The BASS thread

[bringthebass]

Any other bassists out there? Gotta give Brian the respect he deserves. He's one of the best well rounded bass players in rock today. He has such a unique style that immediately you recognize. I think E-ROCK might have taken some influence from Brian on All I Was.

Anyone got pics of Brian's rig over the years?

[TenaciousBe]

Sadly no pictures here - but I agree, Big Willy needs more recognition! Dude is a damn fine bassist.

I'm not much of a bassist myself, yet, but I do have both an electric and an acoustic, and I've dabbled a bit. Very interested in learning more, as it seems bassists are often hard to come by for bands around here - and it can be a lot of fun to bring that thunder. I'm still pretty much stuck in the "roots and fifths" mentality, but anxious to learn more at some point. Looking forward to learning from this thread

[bringthebass]

I know he's using his ashdown rig these days, which is 3 ABM900 heads, 2 8x10 cabs, ans 2 1x15 cabs. Pretty simple.

[Rosenblaetter]

I 'm still a beginner bassist but I've always been a low-end lover so bass thread makes me happy

I absolutely love Brian's gear - Sadowsky makes awesome guitars (in terms of sound and LOOK)
My favourite Polish bassist uses Sadowsky as well...

Isn't that a shame that B. is often so quiet in the mix?

[bringthebass]

I 'm still a beginner bassist but I've always been a low-end lover so bass thread makes me happy

I absolutely love Brian's gear - Sadowsky makes awesome guitars (in terms of sound and LOOK)
My favourite Polish bassist uses Sadowsky as well...

Isn't that a shame that B. is often so quiet in the mix?

Brian is loud as hell, if you hear him live up close he's way louder than mark. On the records too, you just need good speakers, he's got massive low end going on there.

[Dolo]

Brian is loud as hell, if you hear him live up close he's way louder than mark. On the records too, you just need good speakers, he's got massive low end going on there.

Brian WAS loud as hell on My Own Prison and Human Clay. I can only barely hear him in AB, except The Damage Done, Breathe Again and maybe Metalingus.

[Andy92]

I've seen Alter Bridge live twice, and his bass makes some presence there, but it felt like my chest was going to rip in two when I saw Creed lol.

[bringthebass]

Brian is loud as hell, if you hear him live up close he's way louder than mark. On the records too, you just need good speakers, he's got massive low end going on there.

Brian WAS loud as hell on My Own Prison and Human Clay. I can only barely hear him in AB, except The Damage Done, Breathe Again and maybe Metalingus.

Well you got to realize Brian has changed his tone over the years. Before it was cleaner and focused on high end clarity, while now it relies on lower midrange and bottom end thump, which won't come through on headphones very well. My ear is trained to pick out the bass guitar, so it's very easy for me to pick out Brian in the mix. Like in Isolation, the bass may seem low, but the actual EQing of the bass is focused on so much low end, it may be hard to hear. Turn that up in a car with Klipsch audio, you can feel it. He also uses a few different basses, which like on Breathe Again might have been his Stingray which really can cut through a mix.

[Rosenblaetter]

Of course I absolutely agree with every single word you said about the tone change.

When I said he was quiet, I meant AB studio albums - especially AB III. I can hear him well on live recordings.

I'd prefer to hear the bass, not to search for it with my trained ear, in my car etc..
People often do not have great speakers and listen to different music in many different places. Why not to hear Brian well on your headphones?
.
(Not to mention that some people don't recognize bass at all ...)

[Dolo]

Tone change is a one thing, but heaviness of the entire mix is another thing. Isolation is a muddy and aggresive song, where two guitars play really heavy and tight riff and drums strike very densely. Producer work is another feature. Brian sounded very audibly with Kuzweg, but under Ben Grosse (ODR producer) and Elvis he sounds pretty foggy.

[bringthebass]

I think having two guitar and drums eating up all the frequencies is the issue there...Like what happened to Jason Newsted on And Justice for all.

Like if you hear some of Elvis' other work, like on Chevelle's 3rd album, the bass cuts through really strong in the mix. Not sure if it's the producer, but it could be just a issue of volume...

Though I can hear Brian pretty well on headphones. His tone just won't cut through the mix well enough. Live it will, but on some of the recordings, it is hard to pick out. It's almost there to fill out the low end.

[Dolo]

Well, the thing with Newsted was - they decided to lower the bass volume to about 15% in tribute to Cliff Burton or something like that.

As for Elvis work for Chevelle - they have only one guitar in the mix most of the time, which allows the bass to stay closer to the front of the mix.

Actually, probably everything is all about device or volume level, like you've said. If I listen to BB and ABIII on my Tracer headphones on PC, bass sounds brighter than when I listen to these records through my MP3 player.

[Rosenblaetter]

I think having two guitar and drums eating up all the frequencies is the issue there...

Though I can hear Brian pretty well on headphones. His tone just won't cut through the mix well enough. Live it will, but on some of the recordings, it is hard to pick out. It's almost there to fill out the low end.

[bringthebass]

Well, the thing with Newsted was - they decided to lower the bass volume to about 15% in tribute to Cliff Burton or something like that.

As for Elvis work for Chevelle - they have only one guitar in the mix most of the time, which allows the bass to stay closer to the front of the mix.

Actually, probably everything is all about device or volume level, like you've said. If I listen to BB and ABIII on my Tracer headphones on PC, bass sounds brighter than when I listen to these records through my MP3 player.

I think on chevelle, Joe, their bass player at the time used a pick. And I know Pete double tracks all his guitars with a couple of harmonies. so in total it's like 4 or 5. But it is volume though...and tone. I know Joe Loeffler (and Dean Bernardini) both use the Mesa Boogie Big Block that Brian used on BB and ABII. It's a solid amp. I like when Brian uses the overdrive on it, like on Still Remains.

[Rosenblaetter]

Damn... I'm in love.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/Ebngs966EMc[/youtube]