How can I get this tone?

[Varian]

I'm absolutely obsessed with this sort of tone, and If anyone has some ideas on how to get it, I would be ecstatic. The best example of it a friend of mine showed me. This or something along the lines of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duN-32aBt6Q


Thanks for any help you guys can give.

[Liv3rman]

Sounds like a straight forward scooped mid EQ and mild overdrive to me?

[Varian]

Originally Posted by Liv3rman

Sounds like a straight forward scooped mid EQ and mild overdrive to me?

Thats what I figured initially, but I cant seem to get it straight down. Got a hunch that a Jazz bass might have a part to play here.

[Liv3rman]

Yeah I would say single coils. It's very similar to my tone I use for some rock/metal stuff.

[Varian]

Originally Posted by Liv3rman

Yeah I would say single coils. It's very similar to my tone I use for some rock/metal stuff.

Do you think a straight Jazz bass pickup setup, or a J/P pickup setup would work better in this case.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Varian

Do you think a straight Jazz bass pickup setup, or a J/P pickup setup would work better in this case.

I'd say whatever. Not a hard sound to duplicate out of any gear that does overdrive.

[Varian]

Alright well thanks a ton for the help guys.

[unclejane]

Originally Posted by Varian

I'm absolutely obsessed with this sort of tone, and If anyone has some ideas on how to get it, I would be ecstatic. The best example of it a friend of mine showed me. This or something along the lines of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duN-32aBt6Q


Thanks for any help you guys can give.

Ah yes, this is the tone I spent many years trying to get away from, it's not hard to get Try:

- a fretted Fender Precision
- front pickup only
- use a pick

For the amp, any tube amp overdriven a little bit will do it, or any of the new amps with a 12AX7 in the front end.

That ought to get you either spot on or close enough that you won't be able to tell the difference. The pick is really the key to it, but if you have a really REALLY strong plucking hand and you can really smack it without getting tired, you can get close with finger-style.

LS

[Varian]

Originally Posted by unclejane

Ah yes, this is the tone I spent many years trying to get away from, it's not hard to get Try:

- a fretted Fender Precision
- front pickup only
- use a pick

For the amp, any tube amp overdriven a little bit will do it, or any of the new amps with a 12AX7 in the front end.

That ought to get you either spot on or close enough that you won't be able to tell the difference. The pick is really the key to it, but if you have a really REALLY strong plucking hand and you can really smack it without getting tired, you can get close with finger-style.

LS

Thanks for all the advice, but why get away from??

[Bongolation]

How can I get this tone?

This is essentially a meaningless question of a professionally recorded track, because the only answer is always, "by using that producer and those engineers." Those guys aren't just riding the VU level.

[ShowLow]

I'm hearing some very squishy compression in addition to overdrive. I have to say this tone would give me auditory fatigue. To each his own and vive la difference!

[unclejane]

Originally Posted by Varian

Thanks for all the advice, but why get away from??

I just personally can't stand this kind of tone - too deep and requires absolutely super-human plucking strength to maintain it. Or really strong picking, which I also don't have the strength for. Just personal preference.

But a Fender P with a good stiff pick and a really strong plucking arm is how you do this kind of tone.

PS: you can get fairly close with a Jazz bass using just the neck PU, but it'll be a little more nasal sounding. To get this snarling thing you really have to have that split-P pickup, preferably in an actual Fender P. Don't ask me why I know this. My arms and ears are still sore from when I was a kid playing P's and J's trying to get this sound (and succeeding)...

LS

[EagleMoon]

It sounds like a P bass with pick and a bit of overdrive to me too. Nothing really unique.

[mjac28]

Originally Posted by EagleMoon

It sounds like a P bass with pick and a bit of overdrive to me too. Nothing really unique.

+1

[ShowKing]

New roundwound strings + slightly overdriven.

[ME16510]

That sounds a lot like a P Bass with an Ampeg - SVT. To get the SVT tone scoops the mids slightly, but boost a bit around 1k. It sounds like an overdrive as well. Probably some type of tube OD would sound the best.

[Red_Merkin]

Single coils, scooped mids, a pinch of overdrive, and a metric ton of compression.

[jasper383]

Originally Posted by unclejane

To get this snarling thing you really have to have that split-P pickup, preferably in an actual Fender P.
LS

+1

That throaty thing going on in the sound sounds to me more like a P than a J.

P Basses usually have a little more grunt to the sound when all wound up than Jazzes do.

[IntrepidCellist]

The way I get tones like this is a P-bass with a pick and roundwounds into an SVT or SVT-alike, like the VT Bass set for a bit of overdrive.

Might need to roll the tone knob off a little bit, but it's pretty much that in a nutshell.

[bootsox]

Scooped mids on a fender jazz bridge pup into an Ampeg ba112. play with your fingers, dig in really hard.

That's not just guessing, by the way; I've been a fan of the music from K-On for quite a while.