Getting This Thick, Meaty, Punchy Tone When Recording Directly to Computer?

[ASoggyFry]

One of the three identical tones in question (the slap example at 12:29, the other examples via pick at 1:15 and 3:30). Pretty much must listen through headphones or earbuds.

Can anyone identify the device/effect he's touching in the back throughout the video? Is that all he's using? Probably nothing special but I am a noob and this tone is 100% my dream.

As opposed to other tones even on the same bass, that tone sounds like you're sitting in the actual amp, and each string hit feels like it's got a "meaty" punchy thickness whereas other videos of even the same bass sound very anemic, weak, and flat even if they're trying for a heavy distorted metal sound.

1. With that bass, or any other bass, what all is needed to get that exact tone when playing directly into a computer and recording on the computer?

2. With that bass, or any other bass, what all is needed to get that exact tone when playing directly into an amplifier or stack of amps? (Probably the same answer as #1 but just asking.)

3. Very curious on this. Why does that tone have the "thick, full, meaty punchy" sound to it and sound like you're sitting in the amp when pretty much all the others sound kind of lacking that and somewhat weak/anemic and "far away" like these? (Even though they have heavy distortion, they don't seem on par with the example tone.)

 

[Makoa Johnson]

That scooped and overdriven tone you are referring to sounds to me like it is running through some kind of amp-sim either plugin or pedal based. and generally is utilizing the active EQ on the bass to boost both lows and highs. The voicing/output of the humbucking pickup and the string choice, as well as the hand technique of the player also clearly play a role in getting that specific sound.

 

[EvilJ]

2. With that bass, or any other bass

Not exactly an easy question to answer accurately.
If you are using the same guitar, then I would start with a 1073 front end, with the input stage @ 60-80% +/- and the output lowered significantly.
For amp sim, Amplitube has an Aguilar DB 750 model that MIGHT get you in the ball park.
It really depends on what you are starting with. If you have a Pbass with flats...then maybe never.

 

[ASoggyFry]

That scooped and overdriven tone you are referring to sounds to me like it is running through some kind of amp-sim either plugin or pedal based. and generally is utilizing the active EQ on the bass to boost both lows and highs. The voicing/output of the humbucking pickup and the string choice, as well as the hand technique of the player also clearly play a role in getting that specific sound.

Thank you for the details! So if I wanted to have that 100% exact sound (or as close as possible) when recording directly into a computer or into an amp, what would be the things needed and suggested brands? (Please keep in mind the "meaty punch" factor that is lacking in similar equally-distorted recordings.)

Edit: @EvilJ Thanks for your reply which came right before I replied to Makoa. Same question to you, if you would be so kind, but I suppose you just answered it. Can't spend $1,000 or $2,000 plus on this though. Looking for as far under $500 as possible. I wish there was just a simple pedal or effect or whatever. Thanks.

 

[Wood and Wire]

Can anyone identify the device/effect he's touching in the back throughout the video? Is that all he's using? Probably nothing special but I am a noob and this tone is 100% my dream.

Do you mean every time he turns around and reaches over his left shoulder?

He's picking up a plectrum.

 

[ASoggyFry]

Do you mean every time he turns around and reaches over his left shoulder?

He's picking up a plectrum.

Oops. I feel dumb now. He looked like he was switching something. In my defense, I was viewing the video in the lowest quality possible, hah.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

One of the three identical tones in question (the slap example at 12:29, the other examples via pick at 1:15 and 3:30). Pretty much must listen through headphones or earbuds.

Can anyone identify the device/effect he's touching in the back throughout the video? Is that all he's using? Probably nothing special but I am a noob and this tone is 100% my dream.

As opposed to other tones even on the same bass, that tone sounds like you're sitting in the actual amp, and each string hit feels like it's got a "meaty" punchy thickness whereas other videos of even the same bass sound very anemic, weak, and flat even if they're trying for a heavy distorted metal sound.

1. With that bass, or any other bass, what all is needed to get that exact tone when playing directly into a computer and recording on the computer?

2. With that bass, or any other bass, what all is needed to get that exact tone when playing directly into an amplifier or stack of amps? (Probably the same answer as #1 but just asking.)

3. Very curious on this. Why does that tone have the "thick, full, meaty punchy" sound to it and sound like you're sitting in the amp when pretty much all the others sound kind of lacking that and somewhat weak/anemic and "far away" like these? (Even though they have heavy distortion, they don't seem on par with the example tone.)

Take away every last db of every mid frequency in your bass. Like fieldy

 

[silky smoove]

You don’t need to buy anything to get this tone other than some fresh roundwounds provided you have a bass that gets in this ballpark. Scoop out lots of midrange, likely going as low as 150hz, boost below the cut, boost above the cut, low pass down around 6-8khz, add an overdrive (in the box or on the way in) that’s somewhat similar to Darkglass or other modern circuits, and some compression. Done. Easy. Basically free.

 

[Wood and Wire]

Oops. I feel dumb now. He looked like he was switching something. In my defense, I was viewing the video in the lowest quality possible, hah.

To be honest, I initially thought he was using a Music Man Bongo, but it turns out the devil is in the details : turn on the subtitles, and it reveals the secret sauce is an entirely different make and model...

 

[Makoa Johnson]

Thank you for the details! So if I wanted to have that 100% exact sound (or as close as possible) when recording directly into a computer or into an amp, what would be the things needed and suggested brands? (Please keep in mind the "meaty punch" factor that is lacking in similar equally-distorted recordings.)

Edit: @EvilJ Thanks for your reply which came right before I replied to Makoa. Same question to you, if you would be so kind, but I suppose you just answered it. Can't spend $1,000 or $2,000 plus on this though. Looking for as far under $500 as possible. I wish there was just a simple pedal or effect or whatever. Thanks.

I mean there are many ways to get close. But I would say your best bet is an active bass with humbucking pickups and roundwound strings, and of course an audio interface to get the sound of the bass into the computer. Then either a pedal or software to allow you to sculpt the raw DI sound with an amp sound and eq.
I don't know what kind of gear you already have on hand but if you are starting completely from scratch with an under $500 budget, especially if you aren't opposed to buying used, you could almost certainly find something like a Sterling Ray 5 and a Focusrite 2i2 (or any of the many similar products from various manufacturers) and then just experiment with some of the many free amp emulation software options that are availible on pc/mac untill you find the tone and workflow you like.

 

[erratick]

You don’t need to buy anything to get this tone other than some fresh roundwounds provided you have a bass that gets in this ballpark. Scoop out lots of midrange, likely going as low as 150hz, boost below the cut, boost above the cut, low pass down around 6-8khz, add an overdrive (in the box or on the way in) that’s somewhat similar to Darkglass or other modern circuits, and some compression. Done. Easy. Basically free.

I thought immediately- it's the darkglass sound. And mid scoop for sure. Compressed. Roundwounds. I mean Darkglass stuff does the overdrive and compression on some of their stuff.

Tons of other ways to do it, but they made a living out of this sound.

B7K, Alpha Omega. Most of their bass DI can do this.

 

[iTzPrime]

Fresh roundwounds.
Then after recording, duplicate the recording so you have 3 parts.
Use filters to narrow the range of one from 0-250 Hz, one from 250 hz to 3k and then one above.

Compress the hell out of the lower one so that it is close to a sinewave. Use slight compression on the medium one and a traditional compressor like the 1176. distort the 3k above and a lot.

Or make it easy and use Parallax X as effect in your DAW with an audio interface

 

[ASoggyFry]

Take away every last db of every mid frequency in your bass. Like fieldy

You don’t need to buy anything to get this tone other than some fresh roundwounds provided you have a bass that gets in this ballpark. Scoop out lots of midrange, likely going as low as 150hz, boost below the cut, boost above the cut, low pass down around 6-8khz, add an overdrive (in the box or on the way in) that’s somewhat similar to Darkglass or other modern circuits, and some compression. Done. Easy. Basically free.

To be honest, I initially thought he was using a Music Man Bongo, but it turns out the devil is in the details : turn on the subtitles, and it reveals the secret sauce is an entirely different make and model...

View attachment 7008010

I mean there are many ways to get close. But I would say your best bet is an active bass with humbucking pickups and roundwound strings, and of course an audio interface to get the sound of the bass into the computer. Then either a pedal or software to allow you to sculpt the raw DI sound with an amp sound and eq.
I don't know what kind of gear you already have on hand but if you are starting completely from scratch with an under $500 budget, especially if you aren't opposed to buying used, you could almost certainly find something like a Sterling Ray 5 and a Focusrite 2i2 (or any of the many similar products from various manufacturers) and then just experiment with some of the many free amp emulation software options that are availible on pc/mac untill you find the tone and workflow you like.

I thought immediately- it's the darkglass sound. And mid scoop for sure. Compressed. Roundwounds. I mean Darkglass stuff does the overdrive and compression on some of their stuff.

Tons of other ways to do it, but they made a living out of this sound.

B7K, Alpha Omega. Most of their bass DI can do this.

Fresh roundwounds.
Then after recording, duplicate the recording so you have 3 parts.
Use filters to narrow the range of one from 0-250 Hz, one from 250 hz to 3k and then one above.

Compress the hell out of the lower one so that it is close to a sinewave. Use slight compression on the medium one and a traditional compressor like the 1176. distort the 3k above and a lot.

Or make it easy and use Parallax X as effect in your DAW with an audio interface

Thanks to everyone that replied. I am taking notes and am going to study each reply tonight. I just wanted to ask two things:

Assuming I have the correct bass, strings, pickups, etc., is there not an easy device I can simply plug into and twist a few knobs to get this tone before continuing the connection from that device to a computer or amp? I'd preferably like to do so with a device/pedal/whatever than on a computer with software, but whatever works.

I keep reading about hzs, ranges, mids, etc. but am ignorant on what I am tuning/adjusting the hzs/mids, etc. on.

As well, I'd like to know how and where to learn more about hzs, ranges, "scooping the mids," etc. What and where is the best way to learn this?

Sorry for my noobiness. I am wanting to learn more about this. I appreciate your patience and will ready each reply individually tonight (in a rush right now so I just skimmed). Thanks to everyone!

 

[erratick]

Thanks to everyone that replied. I am taking notes and am going to study each reply tonight. I just wanted to ask two things:

Assuming I have the correct bass, strings, pickups, etc., is there not an easy device I can simply plug into and twist a few knobs to get this tone before continuing the connection from that device to a computer or amp? I'd preferably like to do so with a device/pedal/whatever than on a computer with software, but whatever works.

I keep reading about hzs, ranges, mids, etc. but am ignorant on what I am tuning/adjusting the hzs/mids, etc. on.

As well, I'd like to know how and where to learn more about hzs, ranges, "scooping the mids," etc. What and where is the best way to learn this?

Sorry for my noobiness. I am wanting to learn more about this. I appreciate your patience and will ready each reply individually tonight (in a rush right now so I just skimmed). Thanks to everyone!

For a single pedal: Darkglass DI pedal- like the alpha omega. Or maybe the B7K. But really it's better to read through the thread. Scooping the mids means turning mid range down or potentially turning bass and treble up.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Thanks to everyone that replied. I am taking notes and am going to study each reply tonight. I just wanted to ask two things:

Assuming I have the correct bass, strings, pickups, etc., is there not an easy device I can simply plug into and twist a few knobs to get this tone before continuing the connection from that device to a computer or amp? I'd preferably like to do so with a device/pedal/whatever than on a computer with software, but whatever works.

I keep reading about hzs, ranges, mids, etc. but am ignorant on what I am tuning/adjusting the hzs/mids, etc. on.

As well, I'd like to know how and where to learn more about hzs, ranges, "scooping the mids," etc. What and where is the best way to learn this?

Sorry for my noobiness. I am wanting to learn more about this. I appreciate your patience and will ready each reply individually tonight (in a rush right now so I just skimmed). Thanks to everyone!

You can do that with any amp. Any bass.

Up 50hz, eliminate 500hz, up 7khz.

On an amp, bass up 2 oclock or so, mid off, treble up to 3 o clock, or so.

Amps with "contour" knobs. Contour all the way up, mid knobs all the way down, treble up.

Amps with ultra buttons. Ultra low and high engaged, mids down at 450 - 800, treble up.

Amps with "bright" switch. Bass up, mid down, bright engaged, treble up.

 

[Phe]

As you may have noticed, there is quite a bit of disdain for that tone. In many cases tone like that disappears in a mix and what you mostly get is low, muddy rumbling and piercing highs, where in most of the usable bass tones live in the low and high mid frequencies. But there is nothing wrong wanting that tone or using it.
Before getting a pedal for this, you could familiarize yourself with equalizers in your digital audio workspace. Audacity is free and you can loop some of your playing (assuming you have a way of recording yourself directly) and trying out different eq settings.
As said before, you can achieve this with any amp. Some amps have a graphic eq, which gives you more sliders to play with. Some amps have weird eq (I'm looking at you, Quilter) but you can achieve it never the less.
If you want to go the pedal route, an eq pedal is the answer. There is quite the few options, but a Boss GEB-3 is a relatively cheap and durable option.
Hope this helps.

 

[ASoggyFry]

For a single pedal: Darkglass DI pedal- like the alpha omega. Or maybe the B7K. But really it's better to read through the thread. Scooping the mids means turning mid range down or potentially turning bass and treble up.

You can do that with any amp. Any bass.

Up 50hz, eliminate 500hz, up 7khz.

On an amp, bass up 2 oclock or so, mid off, treble up to 3 o clock, or so.

Amps with "contour" knobs. Contour all the way up, mid knobs all the way down, treble up.

Amps with ultra buttons. Ultra low and high engaged, mids down at 450 - 800, treble up.

Amps with "bright" switch. Bass up, mid down, bright engaged, treble up.

As you may have noticed, there is quite a bit of disdain for that tone. In many cases tone like that disappears in a mix and what you mostly get is low, muddy rumbling and piercing highs, where in most of the usable bass tones live in the low and high mid frequencies. But there is nothing wrong wanting that tone or using it.
Before getting a pedal for this, you could familiarize yourself with equalizers in your digital audio workspace. Audacity is free and you can loop some of your playing (assuming you have a way of recording yourself directly) and trying out different eq settings.
As said before, you can achieve this with any amp. Some amps have a graphic eq, which gives you more sliders to play with. Some amps have weird eq (I'm looking at you, Quilter) but you can achieve it never the less.
If you want to go the pedal route, an eq pedal is the answer. There is quite the few options, but a Boss GEB-3 is a relatively cheap and durable option.
Hope this helps.

Thanks guys! (And thanks to everyone else who replied, again: thank you.) I am going to try to jump head first into this. I also want to learn. In this thread and many others, I keep reading about "hz, khz, mids," and all that. Where or how is the best place online to learn about this stuff and how it applies to tones? I want to get good enough to where when I hear a particular tone, I can estimate in my head what hz it's at and whether the "mids are scooped" or the EQ is "happy faced" and all that you guys talk about. From being a noob, this is super interesting stuff that you are all familiar with.

Thanks again!

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Thanks guys! (And thanks to everyone else who replied, again: thank you.) I am going to try to jump head first into this. I also want to learn. In this thread and many others, I keep reading about "hz, khz, mids," and all that. Where or how is the best place online to learn about this stuff and how it applies to tones? I want to get good enough to where when I hear a particular tone, I can estimate in my head what hz it's at and whether the "mids are scooped" or the EQ is "happy faced" and all that you guys talk about. From being a noob, this is super interesting stuff that you are all familiar with.

Thanks again!

No problem.

Look at the manual on your amp. It will tell you what frequencies the knobs are centered at. That's the best place to start. Right at the gear you already have.

 

[Phe]

Hz, kHz and mids are kinda the same thing. Also scooped mids and smiley face is the same thing. Hertz (Hz) are the frequency of the vibrating string, as in how many times in a second the string vibrates. That frequency translates into notes. For that example your low A vibrates 220 times during one second. Low E's frequency is 41,2Hz. When you play a note your bass also produces overtones (and undertones?), ie. Tones that ring over the fundamental pitch. Those tones kinda make your sound. Four string basses frequency range is about 41,2Hz to 4000Hz (or 4kHz, k being kilo, meaning thousand). If you down tune, those figures chance.
Eq is the way of sculpting that tone. You can boost frequencies (although you can't boost something that ain't there to begin with) and cut them. To beginners boosting usually seems like the obvious thing to do, but that adds noise and raises your gain, leading into (possibly unwanted) distortion.
It may be more productive to use subtractive eq'ing, where you cut the frequencies you don't want highlighted, instead of boosting the ones you do want to stand out. And you can do both boosting and cutting in moderation.
Smiley face is a eq figure where you boost your bass and highs and cut your mids in a way, that in a graphic eq makes a smile curve.

 

[MartinB]

You might find this video helpful; it explains how different frequency ranges affect the sound of your bass: