Re: bass amp settings for Death From Above 1979

Their sound is mainly made from Jesse F. Keeler on the bass and synths. His set-up is as follows: Rickenbacker 4003, Dunlop Tortex 0.73mm triangle-shaped picks, Vintage Peavey and Acoustic heads with two Traynor 8x10 cabinets loaded with PA speakers (output of 1,200 watts), ’80s Ibanez SC10 Super Stereo Chorus pedal and Dunlop GCB-95 Crybaby wah-wah pedal. He describes the sound as, "My sound partly grew from not being able to afford anything new or ‘vintage-cool.’ It had to be ‘vintage-nobody-wanted-it.’”

He then went on to explain his set-up a little more, "Since it’s just two of us on stage I need a full-range sound. Using two 8x10 cabinets and putting out about 1,200 watts helps have a big sound. My rig gives me about as many speakers as a guitarist’s full stack plus a bass player’s 8x10. I also like to use amp distortion because it gives me more dynamic response than a pedal.

Instead of stimulating output with preamp gain or a pedal, I prefer to get maximum output from the instrument. I rewired the Rickenbacker so that nothing impedes the pickup’s signal. I only use solid-state amps because the attack is instant—it’s much quicker than a tube amp. I also put PA speakers in my cabinets because they have better top-end response than bass speakers."

A common misconception of how Jesse F. Keeler get the distinctive sound is that he uses pedals. Jesse does not use pedals or effect pedals at all. He uses controlled feedback from the amps by playing close to it and he wired the amp to a way that it makes the sound it does. If you have ever seen them play live or listened to my Live Bootleg CD you might have noticed that Jesse's sound is consistent all the way through the whole show. This is because of the no effects pedals he uses. The sound in the studio is a little different on some songs but is basically the same too. The only effects "pedal" Jesse uses is for synths.

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