What's the key to getting this Low E punchy sound?

[lastminute]

I feel like I often have trouble getting that punchy Low E string bass sound on all my basses: Precision, Jazz, Stingray. Since it goes across the different basses, I'm wondering if it's an EQing thing, a technique thing, strings, or something else. The video above is my ideal Low E tone...look at all those riffs on frets 0 through 5. Clear and punchy but still bringing the low end.

I have an Helix LT, so I can choose whatever I'd like amp/cab/mic wise. I play through headphones at home, and through a PA, be it at practice or gigs or church. So assuming I have all those factors at my fingertips, what amp/cab setting should I pick, how should I EQ. And are there strings that can get me that punchy Low E sound?

 

[C Stone]

So much of it is technique, your attack.
Low mids…slight bass roll off, clean lo-midrange frequencies, I also play more towards the bridge and try to keep a good tight right hand, I try to focus on deliberate playin and mutes, that’s what works for me. Hope you figure it out. GL

 

[wolffire99]

The placement of his right hand and how he’s plucking the string is probably most of it.

 

[lowendblues]

This might sound crazy, but I think the E string almost always sounds better on a 5 string bass than on a 4 string.

 

[SuperTheBass]

This might sound crazy, but I think the E string almost always sounds better on a 5 string bass than on a 4 string.

Not crazy. Probably your finger hitting the B string on the follow through adding an extra muted sound to your attack

 

[mongo2]

I find if I get some fingertip meat under the string and pluck rather than just brush the E string I get a punchier tone no matter where I pluck along the string.

 

[Dynomuttasaurus]

Ok, so I know the above on technique are all correct, and equipment matters less...but it does still matter. As soon as I saw the clip, that's an MTD Super. Out of the dozen basses that I own, my MTD Super 4 is the most naturally punchy/clean if played in single coil mode.

 

[Ian774]

Not crazy. Probably your finger hitting the B string on the follow through adding an extra muted sound to your attack

there’s something that I’ve noticed too, E strings on 5ers always sound different than on a 4. Not a technique or attach thing, just a… thing. Could be physics, the bigger neck, etc….

 

[Killing Floor]

P Bass with flats, sunburst, tort, high action. The way I heard it O’Brien couldn’t get Commerford mixed through so he asked him to redo the entire Evil Empire sessions with the banana’d P they had in a closet. Weezer also recorded a few miscellaneous songs at Cole Rehearsal so Mikey had to use the same bass.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I feel like I often have trouble getting that punchy Low E string bass sound on all my basses: Precision, Jazz, Stingray. Since it goes across the different basses, I'm wondering if it's an EQing thing, a technique thing, strings, or something else. The video above is my ideal Low E tone...look at all those riffs on frets 0 through 5. Clear and punchy but still bringing the low end.

I have an Helix LT, so I can choose whatever I'd like amp/cab/mic wise. I play through headphones at home, and through a PA, be it at practice or gigs or church. So assuming I have all those factors at my fingertips, what amp/cab setting should I pick, how should I EQ. And are there strings that can get me that punchy Low E sound?

I have trouble getting “punch” out of ear buds or head phones as well. IMO, to get punch, I need need speakers.

 

[Gervais Cote]

Low E punch : For me, this means a precision bass with some Seymour Duncan Steve Harris pickups and a set of Fender flat strings.
My drummer asked me to turn down my amp for the first time when I used this setup.

 

[FugaziBomb]

The bass in this clip doesn't sound "punchy" at all to me. All I hear is growl and fret grind. Maybe I don't understand what "punchy" is, but I've always understood it to be around 100hz, like the upper end of "low end" and I didn't head much of that in the video.

If I was gonna chase the tone I was hearing, I'd probably focus on the "voice" frequencies of bass guitar. Maybe try to highlight something around 800hz - 2k? That's just theory, though. Without sitting in front of an EQ and working it out, it's hard to say.

 

[Five or Six]

In your video you are right next to the bridge. Try moving you hand toward the neck a touch and see if anything changes? There is so much that comes into this. Technique, strings( I run 45- 130s never an issue on any 5) , E.Q., pickup height, etc: Your attack playing through headphones is different than it would be just playing through an amp. There is a bunch to consider here. Start with one thing at a time and see if it changes. My guess, it will. Good luck.

 

[Pyrrho Epoche]

Maple fretboard, preferably lacquered over, stainless steel strings, compressors, use a thicker pick, tubey overdrive pedals, amp sims, roll your tone knob down, tweak your amp settings---turn your treble and mids down.

 

[IPA]

P Bass with flats, sunburst, tort, high action. The way I heard it O’Brien couldn’t get Commerford mixed through so he asked him to redo the entire Evil Empire sessions with the banana’d P they had in a closet. Weezer also recorded a few miscellaneous songs at Cole Rehearsal so Mikey had to use the same bass.

Where did you hear this?

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Try playing “down” on the strings not “across”. I play down, you may notice a little fret buzz because of the direction of the movement of the string.

 

[hooky_marr]

One thing that may be contributing to the perception of punch here is that the bass is locked to the kick drum, and we may be hearing a bit of bass from the original track in the background. Double-tracking thickens up the sound. It’s common practice to split the input so you have a dry track plus an effected / EQed track and blend it in the mix. Compression can also thicken it a bit (though you want to keep some dynamic range in there).

If you want to get that kind of sound live, you might try something like a TC Electronic Mimiq doubler pedal, maybe an octaver for a hint of sub-bass. Maybe a pedalboard with an a/b splitter, separate FX chains for dry/wet and a biamp or dual amp setup.

 

[Michael Hunter]

This might sound crazy, but I think the E string almost always sounds better on a 5 string bass than on a 4 string.

That's interesting. I find it's almost always the opposite. I've rarely played a 5 that I thought had an E string that was as solid as a comparable 4.

 

[Killing Floor]

Where did you hear this?

TalkBass

 

[BGroovy]

One thing that may be contributing to the perception of punch here is that the bass is locked to the kick drum, and we may be hearing a bit of bass from the original track in the background. Double-tracking thickens up the sound. It’s common practice to split the input so you have a dry track plus an effected / EQed track and blend it in the mix. Compression can also thicken it a bit (though you want to keep some dynamic range in there).

If you want to get that kind of sound live, you might try something like a TC Electronic Mimiq doubler pedal, maybe an octaver for a hint of sub-bass. Maybe a pedalboard with an a/b splitter, separate FX chains for dry/wet and a biamp or dual amp setup.

Was gonna say this. The best “punch” comes when those low notes lock perfectly with the kick drum and the frequencies mesh directly into your chest.