• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Les Claypool/Carl Thompson tone with

S

SCUZMUZM

Jan 13, 2010
26
0
Morgantown WV
#1
I was watching the Les Claypool and I LOVE his tone but here is no way I can afford to even look at a CT bass at this point in time. I know his 4 string CT is made of Walnut/Mahogany with a single EMG pickup sort of in the sweet spot of the body. I've been looking at a few different basses and im kind of set on an Ibanez BTB or SR. I have a GSR206 which has great feel and action, even sounds good but id like to send it back to AMS and get something higher up. I've been looking around to see the diffences in tones between an "neck through body bass"(BTB) and "bolt on"(SR). Claypools tone is throaty, punchy and sounds HUGE. Can i get that tone or something close to it from a mahogany made bass like the SR706 or the BTB676?

So my main Question is: Claypool tone with reasonable price ($600-$1000) Preferrably a 6-string

I'm open to any other suggestions you all may have.
Thanks for any help
 
#2
Hey,I was on the 'bay last night,and I saw two Claypool/CT replicas,One his main 4str.,the other his rainbow bass. The guy that made them claims"exact tone" compared to Les. Sweet basses regardless.I'll see if I can find them again and post a link.
 
#5
This sort of goes off topic, but I have to mention one of the weirdest things I've ever experienced. A friend of mine put bass strings on his gibson les paul... Lo and behold, it _nailed_ the brown album 6 string fretted CT tone. I've tried so many times after that to get closer with a bass guitar but with no success. Of course the strings were sort of close on that guitar, but still slappable..
 
#8
SCUZMUZM said:
I was watching the Les Claypool and I LOVE his tone but here is no way I can afford to even look at a CT bass at this point in time. I know his 4 string CT is made of Walnut/Mahogany with a single EMG pickup sort of in the sweet spot of the body. I've been looking at a few different basses and im kind of set on an Ibanez BTB or SR. I have a GSR206 which has great feel and action, even sounds good but id like to send it back to AMS and get something higher up. I've been looking around to see the diffences in tones between an "neck through body bass"(BTB) and "bolt on"(SR). Claypools tone is throaty, punchy and sounds HUGE. Can i get that tone or something close to it from a mahogany made bass like the SR706 or the BTB676?

So my main Question is: Claypool tone with reasonable price ($600-$1000) Preferrably a 6-string

I'm open to any other suggestions you all may have.
Thanks for any help
Click to expand...

Your looking at the wrong area, its in his hands, technique & his settings. He sounds the same reguardless which bass he plays, he sounds the same on his Fender Jazz.
 
#9
I'm assuming you mean that slightly distorted tone he uses on most albums? I love that tone also, and have tried to get it for a long time however I dont think any bass will get you his tone (even a CT). What you are hearing is his amp, effects, and no doubt technique a little.

Put it this way, his bass has an active EMG.... any of the active EMGs I have tried dont sound very like his tone, and the wood of the bass (as has been discussed many times on here) contributes little to the tone. So your left with his amp, settings, and effects. I would advise against getting a bass to sound more like him, especially an Ibanez (they are great but again sound nothing like it), and invest in some effects or new amp.
 
#12
spade2you said:
A sub$1k 6er that sounds like Claypool? Depends on how exact you want to be, but there's a lot of his tone in his technique and in the EMGs.
Click to expand...

That and all that gear he was using. Depends on which moment. There was a time where he was using ADA, a time for Ampeg, a time for Mesa and a time for GK.
 
#14
spade2you said:
Very true.
Click to expand...

And I'm trying to remember when each was.......

I think:

Frizzle fry & suck on this = IIRC he was getting his distortion from a modded ADA Mp-1. Me thinks Mesa or Ampeg...

Sailing the seas of cheese = IIRC, he had started using the ADA Mb-1. Me thinks Mesa or Ampeg.....

Albums after = IIRC, He started using stomp boxes. He used SVT II's for a long time....then switched to GK for a short time. Currently uses Mesa and Ampeg SVT 3 pro's and 4 pro's. Tales from the puchbowl he used a 400+.

...But I could be wrong, or perhaps inaccurate.
 
#15
les claypool tone = practice. you can pick up les' bass and play through his rig and it'll still sound like you. les can play your bass through your rig and he'll sound like les.

if you put on mike jordan's shoes, you'd look pretty sharp, but you probably still wouldn't dunk or shoot like he does. however, if you hit the court for 5 hours a day for a few years, things would be different.

not trying to stir things up, just trying to properly set expectations.
 
#16
A Wish would be a good alternative cheap bass that's in the same tonal department as claypool's instruments.

I also think you're a little off on your interpretation of Claypool's tone... It's not HUGE. In fact, it's quite small and focused, trebly and farty.
 
#19
Getaway Driver said:
I also think you're a little off on your interpretation of Claypool's tone... It's not HUGE. In fact, it's quite small and focused, trebly and farty.
Click to expand...

I agree with the trebly and farty comment but it totally works in the mix.

Geddy Lee's tone is kinda like that. By itself.... atrocious!:spit::D It is a trebly clacky mess as he dimes the treble on his Jazz... in the mix... a different story. It sounds great.

If I was going to play Primus tunes, I would use a Jazz bass with the treble and both PU on "10". Might not be exact, but would likely sound pretty good...
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back