One of my favorite things to do is to record covers of great bass tunes. There is something really interesting about digging into what each bassist did on the original track and then trying to understand and replicate it.
Here are a selection of some recent cover videos:
Right Through You – Alanis Morissette
For this video I decided to bring out my other Sadowsky PJ4, since I haven’t done a video with this one yet! The sound is Alanis Morissette’s ‘Right Through You’, which is an awesome song, but for this video I used the 1995 live version from Subterranea, London. This version features Chris Chaney on Bass and Taylor Hawkins on drums – a powerhouse rhythm section which takes this song to the next level! I love the way Chris incorporates chordal harmony to create a mega tasteful bassline! Hope you enjoy it too!
The bass is a NYC Sadowsky PJ4 in Olympic White. The Bass is running through an Origin Effects Cali 76 bass compressor into a Noble bass preamp then DI to Logic.
Hourglass – Squeeze
I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to do a video with what is probably my #1 gigging bass – the awesome Sadowsky NYC PJ 4 in Burgundy Mist with a lovely Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard!
This cover is a super cool song that I learned for a recent jam and in doing so noticed that there were no truly accurate covers of on YouTube! The song is Hourglass by Squeeze and it features some really cool lines – especially the arpeggiated pre-chorus! I am tuned to drop D for this one and the Sadowsky is being run through an Origin Effects Cali76 and a Noble Bass Preamp into logic, where I stem split the original track to remove the bass.
Would I Lie To You – Charles & Eddie
I thought I would bring out some of my lesser played basses to do some videos – so here is a particularly lovely Lakland 55-94 which I am using to play Charles and Eddie’s awesome ‘Would I Lie To You’! This line was so fun to play – I hope you enjoy it too!
Gear: Lakland USA 55-94, Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Bass Compressor, Noble Bass Preamp
Step Into Christmas – Elton John
Here is the Christmas Special nobody asked for! I have heard many contenders for the title of ‘Best Bassline in a Christmas Song’, but to me there is no contest! Yes, Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses is awesome, but to my ears nothing beats Dee Murray’s amazing playing on Elton John’s ‘Step into Christmas. So here is my attempt at that very tune – I stayed true to Dee’s original line through the end of the first chorus, but then the rest is just my interpretation. Honestly, the way Dee plays on this, I don’t think a note for note cover is doing anyone any favors anyway – he is clearly playing in the moment, so I did the same. The bass in the video is my trusty Pre-CBS 1964 Candy Apple Red Fender Jazz Bass – played into an Origin Effects Cali76 Compressor and a Noble Bass Preamp.
Broken Horses – Brandi Carlile
For my latest in the ‘Bass Covers on Vintage Basses’ series, I pulled out a bass that I just took in as a trade recently – a super cool black 1977 Fender Telecaster Bass!
The track is ‘Broken Horses’ by Brandi Carlile – which is a track I really love, and was incredibly fun to learn! The bass is strung with Labella White Nylon Tapewounds and I put some foam under the bridge for a nice old school tone!
The signal chain is an Origin Effects Cali 76 Compact Bass Compressor into a Noble Bass Preamp.
Torn – Natalie Imbruglia
This tune has been a staple of ,my band’s set for years – so I figured it would be a good opportunity to showcase the 1964 Precision Bass laying down some fat studio-quality tones.
The bass is being run through an Origin Effects Cali 76 Compact Bass Compressor and the Noble DI into Logic.
Get Him Back – Olivia Rodrigo
Here is a bass cover of Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Get Him Back’ using my all original 1968 Fender Jazz Bass.
I tried to get the tone as close as possible to the original using my 3 Leaf Audio Octabvre and Doom 2 pedals – I think it’s pretty close!
The rest of the signal chain is an Origin Effects Cali 76 Compact Bass and a Noble DI. Strings are Thomastik Infeld Jazz Flats!