Compression/Tone insight/help

[aah63]

Hey guys,

I’m hoping someone familiar with different compressors can shed some light here.

I really love Daniel’s playing and tone in the Scary Goldings recordings/videos I’m sharing below. What stands out to me is how much detail they captured in the mix, the bass feels percussive and has that nice “pop” that cuts through.

I know there are a lot of factors that influence tone (strings, bass, DI, fingers, EQ, etc.), but I’m curious if anyone has insight into what type of compressor might help achieve a similar tone. For example, would something like a VCA-style compressor, an 1176-style FET, an LA-2A-style optical, or something else be more suitable for this kind of tone?

Like Daniel, I play a lot of palm-muted lines, and I’d love to capture a bit more pop, detail, and percussiveness in my recordings, similar to what’s happening in these videos.

Any insight is appreciated, even beyond compressor types. If there are specific pedals, DIs, or other pieces of gear worth checking out, I’m all ears. Please share.

For reference, my current setup is an AVRI ’63 P-Bass with CS Pino pickups and TI flats, if that makes any difference.

Thanks!

 

[pbass2]

Doesn't sound obviously compressed at all, just a nice DI'd Pbass sound, really good playing. Some kinda comp very likely, whether it was a pedal, or outboard when tracked, or a plug-in when mixed or....could be any or all of the above.
Might even just be the DI'd signal from his amp you can see there since this is "live", and then maybe some comp in the mix. Or heck, he might have a modeling unit he's running through. Or, he could be running totally dry through a dedicated DI, and then massaged in the mix w EQ, comp, etc plug ins. In other words, a ton of ways to get a Pbass to sound like that but I wouldn't say the compressor(s) is much of a factor on that "tone". I think any comp here was used with a fairly light touch actually, just helping it in the mix. You can get that degree of compression from any number of devices or plug-ins.
You have the right bass, etc for that kinda sound, is this for live or recording? What else do you run through currently?

 

[smeet]

Man, Larry Goldings is a killer!

I use a Cali76 Bass Compressor, an 1176-style pedal. By setting the attack time as long as possible with a low ratio I get a great pop on the attack without sounding obviously compressed.

But palm-muting can give you that emphasized attack too, which is what I think you're hearing in these videos.

 

[aah63]

Doesn't sound obviously compressed at all, just a nice DI'd Pbass sound, really good playing. Some kinda comp very likely, whether it was a pedal, or outboard when tracked, or a plug-in when mixed or....could be any or all of the above.
Might even just be the DI'd signal from his amp you can see there since this is "live", and then maybe some comp in the mix. Or heck, he might have a modeling unit he's running through. Or, he could be running totally dry through a dedicated DI, and then massaged in the mix w EQ, comp, etc plug ins. In other words, a ton of ways to get a Pbass to sound like that but I wouldn't say the compressor(s) is much of a factor on that "tone". I think any comp here was used with a fairly light touch actually, just helping it in the mix. You can get that degree of compression from any number of devices or plug-ins.
You have the right bass, etc for that kinda sound, is this for live or recording? What else do you run through currently?

For both recording and live. That’s pretty much it - straight into a DI, like RNDI, sometimes a Tube DI..it depends

 

[jdjk7]

It sounds like there's a little bit of compression, but I think most of what we're hearing is probably a combination of strings, tone control, and maybe a little bit of EQ, whether that's an EQ device or whether it's the frequency response of a DI or something. Well, that, as well as technique, and the arrangement that lets the detailed bass be heard.