im in the line of its in his hands ...the subtle bending of notes ..the staccato style ..watch his left hand close and thats where a lot of this sound comes from also leaning into the mids...its really a lot of subtle things not just "new strings" ..your hearing whats cutting through soloed it would sound slightly different ....but its doable from almost any bass.
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Is this tone even possible?
- Thread starter SonicMirage
- Start date
@SonicMirage
Bro, it's literally in the description for the video.
He has everything listed.
Here, I copied and pasted it for you.
Bro, it's literally in the description for the video.
He has everything listed.
Here, I copied and pasted it for you.
Yep, my WAG is the meaty thing is coming from that pedal. If it were me, I'd try to find one of those if it's cheap. Heck of a lot cheaper than a new bass that'll just sound the same, etc.
L
The strings are fairly close to the fret board. He is using mostly his bridge pick up, and picking over it. Finally, he has a reasonably light touch.
As for the timbre, you can do a lot of cool things in post production. What I mean is, that sound, the dynamics, and the over all mix are not what you are going to get out of a bass just sitting in your living room powered up.
Add to that one heck of a load of talent, years of study and practice, and probably a highly modified instrument to boot, will make it a very challenging grail to achieve. Don’t get me wrong. In no way am I saying it’s impossible, and if you nail that sound, you’ve done well for yourself. Best Wishes.
Two things I've found late in my 35+ years of playing, both tending to be controversial.
1 - compression. Not a lot, and no it's not *necessary* to be a good player - but it is to get that great studio tone.
2 - light touch. I was a Billy Sheehan disciple back in the day (and still love him to death), but I've found the digging in strong is not the way to great tone like this. Lighten way way way WAY back, and let the bass/electronics do the work. Then when you dig in ever so little, you get just enough grind.
Other than that, pretty standard (quality) Jazz bass.
1 - compression. Not a lot, and no it's not *necessary* to be a good player - but it is to get that great studio tone.
2 - light touch. I was a Billy Sheehan disciple back in the day (and still love him to death), but I've found the digging in strong is not the way to great tone like this. Lighten way way way WAY back, and let the bass/electronics do the work. Then when you dig in ever so little, you get just enough grind.
Other than that, pretty standard (quality) Jazz bass.
Smooth_bass88
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He's got great technique. So much of his tone is how he's striking the strings with his right hand combined with excellent left hand fretting. I wonder what kind of bass that is and what pickups he has in it.
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
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He's on social media. Why not just reach out to him directly and ask?
I also love this tone. I have a Fender jazz with MM ss rounds just like you. Here is how I get that tone.
Take the neck pickup volume down a little to get that burpy bridge tone but you need a good amount of neck for it to be fat. I cut the low mids a little and boost high mids a touch. I can't comfortably play over the bridge pickup but I play in between the pickups and use a little sharper attack with my fingers to make it sound similar. Use a compressor pedal. Lighter touch but staccato with a little attack for that tone.
Note that your room and fingers are going to be different but small changes in low and high mids can really help scupt the tone a lot (if you have a 4 band eq).
Good luck!
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Fresh strings, plucking hand over the bridge pickup, EQ with a slight bump to lo-mids and slightly rolled off bass.
It’s the tone of a pre-amped jazz bass where the bass is boosted and the bridge pickup volume is higher than that of the neck one .. nothing special in the Bass Mods instrument except for the onboard preamp of some sort it has got, the perfect setup (up to you and/or to your reference tech.) and the strings the bass player on the video uses (i believe they’re pure nickel or nickel-plated rounds, but good results in this regard may be achieved using TI JF344 flats).
No, no it's not.
Even the guy in the video doesn't have this tone.
It's all an auditory illusion.
In fact there is no video at all.
I'm surprised no one mentioned so far that this is (at least to my ears) a 70s jazz bass tone. Getting that bite and sparkle is difficult with a J bass with 60s bridge pickup placement IME, no matter what degree of EQ and comp you apply.
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
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Hmmmm. I find my Metro 5er sounds very much like this when I want it to. A good, well set-up Jazz bass with rounds, a pre amp, highs cleaned up, a little compression, and the rest is up to the player to bring out the mids and the groove.
That tone is clearly obtainable considering there is literally video footage of it. Can you get that tone, however? Maybe, maybe not. I'm going to guess the magic is in the fingers and playing technique, not through pedals and knob turning. I bet he sounds like that on a pawn shop Chibson. Good luck, and don't go bankrupt chasing tone.
I good friend of mine, best bass player I know, sounds a lot like that. He's been recorded on tons of black gospel tunes, active in the studios for decades. He has played some country shows and recordings too. I hate to tell you this, but he plays Bass Mods jazz 5s, Dunlop super brights. I think there's usually a low cut in his signal chain, but that's all I know. It's all about the Bass Mods, man. Oh, and the fingers.
Not sure what pickups he's got there, but my '96 jazz sounds pretty much exactly like this with EMG JVX set. They have this same juicy sound, and get growly when you dig in.
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.
Great comment here. Also, note where our man is plucking. Right over the bridge pickup (until he starts slapping). That has a BIG effect on sound.
