Musical style
Technique
Harris is often considered among the best and most influential heavy metal bassists. He is most known for his "galloping" playing style: usually an eighth note followed by two sixteenth notes at fast tempo (e.g. "The Trooper" and "Run to the Hills") or eighth note triplets, which he plays with two fingers, rather than using a plectrum. Before playing, Harris often chalks his fingers, to make these fast patterns easier to play, as shown on the bonus DVD for the A Matter of Life and Death album. Iron Maiden guitarist Janick Gers has commented that "Steve taught himself in a way that nobody can really copy it. People say it's like a lead guitar, but it's not. It gives the band a basis and it moves around quite a lot, but it's the tone that he has. Steve has a way of hearing things and a tone that isn't normally associated with a bass, it's more like a rhythm guitar."
Influences
Harris was influenced by the progressive rock bands of the 1970s, as well as early hard rock bands. His influences include Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Thin Lizzy, UFO, Wishbone Ash and Yes. Speaking about the early Iron Maiden sound, Steve Harris described the band as utilising twin-guitar harmonies inspired by Wishbone Ash and Thin Lizzy, complex time and mood changes from Genesis and Jethro Tull, and the dark melodic elements of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin.
Equipment
Harris mainly plays a specially-painted Fender Precision Bass, featured on every Iron Maiden album, which has gone through a total of four colour changes since he began using it. Originally white, it was then changed to black prior to the band's first album, followed by blue sparkle and finally white with claret and blue pinstriping with the West Ham United F.C. crest. Harris has had his bass modified to include a mirrored scratchplate, Badass bridges and Seymour Duncan custom SPB1 pickups and uses his own signature set of RotoSound strings. In 2009, Fender issued a signature Steve Harris Precision bass, featuring a blue-sparkle finish, mirrored scratchplate, Seymour Duncan SPB1 pickups and a Badass II bridge.
In 2005, Metal Hammer reported that he uses eight 4x12" Marshall cabinets with Trace Elliot amplifiers. He also uses four Sony WRT 27 wireless transmitters, allowing him to be as mobile as possible on stage. A diagram of Harris' 2000 bass rig is documented on GuitarGeek.com.
Cheers,
Wallace
