The John Myung Tone... On A Budget?

[ikekie]

(LOOKING FOR A CHEAP ALTERNATIVE TO THE JM TONE.)

hello hello. im quite new here. and im looking to get a bass guitar.

im playing bass 2-3 times a week, planning to play for years, but not in a band. just jamming around with my friends.

i have a budget of 300-400 SGD, and im looking for bass guitars with that JM tone. like the bass sound in Dream Theater's Panic Attack and Erotomania. John Myung's Solar Groove solo has that ideal sound too.

so im looking to get such a tone, and i heard some good stuff about Musicman Stingray, and Warwick.

but too expensive... any cheaper alternatives? also, any recommended pickups to help achieve that?

im looking for 4 stringers, by the way. thanks alot in advance! looking forward to hear from you guys.

...i really want to play some Panic Attack! ahaha.

 

[yuujin]

try the yamaha RBX series?

 

[dumbcube]

ratio

Well, I can only say, you get what you pay for. Otherwise, like wat yuujin said, yamaha rbx series might sound similar since the JM is a signature in tat series.

Also, tone depends on the player. How your finger strike each string, which part of the string you finger, how you mute etc will also affect your tone.

 

[KeDraiv]

his finger very long =[=[

 

[ikekie]

hmm... thanks for the comments. what is the cheapest in the RBX series, and how much does it cost?

 

[fretless6]

John Myung's tone is in the amp settings...

Bass - 8
Lo Mids - 6
Hi Mids - 4
Treble - 5
Volume - 0

=)

 

[ikekie]

... Volume - 0

erm. how am i supposed to play with my amp volume zero?

 

[Slash04]

You need a guitarist and keyboardist to play for the John Myung tone to come through. Volume is ideally placed at 0, as suggested. Otherwise, get the RBX and a decent overdrive.

 

[ikekie]

umm... what are you guys talking about... i dont really know.

how am i supposed to play with no volume at all?

sorry if i sound really dumb, im new to bass, and i wanna practice as often as possible.

still looking for the ideal tone from that Panic Attack song! =)

 

[jony]

Let up on the guy la... though I concur many things that have been said.

John Myung's tone among bass players is not desireable. You can hardly hear him, either as a function of poor tone or being set very low in the mix.

The tone for the intro of Panic Attack isn't all that special. Any decent bass rig and you being able to play it well will get you the tone.

 

[rylche]

He has poor tone. He forsakes the mids strangely. Scooped EQ certainly does not work in his band.

 

[shinobi]

if im not mistaken he reportedly doesnt give a damn about his tone... tsk tsk

 

[Masquerade]

every player has their own taste of tone. maybe lets would put it in this way, he wants his tone to be clear and punchy. To his ears maybe its the type of tone he wants. And also take a good look at Budokan 2004 live, he had a soapbar pups installed between the MM pups and the bridge. Its the first time i see someone installing pups so near the bridge lol somehow unique wise.

 

[ikekie]

...i dunno, it sounds good to me.

okay so what you guys are saying is: any bass is fine?

im looking for that heavy tone, something like that in ESP/LTD/BCRICH guitars.

should i also get an ESP/LTD/BCRICH bass?

and i heard good stuff about EMG pickups. Seymour Duncan too. what are your views?

seriously thanks alot for all the advice, people. very cool. =)

EDIT:

okay, i got the point that any bass can do Panic Attack. now im looking for something more specific.

Solar Groove, i want that sound... i found out that hes using a Tung Bass for that song.

amplifiers are provided for me so i dont really have to buy one, except for home use. ill pick that up myself, and tweak it.

now i just need to get a bass, and install some ideal pickups. so need some input on those two.

 

[Z3r0_G]

myung has mountains of efx. so if he doesnt care abt his tone, at least his producers/managers do. haha.

what you're looking for is smth probably more bassy in character with not as much detail and definition in the tone. you would probably prefer one with humbucking pickups. look for mellower sounding tonewoods.

the yamaha BBs and RBXs would be a good choice. so would OLPs. certain ibanezes would also be ideal on top of the ESPs/BC Rich you have mentioned.

 

[ikekie]

"smth probably more bassy in character with not as much detail and definition in the tone" just like Z3R0_G said.

i dont slap or pop, so im hope those basses you have listed are able to produce a non-jazzy sound. cause im going to try them.

erm... of those you have listed:

(Yamaha BBseries, Yamaha RBXseries, OLP, ESP, B.C. Rich, Ibanez)

can you name some price ranges for each type? i wanna pick out some, and then try them at Davis.

by the way:

are there any other guitar shops other than those in Peninsula or Bras Basah, that sells basses and bass amps?

ive heard of a shop called Cash Converter that sells 2nd hand guitars. where can i find this CC?

sorry if i ask too many questions... im really very interested in the bass ever since i picked up my friends bass guitar a few months ago. =)

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

John Myung's tone among bass players is not desireable. You can hardly hear him, either as a function of poor tone or being set very low in the mix.

JM's tone might be undesirable to bassists because it's so freakin' wet and undefined, we can hardly hear him through the mix.

But that doesn't mean he hasn't a clue about his tone, or that it is a mistake. His undefined mids is definitely intentional in Dream Theater's mix because there're already another 2 very competent spammers handling the main bulk of the music.

JM's basslines are either following the kicks very closely or JP's riffs closely which gives the overall sound a very thick and heavy mix. There's little clash in EQ between JP's riff, JR's chords, MP's kicks and JM's bass.

There're definitely some questionable choice of tones during some bass solos in DT's pieces like that of Dance of Eternity though, but nevertheless, though we might not be able to hear JM's bass in the overall mix, take a minus one bass track and we'll be able to tell that there's something wrong with it.

If they we're doing a cover like BB King's Stand By Me, then maybe he should EQ his tone differently, if not, imo, I think they're fine as it is now. I'd reckon their sound engineers aren't idiots. However, going all out to emulate his tone is... not very clever... unless of course you're producing some tracks for a kickass album

 

[bassics]

hi there, i was a jm freak for the longest time. well actually he gets his unique tone by the way he attacks his strings. His a very very hard plucker and u dont really need a particular bass to get his tone. just get some stainless steel strings adjust ur mids slighty up with ur bass and lower ur treble a tad bit. hit harder near the neck pickup of ur desired bass. try and get something preferably with 2 soapbar pickups. the yamaha jm1 series had picks up which where split p designed. u can try to find one like that. u have to prepare to get some nasty blisters cause to get his attack and bite you need to pluck seriously hard. happy practicing. try to learn overture 1928 the beginning bass plucking intro which was taken from dance of eternity is a good gauge whether you are plucking your bass strings hard enough.

 

[ikekie]

well, that was VERY useful to me! very informative, thank you very much bassics!

i will head down to Davis Guitar and try out some basses.

im still looking for other bass shops, other than those in Peninsula and Bras Basah...

also, still waiting for some reviews or comparison between the pickups of EMG and Seymour Duncan.

im taking note of every detail here! =)

 

[Slash04]

That guy practices like 8-12 hours a day for everyday of his life. He doesn't need tone, tone needs him. But that's the good thing about JM... His sound is so closely pact'd to JP, it's scary to know that there's a bassline following all the wankery that's going on. Anw, i concur with the Yamaha BBs and OLP.