Equipment
I seen you in Phoenix, it was the best Purple show ever. I wrote a review for the highway star. I had purchased a poster of Purple in front of the San Francisco bridge signed by the whole group. Are the autographs real or a print? Why did you not use the Rick on Smoke ?
Hi Barry,
the autographs are real, I can vouch for that. I stopped playing the Rick because it caught a cold. It's now recovered and maybe I'll use it again.
RG
I'm thinking of getting a John Diggins' Jay Dee bass. Have you had any experience in playing or owning one?
When recording bass in the studio, do you combine DI with close Mike' recording & mix the sounds or do you favour one over the other and do you sometimes use a slight Reverb to give the Bass a live feel?
Thank you for your feedback on these points & I promise I will never instigate the chanting of Black Night over your Bass solo when you play Plymouth UK again. So sorry, I got carried away!
Cheers Eddie from 'Backlash'
Hi Eddie,
No idea about that particular bass, sorry. I usually mix DI with amp in the studio but no, I don't put reverb on it, or much else, come to that, just some compression on the mix.
RG
I know you had the bass shipped over from the states and first used it on Machine Head, but when did you change the neck pickup from the stock one to the two slanted ones?
Also, do you still own that particular bass, and if so has it been re-modified or has it still got the slanted pickups?
I ask becuase I have seen a picture of you with a 4001, but it has what appears to be a Bartolini pickup in the neck position...I wondered if it was a different bass or not.
Thanx for all your great playing over the years..
..Martin.
Hi Martin,
Yes, I still have that bass. I did the modification sometime in 1972 in an attempt to get more bass tone. I don't think the experiment was that successful but it did make the sound of the instrument untypical. I have recently (as of Sept 2005) had the guitar worked on and it is sounding pretty good. No more slanted pick-ups (not knowing much about them, I don't know what they are). I have yet to replace the bridge (as these days I can't play it with those adjusting knobs sticking out). I acquired it from a company called Hipshot that makes all kinds of accessories for the Rickenbacker.
RG
What kind o distorsion or fuzz you have used on the Fireball's solo? And....it's true that you used an Fender Mustang Bass for recording Fireball Album? Thanks for all and sorry for my English 🙂
Sergio "H"
Bass Player of Fireball DP Tribute Band (Italy)
Hi Sergio,
Yes it was Fender Mustang but I have forgotten what distortion box I used, probably one borrowed froim Ritchie.
RG
Thanks
Hi Nobody,
I used an ARP 2600.
RG
Have you ever played a room where you
just couldn't get a good bass sound onstage? Where the bass was just a big
undefined rumble, and no matter how much
tweaking you do on your amps the sound
just gets worse? What do you do in cases
like that? Try different amp settings? a different bass? I play an Excess 1 with
Picatos or Rotosounds thru an Eden WT800
and 4-10 & 2-12 cabs. It gets frustrating
when I just can't dial in the right sound...
URGH!!!
Hi Patrick,
Yes, that happens. There is nothing you can do about it, assuming there's nothing wrong with your gear, it's just the acoustics of the venue. Get your head down, do the best you can, and look forward to moaning about it in the dressing room afterwards. Every job has good days and bad days.
RG
If not which crazy sound is that
Thanks a lot,
all the best
Oswaldo
Hi Oswaldo,
Yes, it is a tremolo that I used, along with a very primitive distortion box.
RG
I play bass guitar and use a Fender Precision that I bought in about 1973.
It was Roger Glovers and the case had various tour stickers over it (mainly of USA).
I have been playing it for the past 30yrs and have allways wondered which Purple tracks it was used on - if any as he may have had/used many at the time.
But everytime I see old TV clips I wonder if the sunburst fender he is playing is mine.
Keep on rocking -
Alan
Hi Alan,
I suppose it could have been mine, although I saw one in Hammersmith in about 1990 that was supposedly mine, it was painted purple and the owner (who had sent me a note backstage) claimed that it was mine based on the fact that there had been a modification at some point, leaving a tell-tale screw hole. I do recall something like that, so possibly the one you have isn’t my old one. I was using my Precision all through the making of DP In Rock.
RG
1. Thanks for keeping the band together -I really think you have been and continue to be the catalyst since the reunion.
2. And now for another boring, train-spotting bass player question: What is it that you have been looking for over the years in your endless quest playing different basses? You've played - I'm sure I'm missing a few - Precisions, Mustangs, Rics (I know the producer in you didn't like the distortion, but man it actually was your signature sound!), T-Birds (a radical change from the Ric as if you tried to consciously de-purplelize your sound with Rainbow), Ovations, Hondos (how much did they pay you?!), Peaveys, Steinbergers (that wasn't a bass for a grown man!), even a Stingray and of course the Vigier, an excellently made and utterly dependable bass, but do it's hifi characteristics do the man justice whose bass sound walked all over Machine Head and Made in Japan and took no prisoners? I just don't find the Vigier sound as individual as it could be, very 80ish in fact, and you are - even though you continue to deny it - an individualistic bass player (if the producer side doesn't take over!).
3. And finally let's shed some light on this: Was it you after all who played on (at least) some tracks of Nazareth's Razamanaz album? The bass on that particular album sounds (and is played) different to any bass on Nazareth records before or after! Be honest, after more than three decades I'm sure the Scots won't mind the truth ... Never mind that some of those Razamanaz (the song) breaks take a bow to Speed King! Did you teach them the song?
Regards
Uwe
Hi Uwe,
I don't really know what my quest was regarding bass sounds. I used to feel that the Ric and Marshall combination was too distorted but it was only when I was remixing Machine Head a few years ago that the engineer, Peter Denenberg, pointed out that bass players would kill to get that sound these days. I guess I was looking for a cleaner sound that would find some space underneath the huge sounds that Ritchie and Jon produced, instead of competing with them. As you observe, that quest has seen me playing various basses over the years, usually in an effort to find a bass that feels comfortable and natural. I've played the Vigier Excess for over twelve years now and you're correct; it is one of the most dependable basses. I will be honest - Pete Agnew played all the bass parts on Razamanaz.
RG
Hi Terry,
No, I didn't, so I don't know. Actually I did, come to think of it - it was a 1969 reissue that was given to me a while back and I thought it was too heavy for my poor shoulders. I believe I donated it to a charity somewhere.
RG
pleas mail me back this is the first time that i'm mailind to sombody
and oh yea i'm 11 jears old and come from Holland.
Hi Tissingh,
I have two, a black one and a red fretless. I don't play them very often these days, but they look stunning. I have recently had the black one - THE one - refurbished so I'm hoping to play that more frequently from now on.
RG
It was from a shop in Ealing and had "Roger Golver Deep Purlple" stamped all over the case.
I have been playing it ever since and allways wondered if it was indeed Rogers and if so what if any recordings it was used on.
Hi Alan,
Well, here's a conundrum. I did indeed know a shop in Ealing in the 60s, it was Jim Marshall?s, before he went global. I can?t remember where I bought that Precision bass though but I did sell it in the early 70s, when the shop was still there even though Jim had a factory as well by then. I can?t remember if that was where I sold it but it?s possible. I mentioned in a magazine interview years later that I wished I?d never sold that guitar and when we played Hammersmith on the S and M tour, I got a message from a bloke who?d read the article and claimed to have my guitar and would I be interested in seeing it? I contacted him and went to his flat in Hammersmith and saw that P bass, now all painted purple! I wasn?t sure at first if it was mine but said that it came with the provenance that it used to belong to me and he pointed out some screw holes where there had been some kind of modification I?d done (in the scratch plate roughly two inches from the G string). I?m still not 100% but in any case he was asking an outrageous price for it, so I passed. Now you say you have my old bass. Therefore the answer to your question I cannot be sure of. Could it be that maybe you have a genuine guitar case but with a different guitar in it? I used that bass for all of the Episode Six recordings and also on the Concerto (where there is a photograph of it) and Deep Purple In Rock.
RG
Hi Joe,
Thanks for the good words. The Rickenbacker was the only bass I used on
Machine Head, strung with Rotosound strings, I seem to remember. The bass
has a bit of a history; I bought it in New York and in an effort to save
customs duty, about ?25 or so, I had a receipt saying it cost less than it
did, which wasn?t a lot anyway, $400 or thereabouts. Ian Hansford, our
roadie at the time, brought the guitar back through British customs a day
ahead of me ? for some reason I stayed an extra 24 hours in NY. Anyway,
they smelled a rat, arrested and charged Ian and impounded the bass. When
Ian called and told me what had happened, I was armed with what seemed like
a plausible story when I came through the next day. ?Ah, Mr. Glover, would
you open all your bags please?? Putting on my best innocent face I waited
while they went through everything, even the pages of my address book. At
last I asked if I could help and the officer showed me the false receipt,
asking if I recognized it. I replied that it certainly looked like a
receipt for a bass, but added that it couldn?t be mine because the amount
was wrong (for this was my story, that the store had given me a false
receipt without my, or Ian?s, knowledge). I was ushered into a private room
where they grilled me for about two hours. I stuck to the story but my
halo was beginning to tarnish as successively tougher people came into the
room to work on me. I finally cracked when they bluffed about telephone
records (when asked, I had told them that Ian Hansford hadn?t called me in
New York to warn me that the customs had my guitar ? which of course he
had!). The end came when a senior office came into the room, sat on the
desk looking down at me and said, ?OK, Glover, what?s this bullshit?? When
I admitted at last that yes, I was trying to save $25 (even after Fireball I
didn?t have much money ? all that I earned went to pay back earlier
advances) and owned up saying, ?it?s a fair cop guv, I?ll go quietly,? and
things like that. Strangely enough, after that they were as nice as pie as
they read me my rights and formally charged me with evading customs and
excise duties. The real catch was that they had the guitar and explained
that I wouldn?t be able to get it back until after the court case, if there
was one. I told them I couldn?t wait that long, I was due to go to
Switzerland in less than two weeks to make a record and I needed the guitar.
The only option, they said, was to plead guilty, pay the fines for both Ian
Hansford and myself, and also pay an enormous sum to get the guitar back.
In all, I paid more than double the price for that guitar. It is only
fitting then, that soon afterwards I went to Montreux with DP and recorded
our biggest selling album ever with that guitar.
RG
I?m a norwegian, long time fan of Deep Purple and your music and has a question that has puzzled my min for quite som time. Accordind to an interview with Jon Lord on the video "heavy metal pioneers" he said that you and Ian Gillan left the band in 1973 because the band was touring to much. He also said that the rest of the members called it quits and that noone of them had thought of replacing either you or Ian.
Then later on I read that you were fired because Ritchie wanted som new blood in the band. What is the right version? And why do mr. Lord come up with this story if this is true? I?m confused, would you help me put some lights to this?
I also has a technical question. My band and me was watching the DVD Perhelion and couldn?t help noticing your superb bass sound. What kind of amps are you using, and what kind of cabinets do you have in your backline? If you also want to share som secrets behing your sound, I will be quite satisfied, thank you very much.
Greetings
Finn Hjalmar
Hi Finn,
Well, I can’t really comment on what Jon said; I haven’t actually seen that video. The truth is that because of RB’s feelings, along with JL and IP, I was forced to leave (although foolish pride would not let me admit to that back in 1973) but it is also true that we were working too hard. It has long been our perception that had we taken a little time off after years of slogging around on tour after tour, that our course would have been different. It is all conjecture of course; no one knows what might have happened. It has also been said that all things happen for a reason and that the subsequent events may never have happened any other way.
Thanks for your kind words. My equipment is: Vigier Excess bass guitars, no mods. Amplification: 4 SWR 750 amplifiers with 2 SWR Interstellar Overdrives driving 4 Megolith four-range stereo speaker cabinets containing 8 ten-inch speakers and horns in each. Picato and/or Ernie Ball strings. Effects I rarely indulge in, however I do use EBS distortion, compression, octave splitting and phase shifting boxes when I am soloing.
RG
I'm an old fan from Paris (I've seen Purple more than 10 times on stage and met my wife at the Paris Bercy show in 1985).
My question is : Rinus Gerritsen, bass player of the dutch band Golden Earring, the man Jimi Hendrix tried to recruit for his own band, sometimes plays with a double neck bass : one part is a Fender 62 precision bass and the other part is a Danelectro bass. There is a switch in the body for an easy shift between the top and the bottom. Won't you like to play such a guitar, and have you ever played double neck bass ?
I hope I've not been too long, wish you a happy new year and see you in Paris june the 29th.
Thank you,
David.
Hi David,
Well, I hope you enjoyed the 29th. I did. Double-necked bass? Yes I have one, but I got it only as a curiosity. It is a Hondo. I bought a Hondo Longhorn in the early 80s because I loved the way it looked, felt and sounded - that and it was quite inexpensive, which was a factor at the time. Later on, being twice as impulsive, I bought a double-necked version – it had a four string and an eight string. It looks good, even now, but I never played it more than a few times, and never on stage because I never felt that comfortable with it. I still have somewhere in my basement. The sort of bass part that I need to play doesn’t demand that kind of switch so the bas has remained in my collection, rarely played, but a decent conversation piece once in a while. Like now.
RG
As a long time bassist, I must say your bass tone was huge on the last tour ( please come back to Big Flats, N.Y. ). I know gear questions are boring, but I must know what effect you use on your solos to get that mean " growl ". Also, will " Well Dressed Guitar " be on the new album? Thanks for your time, take care. Mac
Hi Mac,
Normally I don’t use effects but I indulge a little in solos. I use some EBS pedals, operated by my tech. These include compression (which I use in conjunction with some of the others), distortion, flange and octave splitting. I have yet to find anything as simple – there are all sorts of fancy boards out there that can provide loads of different effects and can be programmed and sorted and modified beyond imagination, but I find a few little boxes works best for me.
Well Dressed Guitar is not on the album. Not my choice but the record company’s
RG
Thanks Robert,
I used a Hondo Longhorn bass on the album Straight Between The Eyes. It was an instrument I found in Manny?s in New York and I picked it up because it looked like a Danelectro (it is a copy). I immediately fell in love with it - it was fresh and zippy (am I really talking about a piece of wood with some strings on?) not to mention cheap. I still have it but, as I write, I am away from home so I can?t photograph it. I will, at some future date, catalogue all my bass guitars as a feature on this site, so keep looking. Thanks for the question.
RG
Hi Andrew,
He used a Vox AC 30, usually with his red Gibson 335 but he stopped using that after a while. I have a sneaky feeling that he might have had it with him when we recorded Lazy but I can't be sure. In my mind it is always associated with the earlier days.
RG
Hi Blacken,
Lemmy is a fashion guru. The world of haute couture, although reluctant admit it, waits with baited breath for each new fashion statement from him. However, he is a human being, with all the inherent weaknesses, and has obviously been caught out this time. I was given a great piece of advice once, and he obviously knows it as well: - if you?re going to steal, steal from the best. Modesty prevents me from commenting further. I?m surprised he doesn?t use a black Rickenbacker either.
RG
Believe it or not the first rock album i was introduced to was In Rock, before that it was
Charles Aznavour and Gilbert Becaud........
So imagine the culture clash when the opening
bars of Speed King started...That was 1973, i
was 9 years old and seen i've been a great fan
..I don't know what it is about you British but
what you do as musician is totaly impeccable.
Now finally the question not from me but my 15
year old son Vincent who plays bass in his band would like
to know what was your bass rig on FIREBALL
since it is his favorite album...
Thanx in advance
Sorry for the length
Deep purple truly
rocks
Sylvain
Hi Sylvain,
On the recording of Fireball I was using a Fender Mustang bass amplified with a Marshall stack. I experimented with the Mustang because I wanted to control the bass end a bit more than the Precision, but I found on stage that it didn't have the force,that's when I tried out a Rickenbacker for the first time, and played it on Machine Head.
Good luck to Vincent,
RG
This is a question about equipment. Your choice of Vigier basses and SWR cabinets is obvious along with Picato strings, but, what back line amps do you use and with what effects if any?
With my Vigier Excess bass I use 4 SWR 750 amplifiers with 2 SWR Interstellar Overdrives driving 4 Megolith four-range stereo speaker cabinets containing 8 ten inch speakers and horns in each. Picato and/or Ernie Ball strings. Effects I rarely indulge in, however I do use EBS distortion, compression, octave splitting and phase shifting boxes when I am soloing - which used to be rare, now is less so.
RG
since i'm a bassplayer myself, using a Rickenbacker,( all because of you!! )i'm wondering,do you use your rickenbacker these days? oh,and something else just popped up,on one of your ricks you had fender jazzbass mics, why did you do that?how did it alter the sound?
still,the vigier sounds good too.
cheers and thanks for being you!!
ake
Hi Ake,
No, I don't use my Rickenbacker any more, although it looks great. It's not in such great shape these days despite my efforts at making it so (the E string just doesn?t resonate like the other strings, though I've tried a new bridge, a new nut, different strings and numerous set-ups). In the 70s I had Fender Jazz pick-ups put on because I wanted more of a bassy sound in addition to the typically bright Rick sound. I?m not sure if it worked like I wanted it to.
RG
Really enjoyed the ITV programme last night (26th Nov.) Have to admit that back then my musical taste was elsewhere but now realise what I missed.
Sorry if this question has been asked many times before but hope you understand the reason behind it. After over 20 years loyal service I've just snapped one of my original Fender Flats. Over the years I've tried all sorts of strings and always gone straight back to the the old Fenders - for me there just isn't a sound like them. Over the last few weeks I've tried new Fenders, Thomastiks and Pyramid Golds (all flatwound) but they're all "twang" and no "click & punch" (I use a pick.)
So to the question. What were you using when you played the riff in the studio during the programme? I immediately connected with that sound - it's the nearest I've heard to my old Fender flats.
Hope you have time to put me on the right track.
"Desperate" from Hull !!!
Paul Gibbins
Hi Paul,
in
In the video I was using a standard Vigier Excess 4 string strung with strings whose name might be either Picato or Ernie Ball, I use both, and they wouldn't have been flat wound. I used to use those in the 70s but they lacked the attack of round wound strings.
RG
I saw on a Rusian website a picture from you playing a TUNE Bass. I have in Germany a little webstore selling only TUNE Basses (beside regular job). So I'd like to know if i can use this picture on my website with a link to your website. If you look at it you will see there is als Greg Lake playing a TUNE Bass.
Thank you very much and best regards,
Bernd Schroetter
(No one else influenced my bass playing as much as you)
Hi Bernd,
Thanks for the good thoughts. Yes, you can use any picture. I have a couple of TUNEs and I used them a while ago, I thought they were a very cool looking bass. The company were very good to me and made me one with a tremelo on it, specifically for the solo in Fireball.
RG
I've one question? WHy do you change your amp-system, I already see that you uses: trace elliot, ampeg.... and this in the same tour !!! Why ??? sory for my english but It's late and I've dronk belgian beer and now It's is my belly (and in my head...so...)
Hi Nicolas,
You deserve a proper answer , so I dronk a pew of my own so that we can be on the same belly level. Shometimes we have to use rented aplifi ... er ...eqwupment ...gear. Which explains nothing, sory for my Belgian. I used Trace Eliment for many beers and it?s good but didn?t like the heat much, and I have my fair share of that! Ampeg is always a solid comtendr ...er.. propissiton ..er.. gear, but these daze I use SWR. They are big and shiney looking and loud and I?m pleashed. Sory again. (hic!)
RG
Thanks very much from Vancouver, Canada ...
Hi Jeff,
I played a Fender Mustang on the Fireball album but found it to be a bit light sounding on stage. The Fender Precision I used on In Rock was good but I had a hard time with the bottom E, hence the change. However, I discovered Rickenbacker after that and used it on the next two albums, until I left. I’ve tried several others since then, all in the quest for a bass that makes me sound better than I am. I have been using Vigier basses for the longest time now, fantastic guitars. I also like Music Man for a change.
RG
the most bassplayers play without plectron. You are one of them, why? You and Jack Bruce are my favourite bassplayers, what ist your favourite bassplayer? Did you start to record the new DP-Album? I?m so courious about yo
ur artworks and I hope I can admire it soon!!! I wish you are well, all the best to you......
in greatest admiration
Evi
Hi Evi,
I play with a plectrum because for me it is more precise, and earlier on I tried very hard to be tas together with IP as possible. Actually, I prefer the the more even and mellower sound when played with fingers, but a plectrum, or pick, gives it more attack, which is good for rock.
I don't have a favourite bass player but there are a few I admire; Jaco Pastorious because was so technically and emotionally gifted, Jack Bruce, Paul McCartney, John Entwhistle, George Porter Jnr. There are probably others that don’t come to mind right now. They know who they are!
RG
So long
Mike
Hi Mike,
No plans to visit Montreux any time soon. Glad you like the Vigier basses, I think they are great, otherwise I wouldn't use them.
RG