What kind of setup do you use to get that Waylon Jennings bass sound?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Outlaws
  • Start date Start date
Outlaws

Outlaws

New member
I don't play bass, but I want to get one for my studio. How what equipment will help get that "Dukes of Hazzard" bouncy bass tone? I assume its a DI. Would a Countryman be good for that tone? What kind of bass or pickup types also?
 
Last edited:
This was a good night..........

....wait. What was I talking about? Oh ya...bass...
 
Last edited:
To hell if I know.. but old country bass is cool. It makes me wanna drink a tall glass of beer and say, " Damn that was good"
 
tjohnston said:
To hell if I know.. but old country bass is cool.
Click to expand...
That old country studio bass sound is called "tic-tac bass," and it's interesting how they produced it and with what.
 
If you guys are talking about the really old stuff that was just a telecaster or baritone telecaster then that is a little older than I am refering too. :D
 
alot of the bass tone was the bass drum on the outlaw country stuff.
Waylon always had bass guitar real hot in the mix...with a heavy bass drum
 
jimistone said:
alot of the bass tone was the bass drum on the outlaw country stuff.
Waylon always had bass guitar real hot in the mix...with a heavy bass drum
Click to expand...



Right. But there is a bass ound there too that I want. I don't play bass so it might be a simple bass DI with nothing fancy, but I don't know because I play guitar.....:D
 
Try a '66 P-bass and blackface bassman amp, and sync up with the kick drum.
 
philboyd studge said:
Try a '66 P-bass and blackface bassman amp, and sync up with the kick drum.
Click to expand...

Any P bass will do the trick. Also, most bass players that want that old time sound use a piece of foam under the strings at the bridge to help mute out the overtones. This also helps cut the note short for more definition.

Waylon Jennings bassist used a Jazz bass and played with a pick.

Treena
 
Thanks.

Did they DI a lot back then? I haven't played out of a Bassman before, but from what I understand my SuperReverb is very close to one...correct?
 
Carol Kaye played bass on a huge number of TV sounds in those days. She used a P with a miked Super Reverb amp. Might well have been her on D of H.
 
Another thing to remember about that sound was Waylon's guitar technique. He played a lot on the low E and A strings. He used either a flanger or a phaser and played a lot in the lower register.
 
Ah...tic-tac bass!!! Man, now that goes back to 60's country. What an awesome sound, like on those old Patsy Cline records. You want great outlaw 60's country you can do no better than the man in black himself, the late, great Johnny Cash. God rest his soul, that man did it first. Listen to "Ring Of Fire"...the horns, the tic-tac bass, the guitar. It's the PERFECT country record. Not like this crap today.
 
I just busted out my Cash record and listend to Ring of Fire...........is that just a Telecaster as the bass or is there a real bass guitar doing that?

Is that the foam technique?
 
it's all Luther

Luther Perkins that is ,he did th boom chicka boom sound on a jazzmaster i believe most likely thru a fender tweed amp ,from th pix i've seen that is ....get out th old cash stuff like Folsom Prison Blues ....Luther was a big influenece on me through my grandfather he gave me my first real guitar and my first lesson was Folsom Prison Blues just like Luther played it
 
Originally they didnt use drums. I have read that in the early days they would feed a piece of paper between the strings of Johnny's acoustic to get that "chicka chicka" type of sound. Luther Perkins alternated on the low E and A strings for kind of a bass sound and the bass player, Marshall Grant I think his name is, would slap the bass to keep the rhythm. Simplicity at its best but the recordings still sound awesome today.
 
The earlier Fender basses came stock with felted foam under the bridge cover and also under the pickup cover which resulted a slightly muted tone and controlled the sustain for an envelope similar to an upright bass. In the late sixties folks started taking the covers off and allowed the strings to achieve more of the sustain and harmonics of each string. I had several Fender Bridge cover ashtrays around the house for yrs. The tic-tac is done like a guitar player would do with a pick or with finger plucking, as well as slpping and muting, depending on how sharp of an attack is required. The muscle behind the thumb on the heel of the palm was used as a mute on the strings and keeps them from sustaining.
 
Toki987 said:
The muscle behind the thumb on the heel of the palm was used as a mute on the strings and keeps them from sustaining.
Click to expand...


LMAO!

So "tic-tac" bass is just a palm mute.
 
its gotta be more than a palm mute!!!





ive often wondered how they did that too.



freak
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top