Of all of these Phish Rig explanations, this is by far the most in depth and technical. Mike is really a mastermind of the bass and you can tell that he really takes the time to understand all of his equipment down to a science. So cool!
Hey Phish! Can you please do a updated version of the bands rigs again? That would be awesome so see how they progressed through the years! Thanks again :)
TRAMATIZED!!! Trey is hosting wine parties for his women. Come on down for the cash, fun, and love! he's just the best. he now says he kicked me out of phish smart move king did you ask the other 3 band members before acting? 4 kings = 4 votes why are we doing this
Attention to Phish has always been dominated by Trey because his supreme musicianship is the easiest to distinguish. I appreciate these videos for showing how passionate and knowledgeable Mike is of his instrument. All four members are un-replacable. I am a huge fan of all music, and I can confidently say that there has NEVER been a better live act than Phish from 1994 to 1997.
Mitch McQuarrie Mike was in the early days the real driving force behind the band logistically, booking shows and handling all the financial stuff. Just goes to show you that what most people perceive is actually far from reality. Trey is more outspoken than the rest, so people like to think of him as the leader. where true phans understand that it's 4 guys who like playing together without egos or any of that shite.
***** Phish is awesome and unique for just what you were getting at: "four guys playing without ego or any of that"... sharing in the groove. What I was trying to say originally was that Trey stands out the most. His ability to build tension and then resolve that tension was as good as any musician in the history of modern music. That is what drew, and continues to draw, people to Phish. Granted, the rest of the band is PIVOTAL in that process (they all do this together, for sure) but Trey ends up being the hero in those jams. Phish is one of very few bands I can think of in which no member is replaceable, but to bring up a phrase you used, "true phans understand" that Trey is what made the band truly special. I'm sorry for mixing present and past tense. Nowadays I'd say things are more even, but in Phish's prime I think it's undeniable that Trey was the driving force.
Mitch McQuarrie Yep we actually totally agree lol Sorry my first message was kind of mean spirited, but not towards you of course, sorry if it came off sounding like that Indeed on the face of it Trey is the most dominant, but I just watched his rig rundown and he said he mainly listens to the other guys and "lift" ideas from them. so even when he takes the lead, it's not exactly a monarchy if ya know what I mean ;) IMO Phish's prime was '89 - '96, and Trey on a good night is indeed unparalleled, he's the only musician who can single-handedly lift a so-so show to insane heights and for that reason I actually agree with your original statement. btw speaking of tension and release, Trey gets most of his cues from Fish, if you listen carefully, before a "release", Fish almost always breaks the rhythm to insane syncopations, and then Trey is free to dive into nirvana when Jon resumes to a more steady beat. So yeah, the other guys are more in the background but are always super necessary.
I don't think there's ever been a better live act than phish 2009-present either. I'm a younger fan that didn't get to see them back in 1.0 but I've seen hundreds of other bands and phish has made me feel things at shows I can't describe or replicate anywhere else. Their music is so full of life and joy, and the atmosphere, the people you meet there, and the feeling that anything could happen once they take the stage is all unique to phish in their return. I have listened to enough shows to agree that 94-97 was their peak as musicians but aside from some sloppy drug riddled years (99-2004) phish is a once in a lifetime band that puts on a unrivaled musical experience. I will be seeing my 15th show this summer since 2009 and I hope to see many more. Viva phish.
Mike Gordon!! What an awesome bassist. I love how he copies directly from the greatest of all time, Phil Lesh! You can't spell Phil Lesh without Phish! *laughs* Great stuff Mike!
So many technology on the stage, so many... tell me how many bass players (including "normal" not known ones) in the whole world use all of this stuff during the gig. I just wanted to express my opinion. To all of you adorers of huge technology and Mike Gordon I say "Please, forgive me". Any way, Yellowsunism, your boooo for me is like an image in front of a mirror: it turns back to you. Peace ;D
It limits your technique since you can really only use your index finger to pick with. If you dont do a lot of dbl plucking and what not, it's really not an issue
is that a GoPro Hero cam on yer headstock? I gotta get a few of those. I like that you guys talk more about getting your "own" sound out of your gear instead trying to just get the "best" or most expensive gear. Took me about 12 years to get my rig right but nobody else can use it and I feel like I'm in the Millennium Falcon when I go void blank.
The entire division of frequency, his processors and effects. . . . . .Jaco was barely breaking the plane of all that stuff. He had a chorus pedal, his amazing fingers, and a fretless.
nelson chauca So? Did you listen to anything he said? He uses a pick because of the sound it produces. Notice the part where he was playing with his fingers and said "Which I would never use that sound, it's very much not me." He's just as good with his fingers but he can't get the sound he wants if he does. Pretty simple..
If you are into Phil Lesh sound, naturally you will need to use a pick. I used to be totally against using picks but some of my favorite bass players primarily use picks, so now I do. I like the tone, only one way to get it.
I played one of these Modulus Quantum basses at Guitar Center earlier this week. It absolutely blew my mind. My decent Schecter Stilletto felt like junk when I went back to it.
Gracious Mike, Cute outfit and hair. I'm loving the new more polished Phish wardrobe... P.s. Got a miracle ticket at your San Francisco show for the Electric Moss tour, probably one of the best concert nights of my life thus far!
Simen Andreas Knudsen But not really, he definitely has a unique groove going on. I'm glad he uses a pick, the band wouldn't sound the same if he had a completely different tone.
I get the feeling you weren't paying attention. He said that if he eq'd his bass a certain way and plays with his fingers near the first pick up, it gives him a jaco-like sound that is 'very much not me'. He literally says in the video that he doesn't sound like jaco and was simply demonstrating the way to make his bass sound that way. Maybe watch it again?
+Jacob Dexter. : ) Right. What Mike demonstrates on his bass as "like a Jaco Pastorious sound", doesn't sound like Jaco to my ears. It still for the most part sounds like Mike. Nevertheless, I wish they'd bust out "Donna Lee" again Just for kicks. It's only been 20 years or so.
just curious, wouldn't all of his speakers get summed together anyway when going through the sound system? if so what is the benefit of having each speaker have its own EQ curve? do they remain separated in the big line array that hangs above the stage? or does he have them separated just for more accurate tone shaping, which will them be summed?
When trying to mix a bass on the frontend, especially when you are playing on massive systems, in wildly different acoustic environments, controlling the tone and volume of the strings is really difficult. Especially when playing so dynamically with picks and slaps and such. There are a lot of different ways that speakers could be arranged but generally they are going to running multiple crossovers (different tone range for different speakers) and often will use cabinet like arrangement (range of speakers and frequencies). This is especially important for bass because it has a fundamental presence in the floor subs as well as harmonic overtones. So to answer your question...both.
I found this video really pretty informative, but also it was interesting in that I have never liked his tone (Billy Sheehan fits into the same zone for me). I am sure it fits in with his band's sound perfectly ... but then I also don't like phish. So, go figure. Well produced clip though, thanks for posting. I somehow got here while looking for product vids on Bergantino cabinets ... Hmmmm ...
I've played shows where my front of house sound was better than what I had on stage, and I have had the opposite. I have to finish the video but this stage setup seems excessive if FOH is going to just mesh all of your split frequencies back together again. Our stage rigs are basically monitors when it comes to large venues, and I am way more concerned about how I sound to the people than how I sound to myself. My favorite players have extremely simple rigs, so I'm just trying to understand if the "why" goes behind personal satisfaction.
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4 kings should've had 4 votes. there is just 1 king mike... oh well same as always king
Let me tell you in the courtroom a little story about vlad the impaler vlad the impaler woah woahhh woahhh o a o inside this hot fuego i'll keep you frozen this dance you do will not be imposed froze frozen
Of all of these Phish Rig explanations, this is by far the most in depth and technical. Mike is really a mastermind of the bass and you can tell that he really takes the time to understand all of his equipment down to a science. So cool!
Hey Phish! Can you please do a updated version of the bands rigs again? That would be awesome so see how they progressed through the years! Thanks again :)
Shit, they might have heard you! Trey just posted an updated review of his rig just weeks ago.
I’m more confused about Mike’s rig after watching that lol
😂😂😂😂
I just realized I’ve never heard Mike talk.
So cool that he took the time to do this. What a great guy.
They all did
incredibly technical, serious geek. wonderful.
TRAMATIZED!!!
Trey is hosting wine parties for his women. Come on down for the cash, fun, and love!
he's just the best. he now says he kicked me out of phish
smart move king did you ask the other 3 band members before acting?
4 kings = 4 votes
why are we doing this
I'd love to see a whole show through that go-pro on the end of mikes bass.
Yess please!
I bet you would
Attention to Phish has always been dominated by Trey because his supreme musicianship is the easiest to distinguish. I appreciate these videos for showing how passionate and knowledgeable Mike is of his instrument. All four members are un-replacable.
I am a huge fan of all music, and I can confidently say that there has NEVER been a better live act than Phish from 1994 to 1997.
Mitch McQuarrie Mike was in the early days the real driving force behind the band logistically, booking shows and handling all the financial stuff.
Just goes to show you that what most people perceive is actually far from reality. Trey is more outspoken than the rest, so people like to think of him as the leader. where true phans understand that it's 4 guys who like playing together without egos or any of that shite.
***** Phish is awesome and unique for just what you were getting at: "four guys playing without ego or any of that"... sharing in the groove.
What I was trying to say originally was that Trey stands out the most. His ability to build tension and then resolve that tension was as good as any musician in the history of modern music. That is what drew, and continues to draw, people to Phish. Granted, the rest of the band is PIVOTAL in that process (they all do this together, for sure) but Trey ends up being the hero in those jams.
Phish is one of very few bands I can think of in which no member is replaceable, but to bring up a phrase you used, "true phans understand" that Trey is what made the band truly special.
I'm sorry for mixing present and past tense. Nowadays I'd say things are more even, but in Phish's prime I think it's undeniable that Trey was the driving force.
Mitch McQuarrie Yep we actually totally agree lol
Sorry my first message was kind of mean spirited, but not towards you of course, sorry if it came off sounding like that
Indeed on the face of it Trey is the most dominant, but I just watched his rig rundown and he said he mainly listens to the other guys and "lift" ideas from them. so even when he takes the lead, it's not exactly a monarchy if ya know what I mean ;)
IMO Phish's prime was '89 - '96, and Trey on a good night is indeed unparalleled, he's the only musician who can single-handedly lift a so-so show to insane heights and for that reason I actually agree with your original statement.
btw speaking of tension and release, Trey gets most of his cues from Fish, if you listen carefully, before a "release", Fish almost always breaks the rhythm to insane syncopations, and then Trey is free to dive into nirvana when Jon resumes to a more steady beat. So yeah, the other guys are more in the background but are always super necessary.
I don't think there's ever been a better live act than phish 2009-present either. I'm a younger fan that didn't get to see them back in 1.0 but I've seen hundreds of other bands and phish has made me feel things at shows I can't describe or replicate anywhere else. Their music is so full of life and joy, and the atmosphere, the people you meet there, and the feeling that anything could happen once they take the stage is all unique to phish in their return.
I have listened to enough shows to agree that 94-97 was their peak as musicians but aside from some sloppy drug riddled years (99-2004) phish is a once in a lifetime band that puts on a unrivaled musical experience. I will be seeing my 15th show this summer since 2009 and I hope to see many more. Viva phish.
Grateful Dead 72-74 blows Phish out of the water
I'm sure those Meyer guys are helping you dial in what you need. That PA is really wonderful sounding.
"In an emergency..." = love it
the first 5 seconds of the video was bliss
Mike Gordon!! What an awesome bassist. I love how he copies directly from the greatest of all time, Phil Lesh!
You can't spell Phil Lesh without Phish!
*laughs*
Great stuff Mike!
I'm unsubscribing. You have one of the worst opinions on bass players of all time so
Haha yup that's pretty convenient pull in the first 3 and last 2 letters. A tightened up Phil Lesh= Phish
This guy is just on a whole 'nother level
Very smart, as are lots of the comments here. Love it!
phish= best jam of alltime
Thank you,Dr . Low-end
Happy Birthday Cactus!
Thanks Cactus! Starting to lego up and there's nobody with a better opinion...Mike knows how to buzz yer sternum
Cool man..... Except for that indoor scarf......... ;)
God damnit I love you Mike Gordon
Thanks Mike. One thing I would be interested in is your choice of strings. I'm curious why you settled on those strings and how often you change them.
Guarantee you they either are changed daily or every other while on tour
VERY interesting!
So many technology on the stage, so many... tell me how many bass players (including "normal" not known ones) in the whole world use all of this stuff during the gig. I just wanted to express my opinion. To all of you adorers of huge technology and Mike Gordon I say "Please, forgive me". Any way, Yellowsunism, your boooo for me is like an image in front of a mirror: it turns back to you. Peace ;D
I love that he gives the highest compliment to Phil Lesh by having a similar setup.
Holding a pick while slapping is some seriously impressive shit. Might not be as hard as I'm making it, but it feels so strange when you try it.
It limits your technique since you can really only use your index finger to pick with. If you dont do a lot of dbl plucking and what not, it's really not an issue
The hair! Woah 😳
welcome to the team Mike. isn't everything vibration. Graphite destroyed Powel Peralta in the 80's. Bass Bot loves you!
is that a GoPro Hero cam on yer headstock? I gotta get a few of those.
I like that you guys talk more about getting your "own" sound out of your gear instead trying to just get the "best" or most expensive gear. Took me about 12 years to get my rig right but nobody else can use it and I feel like I'm in the Millennium Falcon when I go void blank.
when you have a ben and jerrys ice cream named after your band, you know youre good
I'd better get into Dave Mathews and The Grateful Dead then
Unless you are Phish. Then you are still shitty suburban White people music.
bad vibes
+Ryan McKinley ewww... What a dirty hippie.
Go check the "vibes" on your trust fund
can't suburban white people like phish without other people getting mad about it?
The entire division of frequency, his processors and effects. . . . . .Jaco was barely breaking the plane of all that stuff. He had a chorus pedal, his amazing fingers, and a fretless.
+Phish WE NEED AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS!!!!!
Those few years between his two distinct hairstyles were really rough lol
Geddy Lee...Phil Lesh....Mike Gordon....Jack Cassidy......Rob Wasserman.....
Victor Wooten. Les claypool.
Stanley Clark, Steve Harris......
+Theo Griffith John Myung, Jaco Pastorius ...
Rob Pagliari, Ric Fierabracci
Chris Squire, Greg Lake.
Mike Gordon = Michael Cera meets Christopher Guest (a.k.a. Nigel Tufnel from Spinal Tap).
EgyptianMinor and 80's judd nelson 😃
Meets Jared Fogel.
dude, ill buy that ticket.
...i love him.
Very informative, thanks mike. Love ya cactus.
I would buy that ticket to be next to mike, no matter the cost
you are the great bassist Mike G.
Tell me that you studied electrical engineering without telling me that you studied electrical engineering 🤣
Hey hey hey! This bass has f*cking 26 frets!
such a nice bass been played with a pick!!!
nelson chauca So? Did you listen to anything he said? He uses a pick because of the sound it produces. Notice the part where he was playing with his fingers and said "Which I would never use that sound, it's very much not me." He's just as good with his fingers but he can't get the sound he wants if he does. Pretty simple..
If you are into Phil Lesh sound, naturally you will need to use a pick. I used to be totally against using picks but some of my favorite bass players primarily use picks, so now I do. I like the tone, only one way to get it.
I played one of these Modulus Quantum basses at Guitar Center earlier this week. It absolutely blew my mind. My decent Schecter Stilletto felt like junk when I went back to it.
they are so, soooo nice.
Awesome!
i love mike!
i find it interesting that he didn't mention the avalon u5 di thats a part of his rack.. anyone else notice? or know if he even uses it?
Those are very important.
Mike's style and look reminds of the Morlocks from the 1960's movie "The Time Machine."
Gracious Mike, Cute outfit and hair.
I'm loving the new more polished Phish wardrobe...
P.s. Got a miracle ticket at your San Francisco show for the Electric Moss tour, probably one of the best concert nights of my life thus far!
Mike Freakin' Gordon
You can tell his techs put him on to this stuff but he still gets you the idea of what’s going on
That great rig and he sounds just like any regular bass players with a pick
Simen Andreas Knudsen But not really, he definitely has a unique groove going on. I'm glad he uses a pick, the band wouldn't sound the same if he had a completely different tone.
I get the sense that he hasn't listened to Jaco in a while. I love Gordon. He's one of my heroes. But even with fingers, he sounds nothing like Jaco.
I get the feeling you weren't paying attention. He said that if he eq'd his bass a certain way and plays with his fingers near the first pick up, it gives him a jaco-like sound that is 'very much not me'. He literally says in the video that he doesn't sound like jaco and was simply demonstrating the way to make his bass sound that way. Maybe watch it again?
+Jacob Dexter. : ) Right. What Mike demonstrates on his bass as "like a Jaco Pastorious sound", doesn't sound like Jaco to my ears. It still for the most part sounds like Mike. Nevertheless, I wish they'd bust out "Donna Lee" again Just for kicks. It's only been 20 years or so.
@@TheSpaceOuts he was showing where to play in relation to the pickups/bridge to get that "jaco" sound.
Does anyone know what jam is at the very beginning of this video. It's sounds amazing, but it's so short!!! Please tell me.
just curious, wouldn't all of his speakers get summed together anyway when going through the sound system? if so what is the benefit of having each speaker have its own EQ curve? do they remain separated in the big line array that hangs above the stage? or does he have them separated just for more accurate tone shaping, which will them be summed?
When trying to mix a bass on the frontend, especially when you are playing on massive systems, in wildly different acoustic environments, controlling the tone and volume of the strings is really difficult. Especially when playing so dynamically with picks and slaps and such. There are a lot of different ways that speakers could be arranged but generally they are going to running multiple crossovers (different tone range for different speakers) and often will use cabinet like arrangement (range of speakers and frequencies). This is especially important for bass because it has a fundamental presence in the floor subs as well as harmonic overtones. So to answer your question...both.
Sounds like a real struggle! 😂
I love Modulus basses, they play really nice.
i would buy that one ticket next to mike every phuckin' time!
Is this the post where everyone else ignores "smallify"?
That is one cool Modulus bass guitar! Does he use Thomastik power-bass strings?
Ken smith slick rounds
What is that scorpion thing on the end of the neck of his bass (forgot part name of guitar)? A weird tuner/sensor part?
Its a go pro/camera
It's a GoPro/Camera
"Yeaaaahhhh....."
SLAP IT MIKE !
I love Mike... he's like a living cartoon character! lol
Yes. :)
meyer galileo just for ine musician!! amazing!
What the fuck did he say? Oh well.......loved just listening
Insane but professional.
Crazy how he ditched the rig for ears, and bass platform
Sounds like he’s a little confused by it as well.. tough getting good bass tone gig to gig 😎
1:47 camera man PAGE!
WOAH
Bass players name-checked by Mike in this segment:
Jaco Pastorious
Phil Lesh
Bootsy Collins
Jon Entwistle
Thanks for laying out the names. Hello from the future!
hahah. "this bugger", "the darn software"
Where is this at? MSG? New rig bitchin Mike.
Trey's LOVE is in my heart hahaha fire fire fire
As a non guitar player who loves phish. I'll just play the cowbell.
KEEP GORDO LOUD!
i can't believe rolling stone leaves you out of their top 100 . just wow
I found this video really pretty informative, but also it was interesting in that I have never liked his tone (Billy Sheehan fits into the same zone for me). I am sure it fits in with his band's sound perfectly ... but then I also don't like phish. So, go figure. Well produced clip though, thanks for posting.
I somehow got here while looking for product vids on Bergantino cabinets ... Hmmmm ...
Block Rockin Beats?
Count Gordon
Cactus bass
I've played shows where my front of house sound was better than what I had on stage, and I have had the opposite. I have to finish the video but this stage setup seems excessive if FOH is going to just mesh all of your split frequencies back together again. Our stage rigs are basically monitors when it comes to large venues, and I am way more concerned about how I sound to the people than how I sound to myself. My favorite players have extremely simple rigs, so I'm just trying to understand if the "why" goes behind personal satisfaction.
4 kings should've had 4 votes. there is just 1 king mike... oh well same as always king
"Slap People"
the g is soft, ladies and gents, michael gordan!
Lmao at all these angry "bass players"
Where biamp systems are out of style, this rig is effectively quad amp
Sounds muddy for a graphite bass. I had one but, it sounded bright
This comment can’t be from a bass player. His tone is the opposite of muddy, lol.
no doubt cool set-up but drop the mids up the treble and forget the pick
I need a scarf
Something not right with dudes who wear scarves
watching really really good bass players always makes me wish I could play better.... I’m not worthy!!!!!
Let me tell you in the courtroom a little story about vlad the impaler vlad the impaler
woah woahhh woahhh o a o
inside this hot fuego i'll keep you frozen
this dance you do will not be imposed
froze
frozen
Cactus
smallify lol
must be tough to be a bass player
Like... why is this downvoted. Silly.
Mmm, not quite sure about all this. Must be me being UK stupid. I'm sure you'll tell me.
Smallifyit