FFH bass-spotting "The Man You Always Wanted Me To Be"

[miguelbass]

Some thoughts about what bass could have been used on TMYAWMTB from "Fly From Here"

This is a very dear song for me, as it features Chris on lead vocals (with Trevor and Benoît doing a lot of the backing vocals).
After my first listens I thought it was the RM1999... well it sounds like Chris, although it's one of the most simple (but very effective) basslines on FFH.
I heard some comments mentioning some similarities with the more traditional Fleetwood Mac kind of rhythm sections and even some of the harmony of the song may take us there.
However there are some more Yes-tricks (or Squire-isms) going on, especially when it comes to the actual time signature changes throughout the song's structure.
Well but... could it be the RM?

My ears tell me that it's surely not the same tone of the title track... and there is a low E flat (or D sharp) that periodically chromatically resolves ascending to the root G flat (or F sharp).
So is it a 5 string? I think not. Listening to the patterns played by Chris it seems to my ears that the he is probably playing a 4 stringed bass tuned a half-step lower.
This way the root note of the song would have been played on the 3rd fret and that chromatic passage much more natural to do as frets 0 (open) 1 2 3.
In other spots of the song like the instrumental after the verse just before the bridge it seems like a low open E (although it's again a half-step below)
Then on the "yeh-yeh" ending it really seems like the A open string is used, and again the actual note is a semitone below (G sharp/ A flat).

Still I can't guess the actual bass used... could also be one of the Mouradians, the Lakland or even the Jazz Bass? One of the other Rickenbackers? But I am inclined to think it is a four string tuned a half-step lower. Maybe Chris decided to transpose the bass tuning to adapt to a more "logical" playing... or it could be that he wrote the song in G, having the bassline ready to play but for some reason (vocals) decided to lower a half-step. If this is the case, guessing the bass is even more difficult as tone changes a bit if you lower its tuning. One thing is for sure - it sounds like Chris!

Miguel
http://www.miguelbass.com

[just_bassics]

Great analysis, Miguel.

Sometimes it is hard for me to know which bass is in play. I love the Ric tone, but I love the bass playing style more, which to me means that any bass used is fine as long as Chris is playing it and he continues to write the bass lines himself (as opposed to someone handing him finished lines on a score sheet with a "here, play this" approach). With that said, I prefer that he stick to the RM1999, but his other basses get the job done as well.

He told me in March that he was using a new bass for some tracks on the new CD. I don't want to mention a brand name, as he didn't specify it in the liner notes, but I'm pretty sure it was used on Into The Storm. As for TMYAWMTB, I haven't yet sat down with a guitar to try to find the basic chord structure as of yet. I have noticed, from The Ladder, Magnification and the current FFH, that their arranging style is getting more sophisticated. Gone are the clearly defined solo lines of TYA and Fragile, but the chord structures that the newer material builds upon are much more complex, at least to my ears. Give Love Each Day from Magnification is a good example of this. Not to say that the solo lines are gone, just not as emphasized. Clearly the overall arrangements are more structurally important to the process now than the "riffs".

To me this is just the natural maturing of the writing and arranging process within the band members themselves. They don't have anything to prove in the speed or flash department, as ALL of that was settled after Relayer, so they can relax and concentrate more on arrangements. TMYAWMTB has a clever style with typical odd time signatures that can go unnoticed because Chris makes them feel natural. This tune was also most likely composed off of a piano track rather than guitar, which can lead it in a different direction from the start. Most Yes music begins as guitar chords and the arrangement is built up from there. Jon once said that he uses very simple ideas in his songs and gives them to Steve, who "complicates them".

I shouldn't write so much before I've had my coffee. I may come back in an hour and disagree with everything I've written...

[johnallg]

Great analysis and insight guys. A lot to absorb.

[woodyng]

Would like to see (and hear) more of his second (newer) Mouradian. I wouldn't venture a guess about what was used on ITS,or "the man...", but,of course both tracks sound great. ITS in particular,is just a great track.

[Billsbro]

I love this Forum because I get to read analysis like this! Thanks, Miguel (and Just Bassics).
Please keep it up Gentlemen!

BTW, I do especially like the lyrics on this song...they are inspiring for my own life.

[ram]

Spot on Miguel & Jim! I’d like to make one more observation to something Jim said. I agree totally with “Clearly the overall arrangements are more structurally important to the process now than the "riffs".”, but I do see in the tunes, little sections where, if so desired, extensions for instrumentals are right there. Just a scintillating little taste of something that could be expounded upon say in a live setting. I find myself saying 'damn that was cool, wish there was more!'

[just_bassics]

Would like to see (and hear) more of his second (newer) Mouradian. I wouldn't venture a guess about what was used on ITS,or "the man...", but,of course both tracks sound great. ITS in particular,is just a great track.

Woody, check out the Squire / Sherwood Conspiracy DVD for a great look at the Reality Bass. I too love that one, but with only fifteen made (three in the hands of famous bassists) I know I'll never have one.

Tom, I agree, and I think the tracks from FFH will be very powerful when (if) performed live. Let's hope...

[miguelbass]

Getting more inclined to the Jazz Bass possibility... I have this idea (my imagination) that Chris chooses a bass that serves a certain character of the respective bassline. I'm thinking about "Walls" for instance, the same kind of laid back feel, locking with the drums... if I imagine visually right now Chris playing this live it would be the Jazz Bass...
Let's see if I'll agree with this tomorrow after the coffee, Jim

Miguel
www.miguelbass.com

[cheyenne]

Isnt one of his Tobias basses a custom, extra long scale 4 string just for drop tuning??

This bass right here:
http://www.ampeg.com/artists/artist.php?artistID=15

[jps]

Isnt one of his Tobias basses a custom, extra long scale 4 string just for drop tuning??

This bass right here:
http://www.ampeg.com/artists/artist.php?artistID=15

Yes, IIRC, it was designed to be tuned BEAD, with the longer scale length to compensate for the "dropped" tuning. It is like C extensions on an upright bass, just that all four strings have extensions.

[miguelbass]

So... I got the chance of asking Chris about this, by the time they were in Portugal, and he was the most kind and answered me. It is indeed the Lakland bass tuned a half-step lower.
Now all we have is a couple of thousand bass-mystery questions left for Chris )

Miguel
www.miguelbass.com

[Billsbro]

Yes, but one LESS mystery!
Thanks, Miguel!

[miguelbass]

btw, Chris uses that Tobias on the middle suites of WCFFH and the bass is set upright in a stand. I had the chance of looking at that bass upclose and it's one of the craziest shades of black-grey-brown (or whatever colour is that) that I ever seen.
A unique strange and mysterious stained finish.

Miguel

Isnt one of his Tobias basses a custom, extra long scale 4 string just for drop tuning??

This bass right here:
http://www.ampeg.com/artists/artist.php?artistID=15

Yes, IIRC, it was designed to be tuned BEAD, with the longer scale length to compensate for the "dropped" tuning. It is like C extensions on an upright bass, just that all four strings have extensions.

[miguelbass]

Here is my bass cover. I tried the P and the J bass. In the end I opted for the Jazz Bass - It sounds more like the Lakland (maybe).
Funny is that the Lakland has a P-bass body, but Richard Davis describes it as a "Fender Jazz type bass" (chrisssquire.com). Maybe the neck is more "Jazz"?

A good week to evertyone!

M

[mikeyesfan]

Great Thread...You guys Rock.