Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have heard references to this technique in posts. Can someone explain this technique to me, how to execute it and an example of a song he uses it on.

You really need some video. IMO, it's not obvious from listening. He was all over the place with his hands. There may be a video of the last Universal Amplitheater gig that was broadcast on TV several years back.

I saw him twice with his own band, once from about 10 ft. away, almost equal height so i was able to really observe him (which i usually don't do). I noticed two things about the way he played, one was the he played VERY lightly most of the time, and two: I don't know if this is what people are referring to or not but he had a technique where when he did his trademark triplets, he just brushed the strings with his fingertips. The closet approximation I can come up with is it was almost like a butterfly, his fingertips kind of just fluttered over the strings, I've never seen anyone else play like that before. And this of course was at a VERY high volume. He was a phenominal rock bass player.

That would make sense as Rick Turner had mentioned a few years ago that the setup on his basses were so low that he could barely get a piece of paper between the strings and the fingerboard!

I found this description in Bass Player Magazine, it seemed to describe it well...

As a result, fans finally felt the full force of his techniques: standard fingerstyle and pick playing, a technique he calls "crab-claws," backhanded chords, string pops and smacks, harmonics, and left-hand hammer-ons. Then there's his impressive "typewriter technique," a forerunner of today's bass tapping, in which he strikes the strings at the base of the neck with his four right-hand fingertips in quick, typewriter-like motions, enabling him to play rapid triplets and various other drum-like devices.

I didn't see him do anything like that, and I was pretty close, when I saw him play triplets he used two fingers, index and middle like most bass players, was just extremely fast and light. I mean he could have done that, I wasn't looking for it and I can't say I stared at his hands all night, but I would think that I would have noticed something like that, maybe he was old enough to realize that he didn't need gimmicks like that, he blew me away I now that.
He alternated between fingers and picks all night, constantly snapping his picks out into the audience. One pick hit my brother in the chest and landed in his open folded hands, haha! It was so quick it happened before he knew it, he goes: Wooo!!!! was that cool! (We was (Bushism, I had to leave it in, Is our children learning? haha!) probably ten ft. away, it was a regular little club that held about 100 people)

The Kids Are Alright DVD has a multi camera angle section that will also let you isolate his bass track and his camera angle. It's during the live performance they filmed for the movie. Not sure if this will illustrate the typwriter technique, but you can sure as heck study the Ox cam. There's a Moon Cam and a few oher angles too. Be sure to get the deluxe edition.

I've noticed, too what Bob mentioned. He always seemed to be playing very lightly. I'm sure that enabled the speed. His amps must have been cranked.

I saw him in a little tiny place, all in all probably about 30 ft. by 30 ft. and he had all his stadium stuff in there (I know this because I read it in the paper in advance of the show), including 4 Trace Elliot heads and four cabs, two were (if I remember correctly) 2 X 15 cabs and the two on top were 4 X 12's. And he had the stuff cranked. They tripped the breakers 3 or 4 times. The sound he got on "Boris The Spider" was unreal.

Entwistle is the greatest I've ever seen, and the above are great descriptions.

There is a DVD, The Who and friends at the Royal Albert Hall, a concert from 2000, when Entwistle was in his late fifties. There are many close-ups of his techniques, including the typewriter stye.

On one song in particular, 5:15, he plays a solo which is the best bit of bass playing I've ever seen. It lasts a good 3 minutes and he pulls all the stops--typewriter, slap, loosens the e-string, slides, jazz, rock, etc. Never have I seen a right hand move so fast, with all fingers moving at times, even when he doesn't use the typewriter method.

He does alternate between pick and fingers, but mainly uses fingers. On another song, My Wife, he sings and play bass. Because he is singing, he starts with a pick. After they get to the guitar solo, he tosses the pick, fast, to get it out of the way, and then launches into finger style, and is absolutely blazing. After the solo, he grabs another pick to use while he sings out the rest of the song.

Another is The Real Me. Toward the end, he stretches strings a couple times in about 1/2 second, hits the correct notes, and doesn't miss a beat. I put it on slow motion, as it is only a brief clip, and even seeing it slow, makes me realize that I'm not capable of doing what he just did!

For those who are interested is seeing a true giant of the bass, and see many close-ups of a virtuoso, check out this video. You'll be truly amazed. The only downfall to the video: Townshend doesn't play a single Ric.

That is a great DVD. I'm a Who fan from way back(the '70s,ugh)and have seen The 'Oo in concert, and have lots of videos, but that's the best video I've seen in a long time. And the Ox solo part is awesome.

I saw the Who way back, early '70's, I'd guess. (the opening act did that song "Ride, Captain Ride", so whenever that was a hit, that's the year) I seem to remember the Who doing a lot of "Tommy" at that concert. I was miles away, it was at Anaheim Stadium. I've always focused on the songwriting, but lately have been noticing the Ox's style. He and Moon were formidable. They almost didn't need a guitarist!

I saw them a few times, without Moon, and they were never short of awesome. It must have been incredible to see them with the original lineup.
Even without Moon, they are the most powerful band I have ever seen. They were amazing, and a great majority of their power came from the Ox.

The best bass/drums team in music history, I believe.

Getting slightly off topic, Moon often wore a headset. Does anyone know was it used as a monitor or a click?

I think he went to the headphones in later years, especially when they played songs featuring synthesizer, such as Baba O'Reilly & Won't Get Fooled Again, probably as a monitor.

The video, The Kids Are Alright, shows him recording Who Are You with headphones, which is commonplace today, during studio recordings.

If I'm not mistaken, the Beatles were about the first to use this practice of recording with headphones.