We got onstage and shocked the hell out of everybody. But my favorite was Tony McPhee of the Groundhogs. Gary Moore preferred Dean Markley Electric Guitar strings he used .010 set (2504B) or a .009 set (2508). Ive always used .009.042 gauge strings: Rotosounds if we can get hold of them. I'd just say, for people who are learning, try to keep changing things up and stay open minded to everything. I saw Slayer on the Hell Awaits album and that changed my world, he once said. "After that the first real bass I bought was an Ibanez Soundgear and I still play Ibanez now. What's Inside show We have a tendency towards being first-takers together. Whether he knew you or not. I just pick out licks and phrases I heard my heroes play. Tony McPhees Groundhogs performance of Cherry Red on Top of the Pops departed radically from the shows usual fare, and that was the moment I decided to get a guitar and only a Gibson SG would do. Paul didnt know anyone in Iowa, so six months in, when he overheard some guys in a local record store talking about needing a bass player for Metallica and Slayer covers, he volunteered his services. She has also written for the likes of Classic Rock, Prog, Rock Sound and Visit London amongst others, and was a regular presenter on the Metal Hammer Podcast. That changed my world, he recounted in Paul Gray: Behind The Player. verdict on the 50 albums that shaped 2022. Rickenbacker 12-string (Atomic Studios), Amps No, you just dont put that together, because youre young.. The finish, too, being less thick, shows off the battle scars nicely. Hellfest reveal 2023s line-up with headliners Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Mtley Cre and KISS. Feb 11, 2014 #3. Although Slipknot's Paul Gray was known to many simply as . All rights reserved. So I went over and said, 'Dude, I play bass' even though I didn't have a bass guitar and never picked one up. The top 3 are unusually light for a blues man. One of my brothers friends had a weird right-handed bass, which I strung left-handed, and a practice amp. Feed. Theyre just magnificent!Paul Gray, Clairvoyant Chemistry: The Damneds Captain Sensible and Paul Gray, A Guide to Essential Effects Plugins for Your Home Studio, ESP Announces LTD Kirk Hammett Signature Series KH-V, Epiphone Introduces the 1958 Korina Flying V and Explorer, Building a Pro-Level Home-Studio Mic Closet, DAngelico Guitars Introduces Deluxe Eric Krasno Brighton Signature Model. Born in Los Angeles on April 8, 1972, Paul Dedrick Gray was in many ways the beating heart of Slipknot. I loved guys like Jim Lea from Slade, who was doing more like lead bass and drove all those fantastic Slade songs. This was thanks in no small part to his abilities. Its a clairvoyant chemistry that cant be really pinned down. I had to get a real guitar and do it. Contact our experts for a recommendation of great alternatives. What was your philosophy about shaping the tones for this album? Paul had previously dabbled in a band in Minneapolis called F.O.R., toured with Kyuss offshoot Unida, recorded with rockers Reggie And The Full Effect, and was poised to go out with metal super- group Hail!. PAUL GRAY, who was the lead singer of the 1980s pop band Wa Wa Nee, has died aged 54. How did you capture the albums live feel in the studio? "But then I ended up going to Ibanez on the last album because - I can't remember where we were - but I went to a pawn shop and picked up this Ibanez ATK that they've stopped making and I just loved the way it played and sounded, so I started playing it too and Ibanez approached me to offer me a deal. For bass, he uses two main string sets: Hofner H1133B Flat Wound Nickel strings and RotoSound Tru Bass 88 Nylon Tapewound strings, both of which have a tremendous impact on his tone. There was just something huge coming through him.. We used that with an 8x10 and had everything up full blast and thats the sound on the record. Ampeg was also really great to me and I can't say anything bad about them. Their string of hits included Stimulation and I Could Make You Love Me. Prior to joining Metal Hammer, El spent three years as Production Editor at Kerrang! When I tried out I constantly turned myself down or turned the tone knob down by accident. I just do standard exercises, you know, what do they call 'em? There's a heavy difference in style between the two basses, that's for sure. 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. Listened to 4 Beatles LPs (yes; these black huge 33 1/3 things) the last days. It may not display this or other websites correctly. This is the strings in Paul Simon's Guild F-30. Slipknot have just released a brand-new song, Bone Church, which started life in a jam room on the .5: The Gray Chapter tour. Heavy gauge picks. Paul himself remarked on how it was a sound you felt rather than heard, more atmospheric than melodic in nature. Stay up to date with in depth music reviews, exclusive interviews and widespread coverage of whats happening from your favourite music genre. It took me 15 years to figure out that all they were really playing was the pentatonic scale with some extra notes chucked in! The world would never be the same. The words Fender, Telecaster, Stratocaster and the associated headstock designs are registered trademarks of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The Kerrang! He has been adding internal mikes for amplification. Someone else can probably add more, or demonstrate that my memory is faulty. If theyll go for that, then theres not much thats off limits Damned-wise apart from opera, that is. Yet again, he moved. HiddenCharms said: I don't know if this is true, but I remember reading that Duane Allman and Jimi Hendrix used Fender Rock'n'Roll Strings guaged 10-38. A big chunk of foam being used on this tune (1:51.) The Ibanez PGB1 electric bass guitar is the choice of Slipknot's Paul Gray. When his pregnant wife, Brenna, and their family had tried to stage an intervention to prevent Paul from harming himself, he checked into a hotel. It's worked for me So far anyway! My mates at school and I would swap records and I got into Hawkwind with Lemmy and Machine Head by Deep Purple, and the bass was really prominent in both of those groups. As Slipknot put it in Skeptic, The world will never see another crazy motherfucker like you. It features a pre-bend that has an almost rubbery, time-warp kind of feel and returns at the end of the track, switching to half-time while Corey continues roaring, Look me in my brand new eye! Its these extra touches and twists that gave an unmistakable feel and identity to the bands seemingly inexhaustible supply of sonic violence. I've no idea if he used foam with the Hofner (hollowbodies don't have much sustain in the first place) but I would definitely assume that was going on with the Rickenbacker stuff. What gear was integral to creating the guitar tones on the album? Edinboro, PA. Inkcarceration announces headliners Slipknot and Limp Bizkit alongside Megadeth, Lamb Of God, In This Moment and more. Its an attitude I share, and who cares if theres a few jazz notes in there. It doesnt get thin at the top end and it keeps its clarity in the bottom end. Technical Editor Bass Gear Magazine. scullyfan. It looked pretty violent. As Paul got to know his new instrument, he developed a strong attachment. Let your thoughts out and dont let anyone stop you from what you feel and what you think! So now Ive got his blood boiling in my veins. As far as opening gambits go, the first musical track on Slipknots debut is as good as it gets. Aug 24, 2009. Duality (Vol. 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. Apart from a regular open-G blues tuning [Editors note: Check out Silly Kids Games on The Black Album for an example. (Image credit: John McMurtrie) "Yesterday we lost our brother, and the world seems a little smaller because of it," began Corey Taylor. A long time ago we used to do a cover of that song 'The Humpty Dance' and I would have to tune during the song, as we're playing.". Its got a really nice punch. The track also been a source of inspiration for Pauls successor, Alessandro Venturella, who told this writer about filling a great mans shoes and doing him justice for a 2019 Bass magazine cover story around the release of We Are Not Your Kind. There had been a headline-generating arrest for drugs and drink-driving in 2003, sobriety, relapses and recent treatment for addiction. 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. I think it was made in February, which was just a month or two after they stopped doing the toaster pickups. I loved anything with a galloping bass line that challenged the listener beyond widdly guitar stuff or a bloke shrieking his head off. Frank Zappa? Not quite, but I'll take that as a compliment whether intended or not! He was the sort of person who, when he got his meagre paycheck from working at the gas station, would go down to the bar and spend it all buying people drinks. In December 2010, they announced they would headline 2011s Sonisphere to honour the legacy of their fallen friend. In tribute to Paul's indelible legacy and legend, we're going to look at a side of the man that was rarely seen, let alone written about. Joey also recalls laying down the drums for All Hope Is Gones Gehenna, while Paul wrote instinctively. These guitars come to Paul with pickups and volume and tone controls already installed. I've heard this too. "I think I started playing bass in 1990, which is what? We had to kick everything up a notch, and that required the Captain playing a bunch of different guitars in the studio. It was weird because when I started practising these songs on bass, I didnt know any of them, he said. Dunlop wah There was one problem: hed never played bass. 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. "I have to find my place in Slipknot and stay away from just following the guitars, so I play along with what the drums are doing. How long have you been playing bass guitar for, Paul, and why did you choose bass as your main instrument? An autopsy revealed he had. 1977 Rickenbacker 4001 It really fascinates me how basses that are essentially the same can still be so different. Those killer riffs on Surfacing, which switch from propulsive to filthy, came from his death metal project, Body Pit. Taking his place in a finalised line-up of vocalist Corey Taylor, percussionists Shawn Crahan and Chris Fehn, drummer Joey Jordison, guitarists Jim Root and Mick Thomson, sampler Craig Jones and turntablist Sid Wilson, they exploded on the brink of a new millennium, in a mass of masks and coveralls, attracting growing crowds of writhing, devoted maggots. The bass fills he did, I really had to fucking rewind tapes and play them over and over to get it.". He played bass and guitar left-handed, and there was something about his muting, a weird sort of backwards quality. It required the heaviest gauge top string he could find in order to hold the notes well enough to record. What Paul did with Slipknot was revolutionary. You are using an out of date browser. We both also share a love of melody and those three chords at the start of Louie Louie and all of the American garage-rock from the 60s. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)), a beautifully unnerving departure for the band, setting quiet, sinister tension against wretched release. 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. What kind of tips can you give us for improving finger stretches when playing bass guitar? Rock n roll needs its rough edges. How would you describe your playing style? I try not to step on anybody's toes but try not to get lost either. I recall Visconti lounging in his producer's chair dialing up sounds on his iPhone. Repeat: the secret debut album that launched the legend, The definitive history of every Slipknot mask, The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week, Watch this metal frontman teach terrified daytime TV hosts black metal growls on live TV, James Hetfield has been cast in a 'dark western' film with Juliette Lewis and Game Of Thrones' Peter Dinklage, Watch grannies rip through some gnarly death metal and shoot fireworks from their backsides in this hilarious advert for Liquid Death iced tea, Watch Mike Shinoda & Ice Nine Kills' Spencer Charnas star in Demi Lovato's new Scream-inspired video, Every issue delivered direct to your door. However, first-generation punks the Damned dont care much about any of that. Actually, I did go on and try to compose something better, but we liked the skin-of-your-teeth excitement of the originals best. Its so easy to be generic or cheesy in metal, and Paul never was. The Gibson Les Paul Goldtop was on the cover of his album "Blue Guitar Hero". Grays recorded output with the Damned includes two of the bands most revered and musically fibrous albums, Strawberries (1982) and The Black Album (1980). Paul Gray: The Man Behind the Mask. Ampeg 8x10 cab We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases. 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. Im an indie dude or an alternative dude, whatever the fuck that means. The deep, menacing notes heard during the intro and verses build an almost horror movie kind of suspense in between the grinding guitars and its hair-raising You all stare but youll never see theres something inside me chorus. Although fans knew Paul as part of the nine, he had a low public profile, rarely speaking to the media. Heres how it works. All rights reserved. Captain Sensible and Paul Gray, quite sensibly, stick to their perferrred Gibson SG and Rickenbacker 4001 combination. The best record they ever made! ran an early assessment of the new tracks, describing Left Behind as "considerably more melodic than the rest of the album, providing a brief moment of respite from the outright nastiness elsewhere". Never having had a lesson, I play completely by ear and I often overstretch myself. Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. "It was weird because when I started practising these songs on bass, I didn't know any of them. The two I mainly use are very different. He was loved around that scene.. Permutations! His playing was informed by his early devotion to thrash, and that conversion to the bass. As a standing tribute to the late Paul Gray, TG presents this never-before published interview with the Slipknot bassist. That 77 has much more of a Lemmy-type sound than my 74. The studio has an excellent Fender Stratocaster that Captain used on at least three songs, for arpeggio things or anything that we needed a clearer sound on beyond the overdriven Gibson sound hes known for. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. That evening, the eight remaining members of the Knot, aided by early bandmember/stand-in bassist Donnie Steele, provided their own loud tribute. The world will never know another man as amazing as you.. Which isnt the end of the world, of course, but there seems to be no fix, according to chatter on gear forums anyway. 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. 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. I go to the same fucking bar and hang out with the same fucking people, so I really havent changed that much. Back in the late 1960s the bass player in my band (who was left-handed) purchased a Hofner. Matrix VB800 I really like the growl Tonys got on it and it really suits the songs perfectly. Reviews. Its a drag to repeat yourself, and thats why no two Damned albums sound alike. 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. Some of it I tap out, some of it is more simple, and some of it I have to follow the guitars and do runs and leads and stuff like that. Not being able to predict what kind of music wed deliver mustve pissed off the record labels, because things never lasted long before us being shown the door. Marshall EL84 20/20 stereo power amps, Effects You gotta find your pocket, he said. Unmasked, heads bowed and choked with emotion, they paid tribute to their friend and bandmate, Paul Gray. Which is a hard thing to do with nine people in the band!". I saved up and bought their album Thank Christ for the Bomb and I played it over and over. He was in a bad place, I can remember Jim and I coaching him through some stuff, and I didnt realise until years later, but it was over then. Summary is that he used Guts until around '59. "I took a few bass lessons to learn slap and pop techniques, because once I really got into bass I started listening to everything - not just metal and rock. 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. I like to pick a patch out from the library and then heavily modify it for the song, and I really get in there and tweak them. They werent making silly faces and all that like the other guys. Also my fingers aren't that fast, I can get to a decent speed but I'm not freaking Billy Sheehan.".