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effects settings for that billy sheehan sound ???
- Thread starter PATTY1
- Start date
At a clinic of his I attended, he said that when he plays through just one amp he boosts the mids. A compressor is another very, very important aspect of his sound. 10:1 ratio, attack and release set as low as possible.
I haven't followed Billy's gear setup closely. It has evolved over the years. But one thing that was key to his sound in the early days was a blend of clean and distorted tones.
Of course, he customized a stereo P bass, and later designed the Yamaha signature model. The bass signal(s) went into both channels of a Pearce amp. Later the Ampeg BSP preamp came along.
You probably know all that already. My point is that Billy was "blending" before it was mainstream. To cop his sound on a budget, I'd start with a distortion pedal with a clean blend (either built in, or a seperate unit).
Roundwounds and super low action are recommended too.
Of course, he customized a stereo P bass, and later designed the Yamaha signature model. The bass signal(s) went into both channels of a Pearce amp. Later the Ampeg BSP preamp came along.
You probably know all that already. My point is that Billy was "blending" before it was mainstream. To cop his sound on a budget, I'd start with a distortion pedal with a clean blend (either built in, or a seperate unit).
Roundwounds and super low action are recommended too.
A ton of compression - a dual band one may work so you can squeeze the highs more than the lows.
A Tube Screamer or clone for a bit of grit - I'm using a Digitech Bad Monkey which does the job nicely. Whilst it give a warm, natural overdrive it also retains the clarity of the clean sound without the need for a blend.
Set the amp quite flat, boost the mids if necessary and dial out the very top end to remove the 'zing'.
The key though really is the 2 signal from the 2 pickups. You could try splitting the signal from your bass and process them individually, but the Attitude's p/up configuration really does it a lot better.
I'm pretty much nailing the tone on a relative budget - relative being compared to Billy's rig.
I send the P p/up of my Attitude through a Behringer eq to dial out the low end to get a twangy guitar tone, then through the Bad Monkey for grit, then into one side of a TC Nova Dynamics compressor set with fast quite extreme compression.
The 'woofer' neck p/up goes straight into the other side of the TC compressor set with a slower attack and mild compression. I then combine both signals via a Boss LS-2 and that goes straight into my LMII head, on which the eq is pretty much flat, but using the VLE filter to roll off the very top end and inject a bit of warmth.
Like I say, on a regular single output bass, you could split the signal into my above signal paths which could work quite well, although you may have to also eq the 'woofer' side to get a fuller bassier tone.
A Tube Screamer or clone for a bit of grit - I'm using a Digitech Bad Monkey which does the job nicely. Whilst it give a warm, natural overdrive it also retains the clarity of the clean sound without the need for a blend.
Set the amp quite flat, boost the mids if necessary and dial out the very top end to remove the 'zing'.
The key though really is the 2 signal from the 2 pickups. You could try splitting the signal from your bass and process them individually, but the Attitude's p/up configuration really does it a lot better.
I'm pretty much nailing the tone on a relative budget - relative being compared to Billy's rig.
I send the P p/up of my Attitude through a Behringer eq to dial out the low end to get a twangy guitar tone, then through the Bad Monkey for grit, then into one side of a TC Nova Dynamics compressor set with fast quite extreme compression.
The 'woofer' neck p/up goes straight into the other side of the TC compressor set with a slower attack and mild compression. I then combine both signals via a Boss LS-2 and that goes straight into my LMII head, on which the eq is pretty much flat, but using the VLE filter to roll off the very top end and inject a bit of warmth.
Like I say, on a regular single output bass, you could split the signal into my above signal paths which could work quite well, although you may have to also eq the 'woofer' side to get a fuller bassier tone.
Years ago, a bass player friend of mine ran a P/J "stereo" into two channels of his SVT. He set up the neck pickup (P) for lots of lows, and the bridge (J) for extra highs.
That's along the lines of what ga edwards is talking about. but without the distortion. My friend wasn't going for the Billy sound.
That's along the lines of what ga edwards is talking about. but without the distortion. My friend wasn't going for the Billy sound.
I must add that I don't intend to emulate Billy's sound (but I can easily get it if I want it), and I do have the overdrive turned off more than on for a more versatile clean tone. But the whole setup just works for me. It gives me punchy, thumping low and articulate highs without getting sounding over compressed or muddy.
It's essentially the sound I've been looking for for years and Billy unlocked it for me!
It's essentially the sound I've been looking for for years and Billy unlocked it for me!
The distortion is not "in your face" on Billy's tone, but it is there underpinning everything. Does Billy get all of his distortion from his amp?
Whilst there is some clean tone there, there is quite a bit of distortion tone too, though the gain, if you are using a distortion pedal, is not that high.
Whilst there is some clean tone there, there is quite a bit of distortion tone too, though the gain, if you are using a distortion pedal, is not that high.
Billy get's his overdrive (his regular, everyday grinding tone) and distortion (switchable) from his Pearce preamp. Although he does have a custom Ampeg BSP preamp designed to do the same thing should the Pearce which is no longer made breakdown.
I find the tube screamer circuit gets that particular grind tone pretty much nailed. It's not a heavily saturated distortion, more a natural tubey drive that retains the clarity of the bass' clean tone. Keep the drive on the pedal quite low and it sounds great.
I find the tube screamer circuit gets that particular grind tone pretty much nailed. It's not a heavily saturated distortion, more a natural tubey drive that retains the clarity of the bass' clean tone. Keep the drive on the pedal quite low and it sounds great.
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