Wombats bass tone....a Stingray, a Jazz?...no, a P bass.

[iconic]

I always thought the 'uber crunchy' bass on this song was possibly a Stingray with oodles of mid boost and some bass cut, or maybe a Jazz on solo rear pup, treble up with brand new bright strings on a hard played pick, and then I read Tord Overland Knudsen uses a P bass.

Now I've had a fair few P's but never got close to a sound like this.

Time for me to go back to basics and revisit Leo's original I think?

Studio:
http://youtu.be/ZTEN359V8pI


Live:
http://youtu.be/2U4KSoPkwoY

[wateroftyne]

That's yer classic P-with-rounds tone, that.

[Rumple]

Before seeing the video I would have said it sounds a bit like a Rick to me but I'd have been way off track

[stingraybassman]

Stinks of P

[JamesBass]

Might well be a P with a Jazz pickup as well? I noticed the block inlays on the live video, however as WOT says, that's classic P with rounds primarily, nice bit of mid boost and most likely a valve amp and some extra crunch, sans amp VT bass rack?

[iconic]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1401178211' post='2460739']
That's yer classic P-with-rounds tone, that.
[/quote]

I must change my strings then is 12 months too soon?

[Greggo]

Sounds like he has very low action and smacks the strings with the plectrum to get that sound.

[spongebob]

I remember them on TV from Glastonbury a few years back, and I too was surprised at the P bass, moreover his tone.

An old pub covers band I was in recorded a version of 'Moving To New York'.....just remembered that. Will not be posting it here.....!

[IBWT]

You can get that sound with a P or JB (neck pickup) with low action, played with a pick through a decent valve amp. It's more or less the classic Ampeg rock sound.

A similar tone:

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r70v2niI5Q"]https://www.youtube....h?v=-r70v2niI5Q[/url]

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBEDYyoOZ6Y"]https://www.youtube....h?v=kBEDYyoOZ6Y[/url]

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ssz5km24T4"]https://www.youtube....h?v=1Ssz5km24T4[/url]

(they are all the same song)

Edited May 31, 2014 by IBWT

[BigRedX]

You should be able to get that sound out of any decent bass strung with rounds with a bit of valve drive and some high mids boost on the amp.

Edited May 31, 2014 by BigRedX

[theyellowcar]

Precision, rounds, BDI21. Boom.

[Lozz196]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1401178211' post='2460739']
That's yer classic P-with-rounds tone, that.
[/quote]
[quote name='Greggo' timestamp='1401464946' post='2463929']
Sounds like he has very low action and smacks the strings with the plectrum to get that sound.
[/quote]

Yep, that seems abt right.

[JwK94]

Monster tone. This bassline was one of the things that got me into bass. Remember trying to recreate this tone with my first squier affinity and crappy little fender amp, good times.

[spongebob]

Here's that Glasto clip - excellent tone!

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4KHCQ98mzs"]https://www.youtube....h?v=g4KHCQ98mzs[/url]

Edited June 1, 2014 by spongebob

[waynepunkdude]

I love the Wombats' tone, P bass through a dirty valve amp.

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1401523107' post='2464392']
You should be able to get that sound out of any decent bass strung with rounds with a bit of valve drive and some high mids boost on the amp.
[/quote]

But a P bass works best.

[Chiliwailer]

I've just emailed their backline tech with a link to the thread (he bought my '66 P Bass for himself recently and was a top fella), maybe they'll add some extra enlightenment? [size=4] [/size]

[HowieBass]

Yeah sounds like a P to me, and without watching the live performance I'd guess he probably played near the bridge.

[Lozz196]

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1401641576' post='2465472']
Yeah sounds like a P to me, and without watching the live performance I'd guess he probably played near the bridge.
[/quote]

Yep, having just been in the studio over the weekend, I got a nice cutting sound fairly similar (but a bit more top end as well) by moving my picking area nearer the bridge.

[JamesBass]

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1401654177' post='2465614']
The Glasto video looks like he's using a Classic '70s P bass. I really like this guy's bass tone. Reminds me slightly of JJ Burnel's sound.
[/quote]
It's also similar, but less aggressive, to John Entwistle, which is a very nice tone!

[BigRedX]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1401637974' post='2465419']
But a P bass works best.
[/quote]

TBH I've never had any problem getting that kind of a sound out of any of my fretted basses none of which are remotely like a P-Bass.

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1401703976' post='2465920']
TBH I've never had any problem getting that kind of a sound out of any of my fretted basses none of which are remotely like a P-Bass.
[/quote]

"Kind of sound" yes, that sound, no.

Plus the P Bass looks the part.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1401721355' post='2466142']
"Kind of sound" yes, that sound, no.

Plus the P Bass looks the part.
[/quote]

The only way to get "that sound" is to be the bass player on the track in the OP. For the rest of us no matter how much we kid ourselves we'll only get that "kind of sound" and as I said before any decent bass with round wounds through some overdriven valves sound get you close enough. Besides nailing an existing sound exactly is a pointless exercise because a good deal of what makes it so good is the way it fits into the other instruments in the mix. Different musicians playing different instruments will always sound different and you'll need to tweak your sound to make it work. Once again that "kind of sound" will be close enough and once you stop being precious about it you might actually come up with a sound that works even better for your musical needs.

Looks are subjective. Suffice it to say IMO the P-Bass looks dull and boring.

[mike257]

P Bass, SVT, job done. My old guitarist knocked around with Tord a bit, were next door neighbours for a while. Nice chap and cracking player. His pre-Wombats band Auden Prim were ace too!