Welcome to Know your bass player, today we’re talking about Justin Chancellor of the iconic
cult band TOOL.
Before Justin joined tool It was Paul D’amor that was responsible
for the bass on Tools earlier works.
His tone had a huge effect on influencing Justin
when he finally joined.
Paul's beefy tone was originally crafted using an Ovation Magnum and then a signature Chris
Squire Rickenbacker.
Just prior to his departure, he was also using a Musicman Stingray.
Paul left during the recording of 1996’s Enima.
Justin Chancellor then took his place and tried his best to recreate the original tone
Using a Musicman Stingray himself.
He had said in interviews it worked well in the rehearsals but it was lacking a mid range
punch when it came to recording the album.
This then lead to a recommendation that now defines Justin and Tools sound.
Tool had previously toured with a band called Failure and
winded up borrowing bass player Greg Edwards Wal bass.
Since that moment Justin has been inseparable from Wal basses and bought many of them over
the years.
A major attraction to Wal basses are their unique multicoil pickup construction.
Not only this, each pole piece has its own ceramic magnet wrapped around the coil.
Giving a warm, loud tone that is abundant in a high midrage.
Within Justin’s collection he has 2 main Wal basses that are his go to’s
As well as several other models used for various tunings and backups.
His main Wal is an active Mark 2 with birdseye maple top and a mahogany core.
His back up Wal is believed to be built from walnut
and as a result.
The mid range is slightly less pronounced.
Giving him a different timbre but yet still keeping the same Wal tone
There are a few pictures of Justin showcasing his Wal basses.
Notably, this includes a fretless model
A Mark 2
A greenburst supposedly a mark 2
And a Mark 1
So if you're out there Justin. We want to see your basses man.
Justin has a brilliant ear for detail and is a connoisseur of bass guitars.
Regularly trying different combinations of woods in search for a specific tone
and sometimes just the sound of one note.
On the topic of additional basses,
In this photo you can see he also has two Rickenbackers,
One of which is a Chris Squire signature
Similar to Paul D'amours
Two Precision basses - no doubt vintage ---
an Alembic series 2
And a rare Gibson Flying V bass in silverburst,
Other Gibson basses include a Thunderbird used on tour in 1996.
He was also photographed playing a 1963 precision bass with Deathgrip in March 2018
After the release of the bands last album 10,000 days in 2006.
Justin had subtly hinted at a new album since that time.
Tool then toured for a few years
and weaved in and out of hiatus due to side projects and legal battles.
Justin returned to the public eye for the most part in 2016
appearing in an interview with TopGuitar Poland.
He stated he was participating in the Warwick Bass Camp as a student.
And was very interested in buying a Warwick bass.
Not long after this, the french Bassiste Magazine Is that right?
Bassiste Magazine?
Is that how you say it?
the french Bassiste Magazine released a video of Justin
showing how he plays Enima.
In this video Justin performs using a Warwick Streamer.
In the summer of 2017. Warwick released promotional material for
a custom shop bass they made for Justin.
The new Custom shop Streamer Stage 2 was reported on in a few bass outlets and
it’s specs released.
Showcasing a beautiful combination of materials. including a Bubinga Pommelé Body and Tiger
stripe ebony fretboard.
Around the same time of this release, Owner Carey Nordstrand of Nordstrand audio
Released a video explaining the inspiration behind the Big Blademan pickups as seen on
the Streamer 2.
In this video, Carey decided to build a bass in order to test specially built custom pickups.
As a result the Big Blademan was born in tandem with a Justin Chancellor preamp.
Aiming for something familiar yet still different to Justins’ usual Wal sound.
Carey says in the video that Justin kept this bass in September 2017,
However in March 2018 the bass appeared on Carey’s instagram page
Stating the owner wasn’t happy with it.
The conversation in the comments alluded to Justin being the owner and him settling for
Warwick.
While Justin didn’t keep the Nordstrand bass, he did however have keep the new BigBlade
pickups and custom preamp,
fitting them both on the Streamer 2.
It’s dual coil pickups are described as “mean, gritty, powerful, bombastic, and
loud.” don’t forget loud. Did I say loud?Loud pickups!
Nordstrand build with ceramic magnets and laser cut vulcanized fiber bobbins.
Which are a neat modern day alternative while you’re on the waiting list for a new Wal.
As usual Tool and Justin are tight lipped about the details of their
work.
So it’s unclear how much of an impact the Warwick will play on the new album.
We just have to wait and see … Later this year right?
Later this year right? It has to this year?
Is it this year? It's gotta be this year.
I hear it was this year?
We'll just have to wait and see (audible sigh)
Coming up in part 2 we cover Justin’s amplifiers and his dizzying array of effects pedals.
Make sure you subscribe or click the bell icon so you can watch it as soon as it comes
out.
Thank you very much for watching and I'll see you next time.