Getting a really punchy treble sound

As far as I know Mike Dirnt's tone is just a P bass into a VT bass. It's a pretty basic P bass and Ampeg tone really. You can pick up a used VT bass for less than $100 on TB and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.
I'm not familiar with your gear, so I couldn't really help you to get that kind of tone too much. But generally to get that kind of tone you boost the bass a little, cut the low mids a little, boost the high mids and treble.
New strings will also help you out a lot.

 

You don't need treble ( probably) you need mids. Particularly low mids.

 

I think the amp is your limiting point and not eq. Both players you mention play with a pick however so start there. Duff has a P-J. Mike has a bright Precision bass pickup with extra lows. You could try a QP pickup, but I think the amp is really limiting your potential before compression sets in. 10's have a brigher treble sound than 12's and 15's (Before you disagree: this is a generalization so there is no need to flood this thread with "my berg 10's sound like this" stuff) so I would also look into a 410 speaker cabinet with at least 200-300w to push it.

 

+1

Which era of Mike's tone are you shooting for here? He used a Gibson G3 (super ballsy/aggressive sounding bass) going into an Ampeg SVT II-Pro on Dookie.

Duff uses a Fender Jazz Bass Special going into GK amps.

Right now, your amp is by far the weakest link. You're talking a 50w amp into a single 12" speaker. Just to be heard in a metal band I'd say you need a minimum of 300w going into 2X12's, 2X15's, 4X10's, etc.

 

Looking at the pictures of the amp heres were I would start.
Presence 3 o'clock
Volume as needed
Bass noon
Mids, 3 o'clock
treble noon

EQ in
60Hz, You dont need much, it will make it sounds muddy and eat up your wattage.
250HZ, this is were the low mid punch lives.
1kHZ, This is high mids and will help you cut through
4K, will ad sizzle to the top end,

 

A pbass should do, but you need a new amp...

Then, try different strings, a pick, etc... all relatively cheap options to change your tone... and playing somewhere between the pickup and bridge should help too!

perhaps a pedal might work, but I'd work on getting the tone from the bass... may add some mids on the amp, but I'd keep amp EQ for room adjustment...

 

Yeah, new strings are definitely a component in the tone you're going for. Stainless Steel will give you a brighter tone than nickel, which I prefer.

 

I agree about the amp. A tube Ampeg will do it. Meanwhile, I suggest Rotos or Blue Steels.

 

Pick up some Ernie Ball hybrid slinkies, nickal wound in the orange pack. string link

That is a good start... The pickup that Dirnt sigs use is a '59 Fender Custom shop.. Quater Pounders may get close, but it has been a little while since i had that pickup.. Try playing around with your amp to get as close as you can for now..

As mentioned Dirnt used Ampeg in the early days and Fender now (has been for years)..

 

No point in chasing tone through a practice amp. Bass needs serious powe.

Be forewarned. A gui****'s wall of distortion needs only a small amp behind it to obliterate bass tone even when you have a good amp. It isn't fair. The trick is to not play with gui****s, only real guitar players who will leave you some room in the mix.

 

New stainless strings are a must. Old dead strings won't get you close.

Rotos, Blue Steels, or Pro Steels would be my first choices.

 

Or D'Addario Pro Steels. All 3 sounds great. I started with Rotos, Switched to the Pro Steel ($13 a pack and sounds great) I just strung one of my basses with the blue Steels. They sounds great too.

 

OK - my take is going to be a little different, but I'm coming at it from a sound engineer's perspective.
Yes, you need a bigger amp and 4 or 8 10"s are probably better for that punch - but...

As Floyd Eye said - you need mids and low mids...not highs.
I say not highs because you're NEVER going to win that battle against that guitar tone except in moments when he's not playing.
On the records by the player's you listed - the mix engineer has the time and tricks to do A LOT of tone shaping that is rarely ever possible live or in rehearsals.
Remember YOU'VE got the lows in your corner that the guitar doesn't have - learn how to work them.
Personally - if I was mixing your band I'd probably be nearly eliminating all the highs off of your bass tone because they would very likely not be helping.
Plaing with a pick almost always helps - and once you're using a pick and working your mids, low mids, and lows - not only do often not need bright strings but could very well even benefit from flats. It worked in the 60's and at least half of the 70's against all those Marshalls.

You own the LOW...learn how to wield it like a hammer!

 

It also helps to remove the bass knob from the amp your guitar player is using.

 

I am interested. How do they compare to Blue Steels and Rotos?

 

One site had listed Dirnt as using Ghs Boomers, another says Fender nickel wounds medium 7150m for strings... In my HWY 1 p I have the nickel hybrid slinkies with a mike d sig pickup through an Ampeg Micro VR and I can match his tone..

There is also an article out there that lists him swapping in Seymour Duncan antiquity II pickups..