How do I get this totally brown tone

[deep_ruin]

Hi everyone, for a while now I've been looking for a bass distortion / fuzz / overdrive, I know I want something to give the bass a bit of presence but I can't point exactly to the sound I'm trying to achieve. I've been trying pedals and always felt that the sound I'm getting is not exactly what I want.

I heard this track the other day and whoa! The tone is great. I would love to mess around with whatever they're using. It's so.. brown (I can't think of a better word) and sounds so reactive to the playing dynamics. Does anyone have an idea of what kind of pedals they're using? Maybe multiple pedals?

I'm assuming it's a bass.. it's so heavily processed that I'm not even 100% sure !

 

[GTHintz]

That actually sounds like the drive setting on my ebs microbass 2. I never use it because of that sound but it's just like that. I also have a TC spectra drive that sounds similar on the drive. That one is programmable so I know they have a tone print setting that sounds like that.

 

[Wood and Wire]

I hate to disappoint, but that sound like a regular ol' geetar in drop-D, overdriving a tube amp.

 

[jimmydean]

Just eat at Taco Bell.......

 

[60bass]

The tubedrive circuit in my tc RH450 can get that type of tone if you set the gain right. To gritty for my tastes but to each they're own. To me that's a guitar and not a bass. Especially noticeable on the chords at around the 7:21 mark.

 

[Thumpin6string]

I get that exact sound when I eat a bunch of beans.

 

[PBO Blues]

Sounds like a guitar through an octave fuzz. Something like an EHX/JHS Lizard Queen or something equally nasty.

 

[GodPlayedBass]

Sounds like a 50s p bass with some light distortion/saturation. I'd try the blues driver pedal for this sound

 

[gregmon79]

A muff could get you there too I think. Really low gain and tone settings.

If def does sound like a really overdriven tube amp too though. I think there are a number of ways to get there. Just have to experiment IMO. What kind of bass do you play @deep_ruin ?? Because whatever the person is playing in that YT, its very overdriven.

 

[triviani]

Funny that sometimes people claim they can hear the difference between maple and rosewood, and some other times we can’t tell for sure if it’s a guitar or a bass.

 

[SDC1-ClickClack]

May we suggest...?

Just don't have too much to dream.

 

[eddododo]

I get a similar bubbly pushed sound from a VERY neckish pickup into the JHS overdrive pre (based on Dod 250) into the JPTR Jive. For me it’s a HOT gain with a light touch.. I know what you mean, it’s a neat sound, and it feels so huge and effortless, like it’s right on the edge of blowing up.

 

[KellyC]

That's definitely a 6 string guitar, possibly a baritone.

 

[ardgedee]

After poking around the Endless Boogie account I am very confused. I assume somebody's using "AI" to generate it.

 

[stringthrough]

I thought that was an isolated bass track so I went to Youtube to hear how the bass sits in the mix with the rest of the instruments. THIS IS THE ENTIRE SONG! 9 MINUTES OF THE SAME RIFF PLAYED ONLY ON BASS - NO DRUMS, NO VOCALS, NO OTHER INSTRUMENTS! I WANT THOSE 9 MINUTES BACK!

 

[Captain Chaos]

I actually like it. I think it sounds pretty cool.

 

[Grinderman]

(Earth tones.)

"Two or three guitars, whatever amps you got, one wah pedal, one distortion box. The bass, the drums. Reluctant vocals."

Taking a wild guess here... call me a moron if you must... they're big fans of The Stooges, MC5, and Velvet Underground.

Funny that sometimes people claim they can hear the difference between maple and rosewood, and some other times we can’t tell for sure if it’s a guitar or a bass.

Incompetent villains.

 

[Guitalia]

Whatever the instrument is, my guess is that it was plugged directly into the mic input of a Radio Shack reel-to-reel tape deck and recorded. Probably in 1968. Whoever's playing probably just thought, "I wonder what it'd sound like if . . . ," and was mesmerized by the result. I'd put money on this being Take 1. I used to have tapes full of stuff like that, riffs played over and over, weird noises, etc.

Listened to it again: 99% sure it's a bass. Borrowed big bro's Precision without permission, tried to figure out how to play it, plugged into the Realistic tape deck, plucked notes at two frets on the G string, because that's the one closest to hand, and then finished with the open D string. Hit the G string and the D string together accidentally once and then on purpose.

 

[Dincrest]

I don't know if this will get you exactly there, but check out this 2 minute video of Nathan Navarro going through a bunch of MXR pedals. The video shows the pedals and the settings, and there are a few examples of different kinds of fuzz/distortion that might sound good for your context.

 

[Obese Chess]

Whatever the instrument is, my guess is that it was plugged directly into the mic input of a Radio Shack reel-to-reel tape deck and recorded. Probably in 1968. Whoever's playing probably just thought, "I wonder what it'd sound like if . . . ," and was mesmerized by the result. I'd put money on this being Take 1. I used to have tapes full of stuff like that, riffs played over and over, weird noises, etc.

Oddly enough, the record came out in 2021.

It sounds very EB-0/mudbucker-y to me, so I did some digging and it looks like their bassist plays a Telecaster bass with the big neck humbucker through an SVT with the gain absolutely dimed. I'd be pretty surprised if that didn't get you there. Maybe a big muff on top for extra fun.