The Allen Woody bass style
FlyGuitars Is it right that Allen was actually a guitar player before taking up bass?
Warren Haynes Yeah, he did start out playing guitar and then switched to bass from there. I think his approach to bass playing was very guitar orientated and especially in the concept of a trio he was able to utilise more of his own style in an aggressive way because of that much space a trio format allows
FlyGuitars How would you describe Allen Woody as a bass player?
Warren Haynes Woody was fearless as a bass player, you know he played with reckless abandon the same way Matt plays the drums and the chemistry between those two guys just happened to work because you could take two aggressive musicians like that and throw them together and it may or may not work. In their case it just happened to work great but Woody had a sensitive side that a lot of people did not see as much because of the nature of the beast, you know Gov't Mule is a very aggressive band especially in the early days because we were trying to bring back something that we thought was missing in rock n roll
Once we had done that then we decided let's move on let's keep going, let's keep going in different directions. Our own ambition was not to be a power trio, we wanted to be a lot of things, that was just the first thing we wanted to be. So with each record we were trying to change and wanted to grow as a band. When we did Life Before Insanity with more instrumentation a lot of that was Woody's idea. He wanted to play guitar, he wanted to play mandolin, he wanted me to play more parts and these were just things we would talk about sitting around in the interim. He didn't want to be stuck in the power trio format either. I think there's some misconceptions about that, that some people think that Woody thought Gov't Mule should always be a power trio and I don't think that were the case especially with the songs that we were writing and the new directions we were approaching
FlyGuitars I think for me it certainly came across that Gov't Mule when Woody was in the band was the three of you and it wasn't anyone steering it in one direction.
Warren Haynes There's a conscious effort on the first album to do very little overdubbing, it was almost completely live in the studio, then the second record, let's do a little more overdubbing but not much then by the time we got to Life Before Insanity we all wanted it to be more of a studio record, more layers, more overdubbing, more instrumentation. I played guitar in seven different tunings on that record. So it made it some ways harder to achieve live because I would have to switch guitars all the time to allow for the tuning differences and if Woody played mandolin there was no bass and if he played guitar then there was no bass but we found ways of getting around that, rearranging the songs where they still felt good as a three piece but some of the stuff that had keyboards, about half of the record really sounded better when we brought a keyboard player in and so there was a point where we brought Johnny Neel on the road with us, there were times when we brought Bernie Worrell on to the stage and so you could see the band toying with the quartet idea a little bit. I don't know that we would have ever added a full time member, who knows. That decision wasn't made until after Woody passed and after he passed Matt and I knew that that was the right thing to do
FlyGuitars Is there one Gov't Mule track that you could choose as a demonstration of what his playing style was like?
Warren Haynes A song that would be definitive for him? possibly any live version of Blindman In The Dark - He never played it the same way twice. The signature parts he played on the studio record were really great and even the improv is really great but then live it went way beyond that. That song benefited from a lot of different basses, sometimes he would play with a very bright bass sound similar to the record which is a Rickenbacker. Sometimes he would play an EB and get this huge bass sound and it worked either way, it sounded great either way. Sometimes he would do it on Thunderbirds, which was in between. He very seldom brought the Rickenbacker out live and in Gov't Mule there's such a need for bottom end he would have to add tons of bottom to the Rickenbacker to make it work, he could do that in the studio much easier than you could do it in a live performance but that song really showcased his improv ability cause he was following me, he was following Matt, he was also leading the charge at the same time
The last Gov't Mule studio album to feature Allen Woody, Life Before Insanity
FlyGuitars The third record Life Before Insanity has an obvious keyboard presence, did that alter the way Allen played compared to previous records? Did he feel the need to create space for the keyboards?
Warren Haynes Yeah I think just intuitively, whenever we were playing live and a fourth member would sit in whether it was a keyboard player or another guitar he would automatically adjust his playing to accommodate the setting and in the studio it was the same sort of way. We were starting to write material that sounded better as a quartet and so he would automatically adjust his playing accordingly. Not something he really had to think about that much, it's just when you play the type of music we play it's so improvisation based that it really hinges on listening. So your listening to what people are doing and if there's more space being filled up then your first instinct is to fill up less space
Thanks to Graham Fieldhouse and Warren Haynes. Graham has also interviewed current Mule bassist Andy Hess - check it out!
Gibson bass guitars for sale
1961 Gibson EB-6 string Bass Sunburst w / PAF
Carbondale, Illinois, 629**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$14900
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Olivia's Vintage would like to present this 1961 Gibson EB-6 Bass in its original Sunburst finish. It has a great playing neck with great frets. It's all original with the exception of the earlier Gibson knobs, the switch and one tuning key. All original tuning key is included, but its tuning button had shrunken and crumbled. A vintage double-ring Gibson Deluxe tuning key is holding the place for the original. The original hardshell case is included. This ... more
1965 Gibson Thunderbird IV Bass in Pelham Blue oh-so rare & cool you need it !
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 333**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$13495
1972 Gibson L6-S Bass Prototype (Ripper, Grabber) Singlecut Sunburst
Syracuse, New York, 132**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$9000
This bass guitar is the prototype for the L6-S bass, a model that was never manufactured by Gibson. Although it is the prototype for an instrument that was not produced, it also seems to be a prototype of the Ripper and Grabber models introduced later that are constructed with the same materials (maple neck and body) and similar dimensions. The look of this one does foreshadow those later models
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1965 Gibson EB-2 Bass a very special ordered EB-2 in a factory Argentine Gray !
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Collingswood, New Jersey, 081**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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Music, Instruments Jewelry: Antique / Vintag??e MENSJEWELRY: CAMEOSJewelry: 1940-1980's VintageJewelry: 1910 - 1939 Art DecoJewelry: 1837-1910 VictorianJewelry: 1895-1910 Art NouveauJEWELRY: Necklaces, Pendants WATCHES & WATCH ACCESSORIES JEWELRY: Brooches & PinsJEWELRY: EarringsJEWELRY: BraceletsJEWELRY: LocketsJEWELRY: Charms & BraceletsJEWELRY: SetsJEWELRY: RingsJEWELRY: SILVERCHINA & PORCELAINRELIGIOUS ... more
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$5999
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1964 Gibson EB-2 Bass Guitar with Hard Shell Vintage Flight Case
Chantilly, Virginia, 201**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$5700
The Gibson comes with a stellar silver and gold very early flight case you could ship it overseas in that thing and I wouldn't be afraid. It came from a very high end Collection and is in extremely good condition and will not find one in better shape. Plays and sounds amazing, has the stock bass boost switch that gets super deep tones and a very very cool bass!!!!  It is so clean you can eat off of it!!! Jimmy page... more
Gibson Memphis ES Les Paul Bass, Gold Top, 4 string with Gibson OHSC
Brentwood, Tennessee, 370**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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The Gibson ES-Les Paul is a stylish short-scale, semi-hollow bass with classic Les Paul-inspired looks, versatile humbucking pickups, and outstanding playing comfort from rounded ?C?? neck with rolled binding
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Vintage 1913 Gibson Mando Bass Style J -Natural- For Repair & Restoration 1920's
Brooklyn, New York, 112**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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Lafayette, Indiana, 479**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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Vintage 1961, Original Style Gibson EB-0 Bass, Cherry Red, GREAT PRICE
Agoura Hills, California, 913**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$4750
No cracks or damage
The Cherry Red finish has faded on the front, but it has a very nice vibe and patina 1961 is the last of the Thicker Double-Cutaway body style before Gibson introduced the SG style bodies The bass plays very nicely and has just been setup with Brand New D'Addario Short scale Round wound strings
This bass is original except the Pots have been replaced.
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1978 Gibson RD Artist "NATURAL BLONDE" Electric (MOOG) Bass + OHSC
San Jose, California, 951**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$4000
" NATURAL BLONDE" FINISH
GIBSON NORLIN-ERA
Original MOOG ELECTRONICS
Made in USA (Kalamazoo Plant, MI)
Production # 102 (April 17th release)
Adult owned only. Children-free, Pet-free household. Kept inside case when not used
Up for sale is a BEAUTIFUL LATE-70's Gibson Bass Guitar (RD ARTIST)
EXCELLENT overall vintage condition. Standard surface scratches, light dings, marks on front / back body / ... more
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Comes with the original case and candy as shown. ... more
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Brookfield, Wisconsin, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$3999
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PLEASE CONTACT US WITH ANY QUESTIONS OR FOR AN IN-HAND DESCRIPTION
Based on an earlier design, this gorgeous reissue from '70 retains most of the original 50's look, including the ultra cool violin-shaped body. Exquisite tone with a smooth, comfortable feel. Professionally set up & ready to play straight out of the case
Cosmetic Condition: Various nicks, chips, dents & dings; scratches, weather checking & some finish wear. ... more
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