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roxy music avalon
- Thread starter tammynono
- Start date
Hello, Tammynono. Welcome to TB. I just listened to the tune on YouTube and it sounds to me almost like a fretless bass. The slight swell at the attack of the note and the nasal tone hint at it being a fretless played sans glissandi or vibrato. It does sound like a Jazz Bass, though. Hope this helps.
Hello. May I also welcome you to TalkBass.
In my experience, when trying to learn how a certain instrument or voice was tracked, in the analysis of music recordings and productions of some complexity, even when there is a detailed account of tracking (especially since often there is not one), it is useful to know 1. the state of the art and/or trends at the time, and 2. the thought process and work method of the recordist and producer.
These articles do not mention the bass tracks in detail, but they describe those other things enough to be helpful to someone trying to reach a similar conclusion today:
Recording & Remixing Roxy Music's Avalon |
https://www.mixonline.com/recording/roxy-musics-avalon-365419
Agreed.
I have read those articles as well as few others about compass point studios. I feel like that sound is pretty common in smooth jazz of the era although I think theres a little less reverb usually on the jazz recordings. I'm not looking for a silver bullet, even other players or songs with a similar tone would be helpful. Thanks
I have read those articles as well as few others about compass point studios. I feel like that sound is pretty common in smooth jazz of the era although I think theres a little less reverb usually on the jazz recordings. I'm not looking for a silver bullet, even other players or songs with a similar tone would be helpful. Thanks
Not sure how much you know about recording process - so please don't be offended if you already know all this and my information is too basic - not trying to talk down, just starting at the beginning.
Human hearing is supposedly 20hz to 20,000 hz - but very few speaker systems can get anywhere near 20hz. So most of what we think of as heavy bass in the music we buy is actually around 40-100hz and very few recordings have much information at 20-40hz (deliberately removed in the mix/master so crappy sound systems won't rattle and distort so much). Of course DJs use subwoofers and crank the bass about 10x louder than the full range speakers so that kind of music is a different story.
There are lots of studio processes that trick the brain into hearing sub harmonics that aren't actually present in the mix. That way your brain can hear the 20-40hz sounds by the way the bass (and kick) tracks are processed even though they cut off sharply below 50hz and those deeper frequencies aren't actually coming out of the speakers .
Here is what a spectrum analyzer shows of the frequency response of Avalon when the kick and bass are hitting - and this actually has a lot more deep bass than most recordings. Notice how much the graph is rolling off between 50hz and 20 hz:
Anyway my best guess is that bass is recorded through some nice, tube preamp directly into the board and then processed with some of those tools that make your brain hear deep bass that isn't really there. It sounds really good to me and my brain hears lots of deep, low frequencies that the spectrum analyzer doesn't seem to see.
Human hearing is supposedly 20hz to 20,000 hz - but very few speaker systems can get anywhere near 20hz. So most of what we think of as heavy bass in the music we buy is actually around 40-100hz and very few recordings have much information at 20-40hz (deliberately removed in the mix/master so crappy sound systems won't rattle and distort so much). Of course DJs use subwoofers and crank the bass about 10x louder than the full range speakers so that kind of music is a different story.
There are lots of studio processes that trick the brain into hearing sub harmonics that aren't actually present in the mix. That way your brain can hear the 20-40hz sounds by the way the bass (and kick) tracks are processed even though they cut off sharply below 50hz and those deeper frequencies aren't actually coming out of the speakers .
Here is what a spectrum analyzer shows of the frequency response of Avalon when the kick and bass are hitting - and this actually has a lot more deep bass than most recordings. Notice how much the graph is rolling off between 50hz and 20 hz:
Anyway my best guess is that bass is recorded through some nice, tube preamp directly into the board and then processed with some of those tools that make your brain hear deep bass that isn't really there. It sounds really good to me and my brain hears lots of deep, low frequencies that the spectrum analyzer doesn't seem to see.
I believe Alan Spenner played a fretless Wal bass on that track, and much of Roxy Musics album that year. Wal bass has a very unique tone, sound, its the cats ass of bass. But it comes with a hefty price tag. Good luck experimenting.
Clearly seen here playing his wal bass on the song Avalon!
Clearly seen here playing his wal bass on the song Avalon!
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Here’s Avalon on its own. Alan Spenner’s playing his fretted JG Series Wal Bass. You can see the lights shining off them at points...
LOL, Im going to go out on a limb here. My own opinion, and I could be 110% wrong here. That sound isnt as much about his EQ, or signal chain. Thats what a Wal bass is all about right there. To me, it has a bridge like sound, with maybe, maybe, a little chorus pedal action if at all.
Probably direct to the soundboard. The Wal is 90% of that sound you here in my opinion.
Info on the JG Series Wals here:
A HISTORY OF WAL BASSES: JG Bass Special Part 1: A masterpiece of design...
...and on Gary Tibbs’ Roxy Music JG here:
A HISTORY OF WAL BASSES: JG Special Pt 4b: Gallery - "Mk 2" JG Basses - the later models
A HISTORY OF WAL BASSES: JG Bass Special Part 1: A masterpiece of design...
...and on Gary Tibbs’ Roxy Music JG here:
A HISTORY OF WAL BASSES: JG Special Pt 4b: Gallery - "Mk 2" JG Basses - the later models
