SlapbassSteve Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Finally got pretty much the sound in my head into ProTools, surprisingly with a lowly Squier Standard Jazz bass... I've owned all manner of expensive basses over the years and oddly enough this cheapo jazz with some MIM pickups has the best sound of any I've tried -that or my technique's suddenly got a lot better. Either way I've just saved myself a fortune on some of the expensive boutique basses I'd been eyeing up lately. For your consideration, a botched playalong to a MIDI backing track of YYZ (chosen as to my ear the tone sounds a little bit Geddy-ish)- [url="https://soundcloud.com/steveleggett/yyz-midi-backing-track-live"]https://soundcloud.com/steveleggett/yyz-midi-backing-track-live[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Mighty fine playing that is! [size=4] [/size] [size=4]I've just had the same experience. I had a tone in my head I wanted to achieve from a bass. None of my expensive basses could quite catch it. Came across and ESP B-204 fretless on Ebay and that has nailed it for £159. These days I don't think you need to spend thousands to get a good bass. Is that going to stop me doing just that...[/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlapbassSteve Posted May 17, 2013 Author Share Posted May 17, 2013 Thanks! As you say though, I'm not sure whether having had a great bass for £150 will stop me eventually trying a vintage Fender when funds allow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 Love the tone!! Plenty of low mids and top end. Sounds great - very clean and punchy. Impressive playing too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 thats a great tone, really like that. I play a cheapo VM Squier jazz and it's surprisingly versatile with tones but i think i'll be looking to emulate this tone for one or two tracks. Any pointers in settings?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlapbassSteve Posted May 21, 2013 Author Share Posted May 21, 2013 Cheers folks! [quote name='dazza14' timestamp='1369125924' post='2085017'] thats a great tone, really like that. I play a cheapo VM Squier jazz and it's surprisingly versatile with tones but i think i'll be looking to emulate this tone for one or two tracks. Any pointers in settings?? [/quote] VM jazzes have great pickups, used to get very close to this sound with my old one. Main pointers are pickups set high, a brand new set of Roto Swing bass strings set low, and most importantly a really aggressive finger attack. I was running it through a fair bit of compression and a SansAmp SVT emulator(use this or something similar to add 'grit' and a hint of distortion. EQ wise I kept the amp settings flat and removed the extreme lows and highs so as not to interfere with the kick drum or cymbals. Hope this helps, let me know if I can be any more use! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 [quote name='SlapbassSteve' timestamp='1369129614' post='2085072'] Cheers folks! No, no thats really good, thanks a lot. It never ceases to amaze me how generous bass players are with advice and assistance, a guitar-playing friend of mine used to go on a guitar forum and it was really catty and bitchy, i suppose it just shows how cool us bass players are eh?! I tend to play a lot of different styles, depending on song, so i switch from reggae to punk by tuning up the guitar tone knob and using my finger nail above the bridge p/up, this gives me a brighter, sharper sound without having to fiddle with my amp settings. I think people forget how the sound differs by where you place your 'playing' hand, for the reggae stuff i'm between the neck p/up and 20th fret using finger style with the tone off, gives me a rounder bassey sound. I'll fiddle with the amp settings later from scratch and see what i find. Thanks again. VM jazzes have great pickups, used to get very close to this sound with my old one. Main pointers are pickups set high, a brand new set of Roto Swing bass strings set low, and most importantly a really aggressive finger attack. I was running it through a fair bit of compression and a SansAmp SVT emulator(use this or something similar to add 'grit' and a hint of distortion. EQ wise I kept the amp settings flat and removed the extreme lows and highs so as not to interfere with the kick drum or cymbals. Hope this helps, let me know if I can be any more use! [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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