John Entwistle Quote?

[terryc]

Guess when something like that happens it can put you off a company for good.

[white_cloud]

I received my 87 Persuader a short time ago, bought it sight unseen because Alembic persuaders are thin on the ground here in the UK. I went for it purely on assurance of its good condition from the seller (the guy who handbuilds the excellent SEI basses!)
 
It is almost perfect..but the action is really, really low. The lowest action that I have ever had on a bass..even lower than I had on my Graphite Vigier!!
 
Dont get me wrong, there are no buzzes and it plays and sounds absolutely KILLER..but I am nervously waiting for something to happen with the neck. Maybe Im just a pessimist, it seems to be solid and stable.
 
The bottom line for me is that I just dont mess around with set-ups on my basses, perhaps its time I bought a book on the subject or something!

[senmen]

Guys,
I really wonder how often this theme turns up.
It is clear that if you run such a low action like John did (and me too - I have 0,8mms at the 24th fret top fret/underside string) it is naturally that you have more problems with a slighlty moving neck than if you are running a normal bass players action.
Johns low action was a very important part for producing the tone he had. For example the speed triplets are not possible with a normal action, the lower the better. Also his typewriting is not that easy manageable on a normal setup. The biggest problem for most bassists that tried my basses is that they had a normal touch on the strings but with such a low action you need to generate a very light touch and, of course, you need to bring the strings into a vertical movement, not a horizontal.
 
Oliver (Spyderman)

[richbass939]

Oliver, I'm wondering about the typewriting you referred to.  Was it just a figure of speech or is it a certain technique that John used that I've never heard of?  If it's a technique he used, what is a song that shows a good example of it?
Rich

[terryc]

Typewriting..he tapped the all the strings with all fingers and fretted the notes..not like the tapping technique used on chapman sticks or warr guitars.

[eligilam]

A snippet from the bassplayer.com site:
 
As a result, fans finally felt the full force of his techniques: standard fingerstyle and pick playing, a technique he calls crab-claws, backhanded chords, string pops and smacks, harmonics, and left-hand hammer-ons. Then there's his impressive typewriter technique, a forerunner of today's bass tapping, in which he strikes the strings at the base of the neck with his four right-hand fingertips in quick, typewriter-like motions, enabling him to play rapid triplets and various other drum-like devices.
 
A snippet from a BBC website:
 
Songs like Ten Little Friends have Entwistle masterclassing in the typewriter bass technique he created years before funk-pioneer Larry Graham started slapping.
 
And there's a whole tutorial on it from the man himself on his old Hot Licks video from the late '80's...man, he was really smarmy in that one.

[FC Bass]

typewriter bass technique (I guess)
 
Btw: My '83 Spoiler is one of the best sounding and playing instruments I laid my hands on, would never call it sucky... ;-)

[lidon2001]

Whenever I see that video, the only thing that comes to mind is fret buzz.

[longhorncat]

John Entwistle Bass Guitar Master Class

[lidon2001]

I much prefer the JE tone here.

[terryc]

F**k me, that is the first time I have seen that..jeeze..that was excellent, the tone was, well, unique.
I think the fret buzz is all part of that gritty, overdriven tone..absolutely the biz, just goes to show, you don't have to slap at a 100mph to get a good solo

[senmen]

Rich,Guys,
typewriting is existing. John used it pretty much as well as me in our WHO Tribute. Most important of this is a low action and bringing the strings into a vertical direction. It is like typewriting, you hit the strings just like a typewriter vertically. This ads a whole bunch of steely twang to the tone as it produces really much harmonics.
You can hear it very good at the opening riff of Johns solo at the Royal albert Hall gig where he does an alternating walk on G, F and open E. this is done using typewriting.
 
Oliver (Spyderman)

[terryc]

I am going to plug my MK signature into my Zoom unit and stick the headphones on(it is 10.10pm here in the UK) and have a go at that..a bit of distortion with loads of top I think.
As far as the actual theory of the notes..it is not that difficult, what is difficult is getting that technique and tone..I must have go though
Sod the thumb stuff, this will shock the band ha ha

[white_cloud]

He, He, I remember buying the hotlicks JE instructional video about a zillion years ago and learning all of the typewriter licks that he displayed!
 
He had really powerful fingers and gave his Alembic a tremendous workout in the video! What a sound!  
 
I also remember sitting glued to the tv watching him stroll onto the LIVE AID stage and simply hit  a couple of open strings...man, I was GONE! The tone was all I ever hoped to hear from a bass. I cant believe he got rid of that bass to spite it

[terryc]

Okay..just had a go..managed to get a near enough sound but no where near in a million years like that solo..give me a few weeks or years!!!!!!!!!!!
whitecloud..so you got the video..can you do it?