Doug Pinnick or Eddie Jackson tone???

MoonDoggy · #1 03-26-2007, 04:00 PM

I am normally not a fan of using effects. In fact, I've Always just gone right thru my amp w/ no effects whatsoever.

BUT, I am also a big King's X and Queensryche fan. I would have absolutely no problem using effects if I could get that growly dirty Eddie Jackson tone, or that 'balls to the wall' beefy tone that Doug Pinnick gets. My question is, how do they do it? Are they just using some kind of simple stomp box effect or a big digital processor??

I know a lot of it can come from having good basses like Jackson's Spector or Sadowsky or Pinnick's custom ESPs and 8 strings. But what other kind of gear would I need to sound anything like that?

Thanks TBers.

Dan

IanAllison · #2 03-27-2007, 12:27 AM

Hey there,

I had the priviledge of opening up for King's X on a couple of dates so I snuck around and checked out Doug's setup pretty closely. It's pretty simple really - he runs his bass into two big 31 band EQs (acting as cheap crossovers). One side has all the highs dumped off and goes to some big Ampeg head - like the SVT4. This then feeds an 810. The high side (with a bunch of the lowend pulled out of the EQ) goes to a Fender Dual Showman that is also hitting its own 810.

Hope that helps.

Basically, to get that big distorto tone without ruining your bottom end, you have to run two rigs. I don't care how many people say, "NO - this pedal will do it." It won't. I do a similar thing that involves a Demeter/Stewart side into an Eden cab for the "bass." Then for the high end crunch, I hit a Peavey 5150 - which is just WONDERFUL for bass. This then goes into an Eden 210. DI out of the bass side, and mic up the 5150 cab. It's a fantastic set up - one that took me YEARS to discover.

The secret is a good AB box. DO NOT do the Whirlwind box. It will rob your volume and can cause phase issues. I use a Lehl. But I've heard good things about the Radial Switchbone as well.

Good luck!

Ian

MoonDoggy · #3 03-27-2007, 03:36 AM

Maybe I will give it a try then.

If my bass amp has it's own 10 band graphic EQ, would that be enough to roll off the highs, or should I still get a separate EQ? (Likewise if I find a gutiar amp w/ a graphic eq?)

**NOLA Bass** · #4 03-28-2007, 10:12 PM

Doug uses a full 2 amp setup. It's hard to recreate that tone without out (even when I use my Hamer 12 string).

As far as Eddie Jackson, that is classic Spector tone IMO. You need a neck through Spector (Euro or US) to get in that ballpark. Nothing else has that growl and it isn't any particular effects in his case.

MoonDoggy · #5 03-29-2007, 03:18 AM

I have a 34" scale solid maple Euro 5 and it does have similar bite and growl, but the similarities are very distant. I also realize that he used a pick on a lot of stuff when recorded in the studio. I was just wondering if there was more to it.

IanAllison · #6 03-29-2007, 07:30 AM

Something else I'll add that I forgot in my first post - I've seen King's X a zillion times and I was ASTOUNDED by how similar Doug's tone was with a Pbass and with his Hammer 12 string. If my eyes were closed, there was negligible sonic differences. For Doug, it's more about the Dual Showman crunching away than the style of bass he's playing.

Also - my favorite record, Dogman (the BEST KX record IMO), was recorded mostly on his old Pbass. I always thought it was the 12er. But I don't think he used the 12 at all on that record.

And you know - I think you can do the Eddie Jackson thing with a P through the right flavor of grind. Again, I don't think that it's the Spector that's doing most of the tone work here. I saw Queensryche not too long ago and Eddie wasn't rocking a Spector - looked more Fender-y - but I don't think it was a Fender.

ZoomBoy · #7 03-29-2007, 07:35 AM

As far as I know, in recent years Eddie has been a Mike Lull endorsee.

JimmyM · #8 04-01-2007, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by artiseasy

Basically, to get that big distorto tone without ruining your bottom end, you have to run two rigs. I don't care how many people say, "NO - this pedal will do it." It won't. I do a similar thing that involves a Demeter/Stewart side into an Eden cab for the "bass." Then for the high end crunch, I hit a Peavey 5150 - which is just WONDERFUL for bass. This then goes into an Eden 210. DI out of the bass side, and mic up the 5150 cab. It's a fantastic set up - one that took me YEARS to discover.

The secret is a good AB box. DO NOT do the Whirlwind box. It will rob your volume and can cause phase issues. I use a Lehl. But I've heard good things about the Radial Switchbone as well.

I agree and I don't. I will agree that you definitely need to blend two signals, one clean, one dirty, in order to get a good distortion tone. But I don't believe you need two rigs. I have gotten great results out of my old SVT and my old B-15N because they have two channels. I run one channel dry and one through a Keeley-modified Rat II pedal. Sounds magnificent. However, I will add this caveat...running two separate rigs gives you more separation and more room to play with different tones.

As for the A/B box, since an A/B/Y box (used in this example) takes one signal and splits it into two, I don't see how it's possible not to have to some volume loss for each side, no matter what kind you use.

TheXym · #9 04-03-2007, 04:05 PM

Eddie's been using a 5 string Mike Lull for the last couple of tours. For the crunchy sound he's been using for "walk in the shadows" an overdrive with the lows down and the mids and highs cranked seems to come close. I had a sound sample posted in the effects forum under BG a few months back and the advice given there helped me get pretty darn close with my Boss ME-50B pedal and my Yamaha TRB

Basshole · #10 04-04-2007, 06:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by artiseasy

Hey there,

I had the priviledge of opening up for King's X on a couple of dates so I snuck around and checked out Doug's setup pretty closely. It's pretty simple really - he runs his bass into two big 31 band EQs (acting as cheap crossovers). One side has all the highs dumped off and goes to some big Ampeg head - like the SVT4. This then feeds an 810. The high side (with a bunch of the lowend pulled out of the EQ) goes to a Fender Dual Showman that is also hitting its own 810.

Hope that helps.

OK, that's not all there is to the story. He actually tri-amps, and the top end is handled by his "secret weapon"; A vintage Traynor YBA-1 Bassmaster.

It has INCREDIBLE treble, and a unique "shimmer" that I have found with no other amps. I now own two

It really is the "secret" to his sound. I LOVE MY TRAYNOR AMPS! My 50W YBA-1 is actually louder than my 400W GK 800RB

He gave it up in an interview, and there's pics of his rig on http://www.12stringbass.net

I'm 46, and have been playing professionally since I was 21. It took me my whole life to discover this amp, and now, you couldn't wrestle it from me.