dUg Pinnick

dUg Pinnick is the bassist and singer of King's X, a player whose tone has influenced others including Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam¹. His sound is built on a merger of high-end distortion with low-end bass, something he originally developed back in the '80s². Before he had signature gear, that meant a complicated rig: a guitar amp and a bass amp running together, along with a rack full of effects³². Today his sound is available in two pieces of Tech 21 gear he helped design: the Ultra Bass 1000 Signature head and the DP-3X signature pedal, a super-compact adaptation of that head².

A guitar amp and a bass amp together

The core of dUg's tone, going back to the '80s, was running two amps at once. Prior to his signature head, this involved running a guitar amp and a bass amp together, along with a rack full of effects³². The idea was to merge the distorted high end of a guitar amp with the low end a bass rig provides².

In his own words, the guitar amp side of the rig was the constant. In an interview with Pete Thorn he said:

He paired that guitar head with Ampeg cabinets, and he says he tried about every amp he could imagine that was out at the time, because endorsements would bring new heads in regularly¹. He also traces the origin of the tone he has chased to a much earlier amp:

Pinnick says he chased that brightness his whole life and eventually found it, then added low end into it, which is the combination the DP-3X is built to reproduce in one head⁴.

That combination, a sweet, bright high end with low end added underneath, is the sound his signature gear was built to reproduce²⁴.

Signature gear: the Tech 21 pedal and Ultra Bass 1000 head

dUg's signature gear with Tech 21 covers both halves of his rig in different formats. He has the Ultra Bass 1000 Signature head, and the DP-3X, a super-compact adaptation of that head in pedal form². Tech 21, the maker, is known for pioneering the amp-in-a-box-with-cab-simulation concept⁶.

The DP-3X is an all-analog bass distortion pedal that dUg collaborated on²⁴. It is designed to be flexible about where it sits in a signal chain:

• As a preamp via the effects return of a power amp⁵
• As a stompbox in front of an amp⁵
• Plugged directly into a mixer or recorder⁵
• Straight into a PA, using its XLR out⁴

dUg describes the design goal in plain terms:

He says he took it to Europe for a month with his blues band, carrying it in his suitcase and using whatever backline was on stage, and that he has used it in live situations where soundmen unfamiliar with it plugged it into the PA⁴. He also personally beta-tested the DP-3X on a European tour, encountering a different backline in every venue³.

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In the Sweetwater video, Mitch Gallagher talks with dUg at the Tech 21 booth at Winter NAMM 2018 about the signature bass distortion pedal, where dUg explains the scooped mid voicing, the XLR out and how the pedal reacts to his hands⁴.

How the tone works in a mix

A big part of the design is how the pedal sits alongside guitars. dUg explains that the voicing is scooped so the guitars can sit on top of the bass and the bass still comes through the PA, something he worked out because his guitar player's tone is huge and he had to find a way to get under it and above it⁴. He says it also works for guitar, and that you can slap and pluck with it, clean it up, and get a direct tone out of it⁴.

He also describes how the pedal responds to touch:

He says he wanted his own sound, the John Entwistle, Chris Squire type sound, but also wanted the pedal to be something a player could dial into their own playing⁴.

What reviewers made of it

Reviewers found the DP-3X held up across different uses. MusicRadar describes it as an adaptation of the King's X frontman's Ultra Bass 1000 head, usable as a preamp via an effects return, as a stompbox, or plugged directly into a mixer or recorder⁵. Bass Musician Magazine's Ty Campbell reviewed it and reported that it worked great for every application and met his needs, using it with an amp as a stomp box and as a preamp direct to the board on gigs where amps are not permitted⁷. He also uses it alongside the Tech 21 Bass Fly Rig, saying both are different, each unique in their own way, and are now an essential part of his rig⁷.

Bands and projects

Alongside King's X, who he says have been touring and continue to tour, dUg's other projects include⁴:

• KXM: a third record finished and coming soon, with the music done and vocals to record⁴
• Grinder Blues: a blues band whose second record was just finished⁴
• A Hendrix tribute record: recorded and set for release, with no date at the time⁴
• A band with Jeff Ament: playing ZZ Top Tres Hombres type material, covered on a European tour where dUg took the DP3X prototype and used it every night no matter what amp was on stage¹

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In the Pete Thorn interview, dUg shows his Tech 21 DP3X signature bass pedal and talks about his bass tones going back to big bass amps, the guitar head and Ampeg cabinet rig he used for years, and the band he played in with Jeff Ament¹.

For players chasing a similar sound, the practical takeaway from dUg himself is about developing your own tone rather than copying his: he says you just play what you like, because it is in your hands, and you will know it when you find the right amp⁴.

Questions