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lack of fatness

#45
Phaidrus said:
well, perhaps reggae bassists are almost never seen playing a Pbass for a reason.:meh:
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:)
 
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#48
Pluck softer right above the neck or just where the neck ends, play as much as possible on the E and A strings, fret smoothly, use flats, no treble, just a hint of mids, and bass most or all of the way up.

No effects. No compression.

Try to get that tone out of your bass acoustically (practice without an amp).

Ps. It’s Flabba. He’s one of the best. Trying to figure out why you don’t sound like him is like wondering why your pinch harmonics don’t sound like Jaco! You can get close but you’ll never be spot on.
 
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#49
Phaidrus said:
No way I'm getting anywhere near such fat tones as Flabba Holt does playing the Ab, Bb and Gb of this bassline on the D string, although my Pbass is strung with a .070 D. Any suggestions?

My gear: Fender 2008 Am. Std. Pbass with PV63 pickup strung with 50-70-85-105 Dunlop flats. Flabba Holt is possibly playing his Steinberger on this track, don't know what strings he's using.

Click to expand...

Get rid of the mid scoop on your eq
 
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#50
Phaidrus said:
It's a Pbass that I've specifically set up for a fat and full reggae tone: PV63 pickup with appropriate capacitor, flatwound strings (currently Dunlop 50-70-85-105). But I never really achieved that and comparing its tone with that of any given reggae recording, for example the one above, shows this lack of fatness and fullness. I even strung it with a custom string set for thicker D and G strings - to no avail. Is perhaps the type of bass the issue? Does one get those thick tones only out of (active) Jbass type basses?
Click to expand...
More likely a studio issue, with the mid-bass sliders or that range of a parametric cranked.
 
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#52
Nick von Nick said:
I have an obsessively-crafted fat dub tone that I continue to refine, even after 20 years working at it. The number one thing is technique. I will listen when I hit a tonal sweet spot and then determine what I doing all across the entire instrument:

Plucking Hand
  • Where is my plucking hand in relation to the strings?
  • Where am I anchoring my thumb? Do I shift that?
  • How much pressure did I apply when plucking?
  • Which part of my finger is hitting the string?
  • Which finger leads? Am I strictly alternating?
Fretting Hand
  • Which finger frets each note? Do I favor some fingers over another?
  • How am I anchoring my hand behind the neck?
  • How much pressure do I apply when fretting the notes? Am I directly on the fret or somewhere off to the side?
Instrument
  • How have I balanced my pickups and tone controls?
  • Which strings do I prefer to play?
  • How high is my string action? How does that affect my plucking?
  • If I can play the same line in different places, which do I favor over the others? (e.g. playing a 10th fret D on the E-string will sound much fatter than the 5th fret on the A-string or the open string itself)
Other Considerations
  • Am I cognizant of note duration/accents/volume?
  • How am I staying aware of the groove?
  • Does everything lock with the feel? Am I comfortable enough with the feel to alter it at will? (e.g. varying metronomic precision with a more laidback style while still maintaining the groove)
Gear is second to all the factors above, but can really help get you from 90% to 100%. I like to boost everything around 80-160 Hz, kill the mids in/up/out/around 400-800 Hz, and keep just enough treble to avoid losing every bit of harmonic character. 15" cabs are my best friend, too.

Finally, my last weapon of choice that pushes me above 100% is the One Control Crimson Bass Preamp pedal. Because I use a one-channel amplifier, I will to keep my settings flat. This gives me versatility across a 3+ hour set, but does mean that I lose my EQ preferences. The CRB affects everything equalization property I described above with a single stomp, so I can get my second channel immediately.

So yeah...that's how I get my bass fatness.
~Nick von Nick

Bonus
For regular fatness, I just eat really quickly and fail to notice that I'm completely satiated.
It works way too well!
Click to expand...

I'll experiment with your EQ suggestions. And the Crimson pedal looks interesting.
As of regular fatness, that I can achieve rather easily but I'm constantly trying to avoid it.:laugh:
 
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#60
Dunlop flats aren't the most bassy in the world. It's why I like them. I find them to be more midrange-ey.

If I was doing reggae or dub I don't think I'd use a P. Probably something with a pickup closer to the neck. A 51 P maybe, more likely a bass with a pickup right against the end of the neck. And LaBella flats.
 
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