EssentialTension Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 https://soulfuldetroit.com/archives/1/541.html?1020196543 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 http://www.bobbabbitt.com/smf/index.php/topic,148.0.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbass Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Ha, my favourite subject...love reading about how it all worked and Mr Babbitts certainly got a way with words!. Nowadays we are all about this and that piece of gear but for these guys it really was all in their fingers it seems and not much else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 There was certainly a fair bit of drive in those bass sounds though. I'm a big fan of the Aguilar Tonehammer for replicating that with modern equipment! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 Here's the Motown guitar and bass preamp if you've not seen it before ... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 18 minutes ago, oldbass said: Ha, my favourite subject...love reading about how it all worked and Mr Babbitts certainly got a way with words!. Nowadays we are all about this and that piece of gear but for these guys it really was all in their fingers it seems and not much else. That's where I think it is now tbh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZilchWoolham Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 1 hour ago, dannybuoy said: There was certainly a fair bit of drive in those bass sounds though. I'm a big fan of the Aguilar Tonehammer for replicating that with modern equipment! Yep, always amuses me, the quest for completely clean bass sounds, yet one of the most revered bassists of all had a really warm, gainy, driven sound. Each to their own, but I`d rather have a sound that sounds great in the song than great on its own (though I must admit I do like the above, but accept it`s probably not to everyones taste). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 3 minutes ago, Lozz196 said: the quest for completely clean bass sounds Not a quest I've ever been on! If it ain't saturated, I ain't infatuated. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 2 hours ago, dannybuoy said: Not a quest I've ever been on! If it ain't saturated, I ain't infatuated. Distortion..? You can have my portion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 IMO the engineers were responsible for a lot of Jamerson's sound. If you listen to the before and after videos on Youtube, they cleaned up his sound. . . a lot. What would they be sounding like now? As Bob Babbitt ended up playing PJB, very clean sounding gear, don't assume that JJ would still be sounding distorted/saturated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 I just wonder if he`d be so revered if the bass didn`t have such a warm rounded presence in the songs.I take the point that the engineers cleaned it up but if it had gone a lot more cleaner and defined would it have suited the music style as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 On 05/03/2018 at 21:08, EssentialTension said: Here's the Motown guitar and bass preamp if you've not seen it before ... Can I have a ninety nine please? Where does the ice cream come out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 how do you clean up a distorted bass sound? I might sound a bit thick here, especially as I do a lot of recording (as an engineer) but I've never been able to remove distortion from a recording, only add it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 I stole this from Talkbass but here's how to sound like Jamerson ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Does the haircut really help with tone ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 You bet, it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Great thread, keep it coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
project_c Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 As far as I know, there was not a lot of tidying up. The tone is a P with flats, with crazy high action, going through those transformers, which colour the sound in a much more subtle way than you'd think, with most of the tonal characteristics actually coming from the tape saturation - just an artefact of old school crusty tape recording. All of that has a fairly minimal impact on the sound. 95% of that tone is down to Jamerson's talent, ability, technique, life experience and whatever he happened to be drinking that day. There's a giant thread about this topic over on talkbass btw, but these techie discussions almost always completely miss the point. It's a bit like talking about how to make a delicious cake, and only focusing on what fork you should eat it with. Doesn't make that much difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 19 minutes ago, project_c said: As far as I know, there was not a lot of tidying up. The tone is a P with flats, with crazy high action, going through those transformers, which colour the sound in a much more subtle way than you'd think, with most of the tonal characteristics actually coming from the tape saturation - just an artefact of old school crusty tape recording. All of that has a fairly minimal impact on the sound. 95% of that tone is down to Jamerson's talent, ability, technique, life experience and whatever he happened to be drinking that day. There's a giant thread about this topic over on talkbass btw, but these techie discussions almost always completely miss the point. It's a bit like talking about how to make a delicious cake, and only focusing on what fork you should eat it with. Doesn't make that much difference. Do you have a link to the thread on Talk Bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 I've been through quite a few pedals and software plugins trying to find a tone I like for that Motown feel, and the Aguilar Tonehammer is my favourite - I've just knocked up a quick clip! ('05 USA Precision with very old TI flats, tone about 70%, into Tonehammer DI with AGS on, gain at 9 o'clock, slight bass and low mid boost and treble cut) https://1drv.ms/u/s!ApKsVfvGwYkOiqV6Q61pUu3yvWelVg The One Control Sonic Silver Peg, Catalinbread SFT and VT Bass are also good for this sound, where it's on the edge of cleanliness and a harder pluck makes a rubbery sound with no harsh fizz up top. I didn't get as much joy out of the Creation Audio Grizzly or SolidgoldFX Beta, both of which are often recommended for this kind of tone but didn't quite work out for me. I'd love to try some recordings through a REDDI though! Or one of these: http://acmeaudio.net/product/motown-di/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 45 minutes ago, Linus27 said: Do you have a link to the thread on Talk Bass? Here's one ... https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-real-james-jamerson-amp.854013/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 https://reverb.com/item/9449449-acme-audio-motown-tube-direct-preamp-2018-presale-batch-2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 25 minutes ago, EssentialTension said: Here's one ... https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-real-james-jamerson-amp.854013/ Thank you 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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