Craig's Bass Setup

[Norman Hunter]

So what was Craig's setup during his stint? I've read it somewhere before but am damned if I can find it again.

[lazarus corporation]

I think most of it is covered in the interview with Craig here: https://www.myheartland.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1777

Your first bass?

Well, as I said, the first one was borrowed. I was working in Morrisons
Supermarket, on the nightshift, and I saved to buy my first bass - a
Hondo. I had to have something. That one didn't last very long - it got
snapped in a moment of madness and destruction! We were testing out
sounds and scraping it along this wall and it gave up the ghost. I got
an Ibanz Roadster then. That got smashed as well - the body split down
the middle. A bloke in Hull said 'I'll fix it for you', so he glued it
back together and bolted a big brass plate across the front of the thing
to hold it together. That was basically the bass I used throughout the
'Sisters'. We played the Albert Hall, and I played this £70 guitar! That
was it and it was fine until I lost it. It disappeared and I do not know
where it's gone. I'll know it as soon as I see it because of this great
brass plate on the front. It was the heaviest guitar in the world!

And amplification?

Well, in the 'Sisters', at the beginning I used to use an H & H guitar
combo with a fuzzbox! The first gig with the Sisters we didn't have any
amps at all. It was all D I'd and put through the monitors. We'd turn up
basically with our guitars in a plastic bag with a couple of leads, the
fuzzbox, and one riff - get D I'd and off we'd go. I must say that
wasn't the best way to go about things. Doing that is not advisable. I
then graduated to a Trace Elliott thing for a bit - I forgot what it was
called, but it had a GP11 graphic in it. I still use that graphic today.
Also it had one 18" and a couple of 10" speakers and a horn or two as
well. On American tours we used whatever was there, really, and I
discovered Ampeg. That was that really - I've been with them ever since.
Once I heard one of them, I was hooked. They are so good, although I
borrowed a late model one recently, and it wasn't as good. I don't know
why that should be. Mine's one of 500 classic ones they made - I had two
in the 80's. That ones doing OK, though it keeps fusing, I don't know
what's going on but summats up! With The Cult again I used an Ampeg set
up with two SVT heads, two 15" speakers on the bottom and two 8 x 10"'s
- it sounded great. That's another thing with the smaller gigs. The
Ampeg needs to be loud to be heard at its best but there's so much power
there that sometimes the things set so low that its still in first gear.
That's why I carry a little Peavey around as well. At the moment I'm
trying to get hold of a Portaflex. The Cult album we recorded with Bob
Rock we used a Portaflex almost exclusively. Thats not too loud, but it
sounds great. When we get to America I'll be doing some shopping, I
think!

[Norman Hunter]

...That'll do

[AdrenaChris]

He also used a (rented) Rickenbacker on F&L&A. No mistaking that signature sound though it isn't as crunchy/overdriven as the tones of other Rick "heroes" like Geddy, Chris Squire and especially Lemmy. Personally I think they're horrid, and I'm a bass player. Unique sound for sure though. Really fits the album on the tracks like "Possession" where you can actually hear it.

Trace Elliot are brilliant amps, but no suprise he's been using Ampeg since whenever as they really are the king of bass amps.

[Llamatron]

He also used a (rented) Rickenbacker on F&L&A. No mistaking that signature sound though it isn't as crunchy/overdriven as the tones of other Rick "heroes" like Geddy, Chris Squire and especially Lemmy. Personally I think they're horrid, and I'm a bass player. Unique sound for sure though. Really fits the album on the tracks like "Possession" where you can actually hear it.

Trace Elliot are brilliant amps, but no suprise he's been using Ampeg since whenever as they really are the king of bass amps.

Agreed, 'cept for the part about Ricks being horrid. They take distortion well because they're so midrangey. (Though my preference tends toward Fender Jazz, or, currently, a 5-string Warwick with Jazz-type pickups. A Stingray is nice on occasion as well; a friend has one which purportedly belonged to Rick James and is one of the best sounding basses I've ever heard.) That sound is so instantly identifiable, though, I recognized it on FALAA ages ago without ever having to look it up.

I don't know that I've ever played through a Trace Elliot bass head. (Generally an Ampeg user, myself.) I'll keep it in mind if I see one. If we're talking amps, and you're looking for a very distorted tone, a Mesa Dual Rectifier works surprisingly well, as it has obscene amounts of low end for a guitar amp. (My bandmate's Diezel Herbert was fun as well. )