not really a bass I know (and certainly not "affordable"), but didn't Squire use a Maestro Brassmaster for his distorted solos?
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Looking for that Chris Squire sound on a budget
- Thread starter sartor
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You have ... transcended, grasshopper.
Your journey has led you to ... yourself <gong strike>.
Know all without knowing; Arrive without leaving.
The student has become the master.
Your journey has led you to ... yourself <gong strike>.
Know all without knowing; Arrive without leaving.
The student has become the master.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
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- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
OR it could be true!
Im going to go for the T-40 look, with rounds. A pick is a huge help.
I can get recognizably close with a Jazz and pick. Neck all the way up, bridge 50% or so, tone all the way up. Slight mid bump on the amp at 1-1.5k. Not exactly right, but if you heard it you'd know what I was going for.
Back in the day, I chased that tone and I have to agree with most of the posters, the technique is as much apart of the sound as the hardware.
That and fresh Roto rounds. I nearly went broke buying those in the '70s
That and fresh Roto rounds. I nearly went broke buying those in the '70s
+1000000
I own both and the T-40 comes closer to nailing the Ric sound (with both pups and tones dimed) than any of my other basses.
That story is true. He doubled the bass line with an overdub of him playing it on Howe's Gibson ES175 - only he didn't run it into the board. He just mic'd it acoustically.
When I saw Yes live in the 70's he used an 8-string Ric that had octave strings to approximate that effect.
When I saw Yes live in the 70's he used an 8-string Ric that had octave strings to approximate that effect.
I saw Yes in 1979 (on the Tormato tour) and Squire used an 8-string bass for "Roundabout", but it wasn't a Rickenbacker, it was some custom brown thing. And then when I saw Yes in 2000 Squire played "Roundabout" on his regular 4-string Rick.
But yeah, I too read the interview where he claimed to double the bassline on one of Howe's archtop Gibson's miked acoustically.
I'm pretty sure, for most of the song, it's just bass. Towards the end, when the main riff kicks back in after the extended middle section and solos, it has a noticably different texture - it is only here that the guitar overdub is apparent.
- Feb 24, 2004
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- Endorsing Artist: Phantom Guitars, Eastwood Guitars
I use this for the Chris Squire sound. CS Limited Edition, only 1000 made, only a couple lefties. Bought new in 1992 for $999.
Pick technique and Roto's for sure, but I haven't heard much talk about amps... Sunn amps were a big part of Chris Squire's sound for a while back then. I'm not sure what he used in the studio for 'Fragile' but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a Sunn combo. You could probably find a used Beta Bass head or combo fairly cheap on CL or Fleebay.
Some of his tone comes from his Ric's toaster pickup. I think of it as a 'rubbery' tone if that makes any sense. Once you play a Ric with a toaster you'll know that sound instantly.
- Feb 24, 2004
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- Endorsing Artist: Phantom Guitars, Eastwood Guitars
I glommed this from rickresource.com:
"Well, when he chose to buy his RM1999 in 1965 using his employee discount at Boosey and Hawkes, he did so because he liked the Rickenbacker guitar. But he has been quoted as saying he did not like the Rickenbacker amps, and chose instead when he was in Syn to buy a Vox AC-30 lead amp with two Vox cabinets. The Vox had a treble-boosing circuit on it that he liked. In the 1980s, he said it was still one of the best amps in the studio to use, and he was still using it to record in the studio. He bought a Marshall 100 watt when Yes was being formed, then switched to Fender Dual Showmans with four Fender 15-inch cabs and then to Sunn 6x12s. This lasted him until the Sunn days began at the start of the first US tour. I clearly remember him using a Sunn Coliseum Lead head in 1973-1974 because that made me go right out and buy a couple myself, and he always used the newest brightest-sounding Rotosounds I had ever heard. He used the Taurus (Moog) bass pedals (after the no-name kit organ pedal) and a Cry Baby wah pedal, but except for those not much else in terms of special effects pedals (of course, it was amp tremelo on ST). I think he used both the RM1999 and the 1970 MG 21-fretter 4001, but that was too many dead braincells ago to be sure. He reportedly did not even use the bridge pickup on the RM1999, but I am not sure about the 21-fretter, I am instead pretty sure he ran that in stereo. I have always been amazed at the thought that The Yes Album sounds all came just from the neck pickup, and am convinced he had to have been running his Rickenbackers in full stereo Image
Another denizen of the factory forum a couple of years ago, from Rome Italy, reported he saw Chris over there do a local show using a Fender Dual Showman in April 1974 with 2x15s, but does not recall any other amps he used. Others clearly remember a Maestro Bass Brassmaster fuzz on Close To The Edge into the Sunn head, and they were under the impression he was running the bridge pickup through it (this was the one with the octave effect voiced for bass, like the octavia). We know now from an observation John Hall made in 2005 on the RIC forum that it was unlikely he ever used the bridge pickup of the RM1999 because in 2005, when it was being serviced at the RIC factory, they found the bridge pickup completely disconnected inside the bass, and instead was bi-amping the neck pickup even then instead of running it stereo. I have also heard that he clearly ran it stereo starting in the 1960s, which implies he did use the bridge pickup at least through the 70s. Electrically, it would have been easy for Chris to separate the pickups and convert the single mono jack on the RM1999 into a stereo-only jack (I know because I have done it myself to a 1963 Rick bass that I own which was originally mono). That is something we may need to ask Chris about to settle once and for all"
That said, I've seen newer concert clips where he was using a Marshall. Killer tone.
"Well, when he chose to buy his RM1999 in 1965 using his employee discount at Boosey and Hawkes, he did so because he liked the Rickenbacker guitar. But he has been quoted as saying he did not like the Rickenbacker amps, and chose instead when he was in Syn to buy a Vox AC-30 lead amp with two Vox cabinets. The Vox had a treble-boosing circuit on it that he liked. In the 1980s, he said it was still one of the best amps in the studio to use, and he was still using it to record in the studio. He bought a Marshall 100 watt when Yes was being formed, then switched to Fender Dual Showmans with four Fender 15-inch cabs and then to Sunn 6x12s. This lasted him until the Sunn days began at the start of the first US tour. I clearly remember him using a Sunn Coliseum Lead head in 1973-1974 because that made me go right out and buy a couple myself, and he always used the newest brightest-sounding Rotosounds I had ever heard. He used the Taurus (Moog) bass pedals (after the no-name kit organ pedal) and a Cry Baby wah pedal, but except for those not much else in terms of special effects pedals (of course, it was amp tremelo on ST). I think he used both the RM1999 and the 1970 MG 21-fretter 4001, but that was too many dead braincells ago to be sure. He reportedly did not even use the bridge pickup on the RM1999, but I am not sure about the 21-fretter, I am instead pretty sure he ran that in stereo. I have always been amazed at the thought that The Yes Album sounds all came just from the neck pickup, and am convinced he had to have been running his Rickenbackers in full stereo Image
Another denizen of the factory forum a couple of years ago, from Rome Italy, reported he saw Chris over there do a local show using a Fender Dual Showman in April 1974 with 2x15s, but does not recall any other amps he used. Others clearly remember a Maestro Bass Brassmaster fuzz on Close To The Edge into the Sunn head, and they were under the impression he was running the bridge pickup through it (this was the one with the octave effect voiced for bass, like the octavia). We know now from an observation John Hall made in 2005 on the RIC forum that it was unlikely he ever used the bridge pickup of the RM1999 because in 2005, when it was being serviced at the RIC factory, they found the bridge pickup completely disconnected inside the bass, and instead was bi-amping the neck pickup even then instead of running it stereo. I have also heard that he clearly ran it stereo starting in the 1960s, which implies he did use the bridge pickup at least through the 70s. Electrically, it would have been easy for Chris to separate the pickups and convert the single mono jack on the RM1999 into a stereo-only jack (I know because I have done it myself to a 1963 Rick bass that I own which was originally mono). That is something we may need to ask Chris about to settle once and for all"
That said, I've seen newer concert clips where he was using a Marshall. Killer tone.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I read in an issue of Bass Player Magazine November 2007 issue that he used a rare budget version of the 4001 called a rickenbacker 1999, and then they overdubbed it using one of Steve Howe's old gibson hollowbodies. Not that it matters , just a fun little fact. ; )
- Feb 24, 2004
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His main Ric is a 4001S, the UK Ric importer in the 60s, Rose-Morris, requested a plain-jane version of the 4001 as the Brit guitar buyers preferred a less flashy/more traditional-looking instrument. Thus the hollowbody Rics shipped to the UK had f-holes instead of slash-holes, and the basses had dot fret markers, no binding, and no ROS. Rose-Morris gave that model bass the designation RM1999.
For years I always assumed that the bassist in Kansas used a Rickenbacker on "Carry On My Wayward Son", but I finally read somewhere that he used a Precision Bass. To me, the sound is mighty close.
(Listen especially to his entrance at 1:29.)
Roundwound strings, a pick, and the right EQing.
(Listen especially to his entrance at 1:29.)
Roundwound strings, a pick, and the right EQing.
Been there..done that. Before I owned my first 4001, I was really into that "Fragile" tone. too. Frankly, now that I own several basses, I can state that the key to that "Fragile" tone is: Any 4 string bass, regardless of price, when strung with Roto Sound Swing bass strings will pleasingly approximate that Fragile tone. The down side is that tone quickly disipates with use. Before putting your bass away, wipe the Roto Sounds with an alcohol soaked cloth, to remove sweat and grime, which is the cause of deadening the strings. WARNING: Roto sounds come with 4 flat washers. DO NOT USE THEM. I put 4 deep gauges at the bridge when I bought my first Rick 4001 in 1973, when I removed the stock strings and strung her up with Rotos. Also use as much treble tone as you can crank out from your bass. Use a pick , and Rotos and you'll be saying YES. P.S. It works for E.L.P / Greg Lake , and Wishbone Ash tone, too. My 2 CENTS. ZON SONUS 6 CF.
I think you would need to use really new rotosound strings for starters. Then use the NECK pickup. A lot of people thought Squire was always gunning the bridge pickup, but this is not the case. He was either using the neck pickup solo or mixed in a little bit of bridge. He split his output into a Marshall Bass head on the treble input and also into another amp (Ampeg SVT?). This way he got a 2-tone sound that had both a good high frequency response and a rumbling low frequency that really propelled the sound along. I heard somewhere that when Yes were touring recently Squire had a Marshall 4x12 cabinet under the stage under where Jon Anderson stood to give the bass a bit of feeling.
Not sure how you would do this on a budget. There is ofcourse the Sansamp VT though it does not split the frequencies. The Ashdown drive plus pedal has an option to add dirt to either the high or low frequencies and blend the tone as desired. Its a cheap pedal and I've heard other Ashdown pedals suck, so I cannot vouch for this one.
Boost the top and bottom end of your eq, but if you sound like Fieldy you've gone too far!
Play with a plectrum always and dig hard. Raise the action if you have to so you don't get a dull thumpy tone!
Not sure how you would do this on a budget. There is ofcourse the Sansamp VT though it does not split the frequencies. The Ashdown drive plus pedal has an option to add dirt to either the high or low frequencies and blend the tone as desired. Its a cheap pedal and I've heard other Ashdown pedals suck, so I cannot vouch for this one.
Boost the top and bottom end of your eq, but if you sound like Fieldy you've gone too far!
Play with a plectrum always and dig hard. Raise the action if you have to so you don't get a dull thumpy tone!
