Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what effect is John Paul Jones using on Led Zeppelin's Heartbreaker? Sounds like some kind of tremolo effect to me, or maybe a Leslie? Can you play a bass through a Leslie?
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JPJ on Heartbreaker
- Thread starter Atshen
- Start date
Sure you can. But I have listened to a lot of their records, and I can't recall ever hearing any effects on the bass on any of their early stuff. You might be hearing effects on Page's thousand guitar tracks that all do the same thing and thinking they're on the bass. Then again you may be right. After every radio station got "The Led Out" in the 80's, I got to a point where I can't stand to listen to them anymore.
I have a feeling it was the "double string" bass that he used - so an 8-string doubling each normal bass string - which gave that sound?
JPJ didn't get an 8-string bass until the Presence album. The sound on "Heartbreaker" is indeed an overdriven Jazz Bass through a Leslie cab.
That overdriven tone is just too great. I just swoon whenever that part of Heartbreaker comes in.
It's both english and french.lowmid said:
Which is pretty much the whole song, isn't it? IIRC.The Clap said:
Didn't Chris Squire also use an overdriven bass through a Leslie on Starship Trooper? From what I remember, it was a similar tone.
Leslies were designed to go with organs, so they handle bass without a problem. that was about the only Zep song he used effects on, though.
Hmm, I never realised he used any effects on that song, I always assumed it was just bass powerchords.
KPJ said:
"Celebration day" off LZ-III was an 8 string.
"Heartbreaker" is played with a pick which gives a very distinctive attack. During the verse where the guitar lays out, you can really hear the distortion effect. JPJ is playing what I call "big chords": the open "A" string while playing a diad on the D and G string.
I am not sure if anyone posted this already, but I think I remember reading that he used a pick with his trusty jazz bass on that track. What speaker he used...I have no idea.
