can different pickups give my bass that low end "rich" reggae tone?

[rhcpflea]

I've been doing everything to get my bass to have that reggae tone seen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg6f0zzZcRc here. maxing out the bass, minimizing treble, on both bass and amp seem to a good job but its still lacking. So would a certain pickup aid to the sound im looking for, or should i look elsewhere, like strings. I have a schecter c-4 by the way.

[dewbass4]

My initial response is that you have the wrong tool for the job. "Reggae tone" is more closely associated with Fender P-bass or in some cases Fender Jazz bass. Alder body, maple neck generally with rosewood fretboard and old dead flat wound strings. Check those general spec against your Schecter C-4. Technique is also an integral part of you tone. Maybe this article might help some. IMHO you need a lot more than just different strings or pups.

A spiffy sorts car with 400 hp is not going to pull a fully loaded trailer like a 400 hp diesel truck. Choose the right tool and driving technique for the job. Fender P basses are easy to find, new or used and range from very cheap to very expensive. Start shopping for one in your price range, you'll find the tone you're looking for.

[kesslari]

Neck pickup, highs rolled off, is your new friend.
And old, dead strings.
Plucking closer to the neck than the bridge also helps hugely.
It's a different world, but it's a groovin' world...

A bottom-heavy rig (e.g., no tweeters here!) is also the way to go.

[fullrangebass]

The best reggae (and dub) tone I've ever achieved is with the Villex "Classic" (and it sounded HUGE too)

[kalipigeon]

Large gauge strings tend to help, the deader the better. The standard idea would be to roll the tone knob down very low or off, play with your fingers near the bottom of the neck (not over the pickups). This will be hard to do without tone knobs though so most of your EQ will come from your amp. Also, you need more than just the bass control on your amp. The low mids are very important to the percieved power in your tone for this type of setting.

I'd try to find a pickup that reinforces the low mids - that's why a lot of people will recommend the P-bass. The EMG size pickup replacements are a bit limited, for passive pickups at least. Maybe the Gibson/epiphone thunderbird style ones will fit, they have a nice tone for this type of sound. The C4 also has several switches on the preamp board from what I've read that you can try flipping to see if they alter the tone in a way you'd like, but I can't find a schematic of the circuit to offer any suggestions.

[One Drop]

You might have better luck not boosting the bass too much- roll it back to just a little boost and then the character of the low mids becomes apparent again. Adding more cabs will get you more solid tone than boosting bass immoderately. If you listen to his tone in those clips, you'll hear tons of low mids.

[Gary Holder]

Originally Posted by rhcpflea

I've been doing everything to get my bass to have that reggae tone seen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg6f0zzZcRc here. maxing out the bass, minimizing treble, on both bass and amp seem to a good job but its still lacking. So would a certain pickup aid to the sound im looking for, or should i look elsewhere, like strings. I have a schecter c-4 by the way.

I've got my Maya Precision fitted up with Seymour Duncan SPB-2 Pick ups. I'm sure if you check up on it you'll find something similar for a jazz bass. I've also got RotoSound Tru bass tapewound strings. The combination gives a really thick but tight sound. Might be worth trying RotoSound Tru bass or similar tapewound strings on your bass. Really heavy gauges though & you will probably need to widen the string grooves in the nut.

Hope that helps
Best wishes
Gary

[kauhi17]

Originally Posted by rhcpflea

I've been doing everything to get my bass to have that reggae tone seen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg6f0zzZcRc here. maxing out the bass, minimizing treble, on both bass and amp seem to a good job but its still lacking. So would a certain pickup aid to the sound im looking for, or should i look elsewhere, like strings. I have a schecter c-4 by the way.

Aloha I am in a Reggae group based out of Honolulu HI. I use a Fender Pbass faithfully I modded it a bit though changer the pickups out and put in Duncan Quarter pounders and the sound is huge I mean sick Reggae bass tones coming out. Oh also you might want to change your stock bridge also I swapped it out with a BadAss II bridge. as for strings I use DR black beauties I swear by them. good luck on your quest for the Reggae sound I know I found mines awhile back.

One Love,

[lug]

Flatwounds will do wonders if you are not already using them.

[One Drop]

Originally Posted by lug

Flatwounds will do wonders if you are not already using them.

I agree, though many use rounds to get very cool reggae tones.

I like the vids from the guy in the OP's clip, but his tone bugs me a bit, because I'm so accustomed to hearing the original riddims played with flats, and it's the sound I have in my head. Dead rounds aren't as interesting to me unless overdriven.

[slowburnaz]

Ovation Magnum, neck pickup soloed, tone rolled off. SERIOUS dub tone.

[dubstylee]

Originally Posted by kauhi17

Aloha I am in a Reggae group based out of Honolulu HI. I use a Fender Pbass faithfully I modded it a bit though changer the pickups out and put in Duncan Quarter pounders and the sound is huge I mean sick Reggae bass tones coming out. Oh also you might want to change your stock bridge also I swapped it out with a BadAss II bridge. as for strings I use DR black beauties I swear by them. good luck on your quest for the Reggae sound I know I found mines awhile back.

One Love,

I as well play in a reggae band, I found that adding the Badass Bridge II took away from the reggae tone by making the note sound too compressed; I as well play a P bass and a J, and I find that the BAII is a good mod for Funk & Rock, but for reggae, it just brightens the tone up too much, and adds way too many high mids into the mix. I'm not saying the bridge is bad or anything, I just don't agree that it has a good sound for reggae. I believe that the stock Fender style bridge IS THE REGGAE SOUND! I have been on these forums for awhile and I'm also in search of the perfect reggae tone. I do use rounds, but have also used flats. It's really personal opinion to one's self. I like both strings, but if you want to sound like the guy in that video, I've listened to all of his stuff on youtube, and read in one response that his jazz is alder/rosewood and strung with flats. So, if that is the sound you want, you can mimic his bass. Also, as I said, the setup this guy has on his Pbass sounds more like a setup you would recommended to have for PUNK rock. A vintage style pickup with a stock bridge is what a I would recommend for that old school thumpin' low end reggae from the 60's & 70's. Also, you want to make sure your amp is set right, and use the correct hand techinique at the neck heel.

[perucci]

Flats are my first response (along with plucking closer to the neck), but a couple of others ways to get more "meat on them bones" include:

• Compression (allows more low EQ, evening-out the relative softness when you move to the higher strings)
• Distortion (mild settings on a SansAmp, for example)

If you're going for serious low-end, you may also need a "high-pass" (low-cut) filter to knock-off the frequencies below, perhaps, 50Hz. Otherwise, you may have some serious "mud" on your hands...

[FatFingerz]

flats on any bass with a neck pick up. usually a jazz or a p bass. and also i find it nice the strings to be aged. just like wine, the older the better!

i have a ray34(stingray copy) i turned up the lows and take off the treble. and i still cant get that double bass deep thumpy sound.

a few years back i had a mim fender jazz and i hadnt changed the sting in 2 years, and i felt that it was the closest i got to a double bass sound, which to me is the so called "Reggae Tone"

[Floridabwoy]

You need four 18"s.

: )

[walterw]

this!

okay, maybe not exactly this, but there's no replacement for displacement.

you need enough rig (or PA) to really carry the fat lows and low mids; it's about power as much as any EQ.

[jumbosilverette]

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