The Incredible Bass Rig That Tim Commerford Used to Take on the Powers That Be and Win!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ส.ค. 2019
- The Tim Commerford bass rig has been seen in Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, Prophets of Rage, Future User and Wakrat. Today we answer questions to the age old mystery of Tim's gear.
Known for Stingrays, Fender Jazz bass and Lakland's. These were primarily powered by Ampeg amplifiers.
Tim's effects pedals are a source of great mystery and we dive deep into his boards throughout the years.
#timcommerford #ratm #rageagasinstthemachine
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SHOW NOTES
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Head to the show notes for a list of all equipment mentioned today. This includes a full detailed timeline of all Tim Commerford's basses, amplifiers, effects and strings. You name it. It's there.
www.whichbass.co.uk/TimCommerford
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CONTACT
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Follow me on Twitter @AlfieWilliamsUK or visit knowyourbassplayer.co.uk
Show notes are now live whichbass.co.uk/timcommerford
If you left a request, add it in the comments as the live chat cuts out after the video played.
Subtitles will be added this evening.
Thanks to everyone who joined the live chat this afternoon!
Great video, your research must take ages
Great video! And nice shirt!
@@3000DanielGT Thanks Daniel! Glad you appreciate the shirt too!
@@WhichBass CKY a good one for a next video 🕺
I love your series! Do more! Anyway, Paul Simonon would be great... I was actually friends with DeeDee Ramone (and Johnny too) who said he liked the feel of a rosewood fingerboard, but said they just didn't hold up on a long tour, so he used maple instead...
We installed our pickups in 8 of Timmy's basses. A thrill, as you can imagine. Tim has a bit of the the tech bug in him and likes to experiment with his electronics. For those basses we created custom versions of our Big Man and Big Single pups for him and installed our 2b preamps as well.
Hey Carey (I presume?!) Thanks for the extra info that's good to know! Are your pickups in all of his Stingrays or any other bass too?
Very cool of you to chime in!!!!
Tim and Brad are one of the best rhythm sections in hard rock.
My suggestion would be Billy Gould from Faith No More.
I like it GuitarMan, let me see what I can do.
Yes please! I have some info from Bill himself that could help if needed.
Billy Gould's tone on "King for a Day..." Album, is my favourite angry bass sound.
I dont think Faith no more is from Earth so trying to figure out what they use might not be possible
@@WhichBass thanks Alfie explain the amps in the start of the video
Fantastic bass tone. The sound for RATM at Download Festival was the best I've heard not just for a festival but for any gig!
Elliott Henderson My first live band ever was RATM when they opened Lollapalooza 1993 and I wasn’t ready for the sound as I had never even heard of them before that. One of my top live show memories hands down, and that bass tone was easily a huge portion of it! Tool was on the side stage then as well with another monstrous bass tone. The 90’s was such an amazing time for music (in my opinion obviously)!
I love Commerford and he's so underrated
So damn true, considering that Tom Morello is so damn well known, surprise me that you rarely hear about Tim's playing
@@SprunkCovers I almost feel that it's by design, by Tim. He is not much for the spotlight once he is off stage.
Facts. His bass licks are amazing. Killing in the name and Bulls on parade are my favorite of his bass stuff especially killing, lot of sick riffs in their
nah, he's overrated.
Such an Underrated Bass Player, Thank you for putting him in the Spotlight for the Series.
Thanks Dr Soupcan, nice to see you in the live chat, I appreciate that. Glad you enjoyed the video.
I can't even imagine how long this took in the making...respect my man! Turned out great!
A lot of hours Theo. Thanks dude, I appreciate the kind words!
Everybody talks about Morello's wacky riffs, which are great and all, but TimmyC bass lines are the glue that holds the song together, he's an incredibly effective bass player - holding it down so Tom has the room to do what he does.
Totally agree, if you're not listening to Timmy you're not listening to RATM.
One of my favorites. The drums and bass on rage .. the dropped notes . The silence counts incredible
Thanks for all the work you've put in Alfie!
Thank you Craig, glad you're enjoying yourself.
Would be interested in seeing a rig rundown for Tom Araya of Slayer
Bc Rich eagle and Warlock basses, and a distortion.
He never was a big guy on bass quality, he just wanted something so he wouldn’t feel naked on stage.
He does have a serious rig now which is on this other gear channel I cant remember.
Look up Slayer‘s rig rundown on Premier Guitar, Tom does go into some more detail about his current setup
Still hoping to see the Green Man, aka Peter Steele!!!
Absoultely! I have a feeling he'll come after the Ellefson video. Sit tight! It'll happen!
A big favourite of mine! Very underrated!
@@WhichBass Alfie, you're DA MAN!!!! Thank you for your unstoppable research and passion: for us, is too easy to sit on the couch and wait for you to feed us with your outstanding videos. Really, we really apreciate your efforts and work!
You*ve hinted on making an episode on Peter Steele. Would be awesome if you did. Maybe not next time, but maybein the future?
I did yes! Between you and me, Peter may be coming the Ellefson video. ;)
I'm from The Future and I came here to tell you he does make an episode on Peter Steele.
Also, Buy Bitcoin.
Hey, you did it! I was one of the masses that chirped out for a TC project by you. Thank You! Love your work and appreciate your efforts. Great job, as always.
Peace.
Thank you very much John. I hope it was worth the wait!
Very well researched, thank you!
great job man! very explicative and with all the fx recognition! Kudos!
I learned to play bass thanks to Tim. Amazing Video! Thanks you!
Fantastic information
Really Interesting Which Bass. That's the best video I've ever saw. I like Tim Commerford from RATM, Audioslave and Prophets of Rage.
Thanks Sonic! I appreciate that dude. Thanks for watching. What do you think of Future User?
This took lots of work. Great job. I learned a lot. Keep this work up!
Thank you Bukowski I hope you enjoyed it!
Awesome video man, heaps of info included. Cheers
Thanks El Philly, glad you enjoyed it.
1 of my top influences in my own playing. Dude just knows how to hold down a groove
Great influence right there for sure.
God I wish TH-cam and your channel, much less the internet, were around back in the mid 90s when I was teaching myself guitar and bass. I had to read magazine after magazine for 1% the knowledge you share. Subbed. This channel will grow.
Thanks very much for the sub Luke I appreciate that. Hope the videos help!
glad you're back bro!✋✌ I missed your videos🎸👍
Thank you Max! Glad to have a warm welcome.
Anytime bro!👍 dig your videos✌
Great video man! Look forward to Dave Ellefson's rig.
Thanks Naes! Me too! Should be a good one.
Already watching for the second time. Great job as always Alfie!
Thanks Kyle! Nice to hear it's rewatchable :D
@@WhichBass good
Another great vid!! Well done, and keep them comming 🤘🏻😎🤘🏻
Thanks Martin, glad you enjoyed it. I'll get another one out soon as!
Excellent job! Thanks so much, I love my barefaced bass cabs. When you see a bass wizard with monster tone and can play literally any bass gear he desires, what he chooses we should keep an eye out...or ear out I should say for
Was waiting on this one.
Hope it was worth the wait Mr Mother.
Dude this videos are awesome. Keep them up, they are unique
Thank you JP! Glad you're watching.
Awesome work man ! Cheers ! Keep up the good work
Thank you Jean-François, glad you enjoyed it.
@@WhichBass Man...I play the guitar since 16 years.... In my head I was a guitar player ...But since I touched a Bass for real, my life as changed....I feel like a golf player who realise that after all those years I was left handed... I know why the passion and obsession of that instrument....
You bang it out mate, and remind of me of what we looked like in 90s America. Keep up the hustle brotha, we’ll done
Thanks Above, glad you enjoyed it. For sure, the 90's had it going on.
Juan Alderete, homie! Great work as always!
Awesome Tiger, watch this space.
Thank you, thank you, thank you ☺️
Thank you Joe, glad you enjoyed it!
Welcome back :)
I know the video will probably be an hour long but it'd be fun to see a video of Chris Wolstenholme. After Justin Chancellor, he's the heaviest effects user among bassists I know.
Thanks for watching Abhinav! I'd love to Chris that'll be a challenge for sure.
Apparently you’ve never heard of Juan Alderete
Your research skills are amazing!
Thank you Jeremy that means a lot to me.
You did your research man, nice job!
Thanks dude, I need all the answers.
Dude, I love your videos. Keep them coming my friend. Greetings from Peru.
Hey Kennthy thanks for watching. You tell Peru I said hello :)
Man, I actually was doing same stuff for Russian fans of Megadeth and I just know how happy you get when you nail down one more mystery by either founding a better photo or some unknown crap that is connected with the rigs, strings etc. Shaking your hand for the effort since I know the struggle and remembered that Tim always was super secretive about his rig. Even though I'm not a bass player (and acutally a die hard of Tom Morello, if we're talking all the bands since RATM), that was super informative and it really felt like common territory to me on the "getting facts and info straight" side. \m/
Thank you so much Paul. You're spot on. It's a thrill when you discover or bring to light an answer or new information no one realised before. I love that stuff.
What stuff did you do for Megadeth? I'm doing Dave Ellefson next so I'd be really curious!
@@WhichBass I did some research articles on Dave Mustaine's acoustic guitars and unplugged performances of Megadeth in general, then Dave's King V "Number One" and also dug up some early 1983 Megadeth stuff. It's all in Russian but hopefully Google Translate might be handy. I'll PM you the links.
Cool! David is not that secretive plus his recent bass stories on IG are pretty cool. He had (and still has) some cool bass guitars :)
@@SSSweeper Sweet! Yeah I'd love to see what you were up too if that's cool. Hopefully Google translate will do it's thing! PM me, email me or tweet me a link I'd love to take a look. @Alfiewilliamsuk
Here again from Argentina 🔥kudos mate
it took me forever to realise that RATM and Tool started getting big at the same time, it’s so cool
Know Your Enemy with Maynard and Bottom with Zack de la Rocha are both amazing renditions
That's right! Yeah, Maynard in the live renditions of Know Your Enemy is brilliant.
Tom Morello went to high school with Adam Jones from Tool.
Very useful info here.
Awesome work as ever Alfie! The pedal section was hilarious. Timmy C is quite the chameleon. I wouldn't be well up on his work but super player. Doug Wimbish next!? All the best, Brian.
Thank you Brian, thanks for stopping by the chat yesterday it was good to see you. Aahh Doug Wimbish. We'll get there one day XD
in the older videos, Juan Alderete, a bassist from Mars Volta/Racer X, said that he told Tim Commerford about DBX Boombox, a rackmount sub-bass synth thing (like typical octave pedal we see) and let sound guy kick that in from time to time during Rage shows back in the day so I presume that's the big part of his gigantic sound
Sounds interesting Zooropa, do you have a link to that video? I'd love to learn more.
basically you can probably. achieve (or even Tim achieved) same sound using Boss octave pedals or DOD Meatbox
Love the Cky shirt. Been listening to those guys since my high school days.
Thanks dude! Don't see many CKY fans around. Nice to know I'm not the only one!
@@WhichBass count me in as well, cheers from Russia)
Oooh yees Tim C. Thank you
You're welcome Agung, hope you enjoyed it.
Great as always!!!
Scott Reeder would be very cool!
Thanks Jensen! Ooo Scott is an interesting choice. Thanks!
I'm a drummer and Brad Wilk's huge fan, but I've also spent my years of being a Rage fanatic digging into Tim and Tom's rig. Fantastic video, thank you for that, Sir!
Three small adds : Tim used the Olympic White Fender Jazz Bass and the Sunburst even for the 2007 Rage reunion shows. He first used Lakland in 2008.
You also say we don't know why he uses some bass or another. It's true we never know why he changes his rig, but we can see on many tours that a given bass is for Standard Tuning, another one for Drop D. To mess with us or to use his basses equally in the setlist maybe, he uses the D bass for a song in E (example on "Fight The Power" live performances wuth Prophets of Rage).
Finally, he has more than 10 Stingrays now, he got some new ones recently with grey buttons... Which I find a bit ugly compared to the ones he got in 2017.
Thanks for the feedback DarkCook, glad you enjoyed the video. We know he changes tuning frequently. But typically you would have 1 or 2 basses for that. I mean't he has a handful of basses fulfilling the same role. That and the basses each have their own unique features. One would be a maple neck, one with different aesthetics etc. In that sense there was no specific reason for switching basses.
I'm sure he has plenty of Stingrays but at the time of publishing, lets go with the safest number of 10 ;)
@@WhichBass Yeah, apart with him saying he doesn't like to rest on his laurels, I don't see the reason he keeps adding basses to his huge collection almost on each tour :)
Thank you
Thank you John, hope you enjoyed it.
Killed this one man! Damn!
Thanks dude! Glad you enjoyed it.
Tim released a signature stingray bass in 2021
Your reviews are second to none.. Great job as always.. Between Tim and Justin of Tool, I think they have the best bass tones.. I think most of Tim’s signature distorted sound comes out of that “Fear This” box.. My favorite tune of his is from Audioslave “Shadow of the sun”.. Distorted yet so smooth and warm.. Sounds awesome cranked up on a good sound system.. Has everything a bass tone should have in my opinion, great sound and feel.. I never saw audioslave live, but I’m sure that song live could be felt!
Thanks Tcotroneo, glad you enjoyed it. I'd love to get my hands on that Fear This box. Some have speculated it's a wah cocked in a specific position with some distortion built it. Hope that helps!
I need to listen to Audioslave properly I'll give that a listen.
I think the biggest takeaway is that every artist wants to be an inspiration for creativity.. They don’t want to be duplicated, rather used as an inspiration to create something unique.. In your quest to sound like ur idols, I think it’s your opportunity to discover your own personal sound...
Great video.
Thanks Jose, glad you enjoyed it.
Beauty of a review as always Alfie. Dave Ellefison is gonna be a great shout too. It's no secret that I've been pushing for a dUg Pinnick profile, with that being said though... If your gonna rig rundown Dave Jr., Frankie Bello shouldnt be too far behind.
Thank you Scott, nice to see you back. I know dude, I haven't forgotten dUg. Just not enough time in the day. We'll get there. I'm sure!
MEGADETH and TIMMC you know how to hit us with good stuff
I aim to please :D
Great video series man, love the content!
You think you can do Victor Wooten next?
How did he afford such expensive gear so early in RATM? He had a StingRay, a Rick, and a Fender Bassman before they'd made any money?
Thanks
Thanks for watching Toonies.
@@WhichBass I Would Love It If You Can A Video On Colin Greenwood From Radiohead, He Is A Wonderful Bass Player And SUPER Underrated
Would love to get my hands on one of those Commerfordulators!
Buy'em now before they're gone!
Nice video, also nice CKY shirt man, seriously underrated band! :)
Thanks Djole! Good to see another CKY fan.
This was good. A lot to cover
Thanks Klayray. It was a lot to cover but we got there in the end :D
Roger Waters from Pink Floyd and Mike Dirnt of Green Day would be awesome to see
Andrew, I'm sure I've seen you submit these before! Nonetheless. I like them! Let me see what I can do.
Which Bass To be honest I probably have, I’d just like to hear your analysis on them is all. Also, I’m not sure if any of these guys have been suggested yet but I’ll also add Ben Orr from the Cars and studio/Motown legend James Jamerson
@@andrewpappas9311 No they haven't. I'll but them down too. Great stuff.
Which Bass I’m not sure if you’ve gotten him yet for suggestions but how about Scott Shriner from Weezer?
Got an ad for Tom Morello’s Masterclass at the start. How fitting. Anyway, fantastic video again my dude! You really knock it out of the park with these rundowns. I think I may have two corrections for you though:
13:05 I’m pretty sure the SVT 2-Pro hadn’t been released in 1993. This leads me to believe that Tim was probably using its slightly simplified predecessor, the SVT II
19:40 If you have a quick listen to Township Rebellion off the first album, you can hear that there is some kind of wah effect on the bass during the verses, so I doubt Tim only had the two distortion boxes on his board.
Hope that helps!
Thanks A.D I appreciate that! Ah I hadn't considered the date of the SVT's good point. It's so difficult to get any release data from Ampeg bah. Re: Township rebellion I think it was an envelope filter or something. I didn't find any solid sources so left it out just in case.
Which Bass Never considered it could be an envelope filter! Actually now I think about it that sounds more accurate. Regardless, great video and great channel. Keep up the good work
Thanks Dude! Oh btw, I too got the Morello advert! I gotta check that out.
Would love to see an episode about Brian Marshall from Creed and Alter Bridge 😁 great episode about Timmy C what an awesome bass player he is
Thanks Tim! Glad you enjoyed it. Great suggestion of Brian there. I'll see what I can do.
This kicked ass! But, still patiently waiting on that Chris Squire episode!
Thanks Mark! Sorry for the wait. We'll get there eventually!
@@WhichBass I totally understand. Im sure each one of these is a massive undertaking. We appreciate all your efforts. Keep up the good work.
Thank you dude, I really appreciate that. I won't let you down!
Awesome work! Paul Mccartney would be great to see next
Thanks Cueva! Paul McCartney is a great suggestion.
What’s the riff in the intro? Ps good video :) know it takes you a lot of time and effort too make these videos keep up the good work! *Request* John Entwistle from The Who!
Thank you George! Yeah, it does take a lot of time. About 100 hours a video and I do it in my spare time. It adds up!
John Entwistle would be a great video and challenge. I'd love to look into him in future Great suggestion! Oh the intro riff is from the TH-cam library th-cam.com/video/mi2NpR_TvxE/w-d-xo.html
Excellent choice of shirt my friend. Old cKy was the best
Thanks Monkey! CKY ruulless.
“Tort-wiss pickguard”...? Just teasing, love the videos!!
That's how it's pronounced! Tor - Toise. I will die on this hill!
Glad you enjoyed the videos Sean.
Rockin n Rolling.
Love your shirt. That’s the band of my childhood
Thanks HippieTrippy! They're still around, saw them last month in fact!
26:15 that orange Pedal left of Boss DD-6/7 could very well be a Source Audio Aftershock Bass Distortion, since its kinda the spiritual successor to the Soundblox MultiWave Distortion which he used earlier.
I love Megadeth sound and as a bass player who used to play INA thrash metal band, Elefson is to date, one of my major influences. Can't wait for the video. But I still want to see your take on Markus Großkopf
Thanks Angelo! I'll do my best to get you Markus. Only so much time in the day!
@@WhichBass I understand and I know that if someone can do it, properly, that's you. Best of luck and great low frequency vibes for you.
Fugazis Joe Lally, although similar in rig choice to Tim Commerford, Ampeg, Orange and Stingray or P-bass, Tele bass,, Hofner and Euphonic Audio amp, but always a great tone. "Waiting Room" is an absolutely timeless bassline.
I'll look into it GU. I like the sound of that.
Again I suggest Peter Steele from Type O Negative
I know Rob I know, I haven't forgotten. Atm, Peter looks like he'll come after Dave.
Thanks for another great video, how about Colin Greenwood of Radiohead.
Thanks Marc! Colin is an interesting suggestion I'll put him on the list.
Ok now we want Alex Webster
A classic, I like the sound of that.
Love your videos my friend. There wouldnt be any chance of you doing Ryan Martinie (as Ryknow-Ru-D from Mudvayne..to now with Soften The Glare)....That would kickass.
Thank Joseph! Martin is a great suggestion, I'll see what I can do about that.
Lol, that look on your face when Tim smashed that poor Jazz Bass! Also, good video, Alfie! P.S, I'm The Real Ripper, the guy who asked your thoughts on B.C Rich :D
Thanks Ben! Ah I just don't like basses being smashed haha. I remember the Real Ripper, new account I see! Haha.
Excellent video. Still hoping for a delicacy like the late Mark Sandman from Morphine...
Hhhmm that's only 2 people who's asked for Mark Lincoln. You gotta get the Morphine fans to spam me some more!
@@WhichBass I believe you, but they were pretty underground, don't know how many fans are out there. I though maybe it's avant-garde setup and might be interesting.
It would be nice to see the gear for
Sting
Robert Deleo(Stone Temple Pilots)
Roger Waters (Pink Floyd)
Thanks for the videos nice to see someone highlighting bass gear.
Brilliant suggestions Damien. I'll see what I can do.
Hell yeah! I'm looking forward to the Megadeth one👍 but you know me.... I still would like to see squarepusher¿?🎸🎹🎧💫😵✌
nice one!
Great suggestion Max. Tom's on the list.
If you get lucky you can find the Ampeg SVT3 Pro head for under $500 and same with the matching 410 cab. I got the head on reverb for $500 and the cab on guitar center for $350. It's a monstrous rig! Tones anywhere from Tim Commerford to Les Claypool.
Some people are just plain lucky. Great find Andrew. You enjoy that sucker!
Another great episode!
Can we get a Mike Gordon episode? (Phish, his solo stuff, his stuff with Leo Kottke, and more)
Great suggestion Rowan, watch this space!
🔥🔥🔥
Cool CKY shirt!
Been really enjoying your videos. Thank you :] I would love to see you discuss Brian Gibson of Lightning Bolt. There is info out there on his amps, basses, and pedals but the exact string gauges and tunings have never been very clear.
Thanks for watching JD, I appreciate that. I'll have a look at Brian and see what I can do!
@@WhichBass Thanks! Lightning Bolt is one of my very favorite live bands and one that very prominently features the bass.
You're amazing...
Thanks dude! I appreciate that.
I’d really like to see you do a feature on Jack Bruce.
About time you made another video 😂
Haha, I'd love to do more but there's only one of me and lots of you guys XD. Take a long time!
Which Bass true true,I’ll take some over nothing🤘
He is 52 years old and an extreme BMX athlete... Woow!!!
The guy is a beast! Gotta love that.
thx very much, you rock! \m/
you could easily work in a bass shop !
...try making a video about Chris Wolstenholme by Muse :)
Thanks Pachanka! I tired applying in a music shop once. Never heard anything back! Womp womp. Chris Wolstenholme would be fantastic. Great suggestion.
The stompboxes are an ampeg Preamp (the new one), The scrambler and The Way Huge Conquistador Fuzz
I'm not convinced it's the Conquistador. If you turn a picture of it to black/white the box is black. The pedal in the photo is grey.
It may be an exercise in futility, but I’d like to see an episode on John Entwistle.
Why would that be futile Charles?! Entwistle would be a great challenge I'll see what I can do.
He was active for just shy of forty years and used so many different basses. It would be very difficult to find every single one, but, if anyone can do it, it’s you, man. I look forward to that one.
Well, lets hope so XD Thanks Charles. I'll do you good!
Great video, thanks!
I suggest mike starr from alice in chains
Thanks NootNoot! Nice to see you in the chat. Mike is a great suggestion.
NootNoot
Hell's yes
My ultimate inspiration. I wouldn't pick up a bass if it wasn't for his "friends don't let friends get haircuts" acoustic from the United album. It drew me into him and I listened and fell in love. Nutshell was the first song I ever learned to play.
So excited for the David Ellefson vid!
Glad to hear it Maxwell :D
hi buddy
great channel!!!
can i ask if you know for what tim use the 2 loopers on the board??
thanks.
Hey Itai, I got your emails, sorry I haven't replied. I've been away from my accounts. Ask me anything you need on the comments or tweet me @AlfieWilliamsUK and I'll do what I can to help.
I think Tim used just one looper but you see it on different boards. Also, have a look at the show notes. All my research is there.
whichbass.co.uk/know-your-bass-player/tim-commerford-bass-rig
I dig your CKY shirt bro 🤘
Thanks dude! Good to see another CKY fan.
You should make a video on Norwood Fisher from Fishbone. Thank you!
Interesting suggestion KJ, he's on the list!
That Way Huge pedal looks to be a Conquistador Fuzzstortion. Noting the matte black brushed enclosure, blue led, red font and the helmet overtop of the first initial. You can see the helmet in the black and white image more so than the Purple Platypus. I don't think its the Red Llama because it has the green led and the Green Rhino doesn't fit the colour scheme. My deduction could be wrong but that's as close as I could get.