Apr 6, 02:19 PM
Getting that "piano" sound for your Bass Guitar
The low piano keys have a distinct metallic grumble to them. You may have heard the same type of bright grumble in certain bass guitar sounds, especially in rock and metal. This type of bass sound has way more harmonics than, say, the sound you get from plucking flatwound strings with your fingers on a clean amp.
Why do we want a piano type sound? Because instead of a muffled booming, you get a muscular, defined, agile, powerful type of bass that cuts through. This is especially important in rock and metal where guitar distortion may override bass definition.
How do we achieve the “piano” tone?
First you need strings that emit a rich harmonic content when plucked or picked. DR strings like the Lo-Rider or Hi-Beams are over/compression wound so that more metal is wrapped on the core string for the same gauge versus other brands. More metal packed together means more longitudinal vibrations, and thus more harmonics. This makes them more similar to piano strings than, say, Ernie Balls. Unlike a guitar, the bass is extremely dependent on the kind of strings used. So try some DR strings.
Second, the way you pluck or pick the strings determines how many fundamental or harmonics are set into motion. The shorter the contact time between pick and string, the more harmonics are generated. Fingers with their wide contact points will give the most rounded and muffled tone unless they are calloused and rough.
For rock and metal, unless you are a pro with finger plucking, try using a pick. If you use a thin flexible pick like a Fender Medium will give the brightest, while a Jazz III pick will provide more bass but less mid/treble. Picking near the bridge is brighter but more twangy, near the neck boomier but floppy.
Third, the actual piano timbre is all located in the mids and upper mids of your bass sound, in the 600-2500 Hz region. On the EQ, don’t scoop your mids or muffle your trebles, you need them. A bass that sounds kind of middy by itself, may end up sounding very nice and defined in a mix with distorted guitars.
Fourth, to actually process the bass sound while recording, you can do a common trick. That is to record DI (directly into the software) first. Then duplicate the track. The first track will be your rounded full bottom, the second your harmonics. Compress your first track and low-pass EQ it so that it makes a rounded muffled sound. Compress and high pass the second track so that you get all the tin-canny harmonics from it, then run this through a guitar amp simulator to give it a creamy to raspy (but not fizzy) distortion. Then adjust the volume between both tracks to make it sound balanced, full, and defined. Keep both tracks center panned, or maybe adjust one to be -5 and the other +5. You can reduce the rounded track and increase the volume of the distorted track to create a leaner sound, or the opposite for a fuller sound.
In keeping them center panned, the bass remains distinct from the rhythm guitars, which themselves should be panned near full left and full right to create stereo spread and leave the center open for vocals, bass, kick, and snare.
By having the rounded bottom track, you create fullness to the whole package. And by having the distorted second bass track, the listener can make out the bass line. Since the distorted track is the same recording as the rounded track, the listener’s brain perceives both as one, and it sounds like a full yet distinct bass. The harmonics, accentuated by the guitar amp sim distortion, is what grabs the attention, while the rounded bottom remains in the background as a subliminal supporter of the fullness.
Can you just run one bass track through a guitar amp simulator? Well, the problem is that the distortion algorithm distorts the lower harmonics and fundamental frequency as well, leading to a farting sound. You don’t want a farty bass, but one with clean full bottoms and distorted high-definition highs, and the methods outlined in this article will get you there.
Copyright Lunahelia.com © 2008-2011