Van Halen 1 - flats or rounds

[bobba66]

Didn't EVH play bass on a lot of those albums?

 

[SteveHeissner]

It wasn't the flats or the rounds.

The resonance from David Lee Roth's belly produced that unique sound.

 

[Jack Butler]

Not saying it's magic, but in some ways it's still one of the best sounding/produced albums ever and still stands the test of time very well. Sure Ed's playing is part of that magic but it's a really good sounding album.

 

[dieggsy]

Compressor and expanders can affect attack sustain and decay and they can be part of a console channel strip along with the parametric EQ. They also had multi band compressors then. They were available before 1977.
You can also patch the bass signal into the filter module and ADSR/envelope generator module of an analog synthesizer also available before 1977.

Foam was also available in 1977 and can make rounds sound like a flat.

Van Halen is all roundwound strings.

Oh, I wasn't making any claims whatsoever about the time period or Van Halen, (I haven't even listened to the song lol), mostly just curious about the technical side of making one string sound like another. Thanks for the info!

 

[Jack Butler]

Where do people think all of this studio magic came from in 1977? Its highly over rated ...

Not saying it's magic, but in some ways it's still one of the best sounding/produced albums ever and still stands the test of time very well. Sure Ed's playing is part of that magic but it's a really good sounding album.

 

[Al Rivera]

By the late 70s most rock players used roundwounds rather then the old fashioned Flatwouds of the 50s and 60s.

 

[TheArchitect]

Didn't EVH play bass on a lot of those albums?

I seriously doubt it.. He lied about everything

 

[31HZ]

Michael Anthony was a killer bass player. It's disheartening to hear people disparagingly compare him to Gene Simmons, et al.

I will agree that his bass solos are weak, if not terrible. He knows his solos are not artistic.

However, his playing on the Fair Warning album was very badass. Very few bass players here could even play along to Mean Street without butchering the hell out of it. Dirty Movies and Push Comes to Shove both demonstrate his skills, too. Great note choices and touch. Very musical.

Good example of Mike's stylish swinging here:

This is killer! Thanks for posting this.

 

[r_bnks]

Absolutely rounds. This is an isolated bassline from the album.

 

[Killing Floor]

Very underrated player. He could lay in the pocket and be the shadow EVH needed and then when you’re not expecting it unleash this energy. And then back. Really good stuff.

 

[micguy]

Flats lovers hear flats anytime anyone with a bass turns their tone knob down.

 

[Thebiggestjerk]

Just off the top of my head; In 1977 you could take a bass and run it through the recording console’s EQ and then patch it into an 1176 to completely change the characteristics of the source signal with relative ease. Run the signal in and just play with the attack and release controls, and you can drastically alter the feel of a note’s initial transient to appear like a different input had occurred to the listener. That, to me, is pretty magical.

I cut my bass teeth on this album.
The Van Halen magic was almost always captured in the live band performance and that included during the recording which Ed has stated that very few overdubs were ever used and most if not all the recordings were captured within 1-3 takes. You can see the wall of bass amps behind MA and DLR in the studio. I’ve been plowing my way through VH1 lately on guitar and I’m gonna say roundwounds all day all day as Alex drums held down a lot of the low end, freeing Mike to have much of the low-midrange, and I can hear the buzzing of the rounds. In this 1981 interview he said he like roundwounds.

 

[Thebiggestjerk]

Didn't EVH play bass on a lot of those albums?

No. Not on the first 6.

 

[Thebiggestjerk]

van halen is totally roto 66's. Hard rock with big amps, p basses, a pick? Rotos 100%

50/50 pick/fingers per MA

 

[Slevage]

All of which is audio 101. Nothing magical about it

Audio 101 in 1977 evolved over the years. Most musicians only used compressors to pump air into their retreaded tires.

 

[Basvarken]

Definitely roundwounds

 

[2thAche]

I dunno, what strings most sound like farts? 'Cause that's the tone I get from that album especially RWTD.

Early VH just needs the tone knob turned down to remove highs, and some dirt. I don't think rounds or flats make a stink of difference.

 

[Grinderman]

Not saying it's magic, but in some ways it's still one of the best sounding/produced albums ever and still stands the test of time very well. Sure Ed's playing is part of that magic but it's a really good sounding album.

Absolutely.

Anyone who might browse an overview of my musical preferences and influences would recognize it leans quite a bit toward punk and the roots of punk. That being said about where I'm coming from, I think the first VH album is a perfect album. I can't deny that it's one of my perennial favorites.

Certainly not just me.

 

[Thebiggestjerk]

Absolutely.

Anyone who might browse an overview of my musical preferences and influences would recognize it leans quite a bit toward punk and the roots of punk. That being said about where I'm coming from, I think the first VH album is a perfect album. I can't deny that it's one of my perennial favorites.

Certainly not just me.

Perfect is an understatement.
Greatness… is more apropos. It set a new standard and a new book was written… the book.

 

[TheArchitect]

Not saying it's magic, but in some ways it's still one of the best sounding/produced albums ever and still stands the test of time very well. Sure Ed's playing is part of that magic but it's a really good sounding album.

Ground breaking for EVH/Guitar sure, but the album overall, I would have to disagree. They sacrificed a lot to make the guitar sound what it was.