Selta's bass presets

Hm. I may have to get a Ric in house to make your Geddy preset then. I know I can get my hands on a multitude of Jazz basses, even a Geddy signature... the Ric might take a tad more time. I'll keep you posted.
Kent - yours is very close now :)
 
Kent, I'm sorry - I had to skip over your preset today. Your request is about 95% done... just trying to balance some things out a tad more.

In the meantime, as I was rocking out some Queensryche (Empire album), I decided I had to spend a quick amount of time dialing in that "kick you in the face" Eddie Jackson tone. So I got my Spector out of the case and made this preset (also linked in post 2):
Axe-Change - Download Preset - Selta_SpectorEuro5_JetCityWoman - by selta

It's made with my Spector Euro 5 LX, EMG pickups and HazLab clone preamp. It's as close as I can imagine getting without owning an actual 80's NS-2. Solo, it is pretty raunchy / dirty. But when played in a band setting... it terrorizes :D
 
I'll probably iterate on the Queensryche one, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Really needs a pick to bring out that low-mid growl Spectors can be known for. It's also hard to replicate that era of Spector basses. If I could get my hands on an NS-2, it'd be all the better :D
 
selta said:
I'll probably iterate on the Queensryche one, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Really needs a pick to bring out that low-mid growl Spectors can be known for. It's also hard to replicate that era of Spector basses. If I could get my hands on an NS-2, it'd be all the better :D
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Wow, I just looked those up on eBay. They fetch a pretty penny, don't they?
 
Just had a chance to check the preset out. Pretty darn right on! A couple of questions, I noticed in the final PEQ block you have it panned all the way to the left channel. Why is that? Also, the output level is really low. Is there a reason for that?

I ended up panning the PEQ and setting it's level to -1.1 so my bass was peaking around -6.
 
Brock said:
Wow, I just looked those up on eBay. They fetch a pretty penny, don't they?
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Yeah. I think the cheapest I've ever seen one go for was about $1500 used, and it was somewhat beat up.
Brock said:
Just had a chance to check the preset out. Pretty darn right on! A couple of questions, I noticed in the final PEQ block you have it panned all the way to the left channel. Why is that? Also, the output level is really low. Is there a reason for that?

I ended up panning the PEQ and setting it's level to -1.1 so my bass was peaking around -6.
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D'olp, sorry about that. There might be several blocks panned hard like that... I was tooling around with some things and I guess I forgot to reset them. I'll double check them and will re-upload.
I had the output really low because.... my Euro 5 output is *really* high, which I wanted for the front end of the chain.... but needed to trim it to keep from output clipping. The HazLab is an 18v pre, and its voicing can be brutal. I haven't met a bass with nearly the same output as it... even my Ernie Ball Bongos, which notoriously have "hot" output, don't match it. When I play my Spector live with other basses, it needs its own preset(s), so the FOH doesn't have to deal with the level change.
 
Yeah, I knew a guy who played one - I'm pretty sure it was the same kind Eddie uses. He was telling me about the special preamp in it that makes the signal SUPER loud. His tone was a dead-on clone of Eddie's, and he was using Trace Elliot Preamp/Amp/Cabs. Again, thanks for the great work!

Also, out of curiosity, I recently bought an Ibanez BTB 1605, which comes with Nordstrand pickups and active electronics(Electric Bass BTB - BTB1605 PREMIUM | Ibanez guitars). I like its tone, but I'm wondering if the tone of the Spector Euro5LXEX (Spector Euro5LXEX Birdseye Poplar 5-String Bass | Guitar Center) would be vastly better. Any opinions?
 
Brock said:
Yeah, I knew a guy who played one - I'm pretty sure it was the same kind Eddie uses. He was telling me about the special preamp in it that makes the signal SUPER loud. His tone was a dead-on clone of Eddie's, and he was using Trace Elliot Preamp/Amp/Cabs. Again, thanks for the great work!
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Yeah, that'd be the HazLab preamp. Some people out there, from time to time (and in very small batches, usually 25 at a time or less) make "clones" of these - as true to the original as possible, down to how the PCB is made. That's what I have in my Euro 5 :).
And, my pleasure to help! I'll be updating that preset in the next couple of days to make sure everything is panned center - thanks for pointing that out.

Brock said:
Also, out of curiosity, I recently bought an Ibanez BTB 1605, which comes with Nordstrand pickups and active electronics(Electric Bass BTB - BTB1605 PREMIUM | Ibanez guitars). I like its tone, but I'm wondering if the tone of the Spector Euro5LXEX (Spector Euro5LXEX Birdseye Poplar 5-String Bass | Guitar Center) would be vastly better. Any opinions?
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You're basically at the price point with either bass that saying one is outright "better" than the other gets fuzzy. One will be better than the other for you. The BTB basses from Ibanez are no slouches, and Nordstrand makes some serious good pickups.
For me, the Spector wins out in multiple ways:
1) The neck - for some reason, even though it's "chunkier" (front to back - think more baseball batish), the Spector fits me better than Ibanez necks.
2) The Tone - Even with the factory TonePump pre, they are versatile and great sounding. You can get very close to the Eddie Jackson tone with the TP pre - changing to HazLab is purely personal choice.
3) Long-term ownership - I've owned a few Spectors in my career now, and every time I have a question or concern about things, I can call up Spector and talk to PJ, or even Stuart Spector himself sometimes.

The Ibanez though, does have a few perks of its own, and like I said, is no slouch:
1) More extensive EQ. While the Spector I find to be plenty for what I do and need, there is no doubt the one on board the 1605 can be more fine-tuned, and bypassed in a pinch (dead battery on stage)
2) Thinner neck (front to back) - some people prefer the sleeker feel of these necks. For me, their too thin, but for you, it may be perfect.

If you can manage to get your hands on a US or Euro Spector, do give it a try. I've typically found that the neck is a "love it or hate it" thing for people. Only you can truly decide which is better. Either way, you have a fine bass that would serve you very well!
 
Not a problem. Take your time and have fun programming stuff. I've been working on some blocks of my own as well.
 
Thank you so much for the thoughtful response, Selta! It reflects the kind of serious consideration I was hoping for. I kind of read into what you wrote that you think the BTB would offer a wider variety of tones - is that correct? It's one the reasons I chose the BTB over the Spector. I love Spector's tone, but I don't always want that Eddie Jackson, super-aggressive tone, you know? After doing some recording, I've actually gone back to using it in passive mode as the boosts afforded by the active electronics are pretty heavy duty. I saw a video about how to dial in great bass tones by Anthony Crawford (whose tone I like), and he asserted the he likes it best keeping the tone knobs flat, so I started doing that too.



The other one I've given serious consideration is Modulus. A friend had one, and man - I'd never heard the low notes sound so powerful and even.

As always, I appreciate your feedback.
 
Brock said:
Thank you so much for the thoughtful response, Selta! It reflects the kind of serious consideration I was hoping for. I kind of read into what you wrote that you think the BTB would offer a wider variety of tones - is that correct? It's one the reasons I chose the BTB over the Spector. I love Spector's tone, but I don't always want that Eddie Jackson, super-aggressive tone, you know? After doing some recording, I've actually gone back to using it in passive mode as the boosts afforded by the active electronics are pretty heavy duty. I saw a video about how to dial in great bass tones by Anthony Crawford (whose tone I like), and he asserted the he likes it best keeping the tone knobs flat, so I started doing that too.

<snip>

The other one I've given serious consideration is Modulus. A friend had one, and man - I'd never heard the low notes sound so powerful and even.

As always, I appreciate your feedback.
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I'll tackle the last one first... good luck getting a Modulus. They do come up used, but not too often. They went out of business as well, so no new production. Dingwall, IMO, does an even better job at a clear, even and articulate low B (or A, or F#). The string-to-string balance on a Dingwall really can't be beat, either. Definitely give them a try when you get a chance.

I wouldn't particularly say the BTB is more versatile, but versatile in a different way. The easiest way I can think of to clearly put it is this:
The Spector can pretty readily cover bass tones A through M. (A..M is ambigious on purpose).
The BTB can, in turn, cover stuff from D through P.

From the overlapping letter range, you can see they cover a lot of the same ground, but each also has a space they could call their own. A through C for the Spector, N through P for the BTB.

The Spector is pretty type cast in hard rock and metal, but I've honestly used them in punk rock, improv and standards jazz and open mic nights where anything goes. Taming a Spector to fit in is pretty easily with the on-board EQ and playing technique.

Mr. Crawford is a good player, and knows his stuff. I didn't watch that particular video, but the Roscoe on the still image is a very nice bass too (custom stuff, made here in the U.S. - I know some of the crew that makes them personally and call them friends). I agree that, when recording, starting with controls centered (often erroneously called "flat") is in most cases ideal. This gives the mix and mastering people the easiest time. If you're band has spent time really analyzing the entire tone as a whole unit and everything really works and has synergy, then you can get away with bringing "your" tone in and having the engineers work with that. It's been my experience that the overwhelming majority of bands do not do this - each individual works on their own tone, sure, but not the entire band's tone.
Anyway, now I'm getting off on a tangent... did I help at all? :D
 
I'll have to check out the Dingwalls. From what I can see, they look beautiful. A tad pricey. I've never played an instrument with fanned frets. I've read it's fairly easy to get used to. I'm sure that extended scale length contributes to that solid lower range to which you referred.

Sorry to have taken the thread off-topic. To bring it back on...one thing I think would be pretty cool is if you'd post your Top 5 or Top 10 most useful bass tones. I understand "most useful" is subject. But you get the idea. Thanks!
 
Oh man, no worries. The topic is "bass"... so, from my chair here, you're perfectly on-topic.
As always, what I say here is strictly "In my opinion", "In my experience", and "for me". I've been doing this for a bit, but I try to not tell people what they should do. It's music... half of the fun is exploring for ones self.
The Dingwalls can be spendy. A used Combustion will run you a similar price to a Modulus, ish. The fanned frets.... I honestly didn't even notice the transition until I got to a few tunes where I do double stops or chording. I'm sure once I pick up a fretless it'll be a different story, but that's a few years away!

I love the idea of me posting a "Top XX" list of tones. I'll have to think on it a bit, too. Maybe I can even incorporate that into a series of presets. Wonderful idea, Brock!
 
nice nice thread.
im going to check out the presets, i love the eddie jackson tone in the empire album I tried to get it with my jazz bass


it would be interesting to figured out how geddy lee uses his axe!!!

about basses, i plan to get one o this basses, spector, bongo 6, or dingwall, Any recommendation??
 
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selta said:
I love the idea of me posting a "Top XX" list of tones. I'll have to think on it a bit, too. Maybe I can even incorporate that into a series of presets. Wonderful idea, Brock!
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I think this would be huge. We don't seem to have too many native bassists that post presets on here that I've noticed. And I'll take a wild guess and assume there are lots of guitarists on here who act as their own bassists for recording. :mrgreen We may as well at least have good tone while doing so!
 
wiz_2112 said:
nice nice thread.
im going to check out the presets, i love the eddie jackson tone in the empire album I tried to get it with my jazz bass

it would be interesting to figured out how geddy lee uses his axe!!!

about basses, i plan to get one o this basses, spector, bongo 6, or dingwall, Any recommendation??
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Funny enough, Eddie Jackson now uses a Mike Lull jazz bass: Mike Lull Custom Guitars & Guitar Works - Home. I would say that you pretty much nailed it in that video as well, good job. It's not a particularly tough tone to get... in the sudio, I think he actually just dimed out an SVT with his Spector and was done.

Of the three you listed, you can't really go wrong. I haven't posted it anywhere, but I'm probably going to sell my Bongo 6 HS, if you end up leaning that way ;).
All three feel very different, so if you can, you'll want to try to get time on each to see which is most comfortable for you.

Brock said:
I think this would be huge. We don't seem to have too many native bassists that post presets on here that I've noticed. And I'll take a wild guess and assume there are lots of guitarists on here who act as their own bassists for recording. :mrgreen We may as well at least have good tone while doing so!
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:D Over the past year, I've been doing a lot to try to bring bassists into the fold. I'm hoping that this project/thread will help further that. Behind the scenes, I talk to people in the industry (musicians, studios etc) as well. I'm just not super public about what I do with it. But, I am focused on bass players... no offense, but I think guitars already get quite enough attention in this thing :D
 
Sorry I've been absent lately everyone. Work, gigs and other things have kept me from getting on the forums. More to come "soon".
 
More coming... it'll be November before I get time away from playing/recording for my bands. In the meantime, I've also sold off some of my collection. Fear not, though! I still have access to a ton of cool gear (basses, FX) for preset making and sharing. Sorry I've been neglecting this. I will get back to it though!
 
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