Tool - Schism Bass Whammy

I think you're on the right track tone wise. When we saw them live I'm pretty sure he was only tapping the accent notes (left hand) and using the volume knob (right hands) for each accent whilst also activating the whammy rather than plucking every note like the guitar riff.
 
to truly emulate JC in that part of Schism, you need to have a Wal bass due to the filter sweep tone controls. The bass tone is shifted an octave up 100% wet (thus no dry lower octave bass is heard). I believe the tone is also distorted which adds harmonic richness. Here is the technique: using this tone, JC hammers on with his left hand (first note is D string 14th fret = E) while simultaneously doing a filter sweep on the tone knob. The Wal filter sweep has a pull switch making the filter depth very steep, and the lowest frequency is very low. It is quite unique to this bass. Add to this an expression pedal whammy shift up one octave as the left hand hammer on note is being struck, with echo, and you're there.

It is much easier to simply add the filter sweep stacked onto the same pedal as the whanmmy shift, freeing up your right hand, but that is not authentic to JC's actual technique. Check this video (crappy audio) at 4min20sec to hear the effect played with a Schecter Stiletto Studio Elite bass and an AxeFx Ultra:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ITvhsEPIBKA
 
jimfist said:
to truly emulate JC in that part of Schism, you need to have a Wal bass due to the filter sweep tone controls. The bass tone is shifted an octave up 100% wet (thus no dry lower octave bass is heard). I believe the tone is also distorted which adds harmonic richness. Here is the technique: using this tone, JC hammers on with his left hand (first note is D string 14th fret = E) while simultaneously doing a filter sweep on the tone knob. The Wal filter sweep has a pull switch making the filter depth very steep, and the lowest frequency is very low. It is quite unique to this bass. Add to this an expression pedal whammy shift up one octave as the left hand hammer on note is being struck, with echo, and you're there.

It is much easier to simply add the filter sweep stacked onto the same pedal as the whanmmy shift, freeing up your right hand, but that is not authentic to JC's actual technique. Check this video (crappy audio) at 4min20sec to hear the effect played with a Schecter Stiletto Studio Elite bass and an AxeFx Ultra:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ITvhsEPIBKA
Click to expand...

Ah, I stand corrected. Fair enough. Haha
 
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