Getting THAT sound

[LITTLEWING]

I've never been a fan of stomp boxes for bass, I believe in the tone going in and out as natural as possible with my passive basses, but I keep thinking a little help may be needed to get 'that' tone with my Ashdown Mag EVO 2 300 and Ashdown Mag 8 x 10. I don't fancy spending a fortune on something I might not get on with, so any suggestions chaps? I may even have to concede in the end to an active bass. A great excuse to get my dream Musicman Stingray!!

[bobbass4k]

It depends what you mean by "That" tone? We probably all have different ideas of what "that" tone is, some song references would be helpful.

[xgsjx]

Like bobbass4k says, THAT tone is different for everyone.
My "THAT tone" just now requires a couple of moog pedals, some dirt & an octaver. But I'm starting an Acid Jazz/Breakbeat band, so this suits my needs perfectly.

[The Dark Lord]

[quote name='bobbass4k' timestamp='1356958305' post='1915552']
It depends what you mean by "That" tone? We probably all have different ideas of what "that" tone is, some song references would be helpful.
[/quote]

Yeah. You'll probably find you'll like lots of the THAT sounds available too. Start first with a bass that you like that has a good acoustic tone when unplugged and go from there.

[LITTLEWING]

Okay, what I'm after is close right now using the bass's tone control, a cross between Paladino when I want 'smooth' and Clayton when I want 'punch'. I may well be barking up the wrong tree in the fact that my 300 watts isn't doing it at volume, whereas 500 may give me what I'm after with more headroom.

[Jack]

I don't really think we're clear on what you're after still. As a wise and ancient Chinese philosopher once said: "THAT tone is a chorus, you must buy a chorus pedal, THAT tone is a wah, you must buy a wah."

[rmorris]

[quote name='LITTLEWING' timestamp='1356971945' post='1915858']
Okay, what I'm after is close right now using the bass's tone control, a cross between Paladino when I want 'smooth' and Clayton when I want 'punch'. I may well be barking up the wrong tree in the fact that my 300 watts isn't doing it at volume, whereas 500 may give me what I'm after with more headroom.
[/quote]

Are you micing up the amp setup to get the PA / FoH sound ?

[thisnameistaken]

You don't need any effects to sound like Pino Palladino (in current P-bass-swinging blues-rock mode anyway) or Adam Clayton.

[Delberthot]

you need a big bag of weed and some microwave burritos to get that sound

[Ancient Mariner]

If you can't get the sound with 300W then another 200W won't make any difference. Unless you're playing in a stadium.

[Lozz196]

If that`s a Jazz in your pic, although you may get close, getting a Pino sound - assuming it`s the one he gets from his Precision - won`t be easy. In the mix maybe, but soloed it`s likely you`ll always be thinking that something is lacking - and it is, a Precision pickup. The Adam Clayton sound should be easier to obtain, especially as - I think - he uses both a Jazz and Ashdown amps.

[SimonEdward]

[quote name='LITTLEWING' timestamp='1356958128' post='1915545']
I've never been a fan of stomp boxes for bass, I believe in the tone going in and out as natural as possible with my passive basses, but I keep thinking a little help may be needed to get 'that' tone with my Ashdown Mag EVO 2 300 and Ashdown Mag 8 x 10. I don't fancy spending a fortune on something I might not get on with, so any suggestions chaps? I may even have to concede in the end to an active bass. A great excuse to get my dream Musicman Stingray!!
[/quote]

Hi!
Agree with much of everything above..
I used to think that getting THAT tone (instead of 'MY' tone) was down to some 'effect' or type of 'Bass'... but over the years' I've found these things to be pretty essential no matter what bass you play or amp you play through: -

- certain types of string suit different basses - try lots - your ears will help you;
- a decent parametric or graphic equalizer (if you can save your settings that's a bonus); mine is near the front of my chain;
- a lovely valve pre-amp to warm things up;
- MAYBE a good sound engineer at FOH or in the studio who knows how to use a compressor to help you cut through everyone else in the mix... although they might thank you if you've got a good sound already with your compressor; I use mine almost last in the chain,, good luck!!