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Pink Floyd: One Of These Days

B

bassicinstinct

Nov 16, 2004
1,540
22
71
Nottingham UK
#1
I am currently working with a Floyd tribute act which is in the latter stages of putting together a show which we will be gigging from August onward.

Can any of you fine fellows enlighten me as to what effect/s Mr Waters used for this track? I need to get hold of an example of whatever he was using or, maybe, a more modern substitute which will give me the same or very similar results.

Any assistance would be much appreciated. :)
 
#2
Well, there's a whole studio being used for the effects on that track - it's more sound sculpture and I'm also pretty sure that it's more than one bass track - plus a lot of background noises that contribute to the whole "sound" of the piece.

So - there is a bass line that starts on one side of the stereo and then another slightly deeper part, starts on the other side. Of course the basic effect is delay, but for me, the distinctive thing about this, is how the two bass parts interact with each other across the stereo...:hmm:
 
#3
Bruce Lindfield said:
Well, there's a whole studio being used for the effects on that track - it's more sound sculpture and I'm also pretty sure that it's more than one bass track - plus a lot of background noises that contribute to the whole "sound" of the piece.

So - there is a bass line that starts on one side of the stereo and then another slightly deeper part, starts on the other side. Of course the basic effect is delay, but for me, the distinctive thing about this, is how the two bass parts interact with each other across the stereo...:hmm:
Click to expand...

I'd agree with all of that Bruce but, being a fairly plug and play sort of bloke, (apart from the SABDDI of course :) ) I'm anxious to do a creditable job without indulging in "overkill". ;)

My experience of Digital Delays and, for that matter, any other form of bass "effect" is somewhere between zero and very limited but, from the research I've done thus far, it *sounds* as if the Boss DD5 would at least have the facilities I might need. What do you think? :hmm: :hmm:

I am conscious of the fact that I'm talking about one track here so, if it looks like we can only effectively perform it by me spending an arm and a leg on technology which will rarely be used, we may well have to "can" the song altogether. That would be a shame as it would be my opportuniy to lap up the limelight for once. :D :D :D :D
 
#4
Well - if you're asking me what I think - then what is crucial to me about that track is the two different bass lines at opposite sides of the stereo image plus the way they interact and then there's the really odd bass sound in the middle (just before the guitar solo) - which I have no idea at all how they did, but sounds amazing and creepy!! ;)

Personally, I can see no point on trying to re-create a recording exactly and would never attempt it - I've never been to see a tribute band and would consciously avoid such a thing if I could possibly help it!!

But in this case I think it is particularly futile, to attempt to re-create somthing which was probably the result of months of experimentation and overdubbing in the studio!! ;)


EDIT - OK I found an interview with Dave Gilmour online which explains this track :

"Gilmour experimented with the Binson, an Italian-made delay unit which didn’t use tape loops but a metal recording wheel. It’s on "One Of These Days". The opening section is Gilmour and Waters double-tracking on bass. It also sees Gilmour use one of his two cheap Jensen lap steels customised with Fender pickups for slide parts. The one used on "These Days" is tuned to an open E minor chord."

..from Invalid Link Removed
 
#5
I agree with you to an extent which is why I was using words like "creditable" and "effectively performing". Slavish duplication of studio recordings seems fairly pointless to me too, although I'm certainly more tolerant of the "tribute" principle than you seem to be. :D :D :D :D

Of course, that could be because that is what I've been involved with, certainly for at least the last 10 - 12 years. ;) ;)

My take on this particular track is that it is quite a challenge for me to attempt to perform a creditable version LIVE precisely BECAUSE the original studio version resulted from such various technological manipulations, not to mention the fact that there is more than one bass track too!! Do you see where I'm coming from? :)
 
#6
In the Delicate Sound of Thunder video, Guy PRatt does a pretty good job of recreating it by strumming / slapping (almost like a slow double thump) the intro using what sounds just like a delay. During the middle section, he chords high up on the neck (havent got the video handy) and uses a delay effect to approximate the middle of the song. Its a pretty credible job even without two bass tracks.
 
#7
bassicinstinct said:
My take on this particular track is that it is quite a challenge for me to attempt to perform a creditable version LIVE precisely BECAUSE the original studio version resulted from such various technological manipulations, not to mention the fact that there is more than one bass track too!! Do you see where I'm coming from? :)
Click to expand...


Yes - I suppose there is something to be said for trying to re-create the spirit of that track - and Guy Pratt is a very good bass player, so if you can work out what he was doing, it will at least be a useful learning exercise (transcription practice) !! ;)
 
#9
Okay just listened to the original in headphones and there is no way you could accurately reproduce the original with one bass. Quite apart from the fact that the timing would almost be impossible, there are two distinct bass tones.

That said, the part before the solo sounds like a delay with a Wah pedal fully open.

Now the DSOT version is quite different. The intro sounds like Guy is doing a slow double thump / strum accross the root and the 4th and then before the solo he definately does chord work, but unlike the original which sounds like one note repeated with a heavy effect, the chording moves and the delay continues as David plays the Doctor Who theme on the guitar.
 
#11
I read somewhere that the two basses used to track that song had string differences. One used a fresh set of.......something, and the other had a dead set of something else. I don't know if this helps or just adds to the amalgam that is "One of These Days". We used to jam on this tune back in the day and I would always use either an Ibanez DE-7 or a Boss DD-5 coupled with a Boss AW-3 set to fixed filter just before the "solo". Hope this helps. We never did a dead-on cover of ANY song (by choice) but these effects used correctly gave us a reasonable, working approximation. Good luck.
 
#14
Basstyra said:
I play this song just with a delay (a DD-6 for me, a DD-3 would do the same). It's enough for me, although obviously there is more in the recording.
Click to expand...

Interesting. :hmm: :hmm:

Are you saying, then, that from the perspective of this particular song, there would be nothing to be gained from going for anything more than the DD3? I only ask because I can obviously source one of those significantly cheaper than a 5 or 6.
 
#15
Yes, beacause I don't use stereo, and the right delay time is included in the DD-3. The additionnal functions of the DD-6 are useless for this song particularly.

A nice slap, a simple delay, and there you have. There I have, rather... You can search for somethig more complicated if you want. Personnaly, I'm happy with this.
 
#17
Basstyra said:
Yes, beacause I don't use stereo, and the right delay time is included in the DD-3. The additionnal functions of the DD-6 are useless for this song particularly.

A nice slap, a simple delay, and there you have. There I have, rather... You can search for somethig more complicated if you want. Personnaly, I'm happy with this.
Click to expand...

Sounds good to me.

Merci beaucoups! :) :)
 
#19
The two basses are each on different stereo channels. My inspiration fo doing it live was "Live at Pompei" DVD where the second bas is ignored.

Set your delay to 296 milliseconds and the number of repeats to 7. This emulates the bass with new strings (on the right channel). The other bass with dead strings (on the left channel) comes in later.

The good news is once you get use to playing to the delay, there is not much to this song.
 
#20
johnvice said:
The two basses are each on different stereo channels. My inspiration fo doing it live was "Live at Pompei" DVD where the second bas is ignored.

Set your delay to 296 milliseconds and the number of repeats to 7. This emulates the bass with new strings (on the right channel). The other bass with dead strings (on the left channel) comes in later.

The good news is once you get use to playing to the delay, there is not much to this song.
Click to expand...

Blimey - thanks for that. I've written it down somewhere safe. ;)

Funny you should mention there being "not much to" the track. I had already gained that impression from repeated listenings.

All I have to do now is find a Boss DD3 and get my head around using it. :D :D

Thanks for all your help and info everyone.
 

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