h364 Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 For some time its puzzled me, but how would someone get a sound very similar to flea's, i know the pedals he uses i hav them myself. Like how would you get the kind of funky sound he gets on songs like: Give it Away and by the way ect. Any ideas, is it the fact that he only until recently only played basses with a pickup at the neck position, or the pedals or what. I was hoping for something to punch into my GT-6B. Cheers, Harrison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 I don't think it's in the electronics, it is probably in the Fingers. Flea plays that stuff for the money, he really is a Jazz lover and a lot of his Funk comes from the Jazz swimming around in his brain. IMHO Rocky "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMPires Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 I would go for the fingers, try and do this, record yourself playing a simple line, and after ask a friend to play the same line with the same gear, will sound diferent. The fingers make at least 50% of the sound IMHO www.myspace.com/davidbassportugal "And then the magical unicorn will come prancing down the rainbow and we'll all join hands for a rousing chorus of Kumbaya." - by davio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuma Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 Definitely all about the fingers Harrison, however, I was really into Flea for a while there and if you really want to sound like him... get a Music Man Stingray, that will cover most of the sounds. The "sound" on my favorite RHCP album Blood Sugar Sex Magic is again, however, not a Stingray but a Wal bass. I'm not sure what model. The point is this, he has played many basses over the years and he always sounds like Flea. I think it's perfectly natural to want to sound like our favorite players but just keep in mind that you have your own sound too. Embrace it, don't fight it! , Zuma http://zumaz.com http://myspace.com/zumazmusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rui Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 What the two posters above said. The only way to sound like flea is just to keep playing his stuff and try and get the feel and accents. Just to add, from what ive seen of Fleas playing he tends to dig in very much, theres alot of attack on each note. Probably from his punk days. Try playing around with various attack on the strings and see which sounds better. If you're only interested in an equipment point of view, I believe that during the Blood Sugar Sex Magik album Flea was using a Musicman Stingray and they can have a relatively distinctive sound. As far as pedals goes hes used an envelope-filter, autowah and one of those dunlop bass wahs but none of those were used in Blood Sugar Sex Magik (that I can remember that is) mostly used in his earlier stuff like Coffee Shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 How do you develop your sound? It usually comes from many sources. Today it may be Flea, Next month it may be Jaco. Next year, who knows. This is good that you begin to admire the differnt sounds of well known players. After you have blended the sounds of many, you willl become, YOU. That is what your after. Someday, someone will be asking "How does Harrison get that sound"? I want to try that. Rocky "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuma Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 Check this out: http://www.bassplayer.tv/ Scroll around and you'll find the episode with Flea. You can even see the Wal bass he used on Blood Sugar Sex Magic. , Zuma http://zumaz.com http://myspace.com/zumazmusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stenner Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 As the above post said, check out that link! You can see flea playing without any electrics yet you can still tell it's flea. You can see how agressive his finger picking really is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 Originally posted by stenner: As the above post said, check out that link! You can see flea playing without any electrics yet you can still tell it's flea. You can see how agressive his finger picking really is. It sounds like he has no amplifier. Rocky "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Bear Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 Two things I know about Flea. 1) He hits his strings very hard... has the "hit each note like it's your last" attitude. So much of it is in his personallity. 2). Flea uses GK amps. He used to use the 800RB, now he uses the 2001RB. The are solid state, and that may have something to do with the attack and response time. Mike Bear Artisan-Vocals/Bass Instructor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 Off the top of my head, Flea has used FX on less than 10 songs across all the RHCP albums. And in roughly chronological order, the following basses have been used to record the albums: Musicman StingRay Spector NS2 Wal Alembic Epic Modulus Flea Fender Jazz All these basses sound pretty different but with Flea playing them they sound remarkably Flea. Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 In this Bass Player TV interview, that was put up earlier by Zuma, it shows, I think the very hard attack that Flea uses. He plays what I would call very "Rough" and loud even on an unamplified instrument. This is a very unique and distinctive style, in my opinion. Rocky http://www.bassplayer.tv/ "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butcherNburn Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 It's in his fingers and his attack. And the secret weapon, you know it, a pair of pants made from (formerly) stuffed animals. If you think my playing is bad, you should hear me sing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottomgottem Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Originally posted by butcherNburn: It's in his fingers and his attack. And the secret weapon, you know it, a pair of pants made from (formerly) stuffed animals. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j65/bottomgottem/FleaOld.jpg WORD! My whole trick is to keep the tune well out in front. If I play Tchaikovsky, I play his melodies and skip his spiritual struggle. ~Liberace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butcherNburn Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I few gigs and you know there was no containing the funk within. If you think my playing is bad, you should hear me sing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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