thriller - the michael jackson classic - the bass synth in p.y.t. ??

[themaidsroom]

hi,


i am very into "thriller" again right now along with his sister
janet's "control"
record

"human nature" and "billie jean" are my favorites - i have the lp and a 12" on
billie jean...... i wish i could get a 12" of human nature......
the cd has no low end.....

but, listening to that bass synth in p.y.t.(from the vinyl) , does anyone know what it
is ??


thanks,

be well


- jack

[goldphinga]

I love that sound and playing. Minimoog for sure.

[dissolva]

That's Greg Phillinganes. He got his start from Stevie Wonder hearing his tape and recruiting him for his band. I think he was using a Minimoog and Jupiter 8 in the early 80s. With that guy playing it, ANY synth would sound great though.

[themaidsroom]

just heard it again....great....couple of really great songs......
the billie jean - louis johnson thing is awesome, but riding my old horse again....
billie jean would be impossible to acheive without 2" tape...........the $5.99 vinyl
blows away the cd - many of the moog sounds simply are not on the cd, barely audible,
as if there was a different mix.........

be well


- jack

[Mike O]

Originally Posted by themaidsroom

just heard it again....great....couple of really great songs......
the billie jean - louis johnson thing is awesome, but riding my old horse again....
billie jean would be impossible to acheive without 2" tape...........the $5.99 vinyl
blows away the cd - many of the moog sounds simply are not on the cd, barely audible,
as if there was a different mix.........

be well


- jack

I agree re: the value of tape. In many cases though, I think an even bigger contributor to the lack of sound on CDs issued after classic records is Mastering. Not saying that is the case here, but I know it is in others. Do a (crude) test for yourself. If you can record the vinyl to digital and it sounds better than that crappy CD digital is not the only problem.

be well indeed

[theblotted]

about a year ago i bought the newly mastered Thriller, which includes some bonus tracks and interviews with Qunicy, etc.

anybody know how this fares with vinyl or the CD that came out? or does it still suck?

[cab]

small correction...it was Greg, but the sound was from the ARP 2600.

[alfonso]

Don't forget that that recording was made by Bruce Sweiden, a true legend of last decades engineering.

[goldphinga]

that bass sound was an arp 2600? really?

[Tibbon]

Anyone got a a voyager patch that could do it?

[goldphinga]

So do we know for sure that the synth was an Arp 2600? I always presumed it was a moog but maybe not. Hopefully Bruce can shed some more light. I love the synth bass on working day and night, thriller, pyt, smooth criminal etc. Would love more insight from Bruce on the synths and recording techniques used.

[SiliconAudioLab]

Originally Posted by goldphinga

that bass sound was an arp 2600? really?

Yeah, I thought it was a mini as well. What's the deal?

[cab]

from what I know, the synth programmer for much of Thriller was using an ARP 2600 for many of the bass tracks on that whole album. that's not to say that other sounds weren't combined (such as real bass doubled), but I don't really know anything beyond this.

[Bruce Swedien]

Originally Posted by cab

from what I know, one of the synth programmers for much of Thriller was using an ARP 2600 for some of the bass tracks on that whole album. that's not to say that other sounds weren't combined (such as real bass doubled), but I don't really know anything beyond this.

WOW!!!! I really love you folks!!! All of your great questions, they are wonderful, even if they are a bit off-base sometimes... Keep it up!!! That means you are really listening....

Bruce

[zvenx]

I could be totally wrong, but I could have sworn as a child I read in Keyboard that it was either a cheap casio or yamaha played by James Ingram.
rsp

[goldphinga]

So come on Bruce, spill the beans!!!!

[allstar]

Originally Posted by zvenx

I could be totally wrong, but I could have sworn as a child I read in Keyboard that it was either a cheap casio or yamaha played by James Ingram.
rsp

Nah, the portasound does the little off beat chords in the verses (they're panned left).

[cab]

Originally Posted by Bruce Swedien

WOW!!!! I really love you folks!!! All of your great questions, they are wonderful, even if they are a bit off-base sometimes... Keep it up!!! That means you are really listening....

Bruce

guess i had some incorrect info. sorry.
...perhaps it was that casio after all...

[Bruce Swedien]

Originally Posted by goldphinga

So come on Bruce, spill the beans!!!!

I will call Greg and I'll dig back in my photos and find out.... I'll get back to this when I can give you a real answer..... In other words - THE TRUTH!!!

Bruce

[Bruce Swedien]

Originally Posted by Bruce Swedien

I will call Greg and I'll dig back in my photos and find out.... I'll get back to this when I can give you a real answer..... In other words - THE TRUTH!!!

Bruce

Here's a photo of my Bass Boxx.... I used this to channel the P.Y.T. bass synth into the desk....


Bruce

[Chris Parsons]

And what's inside that pretty little box?

[David R.]

At least we know it is not a magical black box. It is a magical silver box.

[Bruce Swedien]

Originally Posted by Chris Parsons

And what's inside that pretty little box?

What's inside that box is a Beautiful U.T.C. (United Transformer Company) Model LS 10 X Very Heavy, Super Quality, Audio Transformer.... And I use it as a direct pickup and I wire it purposely backwards.

I have tried for many years to duplicate it. HOWEVER.... Even though U.T.C. still makes that transformer...... I ordered a new transformer from U.T.C., made the Bass Box again and it sounded totaly different. I was totally bummed!!! Such is life!

I do have an idea. I am going to make that Bruce Swedien LS 10X Bass Box again. It ain't goin' to be easy, but I AM going to do it!!!!

Bruce Swedien

[Bruce Swedien]

Well Gang.....

Greg Phillanganes just called me back.... The bass on P.Y.T. was a Mini-Moog!!! Recorded through my Bass Boxxx....

Bruce

[mavertron]

wow thats the best thread ive ever seen.
that has been my all time ultimate bass synth sound.

bruce, thank you so much.

you, quincy, michael and rod temperton made millions of people happy with those records.

(including me)

say na na na na na....(na na na na)

[goldphinga]

i knew that had to be a minimoog !


Thanks for the info Bruce.

[futur2]

Originally Posted by Bruce Swedien

Well Gang.....

Greg Phillanganes just called me back.... The bass on P.Y.T. was a Mini-Moog!!! Recorded through my Bass Boxxx....

Bruce

then what the hell do the credits for "electric bass" (as oposed to just "bass" on the other songs of the album) for louis johnson on my thriller LP mean? did HE play that minimoog? did he double the part? "electric bass vs. bass what is it??

cheers
istvan

[jjdpro]

Louis Johnson ( The Brothers Johnson) Played all Live Bass On Thriller..

Originally Posted by futur2

then what the hell do the credits for "electric bass" (as oposed to just "bass" on the other songs of the album) for louis johnson on my thriller LP mean? did HE play that minimoog? did he double the part? "electric bass vs. bass what is it??

cheers
istvan

[dagg]

it would also be very interesting to find out about those stellar arrangement synths on Thriller. Those massive brassy sounds, are they coming from Oberheim?

thanks Bruce

Davor Marco

[Bruce Swedien]

Gearslutz All......

You must remember that when Quincy, Rod and I were doing these incredible songs, every song was done as a separate piece of music, and treated as such, In other words, the Bass sound on one song is entirely differect from all the others.

Bruce