That Meshuggah Tone....

[Ayliffe]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOR0hUIGb4Y

a few minutes in is when the bass playing starts.

I'm looking for a tone SIMILAR to this for some segments in a few songs.

I'm currently using:

Warwick Thumb BO (set up for and tuned CGCF)
EBS Multicomp
Digitech Whammy
Bass Big Muff Pie
Boss DD20
Sansamp PBDDI (as a preamp)
Ampeg 610 HLF

Any idea how i could achieve this? I'm not great at dialing in tones, so im lookin for help in all departments; EQ settings, Additional Pedals, everything.

[octaverazor]

bass tunes up to F# that gives it a little more zing.

[Rockman]

Originally Posted by Ayliffe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOR0hUIGb4Y

a few minutes in is when the bass playing starts.

I'm looking for a tone SIMILAR to this for some segments in a few songs.

I'm currently using:

Warwick Thumb BO (set up for and tuned CGCF)
EBS Multicomp
Digitech Whammy
Bass Big Muff Pie
Boss DD20
Sansamp PBDDI (as a preamp)
Ampeg 610 HLF

Any idea how i could achieve this? I'm not great at dialing in tones, so im lookin for help in all departments; EQ settings, Additional Pedals, everything.

Crank treble on your bass (is it active?), run it through the muff and call it a day. I've been successfull at getting similar tones by running a very very hot signal through a big muff pi with the tone knob all trebly on the muff.

[HaMMerHeD]

Haake is such an incredible drummer. I do like Lovgren's tone a lot. Crank the treble on a rig with good horns and add a little fuzz and overdrive, and I think you're set.

[Rockman]

Originally Posted by HaMMerHeD

Haake is such an incredible drummer. I do like Lovgren's tone a lot. Crank the treble on a rig with good horns and add a little fuzz and overdrive, and I think you're set.

I think cranking the treble before the fuzz is really how he gets his sound, effect loop?

[Deluge Of Sound]

I wouldn't bother with using a distortion pedal, certainly not a Big Muff (and I say that as a serious muff lover... ). You want mids, and lots of them for that sort of angry ball bearing tone.

You want the upper mids and treble accented for that kind of tone... check out some of the "metal" marketed guitar pedals (low end loss ain't that important here, judging from that clip and from the Meshuggah I've heard), and there's not a whole lot of gain in that sound, either. Actually, that the kind of tone I associate with metal players who use Warwicks, and you've got one of those, so you might be able to get it without any distortion at all.

[HaMMerHeD]

Originally Posted by Rockman

I think cranking the treble before the fuzz is really how he gets his sound, effect loop?

Possibly. I would put overdrive in front of the fuzz and tight compression at the end of the effect stage.

[7StringBassist]

Doesnt the bassist tune low F#/E like the rest of the band ??

[Rockman]

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

I wouldn't bother with using a distortion pedal, certainly not a Big Muff (and I say that as a serious muff lover... ). You want mids, and lots of them for that sort of angry ball bearing tone.

You want the upper mids and treble accented for that kind of tone... check out some of the "metal" marketed guitar pedals (low end loss ain't that important here, judging from that clip and from the Meshuggah I've heard), and there's not a whole lot of gain in that sound, either. Actually, that the kind of tone I associate with metal players who use Warwicks, and you've got one of those, so you might be able to get it without any distortion at all.

Why do you suggest not using a distortion when its clear he's using one?

[7StringBassist]

speaking of this band ObZen is such a good album

[Ayliffe]

So far i've maxed the treble on my Active Eq and dimed the tone and sustain on my Muff, and im getting close enough, really diggin the tone i've got now.

I've got the Muff running into the Sansamp with the drive at full aswell, and treble cut a little bit for a bit more upper mids, and its sounding very good.

Thanks for the help fellas, and the quick responses.

and yes Haake is amazing.

[SteveMoodie]

Originally Posted by Rockman

Why do you suggest not using a distortion when its clear he's using one?

Haha! Ridiculous!

[Sandu]

I've achieved a near perfect Meshuggah tone (almost identical sounding, just a little less defined in the mix) with a fairly simple method: a crossover after the preamp splits the signal somewhere above 400Hz (guesstimate), the highs go through a Marshall Jackhammer, the lows through a compressor, then I mix it all back and run through a 31 band EQ. I use full range speakers, so I cut quite a bit of treble to get that bass cab sound, while preserving pristine lows. Actually I get more deep lows (below 80Hz) that the Meshuggah tone with this setup. Or at least I used to... Now I'm running mono, and I'm selling the distortion.

Anyway, the key to the Meshuggah sound is the crossover IMO. I've ran basses through a lot of dist/OD units, and they all sounded like synths to me. Now I know it's because of the fundamentals and lower harmonics, they're very loud and they're the ones being distorted. I confirmed my suspicion when I set up the rig and played with the x-over knob. The more bass I added to the treble signal, the more synth-y the sound got. I guess you have to have a very trebly bass to run it through an OD without x-over and have it break up nicely. Fortunately for me, I haven't had basses like that.

[propel]

I've gotten a distortion similar to this using the VT bass with the character and low mid knobs cranked and using a pick.

[octaverazor]

Originally Posted by 7StringBassist

Doesnt the bassist tune low F#/E like the rest of the band ??

he tunes up. the guitars are down almost a whole octave. ever try to tune your bass down an octave?

[Kink Rimson]

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

Actually, that the kind of tone I associate with metal players who use Warwicks, and you've got one of those, so you might be able to get it without any distortion at all.

So he might be able to achieve that heavily distorted tone without the use of distortion?

It sounds to me like the signal is split between the bass amp and a guitar amp - of course it may be a pedal providing the distortion, but to my ears it sounds like there's a valve amp somewhere.

I don't think you'd achieve it with the Big Muff alone as it eats so much of the low end.

[C2C -2.0]

Basses

* 4x Warwick Dolphin SN (4- and 5-strings)
* 1x Warwick Infinity (5-string)
* 1x Warwick Infinity (5-string) Fretless
* 1x Warwick Thumb (6-String) Fretless
* 1x Warwick Corvette (5-string)
* 2x Warwick Streamer XL (6-strings)


Amplifiers & effects

* Line 6 Vetta II Head
* Line 6 POD Pro
* Line 6 FBV Pedalboard
* EBS Fafner Head
* EBS-810 ProLine Cabinet
* EBS Pedals

Now all you have to do is figure out the signal path!

As for his tunings on tour, it's done this way (assuming he's on a fiver, which he usually is):

Pre-"Nothing" recordings : Bb-Eb-Ab-Db-Gb
Post-"Nothing" recordings: Bb-F-Bb-Eb-Ab

[bongomania]

FYI, they use all Line 6 effects for both bass and guitars. Specifically the Pod (guitar version, not bass) was used to record most of the bass tracks.

[Deluge Of Sound]

Originally Posted by Rockman

Why do you suggest not using a distortion when its clear he's using one?

Originally Posted by SteveMoodie

Haha! Ridiculous!

Originally Posted by Kink Rimson

So he might be able to achieve that heavily distorted tone without the use of distortion?

It sounds to me like the signal is split between the bass amp and a guitar amp - of course it may be a pedal providing the distortion, but to my ears it sounds like there's a valve amp somewhere.

I don't think you'd achieve it with the Big Muff alone as it eats so much of the low end.

It doesn't sound that distorted to me, and I still maintain that cranking the high-mids/treble, using some roundwounds, and playing with a pick would get you pretty close. Plus you're not really going to get that kind of tone out of any sort of Muff based circuit, which is what the OP said he had.

But, some googling of past threads brought me to this youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv3baLNG-10

And that seems to be fairly close to the ballpark he's aiming at.

[Sound Chaser]

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

It doesn't sound that distorted to me, and I still maintain that cranking the high-mids/treble, using some roundwounds, and playing with a pick would get you pretty close. Plus you're not really going to get that kind of tone out of any sort of Muff based circuit, which is what the OP said he had.

But, some googling of past threads brought me to this youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv3baLNG-10

And that seems to be fairly close to the ballpark he's aiming at.

You do realize that the M-80 is an overdrive in addition to being a DI, right?