# Percussive bass tone?



## BillNephew (Nov 16, 2012)

I've been wondering for a while now, how do you bass players get a tone like this?


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## Konfyouzd (Nov 16, 2012)

My guess would be that low action is at least one part of the equation.

My bass tone is like a fine lady... Thick w/ a round bottom end... So I'm not 100% sure how you achieve that, but I know my BTB sounded *close* to that when I had the strings really low during my I-Wanna-Tap-Everything-On-Bass phase.


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## SirMyghin (Nov 16, 2012)

Sounds like a fair bit of treble, a bunch of lows and not much in between. Not sure why anyone would want that tone though. Way too clanky for my tastes.


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## Konfyouzd (Nov 16, 2012)

Bc the guitars in bands like that cover everything from low to high mids these days... The bass players are for show. 

But the click *does* sounds kinda cool if mixed well.

At the same time... That plus a heavily scooped guitar sound = your average 90s death metal band.


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## MassNecrophagia (Nov 19, 2012)

Low action. Fresh strings will make it really bad/pronounced. EQ it to taste, highs will make it bright, lows will give it that chunk sound, mids will make it stick out.


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## cGoEcYk (Nov 21, 2012)

It's mainly playing style. Gear/EQ specifics etc just make it not sound horrible. 

Use a fast yet light attack that hits the strings at an angle such that it bounces off the fretboard a little. Low action will help like a crazy.

It sounds like this cat sets up his sound with a lot of low mids to kind of cusion the clank and probably rolls off highs somewhat significantly or his strings are just dead. I am pretty sure he uses a touch of OD too. If you can find an amp or other tool that can overdrive right on the threshold of playing very aggressively you are golden with the clanky tone. If dialed in just right the worst sounding parts of clank will transform into grit while you still retain the overall punchy character.

I get what this kid is going for... you can go a lot further with this type of tone/style though.


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## Bloodbath Salt (Nov 21, 2012)

Get a EHX Knockout Attack Equalizer pedal. It's marketed for "making single coils sound like humbuckers" and visa versa, but the pedal works best with a bass.


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