Tom Sawyer (Rush) - Geddy Lee Bass

[@Violetcas97]

Geddy is probably the tightest finger style player in the history of rock. His lines are always so fucking clean, it's astounding, especially considering how hard he comes down on those strings it baffles me that he can keep his tone so consistent.

[@dantro78]

I would echo everything you just said about Geddy's playing, and I would say the same about Billy Sheehan, my other favorite rock bassist.

[@unlimited00]

@@dantro78 I'd have to throw Les Claypool in there as well.

[@steve4247]

Let's just remember he learned from john entwistle

[@cvn6555]

All three band members relentlessly pursued perfection at their instruments throughout their time together. Never accepted anything less than the very best they could do.

[@garydunham335]

I agree. All you have to do is listen to him play yyz live. It is something else

[@chandlerhoffert483]

This is the Fender, he just clarified it in his latest interview.

[@yunussh5385]

had Geddy Lee ever use Precision bass?

[@eddievedderface]

@@yunussh5385 pretty sure i read an interview and he said it's a P bass on the first 3 albums. Not the Rickenbacker like most people think

[@rattan3793]

@@eddievedderface Fender P bass on the first album, Ric on the 2nd (Fly By Night) except for one song (Making Memories) which was P bass, both Ric and P basses on 3rd album (Caress Of Steel).

[@carloscastillo8349]

rattan3793 pretty sure he used a jazz bass for this song

[@Dwarfloeter]

Though on this one he used a Wal for recording

[@holdencaustic]

I've always loved his sound- it grunts, growls and sings. So glad I saw them live as many times as I did.

[@DannyBoi2112]

The greatest band that ever existed

[@TheCorezero00]

And then some!!!!

[@captainmw8885]

The greatest band that ever existed!

[@DannyBoi2112]

@@captainmw8885 edited my comment, thanks for the correction

[@bird20040]

And the who

[@zoso2850]

No

[@Mars-]

Ohh the most musical bass playing of any rock band I've heard. Love his tone and most of all the feeling. The bass isn't just rhythm it's super melodic .

[@thesmallnotesduo]

To sing like that? To play like that? Wow. But to do both. At the same time? LEGEND

[@trevwings9438]

He's said that he used his jazz bass for this tune in an interview. You can find on KZbin

[@Davidjon1946]

Probably the best player along with one of the most unique vocal styles that ever was putting this together every single night so many tears throughout the years and how many dates have they canceled had to miss?

[@Violetcas97]

For people trying to match this tone, I have a little bit of advice. 1: Jazz Bass, Rickenbacker’s come close but this tune was played with a J. Both do the job well but if you’re trying to be exacting, aim for the J. 1.5. Pickup orientation and eq: neck pickup all the way up, bridge pickup completely off, tone cranked all the way up. Amp EQ everything at noon, with the exception of mids which I turn to about 7 2. Low action, the speed of Geddy’s playing kinda necessitates low action on the strings, less effort to press and less chance of getting all pretzeled up with your fretting hand. 3. Right hand technique: it’s helpful to have slightly long finger nails as it kinda adds to the clacky tone Geddy achieves, but most of his tone comes from a lot of very controlled power. Geddy knocks the absolute snot out of his strings and is very consistent about it. This is the hardest part of achieving Geddy’s tone, as it takes a lot of time and practice to be able to play that aggressively with as much control and consistency as he does. I’m by no means an expert but this is just my experience in fussing around with tone and being a longtime Rush fan trying to match Geddy’s tone. Give it a try and see how it sounds I suppose

[@WildChildMcCloud]

The sound has some bridge dialed in. I can hear it.

[@tashipalden3651]

@@WildChildMcCloud late comment but can please elaborate how you hear it? I’m a beginner working on my tone. Thank you

[@WildChildMcCloud]

@@tashipalden3651 you can hear the snarl and growl on the top end as well as the fundamental tone which is the neck pickup. It sounds like he's using both pickups, mostly neck pickup with some bridge pickup blended in.

[@timtapp5931]

​@@WildChildMcCloud could part of it be also that he's using fresh rotosound 66's? Those strings new add a ton of bite and low end

[@hello_alpine1693]

I'm almost positive listening to this that Geddy was misremembering when he said that he took out his Jazz bass for this song, and he was actually thinking of the song Limelight. To my ear this sounds exactly like a Ricky, whereas that one sounds much more believably like a Jazz bass. that and the music videos, which are just footage of the Moving Pictures recording sessions, which show the Ricky in the Tom Sawyer recording and the Jazz in the Limelight one

[@ChipsA17]

I love the feeling this gives my ears and soul. Soooo good. God I love the geddy and rush sound.

[@kane6529]

I love the feeling it gives me in my trousers 🤩

[@dibber43]

One of THE greatest bass players to EVER live...GEDDY LEE!!!👍

[@jotagomezmusico]

I love when Geddy follow the fills of Neil 2:43

[@GoodSneakers]

Uncle Geddy definitely brings the sauce with this performance.

[@MrWewewee]

geddy lee, tim commerford justin chancellor... sickest bass tones ever!!

[@victorsousa2083]

Mud Fear mee... Tim is just a good bass player...

[@Luc_Crane1967]

and Jason Newsted

[@shadyacr]

Tim is so underrated

[@DannyBoi2112]

Chris Squire also

[@maxwell9561]

justin is so good yes

[@blackdog5186]

2:02 yaaas

[@JamesSmith-vk2ky]

👍👍😀😆😎

[@PauliePinch13]

Geddy is the unreal. Listening to this with headphones on & his tone is from another planet.

[@lucasgarrido6129]

I love rock n roll, but I don't have good ears, so sometimes I can't easily distinguish the bass line in some songs. That's why I started to search for isolated bass tracks, and it's just so magnificent!! Very underrated instrument unfortunately!

[@JohnChefman]

0:53 reson I came here

[@andycorpse]

Is great

[@stonieizda121]

This bass line is the reason why tom sawyer doesnt Go out of my Head

[@NotAndrew02]

Der Bewerter same

[@legendindaturk8745]

I swear I’d be at school, and I would think of this song for a SECOND, and BAM! Song gets stuck in my head... It’s because of this sweet bass line at 0:53

[@elliebean368]

The merciless Sun God approves

[@rickb1266]

Fender Jazz bass, neck pickup, super low action (fret buzz)long fingernails, aggressive finger diggin' sound!

[@EbluestarE]

Hmm IDK about that low action but goddamn of love the sound of an old fashioned Fender

[@Sheehy223]

@@EbluestarE No, Geddy has always been known to play with an extremely low action.

[@theanalogkid_4588]

he's playing a ric in this no doubt

[@blue-tb2fd]

theAnaLogKid_458 - a certain man by the name of Geddy Lee might disagree with you

[@SUP3RKAPON]

@@theanalogkid_4588 jazz bass with a bit of drive

[@user-zt2wc3uh1l]

People here saying you can't get Geddy's tone no matter if you play a a Rick, standard Jazz, or the Geddy Lee model. Well, first of all, a big part of his sound is in his hands, plus he bi-amps.

[@andrepercebom]

Dave Garry HA HA

[@RonnieN1995]

+Dave Garry Indeed, it is almost completely his style of playing. Really attacks the bass. If you have a Rick or a Fender Jazz, a decent amp, you have the Geddy Lee sound which equals playing on a pig. (Pigs also grunt)

[@gmmakesmehurl]

No, he didn't biamp here. And for the last fucking time, tone is NOT all in the hands. That's a bullshit argument.

[@fretlessman71]

It's not "all" in the hands, but it certainly starts there. It's why you can hear that it's Geddy playing, whether he's playing his Jazz, a Rick, or a Wal. Even that awful Steinberger he played for a while can't hide the "Geddy-ness".

[@computerscientist5953]

I agree, that's such a BS. I remember watching a video where 3 different guitarists were asked to play the same thing on the same set up and guess what? No one could tell them apart. They all sounded THE SAME. I'm not saying Geddy is some sort of mediocre bassist, but let's be honest: there's no "secret" in his technique. Get the same setup as him, try to imitate his plucking and you will be 99% close. I guarantee, if an average Rush fan hears you playing in the mix - he will never realize it's not Geddy.

[@WildChildMcCloud]

Best bass tone ever!

[@freddiesoverbite6162]

That’s probably one of the greatest band photos of the boys.

[@boracs10]

Sounds Like Fender Jazz not Rickenbacker 4001

[@kman-mi7su]

That's because it is a Fender Jazz bass.

[@anziah20]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZmWonJ2ba5xlo9E if you interested

[@zoomerjack5435]

I'm Mark Twain. Pretty cool book, huh?

[@fuhrmanator00]

Anyone else notice after 4:34 was not on the album (it's after the fade)? But it's how the Exit Stage Left (and other live) versions end :)

[@shallex5744]

this track is from the Rock Band games. the developers usually edit the tracks in that game to remove fadeouts, so they simply copy pasted an earlier part of the song and used it for the ending

[@buzzcrushtrendkill]

Thanks for posting this! And for the issue about what bass, yes it is the Fender Jazz. In the video of them recording this, he is using a Rick but that is only during the recording of the drum tracks when Alex and Ged would play along with Neil but would later record their own parts separately where he used the Fender.

[@tedgumby1796]

Geddy playing his $200 pawn shop Fender Jazz Bass...

[@patrickdbuck]

In tabs online, they always have the bass going all along the entire song, but for most of the synth sections, there’s no bass track at all in the recording, which only makes sense since he’s playing the synth. Interesting!

[@AdamBalm13]

Badass... now to find Freewill w/ isolated bass...

[@scottb200]

Geddy rockin' the Casio in the pic

[@williambradley8004]

This is the greatest Bass tone in the History of Rock Music.

[@asammler]

Geddy Lee looks uncannily like the Mona Lisa here

[@Rougarou2023]

Geddy Leesa? Tona Leesa?

[@beatlesrgear]

Wow! Geddy must be knocking the snot out of those strings. He sounds like he's using a plectrum, but we've all seen him play Rush songs and he always just uses his fingers. Maybe he has the "Bass fingers of death" LOL!

[@canadude6401]

Nice watch Geddy...is that a Seiko? But seriously, you earned your "Gold Watch" after 40 years of musical prowess. Rush ended on a very high note, and I am happy to have seen them live three times. Your music lives on!

[@darrennewcombe5600]

geddy plucks the strings very hard and aggressively with his right hand (almost slapping them) and has a high mass bridge on his j basses. (badass). I can emulate his sound pretty well on almost all the basses I play, using .45 - .105 gauge strings. (the newer and brighter, the better) usually p & j basses and 4003 rick. as for biamping theres no need (in my humble opinion) all I use is a decent overdrive such as a boss odb3. but I would recommend using a sansamp if within ones budget. alternatively an ehx big muff is also very useful.

[@Farewelltokingz]

Big muff has way too much distortion for geddy. There just needs to be enough drive to get a little more sustain out of it. It can’t be a mid scooped drive either. I recommend either his signature pedal or the Darkglass vintage series.

[@alexmurphy5289]

I've spent hours trying to dial in this tone. Obviously I'm not Geddy, but fuck it's tough to do. Neck pickup on full, no doubt. I have a GK Amp and darkglass B7K pre amp too so I can get that crunch. I'm just missing the milkyness. I have the Geddy Lee jazz too... sigh, I will have to just get as close as possible with my fingers

[@WTWASTHAT]

Alex Murphy well this bass tone is suuuper compressed. That might help with the milkyness.

[@carlosm.devasconcelllos3939]

Looks amazing even almost 30 years after!

[@JohnChefman]

Do you mean sounds amazing

[@-Atmos1]

great bass player....

[@jasoncarpp7742]

Awesome bass playing! :)

[@alexmurphy5289]

Jazz bass full volume on the neck pickup, play hard with your fingers and then you will still be light years away from his tone

[@janus2059]

You don't think there is any bridge PU?

[@WildChildMcCloud]

This has some bridge pickup dialed in as well.

[@williambradley8004]

Geddys tone is easy to get with an early 70s jazz both pickups wide open and hard plucking fingerstyle.

[@tormus]

Is not the Ric, it's the Fender You can hear Geddy Lee solving that here kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZ7EY4GqhpZ2f6c from 04:30

[@cyphrinfinity9992]

Thx for posting this. Rush is my favourite band.

[@gregoryvanhalen]

Just bought a bass and this is the ultimate

[@Mammoth919]

Bought a set of Brantley pickups recently (he winds geds) you’ll be pretty damn close.

[@jankradler5483]

Actually Geddy use his 1963 Hofner low boy with gold piano strings made by the T-Fagel company! With a slight overdrive and a 1:8 compression

[@TheCorezero00]

Sounds like drop B tuning doesn't it?? I don't have my tuner handy and my synths are put away so i can't verify but it sounds quite a bit lower than low E....... thoughts??

[@Farewelltokingz]

I think you need to get your ears checked.

[@BayviewFinch]

What I don't get is how some musicians can play an instrument and sing at the same time. It's always a mystery. I can imagine playing the bass OR singing, or playing guitar OR singing, but both? Doing different things?

[@Violetcas97]

It takes a lot of practice and time to get it right, both of which Geddy has, but I think a touch of natural talent helps (which I also think Geddy has)

[@johncolteraneoffical]

@@Violetcas97 Both that and if you can tell he plays a simplified version of the riff when he sings, and tries to play as much notes that are the same rhythm/tempo as the singing.

[@ricardosallin1670]

Great list!! Thanks for the compilation

[@crisknapp1990]

Different I love it

[@KickflipGnasty]

He’s the man 🙌🏼

[@CorvetteCoonass]

This is his Jazz Bass, the tone is particularly biased toward the neck pickup. His Rickenbacker 4001 has a more distinct tone because of the Ric-O-Sound, though it may be hard to tell the difference at times when heard in the mix. Listen to the Signals and the difference between the two basses becomes more apparent.

[@allghilliedup21]

dat jazz bass

[@keithruddell1800]

can we type like adults soon?

[@allghilliedup21]

I can and I do. Just Rush turns me into an illiterate five year old because they're so godly.

[@keithruddell1800]

:) do you play an instrument?

[@allghilliedup21]

Bass. Why? Geddy.

[@keithruddell1800]

i play bass too!

[@RAXSMusik]

Holy compression!!!!!!

[@Farewelltokingz]

Would sound like total crap in the mix without a bit of compression. Not knocking Ged at all, aggresive fingerstyle is always a bit messy no matter who is doing it, it's the nature of the beast.

[@KickflipGnasty]

@@Farewelltokingzhe sounds tight as S to me.

[@puglopez6654]

Also use your finger for the high punch sound and a little bit of punch effects

[@Luc_Crane1967]

puglopez 665 or use a pick and slam it against the strings.

[@BlackMaidenTallica]

about 60 neck, 40 bridge

[@puglopez6654]

It sounds a lot like flanger even tho it’s not so basically have clean with flanger to get close

[@rattan3793]

Jazz bass people. For everyone saying it's the Rickenbacker watch this interview with the man himself, particularly at the 4 minute mark: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZ7EY4GqhpZ2f6c

[@tripplevai]

nice playing dude but this is not Geddy isolated ;) I am missing some of the 16th notes from the moving pictures album on that tune

[@cory5875]

The best.

[@mikewrightify]

Remember one thing boys and girls this an effect since there's no pedal that does this this is from him beating the shit out of the string that is natural overdrive of the strings and pop so hard that's how he get this sound

[@StupidEarthlings]

He's got some nice dirt in there, but I think it could use waaaay more bottom end. JMO?

[@marianosanchez3209]

This doesn't seems to be the studio version, it may be the Rick

[@stephenbaldassarre2289]

It's the original studio version, sounds like a J-bass with the tone rolled down a bit.

[@sepidj_]

the bass itself has much less to do with Geddy live tone than his rack. Anyway, the Geddy signature can be anything but a bad copy, it's a great instrument, the only difference with the 70's jazz bass being the fretboard (maple vs rosewood) and the thickness of the neck.

[@jondeare]

How Fun!

[@pauld205]

By-tor takes a brisk stroll

[@Sam-qc6sz]

Having those three smurking at you whilst trying to learn this on bass can be a bit disconcerting I have to say

[@kisterdrums]

That’s crazy that it’s not the rickenbacker, I guess jazz bass is the next best thing

[@Peterickenbacker1]

The ending in the studio recording doesn’t go back to the major bass riff in the bridge. What version is this? Is this Geddy?

[@naterator77]

It is definitely not

[@reinerbraun3370]

Why is everyone saying he's using the Rick? He said so himself that he used the Fender.

[@ferox965]

Probably because of the video.

[@skeeno666]

His Magma tone is peerless

[@lambfactory2537]

I never realized how good the bass was! You would not believe what my name is.

[@lambfactory2537]

I think you might be shadow banned.

[@Huegelmann]

Didn't he use a Rickenbacker bass in this song?

[@michaelgoltry773]

No he uses his Fender Jazz Bass

[@ferox965]

That's just the video.

[@Tommy-wf9kr]

Slappy da bas.

[@austinstaab1205]

Plucky da bas.

[@Ampher03]

F I N G E R the bass

[@Loseless11]

Geddy's Jazz Bass doesn't have the same sound as his jazz bass. It's a bad copy. Buy the Classic 70 Jazz bass. It has a much closer sound to what Geddy uses these days. I almost did the same thing.

[@garytaylor1192]

Growl!

[@raffiwinters7950]

I never noticed that 1/8 rest in verse

[@Darryl6636]

Pretty sure the entire Moving Pictures album was his Jazz Bass

[@Farewelltokingz]

Camera Eye and Barchetta isn’t

[@camoufleur]

0:58 for MF DOOM fans

[@bashirshah5347]

F**kin Sea BASS

[@jaecenwhite2590]

Geddy gives no Fs about frett buzz

[@Apemopo]

no dislikes so far. how nice!

[@garyarnold602]

I disliked just to piss you off. Have a nice day

[@lucacastellaro1615]

BadStar Music ohhh i'm crying

[@LuisGonzalesDelValle]

wooo

[@zeppelin1996]

Sounds like a Ric to me.

[@mrpositronia]

The action on those strings is so low.

[@peterg.bassist]

I've been playing the same Ric 4001 for 46 years and "eyes closed" this bass recorded here is a Ric 4001 (Fuck what he said in the interview)

[@dalianeferreira8430]

Rick, is that you ????

[@Nwario789]

Madvillian - Meat Grinder bassline 😭🔥🔥

[@jackparrish1221]

It’s great but it’s wrong

[@punman5392]

That mic bleed tho...

[@figivy]

Lets see your isolated tracks bud

[@snapascrew]

+Curtis Mcgee it's not mic bleed. amps were isolated during recording of record... it's just how rock band separated the tracks.

[@lawman2112]

Definitely the Rick 4001 - very punchy bottom end....

[@Dinozzo1995]

no no NO, it's the JAZZ BASS with the neck pickup. Get it right for once.

[@KreaperSlayer]

DutchPs3Gamers Have you seen the music video for this? In the music video Geddy is using the Rick not the Jazz.

[@Dinozzo1995]

Kreaper Slayer Lmao, artists mostly don't use the instrument for recording on the music video...because it doesn't look as good as other basses they can use COUGH RICK COUGH.

[@KreaperSlayer]

DutchPs3Gamers Do you have a link that I can watch to prove that it is not a rick?

[@Dinozzo1995]

Kreaper Slayer Do you have a link that can prove its a rick LMAO

[@Martin2769]

Nice try ;-), but it,s not Geddy playing !

[@marksalgado5164]

Sounds legit to me

[@mikethemusicman1978]

have you ever stopped to consider the fact that in order to get the right bass tone Geddy was looking for they would have to mic up the bass amp as well as use a D.I box straight into the mixer.