Getting a certain bass sound

fjon

Am trying to get a certain bass sound from my Jazz bass. Looking for a punchy, Bernard Edwards disco-ish sound, similar to these examples. Any pointers on how to get it?
Am going for high mids, high-ish treble and medium bass volumes, but still doesn't sound quite right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBpYgpF1bqQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1pBJv-hGx4

And um, this cheesy classic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGFu1dRQX78

Carl-M

First of all, turn your bass up full. It opens your pick ups and allows for a better dynamic between how hard you attack the strings whether you finger, thumb or pluck.

Depending on what bass amp/head you use, its always an idea to start with a flat EQ and adjust frequencies slightly to suit the sound you want.

For that punchy disco sound, I'd keep your top end eq flat or even rolled off slightly and increase your mid/high mid for a better attack. And add a touch of bottom end for some growl.

I've played a 5 string Jazz with a 70's tribute sound and this worked for me

Patricide

Id throw a compressor into the mix put in plenty of low mids a good bit of bottom end and a medium amount o treble. A bit of sub octave would probably work wonders too.

Rigsby

As well as the above advice, remember that strings, amp, cab, the bass used, and how the song was recorded, can have a big influence on the final sound. Also, a lot of the tone is in the fingers, so technique can be a factor.

fjon

Thanks for the tips. I'll try out a few of the tips here. I have a compressor (don't use it much), but will see if that helps. Don't have a sub octave pedal, will look into that. I'm trying to get the sound while playing live, playing finger plucking if that makes any difference.

Dord

Bernard was an infamous user of the Musicman Stingray but also used some other basses like the Jazz. The main part to remember is that the Stingray has a pickup further back near the bridge. His prodigy John Taylor (Duran Duran) also had a similar tone. He also favoured mid heavy basses (Aria Pro II SB's) with the bridge pickup favoured or just a single pickup in the sweet spot.

First start with your amp eq flat (no boosts or cuts) and your bass with the tone wide open (not rolled back).

Roll off the volume of the neck pickup slightly. I'd say you'd want it at about 60%. If you dont have individual volumes roll the balance towards the bridge pickup. Where you pluck the strings has a huge impact on the sound, for example playing on top of the last few frets has a loose feel and works well for reggae, dub etc.. The further you move back towards the bridge the sound gets brighter and the feel tightens up. You should probably aim for right on top of the bridge pickup.

A huge amount of the sound is down to technique. After you get quite close from altering your technique, then you can tweak the tone.

Using stainless steel strings (i.e. non-nickel coated) should give you a bit of extra bite also. The compressor will tighten up the sound too but you may be able to get away with not using it or minimal use.

Parsley

they sound like fairly stock jazz bass tones. leave everything flat, both pickups on full (maybe the neck PU rolled off a bit) and play with a soft touch close to the bridge, or right over the bridge pickup. that tone's all in the fingers.

jarain

Dord wrote: »

First start with your amp eq flat (no boosts or cuts) and your bass with the tone wide open (not rolled back).

Roll off the volume of the neck pickup slightly. I'd say you'd want it at about 60%. If you dont have individual volumes roll the balance towards the bridge pickup. Where you pluck the strings has a huge impact on the sound, for example playing on top of the last few frets has a loose feel and works well for reggae, dub etc.. The further you move back towards the bridge the sound gets brighter and the feel tightens up. You should probably aim for right on top of the bridge pickup.

A huge amount of the sound is down to technique. After you get quite close from altering your technique, then you can tweak the tone.

Using stainless steel strings (i.e. non-nickel coated) should give you a bit of extra bite also. The compressor will tighten up the sound too but you may be able to get away with not using it or minimal use.

+1 This is spot on in my opinion. I also boost the high mids and bass a little bit to give a bit of growl and definition.

You shouldn't have any huge need for a compressor with the above set up but give it a shot as it might give you a little extra presence in a band situation.

fjon

jarain wrote: »

+1 This is spot on in my opinion. I also boost the high mids and bass a little bit to give a bit of growl and definition.

You shouldn't have any huge need for a compressor with the above set up but give it a shot as it might give you a little extra presence in a band situation.

Before I make any changes to the amp, I just want to make sure I'm getting this right on the bass.
Start off with everything up full (bridge and neck pickup volume and tone).
Then move the neck pickup volume to about 60%. Do I leave the bridge and tone up full?
I usually pluck right above the neck pickup, will move it down to the bridge a bit.

jarain

Yea - Neck volume 50/60% (Play around with it till it sounds nice to your ears), Bridge Volume 100%, Tone 100% (Though rolling the Tone back a little to 90/95 can be nice too)

I play right over the bridge pickup using the edge as a thumb rest, I find that is the sweet spot for this kind of tone. Closer to the bridge than this gets a bit too thin sounding for my liking.

All of the above is a great place to start but tweak things a little to your own liking. You should be very close using the above and then tweak your eq a little to get it spot on. Should need very little amp adjustment though.

Dord

If you want a bit more flexibility with the tone at the bass you could install a preamp. I have the Audere JZ-3 in my Jazz.

It has master volume, balance, bass, mid, treble and a 3 way tone switch. It runs on one 9V battery and all fits in a regular jazz bass control cavity.

fjon

Dord wrote: »

If you want a bit more flexibility with the tone at the bass you could install a preamp. I have the Audere JZ-3 in my Jazz.

It has master volume, balance, bass, mid, treble and a 3 way tone switch. It runs on one 9V battery and all fits in a regular jazz bass control cavity.

Sorry for bringing up my old thread!
I had a look at the Audere pre-amp mentioned, and am intrigued. Seems like a fairly easy job to install, and sounds like something I would use. I often want to change the tone on my bass slightly when playing, and so far have had to mess around with the amp to achieve it. I don't think it looks the best if I'm playing live and have my back turned to the crowd fiddling with the amp.

Anyone else installed something like this on a Jazz, and would recommend them? Am quite tempted, but just want some more reassurance before taking the plunge.

jarain

I have one installed on an old MIM Jazz that has been modified heavily. I would recommend one highly. Huge range of tones and I find when set flat and with the tone switch set centre I get the passive tone exactly as it was before I installed. You get all the benefits without compromising the original character of the bass.

fjon

Ok, think I'll go for one. The standard configuration suits me fine:

3 Bands of Tone Control.
Volume, Mid/Balance stack, Treble/Bass stack, Output Jack.

Am going to try to order from the Audere website, as I can't seem to find anywhere to buy them in Ireland. Hopefully there won't be much customs to pay on it.

While I'm adding this, would there be much benefit in upgrading my pickups at the same time?

Dord

fjon wrote: »

Ok, think I'll go for one. The standard configuration suits me fine:

3 Bands of Tone Control.
Volume, Mid/Balance stack, Treble/Bass stack, Output Jack.

Am going to try to order from the Audere website, as I can't seem to find anywhere to buy them in Ireland. Hopefully there won't be much customs to pay on it.

While I'm adding this, would there be much benefit in upgrading my pickups at the same time?

Good choice! AFAIK there are no dealers for Audere this side of the Atlantic. I ordered mine direct from Audere. I'd suggest trying out the preamp first and see how you like the combo of your current pickups with it.