Exact Geddy Lee "Signals" Bass Tone With Ashly SC-40 | Rickenbacker 4003s

[@kevinsheppard2312]

3:17 I had the gain at 8.5 but forgot to set it correctly for the photo.

[@michaelanthony9068]

Excellent! The trick about nailing Geddy’s lines is both the tone and the parts make a bassist dig in hard, which is the enemy of playing fast or intricate or anything new. I have to remember to play with a light touch and let the amp do the work. Of course, when playing Rush, it’s SO FUN TO DIG IN !!!

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@michaelanthony9068 100% brother

[@Farewelltokingz]

Sounds mint! I’d love to hear more of the Jazz with the Ashly for that moving pictures/permanent waves tone. Getting my first fender Jazz this week.

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@Farewelltokingz Nice! I’ll be with my amps for a couple more days. I don’t have my jazz bass with me right now but I’ll see if I can borrow one. I know I can do a couple tones well from that album.

[@brianmankus6133]

Sounds pretty spot on to me. Awesome playing as well!!

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@brianmankus6133 appreciate it!

[@jacksonfritts2988]

so good! sounds just like him. wow

[@rodolfomartinez1763]

Amazing! Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience!

[@kevinsheppard2312]

Always!

[@eoinjennings519]

Great stuff

[@digitaldesigner5284]

Cool Geddy tone.

[@alexskibicki2262]

Groovy tone 😎🤘🏻🎸 it’s surprising how quiet the neck pickup is compared to how loud and grindy the bridge pickup is. Still a great tone you achieve.

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@alexskibicki2262 thanks!

[@benjaminterava7738]

I think this sounds better than the original😅 great job!!!

[@kevinsheppard2312]

That made me laugh lol

[@benjaminterava7738]

@@kevinsheppard2312i mean you don’t have those 200hz low mids there like in the original. Your tone is much better

[@chrischoir3594]

pretty much exact

[@HeadfirstHumanity]

Sounds fantastic! If you ever do get one of those Master Effects Super Forty pedals, I'd love to see how they compare. I wish somebody with an SC-40 would make some captures for Tonex! :D

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@HeadfirstHumanity The tonnex is actually a great idea! I do not see myself acquiring the super 40 however I’d do as you request in a heartbeat if I did. I do know some SC-40 owners that have bought them. I could refer them to you on Talkbass.com

[@michaelclaugherty751]

Very Nice Kevin!!

[@kevinsheppard2312]

Appreciate it!

[@jagpanzer16]

AWESOME!!!!

[@kevinsheppard2312]

Thanks!

[@Jacques4th]

Hi Kevin, thanks for sharing more ROS - Rickenbacker > x2 Ashly SC-40’s it’s the perfect match.

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@Jacques4th you bet!

[@luiseduardo_ear]

You are right on the tone ! My question about the SC's : the distorted sound comes from the unit? Or the ampeg ?

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@luiseduardo_ear the SC-40! Wasn’t driving the power amp hard.

[@Drewtotterer]

On the bridge side, is the Blue Face plugged into the back of the Ampeg head? I’m assuming plugged in the effects loop?

[@kevinsheppard2312]

Yes that is right. The SVT doesn't really have a proper effects loop but it does have an preamp output and an insert to the power amp section (what I used), so it almost is the exact same thing.

[@Drewtotterer]

Noticed that the toggle switch allows you to switch pickups in the stereo modded Rick. Was the toggle switch made for the stereo output or did it stay the same way like switching pickups as a standard mono instrument?

[@kevinsheppard2312]

Hey! My understanding is that the internal wire harness is the exact same as the regular 4003 stereo version but but on the 4003s the pickup wires just blend together usually. On my modded 4003s, I decided not to drill another hole so technically it's only capable of stereo output (TRS jack). But the toggle switch still works. In the middle it lets both pickups run the the stereo plug and then if I switch it to either pickup, it cuts off the other one. I have a box that can combine the stereo signal back to a single mono patch cord but it kind of becomes a mess with a Buch of chords lol!

[@Drewtotterer]

@@kevinsheppard2312 Thanks for that info! Big help for how I would like to wire my Rick to work and toggle switch to work. What is the box?

[@Drewtotterer]

Also do you use any DI boxes?

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@Drewtotterer It was a custom made box by my luthier but it isn't complicated. Inside the box, the TRS jack splits into the neck and bridge wires and goes to individual outputs on the otherside. If you only have the Neck pickup output plugged in then in automatically becomes the combined mono signal. It's hard to describe but theres is a wire that connects the two mono outputs. I have pictures if you want.

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@Drewtotterer I don't use conventional DI boxes with this rig but if I record the rick in mono, then I'll run a separate clean DI signal into the computer along with the miked signal just for the option.

[@bassplayer807]

The Ashly SC-40 is discontinued…. Is there anything I can get in place of it?

[@kevinsheppard2312]

There's this private pedal manufacturer out of Calgary I believe who makes a replica pedal unit. I've never tried it but I imagine it's probably the real deal! Im not going to pretend like they can't be replicated lol! But it's not like a Sansamp, you will need to run it through a speaker or impulse response, Here is the link: www.mastereffectspedals.com/super40

[@nathanaelpeace9550]

@@kevinsheppard2312 I have a pair of these and use your videos for settings. They're spot on.

[@newtzy6065]

​@@kevinsheppard2312 this is killer, thanks!

[@PutYourArtyAwayWalter]

I’ll chime in here I have a 77 4001 and I order the Super Forty pre amp from master effects. It’s a high quality device but it has nowhere near the warmth (crazy talk for transistor amps I know) that the Ashly has. I’ve been tweaking it daily for about 3 months now and I can’t get it to distort without sounding super clipped and sterile. It definitely gets close but if you’re looking for 100% accurate it’s gonna disappoint. I hate saying that because I do like it and M E and it’s owner have been very kinda with me talking about it and it’s feels bad undermining a small company But it’s expensive and this is my honest opinion. I have gone to a pure digital chain of EQs, compressors and Amplitube SVTs to get a way more album accurate tone.

[@Sheehy223]

@@PutYourArtyAwayWalter I have one as well and I agree with you. You can get a great, very SC-40 like tone out of them but they're a little different from the real ones. I don't regret buying it though, it's a really cool pedal.

[@michaelclaugherty751]

Kevin, I was going to ask you if you ever considered or maybe are considering an Ashly SC-50 for your compression? Just curious

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@michaelclaugherty751 I’ve thought of it. I know a guy who tried it and he said he wasn’t too impressed but anyone’s mileage may vary! Plus it would make more sense to compress the signal after the the microphone unless you are running stereo or direct.

[@michaelclaugherty751]

@@kevinsheppard2312 Ya good points. I always said if the $ was right I would pull on one. Well the $ was right on one so I pulled lol :) I'll find out shortly if it will work for me. But at least I can finally say I have one

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@michaelclaugherty751 hey a rack compressor is always cool to have around:)

[@Sheehy223]

I was waiting for this ever since you posted all those Isolated tracks from Signals! This is validating a lot about the discoveries I've made with my SC-40 because you have yours set very close to how I set mine, but I have a couple questions/suggestions. Have you ever tried an EVM 15L speaker like Geddy used in his live rig? There's no real documentation on what cabs he used for recording so it could've very well been a 10" speaker like you're using here, but I did some recording with my 15L recently and I thought the result has a much fuller, more Geddy like midrange than anything I've ever gotten out of a 10", they're also incredibly bright for a 15" speaker, actually brighter than my 10's. Second, do you base your settings on putting the isolated tracks through a spectrometer or do you just do it entirely by ear? I don't know if Geddy was doing it or not, but I've found if I use my midrange control on my SC-40 to boost the 2k frequency heavily like you are, but then use the high frequency control to roll off everything over ~3k, I can turn the gain a little higher with out the overtones getting too crazy, and it gives me more of that almost synth-ey sounding midrange saturation that you can hear very prominently on Chemistry when Ged really smacks the strings over the bridge pickup. Also, do you base your neck pickup settings just on how it blends with the bridge pickup, or are you going for a specific sound? I've found my neck pickups like a big boost at 500hz and 2khz and then I set it so it's just barely audible but you still get the low-end punch (mind you I'm also using seperate 1x15 cabs), but my Ricks are also pretty different from yours, one is a V63 and the other is a '76 4001, both have toasters in the neck position, that's probably a lot of where the differences come from, I'm just curious if you've ever tried any of that?

[@kevinsheppard2312]

Hey! Thanks for the reply, glad you enjoy this as much as I do. As for speakers, I have never tried the EVM speakers but I sure would love to. In my previous videos I was using a 15" JBL D140F I believe. I was just borrowing it from a family member so unfortunately I couldn't use it in this video lol! Nevertheless I was really happy with what I got. Ultimately I only care what the microphone is picking up. My understanding is that somewhere between MP sessions and ESL Tour, he switched from the JBL K140 to the EVMs. (Might be able to acquire a K140 sometime soon). Often I do look a lot at frequency response/EQ curves of the bass stems just as a general Idea. I happened to get this tone just by fooling around. As for the 2k EQ thing, I used to do that a lot as I think it does a good Moving Pictures era sound but more recently I discovered 1k helps a lot for a Permanent Waves type tone. I also used to do that roll off thing you mentioned. For this video I found the best bet was cut the low end, leave the midrange but crank the top shelf around 2k notably WITHOUT the mod. Also I used a SM57 as it was the closest thing I had to a 421 or RE-20 which he used. I think it worked really well. For most of the neck tones (with the exception of Red Barchetta), I find the best bet is just add low end, fill the hollowness at around 500Hz and just add more string presence with the shelf at 1.5kHz. Ultimately just a low end compliment to the bridge. With Red Barchetta, there's a lot of Neck top end so I'd adjust accordingly. I've never tried a toaster neck but I've heard comparisons on KZbin and they sure sound different!

[@Sheehy223]

@@kevinsheppard2312 I wouldn't have guessed that you weren't using the mod, that's actually very interesting! I think you mentioned in the past that your blueface seems to break up easier than your blackface if I'm not mistaken? You totally nailed the sound either way! I really can't thank you enough for how much I've learned about tone sculpting from your videos. Recently I discovered a bit of a wildcard preamp that seems to work really well with Rick neck pickups, I'll have to do a video on it sometime.

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@Sheehy223 Either you or someone once asked me if there was a difference between the models and I did say that the blue face broke up earlier but honestly it’s negligible. For fun I might run that test again! It makes me really happy that others enjoy nerding out on this stuff too lol!

[@Sheehy223]

@@kevinsheppard2312 This sound left a huge impression on me when I was a teenager and it's something I've always been chasing, and now it's a huge part of who I am as a musician. I will never not be blown away by how the bass comes in and just punches you in the face in Subdivisions, that moment wouldn't be half as cool if Geddy had a normal Bass sound. I struggle to listen to later live versions of that song because it just doesn't hit the same without the Rick and Ashly rig.

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@Sheehy223 100% on the same page. Next endeavour for me is a caress of steel type tone. Very strange but cool sound he got. Sound like angry bear lol. Also your tip with the jazz bass pickup blend has been really helpful and I’m going to try to do some MP jazz tones.

[@buzzedalldrink9131]

awesome!! but please don’t sing like him. It’s like nails on a chalkboard to me thanks!!

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@buzzedalldrink9131 😂

[@buzzedalldrink9131]

@@kevinsheppard2312 super talented, best bassist in my opinion. But was never a big Rush fan. one or two songs then i have to turn it off! However I did see them a lot years ago. It really did not get better than seeing them back then. You nailed the tone of the signals tour!! great job!! I will check out your other stuff too! thanks for the video!

[@kevinsheppard2312]

@@buzzedalldrink9131 thanks! We are all entitled to our own opinions my friend. I got some more videos coming soon, Moving pictures tone related ;)