YOUR QUESTION

01/18/2021 Justin James

Trevor -
Huge fan! Just wanted to say that I absolutely love your tone on RW. I hate to admit this, but I rarely get to JUST LISTEN to music anymore... I haven't had a work commute in 13 years and I have 3 kids and I'm constantly working. So please forgive me if I didn't realize just how amazing RW actually sounded until a long car ride yesterday! Everyone in that lineup is just throwing so many notes out as quickly as possible, it can be tough for the bass to shine through, and you manage that trick adroitly.
I was wondering what your secret is for that? I know your gear, it makes sense to me, but between song composition and stuff that happens in the recording studio and gear choice, there's obviously a difference between a bassist who blends into the background on a thrash disc (say, Araya) and one who cuts through with a clear and distinct voice (you, Dave Ellefson). Would love to get your take on that, and how you stand out in the crowd.
Thanks, and much appreciated!

MY ANSWER

Thanks for noticing! I think the problem with most bassists in metal scenarios is that they are using too much saturation. Leave that to the guitars. If you want the natural, metallic grit of the bass tone to be present, keep it clean —well, not totally clean. I like a tasteful level of tube distortion. But saturation sucks the low end out and then you’re essentially just playing another guitar. The other secret weapon is to have an engineer who is also a bass player. Jay Ruston killed it in the mix of that record and I am forever in debt. I use a couple distortion boxes in a live setting, but mostly I rely on pushing air through cones and maintaining the traditional roll of what low frequency instruments are there for.