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Adam Clayton (U2) with a reversed Stryker/Explorer style bass.
Highlander:
Sometimes it's not the notes you play, but those you don't, that make it work... sometimes less is more... ;)
uwe:
Sometimes less is more and can have huge dramatic impact. But Herr Clayton is no John McCoy I fear when it comes down to making one note throughout sound dramatic. When Clayton stays simple, he doesn't hang on to one note while The Edge changes chords, but pretty much follows him around wherever he goes. Might alienate the girlie audience if you sound too dark and dramatic ... :mrgreen:
Being simple doesn't mean you can't make a forceful - hey, I want to be heard! - musical statement as these two tracks show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9DTD80HeQ4&feature=related
I don't really think that Herr Clayton thinks in the terms of "forceful musical statements" as regards his bass playing. :mrgreen: Not that it harmed U2 any, but The Beatles would have probably done reasonably well too if McCartney's bass playing had not been as brilliant as it was, still most of us are grateful that it was him and not Ringo playing bass.
Granted, U2 is not Gillan and perhaps that type of attention-grabbing minimalist bass playing wouldn't fit with them. But if you look at New Order here, Hook isn't playing rocket science, but it is a musical statement:
Chris P.:
I love Hooky and his bass lines!
clankenstein:
nice.whats the bass hes playing?
Chris P.:
Hooky started with a Rickenbacker as first real bass, after an EB0 copy. Then some Shergolds. Well, let's copy paste Wiki! ;)
Gibson EB-0 copy - Hook's first bass, bought at Mazel's Music Shop in Manchester in 1976 and used live with Warsaw 1977 (there are photos of him playing it at a 1977 gig at Rafters, Manchester) and on the 18/7/77 Warsaw demos.[citation needed]
Hondo Rickenbacker 4001 bass copy - Used on Joy Division's 1978-1980 recordings and used live with Joy Division 1978-1980.[citation needed]In an interview in Bass Guitar Magazine, he revealed that was given away to a child for a charity sale "He [the child] didn't even use my name! He just thought it was a bass guitar like any other. Nowadays that'd be worth what, nine or ten grand?"
Yamaha BB1200 - Basically a neck-through, active version of a Fender Precision Bass with the pickup installed in a reverse configuration to a Fender P bass.[citation needed] Used on Joy Division's Closer LP and every New Order album.[citation needed]
Shergold Marathon six-string bass - Has a 30" scale putting it between normal bass (34") and guitar (around 25").[citation needed]
Eccleshall bass - Based on a Guild Starfire Bass, main live bass.[citation needed] He wanted a hollow body with Yamaha electronics, so Chris Eccleshall took the active electronics from a BB1200 and built a full-scale neck-through bass with 24 frets.[citation needed] Subsequent versions of the bass have been produced using custom circuitry designed by a Japanese student visiting Chris Eccleshall, a custom circuit was needed as Yamaha stopped producing the BB1200 preamp. He is currently awaiting a fourth incarnation of the Eccleshall bass. All are designed to be as nearly identical as possible.
So it's a fake Ricky. Nowadays he plays the Eccleshall, but he's Warwick endorsee too.
Amps:
The main equipment he used used during the early days of New Order was an Alembic F-2B preamp/ Roland rack unit/Crown-Amcron DC-300A power amp fed through two large custom built 2 x 15 Gauss loaded flightcase cabinets. In the earlier days of Joy Division, he used a Hiwatt Custom 100 Watt head on top of a 4x15 Gauss loaded Marshall cabinet. He has also used an Ampeg SVT rig, and has expressed interest in Ashdown amplification.
For the most part, his distinctive tone comes from the use of a chorus pedal, an Electro-Harmonix Clone Theory. This has recently been reissued by Electro-Harmonix, and whilst having the same circuitry as the original is said by many not to be as exciting as the original 1970s ones.[who?]
With Revenge and Monaco, he updated an Ampeg SVT, which is used at maximum volume when playing live.[1] [2]
In the May/June 2008 issue of Bass Guitar Magazine he was reported to use: Two HiWatt Custom 200 amp heads Two Warwick NeoPro 115 cabs with 15 inch Gauss speakers
Hooky's a big JAE fan. Clayton got in touch with Warwick for a Stryker and a Buzzard after watching some Who DVD's.
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