A Chris Squire tribute

[walker]

Well that's a big fat compliment that I'll gladly take, Brian & Fran! Thanks!

I listened to Squire's sound for years (no... really?) and tried picking it apart to see how he did his thing, and had plenty of AHA! moments along the way just to realize that the sound really hadn't changed too drastically, but all those little things add up, I suppose. I think the biggest factor is the amps Squire was using in the late 60's early '70s. Fender, Sunns, Marshalls, Vox... maybe Ampegs were in there, too - all tube amps. I'm guessing that Squire went solid state around the time of Relayer because that warm and resonant twang didn't seem to be in his sound anymore, and I was always bonkers over his earlier tone. Obviously his main bass didn't change, so it was pretty revealing to me how crucial the right amp was.

Finding the right preamp was the biggest key in achieving the sound I was after. The SWR is great power with a tube preamp section of it's own, plenty of flexibility with EQ, but not much coloration within the gain section - you can't really get any grit or "ear friendly" distortion. I tried quite a few preamps, but most on the market when I was in quest mode were solid state and geared towards punchy tight bottom end and super crisp attack, which really didn't do sh*t for what I was after. Then I plugged into an ADA-MB1, and holy krap the night turned to day. It has a tube preamp section with a pair of 12AX7s that give me the Marshall tone, basically. And what's so cool about the MB1 is that it's midi/programmable, too. So I can instantly change the gain from a clean chimey sound to a Death-Star destroying saturation that scares my neighbors and annoys my cats.

My chain is pretty simple. Bass > MB1 > SWR SM-400 > Hiwatt 4x12. That cab is pretty key, too. I find that 10 inch speakers can be a touch brittle sounding when trying to get clank out of them. They're not terrible, but not optimal, either. I had a great Sunn 2x15 cab that sounded great, too. Wish I still had it. I don't use any additional compression - the tubes in the MB1 do that sufficiently. Sometimes I run an FX send to a delay or reverb or chorus, but the sound of the '68 in that Birthday vid was totally dry. The room sound from the voice mic and sh!tty camera mic helped round out the mix for a good full representation of what you'd hear when standing in front of that amp. The actual bass track was a submix of mic & bass direct.

[jps]

...I think the biggest factor is the amps Squire was using in the late 60's early '70s. Fender, Sunns, Marshalls, Vox...Finding the right preamp was the biggest key in achieving the sound I was after.....Then I plugged into an ADA-MB1, and holy krap the night turned to day. It has a tube preamp section with a pair of 12AX7s that give me the Marshall tone, basically.

Have you ever tried this preamp?

http://www.zzounds.com/item--MSHJMP1

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

the sound squire had on TFTO was quite different than his previous efforts, especially the tone in "abeline" b-side that i believe was recorded in TFTO time frame. very agressive and tight sounding.

[walker]

Apparently this was actually recorded during the Tormato sessions. It sounds like his fretless bass to me. The same sound as "High The Memory" from TFTO.

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

i don't think it was. the way squire and howe are playing sounds dated. just cause it appears as a b-side to a tormato song doesn't mean it was recorded in the same sessions. but maybe it was...just the tones sound like mid '70's bweteen TFTO and relayer. sounds like one of those idea songs that go nowhere. does sound like an out take from TALES though !!!

[woodyng]

From the sound alone,I could never tell he was playing a fretless in TFTO side 2,so i could be wrong about this too,but i think this sounds a lot like his Fender Jazz bass,favoring the bridge pickup,tone rolled off. Another obscure nugget from around this time called "countryside",has one of my my favorite Chris sounds,undoubtedly the Ric in full treble glory. (With a relatively clean tone)

[walker]

I thought it could be the Jazz too, but I thought I heard some glides that sounded pretty "fret-free", but with the tone rolled off on frets, it's hard to tell the difference sometimes. Thanks for the tip on 'Countryside.' That's two lesser known Yes nuggets I've heard today!

[Lefty4001]

Hey Mark Walker, great show! I agree with the crowd and dig your sound. I've got an SWR Baby Blue II combo and it's clean like you say (too clean for a muddler like myself sometimes). A good statement about "ear-friendly distortion" too. It's great as a preamp. I've just picked up an MXR M84 bass fuzz deluxe that's kinda nice. My basses are a '74 with HiGains and the cap and a '93S with HiGains screaming. I want to change out the PUPs on the '93S to a toaster/horseshow set (would that be a V63 set-up then?), but think I may want compression in the line, too. Is there any compression in your signal path?

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

countryside sounds like it could have been on drama or the post tormato demo sessions before wakeman and anderson quit...er...took hiatus !!!

[just_bassics]

Side 2 of TFTO is the Guild fretless, Chris has stated in some interviews that it was one of his favorite moments, as he put it "More than other bits that people go on about" - Perhaps he felt this had been a bit overlooked. I can look up the exact quote, from Tim Morse's book, if needed... but it is his old Guild and not the JB.

Funny, also, of all my basses, the Guild B-302 was the one that caught his interest most when I mentioned it. He seems to like Guild instruments, as it was his Guild 12 String that Steve used on And you and I (acc. to Steve's book).

[rickenbrother]

Funny, also, of all my basses, the Guild B-302 was the one that caught his interest most when I mentioned it. He seems to like Guild instruments, as it was his Guild 12 String that Steve used on And you and I (acc. to Steve's book).

I had a B-301, which is the same as the B-302, except only having one pickup. It was my second favorite 4 stringer after my Ricks, until got it stolen from my bass teaching studio.

[walker]

Hey Mark Walker, great show! I agree with the crowd and dig your sound... I've just picked up an MXR M84 bass fuzz deluxe that's kinda nice. My basses are a '74 with HiGains and the cap and a '93S with HiGains screaming. I want to change out the PUPs on the '93S to a toaster/horseshow set (would that be a V63 set-up then?), but think I may want compression in the line, too. Is there any compression in your signal path?

Thanks John Walker! I dig MXR stomp boxes. I have an old Distortion + that I sometimes use for guitar, and had a Micro Flanger that I used on bass A LOT. I was getting the Tempus Fugit sound. If you get the RI Toaster & HS, or V63 set, either/or, they may be even louder than your high gains, but might lack treble bite by comparison.

I don't use any compression in my amp signal chain, but definitely compress the dry signal when recording or going to a live board.

[Oz_Greg]

.

Another obscure nugget from around this time called "countryside",has one of my my favorite Chris sounds,undoubtedly the Ric in full treble glory. (With a relatively clean tone)

One of my favourite Yes tracks, thanks for reminding me about it woodyng !

I'm no doubt totally wrong here, but it sounds to me like Chris is playing an acoustic bass on the "Countryside" track, probably through his bass amp.

Makes more sense in view of:
1. It's called "Countryside"
2. It's a real "folky" sort of track
3. The accompanying guitars are acoustic.

[fran4001]

Wow, thanks Mark! And the rest of ya's! I love where this thread is going. I'm at an all day/night gig and can't respond as I'd like, (hate typing on these cursed IPhones!) but hope to get in on it Sunday some time.

[stevebasshead]

I've been away from the forum for ages and popped by in a spare minute to catch up and this caught my attention straight away...wow! Absoulely magic and it's put the biggest smile on my face!! Thanks for all the effort you put into this, massive sound, fantastic playing and great editing...what's not to like!!