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Double Bass Paul Gilbert tone on Double Bass!!! How to Get!?!?!!

L

lightninz

Nov 10, 2011
80
31
#1
Hi all,

Omg, i just got super inspired by paul gilbert play on double bass, its actually pretty insane and the tone is crazy, its the perfect clarity of distortion on a bass. Can anyone advise on how to get this tone? Is it because its fretless and flatwound hence its a cleaner distortion? A thump of the double bass that lets him get that tone? it is definitely a guitar amp, so it is also similar to how billy would approach a two amp one highs one lows signal chain?

So many question is going through my head and i just cant get it! Do let me know your thoughts on it
 
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#3
Respectively, my thoughts are, why you would want to do that with a Double Bass when
it's so easily accomplished with a Bass Guitar? I guess is that it makes for great theater,
so that's valid. Not my cup of tea, I guess. Just my take however. My fear would be that
I'd drop the bass which would make a very interesting sound that would only happen
once.:)

P.S. I did toss an Aluminum bass across my high school band room, it made a tremendous
rumble. :woot:
 
#7
I recall this being discussed before and I believe the conclusion was that he is pantomiming. Lip synching but with his hands. I forget the specific reasons why, I seem to remember something about the notes don’t make sense with where his hands are, there’s no pickup on the bass or it wasn’t plugged in, fret noise, which is not possible for obvious reasons. It’s a promotional video on a platform known for using shocking tactics for promotion. You are never gonna get your double bass sounding like that.
 
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#8
Ric Vice said:
Respectively, my thoughts are, why you would want to do that with a Double Bass when
it's so easily accomplished with a Bass Guitar? I guess is that it makes for great theater,
so that's valid. Not my cup of tea, I guess. Just my take however. My fear would be that
I'd drop the bass which would make a very interesting sound that would only happen
once.:)

P.S. I did toss an Aluminum bass across my high school band room, it made a tremendous
rumble. :woot:
Click to expand...

Not planning to use my double bass on it, more of a study and most probably replicating it on a bass guitar instead, i did some trials and yes @Snarf, highly treblish distorted amp does give the most similar effect but not of his clarity hence i am still very amazed by it.

@BassFalcon, is it really true he is miming it? cause the low notes does sound very real
 
#9
lightninz said:
Not planning to use my double bass on it, more of a study and most probably replicating it on a bass guitar instead, i did some trials and yes @Snarf, highly treblish distorted amp does give the most similar effect but not of his clarity hence i am still very amazed by it.

@BassFalcon, is it really true he is miming it? cause the low notes does sound very real
Click to expand...

I do believe it is the case that he’s miming it. I may be wrong, and I can’t find the thread where it was discussed, but that’s my thought on it. I’m open to being proven wrong. Distortion and overdrive and effects on double bass can be awesome for sure though.
 
#10
Looks like it's awfully well synced up. The intonation is kinda impossibly perfect though. And you'll have to drop the string height to the point where if you tried to play a bass line on it, the strings would immediately bottom out.
 

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