Bass choice/tone, Paramore's "Ain't it fun"

Looks like a Gibson Grabber in the live video which sounds like the same bass on your audio. Can't see why a Jazz couldn't do the same job or even a Precision(with rounds). Good luck.

 

Man do I love this song, I’ve jammed to it at home so many times. I believe Justin Meldal-Johnsen produced that album and played bass on it too. There is a live video on YouTube that he plays on stage with the band and uses the Grabber. I think it is tuned BEAD since there are so many low notes on the track. I can’t find the video right now, but I’m pretty sure he used a pick live on it too.

He’s one of the greats and once I saw her produced the album and show him playing it live, it is very clear he wrote and recorded the bass line, simply brilliant.

I think any 4 string in bead, or a 5er with a pick and compression (like you said) would work great.

 

Nothing really sounds exactly like a grabber, I think of that as a bass with a really distinctive voice. but agree with the ppl above that amp settings and roundwounds should get you close enough for a live performance. Darkglass could get you closer if you got one.

 

We play it every now and then in my regular band. I use a Wal 5 and I only play fingerstyle (I suck at trying to use a pick).
I've been caught off guard at open Jams with a 4 string, so I have used my Ric on it drop D tuned and play it passable, and no amp (ampless jam gigs).

Does not matter what bass you play! the audience will naturally only be fixated on the singer throughout the song.

 

JMJ did produce this album but he didn’t play bass on the track. That was Paramores bassist at the time Jeremy Davis who used a Gibson G3 tuned to drop C if I remember correctly.

JMJ both produced and played bass on the next Paramore album.

 

Yeah Jeremy’s work on the self titled album is definitely different compared to what he did on their previous albums but I think the change in musical direction and producer had a lot to do with that. The self titled album is consequently one of my favorite modern rock bass albums. Even something like fast in my car has the really cool synthy bass part.

For this song though I think a jazz bass with both pickups all the way up will do you fine. Or a double bucker stingray with the outside coils selected.

 

I'm pretty sure the guy that recorded all paramours bass stuff is a tber

 

Crank it and get the notes right and no one will care what bass you are using.

 

You would buy a whole bass for one song?

 

Agreed. Great song and IMO better when done live. As for the timber tone of the bass, I covered this with both a PBj and a Warwick Corvette playing through Eden heads and bottoms.

In both cases, the Amp was set to flat with a 5 click boost at 165hz, the preamp was set to when the limit light started to flicker, both basses have new to newer round wound wound string. PBj both volumes and tone wide open. The Warwick was set to flat and pickup select even.

Oh, and no pick so the action on your bass can’t be real high.

I think the PBj was a little closer than my Warwick tone wise, but it was a 4 string with the E down tuned. That said, live the Warwick kicked serious butt, not to mention filling in the sonic area on the recorded IE, the distorted sound on the choruses that were hard to duplicate live. So my advice is the tone of the bass on the recording might not work well with your ensemble.

Anyway have fun with it.

 

I admittedly don’t have the most discriminating ear but, I’m not hearing anything distinctive enough in the tone except maybe a fuzz or heavy distortion getting kicked on in the second half of the recording. Seems, getting close or bang-on should be obtainable with just about any FSO and common amp settings.

 

I play this song pretty often. I run a Dingwall ABZ with the pickups in parallel for this one. Play with a pick, roundwounds and some overdrive and you’re off to the races. I’ve also used a Stingray on Paramore stuff and it kills too.

 

I love this song, but I don’t worry about anything except getting the main notes and feel right. I use my Roscoe Beck V finger-style with both pickups on single coil and the tone knob pulled “up” to favor the bridge pickup a bit and play near the bridge with a slightly aggressive attack. I have it strung with TI Jazz Rounds. I use a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 through the hallowed Berg “Mini-Stack” HT112 plus Ex112. Believe me, no one in the room at the gig will care if you don’t sound exactly like the recording, as long as you hit the licks and get the feel right.

 

That doesn't sound like a Ripper to me. More like something with single coils.