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From what I can tell when Cliff is playing bass (not soloing with wah and fuzz) he actually runs a clean sound not processed at all. I'm almost positive his recording and live sounds aren't processed and they are 100% clean. I could be wrong though.
Actually you are wrong hehe =P
But his tone was pretty clean on Kill 'em All
uhh dude thats still a clean sound, not processed at all. All that is, is brand new rotosound steel round wounds and the mid turned up way too high almost to the point of where it starts to sound distorted .
Actually Rob Trujillo's live sound is very processed. He uses preamp racks and pedals although i'm not for sure how much he uses or what brands but I know that his sound isn't clean, it is indeed processed to a certain extent. The sound is amazing too.
Besides Jason Newsted using the Sans Amp DI pedal to produce his signature tone, I think he also used preamps and racks to really shape his tone too.
From what I can tell when Cliff is playing bass (not soloing with wah and fuzz) he actually runs a clean sound not processed at all. I'm almost positive his recording and live sounds aren't processed and they are 100% clean. I could be wrong though.
Cliff's solo tone was definitely not his regular ensemble playing tone. Although, the latter was still very aggressive and snarly, though it just seems to be from turning the gain up on the amp than from any processing. He had a fairly low-tech rig.
Jason and Rob both have much more shaping of their tone going on, though I like both of their sounds. The three definitely sound very different, but good, to me.
Yeah I know I wasn't talking about his solo tone because he uses effects. I was talking about his normal playing tone because its not processed in anyway.
And that is very true the three are very different but all sound good.
Yes, I was agreeing with you, lol.
From what ive heard his tone is lifeless and sterile. No pick growl like Newsted had.
Saw them at The Allstate Arena out near Chicago - I was on the upper deck and his tone was complete garbage. Massive low end, next to nothing in the mids, and distortion which seem to only affect the 900hz-5khz range. He has a bunch of units producing his tone and I could not pick any of them out. I swear the 3 PRO and the Tech 21 BDDI would have made the same sound. Even during his solo on For Whom The Bell Tolls, I barely could hear the distortion nor could I hear what he was doing for the rest of the song. I heard the solo and my goodness, what a thin tone! I could hear him when the drums and bass were soloed - during Cyanide, but otherwise it was fairly pathetic mix wise for Rob.
The guitars sounded awesome and did not get out of hand volume wise. Lars sounded awesome and all this talk about his sloppy playing and what not....who the heck cares? He was digging the music and I did not notice anything bad about his playing. Served the songs and was solid the entire show.
As for Machine Head - they are one of my favorite bands, but I heard them do a sound check and got quite frustrated. They were doing Rob Flyn's guitar tone and the moment he started to play, I heard this very full sounding guitar, heavy lows, distorted mids and good definition. Then I heard something awful: I listened to the soundman suck all of the mids out of the guitar tone. It became a mess of low end and high end. Machine Head was playing songs that I am VERY FAMILIAR WITH and I could not figure out what song it was, where they were in the song at MANY points throughout their slot.
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To the person looking for Rob's tone, set the 3 PRO flat, turn the 600hz slider on the EQ down a little and turn up the 80hz slider a little, along with increasing the Treble knob. Should be close enough. I will suggest not wasting your time trying to get his exact tone - there are way too many recording tricks to get the sounds you hear on your headphones. Follow your ears and you will be fine.
As for Machine Head - they are one of my favorite bands, but I heard them do a sound check and got quite frustrated. They were doing Rob Flyn's guitar tone and the moment he started to play, I heard this very full sounding guitar, heavy lows, distorted mids and good definition. Then I heard something awful: I listened to the soundman suck all of the mids out of the guitar tone. It became a mess of low end and high end. Machine Head was playing songs that I am VERY FAMILIAR WITH and I could not figure out what song it was, where they were in the song at MANY points throughout their slot.
Isnt Trujillo using Tobias ?
When I saw them few years ago I remember thinking that his tone was huge but undefined.. It was only clear at solo parts.. I was at front row center so that might be part of the problem. (he played mostly Fernandes at that gig)
Based on videos I`v seen, he sounds best with P-bass (like when they did the Sabbath thing.. Growly mid range!) Tobias sounded really good with Ozzy tho..
Trujillo and P-bass in action:
with Metallica http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06C2DYlz7bY
and with Black Label Society http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAodnkz6AI4
I think he should use it more often..
And based on one video I saw, hes Rick definatelly doesn`t sound like one..
Trujillo does sound damn good live...
Alex webster has a video or two on youtube giving a rundown of his gear and he does some playing. Agreed...he is awesome live as well.