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Paul Jackson (Headhunters) OD in a pedal

MatBassMelb

MatBassMelb

Mar 5, 2023
58
240
#1
I'm seeking advice on a mild overdrive pedal which will get me close to that Paul Jackson (Headhunters) sound.

I know his sound came from his fingers and from probably running his amps pretty hard. But I'm trying to get close to that sound in a pedal.

I play a Jazz Bass with flats. My 'always on' pedals are Empress Bass Compressor and Source Audio EQ2.

From reading, I've short-listed:
- Origin DCX
- SGFX Beta V
- CAL Grizzly Bass
- Sushi Box Underground Accelerator
- Way Huge Pork and Pickle
- Sans Amp YYZ
- Source Audio Aftershock

I know these will all do a mild OD, but which will get me closest to that particular Paul Jackson (Headhunters) sound?
 
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#2
I have the DCX bass as an always on pedal. It’s really more for tube like warmth on the edge of breakup kind of thing but it can definitely do the overdrive thing. In overdrive it never gets fizzy or thin which is nice and the coloring switch is really impactful
 
#4
Bob_Ross said:
I’m trying to think of a single headhunter’s tune where Jackson’s bass sound conspicuously was distorted… And I’m coming up with nothing.
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Perhaps his live sound is what is wanted…



Seems like it’s just the old P bass hitting the front end of a bass amp of that time period ☺️

Maybe a Peavey head…

IMG_9909 Copy.jpeg


With an old Peavey folded horn cab…

IMG_9908.jpeg
IMG_9916.jpeg


That would make for some funky sounds and grit ☺️
 
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#5
that's my old friend from high school Steve (Blackbird) McKnight in that clip on guitar. He was by far the best guitarist in my highschool (Mornignside in Inglewood) back in 1971. we often jammed in my garage and my my always wanted him to come out and jam with us. I remember him asking me if he good enough to play with me and I replied, "way better than good enough". :thumbsup:
 
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#6
johnk_10 said:
that's my old friend from high school Steve (Blackbird) McKnight in that clip on guitar. He was by far the best guitarist in my highschool (Mornignside in Inglewood) back in 1971. we often jammed in my garage and my my always wanted him to come out and jam with us. I remember him asking me if he good enough to play with me and I replied, "way better than good enough". :thumbsup:
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Are you thinking DeWayne (Blackbird) McKnight?

Or are they one in the same person? 🤔

en.wikipedia.org

DeWayne McKnight - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

I guess they are as Dewayne has Stephen as a middle name ☺️
 
#7
DJ Bebop said:
Perhaps his live sound is what is wanted…

Seems like it’s just the old P bass hitting the front end of a bass amp of that time period ☺️

Maybe a Peavey head…

With an old Peavey folded horn cab…

That would make for some funky sounds and grit ☺️
Click to expand...
I think this may be the answer. Not an overdrive, but his bass hitting the front end of a bass amp of the period.

Tracks like 'God make me funky' and 'Palm Grease' is the sound I had in mind. Not just the live versions, but the studio versions as well.

I'm pivoting to thinking it's just some vintage growl from a cab sim more than overdrive that I'm seeking.

Maybe something like the SGT-DI using the B15 side?
 
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#8
MatBassMelb said:
I think this may be the answer. Not an overdrive, but his bass hitting the front end of a bass amp of the period.

Tracks like 'God make me funky' and 'Palm Grease' is the sound I had in mind. Not just the live versions, but the studio versions as well.

I'm pivoting to thinking it's just some vintage growl from a cab sim more than overdrive that I'm seeking.

Maybe something like the SGT-DI using the B15 side?
Click to expand...
I went back and listened to Palm Grease in the studio and I think I hear what you are after. It could also be that Jamerson thing of hitting the mixer input a little harder. So any of those B-15 emulators or tube strip type preamps could help. Even though the B-15 and Jamerson using one in the studio was a later feature out in LA. The hitting a tube front end hard was a signature sound from Jamerson and anyone the went direct during those early days. It sounded less like a cabinet, more like preamp push but I wasn’t there ☺️

PS That 'God Make Me Funky' studio track does sound like some mic’d cabinet is mixed in too 👍
 
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#9
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#11
Thanks all for the advice - and the history lessons!

@DJ Bebop - I especially appreciate your insights. It's great to get some understanding of how these classic sounds were created in the day.

Looks like I'm the waiting list for a Broughton Fliptop.
 
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#12
At home, I'd try a compressor into a drive pedal. Drive set to light. I hear compression in that HH GMMFnky track, even if it's his brilliantly even attack and playing. He's digging hard, consistently.
Or if it's an amp and cab running hard and hot, it's still a form of compassion.

Compression prior to dirt will help the dirt remain consistent. Try the nobels odr for light even drive.
 
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#13
Big Paul Jackson listener and tone-chaser over here. Pbass, flats, amp-like overdrive. I really dig the Analog Alien Bass Station for these tones, with the comp and amp sim on.

The Broughton FlipTop is great but it can sound a little muffled depending where you have the cab sim and the gain.

Jackson's OD.anf fingers sounded bright to me. Maybe even a light SVT-stule OD that triggers when digging in would do the trick.
 
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#14
Dilemmas, Dilemmas Dilemmas.

I was considering the Broughton Fliptop. Broughton have none in stock at the moment, and I'm not sure how often they're restocked. I was going to pull the pin tonight and buy one second-hand for $290 USD (can't believe how much these are selling for) - until I read the comment about it potentially sounding muffled.

So another option also mentioned above is the Nobels ODR-1X which might be a goer for light drive, in conjunction with the Empress Bass Compressor which lives on my board.

I looked at the CMC Audio Prototype V2 also mentioned above, which looks promising for an 'amp breakup' tone. But at 238€ it's an expensive experiment.

The SGT-DI on the B15 side looks promising, although it's probably more than I need for this application. But if it helps create 'that' sound, then it's a contender.

While the DXC Bass isn't modelled of a B15 like the SGT-DI, it also seems a contender for tube like warmth on the edge of breakup.

And the Alien Bass Station! I can't believe I've never heard of that pedal. Looks really awesome, and it's been around a while, it seems.

So, it seems I have a new short-list:
- Broughton Fliptop
- Nobels ODR-1X
- CMC Audio Prototype V2
- SGT-DI
- DXC Bass
- Alien Bass Station

Dilemmas, Dilemmas Dilemmas.
 
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#15
MatBassMelb said:
Dilemmas, Dilemmas Dilemmas.

I was considering the Broughton Fliptop. Broughton have none in stock at the moment, and I'm not sure how often they're restocked. I was going to pull the pin tonight and buy one second-hand for $290 USD (can't believe how much these are selling for) - until I read the comment about it potentially sounding muffled.

So another option also mentioned above is the Nobels ODR-1X which might be a goer for light drive, in conjunction with the Empress Bass Compressor which lives on my board.

I looked at the CMC Audio Prototype V2 also mentioned above, which looks promising for an 'amp breakup' tone. But at 238€ it's an expensive experiment.

The SGT-DI on the B15 side looks promising, although it's probably more than I need for this application. But if it helps create 'that' sound, then it's a contender.

While the DXC Bass isn't modelled of a B15 like the SGT-DI, it also seems a contender for tube like warmth on the edge of breakup.

And the Alien Bass Station! I can't believe I've never heard of that pedal. Looks really awesome, and it's been around a while, it seems.

So, it seems I have a new short-list:
- Broughton Fliptop
- Nobels ODR-1X
- CMC Audio Prototype V2
- SGT-DI
- DXC Bass
- Alien Bass Station

Dilemmas, Dilemmas Dilemmas.
Click to expand...
Out of those you listed, the Nobels is the cheapest and readily available.

I am using Nobels ODR (mini v1) myself. It sounds good on bass, IMO. Whether it will get you close to Paul Jackson's tone, I don't know.
 
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#17
😳

I guess I didn't have an option on pedals. The amp I have does some of this on its own. It's a Mesa WD 800 and with its tube front end and it's mystery-treated power amp section I can get that type of thing out of the head itself 👍 It's not cheap, although I got it during its original price point. I also have one of their 1x15s that adds to the vintage vibe (although not necessarily sounding like a vintage 15).

It definitely has God making me funky 😎
 
#19
DJ Bebop said:
😳

I guess I didn't have an option on pedals. The amp I have does some of this on its own. It's a Mesa WD 800 and with its tube front end and it's mystery-treated power amp section I can get that type of thing out of the head itself 👍 It's not cheap, although I got it during its original price point. I also have one of their 1x15s that adds to the vintage vibe (although not necessarily sounding like a vintage 15).

It definitely has God making me funky 😎
Click to expand...
Maybe I'm thinking too narrow. I'm not even sure where B15 came into the equation for this - I'm curious to know what @arepa_funk thinks...
arepa_funk said:
Big Paul Jackson listener and tone-chaser over here.
Click to expand...

When I was playing Sax, I wanted to sound like Dexter Gordon. So, I bought myself a 1939 Conn 10M 'Naked Lady' tenor saxophone. Rare as heck, but it sounds vintage because it is vintage. There's no saxophone made today that can come close to replicating that sound.

We're fortunate to be spoiled for choice with Bass pedals now. But that makes tone-chasers like me all the more fussy, too!
 
#20
Use your Empress Compressor, turn it up to higher levels of compression than you're used to, then into the Nobels.

You don't need the current version of it with the bass cut knob, that's set to off in the earlier versions (despite what comments in other threads say - I dug deep into the Nobel site spectrograph shots in their descriptions of older pedal versions).

Let go of trying to find the Ampeg sound, that's not the tone. I have Ampeg gear. Ampeg gets spongey it doesn't attack the way you're seeking
 

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