How can I achieve this bass tone?

[Ric5]

Starting @1:00:


And here:


And here:


It's that typical thunky/plucky bass tone you here a lot on records from the 70s. I'm playing through an Orange Crush bass amp 100watt, and I play a Fenton-Weill 'Contrabass' 1962 and a Italia Mondial bass, if that helps. Thanks!!!

pretty much any bass can get that tone. set your tone controls on your amp around 5 ish and roll of the tone a little on your bass and play finger style. strings don't really matter much.

 

[groovaholic]

I'm hearing the tone of a true neck pickup (i.e. right up against the edge of the fretboard) and the pics of that vintage bass confirm it.

The Rickenbacker 4001/4003 would be the most common example of a bass with that pickup placement.
Add flatwound strings, and you've got that tone 90% in the bag.

The rest would be touch and phrasing; digging-in too hard will get you away from this tone quickly.

 

[kevmac]

I just googled it and there's a great demo on youtube.

What an excellent sounding bass

Wow,Mungo Jerry.Brings back youthful memories.That is an unusual bass for the time it was built.Good find.

 

[TrustRod]

The late '60s had some great bass sounds. One of my favs is this one from The Wallace Collection. It's a Rick with flats. And a white Ric, by the looks of it @ 1:56.

Are you using the video to tell what bass was used on the recording?

 

[Gunga Din]

Are you using the video to tell what bass was used on the recording?

Only as an aside, inasmuch as I'm pretty sure white Rick basses were pretty rare in Europe. But the tone is what I was really highlighting.

 

[Michedelic]

Starting @1:00:


And here:


And here:


It's that typical thunky/plucky bass tone you here a lot on records from the 70s. I'm playing through an Orange Crush bass amp 100watt, and I play a Fenton-Weill 'Contrabass' 1962 and a Italia Mondial bass, if that helps. Thanks!!!

That's a name I hadn't thought about for years, but I had those albums way back when I was all up into the Steve Hillage, Dave Stewart, Gong, Khan, Henry Cow, Slapp Happy, Hatfield and the North, National Health stuff as Yes got boring and ELP got ridiculous. I dug up some photos, seems that amp-wise it was WEM and Hiwatt….

Interesting life, still a musician but it seems like he gave up on bass and rock music a long time ago…
Mont Campbell - Wikipedia