80's Bass Sound

[timb123]

What gear do I need to achieve the bass sound that was popular in the 80's with post-punk groups such as Public Image Ltd., Joy Division, Gang of Four and others? The sound is especially present on the track "Disorder" by Joy Division (and well, the rest of the album for that matter). If I had to describe it in words I would say that lower notes have sort of a chugging quality, and the low notes break up in a really nice way.

I've only played on solid state amps--is this just what a tubed bass amp sounds like?

[Witek]

http://www.bosscorp.co.jp/products/com/SYB-5/images/top_M.jpg
Either the boss bass synth or a keyboard. That pretty much sums up the 80's bass scene.

[BeauZooka]

Early in Joy Division, Peter Hook used a Rick 4001 copy by Hondo, which he hated. I don't know what amps he was using but probably not tube amps. Alot of his sound was just from playing with a pick high up on the neck. A real 4001 might get you close.

[BeauZooka]

I found out that he did use a tube amp in JD. A HiWatt: Custom HiWatt 100 Bass model, with 2x18" VOX speaker cabinet.
He was also partial to a Electro-Harmonix Clone Theory pedal.

[Ishouldbeking]

There are a lot of things that'll take you into that tonal range... Peter Hook is mainly known for playing a fairly rare Yamaha bass, that doesn't look very impressive, though he swore by it (forget the model, can be found with an easy google though). He also used the heaviest gauge strings he could for increased tone and resonance when playing the high strings, though I don't think that's entirely necessary. A lot of what people consider his "sound" also comes from playing a Shergold Marathon 6 string bass, which calls to mind some of what Robert Smith would later do with a Fender Bass VI on albums such as Disintegration. For a chorus, Peter Hook used an Electro Harmonix Clone Theory, which has actually just been reissued. Not sure about Peter Hook's amps.

Personally I've spent some time playing around with that sound and have discovered that most of the better Gallien Krueger amps can definitely get into that range (I play a Stingray thru a 2001RB). Steve Severin (from Siouxsie) used a stingray frequently with Rotosound stainless strings, and that's a decent way to get a trebly post-punk sound too. A good friend of mine has a fantastic sound that he gets by running a Fender USA P-bass thru a Fulltone ChoralFlange into a regular old Ampeg SVT and an 8x10. Pretty simple, but effective, and his band uses it as the driving force of all their songs whether they be PIL or Gang of Four style dancy tracks or early-Christian Death type goth and noise rockers... Sometimes the basics are all ya need.

There are a lot of ways to get that sound... I happen to like the stingray thru a GK. But more than any one piece of gear I think a careful eye on the EQ can get you there. And if your amp doesn't have a great EQ you could simply get an EQ pedal. All of this is entirely IMHO, of course.

[timb123]

Thanks for the suggestions. I wish I had the resources to try all these things. Going to start with the rotosounds though--I've heard good things about those from other people too.

[The Golden Boy]

Bass-> Chorus-> SS Amp.

[trpullen]

Use a pick!!!

[Bassomatic]

http://www.bosscorp.co.jp/products/com/SYB-5/images/top_M.jpg
Either the boss bass synth or a keyboard. That pretty much sums up the 80's bass scene.

Gotta wonder if I lived thru the decade your referring to. PiL and Go4 had little use for bass synths.

[MykeWright]

There are a lot of things that'll take you into that tonal range... Peter Hook is mainly known for playing a fairly rare Yamaha bass, that doesn't look very impressive, though he swore by it (forget the model, can be found with an easy google though). He also used the heaviest gauge strings he could for increased tone and resonance when playing the high strings, though I don't think that's entirely necessary. A lot of what people consider his "sound" also comes from playing a Shergold Marathon 6 string bass, which calls to mind some of what Robert Smith would later do with a Fender Bass VI on albums such as Disintegration. For a chorus, Peter Hook used an Electro Harmonix Clone Theory, which has actually just been reissued. Not sure about Peter Hook's amps.For a while, Hooky used Dynacord amps, which were also used by Phil Lynott for a while. A friend of mine has one of Hooky's old ones, which I believe is a 1x15 combo with at least a 150w power section - might be more. I have a very old copy of International Musician where they reviewed it shortly after it was released. Must be mid '80s at the latest.

[rodl2005]

Too right re the bass synth-that was more later OR funk/disco 80's - prince Charles & city beat Band, Parliament etc... Gang of 4/Joy Div, Birthday party, Wire, PiL etc... as stated - & AFAIK most were recorded direct into the desk on studio albums- sometimes GK , Ampeg or Trace were used again AFAIK. oFTEN SIMPLY TUBE GUITAR HEADS whoops- like Fender Bandmaster , In OZ Eminar, Marshall Bass amps etc.... All IIRC etc. OMG!!!!