What equipment and technique for this sound

[JapFend32Scale]

Hi, just joined the forum. I'm not very experienced at playing but I know the kind of bass sound I like. It is the kind of bass sound featured in Stereolab's "Miss Modular":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSBrNttSVpI
A warm and full sound but with a soft click in the attack.
Can anyone tell me what equipment and technique would be most suitable for getting this kind of sound? Precision/jazz, flatwound/roundwound, plectrum/fingers, muting techniques, active/passive pickups, effects etc.
Thanks in advance!

 

[carlos840]

I think this is a pretty easy tone to get, you would get pretty close with a P or a J, playing with a pick with a bit of palm muting.

 

[AMJBASS]

A Precision bass with the tone rolled down will get you this tone pretty easily(flats can help if you want less sustain and a bit more bottom). It obviously will sound a bit different live than a recording. That is a pretty classic tone.

 

[JapFend32Scale]

Thanks guys. I find it difficult to palm mute consistently for an entire song. Would it sound the same if I got some foam rubber to put under the strings near the bridge, or is that a different sort of muted sound?

 

[carlos840]

It will sound different, a foam mute will have a constant push, constant sound, with your palm you can vary the pressure and have some notes more muted than others...
You know what they say! Just practice and you'll get it!

 

[tonybassboss]

Definitely p bass...great sound...

 

[Dbassmon]

Classic P bass tone. Yes, roll back the tone control.

 

[IronLung1986]

to me that doesn't sound much like a p bass. more like a rick.

regardless, according to the album credits it was an acoustic bass.

 

[One Drop]

I don't hear any palm muting, and it doesn't sound very P like to me either. They seem to be going for a particular vintage style tone that was popular on easy listening tracks of the '60s, though in the day they doubled the bass with a Dano or a guitar to get some click and definition.

I think you would need a very good rig or PA to get a tone like that live; it sounds a bit scooped without much in the way of mids, and a bit of bass boost to smooth out the tone, and some high mids boosted to accentuate the pick click.

Some studio tones are very difficult to get across live, and IMO this is one of them.

 

[daniva]

old treath but here is my advice..
a P bass o a J with the neck pickup only, a foam mute or some kind of material in the bridge, and play close to the neck with a pick(carol kaye style), now in the amp remove all the mid spectrum, only bass and treble, and if you use flatwounds strings you will get that tone easy

 

[Calexia13]

Who knows what they recorded it with, but I have seen Stereolab a lot in concert, highly recommended. For what its worth, the bass player (whose name I forget) has always used a jazz bass with flats.

 

[Element Zero]

An almost 9 year necrobump. Nice.

 

[JZQuantum]

An almost 9 year necrobump. Nice.

Almost made 10 years in hibernation. I wonder what is the record.