Passive bass pickups with active EQ--underrated setup?

I've never tried a drum transient shaper on bass but I may to see how it goes. I prefer sharpening the pick attacks to adding grit.
 
Inflames626 said:
The harder I play bass the more inconsistent the dynamics become because the upstrokes have to be a lot harder to produce consistent tone. It sounds like Rex has almost a flutter effect going and I prefer that because it's consistent.

I tend to dig into guitar pretty hard for Paul Gilbert esque precision, but bass I don't really mind some blurring. I usually have to compress it quite a bit anyway to get it even.

Not a fan of the clank unless it's a hardcore/nu metal tune. There will be some grit needed on the pick attack to cut through but generally I see metal guys using way more grit than I would use. I like the grit left to the guitars, the click left to the kick, and the warmth left to the bass.

Euge Valovirta has some really good production videos. One is on bass here. I commented in the comment section.

I like a passive PJ sound these days more than an active dual soapbar click.

Still, even Euge has a little more Lemmy in that tone than what I would use and that's a pretty tame tone for clank bass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfs1gpBwVM4&lc=Ugx6f_8wz7VCkruhOzh4AaABAg. 9wZ2biLYZ209wZhXrhyNpZ
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That's not klank-city, and it's a bit darker than I prefer, but it does have a lot of grit going on. Thought you didn't like distortion on bass? I don't really dislike that tone, TBH.

Kohle also had a nice video regarding bass tones where he got some interesting tones. "Better" than Euge's, IMO. As much as Euge's a nice player, I think Kohle's mixes are way better.


Looks like he's going for a massive scoop as well. For me, that tone sounds MUCH more polished and well-produced.
 
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Leon Todd covers a lot of rackmounted units from the 80s and 90s that were used when I was in high school. Really nice channel for what would now be considered vintage gear.
 
I had a SansAmp as well at some point. The key to those is that you can actually blend some OD with the clean tone. Otherwise, they just sound like a colored DI-box with an analog cab-sim.

The thing about emphasizing the clank without any distortion is you're left with a bass tone whose waveform pretty much looks like a drum, LOL. Even those funk slap tones are compressed to hell and back.

You don't have to overdo the distortion, man. Just trust me. Add just a hint and just blend it in behind the clean tone. You'd be surprised to hear how good it sounds without actually sounding like Lemmy.


Plenty of overdriven grit on these tones.
 
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Don’t forget, a little band-passed chorus goes a long way. That’s an old Andy Wallace trick and sounds amazing on those bell-like piano sounding basses I love so much. Tire me by RATM or An Evening With El Diablo by Chevelle, amazing bass sounds.

The most critical thing a bassist must do is mute the notes he’s not playing. I’m sick of having to hi-pass individual notes because a dumb@ss client doesn’t realise he’s letting his low B string flop around.
 
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El Dunco said:
Don’t forget, a little band-passed chorus goes a long way. That’s an old Andy Wallace trick and sounds amazing on those bell-like piano sounding basses I love so much. Tire me by RATM or An Evening With El Diablo by Chevelle, amazing bass sounds.

The most critical thing a bassist must do is mute the notes he’s not playing. I’m sick of having to hi-pass individual notes because a dumb@ss client doesn’t realise he’s letting his low B string flop around.
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A good reason I don't often track 4 strings on a 5--it's in order to avoid resonances that trigger the 5th string, even if only slightly.
 
Rex_Rocker said:
I had a SansAmp as well at some point. The key to those is that you can actually blend some OD with the clean tone. Otherwise, they just sound like a colored DI-box with an analog cab-sim.

The thing about emphasizing the clank without any distortion is you're left with a bass tone whose waveform pretty much looks like a drum, LOL. Even those funk slap tones are compressed to hell and back.

You don't have to overdo the distortion, man. Just trust me. Add just a hint and just blend it in behind the clean tone. You'd be surprised to hear how good it sounds without actually sounding like Lemmy.


Plenty of overdriven grit on these tones.
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I definitely dig the Powerslave tone around 25:00, which also seems to be the cleanest.
 
A little bit of the right distortion on bass in a metal mix won't even sound like distortion to a casual listener, it'll just make the bass feel more present and defined.

Count me as another bass player who prefers the sound and feel of a pick when I'm playing metal. I'll go without for a smoother sound when it's called for but I'm all for a pick in most circumstances.

Pick attack on my basses sounded more natural and defined once I got rid of the stock preamps and went with a dual-volume setup.
 
Inflames626 said:
I definitely dig the Powerslave tone around 25:00, which also seems to be the cleanest.
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Yeah, but not 100% clean either.

I dig his tones for the most part, surprisingly. I thought I wouldn't dig the tones from a P-Bass with flatwounds being played fingerstyle, but I kinda do. Sounds like he plays super aggressively too, which I dig. Surprisingly bright too. I'm not sure I dig how the 3-finger gallops sound on some parts, but I mean. It's fucking Iron Maiden. Hard to argue with that.
 
The grit I'm hearing sounds like nails on the string.

His later tones on Wicker Man are a lot brighter, IMO.

Kind of funny that he has one of the most up front bass tones in metal but uses a string type that is the opposite of the sound he's going after.

The flatwounds might be for comfort as well. I'm wondering if they're easier to play with fingers. I've never tried any.
 
NegativeEase said:
Quarter Pounders and yer done!
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I wish I could agree. Wayyy too bass heavy and overwound for me. I much prefer the 62 Fender Originals. I didn't think I'd like vintage wound pickups for metal but they are so much brighter and clearer. Just boost them through the amp.

If I were to market QP'ers I'd say they're best for rap and hip hop. Super bass heavy, dark, and thick sounding. Like Invaders for bass.
 
Inflames626 said:
I wish I could agree. Wayyy too bass heavy and overwound for me. I much prefer the 62 Fender Originals. I didn't think I'd like vintage wound pickups for metal but they are so much brighter and clearer. Just boost them through the amp.

If I were to market QP'ers I'd say they're best for rap and hip hop. Super bass heavy, dark, and thick sounding. Like Invaders for bass.
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I like them compressed with mid lows boosted and lows rolled slightly.
 
Low mids to me are the enemy of anything tone-related, LOL. Especially if you're playing a P-Bass and an Ampeg head., Low mid overload!

JMO, of course.
 
Inflames626 said:
Gene Simmons, perhaps?
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Well, his bass tone fit his band at the time.

But it's not really Metal.

I'm just totally anti low-mids, but that's kind of an oxymoron as well because I like Recto cabs and Recto and 5150 heads, hahaha. 99% of the time, I end up dialing down some 300-500 Hz in almost every Metal guitar sound that I do. As soon as you do, everything just sounds so much bigger, clearer, broader, just overall better. However, go too far, and any sense of chunk disappears from the guitars.

And well, you know my approach to mixing bass. My bass tones have a huge void in the low mids as well.
 
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Rex_Rocker said:
Well, his bass tone fit his band at the time.

But it's not really Metal.

I'm just totally anti low-mids, but that's kind of an oxymoron as well because I like Recto cabs and Recto and 5150 heads, hahaha. 99% of the time, I end up dialing down some 300-500 Hz in almost every Metal guitar sound that I do. As soon as you do, everything just sounds so much bigger, clearer, broader, just overall better. However, go too far, and any sense of chunk disappears from the guitars.

And well, you know my approach to mixing bass. My bass tones have a huge void in the low mids as well.
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For me around 400hz is usually the first to go for any instrument. If anything gets it it is after cuts to create some glue in the mix.
 
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