Sean Malones "focus" tone

Arpeggiator · #1 01-14-2009, 06:39 PM

( I dont know if this belongs in the bassist or basses forum)

I would like to know how i could get close to his sound on the focus album. I believe he used a kubicki (sorry if i have mis-spelt) but are there any EQ tricks i could use to try and get close to his sound.

DoomandHeavy · #2 01-14-2009, 07:48 PM

I think he also used a fretless on Focus, not sure if thats true though.

El-Bob · #3 01-14-2009, 07:51 PM

i was wondering the same thing earlier today. i know malone used a fretless kubicki, and i know that chris kringel nailed the tone live with a fretless spector.

DoomandHeavy · #4 01-14-2009, 08:11 PM

Just started listening to Focus again, without a doubt its a fretless. Hes probably doing the Jaco thing, which means only use the bridge pickup. Also if you have a fretless, make sure the action is pretty low or else you wont really get that mwah tone.

Bridge Cables · #5 01-14-2009, 08:13 PM

Can’t help you with the tone too much, I know when I took instruction from him in the early / mid 90’s he was using a Kubicki, I think it was fretted back then, he was working out of Thoroughbred Music in Tampa. He offered to do an even trade with my old ’75 Jazz, I respectfully declined, lol.

I got transferred out of Tampa right after that and haven’t seen him since.

BC

Darkstrike · #6 01-14-2009, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bridge Cables

I got transferred out of Tampa right after that and haven’t seen him since.

BC

I wonder why!

El-Bob · #7 01-14-2009, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bridge Cables

Can’t help you with the tone too much, I know when I took instruction from him in the early / mid 90’s he was using a Kubicki, I think it was fretted back then, he was working out of Thoroughbred Music in Tampa. He offered to do an even trade with my old ’75 Jazz, I respectfully declined, lol.

I got transferred out of Tampa right after that and haven’t seen him since.

BC

he refretted the kubicki after cynic disbanded, iirc.

Arpeggiator · #8 01-15-2009, 02:14 AM

Well thanks for your thoughts, i swear that cynics live bass player uses carvin basses (Robin Zielhorst)

Stealth · #9 01-15-2009, 02:35 AM

Sean Malone definitely used a fretless Kubicki on Focus - the signature growl's all over the songs. I believe he also used a fretless when he was with Aghora on their self-titled album.

AFAIK, Sean Malone works as a professor at some or another music university, ergo he doesn't tour with Cynic - it could very well be that the live player uses a Carvin.

NickBass81 · #10 01-15-2009, 03:05 AM

Sean Malone and, in particular, Cynic's "Focus" is the reason years ago I got into fretless...I was 18, listened mostly to rock, metal music and a bit of blues and didn't know much about Jaco and co...when I got this album I fell in love (I still listen to it now that I'm more a jazz/funk guy) and wanted to get a tone like Sean...then I bought a Weather Report disc and started listenning to jazz and fusion..
On "Focus" SM is using also a chapman stick...
Awesome player anyway, check out also his solo album and the Aghora and Gordian Knot stuff...

El-Bob · #11 01-15-2009, 10:58 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5VzbQQEQo0 here's a video of them with Chris Kringel on bass playing a six string fretless spector. Comes really close to Malones tone if you ask me.

MaskedJackal · #12 01-15-2009, 07:23 PM

My friend plays in a sweet tech-death metal band (myspace.com/terrestrialsphere) with a somewhat Malone-ish tone and IIRC he mentioned something about playing by the bridge and and turning down the bridge pickup a bit so more neck-pup lows came out? Agh, memory's hazy. I'll ask him soon and get back to this thread.

#13 01-15-2009, 09:24 PM

Above and beyond what's been mentioned (great advice already), try a frown face EQ with an emphasis on the lower mids.

Also, interesting video of his technique, never seen anyone use this light of a touch: http://www.seanmalone.net/Downloads/...M_Solo_Bass.rm

ultralisk · #14 01-16-2009, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaskedJackal

My friend plays in a sweet tech-death metal band (myspace.com/terrestrialsphere) with a somewhat Malone-ish tone and IIRC he mentioned something about playing by the bridge and and turning down the bridge pickup a bit so more neck-pup lows came out? Agh, memory's hazy. I'll ask him soon and get back to this thread.

He speaks the truth - I play a fretted Yamaha TRB (not the same bass I played on the TS demo, but thanks for the plug man!), and in order to achieve a more fretless-y tone similar to that of Malone, I do a few things... First off is just about solo the neck pickup (I've heard a lot of people say that you need to use more bridge pickup instead, so I'm starting to wonder if my little knob/pot label that came with the bass has its neck and bridge pickups accidentally switched, heh!), then you might want to think about giving yourself a bit of a midrange boost.

Obviously, keep in mind that you're sacrificing a bit of a low end to get the more growly, farty aspect of a fretless, and there's no real way to sound entirely like a fretless on a fretted, so you also might want to consider changing your attack to be slightly harder and closer to the bridge. Here's an example of a line played twice from Veil of Maya...first time is played flat with both pickups, second is neck pickup with a slight midrange boost -

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=c...4e75f6e8ebb871

Cheers
-Travis

Baryonyx · #15 01-17-2009, 02:22 PM

If you're after that Sean Malone tone, or indeed that burpy, mid-rangey tone that Jaco made famous, favouring the bridge pickup and plucking over it are pretty much essential. The neck pickup plays second fiddle, I have to say!

MaskedJackal · #16 01-17-2009, 07:56 PM

Malone's is smoother, though. Not as ...nasal?...as Jaco. Rounder, too, on Focus, methinks.

Baryonyx · #17 01-18-2009, 05:04 AM

Then again, you have to factor in the fact that Sean's Kubicki has a soapbar in the bridge position which natrually sounds a bit smoother and rounder than the sharp, nasal sound of a Jaco's single coils.

flipper_gv · #18 01-18-2009, 02:22 PM

Well, I can get a very nice Sean Malone tone with my thumb BO 5 fretted. Been playing Cynic's songs for a while and what I found to be best sounding was that you use more the bridge pickups with some of the neck pickups. Then you boost the low mids at 3 o'clock, lows at 1, high mid at 12, treble at 10 (all in o'clock). Play with fingers very near the bridge with a strong attack (not in a slap way, more like pushing down the string with strength). Learn to mute properly. And that's bout it