I didn't mean to necromance a dead thread. I saw it after I hit post reply.Nice thread, some good info. Missed it 4 years ago.
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Steve Harris Compression
- Thread starter J03YW
- Start date
I think he tap,galop lightly with two fingers for the faster riff and strumming chord. he have a lot of fingers noise and fret clank. all of this with high gain and 12"evm electro voice load cab.
I used to own a Zoom B3, and downloaded a patch that got me real close to the Steve Harris sound. You can search the zoom b3 patch sharing thread or contact @Crystalman85. It's a cheap solution.
- Sep 26, 2005
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- endorsing artist: Dean guitars, Marshall , Rotosound strings
If you ask Steve about gear, he will point you towards mike kenney (his tech)
He tells him what he wants, and mike sorts it for him.
By itself, it may not sound like much, but in the context of the mix, with the guitars and drums, it sounds glorious and drives the music forward.
Hi All,
According to Mike (Steve's tech) the Dbx 160 compressor is used only to give a proper level signal to the DI. That article was in a recent Bass Player magazine. Hope this helps,
Brent
According to Mike (Steve's tech) the Dbx 160 compressor is used only to give a proper level signal to the DI. That article was in a recent Bass Player magazine. Hope this helps,
Brent
Hearing Steve on live videos/ concerts and soloed out recordings, you hear a lot of his clickity clack from his finger attack and stings bouncing off of stuff. I don't believe he is playing with a "feather touch". I was happy to hear him live and think, man even Steve Harris gets those noises that I do. I dig in and play very hard. If I don't scoop my mids, my clickity clack overpowers my notes.
bongomania
Commercial User
"Give a proper level signal" is pretty much the definition of what any compressor does. So there still remains the question of why Harris or his tech consistently choose one specific model from one specific era.
..because it works for him.
IMO it's a case of Steve Harris has used more or less the same set up for 40 years.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I'm not a fan of Iron Maiden or Steve Harris, but I used to play with a lot of "clickity clack" from my attack, 'cause I simply like it. I can do without any clickity clack if I want to and I want to most of the times, but there is something about overused compression and that percussive noise from the attack and some string and fret noise. As long as not proven otherwise, I would suppose that it isn't a lack of technique, he does it because he wants exactly this sound and has chosen the right technique to archieve this goal.
Remember when playing that way guitarists and other band members used to complain and asked me, if I couldn't reduce all this unwanted noise. I could and did it in a second but I explained to them that it sounds so much better with the noise in certain songs.
Yet all his bass parts are definitely technical and challenging.
If you record yourself playing the tunes you will easily see how much effort is required to match how it sounds.
Cool thread, Somehow I missed it 6 years ago.
