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‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’ - bass sound (how?)


Skol303
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Okay… so I’ve got ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’ by Justin Timberlake firmly stuck in my head. Mrs Skol and the boys love it, so it gets played constantly at home. It’s inescapable.

One thing that’s really struck me about this song is the bassline - and specifically, the [i]bass sound[/i]. It’s got some kind of auto-wah or funky envelope filter effect on it; not something I’d want to hear too often but on this particular song I think it works well. It’s very distinctive.

[b]So my question is: does anyone here know how this effect is achieved?[/b]

I’ve checked on some other forums, but nobody seems 100% sure. So I thought I’d ask at the Basschat font of all knowledge :D

My best guesses are…[list]
[*]Electro Harmonix Q-Tron pedal?
[*]Electro Harmonix Bass Balls pedal?
[*]Some kind of octaver?
[*]And with overdrive?
[/list]

Maybe some of you guys’n’gals who lug around those big pedalboards can shed some light on this.

You can hear the song here - the bass sound is particularly clear during the brief solo around 2:50…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru0K8uYEZWw

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[quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1483960572' post='3211358']
i love this song. i'm not a fan of pop music, but occasionally you get a song which just hits the right notes in terms of vibe, groove and mood. it's perfect pop.[/quote]

Yeah I agree Rob! It's a crackingly good pop song... super catchy and the production is top notch (it's produced by Max Martin who's behind a long list of number ones).

[edit] PS: my fact of the day from Wikipedia…

[i]“Martin is the songwriter with third most number one singles, behind only Paul McCartney (32) and John Lennon (26). As a producer he holds the record for second-most number one singles with 20 behind only George Martin (23).”[/i]

Wow… and I bet that almost nobody has heard of him other than studio nerds like me ;)

Edited by Skol303
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[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1483964090' post='3211404']
Yeah I agree Rob! It's a crackingly good pop song... super catchy and the production is top notch (it's produced by Max Martin who's behind a long list of number ones).

[edit] PS: my fact of the day from Wikipedia…

[i]“Martin is the songwriter with third most number one singles, behind only Paul McCartney (32) and John Lennon (26). As a producer he holds the record for second-most number one singles with 20 behind only George Martin (23).”[/i]

Wow… and I bet that almost nobody has heard of him other than studio nerds like me ;)
[/quote]
i've heard of him AND know of his importance to pop music :P

didn't know he's done this one tho :)

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[quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1483967257' post='3211453']
i've heard of him AND know of his importance to pop music :P[/quote]
That only goes to show you're as nerdy as I am! :D

[quote name='Bassman68' timestamp='1483967288' post='3211456']
I can get close with an EH BassBalls with the overdrive switched in but it still needs something like a Flanger etc. to get it sweeping.
Probably something a lot more impressive and/or boutique on the original?
[/quote]

...yeah I did wonder whether it was the BassBalls, no doubt layered with a bunch of other stuff. I'm starting to think the sound is actually a mix of various processes: possibly a dry signal, layered with an overdriven/wah signal, plus a modulated signal on top: i.e. put together in post-production, rather than recorded all through a pedal chain or whatever.

PS: how do you find the BassBalls? I've been tempted by one myself... it certainly has a very funky sound from the YouTube clips I've heard. Worth the money?

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I wouldn't have thought either of those pedals would do it (I have both). The envelope follower/LPF built into my Digitech XP-100 would do that extra resonant filter thing, then I'd put some dirt on top, but that's not a lot of help... anyway, yeh, some sort of envelope follower with dirt and some compression and an LPF in the studio

EDIT: I can't hear modulation or flange or anything like that, just sounds like an envelope follower to me - what am I missing?

Edited by cheddatom
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[quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1483960572' post='3211358']
i love this song. i'm not a fan of pop music, but occasionally you get a song which just hits the right notes in terms of vibe, groove and mood. it's perfect pop.
[/quote]

That it is, I just grooved into the kitchen to put the kettle on.

Deffo some kind of auto-wah/filter going on with the bass.

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[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1483968468' post='3211478']
That only goes to show you're as nerdy as I am! :D



...yeah I did wonder whether it was the BassBalls, no doubt layered with a bunch of other stuff. I'm starting to think the sound is actually a mix of various processes: possibly a dry signal, layered with an overdriven/wah signal, plus a modulated signal on top: i.e. put together in post-production, rather than recorded all through a pedal chain or whatever.

PS: how do you find the BassBalls? I've been tempted by one myself... it certainly has a very funky sound from the YouTube clips I've heard. Worth the money?
[/quote]
they're great. I got one on here for £30, so keep your eyes peeled, a really "chewy" sound, very funky and the overdrive feature is a nice touch.

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[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1483973259' post='3211554']
they're great. I got one on here for £30, so keep your eyes peeled, a really "chewy" sound, very funky and the overdrive feature is a nice touch.
[/quote]

I like "chewy" :)

I'll keep my eye out for one... from the clips I've heard it sounds great. Seems to lose a bit of the low end when engaged (nearly every bass overdrive pedal does), but I see myself mixing it with a dry signal anyway in post-production to add some "oomph".

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[quote name='Lee-Man' timestamp='1483964454' post='3211408']
I quite enjoyed this on Max Martin: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2DHuugaxWk"]https://youtu.be/D2DHuugaxWk[/url]
[/quote]

That's a good vid! I like Dave (aka Boy In A Band). He's a smart guy who posts some great content on YouTube. His music tutorials are also top notch.

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To my ears, it does sound a lot like an ehx bassballs, with the drive switch in, but I also sounds like there is a low pass filter with an expression pedal involved as the level of filter is not consistent.
I've not got a envelope filter at the minute, but a bass wah might also be involved. As could a bass octave.

I'll get to having a try at it in the coming weeks!

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  • 8 months later...

Don't know about the bass effects, but I used t have a 1967 Camaro just like the one in the video and it was exactly the same colour. This is very strange, because I resprayed it myself to match the colours of the drag race team I crewed in and it is not a GM colour - it's Ford Olympic Blue! If I can find it I'll post a photo later!

Edited by phil.c60
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I found a post on TalkBass where a guy got close with the Zoom B3. Close enough that after tweaking some of the effects, you wouldn't tell the difference in the mix. Sorry I can't remember what I changed though!

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