Fuzz bass
String instrument | |
---|---|
Classification |
strummed) |
Developed | 1960s |
Timbre | fuzz, distortion |
Related instruments | |
Electric bass | |
Sound sample | |
Fuzz bass is a style of playing the
One of the earliest examples may be the 1961
Fuzz bass can be produced by overloading a
In the 1980s and 1990s, overdriven bass tended to be associated with
Approaches
In the context of electric guitars, the terms "distortion", "overdrive" and "fuzz" are often used interchangeably, but they have subtle differences in meaning.
- Overdrive effects are the mildest of the three, producing "warm" natural overtones at quieter volumes and harsher distortion as gain is increased. The best quality overdrive effects respond to how hard the bassist picks or plucks the bass, producing little or no distortion when the instrument is played quietly, but gradually adding overdrive as the instrument is played harder.
- A "distortion" effect produces approximately the same amount of distortion at any volume, and its sound alterations are much more pronounced and intense.[5][6]
- A fuzzbox (or "fuzz box”) alters an audio signal until it is nearly a square wave and adds complex overtones by way of a frequency multiplier.[7]
A fuzz bass sound can be created by turning up the volume of a
Fuzz bass can be produced by using an electric guitar fuzz, distortion or overdrive pedal. The downside of using a pedal designed for the electric guitar is that the lower-end bass tone is mostly lost when the signal is heavily clipped.
Clipping is a form of waveform distortion that occurs when an amplifier is overdriven and attempts to deliver an output voltage or current beyond its maximum capability. Driving an amplifier into clipping may cause it to output power in excess of its published ratings. Clipping is a
These frequencies can either be "
Since the late 1980s, manufacturers have been producing bass overdrive pedals specifically designed for the electric bass, and in many cases they found a way to keep the low fundamental pitch in along with the buzzy overdrive tone. One early model was the Ibanez "Bass Stack" bass overdrive pedal, which was sold in the late 1980s.[12]
External videos | |
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Napalm Death live in Germany, 1987, the second song is half-way through the clip at 4 minutes, 37 seconds has a buzz-saw type heavy bass distortion, from YouTube, authorized by Earache Records. |
1980s grindcore groups, such as Napalm Death in the sound clip to the right, used a very heavy, distorted bass tone that resembles the sound of a grinding buzz saw.
The simplest fuzz bass pedals have knobs for controlling the volume level, the tone, and the fuzz or overdrive effect. More complex pedals have different distortion effects (e.g., overdrive and fuzz),
Overdrive built into amplifiers
Some
The 75W Fender Rumble 75 Bass Combo Amp can produce an overdrive effect by using the gain and blend controls, giving overdrive sounds ranging from "mellow warmth [to] heavy distorted tones".[13] The Fender SuperBassman is a 300-watt tube head that has a built-in overdrive channel. The Fender Bronco 40 includes a range of effects including modern bass overdrive, vintage overdrive and fuzz.
The MESA Bigblock 750 has a built-in overdrive channel. The Mesa M2000 has a high gain switch that can be engaged with a footswitch. The Marshall MB450 head and combo bass amplifiers have a tube pre-amp on the "Classic" channel that can be overdriven. The Ashdown ABM 500 EVO III 575W Bass amp head has a built-in overdrive effect. Overdrive is also available on many Crate bass amplifiers. The Yamaha BBT500H has three types of built-in drive effects: overdrive, distortion and fuzz. The Ampeg B5R Bass Amplifier has two channels: clean and overdrive, with the ability to combine the two. The Orange has introduced a new line of bass amplifiers(OB 1 series) with a built in fuzz.
Selected songs
The following section gives examples of songs that feature fuzz bass.
2020s
- Software Failure, Demon in the Closet (EP)
2010s
- Royal Blood
- Bring Me The Horizon, "MANTRA", "Sugar Honey Ice & Tea", "Heavy Metal"
- Arctic Monkeys, "Do I Wanna Know?", "R U Mine?"
- Muse, "Mercy", "The Handler", "Liquid State"
- Kasabian, "Stevie"
2000s
- Vader, "Fear of Napalm".
- Yellow Matter Custard, a Beatles tribute supergroup active from 2003 to 2011, credits Neal Morse with keyboards, guitars, vocals, and fuzz bass.
- "Staring at the Sun", TV on the Radio.
- Low, Things We Lost In the Fire onward.
- Radiohead, "The National Anthem" and "All I Need"
- Arctic Monkeys, "Crying Lightning"
- Death From Above 1979, "Romantic Rights"
- Kasabian, "Club Foot", "Vlad The Impaler", "Empire"
- Hate To Say I Told You So
- Placebo, "Meds"
- Muse, "Hysteria" and "Uprising".[14]
1990s
- Ben Folds Five, "Uncle Walter", and "Army"
- Exhumed, Gore Metal, "Blazing Corpse"
- Nine Inch Nails, "We're in This Together".
- Marianne Faithfull, Vagabond Ways.
- The Jesus and Mary Chain, "Sometimes Always", "Hole" and "Never Saw it Coming" from the album "Stoned & Dethroned".
- Neutral Milk Hotel, On Avery Island, tracks 2 and 8, and In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
- Motörhead, "I Don't Believe a Word".
- Ministry, "Filth Pig".
- Melvins Night Goat
- Kyuss Freedom Run, Supa Scoopa & Mighty Scoop, Hurricane.
- Queens Of The Stone AgeMexicola.
- Mortician, "Drilling For Brains" and "Hacked Up For Barbecue".
- Mouth to Mouth", The Blackeyed Susans.
- Nirvana, "Breed" from Nevermind.[15]
- Sloan, "Snowsuit Sound".
- Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Around the World".
- Radiohead, "Exit Music (For a Film)" from the album OK Computer.
- Type O Negative.
- Blur, "Song 2".
1980s
- Butthole Surfers 22 Going On 23
- Motörhead
- Elvis Costello, "Spike".
- Metallica Kill 'Em All, "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth". Ride the Lightning, "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "The Call of Ktulu"; Master of Puppets, "Damage, Inc.", "Orion", "The Thing That Should Not Be".
- Extreme Noise Terror, "Deceived".
- Doom, "War Crimes" EP
- The Clash, "Should I Stay or Should I Go"
- Nuclear Assault, Game Over, "Hang the Pope"
- Cro-Mags, The Age of Quarrel, "World Peace"
- Discharge, Why
- Faith No More, "Epic", "The Real Thing"
- Napalm Death, Scum, "Scum"
- Stormtroopers of Death, Speak English or Die, "Milk"
- Repulsion, Horrified, "Festering Boils"
1970s
- Jean-Luc Ponty, Enigmatic Ocean.
- Frank Zappa, Apostrophe (').[16]
- Emerson Lake & Palmer, Tarkus.
- Yes, "Roundabout".
- Tamam Shud, "Goolutionites and the Real People", "Got A Feeling".
- Mike Rutherford of Genesis.
- The Velvet Underground, "Sweet Jane".
- Curtis Mayfield, "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go".
- Sir Lord Baltimore, Kingdom Come[16]
- King Crimson[17]
- Truth and Janey.
- Steely Dan, "Monkey in Your Soul", Pretzel Logic.
1960s
- "21st Century Schizoid Man", King Crimson.
- "Inside Looking Out", Grand Funk Railroad.
- Cream, Goodbye.[16]
- Edgar Broughton Band, Wasa Wasa (1969).[16]
- The Litter, Emerge.[16]
- "Some Velvet Morning", Vanilla Fudge.
- "Dance to the Music", Sly and the Family Stone.
- The Monkees, "Valleri".
- The Velvet Underground, "White Light White Heat" and "The Gift".
- The United States of America.[16]
- "Sodding About", The Who.
- "Zig-Zag Wanderer", Safe As Milk, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band.
- Jefferson Airplane, "She Has Funny Cars", "Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil".
- "Talk, Talk", The Music Machine.
- "Open Up Your Door", Richard and the Young Lions.
- The Rolling Stones, "Under My Thumb".
- Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, "Diddy Wah Diddy".
- "Let's Hang On!", by The Four Seasons, written by Bob Crewe, Sandy Linzer, and Denny Randell.
- The Beatles, "Think for Yourself" and "Mean Mr. Mustard".[18]
- Roy Orbison, "Lana".
- Marty Robbins, "Don't Worry".[1]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4803-9847-4.
- ISBN 978-0-19-531024-5.
- ^ "Howard Davis: Soft, Hard, & Intermodulation Distortion Explained". howardmickdavis.com. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
- ^ "Effects Explained: Overdrive, Distortion, and Fuzz". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
- ISBN 9780471490784.
- ISBN 9780634060465
- ISBN 0-415-97324-4.
- ISBN 9780240520322.
- ISBN 0-88188-900-8.
- ISBN 9780240520865.
- ISBN 9781441995360.
- ^ blitzpulver (13 March 2013). "Ibanez Bass Stack BS10". Retrieved 24 February 2017 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Fender Rumble 75 75W 1x12 Bass Combo Amp". musiciansfriend.com. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
- ^ BassPlayer.com, Electric & Acoustic Bass Gear, Lessons, News, Video, Tabs and Chords -. "Too Much Is Never Enough: Muse's Chris Wolstenholme Reinvents Art-Rock Bass For The 21st Century". Retrieved 2018-02-19.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Mojo Magazine #54 - May 1998". livenirvana.com. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "Jefferson Airplane discography". rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
- ^ "John's 1974 touring gear - The Official John Wetton Website Guestbook". forumchitchat.com. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
- ISBN 0-87930-731-5.