MacDaddy Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I know ultimately it's about using my ears, but i need a ballpark to work from (so to speak) So what do I need for a good tapping sound on bass (Billy Sheehan, Van Halen type tapping) ? Boosts in the mids or trebles? Compression? If so what settings? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 (edited) It depends what kind of tapping you want. If you plan on playing the tapping where your still playing the bass notes with one hand whilst tapping out the melody with the other then i would probably suggest your normal settings normally with a little boost in treble, especially if your tapping is partly percussion aswel. Compression wont hurt either, but i dont personally use it.... Billy sheehan style isnt really my thing either, but i would guess a bit of delay and reverb will help! Im sure there are all sorts of different opinions on this mind. It is as personal as "what makes a good tone" Have a mess around with it. Edited June 25, 2015 by FuNkShUi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 It's things like this , when a cheap multi fx is probably the better way to go . Something like a zoom b21u. I have a rudy sarzo hit licks video. He never mentioned his sound , (don't think he did) the video is dominated by chorus . As for billy ; in his first video . His solo is just a wall of noise IMHO . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AttitudeCastle Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Compression is really the only thing you need! Depending what you're doing, some reverb/delay/chorus for taste. Distortion is another one to mess with too if that's your thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauBass Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Compression, to even out the notes a bit, and a touch of chorus, to add a bit of depth, work great!...at least for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Edwards69 Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 For Sheehan esque tapping, aim for a 'flat' eq, (or a modest bump in the mids around 1k), some aggressive compression and a little overdrive to add grit and let harmonics leap out - a tube screamer type drive is adequate for this. Remember, Billy has a fairly complex signal path - two channels, one clean and deep providing low end, and one heavily squashed, overdriven and mid-rangey. You may find trying to dial in a tone that emulates his mid-range tapping sound won't sit in the mix when playing finger style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted July 12, 2015 Author Share Posted July 12, 2015 Ta! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Billy was my biggest inspiration growing up. The only thing you need to do for tapping is to make sure you don't scoop the mids. You don't need any fx or compression, but if using any, I would say a bit of dirt is all that's needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painy Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 (edited) I just got a new overdrive pedal (EHX Soul Food) which I tried out on Saturday and there is a short tapping section in one of the songs we play. That part stood out clearly in a way it has never done before so I'd say it worked. Bear in mind this is a drive pedal with a blend between the clean signal and the driven signal which lets you roughly approximate the way Billy's signal path works. Edited July 20, 2015 by Painy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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