Marcus Miller is on SWR now !

[D.A.R.K.]

great video!
i'm hearing quite a bit of compression more than anything else in the sound besides the bass, could just be the recording/mastering/foh processing...
could have something to do with that empirical labs distressor in his rack, too...great unit.

 

[DocBop]

Marcus on his website said he is not currently endorsing any amplifiers and pretty much using whatever he feels like. He is running a prototype head so something may be in the works for a new endorsement for him.

I would guess since he is tight with Fender for his basses, a future SWR endorsement would make sense. I believe Marcus used SWR before his EBS endorsement. Bottom line Pro's like Marcus can dial in a good sound on just about anything.

 

[msquared]

Thanks for posting the video.

Listening to this on a set of good headphones, the tone sounds really freaking good. I'd love to hear how much better the EBS stuff is than this.

I don't think I've ever seen Poogie before but I've certainly heard him play a lot. Definitely one of my favorite drummers.

 

[srxplayer]

I never understood what exactly is wrong with SWR gear......there is so much hate for gear on this forum.

There is nothing wrong with it. It's just not the "flavor of the Week" right now. I'm not a fan of SWR gear but it's a personal tone preference. It nothing to do with the gear being bad. There are so many other brands out there that are getting a lot of attention right now it seems like SWR has been kicked to the curb for a while.

I played through another bassists 750x and Goliath III cab last summer, and altough I couldn't get it to work for me the guy who owned it sounded great through that rig.

 

[Rickett Customs]

Good for him........... I didn't have "very good luck" with EBS, however, I've had "good luck" with SWR gear.
Either company could not go wrong having Marcus in their stable.

 

[kirkm24]

I saw a recent video clip of him playing on a MarkBass rig. I'll see if I can find it. That would definitely fuel the Markbass hype even further!

 

[Brad Johnson]

That's a very different thing. I saw that tour. Since it was a 'Headhunters' tour, Marcus (being the pro that he is) was trying to stay true to the vibe of that band, and the classic recordings.

This tangent started with the comment that he wouldn't sound good playing a P bass. How did he sound?

Originally Posted by GreyBeard
+1 I'd like to hear him with a p-bass and 2x15's I bet it would still sound great.

Chris2112:
I doubt that somehow.

 

[KJung]

This tangent started with the comment that he wouldn't sound good playing a P bass. How did he sound?

He sounded nothing like Marcus. Sounded like a good player copping Paul Jackson lines and tone. Strange that he was on that tour. I didn't dig it much. The tone was woolly, mid punchy... 'PBassey'! Of course, as I mentioned, he's a pro and got a tone and played appropriately to the gig. Impressive.

However..... at the soundcheck, which I was lucky enough to hear, Marcus got out his J Bass and jammed with Teri Lynn Carrington, and it was SMOKING He also did a few tunes with his regular bass, and it was Marcus all the way!

Another interesting thing... I got to hear him just playing through the EBS650/EBS2x410 rig without front of house for a bit, and... he sounded like me trying to do Marcus (not the playing, which was magnificent), but the tone. You just can't get that through backline at high volume. When he did the 'pure Avalon U5 through about 20,000 watts of massive front of house.. well.. he sounded like Marcus in the studio.

It's in the hands... and in the studio/massive front of house

 

[stevetx19]

wow cool find....

panther sounds really good here...one of my all time favorite bass solos...

 

[JonathanD]

As much as the talk around here is about gear... it seems to me the sound comes mainly from the player...not the equipment played through...I wonder what I am trying to make up for?
Jonathan

 

[brisonic]

Is SWR even relevant anymore?

 

[Humabass]

I saw him at Wolftrap from front row center Orchestra pit and heard only his stage rig (EBS) because the FOH speakers were actually behind me. It sounded pretty bad. Very sterile and that typical solid state sound I hate so much. I've never had a problem with SWR cabs but have played through SM400s and 900s and Workingman and Bassic Black combos and never could get a tone I liked. I did have an old BabyBlue combo that sounded damn nice, though!

 

[Supertanker]

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Including the prototype MM preamp...

 

[MikeBass]

I never understood what exactly is wrong with SWR gear......there is so much hate for gear on this forum.

I could get in trouble for this, but here it goes...
One of the best sounding rigs I ever owned and played thru (and I've owned a LOT of nice gear over the years) was my old Redhead (not the "Super Redhead") and a Gollith II 410.

 

[MikeBass]

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Including the prototype MM preamp...

They are not going to be able to make those things fast enough if it ever comes out.

So many guys will buy it thinking they will have found the "Marcus tone in a bottle". And all of a sudden, it will be "better than EBS" for basically no reason at all.
And Marcus will still sound exactly the same.
IMO- I can't tell (or really care to be honest) what kind of rig he plays through. And I've seen him with both SWR and a few years back with the EBS. Funny thing, he still sounded like Marcus Miller to me.
Oh, wait, thats because he IS Marcus Miller!!

Sooner or later maybe someone will actually figure out, -and this is crazy talk I know-, that it's all in your hands & soul, and no one, I mean NO ONE will ever sound like Marcus (except for Peter Muller that is!).

 

[Supertanker]

They are not going to be able to make those things fast enough if it ever comes out...

That's the point.

MM is worth a boat load of sales as an endorser.
He's still has credibilty with bass players.
People know he's not an endorsement wh#r&.

He's got 2 basses, soon a preamp, and probably a line of cabs to follow.

I love his sound, but it's not my sound.
I bought a MM jazz bass and I couldn't sell it fast enough.
It just wasn't happening for me...

 

[figuredbass]

Another interesting thing... I got to hear him just playing through the EBS650/EBS2x410 rig without front of house for a bit, and... he sounded like me trying to do Marcus (not the playing, which was magnificent), but the tone. You just can't get that through backline at high volume. When he did the 'pure Avalon U5 through about 20,000 watts of massive front of house.. well.. he sounded like Marcus in the studio.

It's in the hands... and in the studio/massive front of house

+1

I never totally understood why Marcus actually seems to prefer SWR live. This is not in any way a comment on the quality of SWR or a negative opinion of its sound. It's just that for such a definitive tone such as the MM tone we all know, the SWR's (especially the cabs) are probably not going to nail that sound as well as some other gear. So my guess is that he's either very familiar with and used to using it, or somehow in a live stage context it allows him to monitor himself optimally in terms of content and execution, with a slight trade-off of actual tone. The SWR's just may have the kind of cut-through (especially in the top end) that projects well to wherever he's standing, or however loud things get, without him having to work as hard. He knows that the audience will hear the DI'd FOH or recording, so a less than "perfect" stage sound is not an issue.

The other thing I thought is that the SWR's may provide a beneficial monitoring situation for him that goes beyond just his own sound: the blend of his bass with the other instruments in its musical context. As an ensemble player and as the musical director the SWR's may work best for him since he's not only critically listening to himself play, but the entire band in a more demanding way. Again, just a guess; only the Man himself knows why he chooses what he's using!

 

[Rano Bass]

+1
I also owned one of those (two actually) and used it with an Eden 410 XLT, very good sounding rig.

 

[makaky]

I could get in trouble for this, but here it goes...
One of the best sounding rigs I ever owned and played thru (and I've owned a LOT of nice gear over the years) was my old Redhead (not the "Super Redhead") and a Gollith II 410.

Nod

 

[Brad Johnson]

He sounded nothing like Marcus. Sounded like a good player copping Paul Jackson lines and tone. Strange that he was on that tour. I didn't dig it much. The tone was woolly, mid punchy... 'PBassey'! Of course, as I mentioned, he's a pro and got a tone and played appropriately to the gig. Impressive.

So he didn't sound good with a P bass? That's what the tangent was about.

However..... at the soundcheck, which I was lucky enough to hear, Marcus got out his J Bass and jammed with Teri Lynn Carrington, and it was SMOKING He also did a few tunes with his regular bass, and it was Marcus all the way!

I'd think it'd be refreshing to hear something different from Marcus.

Another interesting thing... I got to hear him just playing through the EBS650/EBS2x410 rig without front of house for a bit, and... he sounded like me trying to do Marcus (not the playing, which was magnificent), but the tone. You just can't get that through backline at high volume. When he did the 'pure Avalon U5 through about 20,000 watts of massive front of house.. well.. he sounded like Marcus in the studio.

I saw him twice with the EBS rig, the first time the house sounded like crap and overpowered his stage sound from where I was sitting. The rig had sounded fine at soundcheck. The next time I was front row center and heard his EBS rig and he sounded like Marcus.

I also saw him with his previous rig, the SWR, and he sounded like Marcus.

It's in the hands... and in the studio/massive front of house

To a degree it is... but after what you wrote, how can you say that when you heard two completely different things with two very different types of basses?