"secret weapon" thread?

[GTBASS]

Has anyone ever suggested this? If not let's do it!!!
Reply and post your favorite "secret weapon" in your bass setup or technique, whether it be an effect/combination or way you play that kills every time--how about it?

 

[SpankyPants]

Wouldn't that make it a Overt-Weapon?

As it is, I don't think I have any one *-weapon. Every song calls for something different, and I sculpt the sound accordingly.

 

[tumpinjahosafat]

I feel like I'm spiraling downward into a black hole of irony. Doesn't this thread defeat the purpose? This thread cancels its existence

 

[SpankyPants]

How nihilistically existential!

 

[tumpinjahosafat]

ALL I SEE IS DARKNESS!

 

[Oreomeister365]

blender.

No one I know gives a hoot about things like a stereo sound or..anything...or...yeah. Stereo sound through 1 amp can make your tone so much fuller at a reasonable price. Most bassists my age don't seem to care about tone except OMG I CAN SLAP!!!

 

[bongomania]

I'm spiraling inward existentially as though caught in a blender! Which is in fact my secret weapon too!

Here's my latest "no-one will ever find out how I got this killer tone": I turn up the lows on my bass and run the world's crappiest compressor (which only passes tattered mids and highs) through the blender, and flip the phase. The recombined sound is massive.

 

[tumpinjahosafat]

SUPER SECRET WEAPON OF DEATH:

Turn off the amp and play really f'n hard

^^Great way to get hardcore chicks

 

[neurotictim]

I use double-stops as often as possible, when playing live, to fatten up the sound. I'm probably the only one that notices...

 

[bassman314]

Practicing? *L*

 

[Hookus]

Overdriven 1972 V-4.

 

[kringle77]

Only a few of you live near me so, my dirty secret probably won't show up at any local clubs. I try to play octaves as much as possible. Not back and forth between the two like a slap line though. I will play the regular bass line and try to keep some sort of octave or other pitch ringing over top of it during choruses or guitar solos. It takes the place of a rythm guitarist in my 3 piece band. It works. Lets say that Im playing something muted and bouncy on the E string, 7th fret. I'll play my line in that position but try to keep the 9th fret, D string held down and ringing over top of the lower bass line. For those of you who are thinking it, Im not talking about pedal tones! Sometimes I'll hold a fifth, fourth, etc. Although I didn't get it from him, I noticed that Billy Sheehan does it alot. It gives you a bigger wall of sound. I do it so automatically now that I don't even realize it until I hear another band cover the same song and think to myself that something sounds very empty here! Time to get a rythm player guys!

 

[JanusZarate]

My secret weapon clips, cuts, punches, drowns, and burns things simultaneously. And it's true bypass.

 

[Ryan Mohr]

My secret weapon clips, cuts, punches, drowns, and burns things simultaneously. And it's true bypass.

Could it be the blowtorch?

 

[kringle77]

Ooops! I now realize that we are talking about effects here! Ok. I love my Boss LMB3 and Voodo Labs Sparkle Overdrive pedals that I have built into a rackmount. It is used in every setup that I put together and that along with my Attitude basses gives me 90% of my tone. That combo makes every rig growl, punch and fill out a band without the need for another wimpy Guitar player. That with the octave trick is a major part of my style and sound.

 

[Basshole]

Although I didn't get it from him, I noticed that Billy Sheehan does it alot.

So does Jimmy Johnson. Check him out.

 

[Basshole]

BTW: My secret weapon is the Hofner Shorty. Played in anger, it's positively dangerous.

 

[JanusZarate]

Could it be the blowtorch?

Actually, it's this:

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[OhThePeacock]

...And this thread delivers.

 

[Ryan Mohr]

Actually, it's this:

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My mistake