Mike Kroeger's tone(nickleback)

[Major Havoc]

I geuss i should have been more discriptive in my original post.I like his studio tone,major metal is right his low b is very impressive.It seems like the mids are scooped a little and compression is used in the studio,i maybe wrong.Either way he has a sound that i like to come close to for recording.

 

[spade2you]

he uses fingers.......

Really. He must play really hard and by the bridge or something. I was messing around and got the same sound with a pick.

 

[melt]

i didn't intend to start any flame wars; usually we ask about "unique" (also very subjective) tone that many (or most) bassists want to learn. Such as Jaco, Geddy, etc.

To me just getting a five string active bass with rounds will get you "very close" to that tone, since there is, IMO, nothing sensational about the tone I hear on their songs.

It's sometimes the subtleties that decide what you consider a good/great tone or not. It doesn't have to be what most would consider intensely unique. It's all about what the listener is hearing. It's like one person preferring a different shade of blue to another, or liking the sound of a different person's voice.

 

[ihateusernames]

not a fan of the band but love his recorded tone - his live rig is pretty impressive - i read an interview somewhere with his bass tech, it's a cool story of the life of a roadie.

 

[Psychicpet]

you know what,

the OP stated he liked mike's tone, wanted to know how to get it , then a bunch of a$$hats drop in to slag Nickelback..... I'm sure that those of you who have dissed Nickelback here are far superior musicians/artists/human beings than the guys in Nickelback right? Can play circles around Mike. Know how to relate and tap into millions of people. Because why else would you waste our time here in this thread if not to show your superiority to Nickelback and the rest of us?
so here's a hint, if you find the time today, why not go _________ yourselves.


idiots.

 

[Andy_colassal]

Hell, that's a lot of gear to sound the way he does.

LOL 1+

 

[ihateusernames]

woah there, is the hostility required?

 

[Psychicpet]

woah there, is the hostility required?

yep.

if the stupidity is required then so shall be the hostility.

 

[jarrod cunningham]

i do not know mike at all , never met him , or anything . but i do know pj rubal (spector rep in my area) and im sure that mike would not have a SIGNATURE series spector bass if he chose to record with a warwick . and the warwick / spector thing goes way back ... streamer anyone ??? copy !!!! lol ....

 

[calebbarton]

dude screw that guy. 5 spector basses? do you need a spector for that sound? not sure you do.....

 

[cicatrice]

I thought I remembered reading in Bass Player awhile back that he still played with his fingers, but started using finger picks (i.e. like the kind you use for banjos) at the suggestion of his tech. I don't really follow the band, so maybe someone else can confirm that?

 

[steve21]

Can't help with his gear... but no matter what it is, his tone on some of the songs off the CD that had "Side of a Bullet" (I think it's their latest) is AMAZING. Seriously, if you're a rock bassist who can't appreciate the tone (not the band, not his playing) he got, you got no clue what you're doing.

 

[Sleeq]

you know what,

the OP stated he liked mike's tone, wanted to know how to get it , then a bunch of a$$hats drop in to slag Nickelback..... I'm sure that those of you who have dissed Nickelback here are far superior musicians/artists/human beings than the guys in Nickelback right? Can play circles around Mike. Know how to relate and tap into millions of people. Because why else would you waste our time here in this thread if not to show your superiority to Nickelback and the rest of us?
so here's a hint, if you find the time today, why not go _________ yourselves.


idiots.

Everyone has opinions, and if you think that I'm an a$$hat for stating mine, well sir, you are one too.

Selling millions of albums does not equal quality. That means Titanic is the best movie in the world or Miley Cyrus is better than Jaco.

The reason for some of the harsh answers was because I still think that there is nothing "special" about the tone. It doesn't mean it sucks (the playing is a different story).

Good day sir.

 

[Ric5]

Personally I thought his sound was a little too muddy and boomy ...

To me what makes the sound of that band is the vocals and the guitar tone ...

 

[kevs]

Nickelback is still around? Ewww.

Exactly, I thought they had been put to bed already.

 

[rockstarbassist]

His recorded tone is great.

Nab a Spector, you're there.

Spectors are arguably the rock bass to record with, and that's why they're used so much.

See any (well the latter) Pantera and Down records for more examples. I still wish I had my old NS5CRFM to use for recording. The new ones w/ the new preamps don't do it for me, nearly as much.

Mike has a very good drummer and a lot of guitars to support. And Chad is a helluva player also. You'd know that if you tuned in to more than the radio. Dummies.

 

[ROON]

Whats wrong with Nickelback? This song owns.

 

[kaputsport]

PJ Rubal is the brother to our recording engineer, Jason Rubal.

I know Stewert through PJ. Honestly, PJ has work for a while with nickleback.

Just so you know, Kroeger has more than the spectors you see here... One of which is really expensive. I am sure, that bass has made an appearance on the albums.

He does use Warwick as well, but I believe that was on the first album, and only then.

 

[Psychicpet]

Everyone has opinions, and if you think that I'm an a$$hat for stating mine, well sir, you are one too.

Selling millions of albums does not equal quality. That means Titanic is the best movie in the world or Miley Cyrus is better than Jaco.

The reason for some of the harsh answers was because I still think that there is nothing "special" about the tone. It doesn't mean it sucks (the playing is a different story).

Good day sir.

my point was this. the OP stated he liked Mike's tone and wanted to know if anyone could point him in the direction to finding it. He wasn't asking for people's opinion on the tone but rather their opinion and advice to get the tone.

I knew there was going to be the usual battery of idiots chiming in with no relevance to the post but just idiotic "they suck" yadda, yadda, yadda type responses as happens quite often.

I've overlooked that crap in every other thread I've read but this time, due to this being about a guy who works hard at his craft, is a great human being outside of his "gig" get trash talked yet again I decided to have a little rant.

So yes, the "a$$hat" comments offended me and I was moved to post MY opinion having read yours and others opinions. I can post my opinion thinking that you're wrong right?? I mean, you posted insinuating that the OP is wrong or some kind of fool for wanting to get Mike's tone right?



so, now can we get back to deciphering Mike's tone for the OP.

 

[Psychicpet]

again, I think a major part of Mike's recorded tone is the fact that he uses the combination of Avalon U5 (for clean), Peavey rig mic'd (for 'amp' tone) and a Peavey XXX guitar half stack (for dirty) then blends the three.

You might be best off with getting some type of distortion pedal that you can use to blend in a little grit and top end grind to your current clean sound. It might sound a little fuzzy/crap by itself but once it gets mixed in with the band you'll notice that some of the "fuzz" disappears and you'll end up cutting through a lot more and depending on how much your top end is distorted, you'll get a bit more of a pick like attack if you're playing with fingers.

Also, getting a Spector or in the least something with EMG HZs would be a good place to start as well.