How do you get this tone?! Thrice - All the World is Mad

dkhp124 · #1 11-28-2009, 11:44 PM

Hey guys,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY3souYjIF0

I saw a video clip of Thrice performing this at the Shockhound Sessions and the bassist had an Ampeg SVT 8x10 cab rig. He was also using a pick which explains the initial attack. But the tone sounds really really aggressive and grindy. I'm wondering what pedal can achieve this kind of tone. Right now i use a GK 400RB-III 2x10 rig ... and a Fender Geddy Lee Jazz bass with DiMarzio Model J pups, and I use a Tech21 SansAmp BDDI as a preamp running into the GK. I get a nice full strong punchy tone through my current set up, but this is on a whole different level. I'm wondering, is THIS the tone you get from a VT Bass pedal? Or is it a different Overdrive pedal? I don't think the bassist just had the SVT tubes cranked up to overdrive really because in later songs, his volume stays consistent, but his tone is much more mellow and tamed. I know that the GK SS gets a very aggressive tone to begin with, so I'm wondering is it just a matter of adjusting the settings on my amp and playing more aggressively? Or would I need a different overdrive/distortion pedal? And if so, what pedal would achieve this kind of grinding aggressive tone?

Thanks in advance for your help guys.

adube810 · #2 11-28-2009, 11:50 PM

eddie also uses an old 70's gibson grabber so that with the pick with the bass plus the ampeg tube rig/810 fridge pretty much sums up his sound (allthough sometimes ive seen him use a pbass). i know he also uses some overdrive pedals but im not sure on what

sonic assassin · #3 11-29-2009, 01:15 AM

grabber > line 6 m13 > BDDI > svt classic > ampeg b15

thats the cornerstone of his drive sounds. no telling which ones hes using at the time, but i know thats what was used in the studio

roccobladr · #4 11-29-2009, 01:21 AM

great band. see them live if you get the chance, you wont be disappointed! but as for the tone, sounds like you could get it with a pbass and a pick and some overdrive.

coreyfyfe · #5 11-29-2009, 06:56 AM

Before the M13 he used to use the DM4 and some other dirt boxes, so really I can't be sure what he may or may not be using for that song, but as said above a lot of that sound has to do with the grabber/pick attack. You can hear it really well on their cover of helter skelter as well, has that very mid-heavy tone to start then some nice crunch on top.

bassman1185 · #6 11-29-2009, 08:44 AM

I haven't tried, but I'm pretty sure I could get a pretty close to the studio version with m VT Bass with the overdrive section of my Pigtronix Disnortion running into it from my Jazz.

coreyfyfe · #7 11-29-2009, 09:20 AM

This is a live version of the song, really plays up the "honk" of the Grabber. I think you could probably get there with some eq-ing to match the mid-heavy sound of his bass but you'd do just as well with a pick and some heavy drive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWRcs...eature=related

Valerus · #8 11-29-2009, 09:43 AM

I want going to ask the same question! I use my SFT to get a nice rounded overdriven tone, but it's always hard to get similar sounds with different equipment.

I love the new album, by the way. I bought it yesterday!

vigor&kandor · #9 11-29-2009, 10:47 AM

sounds like you could do it with an ODB-3

dkhp124 · #10 11-29-2009, 08:15 PM

Ahh so here's an update. I play a Geddy Lee Jazz bass with DiMarzio Model J Pups which i normally put through my Tech21 SansAmp BDDI as my preamp to get a nice fat tubey sound going into my GK400RBIII 210 combo. Today, what sonic assassin reported above, "grabber > line 6 m13 > BDDI > svt classic > ampeg b15," got me wondering maybe I could get a similar sound from my amp if I use the BDDI as a stompbox OD pedal instead of a tube amp emulator. So I cranked up the drive and adjusted the settings accordingly, and what do you know! Along with using a pick to attack, the tone was very similar to the Thrice tone I was looking for! But now I'm wondering if the VT bass would sound even closer or better or more aggressive.

Either way, I was happy to find out that a similar tone wasn't too hard to achieve with my current gear. Now I just have to deal with the tedious task of reorganizing my pedalboard and my GAS attack, trying to convince myself that I don't need anymore stuff... the VT bass is very tempting though..

greenspider · #11 12-02-2009, 04:09 AM

For the longest time i had gas for a grabber. I found a really good deal on a g3, although not quite the same, but put the pick up selector to the neck pickups and it sounds almost exactly the same to Eddie's sound. I run a VT bass>art tube pre>qsc gx3>avatar 2x12. I have the settings on the VT pretty close to the SVT style, but with a little more mids and drive. I would definitely recommend the VT bass!

sonic assassin · #12 12-02-2009, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenspider

For the longest time i had gas for a grabber. I found a really good deal on a g3, although not quite the same, but put the pick up selector to the neck pickups and it sounds almost exactly the same to Eddie's sound. I run a VT bass>art tube pre>qsc gx3>avatar 2x12. I have the settings on the VT pretty close to the SVT style, but with a little more mids and drive. I would definitely recommend the VT bass!

hes always been about the ampeg and sansamp, whether he was using various P basses or his grabbers, so id say the VT would certainly help.

Superdave · #13 12-02-2009, 08:49 PM

I heard from Teppei that a lot of those tones - at least on the album - were from really overdriving that B15. He said it didn't take much to get those really dirty tones out of it. Live he uses that M13, usually on the tube driver sound, I think.

Gord · #14 05-10-2011, 03:09 AM

I've seen a few different looks for the B15Ns - what year is this one? It looks different from the earlier ones. 70s, maybe? Are there any differences other than cosmetic?

Thrice Studio Video - Ed's Bass Rig on Vimeo
cool video about Ed's gear!

blastjv · #15 05-10-2011, 04:37 AM

I was gonna' say, that kind of sounds like a cranked Tech21 Bass Driver type sound...glad you got where you wanted to go with gear you already had.

The sound is similar to what I get with my Way Huge Pork Loin cranked, actually.

-JV

One Drop · #16 05-10-2011, 08:56 AM

The first thing I thought was how do-able that tone is live with a VT pedal. when you said it was recorded cranked with a B-15 it confirmed my guess. I get a very similar tone (albeit more P like) with mine with the Character set at noon or slightly higher (which are 'B-15' settings), mids at 12.30, a drop of bass boost 8probably wouldn't need it with a Grabber) and a decent amount of highs (around noon or a bit under, depending on string brightness, etc).

The VT never fails to impress me. I was just listening to some recordings from this winter's gigs and the bass just sounds so impressive, chewy and full yet focused and tight. Wonderfully easy to get that sound out to the FOH, my life has been made so much easier (we don't have a proper soundman, and our EQ is fairly limited on our board) and the band sounds that much better.

I don't mike my SVT anymore, either.

coreyfyfe · #17 05-10-2011, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gord

I've seen a few different looks for the B15Ns - what year is this one? It looks different from the earlier ones. 70s, maybe? Are there any differences other than cosmetic?

Thrice Studio Video - Ed's Bass Rig on Vimeo
cool video about Ed's gear!

Haha I watched that video last night. He went so basic with this album, he seems lost trying to describe how he was getting tones. The amp is early 70s with the blue-line graphics. Those cabs used a thiele-design and are a little bassier than other B-15s but the overall design of the head was pretty consistent from about 65 on. As far as overall design changes, I think the timelines went something like this: The cabs were originally a double baffle (60-67) then a single baffle (67-69), followed by the thiele (69-80?). The heads were originally cathode biased (60-64) then switched to fixed bias (65-). The early amps (60-63/4ish) used a 5U4GB rectifier, then a solid state rectifier (63/64), then a 5AR4 rectifier (65-).

Gord · #18 05-10-2011, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coreyfyfe

Haha I watched that video last night. He went so basic with this album, he seems lost trying to describe how he was getting tones. The amp is early 70s with the blue-line graphics. Those cabs used a thiele-design and are a little bassier than other B-15s but the overall design of the head was pretty consistent from about 65 on. As far as overall design changes, I think the timelines went something like this: The cabs were originally a double baffle (60-67) then a single baffle (67-69), followed by the thiele (69-80?). The heads were originally cathode biased (60-64) then switched to fixed bias (65-). The early amps (60-63/4ish) used a 5U4GB rectifier, then a solid state rectifier (63/64), then a 5AR4 rectifier (65-).

Wow, that's incredibly useful. Thank you very much!

sonic assassin · #19 05-10-2011, 11:48 PM

i think the big difference in this tone from his usual sound is that this one is a little more grunty. likely the switch to a single 15 from his typical wall of 10's. less bddi and more push the b15.

take a bass heavy part like the intro to "hoods on peregrine" is a little more grindy, compressed and bright. this is more mid-mid heavy and not hi-mid heavy.

either way, love how he uses a big fat P bass sound instead of something thinner like a J or stingray like everyone else.