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Rush song, effect pedal?

#21
Speculating, but if they double-tracked that bass solo it might have created the (very cool) mix positioning sound it gets, and an 80s double tracking approach could have resulted in trivial pitch differences across the two tracks, which would have created a “chorusy” sound.

If they did double track it, Geddy did an amazing job of playing both tracks consistently.
 
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#23
Peaveylover said:
As a person who does interviews with people professionally for a living, I have seem many people make wrong recollections about something that happened 35 years prior. You seem to have a real personal dog in this fight, which is strange. I just don't hear a phaser, no one else seems to, and it's universally referred to as chorus. I get it, Northfield said something, but unless I see actual track notes I will assume that he just simply forgot, like so many other people do when recalling a 35 year old admittedly obscure event. Remember, to us fans, stuff like this is the stuff of multi page internet posts. But for an old head like Northfield, the effect he plugged in on an albumk he did in 1980 probably didn't stay too solidly in the memory banks. But by all means, prove me wrong. It seems to be an obsession with you.
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LOL - Obsession? No, I honestly don't care. Dog in this fight..again nope. Personal nope, this is a discussion board. I have been a member for 20 years and this is not the first time the conversation has been had. I was just about to post that I imported the isolated track into Nuendo and added phaser and or chorus and I can achieve the tone either way. And yes, there was alot of documented partying / long work hours during the making of Moving Pictures. Ill leave it with what I said, which was sincere...if you find out definitively let us know.
 
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#26
Bonafide said:
Perhaps you could email Paul Northfield who engineered the album? As a 35 year Geddy Fan and engineer, I own a few books. There is a book that mentions a 'chorus-effected' bassline in Vital Signs... but it is not an official recording document, just a description of the line and 'chorusy' is a phrase used to describe most modulated effects by default with laymen. There is an interview with Paul that mentions the use of a phaser on Vital Signs, I'll try to find it. Today - through my own high-end pro audio system ($5K speakers or phones), I do not hear the delay of a chorus but I can easily hear the filters of a phaser. Phasers are often mistaken for chorus unless they are set to extremes. I suppose in the end, its a guess. If you find out, let us know.
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What I’m curious about is which phaser? Because it sounds great! If you find the info, please share! ;)
 
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#27
Bonafide said:
Perhaps you could email Paul Northfield who engineered the album? As a 35 year Geddy Fan and engineer, I own a few books. There is a book that mentions a 'chorus-effected' bassline in Vital Signs... but it is not an official recording document, just a description of the line and 'chorusy' is a phrase used to describe most modulated effects by default with laymen. There is an interview with Paul that mentions the use of a phaser on Vital Signs, I'll try to find it. Today - through my own high-end pro audio system ($5K speakers or phones), I do not hear the delay of a chorus but I can easily hear the filters of a phaser. Phasers are often mistaken for chorus unless they are set to extremes. I suppose in the end, its a guess. If you find out, let us know.
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The live effect in the first video doesn’t have to be the same as the studio track. Sounds more like a chorus or doubler to me too. Might be a micro pitch/detune harmonizer thing.
 
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#29
There's more going on there than just a pedal stomp. When the solo starts, the bass gets louder in the mix and moves from just right of center in the soundstage to fully separated.

Interesting thing I just noticed, they left it separated after the solo ends all the way out to the end of the track, which is why we all get to enjoy the killer tone so prominently at the end.

There is some detuning going on, whether it's deliberate like a chorus pedal or an artifact of the double-tracking is less obvious. The more I listen the more I'm inclined towards the latter.
 
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#31
HelpImaRock said:
That's a chorus. You could also use a detune pedal, which is a kind of chorus. On bass, I like a chorus with a pre-delay so I can move it off the attack of the note. Keep the depth low to minimize swirling. Think Eventide, not BOSS.
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Les Fret said:
The live effect in the first video doesn’t have to be the same as the studio track. Sounds more like a chorus or doubler to me too. Might be a micro pitch/detune harmonizer thing.
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I found my notes from 14 years ago. One of the R30 magazine interviews in 2005 – Geddy said Paul Northfield would take Geddy’s signal (for Moving Pictures) and use a LOFT delay. Paul would pan the effected sound wide and out of phase which would give it a big sound. Despite there being no modulation happening, there is a bit of delay which can give it a big ‘chorusy tone’. Granted this was for the record, not live performance.

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Edit (to keep the trolls at bay) ** No Pitch Modulation** which likely accounts for the uniqueness.
 
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#32
Bonafide said:
I found my notes from 14 years ago. One of the R30 magazine interviews in 2005 – Geddy said Paul Northfield would take Geddy’s signal (for Moving Pictures) and use a LOFT delay. Paul would pan the effected sound wide and out of phase which would give it a big sound. Despite there being no modulation happening, there is a bit of delay which can give it a big ‘chorusy tone’. Granted this was for the record, not live performance.

View attachment 4451389

Edit (to keep the trolls at bay) ** No Pitch Modulation** which likely accounts for the uniqueness.
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COol, so no phaser and Northfield never said there was.
 
#34
Peaveylover said:
COol, so no phaser and Northfield never said there was.
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I don't know, I have not been to storage to dig through my old magazines and books. This was an interview with Geddy in my notes as a producer. My recollection was from 14 years ago and a interview with Paul. I imagine what I am hearing in terms of phase is the hard pan and slight delay which will give a comb filter effect. Either way, I had been down this road before and since I wasn't there, all I have is the printed word to reference.
 
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#35
Bonafide said:
I found my notes from 14 years ago. One of the R30 magazine interviews in 2005 – Geddy said Paul Northfield would take Geddy’s signal (for Moving Pictures) and use a LOFT delay. Paul would pan the effected sound wide and out of phase which would give it a big sound. Despite there being no modulation happening, there is a bit of delay which can give it a big ‘chorusy tone’. Granted this was for the record, not live performance.

View attachment 4451389

Edit (to keep the trolls at bay) ** No Pitch Modulation** which likely accounts for the uniqueness.
Click to expand...

This is how a detune effect works.
 

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