Advice: The Tone I’m Looking For

[Zak TMD]

TL/DR: I need tone help – Sound I want (some band references) / What I have / purchase suggestions & Tone tuning suggestions?

Hey all – long time lurker / first time posting.

A little background: I am the long time singer in my band, The Mostly Dead (Washington, DC) but have recently converted to full time bass player as well (I wrote the bass on most of our songs off of “Wilderness” and jammed em, too). Over the past years bass tone was never really considered much. I’m trying to change this. Here’s the thing, this is the first time I’ve really ever been a full time bass player in my adult life (though I’ve been playing for a long, long time) so I am building a rig from scratch. I feel a little challenged when it comes to all the fiddling and nobs.

I’m trying to emulate a type of tone as my starting point to building my own – with the caveat being that I am also singing full time, so I really need to have things in set it and forget it mode – most likely single tone throughout.

What I’m looking for:
Thick, dirt, & beefy to really fill in the fact that we’re a three piece – distortion sounds kinda heavy when it’s just bass / drums, but then when all three of us are playing it just adds to the thickness / floor, while the subs and notes are present.

Some of the tones I really dig:
Caleb Scofield: Zozobra (all), Cave In “Perfect Pitch Black”
Stephen Micciche: ETID “From Parts Unknown”
Jeb Riley: Doomriders “Darkness Comes Alive”
Nate Newton: Various Converge
Jon Dehart: Fight Amp “Constantly Off”
Rob Moran: Narrows “Painted”
Troy Sanders: Mastodon much of the time
[Edit - some more I ]
Julia Ruzicka - Future of the Left "The Plot Against Common Sense"
Eugene Goreshter - Autolux
Jared Warren - Big Business & Melvins

This should give you something of an idea of what I’m talking about.

what I’ve got, so far:
Stock Fender Aerodyne J Bass (j & p pups), Orange Terror Bass BT500H, Ampeg SVT-610HLF*.

Current Pedals: TC Electronics Polytune, Wren & Cuff Tall Font Russian**

Next Purchase: Diamond Yellow Bass Compressor (messed with by guitarist's CPR-1. Rad.)

Seriously Considering: Smallsound / Bigsound Mini

So – this is such a broad question but – what should I do from here? Any pedal suggestions? I feel like such an amateur... any help would be greatly appreciated!

*I should note that this sounds PRETTY good all on it's own without anything else... just not quite there.

**I’ve been messing with the Tall Font but I’m having a hard time dialing it right where I want it – o’clock/pot suggestions from owners?

Also, a side note, I’m trying to keep my pedalboard small. Here’s a picture for reference (not using the Aphex just there for size). With the Diamond, I'm going to have limited space.

THANKS A BUNCH!

 

[blizward]

Hey all – long time lurker / first time posting.

Welcome is the first thing.
Second is with the gear you already have, I think you shouldn't be too worried.
I haven't delved too deeply in the music you suggested but I hear a lot of "bass straight into amp" kind of sound not much of anything else out of the actual amp overdrive.
That said, I'm no expert in that kind of hefty rock sound. Others will chime in and hopefully be more helpful.
I'd try a preamp with a blend so that you can taylor your sound and let the amp do the heavy lifting.
But this is because it's the effects forum

 

[wpc1996]

Darkglass b7k, just got one and it's just amazing expensive, but worth it, and I'm amazed by how many times I can get from it

 

[hrodbert696]

+1 to Darkglass to try, the B3K if not the B7K. Really good overdrive that doesn't suck out the low end. Not everybody loves it, you can search around TB for lots of opinions, but the first time I tried a B3K out on a friend's board, I just lit up and said "I HAVE TO HAVE THAT!"

 

[Zak TMD]

I should add Autolux, Big Business, & Future of the Left (particularly "The Plot Against Common Sense").

Darkglass b7k, just got one and it's just amazing expensive, but worth it, and I'm amazed by how many times I can get from it

I've read a ton of good stuff about this, but have yet to use one. It is on my radar.

 

[Zak TMD]

Welcome is the first thing.

Thank you!

 

[winterburn69]

If you like the sound of the Ampeg, maybe consider adding an Ampeg SCR-DI? It's a seriously amazing pedal, I've only had mine for two weeks but it's easily one of my favourite pedals ever. The scrambler overdrive sounds great as well and stacks really well with other overdrive/fuzz pedals.

If you can't get a sound you like from the TFR maybe consider another fuzz? as far as Muff clones go my personal favourite is the SGFX Imperial. The TAFM, Malekko B:assmaster and Diabolik are also amazing fuzzes.

 

[Zak TMD]

Ok. Checked out both the B3K and B7K. At this juncture $400 on pedal pre... probably not, but the B3K is definitely a possibility - I do love the ideas of blends (if they work well).

Does anyone have any hands on time with the Bigsound Smallsound Mini (fu)? Anyone have experience with both? I like pros and cons.

 

[Zak TMD]

If you like the sound of the Ampeg, maybe consider adding an Ampeg SCR-DI?

Well, I like the cab, but as far as my personal preference goes - I've played through a few SVTs, A couple Mesa's, and this Orange. Hands down I prefer the orange's character and roundness, as well as simplicity to dial the sound in... at least when I didn't have effects between my bass and the amp... That said, I will definitely check this out.

If you can't get a sound you like from the TFR maybe consider another fuzz?

Can't is a strong word here, I just haven't found the sweet spot yet for me. I've head a ton of people use it and it sounds glorious - part of what I want.

 

[blizward]

I should add Autolux, Big Business, & Future of the Left (particularly "The Plot Against Common Sense").

I've read a ton of good stuff about this, but have yet to use one. It is on my radar.

Future of the Left? Now we're talking!
You already have the PBass (ish)covered. That's a start. As for preamps, people seem to be all over Darkglass these days, with good reasons I'm sure. Rusty Box is also popular preamp choice when you need to add edge to your bass. Just make sure you slam the front of your amp.
How does it sound if you use the Tall Font more like a preamp with the gain down and the Volume up? If it has enough volume on tap, it might do the trick. That's how I achieved such edgy sounds with my Hoof Fuzz who is roughly in the same family i.e Russian Muff.

 

[winterburn69]

Well, I like the cab, but as far as my personal preference goes - I've played through a few SVTs, A couple Mesa's, and this Orange. Hands down I prefer the orange's character and roundness, as well as simplicity to dial the sound in... at least when I didn't have effects between my bass and the amp... That said, I will definitely check this out.

It's great for practice as well. No amp needed if you're using headphones! I haven't turned my amp on since I got it.

 

[Zak TMD]

How does it sound if you use the Tall Font more like a preamp with the gain down and the Volume up?

Hot. Definitely pushes with a bit of sustain, even with the "Gain/distortion" down in the 6-9 O'clock (0-3 level) area. The real fuzz, however, doesn't kick in until top levels, which is interesting. I haven't had a lot of time to mess with it yet.

 

[blubass]

Have you tried a Sansamp yet? It's my go-to when I get overwhelmed with trying too many pedals out. I haven't had the pleasure of running a Sansamp in front of a TB500, but I've heard it done, and it was pretty sweet. I keep seeing recommendations for the Aguilar Tonehammer in just about every overdrive thread I search since it's been available, so that may be worth looking into as well.

 

[blindrabbit]

Ok. Checked out both the B3K and B7K. At this juncture $400 on pedal pre... probably not, but the B3K is definitely a possibility - I do love the ideas of blends (if they work well).

Does anyone have any hands on time with the Bigsound Smallsound Mini (fu)? Anyone have experience with both? I like pros and cons.

The ss/bs Mini is one of my favourite pedals of all time. No one will ever go wrong picking one up.

Mini + Diamond is also an amazing pairing.

 

[blizward]

Hands down I prefer the orange's character and roundness, as well as simplicity to dial the sound in... at least when I didn't have effects between my bass and the amp... That said, I will definitely check this out.

Yup Orange...
That's Julia Ruzicka who has played with Future of the Left since The Plot Against Common Sense.
Orange reminds me that I used to own an Earthquaker Monarch and it was a really nice preamp in the Orange style. Why did I sell it? psh.

Edit: it's fully possible that the amp behind her is the guitar player's now I think of it...
Re-Edit: Who am I kidding worrying about that, I'm using an all tube guitar combo for everything dirty these days.

 

[Zak TMD]

Have you tried a Sansamp yet?

Yea, of course. Pretty much everyone uses one, at least it seems like these days. It's on my list of maybes, but I was kinda looking to see what I could do without, since that bad boy takes up a bit of space.

 

[Zak TMD]

The ss/bs Mini is one of my favourite pedals of all time. No one will ever go wrong picking one up.

Mini + Diamond is also an amazing pairing.

Alright. So I stick with my plans and then, when that doesn't work I continue down the tone rabbit hole until I have no money left, 500 pedals, and am playing a punk show and everyone is like, "Why does that dude have a pedalboard the size of his body? He's playing bass..."

Plan initiated.

 

[Zak TMD]

New question / same subject. Let's say I move forward with the above mentioned plan: (I know there are a million threads generally about this) but my specific chain:
O TB500 < DBC-1 < SS/BS Mini < W&C TF < tuner < bass ?

At this point I am not considering a Volume / Tuner situation for a few reasons.

 

[Blaargh]

Converge? Doomriders? Mastodon? Big Business? Seriously good taste, sir.

The Darkglass B7K is excellent, I'm planning on getting one myself. To be honest though, I think upgrading your pickups might be a better idea. Lots of guys with that sort of tone like Jonathan Nunez from Torche use Lace Man O' Wars.

 

[Zak TMD]

Converge? Doomriders? Mastodon? Big Business? Seriously good taste, sir.

Thanks, and yea - I could have put Torche in there, too... although I feel like Torche sometimes is just a tad more buzzsaw than I would like.

So swapping out the pups... Maybe. To my ears - at least right now - the stock J & P's sound really good. That said, upgrades don't hurt and I will def check out Lace's stuff! Thanks!