First To Eleven Bass Tone

[pietro_val]

Hi everybody!

i really like this band's bass tone and i'm trying to figure out what bass amp and pedals they're using and i could really use your help

i know the bassist often uses an Ampeg SVT but in these "studio" videos he's using a different amp (smaller because he's in the studio) and it looks to me like an SWR with four speakers (can't tell the exact model), possible? the only pedal in sight seems either a Boss GEB-7 (equalizer) or a Boss TU-3 Chromatic (tuner), do you think there's something else in that tone?

If you have any suggestions/advices or you hear something more in it, it'd be really helpful. I'll leave the links for songs where you can hear the bass quite clearly.






Thank you and merry Christmas to everyone!!

 

[FunkHead]

Spector bass Straight into Amp is pretty much 95% of the way there.

 

[silky smoove]

Spector bass Straight into Amp is pretty much 95% of the way there.

Agreed. A Spector bass with a reverse PJ tends to be a pretty distinct tone. I’d start there long before looking at amps and pedals.

 

[smeet]

So does the Spector sound come down to the pickups (EMG and placement)?

 

[FunkHead]

So does the Spector sound come down to the pickups (EMG and placement)?

+ the pre-amp.

 

[BradH]

Spector bass Straight into Amp is pretty much 95% of the way there.

Yep.

 

[Bassamatic]

The thing with studio recordings is that typically bass is recorded straight to the console. You never know how much processing they are doing. They probably were not even playing live for the video - all the instruments would have leaked into the vocal mic.

 

[CryingBass]

Jaco went straight-in on most of his finest stuff IMHO.

Happy Holidays guys.

 

[6-3-2]

There's definitely some overdrive in there with the Fall Out Boy tracks. For those I'd go a bass with a P pickup or use more neck pickup than bridge on something like a J bass. Then it's fresh strings, tone up, a pick and some overdrive. I'd use an overdrive pedal, but if your amp has built in overdrive, see if that works. I personally would not boost the low frequencies much either. I feel like these kind of hard rock/punk tones work best with focused low-end. It can sound bloated and washed out otherwise.

 

[NoSlapForYou]

There is probably some DI in there. Almost all engineers either work from a clean bass DI or they split the signal and mix an amp and DI.

Another very common trick is to split the signal into low and high frequencies. Then you add grit to the highs while keeping the lows clean. You compress the lows heavily to even out the tone and do lighter compression on the highs.

ETA: after listening to the first track you posted, I strongly suspect the splitting technique is what was done. They may have processed the highs with a Sans Amp or something.

 

[pietro_val]

Thanks to all of you guys, really appreciate it and all suggestions were very useful.
I have a Spector myself (same model as that) and it really has that distinct tone so I'm already at a "good" point but i was looking for a new amp possibly and was trying to figure out which to get to get closer to that sound. Which amp would you suggest (i know the best option would probably be the SVT but i don't need that much power yet )? Is it better a different model but to remain in the Ampeg "family" or something else like a SWR (if that's the one he's playing)?

Thanks!

 

[DJ Bebop]

Thanks to all of you guys, really appreciate it and all suggestions were very useful.
I have a Spector myself (same model as that) and it really has that distinct tone so I'm already at a "good" point but i was looking for a new amp possibly and was trying to figure out which to get to get closer to that sound. Which amp would you suggest (i know the best option would probably be the SVT but i don't need that much power yet )? Is it better a different model but to remain in the Ampeg "family" or something else like a SWR (if that's the one he's playing)?

Thanks!

I would suggest a strong amp of your choice and a preamp/drive pedal of some sort. Sans Amp, Darkglass, Origin...

 

[Ric5]

Hi everybody!

i really like this band's bass tone and i'm trying to figure out what bass amp and pedals they're using and i could really use your help

i know the bassist often uses an Ampeg SVT but in these "studio" videos he's using a different amp (smaller because he's in the studio) and it looks to me like an SWR with four speakers (can't tell the exact model), possible? the only pedal in sight seems either a Boss GEB-7 (equalizer) or a Boss TU-3 Chromatic (tuner), do you think there's something else in that tone?

If you have any suggestions/advices or you hear something more in it, it'd be really helpful. I'll leave the links for songs where you can hear the bass quite clearly.






Thank you and merry Christmas to everyone!!

this pedal will get you in that tone

 

[74hc]

Heavily processed in a DAW to produce the final track.

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

Sounds like DarkGlass to me; possibly B7K.

 

[mb94952]

Agreed. A Spector bass with a reverse PJ tends to be a pretty distinct tone. I’d start there long before looking at amps and pedals.

I think @Thundar Rob would agree with you 100%.

 

[JimmyM]

Bass with EMG PJs, and a little overdrive with the highs cut at 5k. I used to have an SWR SM500 that could overdrive a bit if you cranked the preamp gain knob up, but I prefer the way Ampegs overdrive. Obviously the all tube amps do it better but I can crank the gain and get most to do it.

Also, those are brand new strings or close to it.

 

[Hawk256]

Classic Spector growl. You can get similar sound with a Cirrus but not quite the same.

 

[Rib 13]

I was first to 11 !!!

 

[Jogobass]

Sounds like a classical pick sound to me. Very light overdrive. Fingerstyle you would need to adopt the clank that people like Steve Harris and Geddy Lee have.