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qjamesfloyd Group: Members Posts: 1357 Joined: April 2001 Posted: July 09 2012, 06:27 Click on the link below to watch a 4 minute interview Mike Oldfield did with BBC TV in 1983, talking about his collection of guitars, he plays 4 different ones, and when he plays his 1961 Fender Strat, he mentions that Mark Knopfler plays one, I have always had the feeling Mike really likes Mark's playing, and he did once say that even though he doesn't listen to other people music much, he did really like Private Investigations. Interview Back to top

GusFogle Group: Members Posts: 199 Joined: July 2011 Posted: July 16 2012, 01:58 Mike's playing at 4:30-5:00 on this video is extremely Knopfler-esque http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ3k5zbWzNo Back to top

qjamesfloyd Group: Members Posts: 1357 Joined: April 2001 Posted: July 16 2012, 03:59 Yes it is, he also has a very Knopfler like tone on the strat there too. Great clip that too Gus, I liked it when Mike was holding up the signs with people's name on it, that show's Mike's comical side Back to top

GusFogle Group: Members Posts: 199 Joined: July 2011 Posted: July 16 2012, 05:00 I love his bass playing in that clip too. He is so good at bass, it just isn't fair how he gets no recognition on that instrument. Back to top

GusFogle Group: Members Posts: 199 Joined: July 2011 Posted: July 16 2012, 05:06 Something else I've noticed about his guitar playing- he uses the whammy bar interchangeably with his fretting hand for vibrato. It is really hard to tell sometimes whether he's using the whammy bar for vibrato or his crazy violinist vibrato technique with his left hand. EDIT: sorry for double post Back to top

qjamesfloyd Group: Members Posts: 1357 Joined: April 2001 Posted: July 16 2012, 06:03 Yes, that whammy bar thing is similar to another Strat great, Hank Marvin. Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: July 16 2012, 06:56 Quote (GusFogle @ July 16 2012, 10:00) I love his bass playing in that clip too. He is so good at bass, it just isn't fair how he gets no recognition on that instrument. The last time Mike played bass live was during the Night of the Proms 2006 (Germany)/ 2007 (Spain) concerts. I was really pleased to experience that and his bass playing is top class. Another good example from recent years is on Angelique,I used to play around with U-MYX and leave the bass line playing,full of melody and groove. Can't compare him to Chris Squire and Tony Levin,though! -------------- "But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014 "I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011 Back to top

GusFogle Group: Members Posts: 199 Joined: July 2011 Posted: July 16 2012, 07:56 Quote (Tati The Sentinel @ July 16 2012, 06:56) Can't compare him to Chris Squire and Tony Levin,though! In terms of style, no, I definitely would not compare Mike to those guys. I'm a big fan of Yes and I really like Squire's in-your-face Rickenbacker sound. In terms of technique and technical ability, Mike is the better bassist in my opinion. He has flawless picking and muting technique on bass. Great examples would be: the climax of Ommadawn, "The Bell" from TBII, all the featured bass parts on Amarok, and the climax of Incantations 4. The amount of smoothness and clarity he gets on bass with a pick is not matched by anyone, for me. Regarding his Night of the proms performance in 2006: I was really surprised to see him play the bass on Tubular Bells with his fingernails! It had a really interesting sound. He had to have had the volume BLASTING cause he was playing very lightly to protect his fingernails. EDIT: about the video at the top of the page, I love the sound of the guitar with the built-in amp. Amazing how he even gets the signature Oldfield tone out of that little guitar. Back to top

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