Pink Floyd P tone

[JustRicks]

I play bass for a tribute to pink floyd band.
To get Roger Waters tone, just get a USA made Fender Precision with maple neck. put some Rotosound Flat strings, and play with a plectrum... that´s it.
If you want to get Guy Pratt's tone. Spector NS-2, Status Graphite (fretted and fretless), Jazz Bass, Precision RI 57.

If you want tohave that real Pink Floyd P Bass sound all you need is a Fender Roger Waters P Bass. String it with Rotosound 77 (flatwound) and play it with the tone fully open... Then obviously you have the amp issue... I use Ashdown (it was Roger's amp choice before switching to Ampeg due mostly to sponsor issues). On my Ashdown Mag 300 I set the EQ on flat and boost the deep and bright bottoms... I am truly satisfied both playing with my band and when plying Pink Floyd tunes.

If you do get the R.W. P Bass don't forget to join our Club!

That's the expensive route. I think you're paying more for looks than actual Roger Waters tone with the RW signature bass.

Rog doesn't even consider himself a bassist. He admits he sucks and is a songwriter first. He really isn't that good a bassist in any respect.

P.s. I have seen him on every tour since Pros & Cons (even saw him with Clapton on guitar)..... Saw the last tour and have ticlets for his show this coming summer..... so I am a huge fan.... Not putting him down, he just isn't that good a player.

P.s. a P with flats and the tone wide open through a big tube amp (I.e. SVT) should get you the standard Rog tone.

Yep P with flats, open tone knob and a big amp (running clean tone from what I've found)

Roger has actually been using RotoSound 66 rounds since 2000.

I'd love to see where these rumors are coming from. Some sort of evidence please? If he did switch, I'm sure we'd all know, and I'm sure Rotosound would add him to their Swing Bass 66 endorsers list.

And then there's Tony Levin on Momentary Lapse of Reason. MM Stingray?

Crazy, name a progressive rock band that hasn't had any association with Tony Levin (just kidding, but I'm sure everybody gets what I mean). I never found his bass parts on that album any bit more complex than previous PF material, which I suppose is decent since he never actually was part of the band--but rather a session musician.


Before I mention how to get RW's tone, I'll enlighten you with a bit of experiences. I had an obsession with PF for about 2 or 3 years in which my main goal was to achieve RW's tone. First off, humbucking pickups were a "no-no." Jazz bass pickups ditto. It was all about the P bass split single coil pickup. Secondly, it's all about flatwound strings. I never used anything other than Rotosound 77's, so I wouldn't know if all flatwound strings would do it, but the 77's were the key. Keeping the tone knob open (turned all the way up) allowed for the upper mids to come through seemed to produce a majority of the tone also. Disputable items such as the maple neck, the fact that it is actually made by Fender could have impact, but I won't actually recommend that unless you are going for a look-alike. Amp-wise, really anything clean with some boosted mids will do the trick. I would never classify his tone being associated with any form of tube distortion.

And my own opinion of the RW sig bass: it's a cool bass if you want a nice looking bass with some upgraded hardware. I will mention that it is NOT critical to getting his tone, and it has enhancements that RW doesn't even have. Take a look at all the pictures and videos of RW; you will not see a brass nut, you will not see or hear Bassline pickups, AND he obviously doesn't have the black knobs. Fender apparently didn't think his real bass had enough changes from a normal Black 'n' Maple P bass, so they added a few of their upgrades to make it a little more desirable.

To end this post, here is a video of me playing "Money" with a Black 'n' Maple B bass that I built. I've had numerous people comment on how my tone is dead on with RW's. I have Made in Mexico P bass pickups, a standard "tusq" nut on a maple AllParts neck, and the other end of the cable is attached simply to an Ampeg BA115 combo amp with most settings leveled out and the tone-selector switch turned to "4"--aka no effects. Low-end bass might be lacking because of the fact I recorded this using a digital camera and not using a DI or professional microphone.

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[packhowitzer]

To end this post, here is a video of me playing "Money" with a Black 'n' Maple B bass that I built. I've had numerous people comment on how my tone is dead on with RW's. I have Made in Mexico P bass pickups, a standard "tusq" nut on a maple AllParts neck, and the other end of the cable is attached simply to an Ampeg BA115 combo amp with most settings leveled out and the tone-selector switch turned to "4"--aka no effects. Low-end bass might be lacking because of the fact I recorded this using a digital camera and not using a DI or professional microphone.

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Do the Allparts necks come with the Fender Logo or did you add that? I have considered an allparts neck a few times, but was curious about the logo. In the end (for me) the logo isn't a huge deal, but it would certainly impact resale value if it still has a logo on it.

 

[JustRicks]

Do the Allparts necks come with the Fender Logo or did you add that? I have considered an allparts neck a few times, but was curious about the logo. In the end (for me) the logo isn't a huge deal, but it would certainly impact resale value if it still has a logo on it.

I added it via a waterslide decal. Since it is a parts bass, I already knew it wouldn't have very high resell value, but I put it on just to reduce the number of times people would ask me what company makes my bass or people trying to judge me for not using a Fender-made P Bass. On a forum like this, I'm not ashamed to list out the parts since 99% of the forum understands.

As for the quality of Allparts, they are fantastic. I ordered that neck directly from them; but turns out there are resellers/dealers on eBay and other websites that sell them for much less. My only recommendation if you do get an Allparts neck, take it down to your local trusted guitar technition, and have them mount the neck on the body, install the nut, install the tuners, and (optionally) have them do a pro-setup where they will level out the frets. I did all those things with my bass and I absolutely swear I have never played a better playing P bass out there. This includes all Fender USA-made or Custom Shop, Lakland, Mike Lull, etc.... I'd even put this up against the vintage Fenders.

 

[sigmafloyd]

The tone is all in the black paint and maple neck, any other color won't work.

Just kidding... but, if anyone is looking for a Black/Maple P I have one for sale in the classifieds (see signature).

I did a video demo here that includes a clip of Money, played mostly finger style though.

2008 Fender American Standard Precision - YouTube

 

[packhowitzer]

I added it via a waterslide decal. Since it is a parts bass, I already knew it wouldn't have very high resell value, but I put it on just to reduce the number of times people would ask me what company makes my bass or people trying to judge me for not using a Fender-made P Bass. On a forum like this, I'm not ashamed to list out the parts since 99% of the forum understands.

As for the quality of Allparts, they are fantastic. I ordered that neck directly from them; but turns out there are resellers/dealers on eBay and other websites that sell them for much less. My only recommendation if you do get an Allparts neck, take it down to your local trusted guitar technition, and have them mount the neck on the body, install the nut, install the tuners, and (optionally) have them do a pro-setup where they will level out the frets. I did all those things with my bass and I absolutely swear I have never played a better playing P bass out there. This includes all Fender USA-made or Custom Shop, Lakland, Mike Lull, etc.... I'd even put this up against the vintage Fenders.

Thanks for the info. Sorry if it derailed a bit. Now back to your regularly scheduled Roger Waters bass tone discussion.....

 

[damdam]

I used to have an japan 62 reissue.

Used to get that kin of sound

 

[sarlscharisma]

RW wrote basslines to fit the songs and for that they were perfect. They certainly did not make PF any worse for it. Lines like Brick in the Wall are etched in my childhood through to me picking up a bass. The bass tone on Pompeii is amazing to me as it was in most of the classic floyd albums.

For me his tone is the classic p-bass and with rotosounds and a US precision ideally from the 70s with tone slightly rolled off is the sound. He uses pick most of time, but sometimes fingers - see floyd reunion gig.

For me Guy Pratt sound is not quite the same as he tends to overplay what is required.

 

[DeadHeadSF]

Hey guys and gals!
I'm planning on buying a P bass soon. Yesterday, I listened to Pink Floyd's Pulse live album and fell in love with the bass tone, specifically Another Brick in the Wall. Anybody have any good leads on this tone? I'm relatively new to the P bass world. Would this be regarded as "classic" or "vintage" tone? Any bass suggestions? Thanks!

I don't know that there's anything really special to it. I get a pretty solid Floyd sound out of my fender P plugged straight into an Ampeg SVT, EQ mostly flat with a few small tweaks here and there.

Roger uses (currently) an SVT 7Pro as I recall. Not sure what he used on the old Floyd albums though.

 

[winterburn69]

This doesn't really fall into the Floyd P tone category at all, but more about Guy Pratt's playing. I hate starting new threads on things like this, especially when there's so many Floyd threads around here.

And for you tone experts, what kinda fretless was used on Hey You (the recording from The Wall)? (perhaps a Precision, Jazz or maybe even a StingRay)

Anyways, during the bass solo on One of These Days on Pulse & Delicate Sound of Thunder, he adds a phaser (at least that's what I think it sounds like) into the mix, can anyone toss me any tips to help me play the solo part?

And what kinda effect is Pratt using on the slap bass solo? (about 2:30 in) It kinda sounds like an envelope filter but I don't have much (or practically any) experience with them so I can't be sure.




Thanks. I hope I get some help on this stuff.

 

[sigmafloyd]

This doesn't really fall into the Floyd P tone category at all, but more about Guy Pratt's playing. I hate starting new threads on things like this, especially when there's so many Floyd threads around here.

And for you tone experts, what kinda fretless was used on Hey You (the recording from The Wall)? (perhaps a Precision, Jazz or maybe even a StingRay)

Anyways, during the bass solo on One of These Days on Pulse & Delicate Sound of Thunder, he adds a phaser (at least that's what I think it sounds like) into the mix, can anyone toss me any tips to help me play the solo part?

And what kinda effect is Pratt using on the slap bass solo? (about 2:30 in) It kinda sounds like an envelope filter but I don't have much (or practically any) experience with them so I can't be sure.




Thanks. I hope I get some help on this stuff.

I want some of whatever that percussionist is on

 

[bgmww]

This doesn't really fall into the Floyd P tone category at all, but more about Guy Pratt's playing. I hate starting new threads on things like this, especially when there's so many Floyd threads around here.

And for you tone experts, what kinda fretless was used on Hey You (the recording from The Wall)? (perhaps a Precision, Jazz or maybe even a StingRay)

Anyways, during the bass solo on One of These Days on Pulse & Delicate Sound of Thunder, he adds a phaser (at least that's what I think it sounds like) into the mix, can anyone toss me any tips to help me play the solo part?

And what kinda effect is Pratt using on the slap bass solo? (about 2:30 in) It kinda sounds like an envelope filter but I don't have much (or practically any) experience with them so I can't be sure.




Thanks. I hope I get some help on this stuff.

Hey You
It is known that Hey you was recorded by David GIlmour using a Charvel Precision bass.

OOTD
Delay set to 320ms + Tremolo (square wave and depth all the way up) synched to Delay time.. Pratt adds a Phaser (Boss PH-1). A very wet signal.
PLay it with a pick.

One Slip Slap solo
Yeahp.. Envelope Filter + Phaser

 

[packhowitzer]

I want some of whatever that percussionist is on

If i got to be a touring musician with PF, I'd probably be going bananas like that.

 

[mikeswals]

what kinda fretless was used on Hey You (the recording from The Wall)? (perhaps a Precision, Jazz or maybe even a StingRay)

I don't remember reading any old interviews of the specific bass used on that track. But back then David did have a fretless StingRay (and a fretted one), he was also trying to get Jack Bruce to start using them.
He could have owned a fretless P too (no factory fretless J back then). But he certainly owns a ton of instruments.

 

[winterburn69]

Hey You
It is known that Hey you was recorded by David GIlmour using a Charvel Precision bass.

OOTD
Delay set to 320ms + Tremolo (square wave and depth all the way up) synched to Delay time.. Pratt adds a Phaser (Boss PH-1). A very wet signal.
PLay it with a pick.

One Slip Slap solo
Yeahp.. Envelope Filter + Phaser

Thank you very much for the detailed responses!! Now I know it's a fretless Precision. I've always thought it sounds like a tremolo but I've never heard about Pratt using one. OOTD is actually one of the few songs I use my fingers for, I think it kinda sounds better that way.

Does anyone know what Pratt's cool slapping technique on Pulse during OOTD is about? I've always thought it was pretty cool. I don't really know anything about slapping, and my Bass Guitar for Dummies book wasn't too helpful with that, I'm thinking about taking lessons to learn how to slap better. 7 years in and I never attempted it until like two months ago when I learned The Valley by Duran Duran. Better late than never eh?

That's one funky bass solo on One Slip. Great playing on that one (both Water-less albums although I like A Momentary Lapse better than the Division Bell) proof that Pink Floyd doesn't have to be "simple" bass parts.

I don't remember reading any old interviews of the specific bass used on that track. But back then David did have a fretless StingRay (and a fretted one), he was also trying to get Jack Bruce to start using them.
He could have owned a fretless P too (no factory fretless J back then). But he certainly owns a ton of instruments.

Yes indeed he owns alot of instruments. I've heard very good things about Gilmourish.com in relation to his gear but I couldn't find anything on his basses and it's a widely known fact he played fretless bass on Hey You.