Andy Rourke, who died in 2023, said his old faithful was a 1964 Fender Precision Bass he chose at Manny's in New York, with a black Fender Jazz Bass for rehearsals. With The Smiths he had a Yamaha BB3000 and a stereo Rickenbacker, played Rotosound roundwounds for twang and ran Trace Elliot amps.
“I listened to a lot of Stanley Clarke records, School Days in particular. He's amazing.”
“I saw this sad-looking bass on the wall, and I saw that it was made the same year I was born, 1964.”
“I've also got a black Fender Jazz [Bass], which I use for rehearsals and so on.”
“I had a Yamaha BB 3000, which is currently under my dad's bed in Manchester”
“I also had a Rickenbacker, the stereo one. I played that on a couple of Smiths records.”
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“I saw this sad-looking bass on the wall, and I saw that it was made the same year I was born, 1964.”
“I've also got a black Fender Jazz [Bass], which I use for rehearsals and so on.”
“I had a Yamaha BB 3000, which is currently under my dad's bed in Manchester”
“I also had a Rickenbacker, the stereo one. I played that on a couple of Smiths records.”
“A friend of Johnny's acquired an SD Curlee fretless, and because I had to learn on fretless, I became obsessed with Mick Karn”
“I used Trace Elliot back then.”
“Nowadays I use a Marshall valve head, a big heavy beast from the '90s, and an 8x10 cab.”
“I used Rotosound roundwounds because I needed the twang.”
“I listened to a lot of Stanley Clarke records, School Days in particular. He's amazing.”
“But I bought Level 42's records and went to see them: I thought they were great.”
Andy Rourke has said they use the Fender 1964 Precision Bass (guitarworld.com, May 2023). Andy Rourke has said they use the Fender Jazz Bass, black (guitarworld.com, May 2023). Andy Rourke has said they use the Yamaha BB3000 bass (guitarworld.com, May 2023).
Mainly a 1964 Fender Precision Bass. He said Sire's Seymour Stein offered to buy him a guitar at Manny's Music in New York around New Year's Eve 1983, and he chose a beaten-up P-Bass made the year he was born. He also had a Yamaha BB3000 and a stereo Rickenbacker.
Rotosound roundwounds. He said he used them because he needed the twang for the trebly Smiths bass sound.
He said he used Trace Elliot in The Smiths era, and in 2016 he was playing a 1990s Marshall valve head with an 8x10 cab.
He said he used a Boss chorus pedal and a flanger, and that you can hear a bit of chorus on How Soon Is Now?
He said he listened to a lot of Stanley Clarke records, School Days in particular, and that he bought Level 42's records and went to see them.
Andy Rourke was the bassist of The Smiths, and later played with Morrissey, Sinead O'Connor, the Pretenders and D.A.R.K. He died on May 19, 2023, at 59. This legacy guide covers the basses, amps, strings and records he talked about in a 2016 Bass Guitar interview.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Andy Rourke didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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