Help me get that bubbly tone!

[NKBassman]

I think you'd be hard pressed to get a Jaco tone from a Mustang bass. It's not a tone that I ever want or even try to dial in, but I'd say that the bridge pickup is a pretty crucial component to that secret sauce. I've also never played a Mustang with roundwound strings, my JMJ still has the factory flats on it. But if you wanted to try, I'd say cut bass and boost high mids at the amp, roll off the tone a bit or cut treble at the amp as required, and pluck behind the pickup closer to the bridge.

Also, maybe try a slower attack on your compressor to let more of the initial transient through to get closer to Jaco. Joe is pretty heavily compressed.

 

[LBS-bass]

As has been said, the bridge pickup is critical but disagree that it's all in the gear. A big part of that tone also lies in plucking over said bridge pickup, or as close to the bridge as you can.

I've never played a Mustang, but it has a bridge (obviously), so you might be able to get something that pleases you just by moving your plucking hand to a position that's close to the bridge. It won't get you all the way there, and it will feel stiff relative to other positions, but it could help.

 

[blastoff]

Id reckon Jaco could make a mustang sound bubbly

 

[GeorgesEric]

You could always get a Gretsch G2220, (or any bass with a single coil pickup on bridge side I presume), select the bridge pick up, tone rolled off - or most of it - and play close to the bridge, that will bring you in Jaco’s Chicken neighbourhood I think.

 

[Ben Rolston]

On a Mustang I think the short scale is almost as much of a problem as the lack of a bridge pickup. I can get my P-bass to sound passably burpy with plucking hand position, but if I tune down a whole step it's much harder. Just for curiosity maybe try tuning the Mustang up a half step or two and see if it helps.

 

[Les Fret]

I need to better understand what you mean by "bubbly tone." I'm kinda scratching my head trying to figure out what Joe Dart and Jaco Pastorius have in common....

Exactly. Not sure what the OP wants. Joe Dart and Jaco sound really different. For a Jaco sound get a fretless jazz and use the bridge pickup and play close to the bridge, the rest is in the fingers. For a Joe Dart sound get a jazz bass or a Musicman or something alike and play closer to the bridge. But again it is more in the fingers than anything else.

What I find bubbly is the groove and feel not the tone. I feel Jaco plays more groovy and dynamic than Joe Dart who plays more in the pocket and straight (not judging).

I think you are refering to this Dart tone?

 

[mambo4]

On a Mustang I think the short scale is almost as much of a problem as the lack of a bridge pickup.

a very good point
that tone is a result of stronger overtones and less fundamental
and short scales have less overtones with more fundamental