Peter Hook's Basses

I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what kind of bass he uses on the early 80's albums?

I think it was a yamaha BB1200, but I may be wrong, he also uses a shergold 6 string, mainly on early stuff, not used it for the last couple of albums.

I'm sure I'll get shot down in flames for any errors as there are people on here with a lot more knowledge of Hooky's basses than me, but I thought I'd start the ball roling.

Just going to put on my fire proof jacket!

Spot on Jed!

Hooky uses the BB1200 for recording, and the Eccleshalls plus the Shergold Marathon 6 for live work. He also used the Marathon 6 for some recording work back in the day when he played it every other song.

Well, there's DEFO some Eccleshall work in the studio too, it has a rather distinctive sound.

I honestly didn't know he made that much use of the Yamaha.

Which was the one that he threw on the ground on Saturday?

He'll be needing a new one of them if he keeps that up

Doctor? wrote: Well, there's DEFO some Eccleshall work in the studio too, it has a rather distinctive sound.

Apparently not, according to the great man himself in an article last year (Bass Player mag?). He doesn't like recording with the Eccleshalls.

He's a well known bullshitter though

To be honest, I can't point to anything since Technique that definitely sounds like it.

More for what he uses now but here's a good link http://www.bassplayer.com/story.asp?storycode=8367

... and what about the modulator, did it ever get used live?

http://www.shergold.co.uk/collection.html?detail=ModulatorBass6_1

Mate of mine has a 4 string fretless modulator..only the basic module for it tho. Evil sounding machine and no mistake.

JD and early NO:

it may be a crap book, but it has a few good features.

Doctor? wrote: He's a well known bullshitter though

He bullshits the pop press, but when it comes to serious questions about his gear, I think he acts a bit more professionaly, he wants to be taken as a serious bassist.

Just my opinion, he may come away from the interview pissing himself thinking, "gullable twats!"

He gets some stuff mixed up though - he mentions Elite Bass Sensors in that Bass Player interview, when I'm pretty sure he means Elite Stadiums, and as has been pointed out elsewhere the string gauges are slightly off. Hard to keep all these trainspotting details straight, or could be down to the interviewer - his interviewer from a Monaco-era Bass Player later admitted that he could barely decipher Hook's Mancunian accent.

The kit list reproduces a common error - there's no such thing as a Yamaha RB 1200. That typo's been floating around for years. And it's actually the BB1200S, the active version. Yamaha has a couple new BB's, but I don't know how close they are to the originals.

The Eccleshalls were made for looks and lightness onstage (the BB is apparently a fairly heavy bass), but I'm not sure what exactly it is about them that makes them unsuitable for recording. Maybe the Yamaha has a tighter sound. What songs do you think you hear the Eccleshall on, Steve?

Funny that Hooky's gear seems to garner more questions than everyone else put together.

There's a couple on Technique that sound like it, and certainly the happy one has that hollow body noise to it.

Maybe that's why it bites for recording, the hollow body is too noisy?

Must confess I really fancy an Eccleshall. I'm a numpty and have avoided heavy basses for over ten years, last one I got lumbered with was a Fernandez P-Bass clone, felt like wearing a tree, and had the setup of contrabass. My Aria weighs less than most GUITARS never mind basses, it's the main reason I keep hanging on to it no matter how clapped out it is.

Doctor? wrote: There's a couple on Technique that sound like it, and certainly the happy one has that hollow body noise to it.

Maybe that's why it bites for recording, the hollow body is too noisy?

That was the reason he gave, that it was perfect for live work but too noisy in the studio. Also why he got them made to start with after using that Gibson EB hollowbody, which was a real feedback howler whenever he moved on stage!

oldmonkey wrote:

Doctor? wrote: There's a couple on Technique that sound like it, and certainly the happy one has that hollow body noise to it.

Maybe that's why it bites for recording, the hollow body is too noisy?

That was the reason he gave, that it was perfect for live work but too noisy in the studio. Also why he got them made to start with after using that Gibson EB hollowbody, which was a real feedback howler whenever he moved on stage!

The EB also has notoriously poor intonation and muddy pickups.

Steve, you might take a look at the DeArmond Starfires: EB looks and weight but with bright, clangy pickups and a better bridge. A lot cheaper, too. That's what I've got. They were discontinued some time ago, so I don't know how easy they are to find in your neighborhood.

This might have been one of my black russian-fueled late night delusions, but I could have sworn someone once said that Hooky's Eccleshall was a custom job in which he had it gutted and replaced mostly with Yamaha electronics. No clue whether that's been refuted/confirmed or a complete hallucination on my part.

Also, before you complain about heavy basses, I carry around a Schecter Stiletto Studio-4. It's suffixed as Studio for a reason, I realized.

Hannett of the Apes wrote: This might have been one of my black russian-fueled late night delusions, but I could have sworn someone once said that Hooky's Eccleshall was a custom job in which he had it gutted and replaced mostly with Yamaha electronics. No clue whether that's been refuted/confirmed or a complete hallucination on my part.

Also, before you complain about heavy basses, I carry around a Schecter Stiletto Studio-4. It's suffixed as Studio for a reason, I realized.

Yep spot,the Yamaha electronics are from a BB1200s..

oldmonkey wrote:

Doctor? wrote: There's a couple on Technique that sound like it, and certainly the happy one has that hollow body noise to it.

Maybe that's why it bites for recording, the hollow body is too noisy?

That was the reason he gave, that it was perfect for live work but too noisy in the studio. Also why he got them made to start with after using that Gibson EB hollowbody, which was a real feedback howler whenever he moved on stage!

I've played hollow bodies on some fairly big stages. You can reduce the feedback by having the pickups wax dipped and having the body packed with cotton wool. Most hollow guitars are packed like this for studio work (with amps) or left alone if direct to the desk.

Clear as mud now?