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Looking for a specific sound

embellisher

embellisher

Holy Ghost filled Bass Player
Supporting Member
Apr 18, 2000
22,086
8,728
Heber Springs, Arkansas
www.facebook.com
#1
I am in search of a certain sound.

I want a 5 string bass that sounds very full on the D and G strings when popped.

My Geddy Lee does this, while retaining that yummy 70's Jazz characteristics.

I love the tone of a 70's Jazz.

If I could get both of these sounds in one bass, I would be very happy.

To finance this, I will have to sell something else.

My five and six string basses all sound great. But with the exception of my Zon, they all sound very thin when popping the D, G, (and on the sixers) the C string.

It gets lost in the mix.

I have tried EQ.

Maybe it is my strings? I love a lot of treble, so I use stainless steels. And most nickels I have played die very quickly due to my body chemistry.

So, kind of scattershooting, but if any of you guys with tons of experience with different basses could help me out, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!:)
 
#3
lowphatbass said:
How about a Warmoth deluxe 5 with a "vintage vibe" and your own twist??It may be a crap shoot, but less expensive than:
Sadowski
Dingwall "super J"
F
Keep us posted.

ps: you will always be HGF not SF in my "book"!!
Click to expand...

You know, I forgot about Nino. Maybe he could help me design a Valenti that would do the trick.

ps: Should I change my title back?:)
 
#4
Here are some things that other people have suggested for me to get this tone.

Roscoe
Dingwall Afterburner II
Warmoth or Valenti Super J

Here are some other basses that I think might get me there tonally.

Lakland Skyline Joe Osborne or Daryl Jones 5
Zon Sonus Custom or Legacy 5
Maybe a Duncan equipped Lakland 55-02?

Keep in mind, I want 70's Jazz growl, but the bass must be very full sounding when popped.
 
#6
karrot-x said:
The 55-01 has weak D and G's? I must not know what weak is because when I played the 55-02 it was full all the way around. Maybe it's differen't on the two models? I know that my Ray is pretty weak on the G, and minorly the D but I didn't think the 55-01 would be.
Click to expand...

The D is great. The G is great fingerstyle, but is a tad weak when popped.
 
#8
This is what solved that issue for me....

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There are relativly cheap Passive low pass filters you can put into an effects loop. (search up FMOD on google)

What that will allow you to do is crank the bass up a little to fatten up the high strings without generating a bunch of boom and mud on the lower registers of a five string.

It's counter intuitive but the 50hz filter is the one you want.
If you're trying to make a B string growel, you really don't want the low fundamental frequencies.

It works for me.
 
#10
I would like to steer you towards the dingwall, but of course, dont know about the active electronics. Do you have any experience with the OBP-3? Maybe some creative thinking and you could imagine the tone.

I tell ya what Id like, is a Dingwall with Pete Skjold's pre-amp in it. That would be smokin hehe. And actually, you should really come to the guitar show and check out Pete's new stuff for yourself man, you might find exactly what your looking for right there. Ignore all this if you have heard the new stuff already, I forget hehe.

If nothing else, good luck in your search Jeff and keep us posted on what you decide.
 
#14
embellisher said:
Yeah, I was thinking a Sadowsky Metro might work. I don't think I can afford one, though.
Click to expand...

My Metro has the best slap sound of any bass I've played, and its not even an ash body. I can only imagine how spanky the ash ones are. On this bass pops are very present and round ... and the bass control actually makes the sound FATTER unlike every other onboard EQ I've ever used, which make the sound boomy for my taste (seems like the 2 band has a wider bandwidth on the boost).

Do you like marcus miller's pop sound? ;)

For a cheap first shot, you could try a set of roger's stainless strings if you havn't already, the've got a great taught feel and sound ... perfect for slap style.
 
#17
Some kind of Ash body J style bass with sadowsky humcancelling pickups and electronics sounds like the call to me ... Maybe a Skyline DJ? Then string up with sadowsky stanless and thump yourself silly :bassist:

Or wait until some fool decides to sell a metro on the used market :eyebrow:
 
#19
I just noticed that Fender makes a Marcus Miller 5 ... and that it comes in sunburst and white, not just natural. Another option for you, though pretty close in price to a Metro unless you can find one used.
 

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