The Bass Preset Collection Project

It's funny when you hear some isolated bass tracks and they don't sound like you'd expect. Especially Ozzy, like I Don't Know, Crazy Train and Over The Mountain. After doing a tone match of those tracks, I was like "yuk". But they sound great in the mix.
 
I am using the Axe FX II Mark II for bass. One of the best bass tones I have heard is Geddy's overdriven tone on Moving Pictures. It has the gritty and well rounded distorted tone without losing the punchy low end. Has anyone attempted to tone match to get that sound and would be willing to share?
 
Gearnut said:
I am using the Axe FX II Mark II for bass. One of the best bass tones I have heard is Geddy's overdriven tone on Moving Pictures. It has the gritty and well rounded distorted tone without losing the punchy low end. Has anyone attempted to tone match to get that sound and would be willing to share?
Click to expand...

Quite a while back I tried to match the Tom Sawyer iso track (it wasn't very good quality) and the results were sort of meh. It was definitely more to do with the stem and my probably lack of skill and patience with the tone match more than anything, plus I don't own a Jazz bass or a Rickenbacker bass...and probably b/c I my playing style and technique don't resemble Mr. Lee's, even slightly.

I have done some other "by ear" amp tones that seem to get close, and would be passable in a live band situation, but still to my ear, just missing something critical, still. My guess it has to do a bit with the cabinet(s) used, mic, and post processing as well as the pure amp tone. Has anyone ever gotten an accurate description of what he used on Tom Sawyer? I'd love to know.

In the meantime, I can easily get the sound he has from this 2012 live video at 2min50sec, no problem at all, but it's a far cry from the iconic tone on the studio recording.

 
Thanks for the reply Jimfist. The tone I am hoping to replicate is also on the studio recording of The Camera Eye. There is an isolated youtube video with the bass track. Awesome tone!


jimfist said:
Quite a while back I tried to match the Tom Sawyer iso track (it wasn't very good quality) and the results were sort of meh. It was definitely more to do with the stem and my probably lack of skill and patience with the tone match more than anything, plus I don't own a Jazz bass or a Rickenbacker bass...and probably b/c I my playing style and technique don't resemble Mr. Lee's, even slightly.

I have done some other "by ear" amp tones that seem to get close, and would be passable in a live band situation, but still to my ear, just missing something critical, still. My guess it has to do a bit with the cabinet(s) used, mic, and post processing as well as the pure amp tone. Has anyone ever gotten an accurate description of what he used on Tom Sawyer? I'd love to know.

In the meantime, I can easily get the sound he has from this 2012 live video at 2min50sec, no problem at all, but it's a far cry from the iconic tone on the studio recording.

Click to expand...
 
The Camera Eye tone is a different tone, with a bit more distortion and attack than the Tom Sawyer sound I associate with Moving Pictures. I'm wondering if it is either the recording itself, or if Tom Sawyer was recorded with flats, which gives it a much more distinct "fatness" compared to the heavy grind on Camera Eye. Nonetheless, Camera Eye is a cool sound. IMO, the Camera Eye sound is a bit easier to derive in general. I think you could get there just by putting an OD stomp (adjust the MIX parameter to let in enough of the dry tone to keep it articulate) in front of the SVT model (SV Bass) and experiment with the 8x10 or 4x10 cab IRs. Or run parallel path amps with one set clean and the other set for the distortion, and mix to taste. It doesn't have as much of that signature low/mid "grunt" as the Tom Sawyer track. Many assume that Tom Sawyer was the Rick, but Geddy has said that it was the Jazz bass.
 
Hello comrades. Greetings from Moscow! I've downloaded and collected all the presets from this topic. Here it is. https://yadi.sk/d/H7-4WncJgRNcW If the link will be not comfortable for using tell me and i'll upload zip to another website. Thanks alot for the presets, they are great! Some of them are so suitable for my music, that i don't need to change the preset settings. That's cool!

So, I'm a newb in using my AXE FX Mark II and I have some questions. I couldn't listen some presets (Pauly presets, for example) because AXE Edit informs me that the selected Cab is a users Cab and i can not use it. What should i do with this? Can you please tell me some general information about the IRs and using it with axe fx (maybe link). Where can I download them? And what the differences between tone matching and IRs? Sorry if the questions are stupid)) I'm the fourth day studying the device and some things have not assimilated in my mind)
 
Last edited:
Hey guys. I came over this thread and took a go at making a preset of the "Camera Eye" bass sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=79&v=4ieVlpixUEs
This preset is the "platform" for all my bass tracks. It originated from SeeDs bass-presets, so the layout is identical to his. Axe Change -The Official Site for Fractal Audio Presets, Cabs and More

I've tweaked the amps and drive to my taste, and now I've had a go at "Camera Eye". I'm pretty pleased with the result, but I haven't done a real A-B testing because I can't be arsed to record. So, I've only played the youtube basstrack and then I've played the same - and done a "by ear" comparison.

Made playing a MusicMan Bongo 6 with flat EQ.
I've also tested it with a Ibanez SRGR 4 string that's been collecting dust for years. I could hear more "stringsound" with the 4 string compared to the six string. I have a similar playing style to Geddy Lee - hard and percussive.

The preset has two ampeg SV amps, one for the low and one for the high which has a drive before the amp. Amps are cross-overed at 250hz. There's also some flanger, chorus and delay. And you can tweak the GEQ if needed.

It goes into a Cab-block that has:
Axe-Change - Download 8x10 - Ampeg 8x10 SM7B Pre - by cartographernick with 421dyn mic
and
Axe-Change - Download 1x15 - Ampeg B-15 SM7B THE SHOCKER - by cartographernick with 421dyn mic
Here is the preset:
Axe-Change - Download Preset - JAG BASS RUSH V18 - by Jangri

Feedback would be nice as I haven't done a real A-B test. Hope you enjoy!
 
Sorry to pop in and just ask for favors, but I was wondering if anyone could help me dial in a good warm, jazzy prog tone, a la Martin Mendez from Opeth, or although I know they use fretless basses, Sean Malone from Cynic or ICS Vortex from Borknagar/Arcuturus. I have a fretted Ibanez BTB 676, so I know it'll be a little harder not just being a Fender jazz bass or a fretless but I've gotten close results but without feeling satisfied. I'll attach a link or two to show what I mean by a warm jazzy bass tone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHkb8u0NedQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKSKybl1ZT4&feature=youtu.be&t=23m26s
 
Hi Jangri, I downloaded the preset, but it appears to be blank. I pretty new to this but had no problem downloading other presents. Any assistance is appreciated!

Jangri said:
Hey guys. I came over this thread and took a go at making a preset of the "Camera Eye" bass sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=79&v=4ieVlpixUEs
This preset is the "platform" for all my bass tracks. It originated from SeeDs bass-presets, so the layout is identical to his. Axe Change -The Official Site for Fractal Audio Presets, Cabs and More

I've tweaked the amps and drive to my taste, and now I've had a go at "Camera Eye". I'm pretty pleased with the result, but I haven't done a real A-B testing because I can't be arsed to record. So, I've only played the youtube basstrack and then I've played the same - and done a "by ear" comparison.

Made playing a MusicMan Bongo 6 with flat EQ.
I've also tested it with a Ibanez SRGR 4 string that's been collecting dust for years. I could hear more "stringsound" with the 4 string compared to the six string. I have a similar playing style to Geddy Lee - hard and percussive.

The preset has two ampeg SV amps, one for the low and one for the high which has a drive before the amp. Amps are cross-overed at 250hz. There's also some flanger, chorus and delay. And you can tweak the GEQ if needed.

It goes into a Cab-block that has:
Axe-Change - Download 8x10 - Ampeg 8x10 SM7B Pre - by cartographernick with 421dyn mic
and
Axe-Change - Download 1x15 - Ampeg B-15 SM7B THE SHOCKER - by cartographernick with 421dyn mic
Here is the preset:
Axe-Change - Download Preset - JAG BASS RUSH V18 - by Jangri

Feedback would be nice as I haven't done a real A-B test. Hope you enjoy!
Click to expand...
 
Gearnut said:
Hi Jangri, I downloaded the preset, but it appears to be blank. I pretty new to this but had no problem downloading other presents. Any assistance is appreciated!
Click to expand...


Can anyone else confirm this? I have no idea what could be wrong...
 
Not sure if this project is still going but here's a bass preset I made with the new Cab Pack 11: ML SV Bass.

It requires and explanation. I'm always tweaking the balance of drive amount and blend amount for bass tones. Well I came up with something pretty cool. I attached the scene controller to both drive and mix in the drive block and fine tuned the control settings. So now you can simply use the SCENE 1 control that will automatically tweak both of those controls so it should be pretty close to idea. Here's an example of that one patch with Scene control on 0% = CLEAN, 40% = DIRTY, 80% = DISTORTION.



I used the SV Bass Mix 07 IR from the new Cab Pack.

EDIT: LINK: http://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=3331
 
Subdude said:
My Ampeg SVP Preset w/ Tone Match

Hello,

I hope you download and enjoy this patch (made in FWv11.0). I'm a tone freak and have been working on this for a couple of months now (playing live, tweaking for hours, etc). I've only had the AXeII for about 3 months now, so I appreciate any feedback!

P.S. I also tried and failed to post pix of my new Greenboy - Fearless Cabs (here's a link about 'em ). Full range / flat response, can handle 1KWatt apiece and are super high-res and galactic sounding. I power them with a 3800 watt Carvin. Somehow I did manage o post a pic of my GT Mastermind floor controller for my 'axe.

Comments:

- The patch includes a tone match from a freshly re-tubed Ampeg SVP (preamp from an SVT III) + BBE Sonic Maximizer. TM is in the user cab. I'd say the overall tone is on the bright side (the way I like it) but I worked very hard to make it not be harsh. Specifically, I tone matched several times with the "slow sinewave" method before I got the perfect (for me) tone, and then surgically used a lot of compression to remove excess "gank" from the sound (see third comment). This patch runs on flat response / full range cabs, and I use it for recording.
- Two expression pedals are used. The first introduces a cool distortion swell sound. The second is a volume cut (pedal is inverted so "off" = 100% volume. Rock it all the way forward for 80% volume) for when your amp is just a touch too loud.
- Engage the "Filter" effect for a few db's pf volume boost.
- I used the "Systematic Mixing Guide" to guide shaping of the tone. The preset uses a DI line, the "amped/TM" line, and then goes through a mixer and then a series of compressors and EQs. The mixer and compressors are adjusted for my basses (a Warwick thumb and PNut - which is like a thumb/streamer Stage II crossover) which use active electronics and are basically centered (with a touch of bass boost and occasional mid cut). If you want to tweak the tone, I suggest starting with the mutiband compressors (probably the first one). For more powerful tone shaping, try balancing the "DI" line against the "amp" line. Note the DI line is basically there for the "sub" sound, and the "amp" line - which is crossed over pretty high is more for "color".
- It has six scenes:

Vanilla - the main DI+Ampeg+BBE tone
Distortion - as above with just enough distortion to make it dirty.
Amp Only - Just the Ampeg/BBE - no DI
Amp + Distortion - As above with the same distortion
Distortion and Flange - Vanilla tone with dist+flange
Boost - 3 db boost for those power choruses...

Enjoy!
Click to expand...

I know I'm way late to this party, but I wanted to let you know how much I'm enjoying your preset and cab. I looked through the other bass presets here and most were focused on rock and overdriven tones and I'm looking for jazzy/fusion style with extended high end. I play an Alembic Series I long scale and your first scene (Vanilla) has great clarity and brightness that gets very close to the classic Stanley Clarke tones using my two Atomic CLRs. Thanks for all the effort put into this thread several years ago.
 
Great job!
I took presets and test them with my new Markus Miller 5-string bass (Alder), sounds great.
Many thanks to all of you who takes time to make nice presets etc.
Im not really bass players and trying to get some reasonable sounds out
from my finger ;D

It´s really much nicer to play when sounds are good, now I only have to get myself to next level
about bass playing. I play guitar but I always respect bass players who can handle this instrument
the way I just admire.

Thanks guys ;D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom