Is this tone even possible?

I am going to go ever so slightly out on a limb here and suggest that since he is using some flavor of Jazz, it can be done with your Jazz.

I think he has round wound strings.
Highs cut enough not to have string or fret noise.
Lows cut enough to not have mud.
Amp with lots of head room.

Things to consider when chasing someone else's sound are that it probably took him years to get there.
He may have started off trying for something else when he found that.
No matter who you are or how much you try to get someone else's sound, in the end you will always sound a lot like you.
That might be a good thing.

Don't get too carried away with thinking you just need to spend enough money to get the 'right' gear.
Sometimes that can help a lot.
Sometimes it's more in the hands and imagination.

 

Just sounds like an active Jazz with steel roundwounds to me. If you can't get your Jazz that punchy or get the high-mids that he does, try some sort of preamp pedal (or toss an onboard preamp in your Jazz, for that matter). As stated above, it think the highest register has been cut a bit to get rid of some of the 'zing' and finger/fret noise, sounds like there's some boost in the high-mids. I don't have good headphones handy, and I'm not exactly an engineer, so I could be wrong on all accounts, but that's what I'm hearing.

Edit: I'm pretty sure Fat Beams are stainless compression wound strings, where the wrap wire is smashed into an oval shape before winding to make them feel and sound smoother, and they should cut most finger and fret noise on their own. I play GHS Pressurewounds, same thing but a nickel/iron alloy rather than stainless, I've been meaning to try some.

 

No clue, but some serious bass face on that guy!

 

Mr Bass Face has a nice touch, and I'd bet that Jazz has a killer setup on it

 

If I may. Hear that tone. Leave your kit reasonably clear and then make that tone with your fingers. You don’t have that bassist’s touch but yours can manifest his if it’s your ear to your finger tips.

 

My WAG:
- definitely need compression but not loads of it, slow attack, fast release, maybe just 4:1 on the ratio.
- the hottest overwound aftermarket jazz bass pickups you can find (eg. Aguilar AG-HOT, etc).
- good worn in (i.e. dead) round wound strings.
- pluck right over the bridge PU like this player.
- neck pickup turned down about 1/3.
- straight into the board with a good DI.

Otherwise, to get milk chocolate like that on the tone, you'll need an amp sim of some sort to give the distortion on the notes. I don't think it's the bass.

L

 

Also consider how high you have your strings. Lower action will give you more of that raspy sound when you dig in.

 

I get pretty close to this tone with my Geddy lee by using DR Fat beams, boosting the mids, and cutting my tone knob half way down. The Geddy Lee has the 70's bridge pickup spacing which adds to the tone.

 

The magic to that tone ( to my ears) is in the playing. It sounds great but not unobtainable by any measure.

Jazz bass, rounds, playing hand position all play a role- play like that on any Jazz with a decent amp/ or DI setup- There is your tone.

Listen more to all who have posted before me though. I promise they know more than I regarding the finer points of a JB and rounds.

Good luck!

 

I think he actually has a pretty bright setting on the bass, the highs aren’t cut much at all. BUT, he has really good control (and probably a great setup) so he’s not getting any fretbuzz. You can hear a couple spots where maybe a fingernail catches the string and it’s pretty bright. I would say set everything open and bright, and work on getting a clear and clean (and fat) sound from your fingers. Maybe turn the amp up a little higher than you normally would, so it forces you to play with a softer touch. It takes time, that’s for sure.

 

Whoa. Deep.

 

I can’t think of any of my basses not being able to reproduce that tone. I use Gibson, musicman, fenders, and rics. And squiers, yeah.

 

Wow! @Dr. Cheese what do you think doc? I love that sound!

 

He is focusing on the mids and he is an excellent player with a great touch. It’s really that simple.

 

Definitely mids I hear in that video. Shouldn't be that hard to cop that tone, I can get close to it with my Active Steinberger Spirit Bass with GHS Pressurewounds.

 

Great tone and playing for sure. That growly midrange is the stuff dreams are made of.