Tim Commerford plays his Ernie Ball Music Man Artist Series StingRay, in active and passive versions, after years on a BEAD-tuned Fender Jazz Bass. He has said he loves old Ampeg SVT heads and splits his signal into clean and distorted rigs, and his first bass distortion was a Marshall Guv'nor on the first Rage record.
“I'm proud to play these basses and feel wholeheartedly that they are the best basses I've ever played in my life.”
“It's a Music Man StingRay, but better than that, it's my own version of that”
“I smashed that bass on MTV and I regret it to this day.”
“I recorded Wakrat with Lakland Joe Osborn Signature jazz basses strung with Rotosound Tru Bass black nylon flatwounds”
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“I'm proud to play these basses and feel wholeheartedly that they are the best basses I've ever played in my life.”
“It's a Music Man StingRay, but better than that, it's my own version of that”
“I smashed that bass on MTV and I regret it to this day.”
“I recorded Wakrat with Lakland Joe Osborn Signature jazz basses strung with Rotosound Tru Bass black nylon flatwounds”
“I love old Ampeg SVT heads. I absolutely love them.”
“I have four '70s Ampeg SVTs and several SVT-2PROs for the overdrive.”
“I never used distortion on bass until the first Rage record. I used a Marshall The Guv'nor pedal with one amp.”
“their first record Strap It On was a big influence of mine.”
“it's just one of his records that I really love.”
“I've always loved the Bad Brains”
“I love Crazy People Music; the track to look out for is number one, Spartacus.”
“man, I love The Prodigy.”
“My favourite Fugazi album, without a doubt.”
“I can't list ten artists and records that had an impact on me without bringing this man up.”
“I initially record the music in pieces using Pro Tools.”
His Ernie Ball Music Man Tim Commerford StingRay, made in active and passive versions and based on the pawnshop StingRay he used on the first Rage Against the Machine record. For years before that his main bass was a BEAD-tuned Fender Jazz with a maple Precision neck.
Ampeg. He told Premier Guitar he owns four '70s SVTs and several SVT-2PROs for overdrive, and Bass Player says he used two SVT heads and two Classic 8x10 cabinets on Evil Empire.
He started with a Marshall Guv'nor on the first Rage record, then moved to a clean rig plus separate distortion rigs, fed by a custom distortion box he built and a pair of bass wahs; Premier Guitar's 2016 gear list names a Dunlop 105Q Bass Wah.
Premier Guitar listed Ernie Ball Slinky Bass strings, .050 to .105, and he recorded Wakrat with Rotosound Tru Bass black nylon flatwounds, the ones Paul McCartney used.
For The Skinny he picked Helmet's Strap It On, Miles Davis' Nefertiti, Bad Brains' I Against I, Branford Marsalis' Crazy People Music, The Prodigy's The Fat of the Land, Fugazi's Repeater and Coltrane's Giant Steps, among others.
He has said he ran a Marshall Guv'nor for distortion, and Premier Guitar's 2016 gear list shows a Dunlop Cry Baby Bass Wah 105Q, an Aphex Punch Factory and an MXR Phase 90 alongside his homemade overdrive boxes.
Tim Commerford is the bassist of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, and has also played in Prophets of Rage, Wakrat, Future User and 7D7D. This guide covers his Ernie Ball Music Man signature StingRays, his Ampeg SVT rig, the Marshall Guv'nor and bass wahs behind his distortion, and the records he named to The Skinny.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Tim Commerford didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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