Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Who's sound were you aiming for?!
- Thread starter ilansgroove
- Start date
I was always after my own sound as opposed to making another players tone my own. I do take inspiration from other players that has contributed to my sound and approach. That said I spent a lot of time understanding other players tone, style and gear and can convincingly cop many players tone and style on my set up.
One of the reasons effects are important is when I solo my bass needs to step out and effects make it possible. Here Ralphe Armstrong, Chris Squire, Jaco and Alphonso Johnson were very influential.
One of the reasons effects are important is when I solo my bass needs to step out and effects make it possible. Here Ralphe Armstrong, Chris Squire, Jaco and Alphonso Johnson were very influential.
Last edited:
My fave bass players right now would probably be Vern Rumsey, James McNew and Kim Gordon, but I don't try to sound much like any of them.
When I was younger and first starting to put together a rig of sorts, I really wanted to play like Troy Sanders, Justin Chancellor and Liam Wilson, but I never really had the $$$ to pursue those sounds. With my current setup I think I'm kind of onto my own thing (two channel blend with BDDI on one channel and big muff / malekko assmaster on the other, all going into mooer reecho and holy grail max) and I dont know of any other artists with a setup like this (I'm sure there are) so I'm happy to have gotten onto what feels like my own thing.
When I was younger and first starting to put together a rig of sorts, I really wanted to play like Troy Sanders, Justin Chancellor and Liam Wilson, but I never really had the $$$ to pursue those sounds. With my current setup I think I'm kind of onto my own thing (two channel blend with BDDI on one channel and big muff / malekko assmaster on the other, all going into mooer reecho and holy grail max) and I dont know of any other artists with a setup like this (I'm sure there are) so I'm happy to have gotten onto what feels like my own thing.
Last edited:
Sound wise, i really love Justin Chancellor and Chris Wolstenholme. My setup isn't nearly as complex as that but i really respect how both of them have HUGE sounds. I basically run a sansamp BDDI and a Electro Harmonix bass Big Muff deluxe with a a volume boost pedal for the very few times i actually tap haha
The sound I aim for changes constantly. For the better part of the last year and a half, I was after a fat P bass tone with flats (Jamerson-Pino-Paul Simonon-George Murray-Roger Waters kinda thing). Then in April I got a new P bass and am going between a classic Entwistle-Geddy-wannabe with some grit and a standard-ish P bass with rounds sound.
Though I haven't tried any tapewounds yet, I've always loved the deep fuzzy dirty tone on David Essex's "Rock On" (courtesy of Herbie Flowers) and one day hope to nail that tone.
And then there's also the sound in my head that I've been chasing, part Kraftwerk, part NIN, part Chris Wolstenholme (from the few Muse songs I like), and a lot of popular pop music of today (Ellie Goulding, Lights, Lady Gaga's first album, Ed Sheeran (that song with the weird melody that's always on the radio), Marianas Trench and Tegan & Sara), which leads me on a neverending search for fuzz and synthy fuzzes.
Though I haven't tried any tapewounds yet, I've always loved the deep fuzzy dirty tone on David Essex's "Rock On" (courtesy of Herbie Flowers) and one day hope to nail that tone.
And then there's also the sound in my head that I've been chasing, part Kraftwerk, part NIN, part Chris Wolstenholme (from the few Muse songs I like), and a lot of popular pop music of today (Ellie Goulding, Lights, Lady Gaga's first album, Ed Sheeran (that song with the weird melody that's always on the radio), Marianas Trench and Tegan & Sara), which leads me on a neverending search for fuzz and synthy fuzzes.
With all due respect , everyone who began playing an instrument has fell in love with it at some point while hearing it played by other musicians....
I'm pretty sure that most of us don't try to imitate a known bass player... But we were all inspired by many great players and great sounds ....
The idea of this thread was to know what pedals ppl used to get to some famous sounds they either wanted to achieve or were inspired by .... It's funny how some say "I'm only inspired by me.... My own sound" , even the pedals we buy, it's because we heard that sound somewhere, and wanted to see what we could do with that sound....
I'm pretty sure that most of us don't try to imitate a known bass player... But we were all inspired by many great players and great sounds ....
The idea of this thread was to know what pedals ppl used to get to some famous sounds they either wanted to achieve or were inspired by .... It's funny how some say "I'm only inspired by me.... My own sound" , even the pedals we buy, it's because we heard that sound somewhere, and wanted to see what we could do with that sound....
You can get that sound with the vmt. I have one and I used it with the cover band that I'm currently in. we were playing no one knows by queens of the stone age and I used my vmt for that song. I would say you can get that overdriven bass sound with the vmt. so if you have the cash for it, I would recommend purchasing one.
Same here. I like using distortion on bass. I was influenced by bass players like lemmy kilmister of motorhead, peter steele of type o negative, and paige haley of orgy. those guys have a distorted bass sound and I wanted to use distortion on bass. so when I own a digitech bass driver(which I still have), I was able to have a heavy bass distortion sound. I also add some chorus to widen and thicken my sound much like zakk wylde. my brother's friend once said that my bass sounded like across between lemmy kilmister and peter steele. I can actually see that. ever since then, effects are a big part of my bass sound. I even use effects when I record my stuff.
Yeah, sort of got close with a Digitech Synth Wah (the guitar one), I think Zender was using a Digitech BP8 on the record.
kinda this but with the occasional jeff caxide chorus delay vibe and also some fuzzy chording. Also I play a jazz bass so it can only get so close to this exact tone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXv4zfD6ZcA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXv4zfD6ZcA
As others have previously stated, I aim for my own sound. I do listen to a lot of music and am surely influenced by what I listen to, but I never really think about trying to cop another bass player's sound.
