Marshall EL84 20/20 stereo power amps, Effects So I begged my mum for a guitar, and she finally got me one. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). It's been 10 years since we lost Slipknot bassist Paul Gray. One has a clanky sound and one has much more growl. "After that the first real bass I bought was an Ibanez Soundgear and I still play Ibanez now. But while other members had full-on side-projects, he considered Slipknot to be his everything. Any doubts over Slipknot sustaining the brain-melting brutality of their debut were answered in a vicious storm of blastbeats and tremolo-picked guitars that felt even angrier and more possessed than before. Technical Editor Bass Gear Magazine. When asked, three albums in, if this is what he imagined being a rock star would be like, he humbly replied, I dont really consider myself a rock star, but obviously I guess I am. I will miss him with every fibre of my heart, as will everybody at this table and everyone who knew him he was the best of us.. Paul Gray: The Man Behind the Mask. A guitar most often associated with him is the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard "Greeny".Now a famous guitar, once owned by Peter Green of the Fleetwood Mac, and now in the possession of Metallica's Kirk Hammett.Another one worth singling out is the Les Paul Standard nicknamed . The founding bassists untimely passing remains one of metals most heartbreaking tragedies, Slipknots loyal legions left no choice but to ponder the prodigious creations his mind would have gone on to conceive. I always watch other bass players no matter what kind of band they're in, how long they've been playing for or if they're any good, because you can always learn something from someone else to add to your technique and make you play better. You gotta find your pocket, he said. PAUL GRAY, who was the lead singer of the 1980s pop band Wa Wa Nee, has died aged 54. Songs with JANGLE, let's display those electric 12 strings. There is no definitive answer to this question as Paul McCartney has been known to use a variety of different strings on his Hofner bass over the years. What Guitar Strings Does Paul Simon Use? There's a heavy difference in style between the two basses, that's for sure. Its what he was born to do, its what hed love to do, its the thing hed love more than anything., As fans wondered about Slipknots future, the band grieved. The only tweaking was in the mix with a bit of reamping. I'm trying to figure out what type of strings he was using in around '64. Im a dreadful singer, but Ive got all of these melodies in my head and I kind of approach the bass as a tool for countermelody, and I weave between what the Captains playing and what Daves singing. A Les Paul is easier to play than a Strat because a Les Paul has a far lower string tension compared to a Strat with the same gauge strings. We recorded at Atomic Sound in Brooklyn, which is a beautiful studio with a lovely, big wooden live room. We had confidence in each other that it would work, and we hadnt played together [in the studio] for nearly 22 years! I don't even know if you can actually hear it - it was more like a sub-woofer king of thing. Total Guitar has not edited this interview, deciding instead to leave as . Its cheaper, too, and once youve smoothed the frets and boshed on a scratchplate, youve got yourself a cracking guitar for what it costs. Eventually, he managed to procure a replacement. "It depends on what I'm doing. You've mentioned quite a few genres there, so what's your favourite bassline of all time? Proprietor Fifth Avenue Fret Shop. Captain, what was it like working with Visconti from a guitarists perspective? The 77 I have has the toaster pickup, and that one is much filthier sounding. As a comparison, I recenly picked up a Johnson Viola bass to donate to my daughter's school auction. You have to use D'Addario short scale bass strings, 080 for the 5th and 0.100 for the 6th It's not easy to do this because you have to have a bridge that you can hook the bass string to as they are a lot larger than a guitar string. In 1975, Eventides Tony designed the first harmonizer, so it was nice to meet the bloke whose gear Id used so extensively over the years. In sixth grade, aged 11, he got Suicidal Tendencies self-titled debut, which fuelled a desire to learn the guitar. I try to avoid soloing for its own sake and you have to judge when its run its course and its best to get out for something else to take over, or risk boring the listener for ones own ego gratification. The Nova is great, combining analog distortions with digital delays and reverbsand despite being a bit long in the tooth these days, theres not a lot of similar alternatives. Paul, who cofounded Slipknot in 1995 with drummer Joey Jordison and percussionist Shawn Crahan, was found dead at age 38 in an Urbandale, Iowa hotel room in May 2010. Feb 11, 2014 #3. Shawn speculated this had a detrimental effect on his mental wellbeing. #22. Stevie Ray Vaughan String Gauge Table. Paul, what basses did you use on Evil Spirits? You dont often get that, and I struggle to think of any other guitarist that Ive worked with that Ive had that relationship with. Edinboro, PA. . Which is a hard thing to do with nine people in the band!". The two I mainly use are very different. BA1 1UA. What did you hope to get out of the Damned in the studio? The 15-minute epic that closes the Knots second album showcased a very different side to Pauls playing, more '90s rock than extreme metal in feel sharing similarities with the kind of lines heard in bands like Tool and Pearl Jam. Despite being less overtly punk than the typical Damned record, I managed to squeeze the odd solo in here and there. It dealt with depression and survivors guilt, but also the strong love Corey had spoken about in the press conference. The legendary Dan Erlewine, luthier Gene Imbody and Berklees Tomo Fujita have shot a 6-point lesson video to help, Producer Mura Masa says that PinkPantheresss Boys A Liar was made in a couple of hours, and that he didnt know about the Ice Spice 'Pt 2' remix until he saw the video, A-ha interview: "We were convinced that the record company would drop us and everything was over before it began" the story of Take On Me and their debut album Hunting High And Low. 1980 Rickenbacker 4001 As well as his work in Slipknot, he also filled in on bass for desert rockers Unida fronted by Kyuss singer John Garcia and other projects like Drop Dead, Gorgeous and Reggie And The Full Effect. It really fascinates me how basses that are essentially the same can still be so different. The bass fills he did, I really had to fucking rewind tapes and play them over and over to get it.". There was a band in our town that had a great bass player called Mark and he could play jazz and funk, so I sat down with him about five or six times and learned a lot of techniques. Im having the time of my life.. When we started the band I felt it, right when we started it, and it still feels the same. By their own admission, it was a chaotic time for The Nine Clown once described the sessions as hell and this track in particular as their way of saying, "Fuck off and leave us alone.". I dont know much about scales, but I like the choice of notes in some Indian music and some of that creeps in occasionally with the McPhee, Berry, Hendrix knock-offs. The Tragic Death Of Slipknot's Paul Gray - Grunge.com Mar 3, 2003 #9. Total Guitar has not edited this interview, deciding instead to leave as much of Paul's personality and character in as possible RIP Paul. After the third or fourth show I met somebody from Warwick and they sent me out a Corvette or some model and it was awesome. "Actually it was some Sabbath and Metallica stuff. I figured that it couldn't be that different to playing guitar, but later on I found out it's a totally different thing. Theres a massive range of guitar ideas in the Damneds discography, from straight-ahead punk stuff to psych-rock. McCartney strings | TalkBass.com Rad in plaid, Captain Sensible strikes a pose and a power chord onstage. Gary Moore | Vintage Guitar magazine Recorded at Download 2009, Paul talked to TG about his solid playing style, his reason for being a bass player and his tips for making you play better. What strings did Paul Gray use? Stay up to date with in depth music reviews, exclusive interviews and widespread coverage of whats happening from your favourite music genre. To the outside world, everything was fine. So I went over and said, 'Dude, I play bass' even though I didn't have a bass guitar and never picked one up. Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Contact our experts for a recommendation of great alternatives. Before his teenage years had even begun, his two greatest musical revelations had arrived in the form of Suicidal Tendencies 1983 debut and, not long after, experiencing Slayer live in the flesh. Instead of sticking with the drop B tuning used on its other tracks, Paul used a drop A tuning with this thickest string another octave down - which he described as a super low, almost. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), 2004), Vermilion (Vol. ", Don't miss the latest deals, news, reviews, features and tutorials. I made Paul punch in a lot, but a lot of it comes with modifying parts and changing things to be something a little different without changing their overall feel or what theyre trying to say as players. Paul Dedrick Gray Born April 8, 1972 Died May 24, 2010 Country United States IPI 00344172381 21 works Affiliation ASCAP Member of Slipknot Bass (1995-2010) Meta. The innovator that pretty much started the trend of the classic shred metal guitar, Eddie Van Halen also often uses light strings. Captains songs are Gods gift because theyre so melodic. Matrix VB800 The fact that Ament was using an 12-string bass helps to explain the instrument's presence on the track, although you won't hear the extra strings ringing out individually - they simply add to the overall tone. Let's take a closer look at the strings Sir Paul used and continues to use, as well as how they helped to shape his tone. From triumph to tragedy, here is his story. Eddie Van Halen. That changed my world, he recounted in Paul Gray: Behind The Player. The lead guitar breaks on Evil Spirits sound very in-the-moment, but also precisely mapped.Sensible: They are pretty much first takes. If theyll go for that, then theres not much thats off limits Damned-wise apart from opera, that is. They gave me a full deal and they treated me really good, which was great because we had no money at that time and I couldn't afford anything. String gauge. Lurking in the back of the studio was this really, really old Ampeg, which the guy said was handwired. He played bass and guitar left-handed, and there was something about his muting, a weird sort of backwards quality. Doing that actually made me fall in love with bass guitar and thats why I became a bass player., Paul was my biggest influence when he came into the band, recalled Anders Colsefni, Vexxs drummer. . While testifying in court against her late husband's physician, Brenna Gray revealed that Paul actually suffered a relapse around 2008 and later spent the last weeks of his life fighting a losing battle against his demons. If you think it's fucked up and weird, then that's cool because it's your thing. Whether he knew you or not. Eventide H9, Strings and Picks I was going to donate my Epi Viola, but after putting LaBella flats on it, I liked it too much. Those strings are absolutely the go-to strings for me and I absolutely love them. The Damned opened for T. Rex back in the day, and I even asked Captain why we never did this before. After then he used steel strings. Interview - paul gray slipknot bassist band, Interview - paul gray slipknot bassist headbang, Interview - paul gray slipknot bassist finger, Damon Albarn reveals that the beat from one of Gorillaz best-loved songs was an Omnichord loop preset, It looks like Gibson is going to start selling vintage guitars including a '59 Les Paul Burst, Deadmau5 delivers his verdict on AI music production: Its scary in the sense of how stupid music already is anyway, Confused about setting up your guitar? 2,977 1,264. I didn't think they would, but they called me up and said, 'Here you go!'". What strings did ray brown use? | TalkBass.com Eleanor was promoted to the role of Editor at Metal Hammer magazine after over seven years with the company, having previously served as Deputy Editor and Features Editor. Listened to 4 Beatles LPs (yes; these black huge 33 1/3 things) the last days. I was just, I gotta get a real guitar and actually do it. Seeing them up there and the red lights and the smoke and it was all evil, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Joey also recalls laying down the drums for All Hope Is Gones Gehenna, while Paul wrote instinctively. I introduced him to the wonderful world of Eventide, and we used the H9 a lot. And thats what hes left behind for us, is absolute love.. I went into the local music store and heard some guys talking about needing a bass player for their band, they did covers of Slayer and Metallica songs, So, not knowing anybody and wanting to meet people, I told them I could play bass even though I had never played one in my life. Beatles always use Flat Wounds? | The Gear Page For me, it was an extremely emotional experience., When Paul was interviewed during the Vol. But the novelty of freedom at such a young age soon wore off and he called his mum, now living in Des Moines, to see if he would able to sleep on her couch and start a new life in Iowa where, while playing in death metal bands Anal Blast and Body Pit, he would eventually meet the other original members of Slipknot. We really textured it very heavily. We have three drummers, theres a lot of low end, do you know what I mean? It couldve also been our disgraceful behavior, but who really knows? Did you ever take lessons in bass guitar? Its a clairvoyant chemistry that cant be really pinned down. Added by Bastien. All rights reserved. Rickenbacker 12-string (Atomic Studios), Amps Bunch of new American psychos just dropped. Originally titled Lust Disease on an early demo, Iowas lead single might not be one of Slipknots fastest or heaviest, but its riff is certainly one of their busiest from the earlier years of their career using double notes, slides and chromatics that snake their way around the fretboard. Its been 10 years since we lost Slipknot bassist Paul Gray. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. I became slightly obsessed with the solos on Strange Town and the way the excitement builds in them, carrying the listener away on a tidal wave of excitement. He was everything that was wonderful about this band and about this group of people. We used that with an 8x10 and had everything up full blast and thats the sound on the record. The Damned play their unofficial anthem, Smash It Up, from 1979s Machine Gun Etiquette, at BBC Radio 6s annual Christmas Punk Party. Paul Gray (Slipknot) | TalkBass.com How did you capture the albums live feel in the studio? His knack for finger-twisting, down-tuned riffs including extreme slides and bends is what made their assault all the more bludgeoning, a skill which hed undoubtedly sharpened as a death metal-obsessed teenager. What strings did Paul McCartney use during his time in the Beatles, in particualr the strings he used on 'Come Together' Apr 26, 2001 #2 Ari Schor Mar 3, 2000 Montreal I have been told by many people that he used Pyramid Flatwounds ($!!!! During the third Slipknot record I met Dave Ellefson from Megadeth and he said, 'Try this out man' so I played through his Peavey amp. The Kerrang! "We were on Ozzfest and I had the one Soundgear bass, which was really old, with no back-up guitar and we were playing all these shows. He will never be forgotten. scullyfan. Gibson SG 60s Tribute models with EverTune bridges Not I; thats for sure. Ive used them since I discovered them back in 1976, and Ive tried all the other makes and I always go back to Rotosound. I didnt know any of the bass lines but I knew all the guitar parts, so I faked it. Prior to joining Metal Hammer, El spent three years as Production Editor at Kerrang! Has there ever been something that was just too far out for the Damned? Fans held t-shirts aloft, while Shawn and Corey stood at the back of the stage, arms around each others shoulders, faces crumpled with emotion. Dunlop wah I was writing lyrics when Paul and Joey played this to me, Corey told Kerrang! Largely penned by Paul and Shawn Clown Crahan before the band had formed, the song was originally titled Slipknot though the group ended up using the name for one of their first shows. JavaScript is disabled. I was on my way to being like Andy Warhol or something!, Over the years, Pauls $1.75 pig mask morphed into a Hannibal Lecter-style serial killer face. Although fans knew Paul as part of the nine, he had a low public profile, rarely speaking to the media. He had a difficult and itinerant childhood, and his father died by suicide. "You know what, some of my favourite basslines are the simplest ones ever. But in the beginning, after we got our record deal, I went to Warwick actually. Eventides Tony Agnello is a big fan of the Damned and brought some secret prototypes to Atomic Sound for the Captain to use, but Im sworn to absolute secrecy about what they are and do. Slipknot had always seemed combustible yet invincible nine individual, larger-than-life characters who came together as a unit onstage. MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Which is a hard thing to do with nine people in the band!, He was also a skilled composer who could pervert the markers of extreme metal. Sensible: Unlike some punk bassists who could only play by numbers, with the potential song disintegration if they lost their way, Paul can really busk it up! Then I moved to Iowa and I didn't have any friends there, I didn't know anybody, and I was in this music store and I overheard this dude talking about needing a bass player. (Image credit: John McMurtrie) "Yesterday we lost our brother, and the world seems a little smaller because of it," began Corey Taylor. I loved guys like Jim Lea from Slade, who was doing more like lead bass and drove all those fantastic Slade songs. Captain is the primo guitarist in my book.We both share a love of pop songs. His playing was informed by his early devotion to thrash, and that conversion to the bass. I really like the growl Tonys got on it and it really suits the songs perfectly. Heavy gauge picks. The guy I got it from says that it was a factory custom that had been requested to have the toaster pickup put on it. It was hard to comprehend. Despite his use of D'Aquisto strings in the 1960's and 1970's, Paul has always preferred the D'Addario lighting (EJ16 phosphor bronze) on his acoustic guitars.