Linus27

Nope, no fretless on U2 I'm afraid. Adam also played a 51 P Bass occasionally and a Thunderbird but not really as a live instrument.

Another thing Adam uses on a regular basis is a Moog Taurus but it may be a bit overkill 😂

Here's our new EP from The Tim Shez Band with myself playing fretless on all 6 tracks. https://open.spotify.com/album/1iGP6xQ9PXYQlBKZzdo2OA?si=VuSVGEG5RS21FW2-DBJDDQ

Here's our new EP from The Tim Shez Band with myself playing fretless on all 6 tracks. https://open.spotify.com/album/1iGP6xQ9PXYQlBKZzdo2OA?si=VuSVGEG5RS21FW2-DBJDDQ

@police squad Another thing to remember is if you are playing to the original album recording, some of the earlier songs are tuned slightly different. I think from memory U2 used to tune down in the earlier days. I thought I'd mention in case it throws you out a bit.

Here you go. I actually put them into one playlist to make it easier. Please note that the quality is not great as most are about 15 years old before we had fancy GoPro's or iPhones etc. However, you can here the basslines, especially with headphones. I defy anyone to say Angel of Harlem is not a great fun little bassline as well 😂

No not really. In the early days he used to use a little chorus live on stuff around the War period (New Years Day) but generally no. He does like a bit of overdrive and has a Big Muff pedal but its used to add some grit mid range. He's a big fan of Ampeg but favours Ashdown as it gives him more control over his sound. He generally goes for a big fat bass sound which is typical P- Bass with an Ampeg/Ashdown with some drive behind it. He also uses a pick on the more driving stuff.

I actually played in a very good U2 tribute band. I only came in as a dep but as I know all the bass lines like the back of my hand, I ended up replacing their main bass player who was then moved to keyboards 😂 I took up bass after seeing U2 at Live Aid and after seeing Adam Clayton strutting around stage looking super cool, I thought I want a piece of that 😂 So I have literally learnt to play note for note their entire earlier back catalogue. I was also fortunate enough to be signed at one point and our producer was the super talented Mark Wallis who produced the It Bites album, Travis albums along with U2's Joshua Tree B Sides and who was also the studio engineer on the album. Being a huge U2 fan, I naturally spent a lot of time talking to him about U2. The thing he said about Adam Clayton is that yes, a lot of the song are driving 8's but his timing is impeccable. If you study his playing note for note, every one is spot on in time whereas most other bassist waver out of time playing repeated notes in that way. It makes him an incredibly solid bass player and could literally go into the studio, lay down the bass line perfectly first time. He also knows he can play way more elaborate or complicated bass lines and has in the past, however he very much plays what serves the song and leaves the space for The Edge to do his thing. @police squad That's a great set, pretty much exactly what I played. You might want to suggest the song Stay (Faraway, So Close) to your band mates. Bonus is it's a cracking little bass line in the same style as One and All I Want Is You. Give me a shout if you're struggling with any of them (I very much doubt it), I used to get asked how to play U2 basslines so I've got a bunch of YouTube videos on how to play them or can just record them again. I also might have a nice P- Bass for sale soon lol

The other option is the Warwick Adam Clayton signature. Its a cheap option as only about £700 and would make a good backup or an alternate bass for certain sets or sets.

I've always wanted one of these, I love the look of them and I believe they also sound really good. I have heard they are quite heavy though?

I know exactly what you mean as I've recently moved to the double bass. All that I can do is try and look interesting and occasionally tilt my head and shoulders over the body when playing high up to make it look like I am doing something magical 🤣

I'm not 100% but I think I pretty much have one of the stand legs in front of my right leg so that my right leg is between two stand legs. The main thing is as long as the stand leg isn't in my way then that's all I'm aiming for.

The way I set the stand is to open the legs on the tripod and lock that in place. I then slide the inner part of the stand upwards so its high enough that I can touch the bottom ridge bit with the tip of my thumb and with my fingers outstretched, the top ridge with the tip of my little finger. That way, the first fretting position is in line with my eye line. Hopefully that makes sense. I'm 5ft 9.5" so you might need to raise or lower depending on your height. Make sure you look at the stand and bass attached from behind as you can see if its straight or crooked on the stand as well. As for the angle, I have it tilted back a little so I can see across the board a little, so maybe tilted back about 20 degrees.

Big Rotosound user here as well. I love their Jazz Flats, so musical and amazing on my fretless P-Bass. I also use their Nickel Swing 66 Rounds on my fretless Jazz. Just wonderful strings.

On the video above that compares the Dunlops, DR, Rotosound, and or course La Bella, to my ears I preferred the Rotosound and the La Bella's but they were all similar but different. The Rotosound was warm but have that noticeable P-Bass clank so were quite musical. The La Bells's were nice and thumpy but also articulate, they had a lovely tone to them. The Dunlops also sounded very nice and in some ways very smooth and round but didn't grab me as much musically. The DR's were the thinnest sounding and were brighter and a bit more aggressive sounding.

Why are Dunlop flats so expensive? Surely they can't compete with LaBella or are they so superior?

Probably best for me is my Ibanez UB804 EUB. Such a brilliant instrument and a joy to play.

I really like Rotosound Flats, I find then very musical and a joy to play. I also have the LaBella Deep Talkin flats on a P-bass and I want initially keen on them but I've really warmed to them. I've no plans to change them.

My current originals band is about 30 - 40 a year. My old 50s/60s Rock 'n' Roll band a few years back was about 120 a year.

Thank you and yes indeed @Chienmortbb actually made my last cables so he would be my first port of call. For some reason, my browser missed the whole of this thread and all I saw was your post mentioning right angle jack sockets which is my preference and what caught my attention.