Hello everyone. I admit I haven't listened to that song for years, so I can't confirm. Can you please confirm me whether John used a 5-string bass there?
Thanks
Well, I think it was Dropped D tuned four-string bass, because:
1) D is the lowest note in the bass line.
2) I have compared basslines in BEADG and DADG tunings and found the second one easier to play.
3)John was so loyal to his PB's, that I can't imagine him playing a 5-string. BTW, he had already used DADG tuning in The Prophet's Song.
I think that was either The Opposition or Phillip Nothaft (or were they one and the same?).
I also seem to remember that one of the Off The Record score-books (Innuendo,GHII or Classic Queen) has John as playing a 5-string, though I may well be wrong on that. I know that the tab in Innuendo was different to either or both of the other ones at least. If one of them did denote a 5-string on IGSM, it may have contributed to to the 'myth'.
I haven't really studied it, but my gut-instinct is that it's more likely to be a regular bass in drop-D.
eedodededededea wrote:
3)John was so loyal to his PB's(...)
Not really... link
John's main bass in the early days was a Rickenbacker. link
Music Man Stingray. He used that for most of the A Day At The Races tour. Later on he moved back to his Fender Precision, but he still used that one sometimes (Another One Bites The Dust, Sheer Heart Attack). link
Kramer Custom (the first one). It was his spare. link
And here, as you can see, there are another 2 basses John used (the one made by Giffin, and the Warwick Buzzard, that he used in Prince's Trust Concert - you can also see it in the Montreux'86 festival video).
I'm not saying you're wrong about John not using a 5-string bass... I'm just pointing out that he wasn't totally "loyal" to his Fender-P, he did use a few other bass guitars. Both in the studio and on stage. ;)
I'm not sure about slightly mad, but the Off The Record books definatly specifc a five string bass for Headlong. I'll have to check about 'Mad' when I am home this evening
I know for an absolute fact that John played a detuned 6-string acoustic guitar on Slightly Mad. It does make sence if you think about it; just look at the song title.
