JJTee

I have a transcription for it somewhere. Will try and remember to scan it. It's played on a fretless stingray btw, but sounds pretty good on a fretted with healthy dose of mid-range growl.

Some insight into the ABBA sound

I thought it was drop-D on the bass, to get that low open D note and octave above at the beginning. However, I'm sure there's a low C# in the chorus, so I think it may be drop-D detuned half a step. Maybe. Or maybe he has the bass set up BEAD.

And this is how NOT to play the intro... Poor Duff, must have been a heavy night...

Cheers guys - I think I'll start off by e-mailing Fender UK and see where that gets me.

Any ideas? One has mysteriously gone missing...

I'd like to get two of the Great Gramma, so I can put my electric drum kit and stool on there. I'm worried that the footpedal noise will go through the floor when I move into my new flat, so this could be just the ticket.

I had some work done by Martin Phelps in Croydon, which was very impressive. [url="http://www.martinphelpsmusic.com/workshop.htm"]http://www.martinphelpsmusic.com/workshop.htm[/url] Also has pickup changed on my Aerodyne - I went for the Bassline quarter pounders. Very good results.

By the way, PM me if you would like a full transcription (including tab) of the bass line for Dancing Queen, and partial transcription of Knowing Me Knowing You. I'm sure I have a scan somewhere from an ancient magazine, which was spot-on for accuracy.

Done a bit more research and found at some more info on the "other" ABBA bass player, Mike Watson. All from here: [url="http://www.abbasite.com/the-story/people/musicians/mike-watson"]http://www.abbasite.com/the-story/people/m...ans/mike-watson[/url] "[i]Born in Sheffield, England, bass player Mike Watson has been in show business since the age of eleven. He came to Sweden in 1964 as part of the Hi-Grades, American singer Larry Finnegan's backing group during his Sweden tour of that year. Subsequently, Watson became a member of various Swedish bands, most notably Lenne and the Lee Kings (who scored two Number Two hits in 1966 with Stop The Music and L.O.D.), and Lasse Samuelsson's Dynamite Brass. Mike started working as a session musician in 1969, and did his first known ABBA-related session in July 1971 when he played bass on a Frida single, produced by Benny. Watson also contributed to People Need Love, the very first recording issued under the name Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid. Although Rutger Gunnarsson was to be ABBA's most frequently used bass player, Mike Watson played on notable tracks such as [b]SOS, Mamma Mia, If It Wasn't For The Nights, The Winner Takes It All, and Super Trouper[/b]. He is also the man dressed up as Napoleon on the cover of ABBA's Waterloo album. Today, Mike Watson is best known as a singer and performer in his own right. He was the leader of the cover band Little Mike and the Sweet Soul Music Band, who were very popular as live entertainers in the mid-1980s." [/i] So you can cross SOS, Mamma Mia, If It Wasn't For The Nights, The Winner Takes It All, and Super Trouper from Rutger's work.

Fantastic bass player - effortlessly cool, musical bass lines. There are too many great lines to list. I love those strange notes he plays at 3:11 to 3:14 in Knowing Me Knowing You. They shouldn't work, but they do. There was another bass player for ABBA - an English chap called Mike Watson (I think). I'm sure I read somewhere that he played bass on Mama Mia and The Winner Takes It All - both great bass lines. Anyone know any more on this?

[quote name='Mr.T' post='705223' date='Jan 8 2010, 10:22 AM']I am going to stick my neck out and say that I don't think there is a 'Trace sound'..... as such. Unless we are talking about the 'pre-shape' button, which in my experience with my bass, would sound great solo but get me lost in the band mix. The strength of old Trace gear (for me) was it's ability to get any sound that I needed. From warm to clanky.... It's all there by the bucketload. The 11 and 12 band EQ sections are extremely powerful, and if set-up well can offer a huge range of sounds. However, if set-up badly can be made to sound crap. I struggled for nearly a year to get 'my sound' back after selling my SMX.[/quote] Couldn't agree more. I had a AH600SMX for about 10 years. Set flat, the amp sounded...well...flat - a pefectly usable sound that didn't make me think "ah, this is THE Trace sound". A bit of tweaking with the 12-band eq and there was quite a palette of sounds available. Pre-set 1 (on the SMX range) was the mid-scoop sound - as said above; great on it's own, but gets lost in a band context. Have a GK amp now - turning the contour control fully up brings a very similar sound to the TE pre-set 1.

I see they're looking for a new guitarist... [url="http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_10000000/newsid_10003500/10003514.stm"]http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/ne...00/10003514.stm[/url]

I have a few tabs from Bassist magazine from a few years ago. Can always scan them for you. House of Fun is fantastic in particular.

[quote name='coasterbass' post='605002' date='Sep 21 2009, 09:25 PM']Best single pedal solution I've found is the MXR Blowtorch, but this has been covered in other threads here in more detail.[/quote] Definately - on it's extreme settings it gets a very very good gated synthy fuzz which is pretty close to the multi-tracked Hysteria bass tone.

[u][b]Rage Against The Machine[/b][/u] [b]Killing in the Name[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0urpLOfdy4k"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0urpLOfdy4k[/url] [b][u]Michael Jackson[/u][/b] [b]Beat It[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QTzWRolVYA&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QTzWRolVYA...feature=related[/url] [b][u]Metallica[/u][/b]: [b]Creeping Death[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCF7zyZfthk&NR=1"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCF7zyZfthk&NR=1[/url] [b]Fight Fire with Fire[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1-zLzOvH-w"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1-zLzOvH-w[/url] [b]Orion[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug2uCleTXNo&feature=PlayList&p=1C737F6D12A15835&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=12"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug2uCleTXNo...PL&index=12[/url] [b]Seek & Destroy[/b]: (love the wah/distortion snippets in the chorus!) [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXZh-v5ZlKA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXZh-v5ZlKA[/url] [b]For Whom the Bell Tolls[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH5Ad0_Ajw8&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH5Ad0_Ajw8...feature=related[/url] [b]Whiplash[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO3QlX7Yk3w&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO3QlX7Yk3w...feature=related[/url] [b]Dyer's Eve[/b] (some seriously impressive pick-work here): [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxnaHApDtQQ&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxnaHApDtQQ...feature=related[/url] [b]The Thing That Should Not Be[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKN3nt5DCXI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKN3nt5DCXI[/url] [b]Disposable Heroes[/b] (My fingers get knackered just listening to this one): [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5SeFa-o4WI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5SeFa-o4WI[/url] [b]Shortest Straw[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykJ-6deNW-8&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykJ-6deNW-8...feature=related[/url] [b]King Nothing[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZiurfZlpDU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZiurfZlpDU[/url] [b]Fuel[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si7b6fYnR3k&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si7b6fYnR3k...feature=related[/url] [b]The Memory Remains[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdoiVb-c640&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdoiVb-c640...feature=related[/url] [b]Hit The Lights[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Yq3jeKGu4&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Yq3jeKGu4...feature=related[/url] [b]One[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0nT4rOJ40Q&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0nT4rOJ40Q...feature=related[/url] [b]My Apocalypse[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGVyOB8t3xY&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGVyOB8t3xY...feature=related[/url] [b]The Unforgiven[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEgqqEubu-0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEgqqEubu-0[/url] [b][u]Lynryd Skynryd[/u][/b] [b]Freebird[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJaB4K-86TI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJaB4K-86TI[/url] [b][u]Iron Maiden[/u][/b] [b]The Trooper[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSYuse9o8KI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSYuse9o8KI[/url] [b]Number of the Beast[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJyB6IGGyGk&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJyB6IGGyGk...feature=related[/url] [b]2 Minutes to Midnight[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKua1Q4z9qo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKua1Q4z9qo[/url] [u][b]The Beatles[/b][/u] [b]With a Little Help From My Friends[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rc1QctmYuQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rc1QctmYuQ[/url] [b]A Day in the Life[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOtwWB_9_l4&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOtwWB_9_l4...feature=related[/url] [b][u]Wings[/u][/b] [b]Band on the Run[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENVH7C8_bBQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENVH7C8_bBQ[/url] [u][b]Incubus[/b][/u] [b]Stellar[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmGOFN5Q8mI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmGOFN5Q8mI[/url] [b][u]Chili Peppers[/u][/b] [b]Knock Me Down[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN--ls7N1Hk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN--ls7N1Hk[/url] [b]Breaking the Girl[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m_8a4xrQ6k&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m_8a4xrQ6k...feature=related[/url] [b]If You Have to Ask[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0tH_5x09NQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0tH_5x09NQ[/url] [b][u]Megadeth[/u][/b] [b]Wake Up Dead[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8j78BEnma4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8j78BEnma4[/url] [b]The Conjuring[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYdycObyXxE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYdycObyXxE[/url] [b]Peace Sells[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h2jbhdmfi0&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h2jbhdmfi0...feature=related[/url] [b][u]Slayer[/u][/b] [b]War Ensemble[/b]: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmCMM5WDgqo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmCMM5WDgqo[/url]

All those bits I thought were guitar solos (and which are never transcribed in the official bass tab book as being Cliff's parts)...turns out they're apparently Cliffy-boy all along! Fancy that...those tab books are bollocks! (mind you, it does sound like guitar and they're apparently Cliff playing stuff Kirk had worked out or something) Oh, and here's the isolated bass track for For Whom the Bell Tolls too... check the squealy high parts on the outro... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwHYPmjTBb0&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwHYPmjTBb0...feature=related[/url]

This is always worth a watch...

We once measured the LAeq (the equivalent sound pressure level - a bit like an average really, but not the same) for a 1 minute period next to our drummer head. 110 dB(A). Scary stuff. He soon bought a pair of ear plugs after that...

[quote name='The Funk' post='578722' date='Aug 24 2009, 01:43 AM']Fingerstyle - Lenny Kravtiz's bass sound on the whole [i]Mama Said[/i] album, especially [i]Always On The Run[/i] and [i]It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over[/i].[/quote] That is a great shout! What a fantastic tone he has on there.

[quote name='ironside1966' post='585315' date='Aug 30 2009, 07:07 PM']Good times – Chic[/quote] I've never seen it tabbed the way Bernard played it on the Live at the Budokan video (and presumably how he recorded it). He doesn't use the open A-string (or open D-string) on the ascending riff, and plays all the A's at the 5th fret position on the E-string. It feels easier and more natural (to me anyway, and it's always tabbed that way) to play an open A on the ascending riff and in between playing those quick F# and G's. I struggled for years to hear the turn-around notes on the E-string at the end of the whole riff before it returns to the open E-notes, and what the hell was being played - I've seen all kinds of versions - but I think Stuart Clayton's version nails it.

Welcome To The Jungle [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC8N_betq4Y&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC8N_betq4Y...feature=related[/url]

[quote name='liamcapleton' post='513749' date='Jun 15 2009, 12:04 AM']Yeh, I've seen clips of Louis Johnson playing Yamahas. Sounded great! Concerning Bernard Edwards, he did use Stingrays a lot, but I found this out about him from Marcus Miller's website:[/quote] I think maybe the passage of time has lead to Marcus getting in a muddle! I really can't believe it was a P-bass on Good Times - from the sound if it, it HAS to be his Stringray with the old unchanged strings on it. It just doesn't sound like a precision to me. Listening to Chic stuff, I would say that the early singles (Dance, Dance, Dance and Everybody Dance) from the first album were played with a P-Bass, with all the stuff on the later albums C'est Chic (Le Freak, etc.) and Risque (Good Times, etc.) being played on a Stingray.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='509773' date='Jun 10 2009, 12:12 AM']I bet the MXR Bass Blowtorch would do that really easily. The onboard EQ makes fitting it into your band mix easier than most fuzzes too.[/quote] It does indeed. It [i]almost[/i] nails the sound, and I'd recommend it for anyone who needs a one pedal solution to get close to both the Hysteria and Starlight sounds.

A nice root/5th thing in the intro. And the bloke has great hair too. Otherwise, pretty awful.