# Teach me how to dial in a Djent bass tone like Nolly



## 777 (May 29, 2021)

I recently bought myself a 5 string and entered the world of bass tone - to say I was overwhelmed is an understatement.

Split frequencies, dual amp, mixing in the DI, distorting only the high end... head melted...

I have an AxeFXIII so any patches/tips would be amazing


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## budda (May 29, 2021)

I'm sure someone has a nolly preset you can download off axechange or buy from one of the many 3rd party preset creators .


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## 777 (May 29, 2021)

budda said:


> I'm sure someone has a nolly preset you can download off axechange or buy from one of the many 3rd party preset creators .


Found one uploaded by the man himself


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## Hoss632 (Jun 1, 2021)

Kinda curious how you would go about getting nolly's tone otherwise. Anyone know what pedals he uses?


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## TheBloodstained (Jun 1, 2021)

The Darkglass Adam pedal is probably the fastest way to get near his tone. Nolly even said recently that he uses that very pedal pretty often in the studio. However, when he played with Periphery he had a more complicated setup.

This video covers an early version of Nollys live rig, which was based around a couple of pedals and an AxeFX unit:


I've been kind of chasing his tone the last couple of years. Just about 2 weeks ago I bought a Dingwall NG3-5, and that bass honestly made me go from maybe 25% there to about 85% there straight out of the box with my current setup, so that might be something to keep in mind.
I'm sure you can achieve Nollys tone without a Dingwall though 

For reference I'm using a Darkglass Alpha Omega bass amp. No pedals (yet!).

EDIT: Also, this might be worth a watch. It's more about the recording/mixing process than the live rig sound, but it's a great insight to how Nolly makes his sound.


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## 777 (Jun 3, 2021)

TheBloodstained said:


> I've been kind of chasing his tone the last couple of years. Just about 2 weeks ago I bought a Dingwall NG3-5, and that bass honestly made me go from maybe 25% there to about 85% there straight out of the box with my current setup, so that might be something to keep in mind.
> I'm sure you can achieve Nollys tone without a Dingwall though


To be honest Im not sure you can achieve it without a dingwall. Do you have any tips on dialling in that clanky dingwall type sound?


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## Hexer (Jun 3, 2021)

a lot of it is also in the technique of playing of course. If you want to try without a Dingwall, Singlecoil pickups might be a good choice and a somewhat mid-scooped sound setting. clean, punchy bottom end and lightly distorted top-end. I think that's roughly the basis.


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## TheBloodstained (Jun 4, 2021)

777 said:


> To be honest Im not sure you can achieve it without a dingwall. Do you have any tips on dialling in that clanky dingwall type sound?


I'm still getting familiar with the instrument, but IIRC I set the pickup selector in position 2, which is bridge PU + middle PU I think (not sure), and then I had bass set on 50%, lower mid around 60% and high mid at 75-80% on the built in preamp.
The Darkglass Alpha Omega amp was pretty much EQ'ed flat with a bass boost on the lowest frequencies and a boost on the second highest frequencies. The highest frequencies was turned all the way up.

That sounding pretty good for my setup. Did some recording with these settings, and it just gave a pretty awesome full and defined bass sound with a distinct Dingwall clank. I did however EQ the bass in my Logic session, basically cutting away some of the highend to avoid unpleasant fizz/treble sounds, as well as boosting the lowend a little more. Only minor adjustments though. I'm still quite blown away by how awesome it sounds recorded. It just fitted the mix without any major adjustment 

I did run a quite scooped sound though with that first recording, so next time I'm going to dial in a bit more mid to get an even better Dingwall snarl


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## 777 (Jun 4, 2021)

TheBloodstained said:


> I'm still getting familiar with the instrument, but IIRC I set the pickup selector in position 2, which is bridge PU + middle PU I think (not sure), and then I had bass set on 50%, lower mid around 60% and high mid at 75-80% on the built in preamp.
> The Darkglass Alpha Omega amp was pretty much EQ'ed flat with a bass boost on the lowest frequencies and a boost on the second highest frequencies. The highest frequencies was turned all the way up.
> 
> That sounding pretty good for my setup. Did some recording with these settings, and it just gave a pretty awesome full and defined bass sound with a distinct Dingwall clank. I did however EQ the bass in my Logic session, basically cutting away some of the highend to avoid unpleasant fizz/treble sounds, as well as boosting the lowend a little more. Only minor adjustments though. I'm still quite blown away by how awesome it sounds recorded. It just fitted the mix without any major adjustment
> ...


Can you post your recording?


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## A-Branger (Jun 5, 2021)

777 said:


> To be honest Im not sure you can achieve it without a dingwall. Do you have any tips on dialling in that clanky dingwall type sound?



that long scale is gonna give you some clarity tone (same as a long scale guitar vs regular)

having said that, his bass pickup configuration is what makes it. His two pickup bass prob would be more similar in sound to a Stingray type of bass MusicMan humbucker type of sound.

If the bass you bought is a P bass (for example), then theres no way you would be able to get that sound. Its like asking to get the Periphery guitars sound with a Strat on the middle pickup position

even something like a Jazz bass is still going to give you a different type fo sound. You might be able to get close by putting the blend knob towards the bridge, but again a jazz is goin to sound like a jazz and a stingray is going to sound like a stingray and a NG2 is going to sound like a NGs2/stingray-ish

guitars you got single coil, humbuckers and P90s. Basses you got a whole lot more of pickup configurations/mix plus different positions. a P bass pickup is on a different spot than a PJ Ibanez would put their P pickup, that would affect the tone. Same as a stingray humbucker is on the "sweet spot", which is a differetn spot/sound that another brand who would use a MMJ pickup on a jazz style bass

in other words, you can get preeeeety close, jsut dont expect the same with a random bass

as for the "pre-amp", dont drown yourself too deep. Basses with active pre-amps are more like "on-baord EQ". the pre-amp is not an amp"amp". is an active EQ, like a EQ pedal will. a Darkglass pre-amp on a bass is not going to amke your bass sound like if its running trough an Alpha/Omega pedal, nope, its jsut gonna sound like its running trough an EQ pedal. Difference with the Darkglass vs others is the choices of frequencies they use


eitherway, you already found his patch and some videos, so go from there


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## TheBloodstained (Jun 7, 2021)

777 said:


> Can you post your recording?


I haven't got any recordings that I'm willing to share publicly atm, but I can offer you a short phone video of me testing my current tone. Please excuse the awkward playing (and fuzzy corona beard). It was just a quick video with random noodling so I could demonstrate my tone to my bandmates! 

Dingwall NG3-5 -> Darkglass Alpha Omega 500 -> Scarlett 4i4 -> Behringer Truth monitors


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## migstopheles (Jun 8, 2021)

your tone is good! a direct clip rather than hearing the room would help us out a little, but with a little imagination i am hearing the makings of a pretty mighty bass tone there.

honestly man i would say that the thing to focus on is your confidence in playing. the way i got really happy with my bass (and guitar) tone was by turning off all my EQ, distortion, really any processing, and trying my damnedest to record a DI track that sounds like I'm playing the living shit out of my bass. right in the pocket. once you're hearing your DI rocking hard, the dirt on top will be the icing on the cake - but for my ears you're not far away from a bass sound that would crush in a mix


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## CovertSovietBear (Jun 22, 2021)

Firstly, you have to be a gearwhore. If you're on here then you probably are, secondly...I'm not too sure, EQ and adding another channel in with some distortion/overdrive?


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## TheBloodstained (Jun 23, 2021)

It's VERY important to get a distortion pedal that has a "blend" feature, so you can control the balance of the clean and distorted signal. A purely distorted signal quickly turns into a mud-fest in the low end.
The dream scenario would be to run a split signal - one for clean, one for distortion with the low frequencies cut/highpass filter. IIRC this is what Nolly often does in a recording situation.

Live tone is a different beast.


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## CanserDYI (Jun 23, 2021)

So how the hell am I just finding out those dingwalls i've been after are made in China.....i'm sure they're great, but its REALLLLLLY hard to justify that type of cash for a MIC bass.


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## profwoot (Jun 23, 2021)

It turns out that where they're manufactured doesn't need to correlate with how much effort is put into quality control, it just does in most cases. In this case they're still QCed in Canada so word has it they're closer to (but not quite at) Made in Canada-level consistency despite being made in China.


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## CanserDYI (Jun 23, 2021)

profwoot said:


> It turns out that where they're manufactured doesn't need to correlate with how much effort is put into quality control, it just does in most cases. In this case they're still QCed in Canada so word has it they're closer to (but not quite at) Made in Canada-level consistency despite being made in China.


Yeah I'm aware of the process, but looking at how bad the strandberg stuff is getting and zero cost being transferred back to the consumer, it does worry me.


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## TheBloodstained (Jun 25, 2021)

CanserDYI said:


> Yeah I'm aware of the process, but looking at how bad the strandberg stuff is getting and zero cost being transferred back to the consumer, it does worry me.


Country of origin is the least of your worries these days. It's ALL about the quality control.

I bought a Dingwall recently and the quality of that instrument easily surpasses my Prestige Ibanez. I know it is an expensive instrument, but it does live up to its pricetag. At least mine did


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## CanserDYI (Jun 25, 2021)

TheBloodstained said:


> Country of origin is the least of your worries these days. It's ALL about the quality control.
> 
> I bought a Dingwall recently and the quality of that instrument easily surpasses my Prestige Ibanez. I know it is an expensive instrument, but it does live up to its pricetag. At least mine did


Again, I'm aware about the QC thing. I'm upset that they move production overseas and seem to pass zero of the savings on to the consumer. Reminds me of a certain swedish guitar designer.


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## makecamera (Jun 25, 2021)

CanserDYI said:


> Again, I'm aware about the QC thing. I'm upset that they move production overseas and seem to pass zero of the savings on to the consumer. Reminds me of a certain swedish guitar designer.



I don't think "zero savings" is correct. If they were built in Canada, I assume they'd be in the $4k USD range. I bought my NG-2 for $1700 used before the NG-3 was released. At the time, I did feel that it was a lot for an MiC guitar, but after getting it, I see why they charge what they do. The bass is flawless, setup perfectly, and looks, plays, and feels like a high-end USA made instrument.


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## budda (Jun 25, 2021)

CanserDYI said:


> Again, I'm aware about the QC thing. I'm upset that they move production overseas and seem to pass zero of the savings on to the consumer. Reminds me of a certain swedish guitar designer.



You're aware that if they were made here, they'd cost more right?


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## CanserDYI (Jun 25, 2021)

budda said:


> You're aware that if they were made here, they'd cost more right?


Obviously? Not seeing how schecter, LTD, ormsby, and pretty much every other far east manufacturer can get very very similar specs for a third of the price...and the Chinese made dingwall is still almost 3 times the cost. There is a reason he went to china to have these produced. Less money going to the worker, and more in Mr Dingwalls pocket, "oh we looked at the instrument and set it up, mark it up 1700 bucks." To me, still zero benefits to the consumer. There are tons of American/Canadian basses you can get for under 2k. What makes the digwalls so special?


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## budda (Jun 25, 2021)

The spec, which is the draw I imagine .


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## CanserDYI (Jun 25, 2021)

budda said:


> The spec, which is the draw I imagine .


So what spec on the dingwall is worth the markup? The fact that they basically own the multiscale bass market?


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## stevexc (Jun 25, 2021)

CanserDYI said:


> So what spec on the dingwall is worth the markup? The fact that they basically own the multiscale bass market?



Based off the MIC Dingwalls I've played, absolutely none. They play like basses going for less than half what's being charged for them and that's if you luck out and find a good one - something I haven't.


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## CanserDYI (Jun 25, 2021)

I don't care where an instrument is made, that's the least of my concerns. But I am not gonna be the guy who gets to pay for a logo. Not happening.


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## budda (Jun 25, 2021)

CanserDYI said:


> So what spec on the dingwall is worth the markup? The fact that they basically own the multiscale bass market?



They build quality basses that do a specific sound quite well. They helped create the djent bass sound - if you want nolly tone, you pretty much gotta look at their basses (from my little knowledge).

Best way to show you dont approve is to buy something else.


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## TheBloodstained (Jun 25, 2021)

CanserDYI said:


> I don't care where an instrument is made, that's the least of my concerns. But I am not gonna be the guy who gets to pay for a logo. Not happening.


You are not only paying for a logo. Don't forget the Darkglass active preamp. Darkglass stuff usually comes with a decently sized price tag too. The Dingwall pickups themselves are also pretty damn amazing.

There's other cool basses available in the Dingwall NG price bracket, but I recon that Dingwall's are a great bang-for-the-buck when considering the overall package you get (hardware, PUs, preamp, multiscale etc.).

But yeah... in the end it's all about preferences


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## budda (Jun 25, 2021)

CanserDYI said:


> I don't care where an instrument is made, that's the least of my concerns. But I am not gonna be the guy who gets to pay for a logo. Not happening.



Anything you pay for, you're paying for the logo.


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## wheresthefbomb (Jun 25, 2021)

Djon't you mean "Djial in?"

I'll see myself out.


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## Crungy (Jul 2, 2021)

For the djent tone from my experience, PSA into B7K or even a B3K will you get you a lot closer than just a B3/B7 alone. Once I put a PSA in front of it that got the sound way closer on my Dingwalls. A simple overdrive in front of the Darkglass pedal may do it too, like a Tube screamer or an OCD type pedal. 

Stainless steel strings also contribute to the tone considerably in my opinion. I'm not sure what Nolly uses for strings, but going to stainless got it way closer for me. 

As far as where Dingwalls are made, who cares. There's not much out there that compares when it comes down to tone and performance. The Ibanez offerings are pretty decent from what I've heard but the scale length isn't as long, which you really want if you're going below A. Spector has the same scale length but it sounds like the Fishman electronics they're using is a crap shoot on if it's going to work or stay working. Which is too bad, they sound awesome. 

Legator also has the same scale length, but I haven't heard about them. I figure this is the best alternative so far if they sound good or you can get other pickups. 

Eventually, there will be more offerings and at a lower price. For now, Dingwall has it nailed because they consistently put out quality stuff.


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## TheBloodstained (Jul 5, 2021)

Crungy said:


> Stainless steel strings also contribute to the tone considerably in my opinion. I'm not sure what Nolly uses for strings, but going to stainless got it way closer for me.


I read somewhere that Nolly uses standard Dingwall nickel strings these days. It wouldn't surprise me if the stainless steels ones would be too clanky. I mean... I've played my Dingwall a fair bit by now, and the strings have lost their metallic top end acoustically, but they still sound awesome through amp.

The extra clank might be a benefit on other basses though?


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## Crungy (Jul 5, 2021)

Nickel strings do sound amazing when they're new, I've used them for years. I have an older Combustion 5 with the EMG shaped Dingwall pickups and that one sounds way more like the older Nolly tone with stainless strings vs Nickel. 

Not to say you can't do a djenty tone with Nickel strings, but I think it helps when used with the PSA and B7k.


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## Abominorg the Grotesque (Jul 5, 2021)

A good way to get that type of bass tone is to:
1.) get a Boss LS-2 Line Selector pedal
2.)Put a guitar OD pedal like a Tubescreamer or Boss Super Overdrive in the "A" loop
3.)Put a patch cable in the "B" loop
4.) set the LS-2 to the A+B Mix<->Bypass setting
5.) Run that into whatever amp you use
This will let you use the level controls on the LS-2 to blend the OD's tone with your clean bass tone so you can get that clanky, midrangey distortion from the OD on top of a nice fat bottom-end from your bass's direct tone. You could also use the LS-2 to send the OD tone to one amp and the clean tone to another for an even more clear tone 

That setup also makes pretty much any other guitar dirt pedal like DS-1, Metal Zone, Tight Metal, etc. useable on bass as well.


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