x_Morning_Star_x Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I would sell my soul to have that Wal bass sound! unfortunatly no-one wants to buy it and i can't afford to buy a Wal so i was just wondering if anyone else has managed to replicate or get somewhere near that amazing growling tone that it has? an example of the tone i'm after is Justin Chancellors bass tone in their song Vicarious. i know that 90% must be his bass that accomplishes that tone so im guessing its a long shot but worth asking about :-P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Apparently Mr Chancellor's tone is so cloaked in different effects, eq and clean/dirty blends that it isn't really a natural example of the Wal bass sound. The tone is amixture of the bass, the player and the general recording and production process, which in Tool's case is pretty extensive. Any kind of dual humbucker or high output pickup bass could get you in the general ballpark. If you look at the basses used by Tool's contemporaries/soundalikes like Isis, Karnivool etc, you'll realise that Wal basses are not the only basses capable of such a sound. You could probably just use a passive Fender and stick it though a Sansamp and still achieve the desired sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 The earlier Tool stuff, before Justin joined was a Ricky. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 (edited) Justin also used Stingrays for some Aenima stuff. As thodrik mentions other bassists have a similar sound without the Wal. Jeff Caxide used a Stingray, check out any of the track's on Isis' Wavering Radiant. Edited August 24, 2012 by bartelby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazy_olie Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I've made my g&l tribute sounds a touch like a wal before. I think you want to work in some sort of notch filter in the treble somewhere. I turned on the treble boost switch whilst turning the treble control down to get something slightly walish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 (edited) [quote name='thodrik' timestamp='1345809651' post='1781807'] Apparently Mr Chancellor's tone is so cloaked in different effects, eq and clean/dirty blends that it isn't really a natural example of the Wal bass sound. The tone is amixture of the bass, the player and the general recording and production process, which in Tool's case is pretty extensive. Any kind of dual humbucker or high output pickup bass could get you in the general ballpark. If you look at the basses used by Tool's contemporaries/soundalikes like Isis, Karnivool etc, you'll realise that Wal basses are not the only basses capable of such a sound. You could probably just use a passive Fender and stick it though a Sansamp and still achieve the desired sound. [/quote] Have to go along with what this man writes and that say that Justin Channcellors tone is actually quite untypical of the archetypal sound of a Wal bass. He uses so many effects in his tone that it detracts fom the typical Wal tone and means that you could have a good go at recreating his tone with a whole host of other basses. I would say that using a pick (as opposed to fingers ) would be more crucial to recreating his sound than having a Wal. I know it is kind of ironic because it seems like a generation of younger players have seized upon the Wal bass as an object of desire because of it's association with this chap, but I would think you could approximate Justins' tone just as easily with most modern-style basses. I don't think he has actually got much Wal growl in his sound. Edited August 24, 2012 by Dingus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 (edited) i didnt know you could bet a growl from a Wal..? the last one i played had a dull thump... Edited August 24, 2012 by bubinga5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 [quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1345836225' post='1782338'] i didnt know you could bet a growl from a Wal..? the last one i played had a dull thump... [/quote] You can get pretty much any instrument to 'growl' with the right eq settings, although a Gibson EB3 on the 'extra mud' pickup selection is a bit of challenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 i beg to differ.... this thread about a natural growl from a stock instrument.... i doubt you could get a proper growl from a P bass with any natural eq setting... through effects yes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubis Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I'm with Thodrik here Having owned a fretless Wal I'd say it could growl,in fact I managed to get a fairly good Ric sound, the very bass I'd part ex'd for the Wal A bit of tweaking and eq'ing goes a long way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 There's that 'growl' word again. What does it mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 (edited) [quote name='silddx' timestamp='1345845390' post='1782482'] There's that 'growl' word again. What does it mean? [/quote] Spandau Ballet? Edited August 24, 2012 by xgsjx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 [quote name='silddx' timestamp='1345845390' post='1782482'] There's that 'growl' word again. What does it mean?[/quote] It's what Jazz basses, Warwicks and (now) Wals sound like. Presumably they add more growl as you go up the price range of Jazz basses, and get even more with Warwicks and Wals. It's quite a valuable commodity. I don't know either. I've got a Warwick (apparently the most-growly one they do) and it makes more a purring sound. It might be broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 [quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1345838474' post='1782364'] i beg to differ.... this thread about a natural growl from a stock instrument.... i doubt you could get a proper growl from a P bass with any natural eq setting... through effects yes... [/quote] my P bass growls if you hit the strings right... but what I think of growl and you may differ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I wanted that 'classic Jazz bass squeak' but mine had a Badass II on, so it sort of snarled. I hear the word 'bark' a lot too, but these things are made of trees so of course they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 [quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1345838474' post='1782364'] i beg to differ.... this thread about a natural growl from a stock instrument.... i doubt you could get a proper growl from a P bass with any natural eq setting... through effects yes... [/quote] Is natural growl a product of nature? Or anger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 [quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1345838474' post='1782364'] i beg to differ.... this thread about a natural growl from a stock instrument.... i doubt you could get a proper growl from a P bass with any natural eq setting... through effects yes... [/quote] What is a 'natural eq setting'? Even the most basic of bass, middle and treble should be enough to get in the general ballpark of the type of sound you are going for? In the context of a thread discussing 'how does the bassist in Tool get his sound and how important is the Wal bass in achieving that sound?', I don't think that the natural non-Eq'd sound of the Wal is of fundamental importance. Essentially, I think Justin Chancellor would still sound like Justin Chancellor if he was using a Musicman, Spector, Sadowsky, Warwick, Fender Precision or any other four string bass tuned D A D G played through his set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 [quote name='thodrik' timestamp='1345854132' post='1782550'] In the context of a thread discussing 'how does the bassist in Tool get his sound and how important is the Wal bass in achieving that sound?', I don't think that the natural non-Eq'd sound of the Wal is of fundamental importance. Essentially, I think Justin Chancellor would still sound like Justin Chancellor if he was using a Musicman, Spector, Sadowsky, Warwick, Fender Precision or any other four string bass tuned D A D G played through his set up. [/quote] Kinda proven by the fact he's recorded with Wals, Stingrays and a Thunderbird and sounds pretty much exactly the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubis Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Q E D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x_Morning_Star_x Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 Haha yeah sorry "Growl" is a bad word to use , well the guy on this link has Justin's sound nailed although he uses a Wal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtM-rKr-ueI i i know you guys say you can get a similar tone from a stingray and thunderbird, and actually i am thinking about getting a thunderbird along with a sansamp bass driver pedal to go through my GK2001rb i should manage to get somewhere near with that set up really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolverinebass Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 I did do a bit of experimentation in trying to get a sort of similar sound to Justin Chancellor. I could get reasonably close with an Alembic, but it just didn't have that sort of "ring" in the mids like you hear on that guy's sound playing Vicarious above. I would think that there isn't the slightest chance you could get a sound like that with a Thunderbird which to me is one of the most dull, thumpy basses ever made with absolutely no cut whatsoever. Having never played a Stingray, I could only say that stuff Chancellor plays a stingray on such as 46+2 doesn't sound like Tool's later stuff where he plays a Wal, so there would be the difference. I doubt very much if Chancellor would sound exactly the same playing a Precision through his rig. He'd still sound like himself, but just not exactly so in terms of sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 [quote name='Wolverinebass' timestamp='1345889750' post='1782759'] I doubt very much if Chancellor would sound exactly the same playing a Precision through his rig. He'd still sound like himself, but just not exactly so in terms of sound. [/quote] Pretty much, it would sound different, but it would still work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 THE thing that sets the Wal sound apart is the bandpass filter tone control. The best thing you can get thats close to this is an East EQ, it will get you close. There's nothing special about a Wal except for the electronics (without them its pretty much the same as a Jazz bass really) and honestly unless you have the tronics, or something very close its not going to get that 'Wal sound'! Enormous humbuckers, (and individual ones for each string) combined with the bandpass filter EQ is what you need... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 (edited) The filter- based preamp certainly helps a Wal achieve its unique sound, but I think the basic sound of those basses with the preamp turned off is very distinctive . The Wal growl is to do with the prominence and consistancy of the low-mids, which can easily be acscentuated with the preamp , but are there in passive mode regardless . Regarding any debate about what what is growl is , I would say it is exactly that; it's a certain emphasis in the midrange that enables a bass to heard in the mix. Edited August 25, 2012 by Dingus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 It's probably because both the pickups are quite close to the bridge. Same story with the Thumb bass. I'd be willing to concede it's 'tone wood' if someone wants to try putting Wal electronics in a plywood bass and finds it doesn't sound like a Wal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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