Scum bass tone

[Veldar]

Hey everyone,

I'm after this punch in the gut to use as a basis for my synth tone as well as a straight squarewave sound.


Cheers, Sam

 

[rratajski]

Have you explored the Moog Freqbox?

 

[knumbskull]

This interview mentions that Shane was using a Frontline Super Distortion for Peel Sessions:

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EDIT pedal info: Invalid Link Removed

 

[Veldar]

Have you explored the Moog Freqbox?

No, It's so expensive

Would I have to she'll out that much for a pretty basic sound?

I would love some of those moog pedals

 

[aldaa]

Try a Behringer Super Fuzz if you're looking for something cheap. Will get you some really nasty tones. Doubles well on guitar for that Electric Wizard tone, too.

 

[Skybone]

I always thought that they used the good old BOSS HM2.

Thing is, back in those days, most of the gear used "on the scene" was generally cheap and cheerful, because no one had the money for anything else. Boutique wasn't around, and if it had been, it would have been way too expensive for bands like Naplam and the rest.

 

[morgan138]

I always thought that they used the good old BOSS HM2.

I dunno, the bass on "Scum" actually sounds pretty tame and kind of has that "fizz sitting on top of mostly clean bass" tone. Honestly I'd just try some generic cheap distortion pedals, maybe ones with a bass control? Metal Muff, Metal Zone?

 

[aldaa]

DS-1 was pretty popular back then, if I remember. I have an MIJ DS-1 and they get pretty nasty when you start maxing stuff out. I think Jo from Bolt Thrower used one, but I could be wrong. Check out the track below.

 

[Skybone]

I dunno, the bass on "Scum" actually sounds pretty tame and kind of has that "fizz sitting on top of mostly clean bass" tone. Honestly I'd just try some generic cheap distortion pedals, maybe ones with a bass control? Metal Muff, Metal Zone?

That could mean he was using something like a Boss ODB. It was one of the few IIRC that could blend the clean & dirty signal. Either that, or it was a studio "trick" of mixing the amped dirty sound with a clean DI. I think I only ever saw Napalm once, around the time they were starting to get loads of media attention, and I just recall a wall of distortion.

If you're trying to recreate that, then maybe something that can either mix the clean & dirty signal, or get an A/B box, and run one side dirty, the other clean. The Metal Zone was another popular pedal in those days too.

 

[Veldar]

I don't know guys, the linked video had little to no attack on the bass, thus why it sounds like a good start to a synth sound (for what I'm after anyway) a lot of the pedal suggested still have the attack and don't compress the absolute poopie out of the sound like the song has.

 

[socialleper]

I agree with the Boss HM2 or similar basic guitar distortion. Maybe an MXR distortion. Possibly even just a cheap guitar amp.
You have to remember that these guys had no money and not a lot of access to gear. One of Grind's fundamental guidelines is to make due with what you have. For them it is more about the playing than the equipment.

 

[moishelichtfuss]

Hijacking this thread, because as part of my "getting around to finally seeing bands that I for some reason never saw live"-series (which included the Melvins last years) I saw Napalm Death last night. While I wasn't close enough to see the stage floor and/or pedals (place was sold out, too) I simply wanted to mention that this is just an unbelievably awesome band to see live. They totally killed it and Barney's stage-banter is enchantingly British. Still blown away.

 

[Skybone]

You have to remember that these guys had no money and not a lot of access to gear. One of Grind's fundamental guidelines is to make due with what you have. For them it is more about the playing than the equipment.

Nail on the head.

The whole "scene" came about because of the disillusionment of youth. Because of recession, because of high unemployment, because of the Conservative government, because of the general feeling of an unjust society not only in the UK, but around the world. No one had any money (unless you were a Yuppie), you used what you could get, and usually, what you could get was cheap and cheerful, not necessarily well made and great sounding!

 

[ole Jason]

I would never dissuade someone from using the HM2 but that isn't what is being used on Scum IMO.

 

[Veldar]

I would never dissuade someone from using the HM2 but that isn't what is being used on Scum IMO.

The HM-2 has a very present attack in the sound right? I had one a couple of years ago.

 

[aldaa]

The HM-2 has a very present attack in the sound right? I had one a couple of years ago.

I've never tried one on bass, but the controls are centered around 100hz and 1000hz. It's as soon as you crank the high past 8 or 9 that the tone gets into buzzsaw territory.

 

[ole Jason]

The HM-2 has a very present attack in the sound right? I had one a couple of years ago.

Yep it does, its a super distinctive sound

 

[aldaa]

Here's a quick and dirty pedal shootout I just did with the pedals I have.

Bass is a starter pack Ibanez GSR 190 from early 2000s with J in the bridge and P in the neck. La Bella DTB Flatwounds, only using the J pickup. This is going straight into my Behringer UMC404HD, recorded into Reaper. No compression, eq, etc.

Note on the Rat - I had the level a bit too high.

The takes are in pairs. First is DI, second is with VSTs applied. The settings for the pedals and VST are shown below. The cabinet impulse is supposed to emulate an Ampeg 8x10 mic'd with a Sennheiser E602 (it sounded the best out of all the ones I had) I can send the impulse if you'd like.

The clip goes like this:

1. DI clean
2. VST clean
3. 1983 MIJ Boss DS-1 DI
4. DS-1 + VST
5. Joyo Ultimate Drive DI
6. Ultimate Drive + VST
7. Behringer Super Fuzz - Fuzz 1 DI
8. Super Fuzz - Fuzz 1 + VST
9. Super Fuzz - Fuzz 2 DI
10. Super Fuzz - Fuzz 2 + VST
11. Current production ProCo Rat DI
12. ProCo Rat + VST

Hope this is helpful!

 

[scuzzy]

I use a modded danelectro fab-tone and it will get you that. Very compressed and well into buzz saw distortion that you can control the amount of raunch and treble/fizz. They are dirt cheap. I can link a thread with the mods I did, if you are interested.

 

[beer&bass]

I know it's not the bass tone on 'Scum', but in more recent years, Shane talks about using the SansAmp GT2 for his grind. As he stated in this interview.

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