bass tone flow chart

Hey Ermz,
I haven't forgotten about the files, I just haven't had a chance to listen to them on monitors (just lappy speakers). My initial thought would be you are losing top end snap from the neck through though and gaining low mid stuff from the stringers. I'll try to confirm though.
 
Ermz said:
Instead of trying to articulate it in words, I've just uploaded some DI examples for you here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/285689/Forum/Ibanez vs NJ Beast.rar (link up 30 mins from when this post went up)

Two clips of the BTB, one raw and one with slight EQ and comp on the way in. A third clip of the NJ Beast with a touch of EQ and comp on the way in. Basically I want to get closer to the Beast sound. The difference in fidelity is immense, I'm sure you'll agree. The two processed clips of both basses are played by the same bassist.
Click to expand...

Fret buzz on every fucking note. wtf man.
 
AudioGeekZine said:
Fret buzz on every fucking note. wtf man.
Click to expand...

I reckon it sounds great in the mix.
as a bassist, I can't srtand fret buzz on it's own, makes me think someone can't play.
however, with that level of intensity the bass was played in ermz's clips, you can't avoid it and it's not like the player didn't know how to avoid fret buzz. it was called for in this situation I think.
furthermore, I found fret buzz very beneficial when distorting the bass.
 
It's not fretbuzz. It's the noise from the strings hitting the pickup due to the strong finger technique and loose string tension. Well there's also some serious fretbuzz there.

I personally find it fucking terrible when soloed. Feels like continuos funky slapping. In any case, it's the standar in metal since it helps the bass to be heard in the mix when you add distortion to the equation.

Concerning the clips, NJ Beast is by far the best one.
 
Sorry, but I'm fucking confused; What does the clank "klank" mean? You guys are talking about fretbuzz, but guy ^^^above is talking about string hitting the pickup. I have played with few cheap basses, which sound like fart when the strings hit the pickup. I have always thought that's the thing you never would like to do, so picking horizontally seriously sounds wrong to achieve the correct sound. :guh:


How about playing a clanky bass through pod? Then you could have clank + tact, so I think that's the Br000tz overdose. :yow:
 
The bass isn't hitting the pickups in any of those clips. That's a very distinctive and unpleasant sound, and you'd hear it quite prominently in the DI if it were the case.

What's happening in the finger clips is that he's 'bouncing' the string off the fretboard, by plucking toward it. On the pick clip (BTB705DX Raw) that's just the sound of someone violently raping a bass.
 
fret clank absolutely rules for styles from rock to metal.
take maiden or cannibal corpse. different fret clank sounds on both but you'd really miss it if it wasn't there.
 
Ermz said:
The bass isn't hitting the pickups in any of those clips. That's a very distinctive and unpleasant sound, and you'd hear it quite prominently in the DI if it were the case.

What's happening in the finger clips is that he's 'bouncing' the string off the fretboard, by plucking toward it. On the pick clip (BTB705DX Raw) that's just the sound of someone violently raping a bass.
Click to expand...

I believe this is more or less the technique explained in the legendary metal bass thread in talkbass forums, if anyone here hasn't read it you should, it's in the technique section I believe.
 
Rogueleader said:
I have an entirely maple bass and it is pretty awesome. 1991 Jackson Futura.
3-24-2011FuturaXL1.jpg


My first bass.. bought one in 1993 ish. great bass
Click to expand...
 
@ermz, I threw it up on my monitors and I've never heard a bass sound as scooped as the Beast straight out of the gate. Lots of actives get in the ballpark with some boost but that one is pretty extreme. I do however think the neck construction is contributing to what you don't like about your ibby (which doesn't sound bad).
One trick for picking out the right bass is to play it not plugged in. To get what you want it should be acoustically loud, mean sounding and super grindy. If there is much 200-800 not plugged it will be dominant through the pups. A lot of times I actually rest my chin on the upper horn of the bass while I play as IMO it gives a good impression of the instrument ignoring the electronics. After that you can toy with electronic combinations but there is no point if you can't hear it clacking from across the room.
 
My main point of contention at this stage is what sort of body to get. I'm set on getting a bolt-on neck, likely all maple, or maple with an ebony fretboard. The body however, I'm unsure. It's either going to be all maple, or alder with a maple laminate... Melb_shredder showed me a bass where the body was laminated in Ebony, and that seemed like an awesome idea too. Whatever helps it sounds as clean as the Beast right out of the gate is where I want to be.

Btw, the Beast ended up sounding like this:



The BTB ended up sounding like this:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa6Nlbf8sTo&feature=related[/ame]

Bit of a volume mismatch, but you get the point. The Beast lends itself to a more 'open' low-end, unsurprisingly, but the BTB maintains a pretty strong grit. I'm thinking Beast woods with DC40s should get me in the ballpark. The real question is what the best analogue to the 'throwaway' Chesswood BC Rich used is.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yeah sure...

J-bass:
Avalon U5 -> Avalon M5 -> Digidesign 192 a/d

P-bass:
Little Labs Redeye -> Audient asp008 (with Audient a/d conversion into digi002)

Cables were Elixir on both!
 
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