how to get d.d verni tone

[cliff em all]

hello i really love the tone d.d verni had specifically in the album feel the fire and was wondering if you guys had any tips to get such a tone and hears one song on the album that the bass is pretty awesome in for an idea

 

[Munjibunga]

You can actually hear the bass tone on that recording?

 

[smeet]

P-bass with flats though an SVT, volume all the way down.

 

[hdracer]

P-bass with flats though an SVT, volume all the way down.

I think leaving it on standby would get you even closer

 

[Munjibunga]

P-bass with flats though an SVT, volume all the way down.

That's what I thought.

 

[cliff em all]

maybe ive grown an ear for it but i can hear it pretty well...

 

[sevdog]

Um, I can hear it pretty clearly, too.

I'm going to chock those comments up to metal haters.

 

[kleinenenten]

I'm actually looking for a D.D. Verni tone as well. Love his sound, I've heard it's a Peavey amp, but can't find specifics.

 

[Devil Musick]

Brand new stainless steel strings, scoop the hell out of the EQ, and a little overdrive/distortion.

 

[Munjibunga]

Um, I can hear it pretty clearly, too.

I'm going to chock those comments up to metal haters.

Even if I weren't a "metal hater," I still couldn't hear the bass in that.

 

[kleinenenten]

So, cutting out all the mids gets that deep bass rumbly sound with that metallic ting on top? Gonna have to try that, I've never seemed to like scooped mids, but we'll see..

In a related topic, Jack Gibson from Exodus has amazing tone as well. Seems pretty similar to D.D. Verni. I'm assuming that both of them scoop the mids etc.? I've tried to find both their gear online, and have very little luck.

 

[dedpool1052]

scooped? sounds pretty middy to me. also, he used a rickenbacker on the first two overkill albums.

 

[Schizoid75]

Well, one's man highs are another man's mids. I don't hear much boost in the 100-500 Hz range. If the bass is boosted, it's probably really low bass. I don't think the high end boost starts before 8 or 10k, but who knows.

I think two big keys would be fresh steel strings and playing with a pick.

I've never been a huge fan of his tone, though it fits well with the band. But I love his playing. One of my favorite thrash bands. I don't have all their albums, but Horrorscope is a phenomenal record. Different from the early stuff, but sooo good.

 

[Schizoid75]

Okay, so this thread made me start listening to my Overkill albums while I finished some work and I found this track on The Years of Decay from 1989 that highlight Verni's tone a little better. I'm sure it's different from the first few albums, but I think it's in the ballpark.

The whole idea of analyzing tone from clips on Youtube is a little silly though. Not the best source material.

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[dedpool1052]

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ok, now that does sound a bit scooped to me.

 

[themacinator]

Or his tone on this track. In a genre where you can almost never hear the bassist D.D. Verni stands apart. He and Frank Bello set the standard for thrash bassist for tone, technique, etc.

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Listen to the bass work after the solo, during the part that seems to be a Maiden tribute. Masterful

 

[bikeplate]

I remember him doing an ad for ADA preamps way back. Maybe you can start there

 

[mr.black]

I back in the day tried the ADA and PEAVEY, set up i liked best for that "thunder and Piano" (as i like to call it) was Peavey (which he did use) Mine was a Mark VI head with the eq scooped (smiley face) pretty deep and the Peavey 1820 cab (an 18" and 2 10" one cab) also Active EMG Pick up's and always fresh GHS Boomers.

 

[vegas532]

My favorite D.D. Verni moment:

 

[vegas532]

Oh, and the bass solo at the end of this one: