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Steve Fossen's Tone

B

BarStarzBass

Apr 25, 2010
99
1
#1
Hi, TB'ers. I'm fairly new to bass (converted guitarist who has seen the light) and still finding my tone (which I know from guitar is a life-long quest anyway!).

I'm really drawn to Steve's tone from the classic Heart records - to my ears it seems a perfect blend between the classic soft-and-round-and-soulful Motown sound and the tight-edgy Chris Squire/Geddy sound - both of which I love too. I'll end up doing my own thing, but Steve's tone is a pretty good starting point for me.

So other than raw talent and technique, what equipment did he use? I've Googled the TB forums and the consensus seems to be - a P-bass through a big SVT rig, though some have commented that he sometimes used J's and others.

From my little-educated ears, the SVT sounds right, but the sound seems sharper than what I normally think comes from a P. Did he use a pick or some special plucking technique? An effect (I get somewhat there using a BrassMaster clone on very minimal fuzz setting). Some sharper-than-standard-Fender p/u?

I understand that he works at BassNW - maybe next time I'm in Seattle I'll just ask him myself, but if anyone has anything, please share!

Thanks.
 
#2
He (along with Nancy Wilson, Roger Fisher, and Howard Leese) was interviewed in Guitar Player Magazine decades ago- I think it was around the time "Dog and Butterfly" was released. He was the first bassist I read about who talked about having a LOT of different instruments. Various combinations of Jazz Basses and Precisions, strung with all manner of strings- rounds, flats, and modded rounds. In the interview he specifically mentioned that he had so many basses it didn't make sense to use the same strings on all of them. And he talked about using different basses for specific songs.

Pick and fingers, but I don't recall the amp information at all.

John
 
#5
Steve is the man - definitely hit him up at Bass NW the next time you're in Seattle. Here's what I remember him telling me: he never used tube amps until the last 10 years or so (now he owns 13 SVT's!), and a lot of the Heart stuff was recorded with an Alembic.
 
#6
Steve's stuff with Heart is great. He and Mike Derosier were just it as far as a hard rock rhythm section back then.

Keep in mind, Ann Wilson also played bass on some of their tracks. IIRC "Straight On" is her on bass but I could be wrong. Whether she used the same gear as Steve I don't know. "Straight On" always sounded more Rickenbacker-ish to me so I don't know.

Cool to know he's still in the music biz even if he's not playing on the road anymore. I always felt like he and Derosier got a raw deal with Heart, and the band was never the same after those two left.
 
#9
E-mail from Evan Sheeley

*****
Hi David,

Steve says that Anne didn't play the bass part on "Straight On". He did.
Steve used a 1964 Fender Jazz Bass and a Fender Showman amp for that song as well as a direct box.


Evan Sheeley (owner)
 
#11
Axtman said:
E-mail from Evan Sheeley

*****
Hi David,

Steve says that Anne didn't play the bass part on "Straight On". He did.
Steve used a 1964 Fender Jazz Bass and a Fender Showman amp for that song as well as a direct box.


Evan Sheeley (owner)
Click to expand...

Cool, thank you (and Steve) for the clarification. I'm in a project that's been thinking of covering that song and it's been fun digging into the bass part. Great stuff!
 
#12
Rezlax -

Thanks for the iso track. Couple of things:

- Never knew he was on the high octave on that main riff as much as he is.

- That is definitely a picked P-Bass, no question.

- His articulation is amazingly clean.

Thanks for posting.
 
#14
jaywa said:
Cool, thank you (and Steve) for the clarification. I'm in a project that's been thinking of covering that song and it's been fun digging into the bass part. Great stuff!
Click to expand...

Ditto the thanks, from the OP. Our band has just added this song to our cover list - I THOuGHT the sound was too "sharp" for a P-bass (even picked). I've been getting close by using a JB-type sound on my bass (at least as close as I can get) so good to know I'm sort of in the ballpark.

Showman amp . . . Mmmm . . .. Maybe that's where the warmth of his tone comes in. Have to see if I can get close to that with my Sansamp . . .
 
#18
I also felt that he and the drummer got the shaft
Great bass tone, great rhythm section
Heart went on to sell a lot of records but it was all bubble gum music to me
They ceased being a true band when they got rid if Steve, the drummer and their lead guitarist (he was really good!), they ceased getting their input and their music went downhill-again even if they did sell a lot of records
But it was cool seeing the original lineup at the RR HOF
 
#19
A big thumbs up for Steve!

I did meet him at BassNW when I was selling a Rick 4001 several years ago, really a great guy to talk with!
 
#20
JTE said:
He (along with Nancy Wilson, Roger Fisher, and Howard Leese) was interviewed in Guitar Player Magazine decades ago- I think it was around the time "Dog and Butterfly" was released. He was the first bassist I read about who talked about having a LOT of different instruments. Various combinations of Jazz Basses and Precisions, strung with all manner of strings- rounds, flats, and modded rounds. In the interview he specifically mentioned that he had so many basses it didn't make sense to use the same strings on all of them. And he talked about using different basses for specific songs.

Pick and fingers, but I don't recall the amp information at all.

John
Click to expand...
I saw Heart just after the Wilson sisters broke up with the Fisher brothers, and Steve changed basses after almost every song, and I don't think he did more than two songs with any bass. Honestly, I thought it was distracting. Levels and tones were uneven for the first few seconds after every change, and some didn't sound so hot.
 

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