same patch works well on a number of
60's & 70's era songs(old R&B, Creedence, etc.).
You know, I've wondered that often myself. I have a book with some pictures from their first show, and it gone then. However, the rest of the head stock isn't really that beat up, and in a few pics it looks like it's actually just the Logo that's been removed, like it was scrapped off. I'd like to know the real reason though.
I would bet dollars to dimes those are flats on his early work, regardless of what you may have heard recently. The guys that are quoting the old Guitar Player interview saying his Jazz was strung with flats are correct in my opinion!
I spent most of my formative years trying to comp his tone, it wasn't until I decided to be myself that my tone became great. Although my sound is a Jazz bass with Rotosound flats, LOL!!!!!!!!!!
All the JPJ stuff I've read, he says that he went through numerous rigs and had all kinds of troubles with cabs blowing, and amps not working properly in Zep's early years. On a side note, I swear I saw his actual Acoustic rig for sale recently, had to be Ebay, but I can't remember for sure. It had Led Zeppelin stenciled in spreay paint on it.
I spent most of my formative years trying to comp his tone, it wasn't until I decided to be myself that my tone became great. Although my sound is a Jazz bass with Rotosound flats, LOL!!!!!!!!!!
All the JPJ stuff I've read, he says that he went through numerous rigs and had all kinds of troubles with cabs blowing, and amps not working properly in Zep's early years. On a side note, I swear I saw his actual Acoustic rig for sale recently, had to be Ebay, but I can't remember for sure. It had Led Zeppelin stenciled in spreay paint on it.
Here's Plant and Jones in New Orleans 05/14/1973:
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Jones is playing the 5-string Fender V and if he used it for the whole show it sounds like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL781hmfDYY
Start from 1:15 when they get funky. Judging from this he might have used it for a studio recording of "The Crunge" too.
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Jones is playing the 5-string Fender V and if he used it for the whole show it sounds like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL781hmfDYY
Start from 1:15 when they get funky. Judging from this he might have used it for a studio recording of "The Crunge" too.
I did notice on the Supershow video from March of 69, the Dazed and Confused recording, that he still had the individual string mutes attached to his 62 Fender Jazz Bass. They are off in the Song Remains The Same Video, but id say that had alot to do with the sound from the period. There is a really killer video here ....
Celebration Day (No Guitar Track) Led Zeppelin - YouTube
its of Celebration Day from TSRTS thats almost isolated bass. Really a great study. Besides his constant picking, id say he had alot of right hand muting going on also. However, his sound starts with a vintage jazz bass and those extra sensitive pickups they had.
Celebration Day (No Guitar Track) Led Zeppelin - YouTube
its of Celebration Day from TSRTS thats almost isolated bass. Really a great study. Besides his constant picking, id say he had alot of right hand muting going on also. However, his sound starts with a vintage jazz bass and those extra sensitive pickups they had.
