Low Tuned Bass (That Doesn't Suck) // Drop E CARCOSA Bass Playthrough

[@BaenaCarcosa]

Get your Dingwall bass at Sweetwater: sweetwater.sjv.io/DKrzMn

[@BlueSparkMid]

If I were to find a Dingwall in a store I'd have to work so hard to hold back the temptation to stimulate the hell out of the economy that day.

[@t.j.meechan682]

Agreed, for a good cause brotha.

[@destroyer28100]

literally almost what happened to me, tried a dingwall and ordered one the next day

[@bowserb64]

BRO I LOVE THE ECONOMY

[@Drescodeleo]

*CRIES IN BASSIST*

[@benjaminkonikoff2026]

*cries in broke as fuck*

[@johnnygotgrowls]

Bass go brrrrrrrrrrr. Enjoy the rumbles 💕

[@NittyOfTheCosmos]

It's like you can't hear it about 80% of the time distinctly, but it adds weight to the guitars. I like it 🔥

[@XLRider2]

Honestly that's a lot of metal mixes nowadays; You may not notice the bass while it's there, but as soon as you take it away, you will immediately notice it's absence. This is, ironically, especially noticeable if you're tuning to like Drop E, Drop D1 or going into 9 String range because more often then not you have to take a lot of the low end out of the guitars in order for it to sit well in the mix. So having the bass in there adds body to the guitars and, by proxy, the rest of the mix. I also find adding bass actually makes the notes more distinguishable, especially if you're in the Drop A0 range and playing the bass in the same octave (I can tell you that from experience).

[@mikeox_is_small]

The bass in a lot of genres (not all, Jazz is a notable exception) exists to tie the entire band together, it's the bridge between guitar and drums and makes everything sound more full, that's why even a low tuned 8 string guitar still sounds 'empty' without a bass complimenting it. Of course it can still be played (and should be played) like an independent instrument with it's own unique characteristics but for the moments where the guitar needs to be the star the bass is sort of the unsung hero who makes the guitar sound richer.

[@toastfan23]

If you cant hear the bass in this video you're deaf

[@fredleber2432]

I've got my bass at drop e 0 without the pitch shift, it's still pretty clear imo. But having the guitars an octave higher it makes it even more clear

[@eliaslee__]

@@toastfan23 maybe he's talking about original mix

[@zacharymicah]

At least you still record bass with a bass guitar!

[@anthonymanuel2911]

But then pitchshift it...

[@shadow105720]

@@anthonymanuel2911 yeah instead of a pitch shifter guitar which way more people do these days and sounds worse.

[@weemankyle]

I love it when bands tune this low but actually tune the bass down too instead of using the same octave. Same octave can work sometimes but the lower octave really adds depth that you just can't get from same octave. Plus my subs enjoy when the bass is tuned low.

[@aserpentshandofficial]

Just got punched in the heart by that tone holy fuck that’s heavy!!!

[@didymuskvist]

I tune to drop E for my recordings but because I only have a 4 string bass I kept my bass tuned to E standard. Now I've been pitchshifting my bass an octave lower and my recordings sound brutal now.

[@GoudVis56667]

I would love to see an example of how your mix works. Explaining about the about of bass in the guitar is one thing but opening up your track and showing it would make a super interesting 30 seconds of video. Maybe next time :D Great video non te less

[@thebasspedalshow]

Dingwall are killing it in the metal bass world. Tones not bad either dude. Looking forward to seeing the new one.

[@parkerbennink731]

Man. This song is just beautiful

[@BaenaCarcosa]

Follow CARCOSA here: smarturl.it/carcosa​ Download the Bass preset here: www.dropbox.com/s/82s1vp59qvn8q2i/Carcosa%20Bass.xml?dl=0

[@joshualawson5607]

I have ALWAYS wondered how bassists handle low tunings. This is very informative

[@maya60778]

Thank you so much for this. This is my fav Carcosa song! When that synth part drops it gets me everytime

[@ezradcunha]

Anything Carcosa, and it's the outfit back out of the closet.

[@BaenaCarcosa]

Band uniform!

[@critz4bigdmg]

I physically tuned my bass to drop E listening to you guys and I can say I will be getting a pitch shifter for this purpose

[@marshallsmith619]

You know it's a Carcosa video when he breeks out the tracksuit.

[@t.j.meechan682]

I always listen for bass first, and you killed it man. Bass had me droolin'.

[@coreymaster1369]

This reminds me a hell of a lot of After the Burial which a huge compliment

[@skooparoonie3202]

this actually inspired me to try out bass! (im a metal guitarist so i just want to try it out)

[@abraverecluse]

Juicy bass tones give me serotonin.

[@Thvll]

This is definitely my favorite carcosa song, because of that riff after the clean break. It is absolutely killer. Great writing to you and johnny.

[@Daniel.Sanchez75]

Thank for all the great, niche information Mr. Baena. You are in the Djent High Council. A true Djent Lord Supreme.

[@alexanderdenchev7967]

Proud owner of a Dingy for a year now. It was super hard to acquire, but this thing is sick, can confirm.

[@benjaminnixon3995]

Managed to get my jazz p bass to drop E sounds so dumb but actually pretty sick

[@Jermusicislife84]

That sounds sick. I have my 8 string Ibanez tuned down a full step, I just recently got a 100watt head for my 4x12 cab and my 8 string sounds like a BEAST Now I need to form a band or join a band

[@AlfredNazGates]

Mixers will always slice guitars away from bass and kicks. The first time I started detuning to G a guy who worked with mudvayne told me to stay in the mid range. Architects have a really pronounced mid range sound with F# guitars. Love it.

[@rhysbooth4842]

I tried a dingwall a couple months ago it sounded amazing but the new ibanez btb805ms was literally calling to me so I asked to try it even though its half the price of a dingwall it sounded just as good and in my opinion it played even better and it looks alot more brutal too so I am saving for one at the moment i have literally sold all of my basses and guitars to obtain one of thoes beauties

[@banjiman9869]

Fills in pretty great for the whole song. A wall of BASS.

[@The73rdSecret]

When I read the tittle I thought it was a video of Kevin from Said too Much. He does a lot of ridiculous low tuning experiments

[@BaenaCarcosa]

Love Kevin, his channel is awesome!

[@The73rdSecret]

@@BaenaCarcosa yeah. Really enjoy he doing the mad scientist stuff haha

[@tfwnoyandere]

baena used to have his 10 string

[@Ambipie]

It sounds like there's a human voice growling and a frog croaking in there too, maybe from the recoil of the string against the wood. Subscribed! You should do a song based around that rattler at that volume!

[@PoliBoneless]

Amazing bass tone bro

[@shaunreiner7671]

Awesome video Andrew…was hoping to hear the bass tone solo…I’ll just have to download your setting and give it a shot 😉

[@JohnPaulGiancarlo]

brutaaaaal ! hahaha 🤣 man you are Sick composer, love the tones, tunes ! great art 💪 Chapó

[@magmarok8209]

I play a seven string bass tuned down to F# and up to C if they made and eight string bass I'd play that for sure, I miss my high F string but I need that low F# 170 string

[@hurttster]

I thought the secret to Carcosa's bass tone was Johnny's primitive and dominate ooga booga bass playing style?

[@44fruitella44]

the most important thing that you are having fun

[@rntlpbm]

Super super awesome song

[@PenguinBuns]

I love the track suit fit XD

[@jeffukarosta4500]

Tuning a bass to drop E is the same of wanting to rip the earth in two with only sound force

[@tonyxslam]

Carcosa goes hard bro I love that bass

[@stephenvanbellinghen933]

haha youtube recommended me your old low tuned bass video before I found this one

[@jacee8094]

Would you also be able to share the guitar preset? The nameless sound is instantly recognizable and I’d love to try and get close to it

[@THE_Secular_Conservative]

I would be happy if there were only 2 more letters in the musical alphabet, not even a full 26. Then, we could go down to drop I0! It still gives me comfort knowing that possibly in a distant galaxy or parallel universe that there could be a drop Z.

[@maxmariotti277]

Such a sick tone!

[@robertray2714]

The low E on a regular bass is ~41 hz, so that would put this bad boy at just above the human hearing limit of around 20hz. You may be hearing 90% overtones, but heft is heft.

[@M3tal_matt]

That tone is badass

[@NikoKozlowitz]

Sick! So powerful!

[@xluciferlux]

Sounds good bro!! Been trying to figure out how to get a good drop tune. Do you experience any latency recording?

[@trance9158]

I'll try this with my Yamaha 5 stringer with DR DDTs medium gauge strings

[@CineMusician]

That is some tasty bass for sure 🤘🤘🤘

[@CillBlintonOfficial]

I need that bass 🤩

[@ЕвгенийВаничев-ц9у]

Hell is coming! Yeaa!!!

[@derikcorl3245]

Tone sounds killer! Love the sub wobbles and clanky overtones. What strings are you using specifically for your Dingwall? I’m sure it’s a combination of things but still curious. Thinking of picking up a Dingwall but strings have me hesitant.

[@WLOfails]

Andrew: *calls a bass a guitar* Davie504: Nani?!

[@Dankster-yo8xv]

It is a guitar tho

[@ryang3225]

It’s a bass guitar so technically...

[@6feetunderpants]

Fender Bass VI is a real "bass guitar".

[@theabsolute23]

God i hate Davie fans

[@benjaminkonikoff2026]

Lucky bastard. I want that bass.

[@AndyDuckala]

"Oh when did he upload this?" *16 hours ago "O h"

[@Borat_Sagdiyev_from_Kazakhstan]

So why You haven't a bass guitarist? How did You make Your live sessions?

[@elplatanazo87]

A 170?!? And here I am using a .192 for drop E lol. Sounds dope!!!

[@BaenaCarcosa]

I think it's actually being set up for F# with a 170 but that will have to do haha. It's already going to be hard enough to play on that thick of a string I don't want to add even more thickness if possible

[@elplatanazo87]

@@BaenaCarcosa I thought the same thing! When I helped start my band 2 years ago and they told me the tubing was in drop E (I never played lower than a drop B before that lol) I was so intimidated by a .190 string. Honestly got used to it quick! I use a 5 string schecter and it sounds sick! I’ll be getting a dingwall someday.

[@elplatanazo87]

Tuning **

[@FangedBaby99]

@@elplatanazo87 dude we literally have the same setup haha, 5 string schecter in drop E

[@Bking7string]

@@elplatanazo87 which string manufacturer makes .190's ?

[@kcartwright2772]

Were you able to pitch shift this down to drop E ( specifically for the cover of The Offering ) just because the two lowest strings are the only ones used ?

[@rafaelcnsd]

Can I do the same that you did with the digitch drop pedal? Does it pitchtracks as good as this?

[@BaenaCarcosa]

That's the same as this pedal minus the whammy, so yep!

[@bkrcovers2906]

I don't see any reason to drop tune a bass to this extend since the note is soo low human ear can beraly hear the fundamental frequency. Drop E on bass is 20hz which is the lowest note humans can hear. I would just play the bass in standard tuning then boost the subbass frequencies. But its really entertaining seeing you try anyway lol. Also a fun fact in the album Juggernaut omega by Periphery the bassist Nolly Getgood tuned his bass to double Drop C# for the song called "Hell Below" (but im not really certain) its like 3 semi tones lower than Drop E on bass. its soo low that its actually beyond humans hearing range.

[@Suf7djehe7eken]

Of course there is a reason. A bass that is on the same octave as a guitar is useless.

[@SuffyANX]

Even in standard tuning most of what you're hearing is the first octave harmonic and other higher harmonics, not the fundamental. The idea that recreating the fundamental is important to bass tone is a long, LONG disproven myth, and there are mountains of evidence that you can have a perfectly good sounding bass tone without it.

[@bkrcovers2906]

@@Suf7djehe7eken Not really and its more common than you think. Bands Meshuggar and Animals as Leaders are doing it. There are certain EQ tricks like the one I already wrote. By boosting sub bass frequencies. You can fool the listeners ears and make bass sound even lower tha it is. But no one stops you from going that low. I just find it bit silly.

[@bkrcovers2906]

@@SuffyANX Exactly.

[@joshua.merrill]

Sub bass frequencies are where the explosions in movies lie. You don't have to hear it, but with speakers that can reproduce it, you can feel it.

[@thegreenembers]

Nice

[@Bearsena97]

Riff at 315 is crazy

[@milda_regret]

Lots of BASS Nice

[@tyolmedo1127]

i can’t unhear the bass in the normal song

[@shreddykruger3612]

hey man i tried downloading the bass tone but it doesn't seem to be active or something help!! lol

[@PHILLY214]

Drop E on the bass would be 20hz that's a whole octave down! Fuck yeah

[@aaron2054]

dope mayne

[@justevan877]

All hail the shrek bass

[@TylerRossow]

THIIIIIIIICC

[@tatocta]

i want your adidas outfit now!

[@shreddykruger3612]

how do you eq this to get it this tight man??? the low note is soooo flubby

[@sulanthraern9674]

what's carcosa's song is? love the final part

[@sulanthraern9674]

just found, it's the last song of the ep

[@BaenaCarcosa]

Yep, Absent

[@ZombiePenguinStudios]

what strings do you use on this bass? i hear so many normal brands don't have any that'll fit and i'm hating the dunlop strings i have on mine now

[@BaenaCarcosa]

Ernie Ball Super Long Scale strings

[@ZombiePenguinStudios]

@@BaenaCarcosa i wish i knew this sooner i've been told by a few people ernie ball doesn't make strings long enough which is lame cuz they're all i use

[@experimetalfan8851]

You can always tell if some sort of pedal is used to lower the sound. Would you record it the same way now?

[@justevan877]

Will we ever get more free stems/multitracks to mix with like you did last year🥺

[@42mgmdma63]

What is a model of that adidas jacket? Can't find it

[@HVTFIELDOFFICIAL]

The real life version of eurobass

[@IveGotAMatch]

I know some bands that tune super low tend to use bass playing the same octave as guitar. For example Meshuggah and Haken - when playing a riff on the 7th string (so usually a B) the bass will be playing an octave below the guitar. But when playing a riff on the 8th string (so an E in drop tuning) the bass will be playing on it's 2nd lowest string, the same octave as the guitar. What made you decide to not do this?

[@Suf7djehe7eken]

Probably because this sounds obviously GOOD and better than having a bass playing on the same octave, which makes the bass useless and redundant.

[@SuffyANX]

@@Suf7djehe7eken Bass playing in the same octave as the guitars is not redundant in any way because timbre is still a thing that exists.

[@BaenaCarcosa]

We tried it both ways and in my opinion it sounds infinitely heavier having the bass lower. Whether you can actually hear the note definition or not, it adds a ton of feel to the overall mix and blends in with the guitars very well

[@IveGotAMatch]

@@Suf7djehe7eken Redundant? Tell that to Dick Lövgren!

[@IveGotAMatch]

@@BaenaCarcosa Yeah that's fair enough! I guess most people also probably don't want to tune/set up/string a bass that low, but thanks to pitch shifting tech it ain't nearly as bad!

[@6slayer6sam62]

Bass but lower huh....where i come from, we call them catfish BOY!

[@13_cmi]

I can't hear any of this. Partly because it barely above the limit to how low I can hear partly because I'm watching on an iphone 7

[@trfmusic902]

Badass

[@Eam_vii]

Scale length? String gauge?

[@ryang3225]

Damn I feel like you might inspire a lot more bass leading metal lmfaooo.

[@anthonymanuel2911]

#OnlyPlayTheTopStringGang

[@dewit1055]

swagging

[@kennethsmith5383]

Be naw buh buh bu-keh! Be naw buh buh bu-keh deng deng dun!

[@nate4957]

brr brr dengggg low low low low

[@dedchkn]

sounds better boosted. like seriously! the bass should be heard.

[@kaihartmann2646]

Great video as always... that‘s also low af

[@josephelii]

What song is this? I'm new and wanna check it out

[@BaenaCarcosa]

Carcosa - Absent: Post

[@dominicwainaina3960]

Could one just use a 4 string bass instead or not really?

[@BaenaCarcosa]

Scale length is what matters, not string count

[@Ambipie]

Challenge you to play something in slackstring drop a

[@theeyeiswatching8036]

yeah what he said at the end there, as a bassist I share the same philosophy. That it does a lot of heavy lifting for the lower end but the best bass shouldn't be 'noticed' (stylistically depends person to person of course, some nasty clunky tones sound ace too!). A lot of people like to poke fun but if you think a track is super heavy but you can't hear the bass, chances are you CAN but you just don't notice it, meaning it's doing it's job right. ;) I've like to think of it in game terms, Drums are the Tank, guitars are the DPS, Vox are CC and Bass is the support class. Nobody really appreciates it but if it wasn't there, you'd all get TPK'd trying to show off.

[@artOVtrolling]

Yeah pretty much. Bass is technically part of the rhythm section, so it could be a support instrument for drums as well. It has a completely different timbre from guitar, otherwise bass would be handled by guitars that are simply tuned a whole step down with heavy gauge strings. But guitars do a terrible job at occupying the low spectrum unless muddy mixes are your thing. A great bass tone allows the guitars to really capitalize on the mid to high end of the spectrum. The guitar tone I use when playing alone in my bedroom would sound way too bassy with a bass guitar added to the mix.

[@theeyeiswatching8036]

@@artOVtrolling aye! a lot of new musicians when picking their instrument will often make their instrument sound as thick and beefy as possible when practicing alone, which is great for jamming, dont get me wrong!! but as you said, they get confused when that gnarly tone dosent sound right when mixed with everything else. A good mix is a team effort after all from all instruments, all have their roll. That's why I take 'I don't notice the bass' as the ultimate compliment sometimes, because unless you're going for a funk or really bass oriented track, the only time you hear the bass is when it's out of time. So, to 'not notice it' means it's REALLY locked in with everything else, rhythmically and tonally.

[@Suf7djehe7eken]

Disagree completely

[@francoishtzl157]

What strings do you use on dingwall ?

[@BaenaCarcosa]

For Drop A (this bass) I use the Ernie Ball super long scale pack with a low 130 gauge.

[@ChristianFlores-yf2py]

@@francoishtzl157 probably online

[@brianweeks87]

So right: does NOT suck!

[@magemasherlab4993]

dude, gauge strings ??

[@jdc6927]

Thought the bass boosted sounded better. 🤷

[@milolaigle]

What's the song ?