distortion on Led Zep II

[filmfsc.edu]

So I popped in my Led Zep II CD today and was grooving for a couple seconds to "Whole Lotta Love" until the bass came in. What the hell is the matter with this? It's distorted? And then I realized - this is analog "warmth". :p Just kidding - but the bass on the CD is all mushy - maybe it was the master that the CD was pressed from? I dunno; sounds like some piece of tape somewhere in the change was pushed a little too hard... Dan Roth Otitis Media Audio-Video-Film 978-537-8806 dannchrisr@netscape.net

[Fletcher]

That's pretty much what it sounds like... it was made before 'Rotosound' strings became vogue.

[KenElevenShadows]

It's definitely distorted, but it sounds great that way. I guess I've gotten used to it, but it really does sound awesome.

[aeon]

I usually describe the harmonic distortion one hears in the bass in “Whole Lotta Love” as “nape-of-neck piloerection factor.” YMMV. :D

[Wow]

If I remember correctly, Led 2 was recorded on the tour bus. There was a big hoopla about Jimmy having gotten the sound out of the back of a 10 watt amp. (It was said he put the mic in the rear of the small amp). So, to answer your question, yea the bass was probably recorded at 3:30 am through a 4 track. And they say a Digi 001 cant cut a good master.

[D. Gauss]

zep 2 was NOT recorded on a tour bus, but was recorded at various studios while the band was on tour. FWIW, about 10 years ago, there used to be a 1/4' fostex 8-track 1:1 dub floating around of the LP (lenny kravitz had a copy of course!). very cool to listen to the raw tracks. and distorted or not, the bass playing on that record doen't get any better than that.... -d. gauss

[Wow]

I do believe that I have read several times they recorded some of the album on the tour bus.

[Hippie]

Who likes those ultra-clean recordings anyway? booorrring.

[strat0124]

Hippie you get the award of the day!!!!!! EXACTLY.....ultra clean pristine ice pick in the eye sharp recording are ok for acoustic stuff, but for rock?????? I think its great just like it is. Remember Foghat's "I just wanna make love to you"? Talk about some blown out vocals and other things in the recording that you can pick apart........BUT IT SOUNDS F@#$ing GREAT!!!! Its what rock n roll is all about. Good on ya Hippie! Gene

[nhcomp45aol.com]

Thats what his bass sounded like. I play with a lot of distortion on my bass, love the growl and sustain. The recording accurately captured his sound. Clean bass in rock music is definitely boooooring.

[SoundWrangler]

I love that bass sound! :love: So do the bass players in Pearl Jam & STP, apparently. :cool: Some of II was recorded in London (Olympic Studios?) & other things were recorded in LA. (I definitely remember reading that The Lemon Song's basic tracks were recorded in London, while those double-stopped 6ths in the guitar part during the double-time section were overdubbed in LA.)

[Sylver]

JPJ Was an Ampeg guy, right? I mean, he is THE guy who made that bass sound popular, isn't he? I'm not up on my Zep trivia, but I thought that fat overdriven bass was the Jazz Bass and the Ampeg.

[Hippie]

Thanks Gene, I actually thought I'd get a spankin' for posting the above; The gear mfrs. keep harping on about 'this box will be the cleanest. quietest, no distortion, blah blah gizmo in the world. I was listening to 'Pictures of Matchstick Men' the other day noticing how dirty that recording is, yet soo cool sounding. Matt

[KHAN]

I don't want to start a Rush flamefest here ;) But if you have 'Moving Pictures' Listen to "The Camera Eye" . I love that bass sound. I'm a little burnt on Zep anymore, but they , (especially Page and JPJ ) were innovators. There is still much to be learned from the early Zep catalog.

[Sylver]

I love that song Khan. One of Rush's best. That whole album side is great. Don't worry, there are a few Rush fans here with you! Just make sure that Lee doesn't hear about this thread.

[KHAN]

[quote]Originally posted by Sylver Bells: [b] Just make sure that Lee doesn't hear about this thread.[/b][/quote]Shhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now her ears are probably burning. ;) :D

[Sylver]

[quote]Originally posted by KHAN Kringle: [b] [quote]Originally posted by Sylver Bells: [b] Just make sure that Lee doesn't hear about this thread.[/b][/quote]Shhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now her ears are probably burning. ;) :D [/b][/quote]Naaaaaa. We haven't said anything bad about you-know-who.

[jschmidt]

Umm... I dont think Zep II was recorded on a "tour bus" with a 4 track. The budget was just a little better than that. It was, however recorded "on the road" in various studios while the band toured relentlessly.

[filmfsc.edu]

I didn't say it doesn't sound fuckin great and definitely in context with rock! It's one of my holy grail ass kicking rock albums for sure. I was just surprised to hear how wooly the bass sounded. It definitely causes pilo(and other) erections :p . I was wondering whether that's the sound of the amp or if the master used to press the CDs was pushed a little too hard. Just curious, not knocking it. Dan Roth Otitis Media Audio-Video-Film

[Wow]

Shit, I could be wrong. :confused:

[mark_dog]

damn I love that song

[Bunny Knutson]

It seems to me that the first chord of the first song on the first Led Zeppelin record was distorted to tape. The tracks on "Good Times Bad Times" exhibit much tape distortion, especially the guitar tracks; they're burning! And they sound great. Anything after that shouldn't really be surprising. It seems to me that the best way to get that "loud" rock sound is to hit that tape hard, rather than compressing the hell out of the final mix in mastering. Of course, we're talking analog here; you can't accomplish the same thing with digital, per se.

[D_dup3]

Regarding the "tour bus" recording angle...I don't think they had the portable gear that would allow that in those days.

[henrysb3]

C.M., I think you were partly right - it's my understanding that Page used a little tweed Champ for a lot of their studio stuff. I also hear (from the same friend) that he produced most of the tracks, which is truly breathtaking for a man of his age at the time. Slow with the holiday spirit this year, Henry

[Bunny Knutson]

[quote]Originally posted by henrysb3: [b]...I also hear (from the same friend) that [Page] produced most of the tracks, which is truly breathtaking for a man of his age at the time.[/b][/quote]Jimmy Page produced every studio album Led Zeppelin released.

[surfmonkey]

[quote]Originally posted by C.M.: [b]Shit, I could be wrong. :confused: [/b][/quote]Ummm, actually I think you are half right. I remember Jimmy Page talking their "mobile studio". I believe it was a special truck or bus outfitted with recording equipment, and was also used as a control room. They very well may have cut some tracks in actual studio's, but I have the impression that Jimmy was constantly tweaking it on the road. I'll have to go back and read my Zep books.

[Chip McDonald]

II was in various studios, III Headley Grange with a mobile truck I believe? Possibly a Supro - I bet Communication Breakdown on Zeppelin I was, but the solo was a Champ probably. JPS cranked through a Leslie on "Heartbreaker" making the crossover fart out and the horns grind a bit as well. Sort of like what Jon Lord used to do /did later I suppose. The horns get really scratchy sounding with guitar, I haven't heard a bass through one I don't think but I can imagine the top end doing the same thing, that has to be what it is. He of course would have one at hand. The ambient micing on that record has such character...

[strat0124]

[quote]Originally posted by dBunny: [b] [quote]Originally posted by henrysb3: [b]...I also hear (from the same friend) that [Page] produced most of the tracks, which is truly breathtaking for a man of his age at the time.[/b][/quote]Jimmy Page produced every studio album Led Zeppelin released.[/b][/quote]Nope, look at the liner notes for In through the Out Door.....John Paul Jones-producer.

[gtrmac]

Hey you want to hear some distortion? Just listen to the first two Rolling Stones albums. The lead vocals are very distorted on a lot of the tracks. Guitar and bass are one thing, but distortion on lead vocals is certainly something that most people would avoid these days. These albums were mostly blues and R&B covers and my guess is that they wanted them to sound that way. I have to assume this because they were recorded by actual recording engineers in real studios. Anyway, I recently listened to these recordings on CD after not hearing them for about 30 years I guess and I was shocked at how bad they sounded. These were my favorite albums when I was a teenager. Now my 8 year old son loves the stuff. Cool.

[D. Gauss]

<> that's cause page was so smacked out on heroin that he barely even functioned. most all of zep one is page's psychedelic painted tele (from the yardbirds) played through a tiny supro amp (i also believe that for some tracks, he put a big box over the amp). he didn't get a les paul until the second LP. as for his notorious ego and revisionist history telling, and general theft... page took WAY too much credit for things that eddie kramer and glyn johns did. furthermore if you are a big fan,(if i can find the link i'll post it later [url=http://www.furious.com/perfect/yardbirds2.html]go here about 5 or six p-graphs down[/url] ) one should check out the VERY detailed site about all the ZEP tunes that are direct ripoffs of other people's songs. and not just the blues-based tunes either. i.e. stairway's intro was ripped off of a song by spirit, page's acoustic stuff was lifted from bert jansch, etc. -d. gauss