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Bob Weston Tone? Rusty Box...... The Only Way???

gregmon79

gregmon79

Dec 20, 2012
27,397
19,561
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Chicago IL
#1
Hey all, I didnt see anyone ever posting anything on this so Im going to ask. I am putting in the effects forum as well because Im thinking my best shot to get what Im after will be through effects.

What would be the best way to get the tone of Bob Weston of Shellac short of buying all the same gear he has? I have seen the Rusty Box raged about since I joined a couple years ago but never gave it much thought. Until now. Im already running my B7K but I may find a way to get a RB and switch between the two pres on and off. But I am pretty broke and dont see me buying the RB any time soon unless someone is looking for something I have for trade.

Do any of you who know me and my setup know of a way I can accomplish this sort of tone with my existing gear? I really want Bobs tone. Its so mean and aggressive yet simple and very clean with an extremely well defined bottom end and a nice trebly attack. I'll still add dirt of course ;) So what do y'all think??
 
#4
Flymo Wang said:
i used to get something similar with a brass plectrum and a stingray, using an old fender bassman with the gain up, but I think the travis bean bass is the magic element in bobs sound
Click to expand...

Yup, his bass is a large part of his sound, no doubt. Last time I saw Shellac he had what looked a lot like a Rusty Box on stage, the only reason I don't have one is the extra power supply.
 
#5
I am surprised you can't get that tone with all the stuff you already have. The only other thing I could suggest would cost more than rusty box and might not get you where ya want to be, and that would be the big bottom pedal. I think if you spent a while adjusting knobs and whatnot you could get pretty damn close to his tone with what you already have. He def has that high tubey aggression with a solid low end.
 
#10
Bob said this on the Electrical Audio forum:


Just used the mark I prototype into the power-amp-ins on some big modern Ampeg solid state head at our shows in Spain. It sounded exactly perfect to me.

Also, at the shellac/dianogah show last month I tried Jay's rickenbacker bass plugged into my shellac amp. It sounded identical to the travis bean.

So, I reckon that "my" "sound" is more like 80% traynor ts-50b, 10% speaker cabinet, and 10% new strings.
 
#12
The key to Bob Weston and D.Wm. Sims tone is cutting your low mids a little more than you want to.
Trust me.
I currently have my VT Bass and 700RB II sort of set Weston style.
It has my own sound but the Shellac tone is in there.
Duh, gregmon, you should've asked me or franksgbass in the first place.:cool:
 
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#13
Yep. Cut them low mids(read:mud)

I was trying for a tone forever on my GK. Boosted 1k, nope, boosted treble, nothing.

Started gradually taking out 250hz(amps' low mids) and that hifi grind started showing up like magic. Then, I bought an eq and boosted 2.2k a little and it came right out. I imagine your B7K's highmid(2.8k) might do the same.
 
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#16
Hank Scorpio said:
It seems crazy to me that a TB bass wouldn't create a noticeably different sound to a normal bass, but the man knows his tone.

There you have it, get a Rusty Box, a good amp/cab and a pack of strings.

Weston does have a great tone. Didn't David Wm Sims use the same amp on some Jesus Lizard stuff?
Click to expand...

Well, Mr. Scorpion, the Rick and Bean do both have pickups where the pole pieces are directly under the strings. So the Bean probably DOES have a role in it.

Also, Simms did in fact record with a Traynor TS50b, an old Rat, and a Memphis Jazz bass copy.

Ever see a man say "goodbye" to a shoe?
 
#17
Yeah, I saw a lot of this stuff on the internet last night. I have always heard of Shellac but never really HEARD them. I stumbled upon a YouTube last night and I was blown away. Ive always been a fan of Steve Albini, go figure that I never got into Shellac until now, but never gave Shellac much of a chance. Well, Ive def been missing out. Thank you for all the suggestions guys. I would imagine I'd be able to get somewhere quite close to his tone with my existing setup so that is why I threw it out there to see if any of you had good suggestions. I really want a Rusty Box now though, that thing sounds super killer. I recently got that SA PEQ and U have been cutting my low mids too but maybe I will do it some more and see how it goes. Thanks again for all the time and input fellas, I know it may have been an overkill subject but I wanted to get some more specific suggestions than what I was finding.
 
#18
#19
Greg, look up this video. Purposefully misspell the song Dog and Pony Show as "Dod and Pony Show".

The bass and band mix in that song in that outdoor festival sounds as angry as a washing machine full of rocks and bolts stuck on spin cycle. The rest of that show "My Black Ass" and "In a Minute" have stellar bass tone!

Angry abrasive meaty cutting metallic attack.
I like my B3K better than the Rusty box but havent tried the two together. I also just sent off a Traynor TS25 guitar amp bc it wouldnt mic right for me. The 12" was all top and bottom with my '57.

I'll probably try a Rusty again one day with my B3K... my Ric seems to match well with Darkglass tho.:)
 
#20
skulletwhip said:
Well, Mr. Scorpion, the Rick and Bean do both have pickups where the pole pieces are directly under the strings. So the Bean probably DOES have a role in it.

Also, Simms did in fact record with a Traynor TS50b, an old Rat, and a Memphis Jazz bass copy.

Ever see a man say "goodbye" to a shoe?
Click to expand...

Could well be a factor. Been considering getting a large pole Delano pup, if I do I'll experiment and see if it helps me get near that tone
 

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