Agreed, there is 'something' there along with the riff but I think it's a moot point. Until Chuck explains how he played it, we'll never know. I personally won't put a lot of time into it especially when I rarely, if ever, play the riff.
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"Rock Steady" High Register Licks
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
It's the guitar. The guitar plays two 16th notes on the low E string - G and A, followed by that Bass fill.
The A note on the guitar sounds longer than the 16th.
Listen to that spot at a slow tempo.
Just that spot - the guitar's G and A followed by the bass fill.
https://www.talkbass.com/attachment...1/?temp_hash=5dca664225329a03fbb2dc8ea98b0341
Here is a longer sound bite of that spot with low frequencies removed.
https://www.talkbass.com/attachment...2/?temp_hash=5dca664225329a03fbb2dc8ea98b0341
Here is the same spot just at a slow tempo.
The guitar's G and A notes at 0:18, followed by the bass fill.
https://www.talkbass.com/attachment...0/?temp_hash=5dca664225329a03fbb2dc8ea98b0341
I'm getting more and MORE convinced that Chuck DID NOT play that lingering A sound.
It was the GUITAR.
Listen to the attached sound bites from my post #62.
Open strings can come in handy... even on a five.
P.S. I'm just happy that, as always diplomatic, Dr.Cheese did not ask about that A minor/major chord in the song. 
okcrum
in your chest
Low-high patterns are pretty standard in classic funk, and Rock Steady is no exception. Here's something else where Chuck plays a lot of low-high patterns (in one take):
Something like this is clearly multiple tracks, but can be (amost fully) played as a single line w/o the channel swapping:
Something like this is clearly multiple tracks, but can be (amost fully) played as a single line w/o the channel swapping:
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From Ed Friedland's article about Chuck Rainey:
Blues You Can Use: Chuck Rainey's Rock Steady Blues
"Chuck’s style is instantly recognizable for its authoritative presence, strong pulse, and his fearless forays into the upper register. Some classic “Rainey-isms” are a well-placed double-stop on the D and G strings above the 12th fret, usually a tri-tone over the A or E string (Ex. 1), and his signature upper-register chromatic run from the 2nd scale degree up to the 3rd of a chord, as shown in Ex. 2. His use of ghost-notes and “in-between” rhythms gives his playing a sense of propulsion, but always in support of the overall groove.
One of my favorite examples of this is the bridge of Michael Jackson's "rock with you". Not sure who played that ut its the same idea. That's a great song to shed on (but you have to tune down a half step).
That's Bobby Watson, who was also the bassist for Rufus. I'm thinking of doing a video play along using my Atlas so I can get the original flavor with a detuned four.
I did a video of this but used standard tuning on my 4 string so my Eb was was an octave up. Sounded ok but that low Eb sounds much better.
Same here!!!!
I just made a video of me playing Chuck's line on Black Cow (including tabs) if you're interested. It's in the Tablature and Notation section.
Btw, I just found out that Walter Becker played bass on Deacon Blues. I always thought it was Chuck.
Great song! I play this with my band. I don't play the open A. I just do the quick shift for the fill. Who knows what happened in the studio. Like others have said, the issue for me is where to place the fills as they seem quite random. I try to match them as close as possible but it's hard without a chart in front of you.