It's done with the shape control all the way down, which I think actually cuts all but the very lowest bass before the distortion stage, and then there's a little bit of bass boost afterwards. Blend is half way.
It's part way there, but still a bit buzzy and doesn't quite have the diesel-powered effect that I'm looking for!
I think you have too much distortion in your own example. You have some serious fuzz in there that isn't present in the "BCM3demo3" file. Otherwise it's pretty close.
I think he's just got a moderate amount of overdrive and the rest is him really digging in deep with his fingers and getting some fret noise and string sounds with it. Kind of like something on Rush's Moving Pictures. (Listen to Geddy in the guitar solo of Limelight.) Like he was really digging in while on a hot tube amp. Also, that clip sounds like he was drop-tuned for some of the lowest notes. Which could be really adding to the clankiness.
That Rush sound is about right. To me it's a kind of paradoxical sound - not fizzy overall, but with some distorted elements.
I've been playing around since that first clip, using one preamp for clean sound and then mixing in just a touch of heavy distortion from another one (kind of biamping, with no amp... BiDIing?). The clip is a bit too bassy but may be an improvement from #1...
The quieter/slower parts are just my Ric and GK 800RB, and I kick on the Boss Bass Overdrive(ODB-3) on the faster parts and tremolo pick while digging in pretty hard.
The faster parts are actually pretty heavily distorted, but the mix hides the furriness.
You're probably hearing the trem picking, combined with the constant drone of the overdrive:
"This technique adds sustain to a melodic line where the notes would otherwise decay rapidly. If picked fast enough, the note sounds constant."
Here's a great example of a very overdriven bass sounding relatively "defined", yet giving the bottom end of the mix a lot of gritty texture(it also reminds me of a diesel engine rattling away):
It's definitely an engine sound.... your profile pic is starting to make more sense!
I had noticed the trem picking but hadn't really considered how it might affect the perceived 'timbre'. is that picking as in.... with a pick... if that doesn't sound too dumb?
That Dub Trio is decent, and I'm still enjoying 'BCM3demo3'. Did you get my PM?
That song was with a pick, as are almost all the things I do. I'm not the most versatile player, but I like the attack picking provides. I also listen to many fingerstyle players like Geddy, John Wetton, and newer players like Justin Meldal-Johnson(he's really an "everything" player, though).
Yeah, the edgy/engine thing - I grew up listening to FNM and love Billy Gould's playing. I especially love his older tones, which were really abrasive and metallic, yet had a certain warm "fuzz" around them.
