Bass guitar players

[Dren]

I ask this question of guitar players, can anyone tell me how to accomplish thicker basslines, my bass guitar is fine as is, however i often look to lay thicker basslines, in retro my basslines are good but i feel like they could be better if they were thicker. Any clues?

[AlexLakis]

Bass guitar players? Where???!

One real big thing to nail is keeping your volume consistent as you move from string to string. This will help your overall sound to be fuller, not to mention making it easy to process dynamically. Concentrate on how much harder/softer you should pluck the 4th string in relation to the 3rd string to achive the same volume and tone.

[h2000]

It mostly comes down to your playing style. In general, if you play closer to the neck, you will get more bottom. Playing near the bridge is more treble percussive.

Gear can make it better or worse. What are you playing and how are you recording it?

[TMOU]

Generally it's all in the hands.
If I need more thickness I use my fingers instead of a pick. Make sure nails are cut short, so you're just plucking the note with a slab of flesh. When you fret the notes, let a little flesh hang over the fret to deaden the sound, but really dig in with your plucking hand. Try plucking the string closer to the neck for a rounder sound.

Instead of going direct, get a 15 (or 18) in cab to run through. That should be good and woofy. Woofy is a kind of thick, no? Maybe not...

All that said, the *thickest* sound I ever got was recording to analog tape at a slower speed than normal. When I speed it up so the bass was the correct pitch, it was amazingly dense. Dense is like thick.

[papiel]

Loose your shoulders.

[Dren]

Gear can make it better or worse. What are you playing and how are you recording it?[/QUOTE]

I have a small amp my friend gave me which is a piece of shit, and then i have a pretty nice speaker system with a sound card, my presets are dead on, i record in to Acid Pro 5.0, everything seemingly works yet I am goin to get a new amp, a bass amp within the next four days. I was told that could help.

[Mike Caffrey]

Originally Posted by Dren

I ask this question of guitar players, can anyone tell me how to accomplish thicker basslines, my bass guitar is fine as is, however i often look to lay thicker basslines, in retro my basslines are good but i feel like they could be better if they were thicker. Any clues?

My first reaction, seeing as you're already being defensive about your bass, is that that's where you at least subconsciouly beleive the probelm is.

Beyond that, fingers instead of a pick and consider rolling of some low end. The frequencies that you like are often higher than you think.

Also, in the mix, keep the low mids clear for the bass. Don;t let the kick and guitars compete with the bass too much down there.

[max cooper]

Bass playing is such a zen deal. Of all the 'rock band' instruments, it's the one that's hardest to define as far as what makes a good bass player.

Listen to Paulie, especially Abbey Road, Jamerson, Tom Wolk, Justin Meldal-Johnson, Rick Danko, Simon Gallup, Oscar Pettiford, Robbie Shakespeare, Bernard Edwards...

And listen to the song; what does it want?

I also think you gotta move a little bit when you play bass. I think a good bass line is like an animal. All animals have their own kind of walk; a good bass line is no different.

When you picture it walking, does it walk cool, or does it walk kinda dorky? Does it help make the song live, or does it drag it down? The bass can be in time with the drums, yet still drag the song down. It's not about bringing the notes down on the beat perfectly, it's about moving the song. If you listen to the song, it'll kind of tell you how to move with it; if you get that down, you're on the way.

And, flatwounds.

[usamike]

OF course the song and the genre may dictate otherwise, but try flatwound strings- fat.

-Mike

[Cujo]

Funny, I was at band pratcie tonight thinking about this thread and flatwounds came to mind, also it issue of course is semantics, what is "Punchy" or "warm"?

Strangely I emailed Klaus Voorman about a different subject but i asked him about recording his bass while I was at it..no limiting or no compression or so he says. Listen to "Watching The Wheels" wow

Also I think a huge part is the play beween the drummer and the bass player think Led Zep or listen to "Oh Darlin" by the Beatles,( could be Paul on drums there too)

That said I am a huge fan of Paul Siminon of The Clash P Bass all the way man. And one could say he was rudimentary, but he could play with great power whe emulating some Reggea greats like Flabba

Originally Posted by max cooper

Bass playing is such a zen deal. Of all the 'rock band' instruments, it's the one that's hardest to define as far as what makes a good bass player.

Listen to Paulie, especially Abbey Road, Jamerson, Tom Wolk, Justin Meldal-Johnson, Rick Danko, Simon Gallup, Oscar Pettiford, Robbie Shakespeare, Bernard Edwards...

And listen to the song; what does it want?

I also think you gotta move a little bit when you play bass. I think a good bass line is like an animal. All animals have their own kind of walk; a good bass line is no different.

When you picture it walking, does it walk cool, or does it walk kinda dorky? Does it help make the song live, or does it drag it down? The bass can be in time with the drums, yet still drag the song down. It's not about bringing the notes down on the beat perfectly, it's about moving the song. If you listen to the song, it'll kind of tell you how to move with it; if you get that down, you're on the way.

And, flatwounds.

[covert]

Originally Posted by Cujo

That said I am a huge fan of Paul Siminon of The Clash P Bass all the way man.

Except for the first record or so, when he was playing a cheapo with the notes written on the fretboard, and the period with the white Rickenbacker.

[T-fonk]

Play softer and really gentle. And a bit closer to the neck. Try to not just use the last bit of fingertip, but more of the "whole" finger tip. The bigger flesh/skin area - the more tone you get. Now rembember to gain that up, and you should have a thicker tone!

Good luck!

[Blast9]

IMHO skin (try your thumb ) >>> strings >>> Neck pickup >>> amp/speaker with a bit of overdrive >>> a bit of room is the way to go 'cos it = lower-mid emphasis

[Cujo]

very early pictures I have show him with some sort of 335 shaped hollow body.
Then still really early he looks to have a P bass copy from the headstock, it could be a Hondo 2, or Did musicman ever make a P style? All the others and every time I saw them he had a white maple neck P.
But I did not know he played a Rick. What era?

this discusion reminds me that expensive basses are not always the best eh. Actually, the oposite may be true, I do gringe when I see a guy with a 4,000.00 six string made from rare African woods and super modern active pick ups.

Also there is somehting to be said about having a distinct tone. Bass tone and parts seem to have become more generic over the years.

Originally Posted by covert

Except for the first record or so, when he was playing a cheapo with the notes written on the fretboard, and the period with the white Rickenbacker.

[Knox]

amp and direct . . .
I have an Ampeg flip top tube amp that records well.

[DAWgEAR]

Lots of good suggestions above. I will add to them: heavier strings.

[max cooper]

Originally Posted by DAWgEAR

Lots of good suggestions above. I will add to them: heavier strings.

Yeah, and if you must use a pick, some muting with the heel of your hand can help.

[Jim Williams]

I have found many bass rigs and preamps roll off the deep bass, no way to get it back as it's all sloppy due to excessive phase shift. My bass has an active circuit in it that rolls off below 2 hz. When I run that into the recording chain, the entire system is at that 2 hz response. There is so much fundemental depth compared to running through bass gear or speakers to mic up. The test for me is to just push the low E string up and down over the pickup. If I see the woofers pump in and out with the string movement, I know I'm down there.

Don't know about the rest of you, but I like to feel the bass as well as hear it. I don't hear much bass in current records, I guess it's the fashion of the times to have the kick drum dominate the lower registers...

Jim Williams
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[Knox]

or Pro Tools not being able to get the low end right.

Originally Posted by Jim Williams

Don't know about the rest of you, but I like to feel the bass as well as hear it. I don't hear much bass in current records, I guess it's the fashion of the times to have the kick drum dominate the lower registers...

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

[h2000]

Originally Posted by Jim Williams

I don't hear much bass in current records, I guess it's the fashion of the times to have the kick drum dominate the lower registers...

Yes, it's true. And as a soul/R&B bass player it sucks. Modern R&B has virtually no live bass whatsoever, and I find it much less enjoyable to listen to than old funk, soul, and R&B because of it.

I'm looking forward to the end of the trend...

[Saudade]

Originally Posted by Dren

I ask this question of guitar players, can anyone tell me how to accomplish thicker basslines, my bass guitar is fine as is, however i often look to lay thicker basslines, in retro my basslines are good but i feel like they could be better if they were thicker. Any clues?

Don't know what you mean exactly by "thicker"...besides all that the folks here have a already mentioned, I found that whatever you are using to record (DI, amp, efx box etc), turn up the "overdrive" or equivalent in your gear.

I was messing around for a couple of weeks recently trying to make my sorryass bass sound "cut through" a dense rock song, and I found that cranking up the O/D on my sansamp GT2 (which is more a guitar box) to the point just before the tone breaks up was all there is to it. Now I can hear the "meat" (presence) of the bass even when I turn it way down in the mix.

I used to resort to using a pick and playing near the bridge to let the "attack" cut through (but instead result in a thin and edgy tone....yucks) or boost insane amounts of deep lows/sub-harmonics with plug-ins (which made it sound boomy and hollow). In the end its the "lo-mids" (I think) which gave it the presence and definition.

oh, and adjust your pickups as close to the strings as possible. there is a definite amt of "presence" boost by doing that.

hope that helps...

[Jim Williams]

Originally Posted by Saudade

oh, and adjust your pickups as close to the strings as possible. there is a definite amt of "presence" boost by doing that.

hope that helps...

Just make sure the strings don't bop the pickup as that's an ugly sound. Fender bass users should place a piece of electric tape across the pole pieces, that will stop the buzz when your fingers touch the magnets.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades