+1. The note is sustained, it's because of the drums that it seems like the bassline continues with a straight 1/4 note feel.
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ZZTop "playing" live to bass tracks !?!
- Thread starter HUnt49
- Start date
+1. The note is sustained, it's because of the drums that it seems like the bassline continues with a straight 1/4 note feel.
In the past, Dusty was accused of only playing root notes. Not exactly true, especially if you listen to the Rio Grande Mud and Tres Hombres albums. Now, it seems, he is being accused of not even playing live all the time. The note seems sustained to me. Also, I could be wrong about this, but his first note on the song sounds slightly hesitant to me. This is live bass playing, IMO.
I can't imagine that would be allowed at that particular festival....and after watching it, I think you're stretching it a bit to say he's not playing.
ITT: people mistake the kick drum for the sound of a string being plucked.
I'm not wanting to start an argument but;
Triggered samples during "deguello" (1979)? That would've been quite the trick even in 1983 with Eliminator.
Maybe tape loops but audio samples and computing wasn't that sophisticated in 1979, if it existed at all.
The MIDI protocol wasn't defined until 1982 and MIDI predates audio samples.
I saw ZZ Top on the Afterburner Tour. Most of the show was with tracks of some sort, but they did a segment of the older tunes (LaGrange, Tush, etc) that were just the three piece.
Had to watch it a couple of times to separate the kick drum from 'perceived plucking' - he's clearly holding the note while adjusting the beard every time.
Saw them live a few years ago - Dusty's sound was massive. I was close to the front at at no point was there ever an issue with miming or backing-track shenanigans from Dusty or Billy - Frank, however, had to deal with a lot of sequenced parts for the tracks from the 80s onwards.
Saw them live a few years ago - Dusty's sound was massive. I was close to the front at at no point was there ever an issue with miming or backing-track shenanigans from Dusty or Billy - Frank, however, had to deal with a lot of sequenced parts for the tracks from the 80s onwards.
I thought the Billy Gibbons did all the studio work for the past several years and the "live" show comprises mostly of loops and samples with the solos live and the beards carrying the show. They always have sucked, i'm sorry. Talk about overrated.
Watched it twice. He's playing. Every time he adjusts his beard, the note only rings. At 1:37 he even comes in a tad off the beat, which would be weird if it was a recorded backing track.
Could be. I don't doubt that they inserted the horn section into the show in some way.. just how with the technology of the day would be interesting to find out.
I was looking up info on Taurus pedals to see if maybe that could've done it.
I'm not that familiar with how much sound you can get out of'em. A convincing horn section sounds far-fetched based on what I'm reading but.. who knows?
I put headphones on and watched/listened to the clip again. It sounds like the bass sustains through to me, so I'm gonna' agree with the others in that camp.
bongomania
Commercial User
Yes and no--the technology of sampling moved awfully fast. The first commercially-available digital delay and looper was the Eventide HM80, in 1978. All that remained was development of the pitch and triggering controls, which did not take long, since control-voltage pitch and trigger keyboards were already in use with modular synths. Cabaret Voltaire claimed to have had the very first triggered-playback digital sampler; I read that claim around 1984, but i don't know when they first had the device.
So I agree that in 1979 there's almost no way ZZTop could have had foot-triggered digitally-recorded horn sounds. But just a year or two later, it's actually quite plausible.
Along with looking up Taurus pedals (see previous post), I was looking into the EPROM and Simmons type sampled triggers. It looks like 1983 was the year that was established.
I'm a big ZZ Top fan, always have been. I bought the DVD from the last tour and thought the bass playing was pretty sloppy.
When you play lines that simple and that's all you do, it should be bang in the pocket. I was a little disappointed though it didn't stop me enjoying the show.
When you play lines that simple and that's all you do, it should be bang in the pocket. I was a little disappointed though it didn't stop me enjoying the show.
after watching it again just now with fresh ears and eyes, i'm more inclined to agree with those who think the bass is live.
bongomania
Commercial User
Not challenging, just curious--what links or products are you looking at? Because there is a difference, for example, between the commercial release date of a product in a guitar store, and the availability of the technology among product developers and wealthy musicians.
Agreed. I just google the product and read what's available, taking everything with a grain of salt of course.
I'm relying on my poor memory as well.
Fairlight CMI and Synclavier also came to mind. It'd still be a stretch to think that ZZ Top took one of these out on the road on late 1979 into 1980.
Again, I don't doubt that there where horns being manipulated for the audience in some way.. I was just trying to figure out how it would be done.
This is what's happenning. He just stopped plucking but kept fingering the note. I do it all the time.
So.....
How does he do the little triplet run at about 1:36 without his right hand on the strings and his left still playing the same thing over and over. I am also hearing a lot more than the straight 4' that's he's playing.
PHANTOM on the side stage.
