How to get that Growl sound?

[dukeisdog]

I guess this goes into instrument growl vs amp growl (or speaker growl), but now that you write this, I'm reminded that m Fender Geddy Lee Jazz with fresh stainless Rotos is a monster in the growl department. Not sure on the pup and EQ specifics you mentioned, but on the stuff I bolded - heck yea!

I feel like the cab plays a pretty big part in your aggressive tone also.

My main bass is a Spector Euro 5LX which is a pretty aggressive dirty sounding bass to begin with, but when I play it through my Mesa PH series cabs the tone is really brought to life. I love this bass and it gets me a killer tone, but my rig doesn't sound nearly aggressive through my Avatar Neo 212 at the same settings.

IME of course.

 

[Bassmec]

+10000

If you think that B2R was growly...wait til you get V4B or SVT on top of an Ampeg 810. Might want to pack an extra pair of underwear

Yup at any rate it has to be a big all tube amp set to stun to float my boat growl wise.
I like it when the bass end starts sounding like a big old welder when a heavy gauge rod gets stuck to the work. Brrrummp!

 

[IPYF]

Use a tubescreamer.

Why?
- You can generally dial in the right raunchy sound regardless of amp/cab/bass/string factors.
- Good tube streamers are pretty transparent and usually have more versatile gain stages than dedicated bass drivers. The 1st quarter gain stage is usually far more responsive and transparent than a VT Sim.
- They're usually completely idiot-proof.


I use an MI Audio Tube-Zone which is a boutique guitar pedal and it sounds fking rad. It's bloomin' expensive but the best thing about it is that it's so versatile that I can use it with any instrument I own and it still has a purpose.

I've known bass players who use TS808s as standard, I've heard an amazing bass tone with an original Timmy, and Fulltone OCDs are insanely popular for bass players looking for more heat.

I know many bassists would disagree with me, based on the propensity for guitar boxes to hurt your low end, but if you're using the tone for your whole set you can just hike the lows on your amp.

 

[Mystic Michael]

I guess this goes into instrument growl vs amp growl (or speaker growl), but now that you write this, I'm reminded that m Fender Geddy Lee Jazz with fresh stainless Rotos is a monster in the growl department. Not sure on the pup and EQ specifics you mentioned, but on the stuff I bolded - heck yea!

I don't doubt it. A Geddy Jazz + Rotosounds has got to be among the most snarly, snarky combinations known to man!

On second thought, I think I could amend Factor #2: wide-frequency pickups might not be necessary, strictly speaking. Narrow aperture pickups tend to growl just fine - IF they happen to pick up enough of the right midrange frequencies. I believe those would probably consist mostly of lower mids...

MM

 

[Korladis]

To get another cab to sound more like an Ampeg 810, you need to roll off some of the really really low lows and emphasize more the upper bass/low mids.

In general, growl is going to be located in the mids, as far as EQing.

For me, most of it comes more from setup and playing technique, though. A fairly heavy attack and relatively new strings help a lot.

 

[crguti]

Play with a pick

 

[Korladis]

Playing with a pick isn't necessary for getting a growl type sound.

I play with both pick and fingers, and can get an aggressive tone with either.