Recorded classic rock bass
- Thread starter Tom M
- Start date
Matt Blackett
New member
Re: Recorded classic rock bass
Here's my take--it's not the speakers or the tube heads, although those certainly contribute to the tone you're looking for. What they're contributing is distortion--not so much that it gets super fuzzy, just enough to warm it up. I've gotten great results with a SansAmp Bass Driver. You set the EQ and then dial in a touch of gain. That takes a skinny tone and makes it really fat.
Another thing to keep in is that plenty of those classic bass tones were tracked with flatwounds. Flatwounds give you nothing but the fundamental, whereas bright roundwounds into a modern rig will emphasize a lot of harmonics.
Here's my take--it's not the speakers or the tube heads, although those certainly contribute to the tone you're looking for. What they're contributing is distortion--not so much that it gets super fuzzy, just enough to warm it up. I've gotten great results with a SansAmp Bass Driver. You set the EQ and then dial in a touch of gain. That takes a skinny tone and makes it really fat.
Another thing to keep in is that plenty of those classic bass tones were tracked with flatwounds. Flatwounds give you nothing but the fundamental, whereas bright roundwounds into a modern rig will emphasize a lot of harmonics.
cvansickle
New member
Re: Recorded classic rock bass
IMO, if you want to hear the best in rock bass, listen to Motown. You can tell that John Paul Jones certainly did, for one example.
IMO, if you want to hear the best in rock bass, listen to Motown. You can tell that John Paul Jones certainly did, for one example.
J Moose
New member
Re: Recorded classic rock bass
James Jamerson...John Paul Jones...Noel Redding...Duck Dunn...
All those cats were "bass players" bass players.
One half of a thing called a rhythm section.
They all played with their fingers & probably had 10+ years on the instrument before we heard them as we know them today...
James Jamerson...John Paul Jones...Noel Redding...Duck Dunn...
All those cats were "bass players" bass players.
One half of a thing called a rhythm section.
They all played with their fingers & probably had 10+ years on the instrument before we heard them as we know them today...
Snake Aces
Singlecut Slut
Re: Recorded classic rock bass
I played in a modern classic rock band for about a year. The band was Sonic Alchemy ( you can hear it at: www.myspace.com/sonicalchemyspace). My bass rig was a Music Man (believe it or not active) SUB X02 through a GK 1001RB head, that's it. I got that deep classic rock sounding bass no problem. Of course, I'm a reggae addict so I purposely set my EQ on the head for that sound. It all comes down to the preference of the bassist.
I think the biggest mistake most modern bass players make is boosting their mids too much and setting their highs really HIGH. Most people try to get that funky slap sound (Flea-like) by setting their EQ that way. The truth is, if you have an active bass (which can boost the LOWS a lot cleaner/warmer than people think) and your slap has enough power, you don't need to have the highs above 12 o'clock. The mids do not need to be anywhere but below 12 o'clock. My bass was set almost full though. That's how I got my famous Minneapolis sound outta my rig. Full on peel the paint off the walls, but not too boomy that it's muddy. My sound rivals those of electronically produced/filtered hip hop bass.
It is possible, you just have to stop listening to everyone else trying to tell you how to get the "right" sound. Fact is, the right sound can only be found by you, the player.
I think the only thing that would make it even better is a compressor. I'm thinkin about checkin into the new Ashdown compression pedal.
I played in a modern classic rock band for about a year. The band was Sonic Alchemy ( you can hear it at: www.myspace.com/sonicalchemyspace). My bass rig was a Music Man (believe it or not active) SUB X02 through a GK 1001RB head, that's it. I got that deep classic rock sounding bass no problem. Of course, I'm a reggae addict so I purposely set my EQ on the head for that sound. It all comes down to the preference of the bassist.
I think the biggest mistake most modern bass players make is boosting their mids too much and setting their highs really HIGH. Most people try to get that funky slap sound (Flea-like) by setting their EQ that way. The truth is, if you have an active bass (which can boost the LOWS a lot cleaner/warmer than people think) and your slap has enough power, you don't need to have the highs above 12 o'clock. The mids do not need to be anywhere but below 12 o'clock. My bass was set almost full though. That's how I got my famous Minneapolis sound outta my rig. Full on peel the paint off the walls, but not too boomy that it's muddy. My sound rivals those of electronically produced/filtered hip hop bass.
It is possible, you just have to stop listening to everyone else trying to tell you how to get the "right" sound. Fact is, the right sound can only be found by you, the player.
I think the only thing that would make it even better is a compressor. I'm thinkin about checkin into the new Ashdown compression pedal.
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