Gritty, biting tone (early Swans)

[bnugia]

I really like the sound of the bass on Swans' "Filth" LP, and was wondering how I could get a similar tone.

Refer to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWkNlkyT2yE

The beginning track is a good example, so is the one at 5:50. I've looked but couldn't find any images of their bassist from this time period. I'm thinking it's either a Ric or a Peavey T40, but man, how did they get that nasty bite to it? It sounds amazing.

On a side note, if you know of any other songs with bass like that, please post them.

Great site by the way, cheers.

[bongomania]

Listening to that first track now, I'm not sure it's the bassist. Could be, but it's not obviously the case. In addition to that biting metallic sound, there's a low rumbling swell of bass tone underlying the rest, and it doesn't correspond to the biting metallic note rhythm.

I know if I wanted the metallic tone, I'd use bright roundwounds and set my action very low for plenty of string buzz, and if that wasn't enough I'd use a harsh dirt pedal. You might like the Tronographic Rusty Box.

[bnugia]

I think it's the bassist. Hell, I think on this particular record they actually had two bassists. The second track (Big Strong Boss) is more toned down and there's an obvious noisy guitar alongside the grit sound I'm talking about.

Thanks for mentioning the pedal though, looks good.

I remember reading that Steve Albini got his tone partly from aluminum necks. I figure that'd be a good addition. Is there a site other than eBay where I could pick one up? Or am I doomed to have to buy an aluminum neck bass in its entirety?

Edit: I put on a tad of overdrive, cut the mids, raised the treble, ran my bass through 100% wet "tile" reverb mode from my Verbzilla (I'm not normally a Line6 fan at all, but it's a sound pedal, though that's a completely different story) and used a nickel as a pick, and I'm actually quite surprised at the results. Not what I'm looking for, but it's a start I guess.