Oct 09, 2005 12:24 pm At 49 sec. I'm hearing a distorted bass guitar with a quick stereo delay. Is that what you're talking about or the guitars that come in later?
a tone i would not mind emulating -- any ideas?
Posted on Oct 08, 2005 10:01 pm
fortymile
Member Since: Jan 18, 2003
recently discovered this band called scarling. (posted an mp3 of thiers in my profile for analysis if anyone is interested). i am kind of floored by this distortion.
anyway, i was curious what you guys can pick up in this tone, as far as how it's created. this tone is partly the work of chris vrenna, so i know theres a lot of studio wizardry at work probably. but i would like to come close. it kicks in at 49 secs. then gets fuller here at there starting at like one minute.
i struggle to characterize what i think i might be hearing. its like a combination of what i perceive as fullness in the bass end of the guitar--or the low mids?-- and a certain 'honkiness' in the midrange thats making it come alive for me. i wonder if i should tweak the soldano model in my POD to approximate this. but it seems like heavy signal processing is being done to that guitar, and im not sure what kind. any ideas?
its the scarling song in my profile.
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Oct 09, 2005 12:24 pm At 49 sec. I'm hearing a distorted bass guitar with a quick stereo delay. Is that what you're talking about or the guitars that come in later?
Oct 09, 2005 03:06 pm i dont know; i cant seperate this stuff in my mind.
1. theres the opening riff that starts at like 15 secs. whats that instrument? i thought that was a guitar.
2. then at 46 or so, you think thats a bass? thats the same instrument isnt it? just louder or something?
3. i cant figure out the guitars or whatever that is at 1:03. sounds like there're synths or something buried inside. dim harmonics that make it more musical.
i guess the standard distortion starts at like 1:25.
i am interested in 1, 2, and 3 mostly.
if that IS a distorted bass, is that just the bass tone theyre using for the whole song? i think so, right? if so, i think it probably has a lot to do with the sense of 'punchiness' throughout the song.
Oct 09, 2005 10:18 pm Yeah I think it is a bass in the beginning with a low cut on and then when it kicks in they take it off. And then I think the guitars just hit that big chord on the accents of the verse. Did you hear the guitars feeding back in tune during certain parts? At least I think that's what it is. I do hear a synth(or more in tune feedback) kick in at 1:36. That's my 2 cents. I love figuring stuff like this out.
Oct 10, 2005 12:38 am yeah: for those chords where the distortion kicks in full for a moment (great parts, those) and then bows out again, it just sounds like theres more in there than just guitars! those chords are so full and they have something else going on. i wouldnt know how to create that. its almost like the guy took the harmonic overtones that the chords created and deliberately spiked those on purpose. which is insane. if thats whats going on, i have no idea how one does that.
Oct 10, 2005 01:44 am Boy, I don't find that song very tasty at all. Pass the bottle of Muse would you?
I'm going to second the ditorted bass opinion of AT Chris. And also simply say severely detuned guitars?
But yea, the tone is quite interesting indeed..
Oct 10, 2005 02:04 am yeah the song itself isnot that great. thats not what i like about them. the choruses of their songs are usually let downs. so i dont think they'll go far.
its all about the tone. since i write a lot with power chords but am completely focused on songwriting i would like to think i could make such a tone work for me.
muse? are you jesting or serious? i loved muse for about 5 minutes and do every time i hear them. but every song they do is SLAVED to the harmonic minor scale. they all sound the same.
Oct 10, 2005 05:53 am But it sounds so fantastic forty! Its like glorified ear candy! Sonically I love muse, and muscically as well. It just sounds soooo bloody good.... some nights when I'm by myself, I cry when listening to muse, because, my mixes divided my 30, do not sound that good.
But yea, they do get a bit repetitive.
Oct 10, 2005 11:19 am I think that the tone comes from mixing a few different sources. There's a clean(ish) bass guitar, a distorted bass guitar, and at least one distorted guitar in there all playing the same riff (like a 7-string or a baritone guitar).
At least that's what it sounds like to me.
Oct 10, 2005 06:49 pm i kind of like muse. but i do get bored of them. nevertheles, i kind of want to absorb some of thier tricks. fortunately, theres mainly one thing about them that seems to stand out, i have found so far, in my very cursory analysis. there may be more, but this seems to be the big one.
the main trick to sounding like muse is to play in a minor key but to make the V chord major instead of minor. (i believe you get this by harmonizing the harmonic minor scale, which is an old, classical-sounding scale, and thats what im picking up in thier songs, even in the melodies.) also, theres one really distinictive way they do it: if you jam on an a minor chord for a while (use a keyboard) just lower the first two notes in the triad by a half step each. this actually gives you the major V chord in 1st inversion. this is everywhere in their songs.
anyway, back to scarling:
i have often wondered if it would be overkill to mix multiple basses. something inside just always says 'you CANT do that.' i dont know why ... im all for experimentation. it just always seemed like it would be crossing some line.
Oct 10, 2005 09:32 pm noooo, the recording and mixing of their songs sounds fantastic. Thats why I like them. I don't want to sound like them musically lol.
Oct 10, 2005 10:51 pm oh yeah? what do you like about the recording? i havent paid any attention to that aspect of them
Oct 11, 2005 02:42 am Everythings just so god damn full. Check out The bass tone on 'Hysteria' from the album 'Absolution'. I mean its just amazingly full. And then these crystal clear guitar and drum track comes in. The speration between all of the instruments is amazing. They have just the right amount compression and distortion on the vox, so you can hear every word and breath. Its perfect lol. Usually when I mix, tone gets sacrificed for seperation, it's like they planned the frequencies that each instrument would occupy and sorted mics and positions etc. from there. This is the sort of quality I'm aiming to produce in my home studio. If I can achieve that, then I've conquered the world in my mind. Then maybe I'll take a well deserved break : ).
I don't really hear anything technical like special panning techniques, but its the full picture.
Now I'm just rambling.
Oct 11, 2005 05:07 am nah those're some good insights. ill check that out.
Oct 14, 2005 08:05 pm forty go have a listen to the tune in my profile. Its probably the same effect you are looking for. Only differance is the guitar with the low tone in the Scarling tune is probably drop tuned, or as suggested maybe a 7 string. I would opt for the drop tuning myself. Then they are just using more distortion processing with some heavy EQ.
The guitar in my profile was actually played through one of those little plastic marshal replicas. Set up in a hallway with 3 mic's. 1 close up, 1 about 3' away and the 3rd was placed facing the far wall. Each track was processed a bit differant to give it that thick ugly sound.
Oct 16, 2005 01:15 am Taken a listen to any of the muse stuff yet forty?
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