Video about McCartney Sgt Pepper sounds

gearHed289 · February 10, 2021, 10:41:05 AM

One of my favorite "Paul on a Ric" bass parts. On a Denny song...

Alanko · February 10, 2021, 11:46:37 AM

Quote from: uwe on February 09, 2021, 03:48:19 PMAnd to me, this is not only the most joyous and bubbling bass line emanating from a Ric, but played with any bass ever. And it sounds like one inspired happy-go-lucky Macca first take.

It is joyous. Slightly mind blowing to see the live video of that and watch his picking hand go up and down, down at the bridge on his bass. It sounds like finger-style playing, and all done while singing!

Chris P. · February 10, 2021, 01:03:47 PM

His last couple of albums were recorded with the Höfners!

Chris P. · February 10, 2021, 01:06:18 PM

A friend of mine lives in Canada for ages. He first left The Netherlands for London to join a Beatles tribute band and now he has his own very succesful Wings tribute in London, Ontario, Canada.

http://themccartneyyears.net/

Recently he bought a left handed Ricky and he swapped from right hand playing to left hand playing. Piano makes no difference and on guitar he is still right handed.

Check this band cos it's very, very good!

uwe · February 10, 2021, 01:58:18 PM

It's certainly not a typical Ric sound in a Roger Glover (deep) or Chris Squire/Geddy Lee (bright) sense, but it has its appeal. He accentuated the mids and it's a bit boney-sounding (SLS doesn't sound like flatwounds to me), maybe that is also why he was later on attracted to a WAL.

amptech · February 10, 2021, 11:17:39 PM

Quote from: uwe on February 10, 2021, 01:58:18 PM
It's certainly not a typical Ric sound in a Roger Glover (deep) or Chris Squire/Geddy Lee (bright) sense, but it has its appeal. He accentuated the mids and it's a bit boney-sounding (SLS doesn't sound like flatwounds to me), maybe that is also why he was later on attracted to a WAL.

I think the Wal move was because he went through a Geddy fascination period

uwe · February 11, 2021, 05:44:06 PM

But didn't Circus magazine resolve that? Back in the early 80ies they did a spoof feature on Geddy Lee and Paul McCartney, declaring Macca the better bassist. Rush devotees (never the most humorous bunch) were enraged und wrote letters, but Circus did not budge, adding fuel to the fire "... besides Paul McCartney is richer!" , which provoked another letter onslaught.

Dave W · February 11, 2021, 10:18:03 PM

Quote from: uwe on February 11, 2021, 05:44:06 PM
But didn't Circus magazine resolve that? Back in the early 80ies they did a spoof feature on Geddy Lee and Paul McCartney, declaring Macca the better bassist. Rush devotees (never the most humorous bunch) were enraged und wrote letters, but Circus did not budge, adding fuel to the fire "... besides Paul McCartney is richer!" , which provoked another letter onslaught.

I wonder what would happen if you told Rush fans that Burke Shelley is better than Geddy.

Alanko · February 12, 2021, 07:16:56 AM

Quote from: uwe on February 11, 2021, 05:44:06 PM
But didn't Circus magazine resolve that? Back in the early 80ies they did a spoof feature on Geddy Lee and Paul McCartney, declaring Macca the better bassist. Rush devotees (never the most humorous bunch) were enraged und wrote letters, but Circus did not budge, adding fuel to the fire "... besides Paul McCartney is richer!" , which provoked another letter onslaught.

I always think that Geddy Lee is what a beginner bassist thinks a good bassist should be like. Busy playing with a noisy, intrusive tone and mining out every possible harmonic complexity within a fairly harmonically limited stretch of music. I was once that beginner bassist, thinking it was cool to copy the vocal melody for two bars a fifth above, and tacking horribly florid turnarounds on the end of every four bar phrase. Just because I could see how it could work in the music I always had to do it.

I've never quite got my head around this dichotomy of Rush being this cult willfully obscure insider band that nobody has heard of, when you can buy their records in Walmart etc. Its stadium rock, a la Kiss, with some exotic percussion, opaque lyrics and the occasional unusual time signature or poly rhythmic kerfuffle. Some of their famous songs are a bit longer than Detroit Rock City, they wear kimonos and their singer sounds like an old woman.

As, as much as I love some of their stuff Rush is the worst of both worlds for me: The beard-stroking "you wouldn't understand it" snobbery of real prog rock combined with the sort of unreconstructed double-denim gropefest of Normal Rock.

uwe · February 12, 2021, 08:26:56 AM

Quote from: Dave W on February 11, 2021, 10:18:03 PM
I wonder what would happen if you told Rush fans that Burke Shelley is better than Geddy.

The similarities are obvious. But Budgie were so obscure, I'm not sure Geddy ever got his hands on a Budgie record to be inspired. We'll have to ask him.

gearHed289 · February 12, 2021, 08:27:32 AM

Quote from: uwe on February 11, 2021, 05:44:06 PM
But didn't Circus magazine resolve that? Back in the early 80ies they did a spoof feature on Geddy Lee and Paul McCartney, declaring Macca the better bassist. Rush devotees (never the most humorous bunch) were enraged und wrote letters, but Circus did not budge, adding fuel to the fire "... besides Paul McCartney is richer!" , which provoked another letter onslaught.

I love this! Rush superfans are possibly even weirder then Rickenbacker fanboys.

I swear, some of them seem to think Rush invented MUSIC!

Having said all that, I don't think there's a "better" rock bass player than Geddy Lee. Busy? Sure, but it absolutely works within the context of the music (If you're not into that kind of music, I get it). Also, his Rickenbacker tone was spectacular in my opinion. I'm not a fan of his latter day Jazz Bass/SansAmp tone, and it's become pretty generic at this point with people rushing out to buy Tech 21 GL pedals/racks. I always liked that he's never been an "unaccompanied bass solo" guy too.

gearHed289 · February 12, 2021, 08:38:05 AM

And this JUST appeared in my inbox.

I'll shut up about Rush fans now...

uwe · February 12, 2021, 08:53:48 AM

Quote from: Alanko on February 12, 2021, 07:16:56 AM

I've never quite got my head around this dichotomy of Rush being this cult willfully obscure insider band that nobody has heard of, when you can buy their records in Walmart etc. Its stadium rock, a la Kiss, with some exotic percussion, opaque lyrics and the occasional unusual time signature or poly rhythmic kerfuffle. Some of their famous songs are a bit longer than Detroit Rock City, they wear kimonos and their singer sounds like an old woman.

Alan, you're a riot!

You've just endeared yourself to Rush fandom worldwide! They're lighting the pyre as I write.

Did you ever consider taking up a job with Her Majesty's Foreign Service? All the repair work that would need to be done following your outbursts, lovely!

uwe · February 12, 2021, 09:12:23 AM

Geddy is a fine player and his playing is idiosyncratic. It works well within Rush and both anchors and defines their music/sonic landscapes.

I have a hard time though imagining him coming up with a bass run to Silly Love Songs that is only a fraction as good as what Macca laid down. Has he or Rush ever played anything you can move your butt to? In all its angular complexity, Geddy's bass style is extremely limited.

But to me the weirdest instrumentalist within Rush is no doubt Alex Lifeson. I can wrap my head around what Lee and Peart (in fact the most "natural" player within the confinements of Rush) do, but Lifeson sounds - throughout all Rush eras - outright weird to me. He's like Pat Metheny playing with a hard rock bassist and drummer (both of them skillful, but essentially hard rock based).

D.M.N. · August 29, 2021, 04:35:23 PM

Old thread, I know, but I actually recorded there at Boulevard a few months back. Great room and great place to work. Even used that exact black Rick on a track instead of my Thunderbird and Precision. Similarly to the video, we ran a DI and then also mic'd up my Sunn 2000s or Hiwatt DR103 and 2x15 cab. Different mic and not spaced quite that far out, and then through those same compressors. Came out really great! Having not played a Rick in a few years, it definitely prompted me to pick one up again (or at least a Greco clone)!