Getting that killer Megadeth tone.......

[Jens4343]

Hi fellow bassists.....
Now I play classic rock (thin lizzy, Whitesnake, Danzig and some Bowie/reed and the likes) in a band with 2 quite loud guitarists.
I use a Sandberg califonia 4 string bass(passive/active)/ or a fender Jazz bass
Pedals: BBE sonic stomp
AMp head: GK RH400-IV bass head
Cab: Ampeg 810 "the fridge" / 2 cabs 4x10# GK RBH

We are currently tying out som Megadeth songs.

Im Lookin for tips and tricks to getting the "Megadeth" symphony of destruction killer bass tone...

help me out please

 

[two fingers]

I think your bottleneck will be the Ampeg fridge. It does what it does better than anything else. But it only does that one thing.... a WALL of low mids with some high mids for good measure. Super low and high frequencies aren't where that cab shines.

The tone you're after requires a wider frequency range. It's more of a "modern" tone.... heavy-handed pick playing allowing a little bit of fret buzz to get through. Think Geddy, Chris Squire, etc. Duff added a little more bass omph but really captured that GK grind well.

A couple of modern cabs, possibly with a tweeter, should get you there. I bet if you were to go out front and have someone back on stage dial in your tone for you, you could get there easily through the PA speakers with the head you currently have using the XLR put. But your cab won't reproduce what you're hearing out front.

Again, I have owned and LOVED three Ampeg fridge cabs. This is NOT an attempt to put them down. They are AWESOME for what they do. But they don't do everything.

 

[Jens4343]

I think your bottleneck will be the Ampeg fridge. It does what it does better than anything else. But it only does that one thing.... a WALL of low mids with some high mids for good measure. Super low and high frequencies aren't where that cab shines.

The tone you're after requires a wider frequency range. It's more of a "modern" tone.... heavy-handed pick playing allowing a little bit of fret buzz to get through. Think Geddy, Chris Squire, etc. Duff added a little more bass omph but really captured that GK grind well.

A couple of modern cabs, possibly with a tweeter, should get you there. I bet if you were to go out front and have someone back on stage dial in your tone for you, you could get there easily through the PA speakers with the head you currently have using the XLR put. But your cab won't reproduce what you're hearing out front.

Again, I have owned and LOVED three Ampeg fridge cabs. This is NOT an attempt to put them down. They are AWESOME for what they do. But they don't do everything.

Maybe the GK cabs can help me with the matter?

 

[Spiky_Bassist]

I'm not a huge fan of his, but Rick Beato does a whole video breaking down the song and there's a big section on the bass tone. You're definitely going to need something with a bit more high/hi-mid distortion. Personally I think Darkglass has it nailed, but with great tone comes great $$$ (usually).

 

[GTHintz]

Hi fellow bassists.....
Now I play classic rock (thin lizzy, Whitesnake, Danzig and some Bowie/reed and the likes) in a band with 2 quite loud guitarists.
I use a Sandberg califonia 4 string bass(passive/active)/ or a fender Jazz bass
Pedals: BBE sonic stomp
AMp head: GK RH400-IV bass head
Cab: Ampeg 810 "the fridge" / 2 cabs 4x10# GK RBH

We are currently tying out som Megadeth songs.

Im Lookin for tips and tricks to getting the "Megadeth" symphony of destruction killer bass tone...

help me out please

I would point you towards hartke cabs. It's been a well known pairing that is worth a try. Check out Rex Brown's setup and hear his early Pantera stuff. The other option is to try a bass with a different character. I think if you had a Lakland or a Spector, Warwick basically more hifi and modern centric it might give you a closer sound. Dave Ellefson uses emg pickups in his Jackson basses and honestly the pickups are very noticeable in his tone. That's why I used Rex as a good reference. Spectors and his Warwick basses have similar emg setups. Both of them have some carryover in how they set up.