voiceofbass – Orange Amps

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That’s a great bass record!

It’s the Voice of Bass this month at Orange and I have been asked to recommend some albums that celebrate some of the best rumbling bass lines known to the music industry. I have decided to pick albums because at heart I am a hipster who listens to vinyl and I also struggle to pick one song from an album. In this list I have picked some classic songs but I have also tried to steer clear of the really obvious ones such as “Another one bites dust” has i’m afraid been left out, anyway let’s go!

Stone Roses – Stone Roses

For me you cannot have list about bass without Manny being involved, i’ve chosen to showcase his work in the Stone Roses (easily could have picked ‘Screamadelica’) and the band’s debut album. The opening song ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ starts with a cacophony of sounds, then the rumbling bass tone comes in and brings in the rest of the band. I could have picked any of the songs on this great album, from the bass line that opens ‘She Bangs the Drums’ all the way through to the bass riff that is the main groove of the albums eight minute finale ‘I Am the Resurrection’. What impresses me so much is the groove that goes through all of Manny’s playing and how he is always locked in with Reni. They are one of the best rhythm sections I have ever seen live.

Paul Simon – Graceland

I made a promise to myself that I would not have slap bass in any of these selections and already I have broken my rule (I also think there is another one later as well). But in my defence, this is here because of the musicianship that occurs across the album and the standout part is the bass playing, closely followed by the drumming! I had to choose as the example ‘You Can Call Me Al’ mainly because of the bass solo that occurs at 3.44, yes I know it is a slap bass solo but sometimes, just sometimes they can be done well. Throughout the album the bass is the key component in the songwriting, especially on ‘The Boy in the Bubble’ and ‘Graceland’ it takes centre stage with carefully considered slides and beats in the bass line that propel the songs forward.

Lou Reed – Transformer

Lou Reed’s ‘Transformer’ is a great record for many different reasons, the iconic bass line that makes up it’s most famous track ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ is one of the main reasons. The iconic sound was created by interlocking bass lines played on a double bass and then overlaying a bass guitar line over the top. Herbie Flowers who played bass on the track came up with the idea so he was able to charge double for his work on the track! Herbie played bass across many of the tracks except for “Perfect Day”, “Goodnight Ladies”, “Satellite of Love” and “Make Up” which Klaus Voorman played on. If you haven’t checked this album out (one where have you been?) I recommend it very highly.

Alexisonfire – Old Crows/Young Cardinals

Described by the band as being “f**king heavy” Alexisonfire’s final album before their hiatus opens with the grizzled bass tone of “Old Crows.” The album is full of great moments of bass playing with Chris Steele locking in with drummer Jordan Hastings through out. I picked this track mainly because of the tone that starts the track off, another highlight on the album is the locked in groove of “The Northern.” This slightly slower paced track sits in the middle of the album and has a classic bass tone and groove.

Rage Against The Machine – Rage Against The Machine.

It couldn’t be a list without Rage Against the Machine! But you can’t have a bass list without Timmy C from Rage Against the Machine. This album has so many high points for a 4 string player it’s a masterclass in different techniques. From the start of “Bombtrack” with the staccato finger playing to the slap bass from “Take The Power Back” (sorry about more slap bass.) This album should be taught to every bass player! I chose “Know Your Enemy” because the bass line has such a groove and swagger in the intro and then it just switches back on itself into a walking bass line for the verse with such ease. The album is full of musicianship like this, from start to finish not only is it a great record but exceptional bass record.

fin.

So i’ve missed out a lot of other great records for bass, I know but I made a decision to only choose five so you guys could comment and let me know more. Maybe you found some records that had passed you by and this makes you check them out. Leave in the comments your recommendations and I will check them out!

by Orange Amps

Interviews

Our Interview with Johnny from The Twilight Sad

My name is Johnny and I play bass in the ‘Twilight Sad’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38V41KJqu_k

I’d been searching for a bass amp, that I’ve really loved for years and years and when I first got hold of the AD200 which was probably about eight years ago or so, that was the first time I had heard an amp and thought “That’s the amp!”

So my bass rig just now is a 2X15 bass cab, with two celestions in it and then the AD200. But I have the OB1-500 just as a backup just now, in America I use two OB1-500’s one’s the main and ones the back up. But I’m thinking of experimenting slightly in using one for my main tone and using the other to switch on for my boost sections.

When I saw Orange were starting to do pedals, I absolutely love pedals! I was like I need to get these and try these immediately because I know they are going to be built like tanks and they are going to be pure. There is like no messing about they are going to do what they are supposed to do. So when I had the Two Stroke it immediately made the Rusty Box redundant. The Orange Two Stroke which I keep on all the time, it just gets the whole tone and crisps everything up and makes everything a lot brighter, everything comes through a lot better.

The first thing I would do to say to any bass player was, if you are looking for a bass amp, go Orange immediately! If you are using anything else right now, probably get rid of it and go Orange because it sounds amazing. It’s just the classic bass tone, I won’t go anywhere else now, that’s what I need thats what I want, its solid, it’s never let me down.

by Orange Amps

Articles, Orange Embassy

Orange Bass Ambassadors (and how we snagged their endorsements)

A lot of people ask me what kind of work goes into acquiring new sponsorships from guitarists. They assume that I have to be very proactive in order to nail down endorsements. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Most of the time I have the pleasure of being reactive to endorsement requests. I rely on a network of managers, touring crew members, and even guitarists who introduce me to other guitarists. Sometimes it’s just a complete coincidence.

Here are four examples of how Artist Relations is all about who you know and timing.

Glenn Hughes

Glenn Hughes is one of the last true rock stars left on the planet. He oozes confidence and screams, “look at me!” It was at NAMM about 6 years ago when I first met him. Our Managing Director at the time saw Glenn walking the aisle and begged him to come into our demo room to test out some amps. Glenn came in to the room, plugged into the AD200B, started playing, stopped, put the bass back on the wall, and then looked at all of us and said “that’s the tone I’ve been trying to find for 40 years.” His mouth was literally agape.

Ever since then Glenn has been one of Orange’s biggest cheerleaders. If you’ve ever seen him live you understand why. His current rig consists of the AD200B, OBC810 and OBC115 cabs.

Geddy Lee

You’d think getting Geddy Lee on board would be a huge undertaking. He is, after all, arguably the most important bass player of an entire generation. When he gives his endorsement of a product you’re basically guaranteed an increase in sales. This was true for us as well. Within a year of putting out the infamous “Geddy sitting on his amp” picture we saw a nearly 75% uptick in bass profits.

However, it wasn’t hard to get Geddy to endorse the AD200B and OBC410 cab. In fact, believe it or not, Slipknot ended up doing all of the work. When Rush was in the studio writing 2012’s ‘Clockwork Angels’ they happened to be recording next to Slipknot. Geddy heard Paul Gray through the wall and sent his tech over to find out which amp he was using. Paul didn’t even endorse our products at the time. I had simply sent some extra gear up to Nashville for the band to try out. Within the hour I was on the phone with Geddy’s tech, Skully, coordinating the logistics of getting Geddy his new bass gear.

Even though Orange made up about 1/3 of Geddy’s stage tone (we were the overdriven, high gain portion) it was an endorsement that put us on the radar of a completely new demographic, and one that solidified our presence in the bass market.

Steve Harris

Iron Maiden ‘Beyond Flight 666’ by John McMurtrie

Orange’s Technical Director, Ade Emsley, is an Iron Maiden super-fan. I’m not sure exactly how, but through some connection he maintained with the band’s management he was able to secure the opportunity to remaster Iron Maiden’s entire discography for release on iTunes. Yep, he’s not just an amp wizard; he can also master the shit out of a record.

Knowing that Steve Harris was looking to change things up with regards to his stage gear, Ade set out to design an amp based on Steve’s needs. The result was the (now discontinued) 4 Stroke 300, our first ever rackmountable bass amp featuring a 4 band parametric EQ. Steve loved it and has used it ever since for both Maiden and British Lion touring.

I’ll never forget when I was in London visiting our HQ and Cliff Cooper, Orange’s Founder and CEO, took me aside to let me know that Steve’s tech would be coming to the office shortly. Cliff had just returned from one of his many warehouses with four vintage Orange speaker cabinets that he had been hoarding away since the 70’s. They were brand new, in the box, never opened front-loaded 412 cabs with the original Eminence speakers in them. If I had to blindly assign a value to them I’d guess somewhere in the range of $8000. These were the only cabinets that Steve wanted and Cliff didn’t give it a second thought.

John McVie

Some of the best endorsements I’ve ever secured have been through tour managers, production crew, and guitar techs. John McVie is no exception. A few years ago Drew Foppe, one of the best techs on the road today, sent me an email explaining that John was interested in learning more about Orange. See, back in the 70’s, John was actually friends with Orange’s owner, Cliff Cooper. Over the years, they’d grown apart though. Now was my chance to rekindle their relationship.

I flew out to Los Angeles because Fleetwood Mac was playing The Forum in Inglewood. I’d get only about 20 minutes with John during soundcheck, so I went ahead and sent out multiple bass amps and speaker cabs to ensure no stone was left unturned. When I arrived, I was ushered into the venue and told to wait by a small tent that had been erected side stage. John came out and introduced himself, then took me into the tent, which I soon realized was set up purely for John to smoke cigarettes before and during the band’s set. There were two little chairs, some art on the walls (marine aesthetic), and a vintage floor ashtray. In that tent we discussed Orange and how he was trying to move back to LA from Hawaii “because general contractors on the islands never do a good job the first time.” Considering any building in LA is strictly no smoking, I thought it was an extremely “rock star move” that he was allowed to do so without any restrictions.

Afterwards we went up on stage and John tested out the AD200B. It wasn’t for him though, so we moved on to the Terror Bass. When he plugged that amp in the tone hit him like a lightning bolt. He immediately requested four of them to pair with multiple OBC410 and OBC115 cabs and the rest is history.

I do want to mention something I found interesting though: Mick Fleetwood has heaters blowing air at him while he’s playing live. Yes, you read that correctly. Mick Fleetwood, despite playing a nearly three hour set, was so cold on stage that he needed hot air blowing on him. It’s something I just can’t get over.

by alex