I finally found the tone I'm searching for.

AntAir267 · #1 06-03-2011, 12:22 AM

I finally checked out Death From Above 1979 after hearing a lot about them. I didn't realize it was just a drum and bass duo. When I first listened, I WAS BLOWN AWAY. That man had the distorted, trebley tone I've been looking for all along. I will emulate it at any cost.

YouTube - ‪Death From Above 1979 - Turn It Out (Live) RARE HIGH QUALITY!‬&rlm; (Not as much here)

YouTube - ‪Death From Above 1979 - Live: Going Steady, Romantic Rights‬&rlm;

YouTube - ‪Death from Above 1979 - Little Girl‬&rlm;

I've got a Squier Bronco that's going to get an upgrade, and I'm going to buy a Fender Rumble 350 soon (I'm currently running it through an overdriven 15W guitar amp which actually gives me similar tone, but I want a pedal so I can be covered when playing different amps). Any pedal recommendations to emulate this tone?

I am a newb (only been playin for a year) so excuse my ignorance of anything.

EDIT: Just found out he actually uses an insane setup that gives him his overdriven trebley sound. I still want a pedal the creates a similar sound though.

hachi kid · #2 06-03-2011, 12:57 AM

JFK has some awesome tone, right? honestly, don't bother with a Fender Rumble. those amps sound like crap.

if you want to get JFK's tone, get the amps and run it through some 10" speakers. you can probably get away with getting an Ampeg 8x10 cab, and running two heads total...one through the top half, one through the bottom half. he splits his signal between two different amps. one for the articulation, and one for the warmer punch. the highs is an Acoustic 450. it has a built in distortion channel that he uses. this is where a lot of his signature sound comes from. his other amp is a Peavey F-800B. he runs this a good bit warmer, but is probably still overdriven.

the only pedal he really uses is an old chorus pedal. he does use a wah pedal on Romantic Rights, though. that's the only song I know of that he uses it. the rest of the time, he just uses a chorus pedal into the amps and it's on all the time.

it's not really that much of an insane setup, though. you could probably find a cheap 4x10 cab, and an original old Acoustic head, and overdrive by turning the gain up to get the tone.

keyofnight · #3 06-03-2011, 01:20 AM

Wow. This is pretty awesome! —I didn't expect to hear something like this.

Is there some other way to get this tone through a certain combination of fuzz pedals (or some other means)? It would be nice to know how so that we can change it up, incorporate it into different setups.

jetofuj · #4 06-03-2011, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hachi kid

it's not really that much of an insane setup, though. you could probably find a cheap 4x10 cab, and an original old Acoustic head, and overdrive by turning the gain up to get the tone.

+1

Get also Peavey T-40. It is probably the only bass that can sound like Rick - you can get one really cheap.

vin*tone · #5 06-03-2011, 05:12 AM

I'd be surprised if he wasn't running his pickups to separate amps with the Ricosound... just cause he can.

JKos · #6 06-03-2011, 05:24 AM

Little bit of info here: What distortion petal(s) did Jesse F. Keeler use in Death From Above 1979? - Yahoo! Answers

- John

mattfong · #7 06-03-2011, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hachi kid

don't bother with a Fender Rumble. those amps sound like crap.

I second this statement.

madmatt · #8 06-03-2011, 07:55 AM

Good luck on getting that sound out of your bass.
Hopefully you can turn it into something better than the horse hockey they were dishing out...because that was terrible.

gastric · #9 06-03-2011, 08:03 AM

Not that his live tone sucks, but I've always much more preferred the studio produced tone. Gives it a nice tight and layered sound, where the live sound always sounds a little muddy and flabby in comparison.

YouTube - ‪Romantic Rights (video) (Album Version) MTV version‬&rlm;

hachi kid · #10 06-03-2011, 08:44 AM

just want to say, when you start getting into this ridiculous amounts of distortion and compression, what bass you're using doesn't really matter. that's why his tone when he was using the Gibson Grabber and the Ric sound exactly the same. so, don't kill yourself getting the money for a Ric. just get the amps, and pretty much run whatever bass feels good to you, and you're on your way. I've experimented with different levels of distortion on bass to find the tone I'm looking for, and in my experience, your tone really all comes from the amps and cabs. now clean, yes. the bass definitely plays a huge part, but not with all this distortion.

as far as his studio tone, he double tracks it in the studio as far as what my ears can tell. and I think he even tri-amps in a few songs. but yes, his studio tone is to f***ing die for! haha.

AntAir267 · #11 06-03-2011, 09:44 AM

Found three cabs on craisglist:

Guild/Hartke 4x10 bass cab

Bass Amp 1200W 4x10 Cab/300W Amp.

Peavey 4x10 Bass Cabinet

Which one will get me the most bang for my buck?

Von Felgenhauer · #12 06-03-2011, 10:13 AM

I vote for peavey. I rock 2 of those and it took my years and heavy heavy bass to blow the speakers. Those will handle more then the behringer or hartke imo.

AntAir267 · #13 06-03-2011, 10:38 AM

It does seem like the best deal. Is this a good deal for the had? Acoustic 450 450W Bass Guitar Amp Head Amplifier | eBay

Von Felgenhauer · #14 06-03-2011, 10:58 AM

I would check out the classifieds here. I honestly don't care for their tone. I found my swr bass 750 on craigslist for $350. If you like the sound of that amp then I say sure. It just looks a little old so there might be some inherent problems you have to watch out for.

hachi kid · #15 06-03-2011, 11:09 AM

I'd say go with the Peavey cause those things are ridiculously reliable, but tweeters + distortion usually don't go together well. I've never tried it, but I've heard from numerous people that bad noise/things happen when you overdrive a cab with tweeters in it. stay away from Behringer...they're all crap. their pedals and stuff seem to be ok, but cabs and any high dollar item is something to avoid. that Hartke might be worth looking into. the RMS rating is a bit low, but if you have the cash, offer the guy $100, or something, and replace the speakers with some Peavey Black Widows when you blow the stock ones.

and damn! an acoustic 450 for $350? I'm tempted to get it...not sure if that's a good price, but that's cheap for that awesome of an amp. I personally only have experience with one Acoustic amp, and it's loud as super ****. don't remember the model, but it made less than 200 watts, I believe, and sounded awesome when overdriven.

hachi kid · #16 06-03-2011, 11:11 AM

actually, I did some googling. $350 seems really high for that amp.

AntAir267 · #17 06-03-2011, 11:43 AM

Where would one find a good price for it then?

EDIT: Can I just disable the tweeter so the amp would run overdrive well?

EDIT: Whats is an OHM?

Jerry Callo · #18 06-03-2011, 11:50 AM

Just a loud distorted sound. It's cool but I don't hear what's so unique. I think maybe you like the bareness of just the 2 instruments.

So if you want to jam with a drummer, go for it, but in any gigging or recording situation that sound would be pretty unusable.

AntAir267 · #19 06-03-2011, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry Callo

Just a loud distorted sound. It's cool but I don't hear what's so unique. I think maybe you like the bareness of just the 2 instruments.

So if you want to jam with a drummer, go for it, but in any gigging or recording situation that sound would be pretty unusable.

Well I have a friend who plays keys/synth and am gonna start looking for a drummer in a few months. I was planning on being similar to these guys before I even knew who they were, and I really like that sound, even if it's kinda impractical and noisy.

hachi kid · #20 06-03-2011, 12:27 PM

I'm not sure about disabling the tweeter and all. some other people on the forum would have to chime in there. or search the forum. there's bound to be some info on it. I don't mess with tweeters, so I can't offer any advice there.

for some stuff on amps, here's a sticky with a TON of helpful articles:
AMPS FAQ!! Info on OHMS, Allsize RIGS-OverUnderPowerCabs DIY TechTalk-Links

and specifically, stuff on ohms, and such:
Ohms FAQ

as far as what Jerry Callo said, JFK's tone IS pretty unique. at first glance, it seems like just a wall of distortion, but there's something specific about his tone. it's chock full of mids, and has some really searing highs to it, as well. I'm not sure how much of this is post amp EQ'ing, or not, but his live tone seems to be pretty consistent.

as far as what you want in terms of sound, let your ears be the judge of what levels of distortion and which frequencies you need. not anyone else. it helps to be pointed in a certain direction with gear, and stuff, but it really all comes down to your ears and how it sounds to you in a mix, or with just a drummer.