Tracking Bass!...Can't get that warm, fat even sound!

[Mike Caffrey]

Originally Posted by Sqye

.

Yes, but to be clear - I'm not really talking about group records here.

Unless you consider Rascall Flatts a group...

I'm more interested in the big pop radio stuff...

Just out of curiosity, can you name some recent records you like - where the bass is really nice and huge - well recorded and mixed?

Thanks, man.



.

How about the song Dazz, by Brick? That kind of stretches the definition of recent.

I'll throw out a conceptual idea for you.

First there are several different bases of pop. There's rock-pop, pop rock, and R&B pop. Anything that's pop based in Nashville, meaning country pop that's as little country as possible - Taylor Swift, that's the rock pop. It's roots are a band playing and it's likely to have been written by one person on either a guitar or a piano.

There's pop rock - like Boys Like Girls, who are no doubt a full on rock band, but they're playing and writing pop melodies. I'm clear that this is not what you've been asking about.

There's R&B based pop, which which is more technology based than band based, and more likely to be danceable without a remix.

I'm hoping that we can agree not to debate the semantics of those definitions, because the definitions are unrelated the the thread. The next part is relevant to the tonal question at hand.

If you're going for a rock pop sound, then the Fletcher P-Bass model works. He's not the only one who's suggested that, but the various recipes all get you to the sound of a bass in a band context. Some of you examples have that sound.

The R&B based pop - Brittany, Outcast, Amy Winehouse - has an identity that's very tied to it's sonics. It's part of what makes pop sound dated. The way people get to the top from the producing and writing point is to constantly be innovating and doing radically new stuff. Then one of those things hits, and they're established. Those same people are still capable of doing radically new stuff, but people pay them a lot of money to keep doing the same thing over and over, so from the consumer's point of view it sounds like things sound the same and there's no innovation going on, but the reality is there's new things happening all the time that get filtered out by the machine.

The relevance is, that copying an established "sound" isn't going to do much for you if you're not already established. You've got a much better chance of attracting someone's ear with something new - like putting any great bass sound in, even though it's different that what's current. You want to be recording the sound of 2011 now. It may end up that the project gets a deal and the bring in someone else to make it sound like the same old 2008/2009 for a 2010 release, but that's not anything you can control.

My point is, that really your goal probably is to record a bass sound that sounds like the next Taylor Swift album, not the last.


Maybe - maybe if you have an odd artist who defies genre - like a black country singer, you might want to put in some familiar cues so that people know how to pigeon hole an extremely unique artist.

I think that the odd are, that the specific project that prompted this question would benefit from a more forward thinking approach and that stylistically any of these ideas could work as well as possibly be more effective that recreating sounds that were tracked in 2006/2007 and are nearing the end of their cycle of currentness.

It really depends on what subgenre of pop you're working in and many have a foot in more than one.

[Dean Roddey]

In the 'never say never' category, I was working on the bass part to my new tune tonight. I was getting close to what I wanted but it wasn't quite there. At one point, just to get away from for a minute I turned around and just out of nowhere clicked on the wah pedal, and it just ended up partially down, and it sounded great. It wasn't getting any real peakiness or anything because of the wah emphasizing a particular frequency, and it's a Budda which is not one of those really nasty sounding ones.

It ended up being Jazz -> Wah -> EQ pedal -> Sansamp RPM -> LA-2A at 3 or 4 dB worst case -> 1176 with a fairly medium attack and release and about 5 to 6 dB worst case. The Sansamp had a good bit of drive for some grunge, though because it's mid-range grunge, a fair amount of it was then removed by a pretty strong cut in around the 800'ish area.

Anyway, it worked, so I went with it. You never know what will do the trick. It actually ended up giving it a bit of a Rickenbaker vibe.

[Benmrx]

Originally Posted by u b k

Oh I'll do you one better than that: I can't even name 15 major label records that were tracked in 2009 at all.


Gregory Scott - ubk
.

That's because there isn't any tracking...... it's all BFD drums, preset synth patches, autotune madness and gawd awful amp sims.lol.

For the most part, the only recent major label albums I know of from basically the past couple years, are albums people have mentioned here on G.S. I stopped paying attention after 2002.

Every once in a while I'll sift through the radio stations here. Today I heard a rap/hip-hop song (I can't tell the difference anymore)..... autoned to hell-and-back (personally the most drastic I've ever heard) with a chorus that went "I want that birthday sex.... that birthday sex". I honestly can't figure out what the difference is between this stuff and Wierd Al... except Wierd Al actually has a better play on words.

[Benmrx]

Originally Posted by Dean Roddey

At one point, just to get away from for a minute I turned around and just out of nowhere clicked on the wah pedal, and it just ended up partially down, and it sounded great....... Anyway, it worked, so I went with it. You never know what will do the trick. It actually ended up giving it a bit of a Rickenbaker vibe.

I use a Wah when tracking bass quite often.. Not everytime, but still pretty often.

[ARIEL]

Originally Posted by James 'LA' Lugo

I think a lot of bass is in the mixing. I've heard some pretty weak DI tracks that sound great when mixed. As far as it all being in the hands I don't really buy that, I've seen lots of rock bands with shitty bass players and great bass sounds on the record. I'm sayin', lets get real most rock bassists get into to that gig because they are the least talented of their friends at music and get thrown out in right field (bass) in 10th grade and that's where they sit for the rest of their life. I've seen that more often then the kid who is drawn to play bass. Rock bands and mediocre bass playing go together like peanut butter and jelly. That's how I see it. I think it's mostly in the mixing and use of compression and overdrive to smooth it out.

Sort of true to point - weak bass player means bad timing - which can be covered up in the mix - i have done a lot of it - but i still get the right type of bass and make extra effort for even dynamics - the dynamic problem of hitting too hard or soft in diff parts of a song will be more noticeable than timing issues - I speak more in regards to metal as the fast kiks and gtrs will cover up the bass - Yes if the DI is clean you can do alot with it - and it is the mixer as well , knopwing the right tools and frequecies to use - one thing for tthe inexperienced is too crank up too much low end or low mids which clouds the mix- But i do know when i have great player i can get it to punch out more and it seem easier to shape it in the mix -

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by Dean Roddey

So I did some bass adventures last night. It was time to change strings prior to tracking the bass part on my next song. So I was going to order a pair, but then I remembered that somehow I'd accidentally gotten a set of heavier gauge strings a while back. I can't remember how I ended up with them, but the'd just been sitting there for a few months unused.

I have been using light guage strings because they were just easier on the fingers back when I first got back into playing bass, but I decided to put the heavier ones on just to see what it does for me. Of course another reason I was hesitant is that that means a complete re-do of the calibration, which is a bit of a pain. But I went ahead and put them and re-calibrated it.

It was too late to do any recording by then, but it'll be interesting to see what it does for me. Just from playing it unplugged it sounds like it's going to be an improvement, particularly on the low E. It has much more authority and tone now. These are also round-wounds, instead of the usual pressure wounds. But being considerably stiffer, they don't seem to suffer from as much rattle anyway so it doesn't seem like it will be a problem.

The place where I figured it would be the biggest problem is with slapping and popping, but it seemed to work well there as well, again particularly in the tone of the low E.

It was some hybrid gauge set, at 45, 65, 85, and 105. It's this type of stuff that makes a guy wish he could afford three or four guitars and basses to allow for setting up each of them differently for different situations. Anyway, I'll see what kind of difference it makes tonight when I track the bass part. Clearly my fingers have toughened up over the last year, since the heavier strings didn't really bother me.

.

Hey, thanks, Dean - for sharing your string theory here

It'll be cool to hear what your results are,

Cheers, Man!



.

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by illacov

I really like the tone you can get out of the Sansamp BDI. You can feed it into a pre for more tone or volume but it has its own preamp with tube sim etc..but its a nice sounding piece, only 200 bucks. Definitely not high priced but a good piece to try out, if you want to skip recording bass amps.

We use it with a Fender Jazz Mexican, whatever strings Peter has on his bass and the Jazz has EMG active PUPs.

Sounds ballsy, can be radio pop, Green Day or do a nice Hip Hop growl. Some of those tones are really in the players hands, but I do really dig on P Bass direct quite a bit for Motown, soul, reggae, hip hop and retro stuff like Pink Floyd.

Peace
Illumination

.

Very cool, Illacov.

Still sussing out the pickup thing...leaning toward one bass with a real passive P-Bass setup, and one with active pickups and EQ - so far, the MusicMan Stingray is still number one on the list - until I play some more expensive basses

Thanks!

.

[Sqye]

[QUOTE=fuddfar;4491267]

Originally Posted by Sqye

.

Yes, but to be clear - I'm not really talking about group records here.

Unless you consider Rascall Flatts a group...

I'm more interested in the big pop radio stuff...

Just out of curiosity, can you name some recent records you like - where the bass is really nice and huge - well recorded and mixed?

Thanks, man.


You're welcome. salem-music.com Check it out. Check out the record of the year; Allison Krause / Robert Plant. No weenie digital allowed.

.

Awesome, FF! Good for you!

I'll check it out when I'm back in front of speakers.

Thanks, man!



.

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by lerone

A nice valve mic, a nice ribbon mic. Find the sweetest spot with the ribbon and phase align the the valve mic to that. Sum em' and give it a couple of dbs slow opto love = l'bass sexuelle

If you dont sum, you've got lots of tone shaping options come mix down. Beats the hell out of a D112 or D6 up against the grille, thats for sure. Have'nt deviated from this method for a LONG TIME

.

Very nice, man! Interesting idea with the ribbons. Never done this with bass.

And yes, I'm not a big 112 fan.

Cheers!



.

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by Igotsoul4u

A music man into a great river is an amazing sound!!! I put my buzz essence after and I get a huge deep and controlled sound. I think the music man basses are the most versatile on the planet and also the most consistent unless you jump up a notch to the nutty 2k plus modulas or lakland etc... Fenders are awesome but they all seem so different from each other. I hate to say it, but the player will make all the sound stuff take a back seat. Usually the players on the big pop records are just sick and their touch and timing is what makes the record really click.

.

Nice!!!

Thanks for posting!

MM > GR > Buzz Essence sounds like a killer chain.

Yes, I'm completely taken with the MM now.

Still haven't played Modula or Lakland - I'm looking forward to it!

Still need to do some tracking, and muck around with setup, strings, pre's etc.

Cheers, man!



.

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by Jax

I also like Massey THC (on an aux) a lot for dirtying up a bass. Haven't tried lofi in a long time.

.

Sounds cool.

Thanks!



.

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by Mike Caffrey

I'm with you. The only ones I can name are the ones I worked on.

.



Of course, Mike! You rock!



.

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by Mike Caffrey

How about the song Dazz, by Brick? That kind of stretches the definition of recent.

I'll throw out a conceptual idea for you.

First there are several different bases of pop. There's rock-pop, pop rock, and R&B pop. Anything that's pop based in Nashville, meaning country pop that's as little country as possible - Taylor Swift, that's the rock pop. It's roots are a band playing and it's likely to have been written by one person on either a guitar or a piano.

There's pop rock - like Boys Like Girls, who are no doubt a full on rock band, but they're playing and writing pop melodies. I'm clear that this is not what you've been asking about.

There's R&B based pop, which which is more technology based than band based, and more likely to be danceable without a remix.

I'm hoping that we can agree not to debate the semantics of those definitions, because the definitions are unrelated the the thread. The next part is relevant to the tonal question at hand.

If you're going for a rock pop sound, then the Fletcher P-Bass model works. He's not the only one who's suggested that, but the various recipes all get you to the sound of a bass in a band context. Some of you examples have that sound.

The R&B based pop - Brittany, Outcast, Amy Winehouse - has an identity that's very tied to it's sonics. It's part of what makes pop sound dated. The way people get to the top from the producing and writing point is to constantly be innovating and doing radically new stuff. Then one of those things hits, and they're established. Those same people are still capable of doing radically new stuff, but people pay them a lot of money to keep doing the same thing over and over, so from the consumer's point of view it sounds like things sound the same and there's no innovation going on, but the reality is there's new things happening all the time that get filtered out by the machine.

The relevance is, that copying an established "sound" isn't going to do much for you if you're not already established. You've got a much better chance of attracting someone's ear with something new - like putting any great bass sound in, even though it's different that what's current. You want to be recording the sound of 2011 now. It may end up that the project gets a deal and the bring in someone else to make it sound like the same old 2008/2009 for a 2010 release, but that's not anything you can control.

My point is, that really your goal probably is to record a bass sound that sounds like the next Taylor Swift album, not the last.


Maybe - maybe if you have an odd artist who defies genre - like a black country singer, you might want to put in some familiar cues so that people know how to pigeon hole an extremely unique artist.

I think that the odd are, that the specific project that prompted this question would benefit from a more forward thinking approach and that stylistically any of these ideas could work as well as possibly be more effective that recreating sounds that were tracked in 2006/2007 and are nearing the end of their cycle of currentness.

It really depends on what subgenre of pop you're working in and many have a foot in more than one.

.

Hey Mike.

This is a great and insightful post.

Thank you for this.

I am always interested in the latest and greatest. I have some endorsement products - which helps me with access to new gear and sonics. And traditionally, I've been a tweaker - as so many of us are.

George Martin was an early inspiration here - espousing the tremendous capacity for musical innovation and universalism - specifically, in the pop music genre (versus other music genres, where innovation and multi-style genre integration were often lacking).

For years, I ran like a hamster in a cage after these trendy sonic booby prizes. Thinking only about creating the next greatest product. Thinking about trends and potential sales and marketing, etc.

However, with regard to this specific issue of acquiring particular bass tones, I'm not really interested in creating the next best thing, per se.

...More accurately, I really am currently interested in bass tone plagarism

And from there, I can springboard into my own innovation. I've found this can often be a useful technique - the way I work. In my early playing, writing, arranging, producing and tracking years, I found I was able to innovate (for myself) through improvization and imagination. However, there is also quite a bit to be learned through careful deconstruction and exact imitation.

I realize the more I work that bass is extremely important - especially in pop music - and building a killer mix around properly written, performed, tracked and edited bass is a good idea

I've already received some helpful PM's. And I really want to thank you all for contributing here.

There are so many great ideas for tracking bass on this thread, it's ridiculous.

And now the mix ideas are starting to roll in. I LOVE IT!

You guys really rock.

Thank you all.

GEARSLUTZ FOREVER!!



.

[bitman]

I generally don't offer my wisdom among 313 replys but it's real easy to get fat even bass.

Run it though a Line 6 Bass POD set to "Stadium" with the one knob compression at about 2 'oclock.

Further clamp it with a UAD LA-2A or the URS Channel strip pro set to preset BASS Leveler.

The Bass POD set this way gets you 90% there.

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by bitman

I generally don't offer my wisdom among 313 replys but it's real easy to get fat even bass.

Run it though a Line 6 Bass POD set to "Stadium" with the one knob compression at about 2 'oclock.

Further clamp it with a UAD LA-2A or the URS Channel strip pro set to preset BASS Leveler.

The Bass POD set this way gets you 90% there.

.

Hey, thanks for posting, man!



.

[robot gigante]

Originally Posted by Dean Roddey

So I did some bass adventures last night. It was time to change strings prior to tracking the bass part on my next song. So I was going to order a pair, but then I remembered that somehow I'd accidentally gotten a set of heavier gauge strings a while back. I can't remember how I ended up with them, but the'd just been sitting there for a few months unused.

I have been using light guage strings because they were just easier on the fingers back when I first got back into playing bass, but I decided to put the heavier ones on just to see what it does for me. Of course another reason I was hesitant is that that means a complete re-do of the calibration, which is a bit of a pain. But I went ahead and put them and re-calibrated it.

It was too late to do any recording by then, but it'll be interesting to see what it does for me. Just from playing it unplugged it sounds like it's going to be an improvement, particularly on the low E. It has much more authority and tone now. These are also round-wounds, instead of the usual pressure wounds. But being considerably stiffer, they don't seem to suffer from as much rattle anyway so it doesn't seem like it will be a problem.

The place where I figured it would be the biggest problem is with slapping and popping, but it seemed to work well there as well, again particularly in the tone of the low E.

It was some hybrid gauge set, at 45, 65, 85, and 105. It's this type of stuff that makes a guy wish he could afford three or four guitars and basses to allow for setting up each of them differently for different situations. Anyway, I'll see what kind of difference it makes tonight when I track the bass part. Clearly my fingers have toughened up over the last year, since the heavier strings didn't really bother me.

Heavy gauge strings are key imho, to big tone. I would try 50 to 110's. I have 65-130's on one of my basses. Killer!

For sure setup is a PITA but a good tech can do wonders.

So when we're talking flatwounds BTW, dinky lightweight flatwounds is not what we're talking about, I would guess that most people would agree.

When the bassist amps it up on those heavy strings, that's rock and roll to my ears.

[matskull]

Originally Posted by robot gigante

Heavy gauge strings are key imho, to big tone. I would try 50 to 110's. I have 65-130's on one of my basses. Killer!

For sure setup is a PITA but a good tech can do wonders.

So when we're talking flatwounds BTW, dinky lightweight flatwounds is not what we're talking about, I would guess that most people would agree.

When the bassist amps it up on those heavy strings, that's rock and roll to my ears.

Except for more lows, do they offer a soft high end like on medium or small strings?

Or are they more "ice pick"?

[robot gigante]

That's why I usually use flatwounds.

Heavy gauge flatwounds on the right bass played with good technique offer a pretty balanced tone from the highs to the deep lows.

You have to hit them hard and be precise, not for the limp wristed and weak handed.

[latestflavor]

it is a production and playing thing for me, not really a pro audio thing. For that pop sound here is my setup:

bartolini soapbars
DI on the front of the GR mp2-NV
TT cl1b
ad-16x

i use wounds, play thumb downstrokes only (not my index and fore and certainly not a pick) closer to the neck or at least halfway between bridge and neck. for pop this is not usually a problem with most parts to be played. Actually, I write it playing that way so it will work.

the playing and bartolinis are key to me, i believe a comparable pre and comp will do, and there are a ton of great sustaining basses out there (mine sustains for days). i usually slightly overcomp on the tube tech and it sounds nice.

EDIT: I also like to leave a lot of headroom in the GR (rolling the Master PUP volume back) and gain stage into the CL1-b light so that i can crank the output tubes. A nice option.

the particular bass i tend to use is a sukop, neck through. the tone and countour and pickup knobs need to be tweaked a lot, the sound change knob turns are huge with the slightest move. i'm sure if i was playing a diff bass the knob tweak and finger technique would be different, thats just part of the "grande experiment".

[Nolet]

It's quite interesting for a relative noob like me to see all these posts about getting a good bass guitar sound. In my little world it's the thing I have to worry about least!

Fender Jazz (flatwounds, quite thick ones) -> GR 500 NV -> Distressor or API525 -> UA 2192. Done. Sound like the stuff you heard on a million records. Well...at least 95% there.

I liked the Fatso plugin on it also, but the demo time has run out....

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by latestflavor

it is a production and playing thing for me, not really a pro audio thing. For that pop sound here is my setup:

bartolini soapbars
DI on the front of the GR mp2-NV
TT cl1b
ad-16x

i use wounds, play thumb downstrokes only (not my index and fore and certainly not a pick) closer to the neck or at least halfway between bridge and neck. for pop this is not usually a problem with most parts to be played. Actually, I write it playing that way so it will work.

the playing and bartolinis are key to me, i believe a comparable pre and comp will do, and there are a ton of great sustaining basses out there (mine sustains for days). i usually slightly overcomp on the tube tech and it sounds nice.

EDIT: I also like to leave a lot of headroom in the GR (rolling the Master PUP volume back) and gain stage into the CL1-b light so that i can crank the output tubes. A nice option.

the particular bass i tend to use is a sukop, neck through. the tone and countour and pickup knobs need to be tweaked a lot, the sound change knob turns are huge with the slightest move. i'm sure if i was playing a diff bass the knob tweak and finger technique would be different, thats just part of the "grande experiment".

.

Hey LatestFlavor.

Thanks a TON!

These are the kind of posts that make this thread gold!

I haven't played Sukops, yet - but they do look killer!

Thanks so much for your gainstage, chain, tracking and playing tips! I'm psyched to try them!

This is awesome!

...And sorry if I asked you already - but what kind of music are you doing?



.

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by robot gigante

Heavy gauge strings are key imho, to big tone. I would try 50 to 110's. I have 65-130's on one of my basses. Killer!

For sure setup is a PITA but a good tech can do wonders.

So when we're talking flatwounds BTW, dinky lightweight flatwounds is not what we're talking about, I would guess that most people would agree.

When the bassist amps it up on those heavy strings, that's rock and roll to my ears.

.

Hey, thanks man!

This does sound like it would be killer for rock - however, I'm wondering if it's right for my style of music - pop radio stuff.

Cheers!

.

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by robot gigante

That's why I usually use flatwounds.

Heavy gauge flatwounds on the right bass played with good technique offer a pretty balanced tone from the highs to the deep lows.

You have to hit them hard and be precise, not for the limp wristed and weak handed.

.

Well, I'm admittedly somewhat limp-wristed (and no, I don't say that to all the girls)

...You probably are getting killer rock bass tracks.

Gracias!



.

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by Dean Roddey

In the 'never say never' category, I was working on the bass part to my new tune tonight. I was getting close to what I wanted but it wasn't quite there. At one point, just to get away from for a minute I turned around and just out of nowhere clicked on the wah pedal, and it just ended up partially down, and it sounded great. It wasn't getting any real peakiness or anything because of the wah emphasizing a particular frequency, and it's a Budda which is not one of those really nasty sounding ones.

It ended up being Jazz -> Wah -> EQ pedal -> Sansamp RPM -> LA-2A at 3 or 4 dB worst case -> 1176 with a fairly medium attack and release and about 5 to 6 dB worst case. The Sansamp had a good bit of drive for some grunge, though because it's mid-range grunge, a fair amount of it was then removed by a pretty strong cut in around the 800'ish area.

Anyway, it worked, so I went with it. You never know what will do the trick. It actually ended up giving it a bit of a Rickenbaker vibe.

.

Cool. Looking forward to hearing the track, man!

Thanks for posting the details!



.

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by Nolet

It's quite interesting for a relative noob like me to see all these posts about getting a good bass guitar sound. In my little world it's the thing I have to worry about least!

Fender Jazz (flatwounds, quite thick ones) -> GR 500 NV -> Distressor or API525 -> UA 2192. Done. Sound like the stuff you heard on a million records. Well...at least 95% there.

I liked the Fatso plugin on it also, but the demo time has run out....

.

Sounds brilliant, Nolet!

...And totally viable - with a nice reliable signal chain like that!

Thanks for sharing, man!



.

[Mike Caffrey]

Originally Posted by Sqye

.

Hey Mike.

This is a great an insightful post.

Thank you for this.

I am always interested in the latest and greatest. I have some endorsement products - which helps me with access to new gear and sonics. And traditionally, I've been a tweaker - as so many of us are.

George Martin was an early inspiration here - espousing the tremendous capacity for musical innovation and universalism - specifically, in the pop music genre (versus other music genres, where innovation and multi-style genre integration were often lacking).

For years, I ran like a hamster in a cage after these trendy sonic booby prizes. Thinking only about creating the next greatest product. Thinking about trends and potential sales and marketing, etc.

However, with regard to this specific issue of acquiring particular bass tones, I'm not really interested in creating the next best thing, per se.

...More accurately, I really am currently interested in bass tone plagarism

And from there, I can springboard into my own innovation. I've found this can often be a useful technique - the way I work. In my early playing, writing, arranging, producing and tracking years, I found I was able to innovate (for myself) through improvization and imagination. However, there is also quite a bit to be learned through careful deconstruction and exact imitation.

I realize the more I work that bass is extremely important - especially in pop music - and building a killer mix around properly written, performed, tracked and edited bass is a good idea

I've already received some helpful PM's. And I really want to thank you all for contributing here.

There are so many great ideas for tracking bass on this thread, it's ridiculous.

And now the mix ideas are starting to roll in. I LOVE IT!

You guys really rock.

Thank you all.

GEARSLUTZ FOREVER!!



.

I follow what you're saying. My point is that conceptually, plagarism would be an attempt at innovation rather that duplication of sonic properties.

(In certain cases)

[Daedalus77]

At this moment I'm finishing a day-long session with Graham Maby.

Will report back later with pix. But for now, the signal chain...

Specter or '66 J-Bass > JDI > MA5 > E27> AD16X > PT. No compression to "tape."

The fingers... It's all in the fingers...

[AntillesSound]

This may be WAY late and already posted earlier int eh thread, but this article on Jacquire King's engineering of the latest Kings of Leon record has some GREAT tips on a variety of things.

Secrets Of The Mix Engineers: Jacquire King

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by Mike Caffrey

I follow what you're saying. My point is that conceptually, plagarism would be an attempt at innovation rather that duplication of sonic properties.

(In certain cases)

.

Agreed 100%.

Thanks, man!



.

[robot gigante]

Originally Posted by Sqye

.

Hey, thanks man!

This does sound like it would be killer for rock - however, I'm wondering if it's right for my style of music - pop radio stuff.

Cheers!

.

Like has been said many times already- it's all in the fingers. That setup is killer for rock, but great for jazz, R&B, pop as well. It's what you do with those heavy gauge strings.

Not saying that 65-130's are for everyone (!), but 50-110's are not that excessive imho.

In pop especially you don't want a lot of fast lead bass style playing most of the time, you want the notes solid and meaty, and that's what heavy strings can do. But as I said before, many ways to get what you're after.