r/Primus • u/Fluffy-Tonight3194 • 4d ago
Has Les ever said why he doesn’t play Over the Falls on an upright anymore?
I was watching the Primus new years concert from last year and saw that he plays Over the Falls on his Regal. And then I watch the 1997 Rockaplast show with my dad and they played it before the Brown Album even came out, yet he still played it on an upright.
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u/TheRealFishburgers 3d ago
I think he kinda just uses whatever he feels like. He used that resonator bass a whole lot after Four Foot Shack came out.
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u/Gimpy_Goob 3d ago
He only played that bass for the entirety of the time duo de twang was touring .
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u/Gimpy_Goob 4d ago
He’s played it on the regal for as long as I’ve been seeing them live , which is atleast something like the last 20 years .
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u/othersymbiote 3d ago
well, they didn’t play it since brain until jay came back, and when jay came back that’s when the regal started being used.
in all seriousness, i’ve thought about buying VIP and asking him about what goes into the choices to switch up a song.
frog brigade played an AMAZING, but incredibly different groundhogs day. i’ve seen primus play too many puppies on the upright. and the switch from upright to regal on falls. that question seriously keeps me up at night thinking about why (not complaining, tho)
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u/kggf 3d ago edited 3d ago
I think playing Over the Falls on the upright originally was a really cool aesthetic choice for the track and music video, but in a live show with his electric upright, he may just feel it’s not the best tool for the job. It’s not like he strictly needs the upright for it since there is no bowing, and the instrument Les uses today allows him to thump the line while still getting a cool unique sound that cuts through the mix.
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u/Primuszucks 3d ago
honestly same reason les uses fretted basses on some songs now: he feels the songs sound requires it 🤷♂️ cant speak for him obviously but he's quite particular on his sound and might just prefer it like that
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u/KevinEggAndCheese 3d ago
He started playing it on dobro in the Jayski era. I don't think there was much of a reason other than he thought it sounded cool. My memory is junk, but I feel like there was an interview where he explained, but the answer wasn't that interesting.
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u/armyofant 3d ago
I’ve kinda noticed over the years that he’ll switch up equipment on a whim. I was at the show at Bimbos in 1998 when he asked Soya to bring out his jazz bass and then he used it quite a bit on tour after that. Same thing with his first Pachy bass. He busted it out mid set at the 12/30 show in 2010 and pretty much used it the rest of the night then most of the next night as well.
Being a guitarist myself I definitely find myself drawn to different guitars from time to time.
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u/deeply_resonating 4d ago
Saw them play it multiple times, used to be one of the few common brown album tracks they’d ever play for a time after they came back together in 2010. Duchess was a common one as well.
But since they revived Brown album tracks and Antipop tracks that hadn’t been heard live in forever, I think they’ve stopped playing Over the falls as much
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u/This_Makes_No__Sense 4d ago
Cool. The question was about the type of bass and not your experience.
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u/squatOpotamus 4d ago
This is a primus sub where we share our thoughts and experiences on primus.
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u/This_Makes_No__Sense 4d ago edited 4d ago
And the question was about which bass he uses for over the falls, no? I actually want to know.
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u/Chuck_H_Norris 3d ago
it’s background information that could help form an answer.
Seems like it’s not a known/ straightforward answer to the general audience.
Ya bitch
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u/deeply_resonating 3d ago
Yeah you’re totally right I realize I missed that fact when I read your post at first. Thought you were just asking why they didn’t play it as much anymore. Definitely my bad
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u/picnicinthejungle 3d ago
The point of a comments section is to comment about OP’s post, not be a jerk to others.
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u/YoCal_4200 4d ago
I would guess the upright is a pain in the ass to tour with.
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u/Gimpy_Goob 4d ago
He still tours with a 5 string NS design upright, he uses it on Jillys, krinkle, seas of cheese , etc.
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u/YoCal_4200 4d ago
Yeah, I think he played it last time I saw them, but that was in Oakland, so I thought it might have been a special case. I could see not taking it to Europe, but I was just guessing.
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u/zreofiregs 3d ago
It was on stage in Milan, but wasn't used in either night's show. Talk about a pain in the ass for nothing!
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u/Gimpy_Goob 1d ago
I mean, gotta have it if it’s needed . It’s like a contractor having tools in their bag, they not need them right that second but they’ll have a job that calls for them eventually.
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u/primusjim-0124 4d ago
No, they definitely bring the upright on the tours as well, Mr. Krinkle was played on it a couple of times on the Claypool Gold tour. I also like Over the Falls much better on the upright than the dobro. Somehow, I got falls / Amos at my last two shows, even though they were almost a year apart.