Information request: Reggae Guitar and Guitar amp models 60s 70s (basses too!)

[ACEtone]

Hello all.
If any of you are musicians or just curious or obsessive about this stuff as I am I'd like your input on this subject.

I record reggae/dub and while not trying to replicate the sounds and styles of the great session men of the 60s and 70s I often find myself reaching for a certain guitar or bass sound and can't quite get it.

If any of you have detailed information on guitars, basses and amps used by various players in the 60s and 70s I would be grateful if you could share the knowledge.
It is also possible to pick up on such details watching the various videos/DVDs, though on say You Tube it can be difficult to be sure which model of amp for example is briefly pictured often due to poor image quality. So if any eagle eyes have been paying attention to this stuff let me know.

Also interested in knowing what brand of effects/pedals were used by the musicians (I'm pretty well up on the studio effects already).

Hope you can help.
(there is so much stuff on the internet about music gear in the rock world (yawn) but so little about this specialized area)

respect...

[Upright]

the jazz bass in work with an ampeg was quite a hit but remember this; Jamaicans hardly ever used it in factory mode! most of the stuff was modded by a tech. I now some used a P bass and installed the jazz electronics, ... why .. the P feels different neckwise & bodywise. try them both and see what you like best

but as a bassist i can tell you that a Jazz in combination with some good flatwounds can do wonders. Turn your amp way up and pick the strings real close to the neck and pick 'm smooth and soft with the skin of the fingers not the nails!!! flatwoundstrings can do with some greasy fingers so no need to wash your hands after eating chicken or so ...

the violin bass from hofner was also used. But a vintage violin or jazz will set you back a few thousand dollars ... look for a cheap shortscale bass, semi acoustic if possible, get some flatwounds, go see a tech for the set up. ask him to set the action as low as possible. another good trick is to install mutes, hard to explain what they to but listen and love them! what i do is get two sets of strings, use an E string and tune it in E, take the A string tune it in A, get an A string tune it in D, get the D String and tune it in G, now you have your normal bass tuning, EADG, but the D & G now have more bottom to it. never change strings unless they break and if they break you've been picking them to hard, i know people that been using the same flatwounds for over 20 years and they play +-100 shows a year and they rehearse and play on their own .... good eq with a cut at 250Hz.

Steinberger basses are also well know but the are headless ... you have to like the look of that,i don't.

Speakers ... never get 10 inch speaker cus they have no bottom!!! 15 or 18 inch is what you need. Don't DI the amp to the mixingboard ... use mic's.

Tube amps are great but expensive so get yourself a

http://www.ebs.bass.se/2007/valvedrive.html

or something similar to dial in an extra raw & grawly sound

don't look to much at the creators! try to lend some gear and experience ... we all go different ways to get a similar sound, look what comes natural to you and what's affordable. A 500$ set up can be lots better than a 5000$ set up!!! it ain't what you have but how you use it, the way you play, what you play, the feel you lay dow, music comes from the heart and not from the wallet !!!

hope this helps

greetings

[ACEtone]

@ upright - wow what a great response!
Interesting stuff.
I'll just do a by the way and say that I've been recording music for about 20 years so it's not like I'm just about to embark on some bizarre student thesis!
I've always been on a budget - the best piece of gear I have at the moment is a Line 6 Flextone II I found, yes, found on the street. A bit mashed up, but functions as it should.
It does a pretty good job of amp and cabinet modelling though of course nothing beats the real thing. Thing is, I can use this to get just a bit nearer to some of the sounds that I love to hear - better than the crap Fender amp I had been struggling with for too long (it's a solid state with a valve channel which is fine for rock sounds but it has no real roundness or character).

The main reason this is important to me at the moment is because I'm currently looking to distance myself from loops-sampling-sequencing and doing more playing - but also looking to get the sounds I want without spending too long fiddling about with settings.

I have two Dub albums out that some people seem to like so I must be doing something right, but I'd like to build on what I've already done and get some deeper rounder sweeter sounds.

The flat wound strings set up you describe sounds excellent. I've been playing the same Japanese knock off Precision for years. It would probably be much improved by the set up you describe. The same set of round wounds for 20 years! The electronics/pick-up are rubbish, just haven't got around to replacing them.

So, yes a good start.
Any one know gtrs/amps set up of say, Lyn Taitt, Eric Frater, Chinna Smith, Bingy Bunny, anyone else?

[6anbatte]

Here are some pics of **[Chinna](http://www.chinnasmithmusic.com/pictures.html)**.

The one with Robbie (last pic on the top row) looks like he's playing a Strat through a **[Fender ’65 Twin Reverb Custom 15](http://www.fender.com/products//search. ... 2173000010)**.

[ACEtone]

Thanks 6anbatte
Can't escape bumba clot Fender. I've have not had an entirely rewarding relationship with their amps. Some swear by them - I swear about them.
A Dub collective/experiment thing I did last year - what amp did they have? a blood clot Fender. 4 days to get to know that thing. At the gig I had a choice of a Marshall and some other thing I never heard of. That's my sound on this gig - when I'm turned up enough to hear:
http://www.acetonestudio.com/lefthandofdubness.html

Did any of these originator guys use English gear? Vox, Marshall?

[6anbatte]

Hi ACEtone

I must admit I use a Tele through a **[Fender Hot Rod Deluxe](http://www.fender.com/products//search. ... 0213202000)** valve amp, which I think is absolutely gorgeous.
That said I don't play reggae. Definitely not an expert regarding electric guitars either as I play acoustic fingerstyle blues. A Brook Taw Cutaway is the love of my life!

I can see Marshalls being used, but not so sure about Vox. Hum, good question.

I'll check out your link when I am at home with a computer that has sound!

[Rohan]

Best guitars for reggae are Fender Strat and Tele. The Strat is the most popular But, the Tele will give the best sound - high and sweet because of the pickups.

Gibson less Paul is also very good. Al anderson who play for bob Marley used one.

Amps Roland JC-120 will work for reggae any day a lot of the guys in jamaica still use it. It is the favorite of Ernest Ranglin. Also look at the Fender Twin Reverb, Vox AC 30 the old one with blue celestion speakers.

For bass the Fender Jazz with flat wound is by far the best. Could also try a P-bass. Robbie Shakespeare used a Pual Reed Smith very expensive but worth it. The Musicman StingRay is also very good and good value for money.

For amps, Ampeg, Trace Elliott, etc will do. Do not forget that back in the day a lot of the reggae bass players used acoustic bass amps in a bid to capture the sound of the upright bass. So there are no rules as such as to what brand you should use. Use what spounds best to you and do not be afraid to experiment.

Lata!
http://www.how-to-play-reggae.com/Do-yo ... bass-.html

[nickfa]

just a short one try pyramid gold nickel wound flatwounds,
they are made for and were original equipment on hofners
they do most scale length and custom size strings .
all i can say they are as dead as a doornail very little sustain and nice and thumpy on a fret less.
hope this little bit of info helps.

[ju5k]

wow...now i found something..

i just wanna know what bass effect to use coz my P bass just would give me the tone i'm looking for..

[super ape]

i was gonna say that the strat and telecaster were always very commonly found and are, as you know, commonly used today.
les paul also will pump out some sounds but i think (i dunno if wrong or right) that the les paul is more condusive to some soloing whereas i think the fenders will give you a better chop for the chuckie.
what about an older peavey amp?
and of course, not yet mentioned, get yourself a crybaby wah-wah pedal!!! like a fool, years ago, i sold my crybaby, along with a gibson semi-hollow body and a fender amp for $300 cuz i needed the money badly! now i am regretting that!
also, if you can find a good envelope filter pedal, that can add some great effect to both a chop and a solo. it's my favorite effect pedal by far.