How do you think he got this sound?

[u84six]

Yes, I know, it's Justin Timberlake. But I heard this on the radio and I thought the bass player got a really unique sound. Does anyone have any idea how he might have gotten it?

Try to stomach the song and listen to the bass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxjHijHRLxU&sns=em

[SoonerMatt]

It's a synthesizer (freaking early 2000s) but you could get that sound with a P or a Stingray.

[devnulljp]

I feel like I've just been rickrolled ...

[leegreenman]

I'm not ashamed to say I love this song! My wife is giving me funny looks though.

[Phagor]

I've played this song live, cheesy but fun to play. Bridge pickup on a jazz nails this tone.

[aledeville]

Bridge pickup would've been my first guess too. Maybe a little bass boost then.

[ksandvik]

Nicely eq:ed Precision would also work. Anyway, it's a synth line, you could hear the MIDI quantizations.

[Finbase]

I can get a similar tone with my equipment. R Cocco stainless steel strings and bridge pick up soloed. Bartolini P2, routed relatively close to the bridge.

And the bass HAS to be freakin' expensive De Gier...

BTW, You might be interested in this one, too...

Justin Timberlake Rock Your Body Live @ T4 Special - YouTube

[RL Scott]

I could get a better sound with fishing line, a broom handle and a washtub. I despise synths when they are used to replace real people playing real instruments. That is a sound any bass & rig could nearly duplicate just by tweaking a knob or two. I know I'm being harsh, but I was a little shocked to see this on a site dedicated to the making of actual music.

Sorry, I know I'm new here and should probably hold my tongue a bit, but the sound you want to copy doesn't even sound much like a bass guitar to me, it's more like a bassoon or something.

[ksandvik]

Originally Posted by RL Scott

I could get a better sound with fishing line, a broom handle and a washtub. I despise synths when they are used to replace real people playing real instruments. That is a sound any bass & rig could nearly duplicate just by tweaking a knob or two. I know I'm being harsh, but I was a little shocked to see this on a site dedicated to the making of actual music.

Sorry, I know I'm new here and should probably hold my tongue a bit, but the sound you want to copy doesn't even sound much like a bass guitar to me, it's more like a bassoon or something.

Well, it grooves really well. We need to be a little big more open-minded here...

[Finbase]

Originally Posted by ksandvik

Well, it grooves really well. We need to be a little big more open-minded here...

+1 to that!

Just for a comparison:
Daft Punk - Voyager - YouTube

Yes, it's "only a synth", but if this doesn't groove to you, I don't know what does...

[moles]

-1 to it being a bad synth line. That's just nice tight playing. If you listen closely you can make out some slight variations on how he's hitting the octave in the line, and some other things.
It's possible the line may have been cut up and looped in some parts.

J, MM, or soapbars in the bridge position, and playing technique

[RL Scott]

It just dawned on me that I might have come across as attacking the poster of this thread with what I said earlier. I wasn't meaning to. I was talking about Timberlake and artists like him. Sorry to u84six if I came across that way.

Those synth lines are more than likely sampled from someone else's work then looped and pitch corrected to fit the changes.

[u84six]

Originally Posted by Phagor

I've played this song live, cheesy but fun to play. Bridge pickup on a jazz nails this tone.

I have a jazz bass and use the bridge pickup and can't get even close to this sound.

[u84six]

Originally Posted by Finbase

I can get a similar tone with my equipment. R Cocco stainless steel strings and bridge pick up soloed. Bartolini P2, routed relatively close to the bridge.

And the bass HAS to be freakin' expensive De Gier...

BTW, You might be interested in this one, too...

Justin Timberlake Rock Your Body Live @ T4 Special - YouTube

That's what I'm thinking. A really expensive bass with active bridge pickups, some type of high-end round wound strings and $10,000 eq.

[jgroh]

Originally Posted by u84six

I have a jazz bass and use the bridge pickup and can't get even close to this sound.

Really? The first thing I thought was Jazz with bridge pickup soloed.

[u84six]

Originally Posted by RL Scott

It just dawned on me that I might have come across as attacking the poster of this thread with what I said earlier. I wasn't meaning to. I was talking about Timberlake and artists like him. Sorry to u84six if I came across that way.

Those synth lines are more than likely sampled from someone else's work then looped and pitch corrected to fit the changes.

No problem, man. But one thing you should know. Different people like different music. I've been a musician for 30 years and I don't care what people use for instruments if they make a song I can relate to and enjoy. It's called being open-minded to creativity.

Also, some people get paid a lot of money to play covers. And these days, with most people NOT paying for their music, a cover band can be a really good thing for a musician who would rather play their instrument than sit at a desk all day or stand out in the freezing cold digging a ditch. If they pay me enough, I'll play any song!

[u84six]

Originally Posted by jgroh

Really? The first thing I thought was Jazz with bridge pickup soloed.

Maybe, with $10,000 eq.

[moles]

Anyone else actually check out who played on that record? Nathan East, and Thaddeus T. Tribbett - maybe one of those two would know? I'm still talking out of my ass at this point (IOW - I have no proof...just opinion) but I still say that's a pretty easy tone to nail with the right player and gear.

[Duckwater]

I can nail it with my PJ bass, bridge pickup slightly favored, gain around 10:00, bit of compression.