Question for the Old-school country buffs...

[PWV]

..I'm thinking of starting a Roots/Americana/Honky Tonk group soon.  Sort of a tribute to Buck Owens, Johnny's Cash and Horton, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, et al... I'd like to use a couple of my Gibsons with flats on them, maybe a pick to cop that groove if I can.

I know the earlier recordings by these artists used upright basses, the sixties and seventies era was mostly Fender P's and J's when country went more electric.  That's the era I'm digging into - Ray Price all the way up to Waylon and Willie from the 70's.

Does anyone know of ANY Gibson basses being used during this Bakersfield/Outlaw Country era?  A Thunderbird or EB-0? An LP bass?  Its really a pretty broad question, I'm looking for anything that's close to that sound as long as they played a Gibson.  A Youtube link would be cool, but this could be like finding a needle in a haystack.

fwiw, I can't stand any of the new stuff they call country these days - Rascal Flatts, Alan Jackson, Shania - but especially that Toby Keith poser!  I'd rather drink a gallon of bleach than listen to that recycled 70's pop they're calling country now!  *Man, I sold like an old geezer! *

Anybody?  I'm prepared for tumbleweeds and dust to roll through this thread pretty quick but maybe someone has an example?

[Tim Armstrong]

Sorry, only communists played country music on Gibson basses back during those times...



Cheers, Tim

[Dave W]

 

It's hard to say. Even if you find YouTube clips, most of the recordings were done by studio players, even back in the 50s. That's just the way it is and was in Nashville. I do know there was a lot of doubling of upright lines with Danos or Silvertones.

I think you should buy yourself a checkered suit, learn bass fiddle and comedy, and do a Speck Rhodes tribute. 

[PWV]

Something along these lines?

[Dave W]

Great Ray Price clip, but I meant the guy from the old Porter Wagoner Show. Played upright and did a separate cornball comedy routine. You can see him in this short clip with fiddler Mac Magaha: http://youtube.com/watch?v=MW1a0_gAd5g

[rockinrayduke]

Porter Wagoner Show, one of my guilty pleasures. RFD TV was showing it quite a bit last year, not so much now. 

I did see one guy on the show backing up a singer playing an EB-3, can't remember who now but struck me as very unusual for the time (mid 60's)

[dminer]

Johnny Cash's bassist played an Epiphone (Embassy, Newport?) and even though it's not total country I saw a clip of Jerry Lee Lewis and his bass player had a Green ampeg devil bass!!, and of course Jim Reeves band played Rickenbackers as did Roy Orbison's bass player. I know you asked exclusively about Gibson but the epiphone connection was as close as I could come. But it is interesting to see everything from Ricks to the Devil bass played (at least on tv ) by those guys...probably a few Fender coronados as well..dm

[Dave W]

I have no doubt that you could find quite a variety just by going through YouTube clips. But if you're trying to get the feel of the recorded material, you can't rely on what the artists' touring bands used. Especially in country. Harold Bradley played tic tac on maybe thousands of records over the years, but he didn't tour. Yet I don't remember seeing live performances with tic tac and upright except on the Opry.

[eb2]

Most old school 50s country bass players used Fenders when they went electric, but again, if you dig hard enough you find your Gibsons in there.  The most famous being the Epi Newport in Johnny Cash's heyday.  If you are one of the millions of people who bought At San Quentin, you see it there on the jacket.  Conway Twitty's band had an EB3 or 0 once that I recall. 

As far as a LP bass, that would be your 70s ilk, and by then the Fenders had taken over.  But they were never monolithic, like in rock, so you saw everything.  It is kind of like Martin acoustics and Gibsons are heavily associated with country music, but the weird truth is that a lot of 60s country acts toured Fender bolt neck acoustics, as they were tough as nuts and sounded good mic'ed.  Good enough, anyway.

About the only thing that it is hard to get away from in a retro sense is if you aren't playing flats, you aren't doing it right.

[nofi]

everyone on heehaw and some other country variety shows back than played peavey stuff if i recall.

[drbassman]

I think a Gibson hollow body bass would be fine.  Here's a blast from the past..............from Art Greenhaw and the Light Crust Doughboys!  Yeehaw!!!!!!!!!

[PWV]

Well I was thinking Gibson because I've got a Fenderbird in the works, and I'm going for that Buck Owens Red White and Blue vibe....but anything out there is cool (true that about the flats too - must have those!  Those early 70's Waylon recordings sound like a Fender Jazz with flats and a pick)...

This is isn't a Les Paul bass - but it is Les Paul and Waylon.  Pretty cool


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8E5Rs9GAb8&feature=related

[Dave W]

I think a Gibson hollow body bass would be fine.  Here's a blast from the past..............from Art Greenhaw and the Light Crust Doughboys!  Yeehaw!!!!!!!!!

Here's Art on YouTube, but he's playing his Mosrite: http://youtube.com/watch?v=IYtxYvdrg8k

Of course he's current, I think this version of the Doughboys goes back about 15 years. Their heyday was pre-Leo and their music was mostly Western swing, not traditional country.

[drbassman]

Of course he's current, I think this version of the Doughboys goes back about 15 years. Their heyday was pre-Leo and their music was mostly Western swing, not traditional country.

Well, it figures you know the scoop on Art's music, then and now!  I was just offering up a Gibson in another genre outside of R&R.  You just have way too much trivia/info in your memory banks!!!!  I am awed!   

[Chris P.]

Maybe a bit off-topic, but are there any modern examples of tic tac bass on records? It would be nice to experiment with an EB3 and a Danelectro baritone (or so) for recordings.