How to Sound Like...Geddy Lee of Rush!

Geddy's tone is the stuff of legends, but it's actually achievable on budget gear. Using nothing but a Zoom B1xFour and Squier Jazz bass, you can sound like one of the most influential bassists of all time on songs like YYZ, Red Barchetta, Limelight, Working Man, Tom Sawyer, and more!
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[@ampthebassplayer]

Insert the Rush riff you were expecting and didn't get here.

[@abouc]

You covered all the essential ones

[@freddiesoverbite6162]

Any part of La Villa Strangiato would have been nice. Not just because it’s my favorite Rush song either. 😉

[@realgoldmember968]

The opening of Cygnus X-1

[@warptek]

Freewill!

[@terrymiller111]

@@freddiesoverbite6162 It's what convinced me to play. My bandmates knew what to tempt me with.

[@bassplayer2011ify]

Lets keep the prog theme going since they all have god tier bass tone. Chris Squire, John Myung, Rodger Waters, Greg Lake (or any King Crimson bassist).

[@TheSteelDialga]

John Wetton!!

[@lucasdelfino4574]

Yeeess!!!

[@cliffords2315]

and they got thier sound from John Entwistle who brought the bass world the ROTTOSOUND Round Wounds Listen to Entwistles live sound back in 69 using 200 Watt HIWATTS with four 15 cabs

[@Cobalt985]

Chris Squire's bass tone is half the reason I started playing bass again :)

[@bassimprovjams3772]

You had me at John Myung! Even though he’s my ALLTIME favorite bass player next to Ryan Martinie Myung’s bass tone isn’t my favorite 😍 n the early years with his Jazz bass yes, and in 6 degrees it was awesome too

[@stratboy1000]

Played two gigs this weekend with my Jbass and Zoom with your exact settings and loved the sound! I even named the patch "Geddy". It will now be my go-to sound. Thanks so much!

[@ampthebassplayer]

Right on! It makes so happy that you’re getting some use out of it!

[@prariedoggin]

Geddy is another good example of how tone begins in the fingers like many of the other players you’ve covered in the series. You cover a lot of the groundwork before you even get to specific gear. Great video and great playing, yet again!

[@alomon7738]

just as mr Sklar said as he explains how to use the "producer switch" hahaa

[@MooreBass]

You've sold me on the Zoom B1X Four! Ordered one today! Thanks for the excellent video!

[@ampthebassplayer]

That’s awesome! Enjoy it! It does a lot of stuff really well!

[@teddownum7428]

I've been a Rush fan for more than 40 years, and I'm not sure I've ever seen a picture of Geddy playing a P-bass...UNTIL TODAY. Great video!

[@groovyjam9530]

Love these videos with the B1xFour! Keep them coming!!

[@socialdef3]

This is a treasure trove of information. Thanks so much! You singlehandedly sold me on the B1 Four. I am a guitarist and own the G1 Four but love to seek tone from specific players and love to pick up my bass every once in a while. This video will help a TON!

[@jmv4717]

Upload the bass modules onto your G1Four

[@lucasdelfino4574]

Love this videos!! Really helpful!! Yesterday i bought my own zoom b1x four. I'm ready to explore!

[@angrywhiteman]

We need more of this, as a Beginner its just interesting how you try to achieve the Sound with Budget Gear

[@gulpirak]

Geddy Lee's tone specifically in the song Clockwork Angels is possibly the meanest his tone has ever been, certainly on a record.

[@danielmorris5401]

Love you channel mate. Your knowledge it's class and your presentation is funny as

[@Metal94head]

geezer butler's tone on 13, black sabbath's last album, would be chef's kiss

[@carloswagnerso]

Excelent analisys! Congrats!!!

[@CTTH100]

My favorite sound of his still is the Wal Mk1.

[@gregtimpany4183]

Excellent review!

[@DannySapko]

Thanks, really helpful!

[@jamesstephens8006]

Bravo from a 40 year Rush fan 👍🏼

[@natemarcinek2964]

Awesome lesson thank you!

[@xavierurrutiaGTR]

Thanks so much for this! I just uploaded a short using your patch, you rock man 🔥💪🏽

[@ampthebassplayer]

Hell yeah!

[@Matthew-pn1qu]

Great video!

[@GeorgeVrachliotis]

Excellent job on the zoom pedal, the sound that you got is very good, I am planning getting this for home practising. BTW, Geddy's signature Tech21 DI2112 pedal is bi-amping, having two distinct outputs for lows and highs, which can also be combined at post level to a single output. IMHO his pedal is the best sounding Tech21 bass pedal - they all sound very very good anyway...

[@tucktuckfloof]

7:00 Actually, that's pretty much exactly what he does. If you look on the rack mounts he uses it's basically a thick low end channel pre-EQ'd to his person settings that he pretty much goes dirty with and uses the main drive channel to have a cleaner boost. Gives a nice, rounded bottom, and a very agro top end.

[@ampthebassplayer]

Best of both worlds for sure!

[@owenandrew8108]

he also used an avalon tube di for an ultra clean sound. he had 3 or 4 signals that their FOH engineer blended depending on the song

[@RHINOSAUR]

Well done!

[@andrewpinner3181]

Very nice, thanks !

[@McFly-guitars-n-stuff]

I've got that box....it's pretty cool. Thanks for this video.

[@Klaus80804]

What about an episode "How to sound like J.J. Burnel (of the Stranglers)"? I think his bass tone especially from the first three albums is epic!

[@RHINOSAUR]

Just when I was considering selling my Zoom B1 Four unit!

[@victorlinge92]

Don't!

[@unknown-nj3kt]

Why did you want to sell it? I have preamp, comp and tuner setup and I'm planning to change them for B1 Four.

[@RHINOSAUR]

@@unknown-nj3kt - I don’t use it much anymore since finding 2 specific pedals that fit my needs as a lead bassist in a hard rock duo (no guitarist). This guy’s video reminded me once again of the versatility of the B1 Four. I may find some new sound uses for it down the road. I sometimes read about how some guys regret selling pedals they didn’t think they needed anymore, and I wouldn’t want to have the same regret.

[@andyunwin9260]

I've got the B3 and until now I've just used it for the occasional single effect (although I use the tuner and mute functions a lot). This series has made me look at how I can use it more effectively, not so much as "sound likes" but best combination of sounds to compliment each other

[@ampthebassplayer]

That’s perfect! Exactly what I hoped would come of these videos.

[@metallibasscovers]

I am 10 dollars away from getting a zoom pedal, trying to get gettys tone without a jazz bass is a challenge but with this I can finally fulfill my dreams of having Getty tone.

[@Luthiart]

Getty?

[@Rick_Petrone]

Very cool your video! I get good results using the Sanzamp Tech 21 Bass Drive pedal. Greetings from Brazil 🇧🇷

[@patrickpeterson2174]

My late Buddy and I got into RUSH around 1976 and boy, I thought that we came in late. I think we got see them live in 1979? Maybe a year earlier…. I just didn’t think they would have so successful and stay together for so long!

[@johnjuan812]

Impressive, man!!

[@geddyleesmullet84]

If remember, Geddy Lee has most of his bass all wired in stereo and split in two channels to control the sound in each pickup. In the early day, he would have them split into a preamp and out to the mixing board and the other to an amp that would be mic up to.

[@Furlanoriginal]

The setup is very good, but you can still see that the secret is to work with medium high and leave an attack on the compressor. I managed to do something similar and it turned out really well. Thanks a lot for the tips

[@room34]

Great video! I taught myself to play bass back in high school by listening to Geddy Lee, and here's a secret tip for getting that aggressive plucking style… try playing along *without an amp*. That's how I did it. :P

[@Bi_scotti_5]

I'd love to see a video on Mick Karn or Les Claypool sometime!

[@slayerb576]

Hey nice vid, using Zoom too, would like to see vid on Rush Synth patches !!

[@TonyJ1776]

Your Fly By Night sound was excellent.

[@wren23_bass-synths]

I have his SansAmp DI-2112 pedal. I can dail his tone even on my fretless. Nice tone on a pedal that I never would've considered. How about a video on Peter Hook heavy chorus tone?

[@lucasburigo]

You need to see the bass in Rush In Rio! Mannn… that effect that Lee used was the best

[@marvinhanson9391]

Im pretty sure his old live sound was achieved by using the ric-o sound to put overdrive on the bridge pickup and clean on the neck

[@ericbrintonmusic]

NAILED IT

[@MooreBass]

You know, I often hear people say tone is in the fingers, however I believe that is only partially true. Geddy's tone from early albums through the Signals album went away when he switched to a Steinberger bass and Terry Brown was no longer the producer. The bass on the Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, and Hold Your Fire albums was very thin and flat, his style was there but the tone went away.

[@chipanderson428]

Correct...a combo of gear&technique...I've seen guys throw mucho money on gear but their technique was crap..so they sounded like... I had the good fortune of poor so I had to learn how to get toned from finger attack,placement btwn bridge & neck etc etc ...I recommend starting with basic gear & minimal effects first and then add effects after you hv a good grasp of what you can do with just bass & hands

[@jurifenocchio5170]

You are really good! You could do a Black Sabbath "Geezer Butler" bass player patch?

[@mb72oz]

Good info, it's pretty amazing what one can do with a cheap bass + cheap multi-FX unit these days.

[@marionrollmage]

holy shit dude, you just made my whole life, i have a zoom b1xFour and been struggling so much to make tones out of god bassists, if u could go with geezer, flea and so on i would shit myself! GODBLESS YOU

[@ampthebassplayer]

You had better get yourself a new pair of paints: kzbin.info/aero/PLmM96RdJB4RYpMnnlBFYhFTulYSsNyZm3&si=GsBHnEsz2-nHahaR

[@ridefast0]

I was lucky enough to see the R30 tour, and my takeaway was that you need murder in your heart and years of finger strength training in order to address the strings correctly. However hard you are hitting, he will be hitting harder than that for the entire show - I can't imagine how hard the skin must be on his fingers. The harder I hit my 4001 the more it sounds like Geddy. Still working out which tumble dryer sounds best.

[@franciscopizarro960]

thanks for the motivation to play with the pedal, with this i can fusion the SVT o AG that i dont know it jiijji

[@richsackett3423]

Great playing, sounds as close as imaginable. Some personal gear nerdiness: I've had Vox ToneLabs since they came out for my guitars. Sound awesome for the money but they don't last forever. Three days ago, I thought my current ST bit the dust and got another coming for $110. It's fine, bad cable end as it turns out. I'm primarily a bassist but have never played a bass through one in over 15 years (due to an atypical lack of imagination). Looks like the move is to dedicate it to the bass rig. You get amazing mileage out of yours. But it's ALL in the fingers. Sigh.

[@tubatodd]

Bass face in full effect!!!!!!!

[@corerelic]

Ha ha. Great job. Love that bass face.

[@jamesalfaro3155]

Interesting video, what about of the sound of early Grand Funk Railroad’ bassist Mel Schacher ????

[@gravittii]

Thanks. Wosh thwre was a place online to download these patches.

[@ampthebassplayer]

www.patreon.com/posts/62214089?

[@chrischoir3594]

actually sounds pretty good

[@janicefrantz1831]

Imho, best bass tone ever is Dennis Dunaway in the early Alice Cooper stuff. I got close to it back in the 70s with my 4001, an Acoustic head, and a couple SVT cabinets.

[@RH-xs8gz]

Am I one of the few people that loved Geddy’s Steinberger tone one the Grace Under Pressure and (a couple songs) off of Signals?

[@DerekTJ]

It's a gorgeous tone. The Body Electric and Red Lenses

[@johnglynhughes4239]

Yup, great tone!

[@bassimprovjams3772]

I used to hate Rush when I was a kid and heard “Fly by night” I couldn’t stand that song or Geddys voice then fast forward to growing up and being a bass player and learning about Geddy now I love rush and that song

[@boomer5231]

John Entwistle- The bass tone on the album Live at Leads.

[@richardmolacek1495]

lets not forget about the Rick-O-Sound....that's your Geddy Lee, Chris Squire sound.....

[@eds6889]

Don’t forget he also played a Steinberger and a Wal over the years.

[@ysfawolfpack]

Chris squire would be very interesting to break down. DD Verni would be really cool as well.

[@johnpearson6251]

Would you be able to share the Zoom B1Four settings for these tones?

[@thomassvatos6300]

Curious if you could cover Geddy’s bass sound from Power Windows, which is a bit different from this classic sound of Geddy that you cover here. Territories, etc.

[@enzofariabaixista]

could you do a video on how to sound like Chris Squire? oh and i have a b1on zoom :)

[@seaskiff20]

Correction; the Orange amp came into his signal chain long after he “went ampless”.

[@sapphicquartz]

I remember hearing him say that he picked w his nails instead of the soft part of his fingers, sadly i dont remember what interview that was

[@alexandrebarber6695]

parabens pelos videos ensina a montar os timbres nas pedaleira zoom

[@USSLIBERTYREMEMBERER]

Hall and Oates-Out of Touch all squier demo comin up soon?

[@kito2195]

Can we get a How to sound like Justin Chancellor with the Zoom B1X Four? :)

[@henrywillockjr.4007]

WOWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!! You must be a sorcerer🤨👌

[@pip5528]

I didn't know he started with a P-bass but I've seen him use one later on in his career. Yes, his bass playing and vocals are amazing but how do so many people listing off his roles seem to leave out his awesome synth playing with both his hands and feet? I know this video mentions it later but still, I'd love to see it recognized more as he got me into Minimoogs and analog synth in general.

[@thiagofreitas8180]

Great vid Andrew! Do you know if B1 Four is compatible with isolated power supplies such as Voodoo Lab's? I was considering purchasing one to use in series with a few distortion pedals I own. I would use the B1 Four just for modulation and maybe amp simulation, but not sure if this 9V outputs from isolated power supplies would be compatible with it...

[@ampthebassplayer]

Yes, it should work just fine with a standard 9v power supply. Thanks for watching!

[@thiagofreitas8180]

@@ampthebassplayer awesome! thanks for the (amazingly) quick reply!

[@HonkerinoXD]

Geezer butlers tone on the b1x four maybe?

[@maciejbrusio8321]

Great video :) But what about the Wal tone?

[@ampthebassplayer]

Saving that one for the Justin Chancellor video 😉

[@franciscoperez2513]

I think maybe a chorus would help to get a most clean sound for the upper strings

[@Farewelltokingz]

Yeah, hemispheres era had lots of chorus as well as YYZ and Vital Signs

[@larrycartolano8772]

It would be nice if you would write in the video notes -- the exact Zoom effects patch and settings of each one in the chain. For example, in the middle you mentioned "PBDI" and I have no idea what that is.

[@ampthebassplayer]

You can see the full settings here: www.patreon.com/posts/how-to-sound-lee-62214089?Link&

[@comradeinkhakis8185]

Can you do a sleep or doom metal setting plzzzz

[@horrorshowbass]

I renamed the drivn clean channel on my zoom "Geddy Drive"

[@Johnny-O]

Hi. Which compressor are you using?

[@StephenFinkNRP]

It was tricky with the ricky. Muahaha

[@TheSteelDialga]

How does the Zoom get used in this process? Not sure if I missed it, but you didn't really explain that

[@ampthebassplayer]

Bass>Zoom>Audio Interface>empty track with no effects in Amplitube.

[@cliffords2315]

I bought the new Tech 21 'VT BASS DI sans amp SVT Head and Cab emulator, i can use it with pretty much any amp or power amp and get that sound. Best $400 ive spent in years, cheaper than the rarck mounted Sansamp

[@tucantipack]

0:30 what song is that xd

[@michaelb.42112]

BASSically, Geddy is the most dangerous bass player, EVER.

[@Acordeuniversal]

Could you post it on Tonelib please, I urgently need that G Lee sound, thanks a million, friend.

[@ampthebassplayer]

I have it on my Patreon in both text format as well as a downloadable file.

[@surfinbuddha3119]

Rick en BACK er.

[@pfbrodriguez]

what pickups do you use?

[@rickstout5524]

I have already have the B1Four and. BDDI, and a mixer, how did you cable the 2? Zoom into the Sansamp or vice versa, parallel into separate inputs, preamp one into the other? I know I’m late to the party on this one, hopefully you see it.

[@ampthebassplayer]

For my patch, I only use the Zoom, but if you’re going to use the BDDI with it, I’d probably put it after. That said, there’s no reason to not experiment with a few different things and see what works best for you.

[@rickstout5524]

@@ampthebassplayer Thanks for the reply! I was a little concerned about the the glasses over contacts effect…. I can get close with both using an equalizer after each, and as a bassist I am a pretty mediocre guitarist….

[@zarkc4]

Henlo. How can sound like Mick Karn pls? Thank you in advance, kind sir, fellow bass player.

[@natera_tech]

To sound Like Geddy you need a JB with 70's spacing and a very low action setup.

[@warptek]

Next, could you do Steve Harris?

[@bernardopinto5392]

You should try to replicate Michael Shuman's tone next, ive tried rly hard with different fuzz and distortion pedals but i could never do it quite like him

[@ampthebassplayer]

He’s on my list! We’ll definitely get to him at some point.

[@Gubgubgoober]

Do how to sound like jamiroquias bassist!

[@ampthebassplayer]

I would love to do that. Stu has been on my mind a lot lately so I will put him on the HTSL list!

[@ricardodorado2467]

You forgot he was also they keyboard player. And all at the same times. 😊

[@glengelo]

Want to hear the synth tones... PLEASE!

[@trashfl1pper914]

I can’t find the bddi on my b1xfourzoom can u help me?

[@ampthebassplayer]

Its called the Bass DRV. Should be right between the Squeak and the D.I. Plus.

[@trashfl1pper914]

@@ampthebassplayer thank you so much!

[@LC-xi7xi]

Do Justin chancellor tone next

[@KleversonRoyther]

Sound like Jack Casady! Been trying to get his tone on the Zoom, but I just get lost and never get any close

[@ampthebassplayer]

I've really seriously been considering getting a semi-hollow recently. Might have to just for one video lol.

[@KleversonRoyther]

@@ampthebassplayer I just bought one myself last month (it's a Brazilian one from the 60s) and put flats on it. Got a nice growl and some subtle saturation out of the box, but that's as far as I got

[@davidcasalaspro77]

sound like yourself! what do you consider your own sound? I would love to see that! cool! Thanks!

[@ampthebassplayer]

That sounds like a fun idea, actually!