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What gives Flea his tone?

C

CaseLogic

Jan 10, 2008
14
0
#1
For example, in the bass solo in "Naked in the Rain" where you can clearly hear his tone, it has a very distinct growl/crunch to it and it is almost comparable slapping but obviously not near as much attack. It's hard for me to describe in words the way it sounds, but what gives him this tone? I know the equipment plays a part but does it also have to do with a really strong attack he has when plucking?

I've only been playing for about 3.5 years but I have a musicman SUB and an ashdown amp and I've been trying to get that kind of growly tone but I don't know if it's completely possible with my setup.

Can you guys give me more info about his tone/EQ settings, etc that help him obtain that kind of tone? I talked to someone at Guitar Center (I don't trust these guys most of the time though) and he said that he also uses an envelop filter, is that accurate?

Sorry for the ambiguous questions =P
 
#2
sometimes the most overlooked part of someone's tone is their own playing. when you hear fleas bass cut through or distort it's because he's practically punching his low E and A strings and yanking the G and D about an inch an a half off the fretboard.
 
#8
He take special 'tone pills' that alter the listener's ears to make even awful playing sound good. He's really quite bad.
I can actually sell you some of these pills(I bought some but realized I don't need them; I'm actually quite good). They're a million dollars each & they're invisible.








;)
 
#14
bassteban said:
He take special 'tone pills' that alter the listener's ears to make even awful playing sound good. He's really quite bad.
I can actually sell you some of these pills(I bought some but realized I don't need them; I'm actually quite good). They're a million dollars each & they're invisible.








;)
Click to expand...

How can u say that about flea, he is an absolute genius bass player and an astounding performer. Go listen to soul to squeeze, one of the greatest bass recordings i've ever heard, and its almost unheard of!!
 
#15
He does use an envelope filter in some of his songs. He's said so in interviews. He mostly uses that for smoother, funkier basslines, unlike the ones your talking about. He just plays really aggressively and attacks the strings. He's been known to break E strings before, so you can imagine how hard he plays.
 

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