Everyone in Thin Lizzy used those picks, even Phil Lynott. But the novelty of freedom at such a young age soon wore off and he called his mum, now living in Des Moines, to see if he would able to sleep on her couch and start a new life in Iowa where, while playing in death metal bands Anal Blast and Body Pit, he would eventually meet the other original members of Slipknot. Strings 1 : Rotosound Swing Bass 66 (Roundwound) Gauges 1 : 46-63-80-102. Summary is that he used Guts until around '59. The 15-minute epic that closes the Knots second album showcased a very different side to Pauls playing, more '90s rock than extreme metal in feel sharing similarities with the kind of lines heard in bands like Tool and Pearl Jam. JavaScript is disabled. What was your philosophy about shaping the tones for this album? Joey also recalls laying down the drums for All Hope Is Gones Gehenna, while Paul wrote instinctively. I just do standard exercises, you know, what do they call 'em? And that goes for the records, too!Captain Sensible, We have built up a collection of Marshall EL84 20/20 20-watt stereo power amps, which might even have warmed up Mrs. Thatchers cold heart if someone had thought of it! Captain Sensible, You can coax many different sounds out of a Rickenbacker depending on your fingering technique, what gauge pick you use, what year it is. ran an early assessment of the new tracks, describing Left Behind as "considerably more melodic than the rest of the album, providing a brief moment of respite from the outright nastiness elsewhere". After the bassist's family attempted to stage another intervention over his drug use, Gray left home on May 22, 2010, and . Ampeg was also really great to me and I can't say anything bad about them. It's worked for me So far anyway! Originally posted by volumefiend. From triumph to tragedy, here is his story. Bassist Paul, aka The Pig, aka #2, appeared in a black uniform, steadily headbanging and riffing while chaos erupted around him. He was loved around that scene.. I really like the growl Tonys got on it and it really suits the songs perfectly. The main guitar is a 1959 Les Paul Standard . Of course, when younger I may have felt slightly different. Ive used them since I discovered them back in 1976, and Ive tried all the other makes and I always go back to Rotosound. What strings did Paul McCartney use during his time in the Beatles, in particualr the strings he used on 'Come Together' Apr 26, 2001 #2 Ari Schor Mar 3, 2000 Montreal I have been told by many people that he used Pyramid Flatwounds ($!!!! With Slipknot, my bass playing is a little more laid back and subdued, like I get spots where I get to do some stuff I guess, but it's hard to kind of like We have three drummers, there's a lot of low end, you know what I mean? verdict on the 50 albums that shaped 2022. Kill. A long time ago we used to do a cover of that song 'The Humpty Dance' and I would have to tune during the song, as we're playing.". "It's a little bit of both, like on songs like 'Wait And Bleed' I'll use my fingers But then there's songs like 'Sulfur' or 'People = Shit' that have grind parts where you need the attack of a pick. "Oh yeah, of course. Shawn speculated this had a detrimental effect on his mental wellbeing. I was lucky enough to see them all play club venues, where you could really watch what their fingers were doing. You gotta find your pocket, he said. [Editors note: Thats Andrew Pinching, the Damneds drummer.] We have a tendency towards being first-takers together. What gauge is the low E string? No tricks, no pedals, no nothing. Although the band parted ways with Joey in 2013, the remaining seven musicians immortalised their grief and memories on 2015s .5: The Gray Chapter. When asked about the song which best summarised Pauls contributions to Slipknot, its interesting that Corey and Clown have singled out Vermilion as his magnum opus both admitting they were moved by the chillingly real sense of pain and struggle on the bass players original demo. I was going to donate my Epi Viola, but after putting LaBella flats on it, I liked it too much. Then I moved to Iowa and I didn't have any friends there, I didn't know anybody, and I was in this music store and I overheard this dude talking about needing a bass player. The track also been a source of inspiration for Pauls successor, Alessandro Venturella, who told this writer about filling a great mans shoes and doing him justice for a 2019 Bass magazine cover story around the release of We Are Not Your Kind. Its in the title. I went into the local music store and heard some guys talking about needing a bass player for their band, they did covers of Slayer and Metallica songs, So, not knowing anybody and wanting to meet people, I told them I could play bass even though I had never played one in my life. What Strings Did Freddie King Use? So all those prominent bass players really caught my ear and I thought it was so great, because it was such an important part of the song. Weve a few of these units and they all seem to have an unfortunate tendencyonce or twice a tour, perhapsto freeze mid-song. The Des Moines scene was thriving, as Americas corn belt misfits ploughed their frustrations into thrash, death metal and rock at clubs like the Runway. I never took lessons or anything, I was always self-taught, listening to albums and just trying to figure stuff off of that.. Rock n roll needs its rough edges. I was speechless watching him write this song. While it might seem unusual that I like Mountain and Deep Purple, considering the music Im known for playing, Captain is into the really obscure progressive rock stuff and has that in his playing. We made the tour and we were able to get out there, but by the end of it, he was so sad, there was a lot of fighting going on, remembered Shawn. Theyre really consistent. Eventually, he managed to procure a replacement. Strings 2 : Electric Bass Nickel Plated Steel with NANOWEB Coating. Lots of discussion about this all over this board. At one point, Paul drifted back to LA, but was persuaded back by Anders and Shawn. There was just something huge coming through him.. Sadly, those close to Paul knew hed been battling demons for a while. A big chunk of foam being used on this tune (1:51.) "You know what, some of my favourite basslines are the simplest ones ever. So I was like, I've moved to Iowa, I don't know anybody, so maybe I should jump in and say I play bass and try to meet some people? I looked at the sheet Id been working on and at the bottom was the chorus for Psychosocial already This song was meant to be. The breakdown after the guitar solo remains a highlight of any Slipknot live set, its members falling into a Meshuggah-esque groove as Corey screams of, The limits of the dead! Using a mixture of palm-muting, chromatics and pauses to twist and stretch the listeners ear in new and unexpected ways, it would be one of Pauls final contributions to the Knot. I used to use heavier strings, but a couple of years ago I injured my hand and I had to go down a gauge. Do you remember what your first bass guitar was? Punk rock has morphed, been bastardized, revitalized, and analyzed infinitely since becoming a defined movement in the late 70s. Aim for clarity and precision on the riffs. Largely penned by Paul and Shawn Clown Crahan before the band had formed, the song was originally titled Slipknot though the group ended up using the name for one of their first shows. Today, we celebrate the songs which epitomised his pivotal role within The Nine. "After that the first real bass I bought was an Ibanez Soundgear and I still play Ibanez now. The blueprint Paul helped draw up for Slipknot shines through its bludgeoning riffs, and even through the energy of latest album We Are Not Your Kind. Stay up to date with in depth music reviews, exclusive interviews and widespread coverage of whats happening from your favourite music genre. The bass player often partnered with ex-drummer Joey Jordison, fleshing out early anthems such as Surfacing and Spit It Out, the former including riffs hed written back in his Body Pit years. Paul himself remarked on how it was a sound you felt rather than heard, more atmospheric than melodic in nature. It allows you to throw things into the set on the flyjust call out a key and hell have a go at it. Theres a reason why the low-end on the debut album closer feels extra rumbly, even ghostly, at points. The worlds biggest and best metal magazine, Every Slipknot album ranked from worst to best, Slipknots Mate. Ive always used .009.042 gauge strings: Rotosounds if we can get hold of them. But while other members had full-on side-projects, he considered Slipknot to be his everything. #22. The same was said of his personality, Corey often describing him as the glue of the band the one member who lived and breathed Slipknot all day every day, the worlds best cheerleader to bring them together no matter what challenge or hurdle lay ahead. Paul Gray: The Man Behind the Mask. .60 mm Dunlop Tortex. What strings did Paul Gray use? It was always the singer or the guitarist that got the glory, so I liked the slightly subversive nature of those bass players. As the date drew near, it was clear Shawn was ready to go all out. "It depends on what I'm doing. The Nova is great, combining analog distortions with digital delays and reverbsand despite being a bit long in the tooth these days, theres not a lot of similar alternatives. Whats the writing process in the band today?Sensible: We write as individuals, then throw our stuff into the Damned pot and see what it sounds like. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, It wasnt a million miles away from the sound John Entwistle got on Live at Leeds. Its got a really nice punch. The bass player always looked the coolest in the band! Bath "I started with Ampeg but now I'm with Peavey. I try not to step on anybodys toes but try not to get lost either. Jun 1, 2002. Cliff Burton was awesome and since we were doing Metallica covers, I really had to sit down and learn Cliff's parts because he was all over the place. We had no rehearsals for the recording sessions, as we all live in different places now, and I had only heard the songs three days before, so we were in the deep end. Captain Sensible: In the late 60s, this amazing bunch of blues guitarists appeared on the U.K. scene at the same time I started going to gigs: Paul Kossoff, Tony Iommi, Ritchie Blackmore, Mick Abrahams, Peter Green, Jimmy Page. Some of Pauls favourite stuff was the crazy shit, yknow? Corey told us in 2014. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, I had to get a real guitar and do it. Doing that actually made me fall in love with bass guitar and thats why I became a bass player., Paul was my biggest influence when he came into the band, recalled Anders Colsefni, Vexxs drummer. Fans held t-shirts aloft, while Shawn and Corey stood at the back of the stage, arms around each others shoulders, faces crumpled with emotion. Which is a hard thing to do with nine people in the band!". I used to use those gray Hercos for years, even in Thin Lizzy. I always watch other bass players no matter what kind of band they're in, how long they've been playing for or if they're any good, because you can always learn something from someone else to add to your technique and make you play better. Surprise! Perfection is overrated! Eddie Van Halen. The K! I try to avoid soloing for its own sake and you have to judge when its run its course and its best to get out for something else to take over, or risk boring the listener for ones own ego gratification. Pure Ric-into-Ampeg glory. The studio has an excellent Fender Stratocaster that Captain used on at least three songs, for arpeggio things or anything that we needed a clearer sound on beyond the overdriven Gibson sound hes known for. (Image credit: John McMurtrie) "Yesterday we lost our brother, and the world seems a little smaller because of it," began Corey Taylor. 1980 Rickenbacker 4001 . While the Damned are fronted by a crooning vampire-poet of a man in Dave Vanian, much of the groups sweeping sonic vision has hinged upon the guitar work, songcraft, and imagination of founding member Captain Sensible (born Raymond Burns). Basses When we started the band I felt it, right when we started it, and it still feels the same. There is no definitive answer to this question as Paul McCartney has been known to use a variety of different strings on his Hofner bass over the years. Being back in New York brought that whole Damned relationship back to all of us, honestly. Captains songs are Gods gift because theyre so melodic. Songs with JANGLE, let's display those electric 12 strings. I use real thin gauges: .040.090. I imagine you must use Rotosound strings, based on your influences and the tones youve gone for over the years? The Johnson Viola is from the same plant as the Epi, even having the same control plate and pups. Stretching-wise, I started off on guitar so my stretching is kinda good for playing and noodling, but on bass if you can actually stretch from the 1st fret to the 5th fret then you have got some freaking long fingers - I can barely do that! "I was listening in on their conversation, eavesdropping, they were talking about doing covers of Slayer and Metallica - all these songs that I knew how to play on guitar. When I moved to Iowa, I didnt have any friends or know anybody. They gave me a full deal and they treated me really good, which was great because we had no money at that time and I couldn't afford anything. Ross Robinson, producer of the first two records, told NME: As a musician, he brought absolute integrity. in July 2008. Also my fingers aren't that fast, I can get to a decent speed but I'm not freaking Billy Sheehan.". Just seeing them up there with the red lights and smoke it was all evil. He wrote the kind of music with Joey that made me want to put my face through glass, he said. But also, Ive never known trust like the nine.. I like a bit of everything, drawing your attentionhopefully not unwiselyto the fact that I had the first rap hit by a white artist with 1981s Wot! Please dont forget the exclamation mark by the way. I'm able to leave gear at home, and that was the same with Ibanez. Ibanez and Peavey have somebody everywhere.". Duality (Vol. Permutations! They thought it was cool thats how I got playing bass.. Has there ever been something that was just too far out for the Damned? Gary Moore preferred Dean Markley Electric Guitar strings he used .010 set (2504B) or a .009 set (2508). Its a real players bass and has obviously been played and loved for over 40 years and it really feels like it! These guitars come to Paul with pickups and volume and tone controls already installed. But more importantly than anything else, Paul Grays songs and performances have resonated louder and prouder with each and every passing year. I didn't think they would, but they called me up and said, 'Here you go!'". Sensible: Tony and engineer Kevin Killen thought the material had a 60s garage vibe, so sought out less-saturated distortions, mainly from the studio Vox AC30 and an excellent Matrix VB800 amp that Id packed in my suitcase, which certainly packs a punch despite being on the dainty side. The fact that Ament was using an 12-string bass helps to explain the instrument's presence on the track, although you won't hear the extra strings ringing out individually - they simply add to the overall tone. After the set, the band huddled around Pauls jumpsuit, mask and bass as Til We Die poured out of the PA. My friends are all hurting, came Jims line. As well as his work in Slipknot, he also filled in on bass for desert rockers Unida fronted by Kyuss singer John Garcia and other projects like Drop Dead, Gorgeous and Reggie And The Full Effect. Im not just playing for Clown; Im playing for him, for his wife and daughter, his legacy, his love for the band, his love for music.. Other guitars at the studio were a StratI never got on with them as the volume knob is too close to bridge; a Rickenbacker 12-string, which I found to be lovely; and the studio acoustic, which had an almost unplayably high action. The only way I can sum up Paul Gray is love. Freddie used .010, .011, and .012 on his top strings and light to medium strings on the bass (wound) strings. "Finger stretches? England and Wales company registration number 2008885. But everything needs some editing, and to pare it down to what you finally hear, we had to make a lot of choices. Did he have any interesting methods for capturing the powerful guitar sound on Evil Spirits? Any doubts over Slipknot sustaining the brain-melting brutality of their debut were answered in a vicious storm of blastbeats and tremolo-picked guitars that felt even angrier and more possessed than before. Gray has been in and out of the bandmostly outsince 1984.Photo by Tony Woolliscroft. It makes pedals sound great, so my live setup, which was formerly my travel rig, but sounded so good it became the main one, is a Dunlop wah into the TC Nova System through a Marshall EL84 20/20 and a Marshall 4x12. There was a band in our town that had a great bass player called Mark and he could play jazz and funk, so I sat down with him about five or six times and learned a lot of techniques. This was thanks in no small part to his abilities. Bands rose and fall, members came and went. I was on my way to being like Andy Warhol or something!, Over the years, Pauls $1.75 pig mask morphed into a Hannibal Lecter-style serial killer face. Dunlop wah What was the first bassline you ever tried to play? Given an exclusive listen to the second full-length in the months ahead of release, Kerrang! Corey called him their secret weapon. Prior to joining Metal Hammer, El spent three years as Production Editor at Kerrang! He wrote that whole song, and there was such an essence about it that was so odd; the way his eyes were looking at his guitar, and the way he was writing it when we were playing together, it was almost scary, he told Revolver in 2010. The Damned play their unofficial anthem, Smash It Up, from 1979s Machine Gun Etiquette, at BBC Radio 6s annual Christmas Punk Party. It's definitely a different thing compared to if I was playing in a punk band with only one guitar player and I could fucking, y'know, noodle around and do lots of stuff. Through gigging, they met future members of Slipknot: Shawn Crahan in Heads On The Wall, Jim Root in Atomic Opera, Joey Jordison in Modifidious. Although not as light as some other guys on this . Actually, none that I can think of. While their 1999 self-titled debut would prove to be a landmark, 2001s Iowa earned them a No.1 in the UK, while 2004s Vol. Yaamaha even produced a replica of Pauls guitar , the FJ681 "Paul Simon . Surfacing is a perfect example because its so unhinged, but after the crazy bridge section it breaks down so hardcore that it grooves! Paul Dedrick Gray Born April 8, 1972 Died May 24, 2010 Country United States IPI 00344172381 21 works Affiliation ASCAP Member of Slipknot Bass (1995-2010) Meta. I think it was made in February, which was just a month or two after they stopped doing the toaster pickups. It couldve also been our disgraceful behavior, but who really knows? And what about tunings, do you experiment when you're writing? Paul Dedrick Gray was born in LA on April 8, 1972. The world would never be the same. We spend a lot of time thinking about Paul, Shawn told us in 2018. You can coax many different sounds out of a Rickenbacker depending on your fingering technique, what gauge pick you use, what year it is. Total Guitar has not edited this interview, deciding instead to leave as . And yes, listen to any isolated Beatles-era bass track and it's pretty obvious that flat wounds are part of the equation. The first 5 strings often stayed the same string gauge throughout his career. Listened to 4 Beatles LPs (yes; these black huge 33 1/3 things) the last days. Despite being less overtly punk than the typical Damned record, I managed to squeeze the odd solo in here and there. As Paul got to know his new instrument, he developed a strong attachment. To make it worth your while, you must consider how much sugar was added to their . They also sound totally different. Captain is the primo guitarist in my book.We both share a love of pop songs. Barely a year before, they had played their career-best show as first-time headliners at Download. Although fans knew Paul as part of the nine, he had a low public profile, rarely speaking to the media. There was one problem: hed never played bass. two very different bands. I became slightly obsessed with the solos on Strange Town and the way the excitement builds in them, carrying the listener away on a tidal wave of excitement. Sprayed sparks all over the place. as for basses, I think Paul generally used flats on his Hofner and Rick, not sure about the Jazz bass he may have used later on (and no idea about the Fender 6 stringer that John and George sometimes used) tjmicsak Member Messages 5,690 Mar 24, 2010 #4 You can hear them on the older stuff. I was cutting myself with a razor, bleeding all over the place. Which isnt the end of the world, of course, but there seems to be no fix, according to chatter on gear forums anyway. Gray: I used the 1980 Ric that I used on TheBlack Album, but the one that ended up on most of the tracks was my very early 74. One has a clanky sound and one has much more growl. 19 years ago Wow, I'm getting old! Genre politics and hyperbole aside, the Damned have always been the musicians band among the classic punks, and the group has always operated with a policy of lawlessness when it comes to the music they make. Whats your dual playing relationship like? Sensible: Theres something about the Gibson SG 60s Tribute. Search Ray Brown for details. Gauges . It was hard to comprehend. How did you and Tony Visconti record the bass tones for the album? Heavy gauge picks. His playing was informed by his early devotion to thrash, and that conversion to the bass. "I have to find my place in Slipknot and stay away from just following the guitars, so I play along with what the drums are doing. Added by Bastien. Clapton used these strings in the early days, around the Cream era. I'm . Marshall EL84 20/20 stereo power amps, Effects Gray: We turned everything up full! Take the song 'Scissors', from the first album, where I'm tuned to an octave below A. You dont often get that, and I struggle to think of any other guitarist that Ive worked with that Ive had that relationship with. Theyre just magnificent!Paul Gray, Clairvoyant Chemistry: The Damneds Captain Sensible and Paul Gray, A Guide to Essential Effects Plugins for Your Home Studio, ESP Announces LTD Kirk Hammett Signature Series KH-V, Epiphone Introduces the 1958 Korina Flying V and Explorer, Building a Pro-Level Home-Studio Mic Closet, DAngelico Guitars Introduces Deluxe Eric Krasno Brighton Signature Model. I remember when I set up a photoshoot, that was a bad day. Heres how it works. This is the strings in Paul Simon's Guild F-30. Unsurprisingly, Evil Spirits sounds very much like a continuation of the sonic tack the group were on at that point in their career. Mar 3, 2003 #9. 1990s Vox 4x10 cab The quiet lay heavy in the air, and seemed to stretch for miles. Thanks! "I think I started playing bass in 1990, which is what? Jim and I would be writing, and wed get close to some stuff and be like, What would Paul do? We try to utilise that all the time. Im curious where all of the blues and lead stuff comes from. Eventide H9, Strings and Picks I made Paul punch in a lot, but a lot of it comes with modifying parts and changing things to be something a little different without changing their overall feel or what theyre trying to say as players. Its cheaper, too, and once youve smoothed the frets and boshed on a scratchplate, youve got yourself a cracking guitar for what it costs. And how about you, personally? The great thing about those basses is that theyre so individual to how you want them to sound. I introduced him to the wonderful world of Eventide, and we used the H9 a lot. The 1980s were yet another decade that brought massive changes in music. What kind of tips can you give us for improving finger stretches when playing bass guitar? It may not display this or other websites correctly. Stevie Ray Vaughan String Gauge Table. We had confidence in each other that it would work, and we hadnt played together [in the studio] for nearly 22 years! The guy I got it from says that it was a factory custom that had been requested to have the toaster pickup put on it. I was just, I gotta get a real guitar and actually do it. Seeing them up there and the red lights and the smoke and it was all evil, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. HiddenCharms said: I don't know if this is true, but I remember reading that Duane Allman and Jimi Hendrix used Fender Rock'n'Roll Strings guaged 10-38. He will never be forgotten. Now42 years since they became the first of the British punk groups to put out a single, with 1976s New Rose, beating the Sex Pistols by a month, and 10 years since their last studio album, So, Whos Paranoid?the Damned have returned with Evil Spirits, an album that bristles with the vitality, immediacy, and irrepressible creativity thats earned them the distinction of being one of the most important punk bands of all time. A subscription makes a thoughtful gift for both family and friends. I knew the guitar lines and could have jammed those, but the bass parts were totally different and I was like, Fuck! I had to go back and listen to them. The Damneds dynamic duo, Captain Sensible and Paul Gray, played together in the studio for the first time in 22 years while recording the bands new album. Sensible: Unlike some punk bassists who could only play by numbers, with the potential song disintegration if they lost their way, Paul can really busk it up! http://www.bassstringsonline.com/Hofner-Beatle-Bass-Strings_c_101.html, First New Bass Day in decades for me: Yamaha BB350F, Fun with a Squier Bass VI and a AB165 1968 Bassman setup -.
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