Ultra Twangy bass guitar sound required.

[Spoombung]

I'm a big fan of extreme TWANG but you rarely hear it from a bass guitar...so this video caught my interest. At first I thought it might have been a baritone guitar in four string format or something...but I'm not sure. One thing I am sure of is it's certainly a mightily impressive sound.

Can anyone tell me more about it? I'd like something like it (obviously not in double guitar format). Anyone got an instrument that sounds like this? Any tips or suggestions or modifications to regular basses come to mind..?

[ped]

Hm sounds do-able with a bridge pickup, pick, reverb and a touch of tremolo? Plucking near the bridge of course and loads of mids. 

[BigRedX]

Assuming that audio on the video is produce with the instruments being used, I would suspect the following:

1. Short-scale (30") bass stung with round wounds.

2. Single coil pickups with emphasis on the bridge pickup.

3. Into a guitar amp with plenty of bass cut and upper-mid boost.

4. Hard plastic pick.

Edited December 22, 2020 by BigRedX

[Spoombung]

6 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Assuming that audio on the video is produce with the instruments being used, I would suspect the following:

1. Short-scale (30") bass stung with round wounds.

2. Single coil pickups with emphasis on the bridge pickup.

3. Into a guitar amp with plenty of bass cut and upper-mid boost.

4. Hard plastic pick.

Yeah, I'd agree with this...however the strings sound very taught and I'm not sure a 30" scale would produce unless they're heavy gauge, perhaps?

[Spoombung]

9 minutes ago, ped said:

Hm sounds do-able with a bridge pickup, pick, reverb and a touch of tremolo? Plucking near the bridge of course and loads of mids. 

Absolutely...however I definitely can't get this sound from any of my basses...

[Happy Jack]

30 minutes ago, Spoombung said:

At first I thought it might have been a baritone guitar in four string format or something...but I'm not sure.

I thought exactly the same. My best guess is that he's playing a Danelectro bass through an octave-up pedal.

If you'd like to experiment with a Danelectro twin-neck to see if you can match the sound, drop me a PM ... I have one hanging on the wall next to me.

 

[AndyTravis]

14 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Assuming that audio on the video is produce with the instruments being used, I would suspect the following:

1. Short-scale (30") bass stung with round wounds.

2. Single coil pickups with emphasis on the bridge pickup.

3. Into a guitar amp with plenty of bass cut and upper-mid boost.

4. Hard plastic pick.

Was going to say, sounds like a bass VI type sound through a guitar amp.

Very cool, in that context.

[BigRedX]

3 minutes ago, Spoombung said:

Yeah, I'd agree with this...however the strings sound very taught and I'm not sure a 30" scale would produce unless they're heavy gauge, perhaps?

I've never had a problem getting a twangy sound out my short-scale basses with standard gauge strings (100-40) when playing through a guitar amp/combo. You do need a bass with the bridge pickup close to the bridge as in the video.

[pete.young]

I don't think there's any octave up. It's pitched where you would expect it to be pitched for a bass guitar.

Stainless round wounds, maybe a hex core?

[Cato]

Using a pick with the bass on the back pickup will add 'twang' but I reckon the amp's doing most of the heavy lifting on this.

Treble boosted, lot of reverb and a touch of tremelo.

 

 

Edited December 22, 2020 by Cato

[Spoombung]

3 minutes ago, Cato said:

I reckon the amp's doing most of the heavy lifting on this.

Treble boosted, lot of reverb and a touch of tremelo.

I've always liked the sound of a bass guitar through a guitar amp...maybe it's a nostalgia thing from the days I couldn't afford a bass amp. It does aid twang for sure but I think the bass has to be right as well.

[Spoombung]

53 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

I've never had a problem getting a twangy sound out my short-scale basses with standard gauge strings (100-40) when playing through a guitar amp/combo. You do need a bass with the bridge pickup close to the bridge as in the video.

Have you got a sound example?

[Spoombung]

58 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

I thought exactly the same. My best guess is that he's playing a Danelectro bass through an octave-up pedal.

If you'd like to experiment with a Danelectro twin-neck to see if you can match the sound, drop me a PM ... I have one hanging on the wall next to me.

 

Really? I'd love to have a go...

[Happy Jack]

2 minutes ago, Spoombung said:

Really? I'd love to have a go...

How seriously do you take the whole Tier 4 thing? 

Hint: Don't reply here!

[Spoombung]

4 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

How seriously do you take the whole Tier 4 thing? 

Hint: Don't reply here!

Erm, well I will reply: obviously not during the current restrictions.🙄 

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited March 11, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[shoulderpet]

Sounds like a touch of overdrive as well

[BigRedX]

51 minutes ago, Spoombung said:

Have you got a sound example?

The closest I have on-line would be the latest single "Stars" by my band Hurtsfall.

This is a Burns Barracuda Bass VI strung with Newtone Axion round-wound strings into a Roland JC120 combo sim on a Line 6 Helix.

There are additional effects, mostly chorus and auto-filter on the sound, and I used the middle pickup rather than the bridge and a nylon rather than hard plastic pick, but you should be able to hear that it's starting to get into the ballpark for the sound that you are after. 

[three]

I had a Dano longhorn re-issue and it could produce that kind of tone fairly readily with very light rounds (the kind of strings I use all the time).  I miss it.

[Spoombung]

1 minute ago, three said:

I had a Dano longhorn re-issue and it could produce that kind of tone fairly readily with very light rounds (the kind of strings I use all the time).  I miss it.

I'd like one of those!

[Spoombung]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

The closest I have on-line would be the latest single "Stars" by my band Hurtsfall.

This is a Burns Barracuda Bass VI strung with Newtone Axion round-wound strings into a Roland JC120 combo sim on a Line 6 Helix.

There are additional effects, mostly chorus and auto-filter on the sound, and I used the middle pickup rather than the bridge and a nylon rather than hard plastic pick, but you should be able to hear that it's starting to get into the ballpark for the sound that you are after. 

Nice. I see what you mean.

[Dosi Y'Anarchy]

Echoing many of the statements here, I think the majority of the tone is coming from the amp and speakers but suggest lighter string gauge and something with a bridge pickup into a Fender Blackface style amp maybe. 

It's a tone I really like and have a couple of Bass VIs that could totally get in that ballpark with a careful consideration of settings. (it has a switchable high pass filter which I wouldn't use for traditional bass sounds but often use when I tune up to B for a Baritone and totally get into twang territory). 

The bass vi also tracks thematically with its history of being used to either double an upright bass or as a somewhat lead instrument invariably being used with guitar amps. 

Pair it up with a Fender blackface style amp and you could well be on your way. 

 

For this song, however, I reckon it could well be the double neck into a guitar amp. The bass and guitar sides probably use the same pickups and I actually have tried one of the longscale danos and even though it was going through a bass amp, I was impressed with the top end clarity. 

[4000]

Every Dano Longhorn I’ve ever played has been twangy as hell to start with. Which I like. 

[Cosmo Valdemar]

3 hours ago, three said:

I had a Dano longhorn re-issue and it could produce that kind of tone fairly readily with very light rounds (the kind of strings I use all the time).  I miss it.

This. My Dano Longhorn can do it.

[mr4stringz]

4 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

This. My Dano Longhorn can do it.

Thirded.