A view from Tony Levin's Strap

[Jimmyb]

That's a really great photo, but it gives me vertigo!!

I'm only a small fat bloke and Tony seems to be a very tall skinny bloke! It's like being on top of a crane to me.

I was thinking about a fretless 25th today as well. What's that all about? I'm supposed to be a guitarist for goodness sake!!

 

[MrMusashi]

wow! if ed doesnt like mm stuff he sure hides it well. like laneline i ordered the bass (unseen) after watching that clip!!
took a good 8 months to get my baby and by then i had bought 3 other eb basses

also nice to see a photo of tonys rig! that 25th will probably haunt me forever!

MrM

ps: for those not familiar with peter gabriel and tony levin, go buy the "so" album. there you will hear songs like sledgehammer which is one mighty demo of the stingray sound! dont give up with kate bush has a bass outro that used to make my car shatter to pieces (hehe.. car stereo is fun and that song made it even funnier )

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Ed once said he only played Fenders and some other make. I think he digs what EBMM sends him, he just doesn't connect with it.

I can relate to that. I tend to go through phases where I'll prefer certain instruments over others, however even if one falls out of favour for another, a good instrument is a good instrument.

EBMM makes good instruments.

Tony is great player and I am looking forward to hearing him on the 25th Anniversary model. "Don't Give Up" is a great track. Was that recorded with a StingRay 5?

 

[Grand Wazoo]

"Don't Give Up" is a great track. Was that recorded with a StingRay 5?

The answer is yes, he played a Stingray 5, however you can see in this live version of it, he is using a 4 stringer.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0UdesNyCow&feature=PlayList&p=38C177C8D2B1380B&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=14]YouTube - Tracy Chapman - Don't Give Up [with Peter Gabriel] Live[/ame]

 

[adouglas]

True story about "Don't Give Up."

When Tony recorded that he was traveling with his wife and baby, so naturally they had an ample supply of diapers (also known as nappies).

To get the distinctive tone of the outro he stuffed one (clean of course!) under the strings at the bridge as a mute.

He called it the "super nappy bass" sound.

So if you want to know how to sound just like TL, go get yourself an SR5 and a box o' Pampers......

lol

 

[adouglas]

Time to re-post these.

TL lives in Woodstock, NY, and in 2005 he did a show at Keegan Ales, a microbrewery in nearby Kingston, inside the working brewery. It was AWESOME and I was right up front. The stage was plywood sitting on bags of hops and grain!

Enjoy, peeples.

Personally, I like me WITHOUT hair better, and for the record,

NO, TONY'S LOOK HAD NOTHIN' TO DO WITH IT!!!

 

[the unrepentant]

tony's bass appears to have two too many strings

 

[sloshep]

I found this pick on the internet. Its from NAMM 2009. It looks like here is where it started with the 25th.

 

[RocketRalf]

The 25th looks so classy in that picture... It goes on well with acoustics, and I guess it'd look good on any situation... except the most hardcore costume dark metal...

 

[Hellboy]

The answer is yes, he played a Stingray 5, however you can see in this live version of it, he is using a 4 stringer.

"Don´t give up" was to my knollage recorded initially back in -85 or very early -86. I don´t think MM made 5-string basses back then. First one came in -87 if I´m not wrong. 20th Anniversary 5 came in-07....

//J

 

[koogie2k]

Thanks for the pics and video. Honestly, I never knew who Tony was until the first Open House. What a fabulous player and one heck of a nice guy. I can't wait to get one of the 25ths.

 

[Jimmyb]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptmDZ5JiLf0&feature=channel"]Bass Cam![/ame]

This has just become my favourite EBMM content video.

 

[Grand Wazoo]

Amazing video, thanks for sharing it, one of the benefits of this bass cam, which I assume has it's own on board mic, is that you can really hear every nuance played on the bass.

 

[MrMusashi]

@hellboy: you can still string a 4 string bead

MrM

 

[liverbird]

Anyone know what the color of Tony Levin's SR5 (in the photos on previous page) is called? Saw a used SR4 (late 80s, 2-band EQ) today in a shop. Looked like the same color, also with a white guard. Sort of pink/peach-ish...

 

[sloshep]

Anyone know what the color of Tony Levin's SR5 (in the photos on previous page) is called? Saw a used SR4 (late 80s, 2-band EQ) today in a shop. Looked like the same color, also with a white guard. Sort of pink/peach-ish...

Peach. Its in the color guide sticky above.

 

[Big Poppa]

lets keep the personal comments about peoples looks out of the forum please

the bass cam lets you hear Tony's monitor mix...thats really cool

 

[oli@bass]

the bass cam lets you hear Tony's monitor mix...thats really cool

Indeed!!! To me the most interesting thing to observe was, that even for a huge act like Peter Gabriel, the monitor sound is very "uneven" depending on location on the stage. Some times Tony just moves to the side or truns and the bass volume is drastically different.

 

[MrMusashi]

which is probably why he has an inear system

MrM

 

[Jimmyb]

Indeed!!! To me the most interesting thing to observe was, that even for a huge act like Peter Gabriel, the monitor sound is very "uneven" depending on location on the stage. Some times Tony just moves to the side or truns and the bass volume is drastically different.

I'm sure one of the videos comments on this. If they're using in-ears, it takes away the need for monitors everywhere. Plus, it makes for a better overall mix, as there's less chance of feedback into the vocal mic's.