Tobiasthegiant Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 Going back through my musical library now I notice the bass more thanks to bass playing, and this has a phenomenal bass sound to it, any ideas how to achieve something close to it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8jdyIcHDJw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Anything like this I expect to see an ebs rig in the shadows during live shows! Which is odd as ebs _freak once told me that in the states they were marketed and seen as a modern r and b rig yet in their homeland and mainland europe most people see them as a metal bands go too rig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobiasthegiant Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1356653588' post='1912189'] Anything like this I expect to see an ebs rig in the shadows during live shows! Which is odd as ebs _freak once told me that in the states they were marketed and seen as a modern r and b rig yet in their homeland and mainland europe most people see them as a metal bands go too rig [/quote] Cool, thats the amp side sorted, any ideas about basses? Sounds almost flatwound/foam muteish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I will have a listen tomorrow but your go to is normally some kind of super jazz for these things, Alleva, Sadowsky, Lakland, GB or even a good old Fender! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Many R&B/Hip Hop bass players at the time (this was recorded in the mid 90's) seem to have been into Ken Smith basses and a good number played Eden amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Chris_b is right although Smiths have been gradually usurped by Tobias. Perhaps because the Tobys have a bit more mid range. But the track sounds like it might have a jazz of some kind on it. Difficult to tell though because the bass is so low in the mix. Definitely doesn't sound like a Smith or an Alembic, whatever it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 My poor old ears tell me that a great deal of the tone here comes from, not the bass, but the combination of the bass and bass drum. Change the bass a bit; 'twill still work, but change the bass drum and you're out on a limb. Not sayin' it's no good or anything, but I just don't hear this (nor indeed many in this vein...) as being 'simply' a question of bass (or amp...). The drums are an integral part of it, imho. Now then, is that a Ludwig kit..? Sonor..? Yamaha..? Gretsch..? The bets are on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1356665905' post='1912254'] ....although Smiths have been gradually usurped by Tobias.... [/quote] There is a live version on YouTube and, from a distance, the bass player looks like he could be playing a Tobias. A 5 string Stingray might be a good stab at a reasonably priced bass which can get close to this tone. Edited December 28, 2012 by chris_b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 The lows are loveley aren't they?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 IMO, there is nothing inherrently shaped about the bass sound, it could be anything in the studio. There is nothing in the sound that says it is typical Smith or MM.... altho it may well be... but it could just as easily be a jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lastnotleast Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1356666548' post='1912256'] My poor old ears tell me that a great deal of the tone here comes from, not the bass, but the combination of the bass and bass drum. Change the bass a bit; 'twill still work, but change the bass drum and you're out on a limb. Not sayin' it's no good or anything, but I just don't hear this (nor indeed many in this vein...) as being 'simply' a question of bass (or amp...). The drums are an integral part of it, imho. Now then, is that a Ludwig kit..? Sonor..? Yamaha..? Gretsch..? The bets are on... [/quote] Precisely! You younguns need to go back a bit farther to the '60's and the MoTown Sound to more fully understand what is happening here. James Jamerson stuck a piece of foam rubber under his strings at the bridge to control the ring of the open strings he was not playing at the moment. These sympathetic tones can be controlled with proper left hand technique but it is my theory that Jamerson was always so drunk, he needed the foam in the studio. Gibson marketed basses for a while with an ugly slider to engage a foam mute. Reminds me of the Coke bottle in the movie [i]The Gods Must Be Crazy[/i]. The MoTown Sound was a watershed culmination of jazz, gospel and pop. Muscle Shoals was next to carry on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobiasthegiant Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 [quote name='lastnotleast' timestamp='1356696894' post='1912492'] Precisely! You younguns need to go back a bit farther to the '60's and the MoTown Sound to more fully understand what is happening here. James Jamerson stuck a piece of foam rubber under his strings at the bridge to control the ring of the open strings he was not playing at the moment. These sympathetic tones can be controlled with proper left hand technique but it is my theory that Jamerson was always so drunk, he needed the foam in the studio. Gibson marketed basses for a while with an ugly slider to engage a foam mute. Reminds me of the Coke bottle in the movie [i]The Gods Must Be Crazy[/i]. The MoTown Sound was a watershed culmination of jazz, gospel and pop. Muscle Shoals was next to carry on. [/quote] Time to delve into some music history me thinks! Now to find a decent drummer to help me with this haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chardbass Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Sounds like it's palm muted to me- a well played and well produced bass pretty high in the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I seem to remember US soul/R&B guys always playing Eden or SWR and always through a matching 4x10. Could just be that this is what they specified in their tour rider when they came to the UK as it would have been fairly easy to find and been a 'known quantity' for them. Definitely super-jazz territory as well. First time I saw Sadowsky's live on stage was around this era with some of the great US session guys on tour with 'big name' artists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 A whole host of modern hi tech hifi style basses will give you some approximation of this kind of sound . Something easily accessible like a decent Warwick would do fine if you wanted an affordable way to emulate this kind of tone . It sounds like a five string on the original track , and the extended range of a fiver is pretty much mandatory in modern RnB and neo- soul music nowadays . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Let's not forget that this song is 16 years old so not that 'modern' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 [quote name='molan' timestamp='1356719113' post='1912939'] Let's not forget that this song is 16 years old so not that 'modern' [/quote] 16 years ago is still modern to me ! I have got shirts and underwear older than that ( no , really I have ) , and lets face it , not much has changed in that time - the Spice Girls are still crap and we have got a Conservative government . Paradoxically , the "modern " sound has been a bit old fashioned for a while now . To be contemporary nowadays you would probably favour a vintage Precisuion with flats on , or similar retro chic . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.