Two men and a Ric ...

[uwe]

I found this interesting: Here is Glenn Hughes's (don't be fooled by the Roger Glover pic) isolated bass track from Burn:



And here is his predecessor Roger Glover with his bass track on Highway Star:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mLryrT1ZMc&feature=related

Neither bass track is perfect (nor does it need to be, nor would it sound perfect if I had played it), but Glenn is quite a bit sloppier than Roger and less tight! It's not surprising as Glenn has a reputation to be impatient in the studio and leave after the second take while Glover - the producer in him - immerses himself in the recording studio world.

Other than the obvious "uhum uhum" connection, which is the sole reason why I am posting this, the recordings are only about two years apart and were created with the same producer (Martin Birch), known for mixing the bass up quite prominently (just ask Steve Harris, Birch did the early Iron Maiden stuff too). And they are both undeniably Ric though Hughes' (probably in a conscious move to emulate Glover) 4001 is a different one to Glover's. Hughes didn't play the Ric for long though, he reverted to his beloved P Bass midway in the Burn tour.

I always found that the bass on Burn is the least audible on any seventies DP album, those two isolated tracks reveal why: Hughes had sub-bass and crisp to distorted attack, but was thin on the mids where Glover is prominent. The Burn bass track is not a typical Birch eq either, he generally adds a lot more mids to a bass sound (like on the Whitesnake albums with Murray). Which is strange because Blackmore's ooops, whatshisname's radical amp setting (full treble, full bass, all mids cut or even removed in the wiring) allowed any bass player quite a bit of "mid room". When the Burn remaster came out a couple of years ago, I hoped that Hughes' scooped bass sound had been tweaked somewhat, but unfortunately not so. You still don't hear him as well as Glover even though Hughes is the much more aggressive player and tends to be ahed of the beat clamoring for attention while Glover settles in. The neo-classical melodic chorus bit Hughes plays around 47 sec of his bass track for the first time sounds exactly like the type of guitar backing B... darn! "the guitarist in Glenn's band at the time"  preferred, I doubt that Glenn came up with it, it his not his style at all, he is a pentatonic man at heart who avoids classical scales.

Who/what do you guys prefer?

[Chris P.]

Cool! I'll listen to it later! And my opinion will follow...

[ilan]

Glover, hands down. His sound on Machine Head is what first turned me on to Rickenbackers.

[gearHed289]

Oh man, those are awesome! Danke! Definitely Glover for me tone-wise, and he's playing even more killer licks than I knew of prior to hearing this isolated track. Glenn's tone to me is kind of "bad" overdriven tube amp. I think it could have been refined a little bit. Reminds me of my former V-4B when it was pushed too hard, but not hard enough. And what I mean by that is - you could get a really great grind with lower volume settings, or you could get a sweet roar by turning it all the way to 11, but there are in-between tones that just sound awkward.

[uwe]

Glenn's playing has that gung-ho attitude - he was quite a bit younger than Glover when he joined - which I find appealing, but take that away and there is not that much substance in his playing. I understand that he doesn't give his bass playing too much a thought nor rehearses a lot, it comes natural to him as he says. Glover is more "composed" - in both meanings of the word: His bass lines are more thought out and he is more controlled in his playing. As he once said: "When all hell is breaking lose with DP on stage, it is my job to keep a steady bass line going."

[Highlander]

Glover, but then I didn't have to listen to a note (even though I did) to know that one...

How about some outlandish bass sounds...

[Hörnisse]

I like both players equally.  I do prefer Glenn's Made In Europe version though. 

[Highlander]

... and purely for novelty value...


... and the neglected lineup...


... or if you want some outstanding work from Hughes...


... and what I consider to be one of the most simply beautiful works ever recorded...

[Pekka]

I always found that the bass on Burn is the least audible on any seventies DP album, those two isolated tracks reveal why: Hughes had sub-bass and crisp to distorted attack, but was thin on the mids where Glover is prominent.

Who/what do you guys prefer?

Hughes' Rick might have been recorded in stereo and I recall reading he played through Blackmore's Marshall heads. His sound on "Stormbringer" and "Come Taste The Band" is far better, not to mention "California Jam" and "Made In Europe". All with Precision and I have a theory that he had his Martin bass cabs and Hiwatt heads in the studio too. Paul Martinez had a quite similar bass sound on PAL's album (also produced by Birch) and he used similar Martin cabs (only with Sunn Coliseum amps).

Glover's Rick sounds better. His sound on "Who Do We Think We Are" wasn't as good 'though, a bit too muddy.

[nofi]

uwe, i will see your trapeze and raise you one nana.

[Highlander]

Fold... I know when I'm beaten...

[Hörnisse]

I always thought Glenn used the Ric on MIE.

[clankenstein]

well i much prefer  roger glovers tone but then i always thought that was a great bassline.for that grinding p bass tone i think i prefer john wetton.plus he was awesome.imho.

[Pekka]

I always thought Glenn used the Ric on MIE.

The pictures on the sleeve featuring the Ric are from early "Burn" tour. Jon Lord doesn't have a Clavinet on top of his C3 on the cover for example. Here's pics from one of "MIE" source gigs:
http://www.dpac.at/Deep_Purple_Graz_1975_Photo_Gallery.html

[SeanS]

Hughes didn't play the Ric for long though, he reverted to his beloved P Bass midway in the Burn tour.

He had sold it to Geezer Butler.