Robert DeLeo - Equipment and Style

Equipment and Style

Robert is known for his wide use of Schecter basses, although he makes considerable use of other basses during recording sessions. DeLeo is a former employee of Schecter Guitar Research and built the prototype of what later became his signature model while working there. The Schecter Model T was his primary live instrument during his years with STP. The bass features a 34" scale neck and Duncan pickups. Variants of this bass include a 5-string model, and several different pickup configurations.

In Army of Anyone's "Goodbye" video, he played a Rickenbacker bass.

He is known for his smooth style of playing, with infusions of jazz, '60s rhythm and blues, and hard rock creating a rather distinctive tone. His primary influence is legendary bassist James Jamerson. Other influences include the late John Entwistle of the seminal rock band The Who, Rocco Prestia of Tower of Power, and Chris Squire of Yes, and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. Robert is known for being a master riff maker; he created most of the riffs for STP which was the band's trademark style, and wrote and arranged most of the band's songs. He also uses a bass Wah-wah pedal to change his tone accordingly (a great example being the song "Vasoline" by STP). He mostly uses Marshall and Fender amplification, but has been seen using vintage Ampeg amps (and basses) as well.

During the STP years, DeLeo has used a wide variety of equipment; though he uses the Schecter live, for recording purposes he has used a wide variety of basses, and has a fondness for oddball off-brand basses from the 1960s, particularly short-scale hollowbody basses which he strung with flatwound strings.(Bass Player Magazine, November 2001 interview)

DeLeo's usual live rig while with STP consists of an Alembic F1X preamp, a QSC MX1500 poweramp, three Eden 2x12 cabinets and three Eden 4x10 cabinets. One 2x12 and one 4x10 cab are placed on either side of the drum riser, and the third stack is placed on DeLeo's side of the stage and kept in reserve as a backup. (Bass Player Magazine, November 2001 interview)

Core was recorded with a Jazz-type bass prototype version of his Schecter Model-T bass, a G&L L2000, and an Ampeg SVT amplifier with an 8x10 cabinet. Purple was recorded with his live rig.(Bass Player Magazine, November 2001 interview)

De Leo's usual studio rig for most of Tiny Music..., all of No. 4, and all of Shangri-La-Dee-Da was more complicated; He split his signal, bi-amping it to a '67 50-watt Marshall Plexi guitar head with '69 Marshall keyboard 8x10 cabinet, and a '59 Fender Bassman amplifier with a custom 1x15 cabinet. This configuration, which DeLeo noted in a Bass Player Magazine article as being an idea he lifted from Chris Squire of Yes, allowed DeLeo to use distorted and clean sounds simultaneously and produce more workable sounds on tape by blending the signals to taste. (Bass Player Magazine, November 2001 interview)

Among the basses DeLeo is known to have used are his Schecter Model-T signature basses, a '66 Fender Precision bass with flatwound strings (e.g. "Sour Girl"), several shortscale hollowbody basses with flatwound strings ("Creep" is a Limgar, "Big Empty" and "Atlanta" are an Orlando), and a '76 Rickenbacker 4001 (Art School Girl), '50s Danelectro Longhorn, an unknown type of upright bass ("Pretty Penny") and Fender Musicmaster. Occasionally uses Sansamp BDDI for extra drive, and used an MXR phase 90 on "And So I Know" and an EHX Micro Synth on "Transmissions from a Lonely Room." (Bass Player Magazine, November 2001 interview)