I hear lots of bassists do this. Can you guys help me out on how to get a good dirty tone? I got a Marshall Gov'nor (old) distortion pedal with the distortion at 10 o'clock and the EQ is the same as the amp settings, and I have a Boss GEB-7 EQ and I don't know what I should set that too. Can you guys help me with both my situations?
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How do I get a dirty tone?
- Thread starter JBoucks
- Start date
It's probably redundant to have the same basic settings on your dirt pedal as on your amp. Start with the EQ knobs on the pedal flat and add or cut frequencies as you like. If you're looking to get a more old school fur sound, you'll probably want to turn the treble down a bit and boost low mids and mids. For a more modern sound, you'll want to boost bass and treble.
By cutting my mids and boosting bass and treble a bit, you can get a nice cutting tone that holds the lows and will shine between the guitar and drums. I can get sounds like Entwistle, Tool, and Flea. It's a very modern sound, though, maybe not your cup of tea. If you want something thick and muddy, Bass and Mids are the way to go. Listen to some stoner rock for that sound.
I got this trick from drummers - bury your bass in your garden for a few years. The soil absorbs into the wood and the electronics, and really dirties up the tone. 2 of my other basses are in year two of their treatment, and I dug up my Jazz bass just a month ago - the difference is ridiculous!
I'd post sound clips but I don't have a recording device.
I'd post sound clips but I don't have a recording device.
forget the effects. turn up your amp untill its "too loud." untill its distorting.
or buy something to emulate that sound, a la VT bass.
or buy something to emulate that sound, a la VT bass.
Depends on what you are looking for. I would describe dirty as a the effect known as "overdrive". It can be used to simulate a hard driven tube sound.
A good example of this would be the bass tone on When's It Gonna Be My Turn by Hoobastank. This borders on distortion but sounds good using overdrive effects pedal.
A good example of this would be the bass tone on When's It Gonna Be My Turn by Hoobastank. This borders on distortion but sounds good using overdrive effects pedal.
rratajski
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- Jul 1, 2008
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Hahaa, oh it's my cup of tea lol. I like Tool RATM, and bassist with tones like that. So you guys are saying I just work with bass and treble and no mids at all?
I found that with mids at halfway or above my amp has a tendency to get way too loud and I lose definition in the treble and bass ends. Since I'm using a few pedals for dirt, and those effect mostly the higher frequencies, I can create a pseudo-bi-amp effect with strong bass and a distortion that can cut through the mix. If I ever get a real bi-amp setup or a splitter for a clean signal this could change, but for now I like the way it sounds.
For me, single coils pushed hard into an 800rb, yeah. Or anything into a V4B with the volume past 7.
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The Sansamp bass driver is the best tool for a dirty sound that I've used. The great thing about it, is that you don't have to use your amp to get the overdrive. You can really dial up the tone that you want on your amp and bass, and then add the overdrive on top of it without losing any of what you like about your EQ setting.
If overdrive (grind) is what you want, that's the way to go.
If overdrive (grind) is what you want, that's the way to go.
Use your ears to set the eq's. Marshall govner pedals good for bass. But most peeps will want to boost low freq's some after whatever overdrive or distortion effect. Again that is best done by useing your ears to adjust the eq's to what sounds best to you and in the mix.
Both of those bassists tones are blended with two amps. One amp set clean and the other amp set with the overdrives and other effects. It's going to be hard to cop their tone with a single pedal. But you can get probably get close enough. Just experiment with what you have. Twiddle with the knobs on your bass with distortion on, then twiddle with the knobs on your pedal, etc.
Good luck
Good luck
