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Getting a Gene Simmons Monster Tone
- Thread starter Growly Lytes
- Start date
I have, love those sounds too. I just don't hear Stingray. I am hearing some Stingray on the Paul Stanley solo album though, I think. Also I love the 60's Thunderbird on Shandi on Unmasked that I read the guitar tech recorded with his old T-bird. That makes sense to me, I read it somewhere here on TB. That one sounds markedly different than all other bass tones I heard from Kiss.
I've heard from a youtube clip that gene has been using the tech 21 vt bass 1969 bass head because they no longer make the overdriven ampeg amps that he uses in the past. so they got him the tech 21 bass head to recreate his distorted bass sound along with a tech 21 psa-1. the clip at 11:14 shows those amps.
Cool video. I'll always have a soft spot for Gene Simmons, the Hard Luck Woman bassline is one of 2 that got me interested in bass.
I think anything ampeg can easily give you that gene simmons sound. if you want that sound in a pedal form, try the tech 21 vt bass di. that pedal can give you a variety of sounds from a fat warm sound to a distorted bass sound that's suitable for rock and metal.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
There is a clip from KISS (in Ontario I think) and Paul asks the crowd what they want to hear and some guy shouts something off The Elder, maybe even "the oath" but I think it was "under the rose." Paul starts the song for about 10 seconds and then just turns to the guy and chuckles saying "bet you didn't think we knew that one." As a person that listen to The Elder a few times, I got a kick out of it.
I found a copy of The Elder on tape this summer. At first I was excited because it was original run then, after thinking about it, I realized that was one of two KISS albums that probably never saw a second pressing.
I believe he was using an SVT 2 Pro offstage. It does have an additional drive knob, but you can get it out of any SVT-CL's if you crank the gain. But the other heads aren't rackable, and I'll bet that entered into it since KISS scaled down their amps onstage.
Hi, sorry for resucitating an old thread.
I was listening to "Monster" on my car the other day, and I was blown away by Simmons tone in songs like "Back to the Stone Age".
It let me wondering what kind of grit he was using and how to get close to it. It is exactly the tone I was trying to get for my own in the dirt camp. Reading this thread and some others here, and also watching that PG Rig Rundown, I can see he is using those tech 21 vt bass 1969 bass heads. Those seems to be the key for this tone.
With all of this in mind, I am almost convinced of buying a Sansamp VT Bass DI, in hoping of getting close to such tone. Is this the best choice or there are something else that could get me in the same ballpark more easily?
I play an Epi Thunderbird Classic Pro with passive Gibson pickups and a Diamond Hailfire bass with the Duncan Soapbars Phase II and active preamp. On the amp side I have a Yorkville Bassmaster with a 15'' inch and a Markbass LM III with the New York 122 at 4 ohm cab.
This is the song with that tone I'd like to emulate:
I was listening to "Monster" on my car the other day, and I was blown away by Simmons tone in songs like "Back to the Stone Age".
It let me wondering what kind of grit he was using and how to get close to it. It is exactly the tone I was trying to get for my own in the dirt camp. Reading this thread and some others here, and also watching that PG Rig Rundown, I can see he is using those tech 21 vt bass 1969 bass heads. Those seems to be the key for this tone.
With all of this in mind, I am almost convinced of buying a Sansamp VT Bass DI, in hoping of getting close to such tone. Is this the best choice or there are something else that could get me in the same ballpark more easily?
I play an Epi Thunderbird Classic Pro with passive Gibson pickups and a Diamond Hailfire bass with the Duncan Soapbars Phase II and active preamp. On the amp side I have a Yorkville Bassmaster with a 15'' inch and a Markbass LM III with the New York 122 at 4 ohm cab.
This is the song with that tone I'd like to emulate:
I love the VT Deluxe programmable Pedal/DI I've been using for 3 years now. It's very versatile and I think it will get the tone your looking for and many more. I'm glad I opted for the Deluxe instead of the VT Bass DI because I can program 6 different tones for different songs and solos. If or when you get one or the other, you'll have to spend some time tweaking it to your hearts desires. I dial my tones thru a PA then adjust my stage rig so I know what is coming out front and every live sound Engineer I've worked with loves the DI I'm sending to him.
I hear many talking about DarkGlass DI's and from the reviews and demo's I've heard they sound really good also but, I've never laid hands on any of their products yet. I'm very content with my VT Bass Deluxe.
**Peace**
Eddie
I use the Bass Fly Rig.. not bad. I do like the vt deluxe it's just the Fly has compressor and tuner built in so less pedals to set up is good for me.
I have Cort Punisher but have always used Hartke so I stick with them and I use a Sadowsky pre/di (killer tone) to FOH, use my rig for monitoring only.
I saw Gene play 'I' on his solo tour in August!! Killer..
I have Cort Punisher but have always used Hartke so I stick with them and I use a Sadowsky pre/di (killer tone) to FOH, use my rig for monitoring only.
I saw Gene play 'I' on his solo tour in August!! Killer..
Since this thread has been brought back, I need to say that I went with the Sansamp VT Bass DI and it really worked for me. I learned a lot about how to get nice overdriven bass tones since I came here asking.
I can't answer anything about what Gene Simmons might use, but getting the bass to distort in the bottom and not in the top is fairly simple.
You need to split signal like for instance with a Boss LS-2, that basically is a small mixer in pedal form allowing you to run 2 signal chain loops in parallel and then mix them together to one signal again.
Then you would want to run one parallel signal chain loop with an EQ cutting the top followed by an overdrive or distortion pedal of some sort, personally I'd suggest the Tech 21 California, or the Joyo California Sound which is a clone and both easier to get hold of and cheaper, but still of good quality, and leave the other signal chain loop of the pedal empty or with just an EQ for fine tuning to run it clean, finally mixing the two signals to your liking.
Lou Barlow from Dinosaur Jr. I know split his signal in 3 and distorts both the top and bottom end but leaves the mids clean, by running into a Marshall JCM 800 for top end overdrive, an old Peavey solid state bass amp for clean mids, and then finally going through an Xotic Bass BB preamp into a an Ampeg SVT for overdriven bottom.
But that might be a bit of an overkill, the first mentioned method should work just fine.
You need to split signal like for instance with a Boss LS-2, that basically is a small mixer in pedal form allowing you to run 2 signal chain loops in parallel and then mix them together to one signal again.
Then you would want to run one parallel signal chain loop with an EQ cutting the top followed by an overdrive or distortion pedal of some sort, personally I'd suggest the Tech 21 California, or the Joyo California Sound which is a clone and both easier to get hold of and cheaper, but still of good quality, and leave the other signal chain loop of the pedal empty or with just an EQ for fine tuning to run it clean, finally mixing the two signals to your liking.
Lou Barlow from Dinosaur Jr. I know split his signal in 3 and distorts both the top and bottom end but leaves the mids clean, by running into a Marshall JCM 800 for top end overdrive, an old Peavey solid state bass amp for clean mids, and then finally going through an Xotic Bass BB preamp into a an Ampeg SVT for overdriven bottom.
But that might be a bit of an overkill, the first mentioned method should work just fine.
Interestingly Enough I have just bought an used LS-2. I may try that.
On the other hand, I recall that on my search for Gene's tone, I ended up on a video where his sound tech explained Gene's gear, and on that tour he was using the Tech 21 VT 1000 bass amps. I recall he saying that they allowed to obtain the same tone as with his old VST amps, but without the problem of overheating the tubes, so the tone was more consistent during the show.
I guess those amps were using the same circuit as the VT pedals, so that was the easy shot.
On the other hand, I recall that on my search for Gene's tone, I ended up on a video where his sound tech explained Gene's gear, and on that tour he was using the Tech 21 VT 1000 bass amps. I recall he saying that they allowed to obtain the same tone as with his old VST amps, but without the problem of overheating the tubes, so the tone was more consistent during the show.
I guess those amps were using the same circuit as the VT pedals, so that was the easy shot.
Get a VT Bass pedal - DONE. His tone is easy to get with it.
I know this is a little late on the thread but I found a way to get his sound for myself using this equip. Michael Anthony bass (Schecter) using the The p bass pick ups only into a Peavey 210 top and peavey 410 bottom with a Fender rumble 800 head, bass at 50%, lo mid at 30%, hi mid at 70% and treble at 40%, bright off, contour off, vintage off, overDrive on and set at 40 to 50 Depending on room and level at 60 to 70 also depending on room, nothing more. I get that nice deep mid punchy growl like kiss kruse 9 sound. Also if you see short vid of bass tech tuning up axe for show and he hits Low E a couple of times. Exact sound I got with this set up. Sounds great playing Christine sixteen live.
Surprisingly, I am not terribly familiar with either of those discs....although I have Sonic Boom I think.
That said I think I can do this with my Ampeg SCR-DI. Anyway...gonna try!
That said I think I can do this with my Ampeg SCR-DI. Anyway...gonna try!
