How To Fix Your (Metal) Bass Tone

[@nomidubidabi]

My strings have turned 15 years old this summer :D

[@Bano-YT]

Older than me wth

[@chimpypimpy8245]

Bro I had the same strings for 8 years and got new strings finally cuz I didn’t think it would change them that much it definitely did

[@flashraylaser157]

@@chimpypimpy8245 Yeah. I really, really wish this wasn't true but it simply is: Bass strings lose about 30% of their clarity in just two weeks. And 50% by a month. I used to think the difference was negligible and that only tone snobs made that much of a fuss, figured they probably couldn't even pass a blind test between the two or that even if they could it still wasn't a big deal. But it is. You don't notice because it happens gradually. But just record something on strings you've played every day on for a month, change the strings, record the same line, and do an A and B. The difference is shocking. Even non-musicians could easily tell you which version is better. I find this unacceptable. Tech needs to improve on this. But for now, it's best to do all your recording at once on new strings, having prepared ahead of time on the old ones.

[@preciseaudioblog]

If your bass tone sucks you need something you can’t buy... good taste...

[@unduloid]

I fixed my bass tone, and it's now as metal as can be! It does raises some eyebrows in my reggae band though.

[@flashraylaser157]

I'm so glad you mentioned the possibility of splitting channels. Lowpassing a completely clean tone, compressing it, then highpassing the lows out of a second channel and applying way more distortion than you could previously get away with without it falling apart, and combining them, is almost the whole secret to a lot of modern metal bass tones. There's so much more than can be done to all sorts of sounds just by taking advantage of that simple fact that you can utterly isolate the effects of any given effect to certain frequency ranges by literally splitting the track into seperate tracks. Another tip that may help tremendously, is to learn to make a great guitar tone. Like a really good one, like you're actually primarily a guitarist and this is important. I suggest it because as a guitarist, the reverse, becoming skilled with bass tone, created this sudden, alien-like jump in my abilities to make guitar tone as well because they're connected in so many subtle and some not-so-subtle ways. Plus you simply learn new techniques in general to apply elsewhere. It's like years of experience tinkering with all these models, woods, and effects, while good, didn't add up to what I learned by simply actually learning more about the details of the tone of the instrument constantly playing in unison with my own primary instrument. Another reason to do this is that sometimes when people listen to well mixed metal and think their own personal tone doesn't sound as good as the band, their tone actually isn't that far off but the tone of the band member is being majorly augmented by the other instruments. It's just insane the power commanded by a balanced kick drum, aggressive bass attack, and palm muted guitar chug, absolutely assaulting the frequency spectrum. Unfortunately for all of us, I'm yet to hear a solo kick sound, bass tone, or guitar tone that can truly do that alone. They sonically merge into this new instrument that just sounds like a very dangerous construction work machine that happens to be pitched.

[@erikberg8352]

DI boxes are a godsend for metal bass. Most are good, some are great. Having a 10" and a 15" speaker can help as well.

[@justforxbox8612]

your content is fantastic, how have you not blown up yet? I'm here before you get massively famous.

[@olivierlemarois9620]

I still don't know how the fuck John Myung can play so aggressively and going so fast

[@unduloid]

You don't need to play all that hard to get an aggressive tone. Consistency is key.

[@terrancepemberton4648]

I see you mentioned Chevelle!! Literally been like my favorite band for the past 22 to 23 years lol. For real tho Chevelle has ALwAYS had a badass crushing bass tone. Love that band so much. I just read earlier that Pete & Sam said they anticipate releasing their new album in September/October so that's almost gotta mean a new single(likely a new music video as well) is gonna drop damn near any day now and I CAN NOT WAIT!

[@VikoTheBassist]

I’m stoked, I love everything they put out

[@zeke_meyer]

Now my metal bass will sound better than ever! Thanks Viko!

[@VikoTheBassist]

Bababooey

[@randomcultist398]

spoiler: it won't

[@AfroRedMusic]

Yeah man! This was spot on and I recently joined a death metal band (first time playing that sub genre) and on top of it kicking my ass 😂 I wanna have a great, blended tone and this was helpful! I'm a pro jazz and r&b bassist; who came up in heavy music before I formally learned music in school so the full circle of this and the hardcore band's I'm in is dope!!

[@rocketcello5354]

I play a lot of different genres of music on instruments other than bass too, and your pointers here fit surprisingly well for quite a few genres lol. The points about muddiness cause of too much overlap fits surprisingly well for classical composition, the points about aggressive vs soft picking and hard vs soft fingers fit perfectly into jazz double bass. I'd say this video is good general advice for musicians lol. Nice video!

[@jacobnelson4150]

I don’t think soft plucking is useless in metal, it adds a certain dynamic that can be used to help accent a HEAVY ASS RIFF that requires the force of a heavy plucking, playing soft not only accents the heavy riff but also saves some strength for that heavy riff

[@VikoTheBassist]

Very true, it’s just that a lot of bassists are playing lightly when they should be playing more heavy, not utilizing the full potential to make their bass sound as heavy during the heaviest parts

[@timnordberg7204]

Steve DiGiorgio was the master of this. A dab of post-drive compression will keep you right up there in the mix, let the fingers control the tone.

[@1904style]

Most helpful bass video on KZbin,by far

[@VikoTheBassist]

This video is really just a summary, I would recommend watching Rodney McG’s channel, best channel I know talking specifically about bass tone

[@Madi-dw9ib]

I bought a Dark glass Alpha omega distortion pedal and that solved any problems I had lol

[@ruderalthoughtdeprivation]

Completely agree with the point you made about some rock bands having heavier bass tones than metal bands... I swear some pop-rock bands have a heavier hitting low-end than some brutal death metal bands - in loads of death metal albums, the bass itself is hidden and the mix is all muddy because everyone seems to think "more is more" in every context with mixing; just boost the 50-125hz frequency band of the guitar beause that's what it needs(!), especially because the band is *supposed* to be ultra-heavy! Also, I definitely back up the recommendation for experimenting with the tones! Most people will think this is absolutely absurd, but I use Rotosound drop zone plus strings on my bass - gauges 85 (G1), 105 (C1), 135 (A0), and 175 (C0), which not only means they're indestructible, but they hit the low-end in a really unique "thick" way. When combined with things like electric blues distortion and whammy/drop tuning (often tuned 1 octave up 50% wet) pedals, the incredibly thick drop tuned strings can make the bass sound really unique and industrial with a clear low-end and fuzzy clanky mids/highs. Can also use the whammy in combination with the tuning to push the notes up 3 octaves, which makes tapping the high string sound like some funky lazer pistol!

[@howler9171]

One of my favorite pedals that gets shit on constantly on the internet is the boss bass overdrive. People complain that it has too much gain and it's "not really an overdrive", but in my opinion that's exactly what makes it good. It has the most dynamic gain range of any bass distortion I've ever used. Pull it all the way back for a little bit of grit, or crank it up and it turns into a full-on fuzz pedal. You can go from rage against the machine to bolt thrower just by turning one knob. I've gotten more compliments from my bandmates about my tone when using that pedal than I have from using Darkglass stuff that costs 4 times as much. I've actually been thinking about re-housing it into a blank pedal enclosure and acting like it's something I custom made, so people don't know I'm using a $75 boss pedal

[@halseyballistic]

Well said! Being a long time drummer, I've worked with many bassist and is frustrating when they take the easy route in their instrument. Not being in time or listening to the bass drum is something they need to do in order to be crushing with the rhythm. Also, sometimes less is better with notes too. Example is the bassist of Skeleton Witch will play 8th notes while the guitars are playing 16ths. This keeps everything tight, heavy and less distorted. Just a couple of pointers from a drummers prospective.

[@sleepdeep305]

I love how new strings are only a suggestion on bass tone videos. Having old strings on a guitar is an unbearable enough sensation as it is

[@NodakSavage]

TECH 21 DP-3X.. all problems solved

[@Slimjimbo-939]

One of the best bass tones is Hiro Yamato’s P bass tone off is soundgardens Ultramega Ok

[@First.Take.Jake.]

3:20 i agree with everything you said, and i use 2mm 🤘

[@Denvercoder]

The thing I love most about a visual medium is staring at a fucking logo for 10 minutes.

[@iwbsi2033]

one tip is to not set your actions low because it hampers your string vibrations and makes your tone dull, you might not want string buzzing when downtuned because low action causes that and you can't actually dig hard with again, string buzzing because of low action

[@ZvonTracy-g1g]

What’s a solution then? Because Alex Webster plays with super low action and his tone sounds just fine

[@iwbsi2033]

@@ZvonTracy-g1g wow i didn't know that, can you give me the source on that?

[@hyperplayability6290]

Having some fret noise adds to the clang Not too much though, you still want more note than buzz lol

[@ZvonTracy-g1g]

@@hyperplayability6290 fair enough, fret noise is awesome imo

[@JUNKO____]

@@ZvonTracy-g1g His tones tend to be WAY cleaner than a lot of other metal bassists IMO. Besides that, in the realm of creating a tone and applying effects to your signal, you kind of get the rattle element from some types of distortion. It isn't the same, but a Cannibal Corpse bass tone isn't really ABOUT the rattle, it's about the mids/low mids. It's just different tones focusing on different characteristics of their bass' tone. Fieldy goes rattly, but clean. Attila goes rattly but REAL distorted. Periphery goes REAL distorted, but the focus stays on the mids/low mids. Similar to Alex's tone on paper, but super different in reality. Just focus on what you HAVE before you start trying to take stuff away. What do you like about the regular ass DI tone of your bass with the EQ set flat? I'd say start there and then move outward. Treat it like a block of marble.

[@mfsoab]

One thing to add: especially for live a good gate is also essential imho. You can have the best killer tone and still ruin your performance with some unwanted noise shit going on inbetween. A fast gate also makes your staccato play and breakdowns hit way harder. Was searching for a pleasing live tone for like 15 years. A programmable Sansamp Bass Driver into a transistor amp almost did the trick, but what really got me there was switching to a guitar tube pre-amp and using it's crunch channel. Still running the Sansamp into it and all of that runs into a transistor PA amp and out into a Hartke BXL 4x10 and 1x15 bass cab. Also, as you mentioned, having a decent comp is also essential. I use the TC Electronics Hypergravity Multiband pedal and it just slaps.

[@julien.biardeau]

Great video, and you're right the most important thing might be to go an try a lot to find the right adjustments for yourself ! Been applying most of these tips for a while but I find that every bass or type of metal deserves quite a lot of experimenting to find the right balance. It's amazing how killer is your tone! Didn't expect that you would have "just" an Ampeg drive! And you're right, I'm so tired of the Dingwall periphery tone, please prog Metal bassists get more imaginative 😂 (Simon Grove with Plini actually has a really great and distinctive tone with his Lefay)

[@you67556060]

Love your channel. Thank you for your important work.

[@dictator_joe8383]

3:37 Weirdly enough I have gotten better results using a thinner pick (I use a Dunlop Tortex .73mm, maybe it is to do with more than just thickness. I also hold my pick using my middle finger as well if that makes a difference since it stops the pick from flexing against the strings as much?). To my ears it has a snappier attack and it just generally sounds more trebly for achieving a bright sounding metal tone compared to my other picks.

[@VikoTheBassist]

Good point, I personally use thicker picks because I’m prone to wearing picks down very quickly. I have noticed that using thinner picks does have a somewhat brighter tone

[@toriestrella]

yeah I use 0.7mm Max Grips myself those hold up to even entire passages of just 16ths (which can arguably rob bass of heaviness, but this is death metal, and that's a discussion for another time) without tearing, and imparts both a compressive effect and more importantly, more high end signal. In all my time using them, I've yet to break a single one, most I get is just pick dust. To compensate though I dig in and have a 37" B string. I also tend to hold the pick quite deeply, dug into the side of my second knuckle, as that just feels more secure to me and more intuitive than playing with a ton of space between my finger and the strings. I do enjoy the feel of 3.0mms but they do lose a lot of high end IMO.

[@michaeldebecker1472]

I was about to say that.... I get a more agressive tone using thin picks. I am using 0.6 mm dunlop maxi grip, Before that I used 2mm ones. A thinner pick is also more conveninent for accurate, punchy fast picking.

[@matrixmetroid]

@@VikoTheBassist I use .80mm and I pick hard as fuck. 1 pick usually lasts me 1 band practice or show 🤣

[@hyperplayability6290]

​@@VikoTheBassist aye, that's a real one - I'll go through multiple 0.60 tortexes in a day in a long session 😭

[@OrinSorinson]

Unless the frequencies are split and effects are applied to specific ranges, I hate distortion on bass. Also, I'm a cheapskate so I clean bass strings in the ultrasonic cleaner 😅

[@mallninja9805]

#665. The neighbor of the beast....

[@BaltechBass]

that was quite helpful, thx

[@UncleRJ]

I am thankful enough to get yelled at (online) by none other than Glenn Fricker about bass, especially splitting the low end and high end. Been twisting knobs for ten years and kinda gotten some good sounds, which is impressive considering all I ever used are free plugins and VSTs. Though recently I'm losing my touch because I am not fully happy with the tones I am getting now. But then I realize "Oh, it's because I've been playing on 3 year old strings" lmao.

[@riffsnoleads]

Super agree that people forget the mids with bass. I just don't get it, it is literally a mid range instrument. I will never be convinced I need a compressor though. The only compression you need is distortion (fuck a clean blend). ;)

[@janhenry19]

Clean blend is still good for note clarity, but I don't use compressor too. On my set-up, I use Boss LS-2. I stack two pre-amps on loop A with a Behringer Bass Overdrive in between them for light to heavy application. The first pre-amp is placed at the beginning of the loop chain (After Send), and is always on. I set it to boost the lows and mids. While the second pre-amp is placed at the end of the loop chain (before going back to Return), and is always on too. I set it to as mid scooped, and slightly boost the lows and highs. Then I use Loop B to slighty blend the clean. With that, I got that spring-y or metal-y sound.

[@riffsnoleads]

@@janhenry19 I hate clean blends. If I'm gonna distort, I'm gonna distort

[@timnordberg7204]

@@riffsnoleads if you don't want to take the time to learn how to use a compressor, definitely don't bring one to the show! FOH is there for a reason.

[@BigMuff75]

Best one stop plugin: Parallax by Neural DSP.

[@harlescooper3602]

Great advice, I also don't understand the pick vs finger controversy. I do whatever sounds best for the song. Also why do so many people try to copy other players sound ? When your a beginner I get it, because you need to learn how everything works. So little original sounds now days, just copy after copy. Anyway great channel I subbed, best of luck to you.

[@iwbsi2033]

also, quick question my good man. I'm not good at softwares and plugins because i'm broke and i'm more of a pedal guy but how do you actually split your bass signal into 2? I've been trying to find and answer yet nobody gives it. Paul gray's bass tone sounds so good because he actually splits the signal into a clean ,bassy low and a distorted, trebly high end

[@VikoTheBassist]

@@iwbsi2033 I imagine that in every DAW you can record to two tracks at the same time from the same input, just make sure the input routing on both tracks is coming from whichever input you’re recording the bass into

[@bleezar]

If you are looking for an hardware alternative you should have a look into crossover / splitter pedals. Then you can experiment with frequencies on your 2 signal and add whatever effect you want in those separated loops (typically a dirt on the upper one, but there is a ton of stuff to experiment with)

[@radiozelaza]

I broke the A string just by pummelling it with my fingers, so sometimes there is a risk you'll break a bass string ;)

[@hyperplayability6290]

I have found that thinner picks are nicer, I can play harder without my wrist starting to hurt, as well as having applying some natural compression from the pick flexing when picking too hard I could never play the way I do with a thick pick, I'd blow out my wrist in an hour - I pick through the string and rest stroke on the next string rather picking the string itself

[@breakingawayfromyou]

engagement is Fup

[@JackKapral]

A lot of what You say in first "paragraph" is wrong. First of all: you're much more likely to break a string than a pick, second of all - what about all those technical bands? Not that i recommend playing "softly", but often very technical playing isn't compatible with "digging" into the strings. Third: with modern gear like darkglass preams and basses like dingwall, you don't really have to punish the instrument to sound heavy - and that's actually a bit sad, since the preamp and compression does all the work, tbh. Second argument is spot on - if You don't want a heavy, foggy, psychedelic, doomish sound, like, for example, Sons of Otis on their "Temple Ball" record, don't get too much distortion.

[@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245]

Too late. My $90 Traynor fixed the tone perfectly

[@SpaghettiFrag]

3:07 i agree

[@AndrewVV34]

just dont use a pick, and your music be epic

[@Mintis-bh4rr]

good vid

[@jeffgutierrez8796]

When you play fretless and/or upright and use flat wounds the new strings thing is in my opinion is false. When playing heavy and dirty, I've found you want a more "thuddy" sound than "plinky". You can blend guitars and bass in the mix cleaner. ...but the rest of your video I agree with. Do what's best for the song, give it whatever it needs.

[@Anchoredsouls]

I'm working on getting my bass lines better and tone set

[@radiozelaza]

instead of boiling strings, bathe them in denaturated alcohol for 24 hours.

[@VikoTheBassist]

I mean that probably would work better but if you don't have that lying around but can afford to get it you can also afford to buy a new pack of strings

[@radiozelaza]

@@VikoTheBassist no way, 1 litre bottle of denaturated alcohol costs like 1 dollar and works like a charm. The best investment is to get a set of really expensive high endurance strings (Ernie Ball with titanium core or something similar) and then bathe them in denaturated alcohol over and over again, they should last for years. At least mine did

[@syer3789]

Is there a way tho to get clean lows and distorted highs with just 1 amp and some pedals ?

[@elpeluca7780]

Yes. You'll have to get a distorsion pedal that has a blend knob on it. I use a darkglass vintage, it definitely does the job.

[@grapefruitsimmons]

All metal bass tone is terrible. Idk how or why that awful clank sound became the meta. Im a deathcore guy but i think metal bass tone peaked at Geezer Butler. It fits every band.

[@zeldamage001]

6:02 sure, the bass tone was impacted by recording technologies, but I don't believe that's due to vinyl, right?

[@VikoTheBassist]

@@zeldamage001 Longer (lower frequency) waveforms require more energy in order to produce the same sound volume, and if the bass frequencies were as loud as they are on a lot of modern recordings it would cause the needle to skip, especially if the bass were in side channels and not solely in mono. It’s the reason the RIAA curve was created in the first place. Those who cut records today still have to make special EQ adjustments to make sure the record doesn’t skip.

[@quadrogic340]

IFunny

[@kevingage4157]

Just some feedback for you. Don't put 2 minutes of talking at the beginning of the video. You are going to lose people. Get started on the content quickly. Then add updates, click like, etc in middle or end.

[@VikoTheBassist]

This is both the only video in which I’ve done this and the only video which has blown up like this

[@kevingage4157]

@@VikoTheBassist it's a good catchy topic with a good thumbnail and the video is well done. Just my personal opinion that it's better to get right to the material. Just trying to give some friendly advice. At least for my ADD brain if I'm not engaged quickly it's easy to just click off to something else. But I'm just one Internet random. Good chance I'm the minority.

[@erikberg8352]

@@VikoTheBassist because it's a broadly appealing topic

[@Swift016]

"Music should be about self expression, not copying." Dead wrong. Gatekeeping is always a bad take, no matter the justification.

[@cake_9510]

You're at 420 subscribers. Sorry I'm about to ruin it

[@michaelblaney4461]

I tend to like playing the bass harder and turning the amp lower. Im more of a Prog / Hard rock / older metal player. I have a bass for every contingency. Ric 4003 , Jazz bass, P bass w/ LaBella flats one with rounds , Schecter studio 8 , For more modern sound Spector , BTB 5 string , Sire V7. ( I guess i really dont need all that 😅) I like to hear other peoples ideas . My problem with newer metal is all the instruments ( 2 guitars and a bass) are all in the bass frequencies .😊 Pretty much I could probably sell most of it and just play my Jackson Dave E. Model😅

[@timnordberg7204]

was listening to "At the Heart of Winter" (in the dead of summer) yesterday. That album is so heavy and the bass sounds fantastic. E standard guitars with a 5-string bass. Getting the low C and D for a VI-VII-i Steve Harris progression sounds so fucking brutal--the bass is two octaves below the guitars. I love some detuned bands for sure, but definitely a band who explore the possibilities in the constrained range of standard tuning.

[@Nadav_Zaidman]

You wont make money at 1k subs on youtube... Just saying....

[@VikoTheBassist]

@@Nadav_Zaidman I know I won’t make money AT 1k but it’s a benchmark I need to qualify for AdSense