The Dark Lord Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 (edited) Hi I'm a big Jean Jacques Burnel fan. His early sound is how I like to play bass. Can anyone identify the particular model of Fender Precision he plays in the following video (you get a good view of it at around 1 min 9 secs). [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohRbJJohv6Y&ob=av2e"]Click here to see video[/url] That's the bass that he seemed to be playing in all of their early videos. I can see it is a non string through body model. Anyone got any idea / info ? Edited August 7, 2011 by mercuryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 (edited) Here's the one. It has some odd antigua-like finish, so possibly a late 70's job? Then again, the tugbar is in the 60's position, so scratch that! I'll leave it to the experts Edited August 7, 2011 by Roland Rock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 [quote name='Roland Rock' post='1331549' date='Aug 7 2011, 11:50 PM']Here's the one. It has some odd antigua-like finish, so possibly a late 70's job? Then again, the tugbar is in the 60's position, so scratch that! I'll leave it to the experts[/quote] That was his infamous green bass, the one which he reckoned he could never find another to replicate it's tone. It's also the one that his Shuker custom model is based on. You don't get a good look at it in the video but the tug bar and tortoise shell guard would make it 1974 or earlier. At the time Fender just made the one Precision model - no standards, deluxes, squiers or any other such nonsense. One size fitted all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dark Lord Posted August 7, 2011 Author Share Posted August 7, 2011 [quote name='Musky' post='1331574' date='Aug 8 2011, 12:21 AM']....... You don't get a good look at it in the video but the tug bar and tortoise shell guard would make it 1974 or earlier. .........[/quote] What's a tug bar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 [quote name='mercuryl' post='1331580' date='Aug 8 2011, 12:26 AM']What's a tug bar?[/quote] It served the same sort of purpose as a thumb rest, only it was positioned below the strings. The idea was you'd use it to anchor your fingers and pluck the strings with your thumb. Only nobody actually played like that, so Fender actually got round to moving it somewhere useful, albeit very late in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Thought Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 According to Jon Shuker, that one is a 60's P that Hugh Cornwell sold to him when the Stranglers first started. According to Jon, that one was light and had a fantastic neck but lacked a bit in the sound, and his black 70's P had a great sound but weighed a ton, so his Shuker sig bass is an attempt to combine the best of both. I recall reading somewhere that the green colour was a respray job, and I think it may have originally been Oly white. Many threads have discussed his sound and how it was achieved (legend has it that he had an 8X10 cab with torn speakers which gave that characteristic growl), and at that time he was using valve amps (Marshall, Hiwatt). These days it's the Shuker JJ bass with Ashdown amps and cabs (he has his own signature amp with them too). Many say he's never recaptured that Rattus sound, (personally I prefer the Black and White era with the black P and (?) Hiwatt amps) but I don't think he's sounding too bad these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongebob Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I saw him in March, and it was the best live bass sound I've ever heard - growled like a monster, clear, precise....totally JJB! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 [quote name='spongebob' post='1331767' date='Aug 8 2011, 10:20 AM']I saw him in March, and it was the best live bass sound I've ever heard - growled like a monster, clear, precise....totally JJB![/quote] Yep, I saw The Stranglers in March, and JJs tone was amazing - as was the playing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markorbit Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Yes that green one is a 60s Fender - perhaps a 64 or 67. It is the one used on the 1st 3 Stranglers albums which is largely the tone people think of when talking about JJB. This bass just sounded unique (and yes, the torn speakers as well). Rosewood neck too. Apparently the green spray job is quite rough when you see it up close. He broke it but when glued back together it just never sounded the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 [quote name='markorbit' post='1332269' date='Aug 8 2011, 03:52 PM']Yes that green one is a 60s Fender - perhaps a 64 or 67. It is the one used on the 1st 3 Stranglers albums which is largely the tone people think of when talking about JJB. This bass just sounded unique (and yes, the torn speakers as well). Rosewood neck too. Apparently the green spray job is quite rough when you see it up close. He broke it but when glued back together it just never sounded the same.[/quote] I heard this story as well, which proves the wood does have a big effect on the way a bass sounds, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Vincent Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I believe it was indeed a resprayed '64. The classic Burnel sound was apparently a knackered Marshall 4x12 and an equally knackered Marshall 2x 15,check out the inside cover of No More Heroes.The amp was a HiWatt 50w guitar head,and lots of compression in the studio.And,of course,his own playing style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky L Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 (edited) [quote name='spongebob' post='1331767' date='Aug 8 2011, 10:20 AM']I saw him in March, and it was the best live bass sound I've ever heard - growled like a monster, clear, precise....totally JJB![/quote] But..but.. he uses Ashdown and EVERYBODY knows Ashdown sounds wooly.. (That's sarcasm BTW!!) Edited August 9, 2011 by Marky L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Hmm, sounds like a normal Precision to me. That's a studio sound so I'd spend some time tweaking the tone of my amp and my effects (compression for a start) rather than trying to find a bass that produces[i] just that [/i]sound flat, into any old amp. If you've got a Precision and a plectrum, you're nearly there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 [quote name='henry norton' post='1334074' date='Aug 9 2011, 08:04 PM']Hmm, sounds like a normal Precision to me. That's a studio sound so I'd spend some time tweaking the tone of my amp and my effects (compression for a start) rather than trying to find a bass that produces[i] just that [/i]sound flat, into any old amp. If you've got a Precision and a plectrum, you're nearly there.[/quote] Afraid I've got to disagree with you Henry, I've spent hours messing about with the EQ, you think your're close then listen too Hanging Arpund or Peaches and realise you're not, the fact that JJ's played hundreds of P's in his quest to replace his broken green one says it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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