How do I get this sound?

[Tawnos]

I'm not very experienced with tweaking my sound like this. I usually don't play with anything but EQ. But I have never been able to get this sound with just that:

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I'm probably really stupid for even asking this, but hey... gotta be humble sometimes. Thanks for any help in advance.

PS: If it helps, I use a Schecter Elite 5 Bass with a Peavey T-Max 115 amp. I also have the DigiTech BP200 Effects Processor.

 

[Lyle Caldwell]

That's a really good bassist playing a really good bass with really good pickups through a really good DI and a really good compressor (probably compressed in the mix rather than when tracking). No fancy EQ, no real "effects."

Sadly, the real answer is "practice" and learn all you can about how to set up an instrument's action and pickup heights.

No offense, because I'm not putting myself in this category, but Tony Levin or Pino Palladino could walk into your house, play your bass through your amp, and sound pretty much exactly like that, assuming your gear isn't broken and the action is within acceptable limits.

That's a great tone/style to shoot for though.

I will give you a slight break and suggest that the sound would be much easier to attain with 10" or 12" speakers rather than the 15". Your bass is up to the task. I've not tried the BP200, but based on past experience with various effects boxes, including many other Digitech devices, I'd bet that the BP200 isn't helping you. At all.

 

[mattdixonlbca]

you'll have to tweak the eq some to get that chirp

 

[RyanHelms]

btw, what's the clip? I dig it! plus, maybe knowing who the player is can give a clue as to their tone, i.e.

My guess is the same as the other replies so far, top notch gear with just the right EQ'ing and compression.

Maybe instead of thinking about FX, try different pickup combinations, right hand placement, that sort of thing. There doesn't seem to be any flange or chorus or any FX on that, just an awsome clean signal.

 

[Tawnos]

The clip is a band called Candiria. from allmusic.com: " uniquely sprawling urban fusion sound combined elements of grindcore, funk, hip hop and jazz."

Really good band. I also asked on the Candiria forum. The responses I got were simply that he uses Ampeg amps and a Tech21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI with the presence at about 2 o'clock. I actually have had my eye on that anyway, so I'm getting the rackmount version of it. Oh yeah, and the G&L L-2500 bass.

The bassist's name is Michael MacIvor.

 

[fenderbassabuse]

new strings, slap near the neck.

 

[Adam Barkley]

New strings, a pick, boost bass, flatten the highs, and play with the mids till it's close.

Definitely sounds like pick attack to me.

 

[Tawnos]

When I saw them live, he never played with a pick. Though they didn't play that song, he still had the same sound.

 

[Adam Barkley]

When I saw them live, he never played with a pick. Though they didn't play that song, he still had the same sound.

Hmm, well I am by no means the best at judging tone, the buck does not stop here.

To me it sounds like the bright, quick, condensed attack of a pick, but also consider that all these things can be recreated with a pick.

I don't know if you purchased Rush in Rio, but Geddy's tone sounds like a typical pick tone, albeit slightly different because it is brought on by hard plucking.


I'm sorry about my incorrect advice though, but that would be what I would try if I wanted to recreate that tone.