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Post by windmill on Sept 11, 2021 6:18:29 GMT -5
And every time I do, the more I like the playing and sound of Jack Bruce and his EB3 bass.
Now in my little hobby groups I play a fender bass but I do have an EB3 but have never tried it out in a band setting.
The recordings I am listening to would probably have the EB3 going through a marshall bass valve amp and speaker stacks.
It might be whistling in the wing but anybody have any suggestions for getting an approximation of that sound at low volumes.
Thanks
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pdf64
Wholenote
Posts: 556
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Post by pdf64 on Sept 11, 2021 7:18:03 GMT -5
Some kind of overdrive, somewhere between mild and medium, that doesn’t roll off too much bottom end.
I’ve seen bass specific overdrive / distortion pedals.
I don’t think Tube Screamer type overdrive pedals would be appropriate for this.
If your amp has a master volume, turn it down and turn the preamp gain up, until the sound fattens out and gets crunchy.
Try turning the treble and high mids down, and the tone down on the instrument.
Any shortcomings in your string muting technique will become apparent, in which case, if you’ve got string mute foam rubber block, it may be beneficial !
Check out Geezer Butler, he’s super too.
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Post by roly on Sept 12, 2021 18:52:50 GMT -5
Jack is the only guy I am aware of who can make an EB3 talk.
Not a bad singer as well...:>).
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Post by hushnel on Sept 13, 2021 11:54:15 GMT -5
I’ve got the Sans Amp Bass DI, it may pull it off. Your looking for an overdrive tube amp sound. Which were really guitar amps with various speaker configurations. My old Fender Bassman was a 50 watt amp with two 12 inch speakers cab. In gig situations it was always over driven. I used it until it was stolen in the mid/late 70s. I replaced it with a used Fender Bassman 4 ten combo amp. It was better but still basically a guitar amp. After I purchased the SWR 220 with the Goliath 4X10 cab in the 80s, I sold the Fender to a harmonica player, who threw in his old Silver Face Vibro Champ to sweeten the deal. That SWR was a combination tube pre-amp with transistor output power. It might pull it off too.
Most modern bass amps are actually bass amps, EQ’d differently than what used be called bass amps. I would guess to nail that elusive tone you would have to get some overdriven tubes into the front of the mix.
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stl80
Wholenote
Posts: 216
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Post by stl80 on Sept 13, 2021 13:13:19 GMT -5
A friend showed me a couple of guitars that his dad had. One was a Hagstom II and the other was n EB-3. He also had a blde Bassman amp so I assume the guitars are circa 1968. I bought the Hagstrom and a buddy bought the Bassman. I offered to buy the EB-3 but his mom doesn't want him to sell that one, maybe his dad was the bass player, I don't remember. Every time I talk to him, I ask if I can buy the bass. He always says, "Mom hasn't died yet". I guess that if I outlive her, I will get it.
Jim
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matryx81
Wholenote
I think I know the reason but I can't spell it.
Posts: 771
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Post by matryx81 on Sept 13, 2021 16:56:23 GMT -5
Jack Bruce made me want both an EB-3 and a Danelectro Longhorn bass.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Sept 13, 2021 21:39:40 GMT -5
If I had to approximate his tone in a pinch without buying a bunch of special gear just for the task, I'd find an EQ box of some sort to lift up the mids. A super honky midrange is the key to his tone in most eras. Those old Gibson basses had it in spades (you kinda had to be careful with right hand technique so you could get any clarity at all), and those amp rigs, as mentioned, were big on it. I think any EQ appropriate for a bass with at least 5 bands (ideally at least 7) you could spend some time experimenting and find a mid boost setting that will both give the EQ curve and also behave a bit like an overdrive.
Shorter scale basses are always going to have a different sound/feel that can't be duplicated - I'm not sure if he ever went long scale - he had a signature with Warwick later on, but I'm too lazy to Google it and see what the scale was. Even though a very different instrument and he went fretless, he very much kept the same tone.
I always loved Jack Bruce, and his working relationship with Pete Brown was fantastic. His solo career had some good stuff, but it never even compared. I always found that rather sad. After he died it came out that he had more drug problems than people realized so I wonder if that is why he peaked so early.
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matryx81
Wholenote
I think I know the reason but I can't spell it.
Posts: 771
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Post by matryx81 on Sept 15, 2021 9:20:53 GMT -5
I'm not sure if he ever went long scale In doing some checking, it was long scale. |
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Post by Mike the marksman on Sept 15, 2021 12:36:33 GMT -5
He also used flatwound strings back then. LaBellas I think.
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ilan
Quarternote
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Post by ilan on Sept 16, 2021 5:31:39 GMT -5
If you have a recent EB3, it's nothing like Jack Bruce's bass in Cream. The old EB0/EB3 had the monstrous Seth Lover-designed Sidewinder pickup, known as the Mudbucker. It's a 30K humbucking pickup (most other bass pickups are about 7-10K), guaranteed to distort any preamp. Even if you split it (it's doable but have a skilled tech do this) you still get a 15K single-coil. It had huge bottom and almost no midrange or highs. Gibson never reissued it because no one will want to use one today. You can easily find old ones on eBay. On recent models, Gibson hide a modern TB+ pickup under the large Mudbucker-style cover.
Billy Sheehan added a Sidewinder pickup to his famous "Wife" P-bass at the neck position, and later a DiMarzio Model One which was a drop-in replacement, still muddy but with slightly more mids and highs. He used it in conjunction with the P pickup, never solo'ed.
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Post by rickyguitar on Sept 28, 2021 21:14:05 GMT -5
Yeah. He was the real deal. Made Clapton sound great. Like Felix made Leslie sound great. Being a guitar playing in a strong trio's awesome fun when everyone is on it.
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Post by morrow on Oct 7, 2021 7:15:14 GMT -5
Jack Bruce made me want both an EB-3 and a Danelectro Longhorn bass. I’m not a big Jack Bruce fan but realized I have the modern versions of his Cream basses , a Squier Bass VI , reissue Longhorn , and Gibson SG bass . I’ve fallen hard for that Bass VI , it’s a pile of fun to goof around on ! |
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matryx81
Wholenote
I think I know the reason but I can't spell it.
Posts: 771
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Post by matryx81 on Oct 7, 2021 14:19:25 GMT -5
Not to mention they actually sound pretty good.
I heard one on a gig about 7-9 years ago. It made me want one.
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