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Can YOU cop this tone? (Warning, Metal content)

CarlosRoberto5

CarlosRoberto5

Guest
Aug 9, 2011
378
1
Texas
#1
Hello all,
I've been listening to a lot of metal lately and have recently stumbled upon a band called Monuments. One of the things I particularly like about this band is the presence of the bass in the mix, and the tone that this bassist is getting from his instrument.
Here are a few examples of the tone that I am referring to:



Now, from the videos, I've gathered that the bassist, Adam Swan, is playing a Lakland Jazz. I don't know too much about Lakland basses, but it looks like a 55-60. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I'm not sure what equipment he would be playing through. It sounds he's playing with a pick, at least in the recording.
What I find most interesting is that he makes this jazz bass sound more like a MusicMan than anything else (IMO)...the only other bassist I've heard accomplish this is Juan Alderete from the Mars Volta.
I've always thought of Jazz basses as being kind of a one trick pony when it comes to the sound that they produce, so it was really surprising to hear this jazz sound so different.

My question is this: what would you guys guess this bassist's rig consists of? Better yet, can YOU cop this tone?
What kind of equipment would you use to get close to this sound? If you guys would be generous enough to provide sound clips of yourselves playing with this kind of sound, that'd be great. I'm anxious to hear feedback.
Thanks in advance!
 
#8
It's called mojo.
His bass has TONS of it....

whistling.gif
 
#9
Sure you can cop it. I can cop that tone with a P-bass. Just need to do the right eq'ing. Exactly what to do depends on the bass, the amp, and your style of course. I would attempt to boost something in the 200-300 range. Then I would do the same in the 800-1200 range. I would also add some 4-6k. I would probably have to cut in the 125-165 range and the 350-650 range to clean things up a bit and add more emphasis to the ranges I boosted.
 
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#11
BFunk said:
Sure you can cop it. I can cop that tone with a P-bass. Just need to do the right eq'ing. Exactly what to do depends on the bass, the amp, and your style of course. I would attempt to boost something in the 200-300 range. Then I would do the same in the 800-1200 range. I would also add some 4-6k. I would probably have to cut in the 125-165 range and the 350-650 range to clean things up a bit and add more emphasis to the ranges I boosted.
Click to expand...

I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with all of the EQ frequencies, but this sounds like great information.
It'd be awesome if you could record something applying this technique, though! :D
 
#13
CarlosRoberto5 said:
I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with all of the EQ frequencies, but this sounds like great information.
It'd be awesome if you could record something applying this technique, though! :D
Click to expand...

Learning frequencies and how that effects the tone that comes out of your amp and speakers is an incredibly useful tool. It helps you quickly fix your EQ for bad rooms, dial in a familiar tone across almost all amps, and have a better idea of what to expect on an unfamiliar amp if you know it's EQ centers.

If you have an opportunity to, play around with a good EQ and see how each frequency changes your tone. It'll help you cop other guys tones too.

I don't have any good headphones and my laptop's speakers aren't the best so I can't comment on the tone. I'd probably have given you an answer in hertz anyways ;)
 
#15
xander8280 said:
Sounds like onboard preamp treble dimed and loose strings. Clicky tone likes KoRn
Click to expand...

I get the feeling that the bass is passive since it only has three knobs (there's a shot of the Lakland in the second video, if you pause at the right time, you can see the three knobs), but if it's not then I can imagine your idea being plausible.

christw said:
Learning frequencies and how that effects the tone that comes out of your amp and speakers is an incredibly useful tool. It helps you quickly fix your EQ for bad rooms, dial in a familiar tone across almost all amps, and have a better idea of what to expect on an unfamiliar amp if you know it's EQ centers.

If you have an opportunity to, play around with a good EQ and see how each frequency changes your tone. It'll help you cop other guys tones too.

I don't have any good headphones and my laptop's speakers aren't the best so I can't comment on the tone. I'd probably have given you an answer in hertz anyways ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's a good idea. I used to have a parametric graphic EQ in one of my old combo amps, but I never memorized any of the frequencies that I was cutting or boosting.
 
#18
darkstorm said:
Nice. Good solid upfront bass tone. For rig, Id diff be looking at a more hifi type one like Eden or MarkBass etc.
Click to expand...

That's interesting that you mention those two. I would've figured the Eden too clean and the MarkBass too warm, but I've never played Eden or Markbass stuff in a band environment. Thanks for the opinion!
 
#20
Markbass is normally very mid heavy and cuts through the mix just brutally. They do sound pretty bland if played without a band, do not let this impression turn you away if you are into a mid present bass tone. Some of their amps have a filter that turns the trademark midrange tone into a scooped sound, i think it's called VLF/VPN Filter or something like that. One turns the sound more vintage (damp and wooly) and the other scoops the sound, just like the contour filter on the GKs.

That would have been my best bet on that sound, a GK1001. It can get very clicky and still maintain beastly lows. Most of their other Amps have too much growl for that type of sound.
 
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