cheddatom

It depends what kind of gig you're doing doesn't it. If you're playing pop covers at a wedding you'd better (at least appear to be) totally sober. If you're playing comedy punk in a dingey pub you'd better (at least appear to be) totally wasted.

I used to play bass in a band where we took everything very seriously. We'd never drink before playing... But when I started playing drums in The Premature Ejaculators it was all a lot less serious, and we would get wasted. Our first ever gig we had £50 behind the bar. During the 20 minutes it took to take my car home and get a taxi back, the lead singer had drank it all. No matter, I still got through 5 pints before we went on, then between the 4 of us we managed another couple of beers each, plus a whole bottle of sambuka. This was a 25 minute set. We have it on video and it was seriously tight. The only bit that's obviously drunken is the guitarist struggling to tune up.

I love parallel compression but I like to be able to EQ and/or distort each channel individually.

just to check this is a power problem, have you tried the same set up but with the ODB3 powered by a battery?

I learned more about sound and how to manipulate it. I was already comfortable with my basses and gear when I arrived, but that's not stopped me aquiring more. I was also comfortable with my playing ability, and that has stopped me squiring more. Perhaps I should practise? But all the bands I play in now are on drums. Playing bass on your own can be fun, but I don't do it that often.

[quote name='SteveK' timestamp='1357822160' post='1928905'] From time to time on BC a thread comes along, along the lines of,[i] 'I've tried this amp, I've tried this bass, that amp and that bass, yet I still can't get the sound I'm after'.[/i] My suspicion is that almost every combination of bass and amp (assuming reasonable/appropriate quality) is capable of delivering the sound that the poster is after. There are 2 obvious things (to my mind) at play here... Either the poster is clueless on how to use the gear (EQ, gain, compressor etc), or his technique is letting him down. The answer is simple: If you've got appropriate gear and you still don't like your sound, before parting with even more of your cash, take a good hard look at your technique. BTW a couple of posts have mentioned FX boards and heavy processing. I assume that we all know that no matter how good your fingers, you're not going to be able to emulate the sound of a Big Muff, stereo chorus, octaver etc without some outboard jiggery-pokery. My feeling is that that's a whole different discussion to the one prompted by the OP. [/quote] I guess it depends how you approach your sound. For me personally, I like my bass to sound like a piano, with varying amounts of distortion applied on top, plus any number of weird textured sounds. These are all my selection of bass tones. Of course I also use different playing techniques to widen my selection of tones even further For example, I've found I need a guitar amp, coupled with a bass amp, to give me the hi-mids I desire. The majority of bass set-ups will not give me the sound I want. Because of the way I approach my bass sounds, I seperate the "sound" of the bass from the actual performance of the bass. It's clear that most people see them as intertwined. Fair enough! But my approach certainly helps in the studio when someone says "I want that sound you got on X song".

I don't think that the "quest for tone" is opposed to improving your technique at all. I like to practise acoustically at home, but when I play with a band, I use a lot of gear to get the sound I want.

I would not deny that one player can make the same gear sound different to another player. However, given the right set up, if I was given two different bassists, playing the same bass lines, I could make them sound almost identical. To me that's the crux, and it demonstrates that while the playing style/technique/whatever does have an effect, this effect can be minimal given the right set-up. I know this to be the case because I've done it.

do you get feedback when you're not playing? What are your settings on the ODB3? I know it well so may be able to help there

wait until the cheap ones are gone and Ebay it... or would you like to trade? I have a hankering for one but no cash, although I might have some pedals you'd like, PM if interested

Most audience members wouldn't notice or care that the guitar and bass are EQ'd sympathetically, or that the ride cymbal was chosen to fit with that mix. That doesn't mean it's not worth doing, because the audience will notice that the band sounds good (or conversley sh*t).

low frequencies wouldn't touch the tweeter as the tweeter would be wired after a crossover If you're putting enough high frequencies through a tweeter to damage it, I imagine you have hearing difficulties!!! I hope you're using ear plugs? Are you standing too close to the cab to hear the tweeter maybe? Maybe a graphic EQ would be the best so that you can roll off both some highs and any un-needed lows.

[quote name='Inti' timestamp='1357734664' post='1927380'] Meaning that given any instruments Metallica would still sound Metallica. And the same goes for any band. I find this to be quite true as long as the music is not hard to play... [/quote] All you've said there is that provided the songs are the same, the sound is the same. I think most bands would disagree. Metallica plugged into a bunch of marshall MG combos would sound like Metallica but sh*t, and they would know it. I was responding to [quote]to a band the split is probably closer to 80% fingers and 20% the rest.[/quote] which I just don't understand. My band realise that most of my sound comes from my pedals. what I play is totally different to how I sound, some people seem to be confusing the two.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1357732641' post='1927332'] ...to a band the split is probably closer to 80% fingers and 20% the rest. [/quote] Dont' understand the reasoning there at all?!?

I think if you're going to plug your bass straight into your amp and just tweak the EQ a bit, then the sound that comes out is around 50% bass, 30% amp/cab, 20% fingers. 20% isn't insignificant, but then you can see how that diminishes the more you add effects and processing.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1357725840' post='1927161'] Even if the pub is packed full of punters having a great time? To me it's more about the whole scenario than just my personal gear choices... but it just shows that we all get different things out of music! [/quote] I'm not criticising those who do, it's just my preference. If all I wanted was a room full of dancing people i'd join a function band.

What warning light came on? is it number 11 in the manual? If so I would guess you have too much low end going on for the amp to handle. Something like the SFX thumpinator at the end of your chain would be the perfect solution I think Chaining multiple distortion boxes together is highly recommended. Your guitarist hasn't got a clue!

I get bored easily. I think it depends on the type of music though. If I was playing some really interesting jazz/funk stuff, something where I'd get to be really expressive, maybe I wouldn't need the pedals to keep me happy. But yeh, in the context of rock music, I like to do more than just play "bass", and effects help. Playing covers in a pub with nothing but a 4 string P and an ampeg is my idea of hell.

sweet, it has "Analog-Dry-Through" But yeh it looks very interesting. I'll have to watch the video to figure out how it works. I've given my Jamman to my guitarist but it's incredibly noisey, maybe this would be a cleaner and simpler solution.

Come to my studio and plug your fingers into my bass, 25 pedal set-up, bi-amp rig, and see if you think you still have "your sound" I'll readily admit it won't sound exactly the same as me playing, but it won't sound very far off. How you play obviously affects your tone, but depending on what you do to the signal, that effect can vary from moderate to subtle to pretty much non-existant.

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1357639733' post='1925642'] ...Art is dying... [/quote] New music will always be produced, just like art, the real talent is looking to create something NEW and ORIGINAL. If you don't like it, that would be your problem*, and have nothing to do with sound quality! Some people will go over past music looking for inspiration, others will try to avoid it lest they end up sounding the same. *and mine too, I'm not a fan of the music you're describing. Check out the latest CreepJoint album, you might be surprised

no problem dudes, all we have to do is bash some tubs with some sticks

I guess the implication of the OP is that older music fans are much more concerned about quality of sound that younger people who've grown up with mp3s? Of the young music fans I know, most have spent way more than I ever would on a pair of headphones - misguided maybe, but it certainly shows concern for the quality of sound. I don't know if this is indicative of a common trend though [quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1357562898' post='1924448'] Walking around with headphones permanently glued to your ears with a constant flow of mp3 music restricted to only the last 60 years of material makes you deaf to quality. IMO! [/quote] Are you saying that everything recorded before 1953 sounded better than anything recorded after?!?!? Nuts!!!!

I did post a thread about this album in Off Topic but don't want to keep bumping. Anyway, we've unlocked some of the extra content (to get more take the test at [url="http://THEALLIMPORTANTLIEDETECTORTEST.COM"]http://THEALLIMPORTANTLIEDETECTORTEST.COM[/url]) One music video and one "Making Of" documentary. I hope someone gets some enjoyment out of them! [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f84OqqUqiQM[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs4xPOJcNMU[/media] I do feel bad posting in here as I hardly ever get to listen to other people's posts... sorry, as soon as I have the time I do tend to go through the whole first page