Growly

Gear
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Hi Guys

I really struggle with tone, I’m sure I’m not alone !! I always go with a bit of guesswork when trying to get something I like. Does anyone know of any decent resources for a beginner to learn more about tone. I’ve recently joined a covers jam band, that do indie, classic rock and some pop stuff so it would be nice to get a good range.

One song that we do is Fortunate Son by CCR, but we do the Clutch version Clutch - Fortunate Son (Official Video) - YouTube so I’m trying to get that gravelly, growly bass tone. Any suggestions (other than buy a Rickenbacker :slight_smile: ??

Gearwise, I have an Ibanez GSR 200 and RedSub 60 Watt amp at home. At the practice space I have access to a much bigger Ashdown Head (i think 300w) and Warwick speaker cab, but I don’t have much more info on that. I have been looking at the Behringer V-Tone Bass Driver, to see if that would get me closer…( I don’t have a big budget at the moment)

Any advice would be great

Thanks
Matthew

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Yes! :clap: It can add a lot more growl to your tone and having a preamp DI is good too.

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Thanks Paul, apparently it’s a pretty good Sansamp clone…for £20 I’m not expecting miracles, but I won’t be gigging it heavily so worth a go :wink:

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It’s one of the best buys in pedals. Definitely pull the trigger there, you won’t regret it.

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Some people have had trouble finding the V-Tone BDDI. If you run into that, there is also the Wine Cellar from Caline. Same thing but in a metal case.

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The overdriven sound seems to come from the tube amps. A recent rig rundown video does show some Ampeg SVT-CL amp heads. The Behringer should allow you to get a similar tone. You might just have to play a little bit with the drive setting to get more dirt :slightly_smiling_face:

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Just turn Presence all the way up :slight_smile:

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There is nothing really special about that tone, it’s just overdriven Ampeg. In the video you can see bassist plugged into Ampeg B15 and what it looks like 1x15 cab:

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VT Bass DI will easily get you there: https://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/vtbass-di/

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BDI-21 will be close enough too. The amp tone in that video was really pretty light.

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Thanks for all the useful advice. My guitarist brother has offered me a play with this:

HT-Dual - Blackstar.

Dunno whether that would achieve similar results ? Not.had chance to pick it up yet. Can guitar pedals be used for Bass effectively ?

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Certainly looks like it will get the job done and more. A couple of us have used different valve/Tube drives. Some have a different feel than others, but all have that tube grit.

Let us know what you think.

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That won’t give you the sound of overdriven Ampeg, it will give you overdrive but you will probably loose low end.

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This one will most likely suck the low end out of your tone like Noiseembryo said and that is something you don’t want as a bass player. It is possible to use guitar pedals for bass but then you will need to understand the concept of using blend and/or 2 channels to keep the low end in your signal. For now I would advice to stick with bass pedals. :wink:

You could also check if your Ashdown has a drive knob. Most heads have an input for a footswitch pedal (at the back) to turn your drive on/off. The drive could give you more punch and growl.

If you want something that you could use at home and practice I would still advice to get the BDI21. That way you have more control over your sound because you can plug the pedal in before any amp (or PA system). For gigs you will prob need a DI preamp anyway.

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If you want to use a Tube preamp I recommend the EBS ValveDrive.

Found a bass video from the metal version of that Blackstar distortion pedal. To my ears it still sounds he loose a bit of his low-end. I guess you can try it out to see if it works for you but I’m still skeptical :slight_smile:

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