• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Van Halen 1 - flats or rounds

#82
JimmyM said:
No, not on every song.
Click to expand...
So you think some of those tracks are? I thought I heard that somewhere, but to be honest I'm looking now and can't see much info to back it up. Either way Fair Warning is my favourite Van Halen album, and one where the bass can be heard a bit more as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FRoss6788 and Thebiggestjerk
#84
A3AA0A34-15C3-41EC-BAAE-9A6BCFDF0E3E.jpeg
Just showed up.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hummergeist
#85
dougfr67 said:
It's a very bad example.
So would you ride a horse instead of a car because it still works for some people who don't have a car?
Even if Steve Harris would really disagree that flats are not for Van Halen, I don't think Michael Anthony would care...
And he would even care lass what random internet people think about him.
Click to expand...
Maybe a better analogy would be if a horse has enough power for you, a car certainly would.
 
#88
Thebiggestjerk said:
View attachment 4962425 View attachment 4962426 View attachment 4962427

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.
Click to expand...

And look at the three vintage SVTs behind Mike. :thumbsup:

I’m pretty sure Mike has always used roundwounds. IMO his tone on the first VH album was very good. P-Bass through a cranked up SVT. But I always felt Mike’s bass was a bit shy in the mix on their earlier albums.

But when you have EVH’s sound so upfront in the mix, the sound engineer probably had no other alternative.

IMO the first six VH albums were excellent.
 
Last edited:
#89
I wouldn't have second-guessed that he used rounds either, but from a pragmatic standpoint, if they are rounds that were altered sonically to the point many couldn't distinguish them from flats IN A MIX, you might as well use flats and no one will be the wiser. Or in short: if I only had to play one VH song from the first album in an entire setlist otherwise using flats, I will not bust out the #2 with rounds.
 
#91
Thebiggestjerk said:
I’m reading to book Tonechaser by Steve Rosen- the authorized bio and Ed was very unhappy with Mike and his playing.
Click to expand...
I'm guessing they were not too happy with Ed's experiments in modern chemistry either. Truth be told, Ed used a lot scales just based on finger patterns and not an actual key signature. That really limited what could be done on bass. You can't really walk a line or deviate from the tonic when you have no idea what random notes the guitarist is going to play. I don't think Ed ever got that. MA played what he played in many cases so Ed could be Ed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Harley90
#92
TheArchitect said:
I'm guessing they were not too happy with Ed's experiments in modern chemistry either. Truth be told, Ed used a lot scales just based on finger patterns and not an actual key signature. That really limited what could be done on bass. You can't really walk a line or deviate from the tonic when you have no idea what random notes the guitarist is going to play. I don't think Ed ever got that. MA played what he played in many cases so Ed could be Ed.
Click to expand...
Ed’s loyalty to Mike and the band were what kept MA in the band. Interestingly in the end of his time with VH, Wolfgang eventually became the elephant in the room solution to the MA problem. It was a no-brainer for the VH’s. Boiled down Mikes bass playing was severely limited and he didn’t have the advantage of playing with the brothers since birth. According to Ed he rarely contributed and still got equal publishing. Eddie absolutely hated being treated deferentially and Mike used the excuse that he never brought ideas to the table because in his mind ‘why bother? what could I possibly show EVH?’ and that made Ed furious. EVH felt like ***?! “Ain’t Talking about Love is two chords and I wrote it as a joke. I can show Jeff Berlin a riff and in 30s he can play it at breakneck speed, I can’t do that with Mike. As a bass player I can play circles around Mike any day off the week week. He never calls to come over and jam or wants to work, he’s way to busy polishing his car.”
 
#93
As his work after VH clearly shows, Mike can play. There is a reason Jeff Berlin was not in VH. They went through a bevy of singers that Ed was never happy with and he used almost those exact same arguments to disparage them. The one thing in common with all of it is Ed and Alex. It really does not matter at this point.
 
  • Like
Reactions: b/o 402
#95
TheArchitect said:
As his work after VH clearly shows, Mike can play. There is a reason Jeff Berlin was not in VH. They went through a bevy of singers that Ed was never happy with and he used almost those exact same arguments to disparage them. The one thing in common with all of it is Ed and Alex. It really does not matter at this point.
Click to expand...
Ed and Alex were the engine that is VH. It’s a synergy that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back