crumble
Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 3158
Guildford England
|
Posted on Dec 22 2012 09:09 AM
I've been fascinated with the Fender Rhodes Bass Piano since becoming a Doors fan but i don't think i've ever been within a mile of one in real life. Are they a good substitute for real bass guitar, fun to use or have a charm of their own. Do surf bands used them ever.
Part of the reason i ask is because i like to use the midi piano roll/grid editor to work out bass notes in Cubase LE AI. The bass sounds for this price range DAW are not great and i was wondering if a the low end of a Rhodes VST plugin might sound better.
But i digress, i'm curious about the real life item.
|
psychonaut
Joined: Dec 08, 2007
Posts: 1305
|
Posted on Dec 22 2012 09:21 AM
They're basically the bass note section from a Rhoades piano.
Any good Doors live recording and you can really hear what they sound like.
Not quite like a bass guitar but nowhere near as bad sounding as a midi device. The real fly in the ointment is the price of these is astronomical. The closest use of one for anything even resembling surf I can think of, would be the B52's in the early days.
— https://www.facebook.com/coffindagger
http://coffindaggers.com/
http://thecoffindaggers.bandcamp.com
Last edited: Dec 22, 2012 09:22:30
|
crumble
Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 3158
Guildford England
|
Posted on Dec 22 2012 06:08 PM
I listened to the Doors live on youtube. It sounds a bit ploddy but at least i can hear it and it has a kind of naturalness about it.
Thanks
|
Noel
Joined: Mar 15, 2011
Posts: 8528
Back in Piitsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I grew up.
|
Posted on Dec 22 2012 06:11 PM
My guitar store, the one that got me my Jaguar and Music Man amp, has a Fender Rhodes speaker cab. In case anyone's interested. Still has the original speakers.
— This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.
|
JakeDobner
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
|
Posted on Dec 22 2012 09:59 PM
crumble wrote:
I've been fascinated with the Fender Rhodes Bass Piano since becoming a Doors fan but i don't think i've ever been within a mile of one in real life. Are they a good substitute for real bass guitar, fun to use or have a charm of their own. Do surf bands used them ever.
Part of the reason i ask is because i like to use the midi piano roll/grid editor to work out bass notes in Cubase LE AI. The bass sounds for this price range DAW are not great and i was wondering if a the low end of a Rhodes VST plugin might sound better.
But i digress, i'm curious about the real life item.
Using a Rhodes bass, Moog, or other substitues can be amazing. A lot of stuff I like is on bass keyboards. You can get stuff that you would never think of with a bass guitar.
|
bamboozer
Joined: Jan 18, 2010
Posts: 672
Delaware
|
Posted on Dec 23 2012 02:50 PM
Sorry, total yuck, action stinks and the sound is muddy. I'm surprised Ray Manzerek didn't get tendonitis with a side of arthritis from playing one all night. Sparkle top or not. Keyboard bass? Sure, I'll take a Steinway.
|
CrispyGoodness
Joined: Apr 06, 2009
Posts: 565
North Cackalacky
|
Posted on Dec 24 2012 11:18 AM
Sorry, total yuck, action stinks and the sound is muddy.
Little known fact: The action on Rhodes pianos is adjustable; it's a complicated process that involves re-attaching and shortening/replacing the elastic-like bands that move the little rubber hammers. The bands tend to stretch a bit with age. Most people don't bother with this (save Chick Corea), so the average well-used Rhodes has an uber-heavy novacaine-action keyboard we've all grown to loathe. Also, Rhodes when new--since the bands haven't stretched much--actually had action that was fairly lively and easy on the hands. Ray Manzerek may have never known how numb the action could get on his Piano bass during his Doors days, since he usually got himself a new one at least once a year, or whenever his combo organ conked out. (which could be pretty often, alas...)
Rhodes basses are okay; properly dialed in, they can make that tubby, dull sounding Gibson EB--type sound that shows up on a lot of 1960's recordings. The trick nowadays is finding something you can put one of them on, if you don't have the stand; them little beasts are heavy, and have a large footprint that just doesn't work with most modern keyboards.
The best keyboard bass work I've heard recently comes from Adam Scone of the Sugarman 3. Adam uses one of them Korg BX-3 drawbar synths from about a decade ago (there was also a Korg by the same name back in the late 70's, too). Thanks to the Korg's stereo splits, he runs the upper keyboard through a rotating speaker (Hammond style), but runs the lower keyboard dry, straight into a keyboard or bass amp. He then pulls out one drawbar--a 16 or 8--and plays bass riffs on the booger with his left hand while the does more organ-like stuff with his right. Between the separate amps, the Korg's Hammond-esque percussive sound on the lower notes, and Adam's naturally funky playing, You'd never know there wasn't a bass player on stage; With a full band going, it sounds uncannily like an old 60's bass with flatwounds.
--crispy
|
so1om
Joined: May 10, 2012
Posts: 492
|
Posted on Dec 29 2012 09:44 PM
Nice, Crispy.
I have a 73 in the avocado student version. Sounds amazing.. and yes.. Just like The Doors.
|
crumble
Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 3158
Guildford England
|
Posted on Dec 30 2012 05:35 AM
JakeDobner wrote:
Using a Rhodes bass, Moog, or other substitues can be amazing. A lot of stuff I like is on bass keyboards. You can get stuff that you would never think of with a bass guitar.
Point taken. I watched The Doors: The story of L.A. Woman over the weekend. Ray Manzarek tells a short story of using Jerry Scheff who was Elvis Presley's Bass player. When he heard Riders of the Storm he said Man, that's impossible! (on bass guitar) Ray said, well it's so easy to play on the keyboard it has to stay.
Last edited: Dec 30, 2012 05:49:13
|
May Birthdays 
