Tom Fowler's Tone - Inca Roads

[FretlessMainly]

From Finland, 1974:
‪Frank Zappa - Inca Roads {Live 1974}‬‏ - YouTube

Fowler gets this gorgeous, thick, rich growly tone - listen especially during Frank's solo (starts just after 2:00). I know in '73 there's viddy of Fowler using a natural finished Jazz (Stockholm), but video from '74 (Roxy, etc.) seems to indicate he used a black P-bass (with matching headstock?). So, I'm wondering what you thinnk he's using to get this wonderful tone. P-bass w/ flats? Or is it more rig than bass?

It's almost a fretless growl, and I know Tom plays FL, but I don't know if he did w/ Frank.

Thanks for any thoughts...

 

[s_wood]

Can't believe I missed this thread!

Tom Fowler's tone on that live version of Inca Roads was produced with an Alembic Series I and flatwounds. To my ears, it sounds like he has backed off on the volume of the neck pickup, too.

 

[t77mackie]

Throw an Alembic into the possible mix...

Good stuff!

 

[MixBass]

One of my favorite Zappa tunes. I always liked the Fowlers too, somewhere I have an a record by their band, Airpocket. Cool stuff.

 

[vlado]

Am I wrong or do I see an Acoustic head on Roxy stage?

 

[s_wood]

Sure is! There are a few pics of Fowler with the Mothers using both Acoustic 361 and 371 amps in ‘73 and ‘74. On his last tour with Zappa in the spring of ‘75 pics show him with Road amps.

 

[Lo-E]

Holy Zombie thread!!
OP: 2011
1st reply: 2013
A couple more replies and then it goes to sleep for 10 years!

TF was my favorite of Zappa’s bass players. Not as funky as Arthur Barrow or as flashy as Scott Thunes but his pocket was incredible with not just one but two drummers. Three if you count Ruth Underwood! It was an incomparable rhythm section.

I never saw any footage of him playing a Jazz. Always a P bass (earlier) or an Alembic (later). Honestly, I never gave much thought to his amps. Bass amplification at that time was still just figuring itself out and much of it was really only okay.

His fretless playing always stood out to me in that it didn’t stand out. He used pretty much the same ornamentation and technique on fretless as he did on fretted. Just an incredibly solid player.

 

[s_wood]

Fowler played a Jazz Bass with the Mothers in 1973, on the tours with Jean-Luc Ponty and Ian Underwood. Here is a great pro-shot video of that lineup recorded in August of ‘73. Fowler is using a Jazz Bass


By the way, the Alembic in my avatar is the Alembic Fowler used with Zappa in ‘74 and ‘75 (as confirmed by both Alembic and Fowler himself). You can hear and see it on the KCET-TV show (The Dub Room Special), One Size Fits All, You Can’t Do That on Stage Anymore Vol II, Bongo Fury and the 11/74 show that is part of the recently released Zappa/Erie set.

Here's Tom on-stage with the Alembic and FZ:

 

[jerry]