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The Indefensible Position (Geddy Lee Steinberger Content)

#62
Altitude said:
I have the Rush Replay box set, and this morning I decided to watch some of the Grace Under Pressure tour while I cleaned up breakfast. This is the one where Alex Lifeson appears to be wearing pajamas with a sport jacket. It's worth watching for the Joe Flaherty cameo alone.

But I digress.

This was the show where Geddy was playing the Steinberger.

For years I associated Geddy with a 4001. I dig what he's done with his Fenders on recordings recently, although I think he goes too far with the overdrive on all of the recent live concerts I've seen.

To me, the Steinberger tone he got was his best live tone ever.

Fie, I know.

Here's the thing, though. That 'berger provides a nice, midrange focused tone, which allows ged's playing to sit in its own spot in Rush's extremely occupied sound spectrum. I can hear every note he plays.

In contrast, on the recent recordings, his Fenders seem to mash in to the midst of this ever-present grunge on the low end of their "sound wall".

His current tone sounds great on studio recordings - "Caravan" is awesome in particular. But, even though I am sure he would not agree, that Steinberger really did the trick live.
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David Ellefson once said about his Steiny that he brought for Megadeth's Youthanasia sessions, "...this one actually sounds great...looks goofy as all hell, but it sounds good."
 
#64
Altitude said:
To me, the Steinberger tone he got was his best live tone ever.
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It may just be because Grace Under Pressure was the first Rush concert I ever saw, but I loved the bass sound on that album and live.

I know a lot of people have their favorite (and least favorite) Rush eras, but for me, every album was an evolution of skill, talent, experimentation, and amazing musicianship. There isn't a single Rush song I don't like and respect to some degree; even Tai Shan (sorry, Geddy ;)).
 
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#65
innocentoldguy said:
I know a lot of people have their favorite (and least favorite) Rush eras, but for me, every album was an evolution of skill, talent, experimentation, and amazing musicianship. There isn't a single Rush song I don't like and respect to some degree; even Tai Shan (sorry, Geddy ;)).
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100% agree. Well, maybe Rivendell.

But I'm 51 now and I got into Rush exactly at the moment Power Windows came out. So I'm sort of hard wired to like the synth period. It was fine, it was what they were doing at that moment and the music is great.
 
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#66
Altitude said:
100% agree. Well, maybe Rivendell.

But I'm 51 now and I got into Rush exactly at the moment Power Windows came out. So I'm sort of hard wired to like the synth period. It was fine, it was what they were doing at that moment and the music is great.
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Sames. Did you see the Power Windows tour? It was my first concert and so therefore I thought that's how good every concert would be!

So yeah, between that and being able to see the previous Grace Under Pressure live video on repeat I just accepted the Steinberger sound as "the sound" and liked it.
 
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#67
ModuMan said:
Sames. Did you see the Power Windows tour? It was my first concert and so therefore I thought that's how good every concert would be!

So yeah, between that and being able to see the previous Grace Under Pressure live video on repeat I just accepted the Steinberger sound as "the sound" and liked it.
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I did. Frank Erwin Center in Austin. Steve Morse Band opened IIRC. Changed my whole trajectory as a bass player.
 
#68
I had a hohner b2a which is about as close to a steinberger as you're going to get without buying one of the real things. I definitely had fun with it. I really like the headless design and ergonomics. Ned got it right. The concept is just outstanding. I really liked the tone Geddy had with his. I wish we could see more basses with headless options. My favorite Geddy tone was his Wals both mk1 and mk2 but the steinberger tone is right up there. To my ears a Warwick sounds like a cross between a Wal and a Ricky and when I play some Rush stuff with mine I hear it like a hybrid especially when I'm trying to dial in the mids and capture the distinct Geddy style that is all his and is never been copied. But anyway. Nothing bad about saying that the L2 bass was your favorite tone. They are cool. Period.
 
#69
GTHintz said:
I wish we could see more basses with headless options.

...

I'm trying to dial in the mids and capture the distinct Geddy style that is all his and is never been copied.
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I agree that it would be nice to have more headless options. I really like headless basses. I picked up a headless Ibanez six string bass with a fanned fretboard a year or so ago that I like pretty well and also an NS headless that I take to practice all the time (the only issue I have with this bass is that the battery compartment looks and feels like it was phoned in by a two-year-old). I was also hoping to get a Strandberg Boden bass, but I guess they don't make them anymore, so I may pick up one of Kiesel's headless options (Gah! I know, buying basses is a compulsive sickness for me).

As for Geddy's tone (at least his tone towards the end of Rush's career), The SansAmp 2112 pedal does a good job of replicating that sound, probably because he consulted with them to make it. I use it in gigs and it does a good job of punching through the other instruments.
 
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#71
Altitude said:
I did. Frank Erwin Center in Austin. Steve Morse Band opened IIRC. Changed my whole trajectory as a bass player.
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We got Blue Oyster Cult at the Hampton Coliseum and I enjoyed it but Steve Morse Band would have been incredible!

@GTHintz I had the Hohner B2A as well, it was my first bass. I mean, I *really* wanted a Steinberger but that was out of the question at the time. And now, come to think of it.
 
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