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What can I use to make my sound "better"?


Herbie The Rad Dorklift
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My rig is as follows:

Markbass Mini CMD121p
Sandberg MM2

That's it!

I'm using a Boss TU-2 (Soon to get a Polytune as I prefer it), and use the DI out on the amp.

I'm after anything to make my sound "better", so I'm thinking EQ pedal? Compressor? Sonic Stomp?

What are your never-leave-home-without pedals?

I play in a pop rock band, and I EQ my bass pretty flat at the moment (All dials at 12 o'clock on the amp, the 2 filter knobs off for now as I haven't experimented with them, both humbucker pickups on the bass and flat bass EQ).

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[quote name='Herbie The Rad Dorklift' post='1356099' date='Aug 30 2011, 11:32 AM']My rig is as follows:

Markbass Mini CMD121p
Sandberg MM2

That's it!

I'm using a Boss TU-2 (Soon to get a Polytune as I prefer it), and use the DI out on the amp.

I'm after anything to make my sound "better", so I'm thinking EQ pedal? Compressor? Sonic Stomp?

What are your never-leave-home-without pedals?[/quote]

EBS Octabass.

You don't need much of it (though as Mae West probably never said, "too much of a good thing can be wonderful") to give a huge fat sound.

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[quote name='Herbie The Rad Dorklift' post='1356099' date='Aug 30 2011, 11:32 AM']My rig is as follows:

Markbass Mini CMD121p
Sandberg MM2

That's it!

I'm using a Boss TU-2 (Soon to get a Polytune as I prefer it), and use the DI out on the amp.

I'm after anything to make my sound "better", so I'm thinking EQ pedal? Compressor? Sonic Stomp?

What are your never-leave-home-without pedals?

I play in a pop rock band, and I EQ my bass pretty flat at the moment (All dials at 12 o'clock on the amp, the 2 filter knobs off for now as I haven't experimented with them, both humbucker pickups on the bass and flat bass EQ).[/quote]

If you aren't happy with your core tone, no pedal is going to fix that for you. If you are looking for more smoother even tone, a compressor would be the obvious choice. Have you got any sound clips of tones you are trying to achieve, that may help.

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Do you mean better in the context of the music you perform, or better in general? Like others have said, you have some serious gear with a load of potential tonal variation on tap should you require it.

Is it really so bad, or is it a case of finding fault when perhaps there isn't any! Fiddling for the sake of it, so to speak.

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I have noticed that volume definitely makes a difference.

In short, I'm not really sure what kind of tone I want.. I'm new to bass. I just thought there was maybe something that everyone ALWAYS uses.

Like, in my guitar rig I'd always use a graphic EQ pedal, but never thought about it for bass.

Are compressors something you'd have on all the time if you had one?

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I've used compressors in the past, but they don't do anything for my live sound (not the ones' I've tried, that is) although I do use it when recording.

If you've no idea what you want in regards to pedals, get a decent Multi Effects unit. Roland, Line 6 & Zoom are all great for this & will give you an idea of what fx do what.

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[quote name='Herbie The Rad Dorklift' post='1356211' date='Aug 30 2011, 12:53 PM']Are compressors something you'd have on all the time if you had one?[/quote]

Compressors are strange - at a quiet volume, they don`t seem to do much, unless you have them set quite high.

However get playing with the band, and each note seems to stand out better in it`s own right. Plus, they do make the sound a bit more chunky.

To see if compression is for you, rather than spend a huge amount, Behringer do one for abt £20. Worth a tryout. I find that I like a bit of compression, as I can be a bit heavy handed, and it evens out my playing a bit. Luckily, my amp has an on-board compressor.

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You've got good gear-if you want to improve your sound try spending some more time
either on your technique or playing with the controls on your gear. Pedals are great as
added spice but getting a 'better' sound will start with you as a player.

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[quote name='Herbie The Rad Dorklift' post='1356211' date='Aug 30 2011, 12:53 PM']I have noticed that volume definitely makes a difference.

In short, I'm not really sure what kind of tone I want.. I'm new to bass. I just thought there was maybe something that everyone ALWAYS uses.

Like, in my guitar rig I'd always use a graphic EQ pedal, but never thought about it for bass.

Are compressors something you'd have on all the time if you had one?[/quote]


Big topic, compression.

Search on this forum for compression posts, I've explained a lot about how you can set up compressors and what makes a good (especially for a beginner) compressor.

IMO & IME a single knob compressor on an amp is usually a pretty awful worse case scenario. and you would be best off just not going there, if you aren't very lucky it will probably do more harm than good.

A decent compressor, well set up, definitely can be an 'always on' thing, a compressor can certainly be something that you cannot perceive in operation unless you are in a full band setting, where upon it will change the envelope of your bass such that it can be heard better in the mix, whilst remaining to your ear unchanged.

A compressor can also being very obvious, both in terms of how it feels to play with it in the signal chain and how it sounds. This is usually detrimental, but again not always.

My advice would be to buy a cheap rack compressor with good metering of the in level, out level and gain reduction, read up on a bunch of threads about using oine and then play abou twith it. You will get better results from a £100 rack comp than a £100 pedal comp, just because the metering is more useful.

Having said that dbx did a desk top compressor with great metering and a full set of controls that sounds fine, and that could be had for asd little as £25 on ebay sometime back.

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I recommend a compressor. Before I got my present amp, which has a compressor on it, I bought an Ashdown pedal. It's not bad but is quite subtle. The one on my amp can also be quite extreme if turned more than halfway up, which can be good on funky or rocky numbers, as it gives you a real nice punchy sound. They can also smooth out the dynamics of your playing and make you sound like a more competent player than you actually are (which is always handy).

The EBS compressor tends to be the one that gets most peoples votes.

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[quote name='Herbie The Rad Dorklift' post='1356211' date='Aug 30 2011, 12:53 PM']In short, I'm not really sure what kind of tone I want.. I'm new to bass. I just thought there was maybe something that everyone ALWAYS uses.[/quote]

A good starting place to determine what equipment / settings / technique / volume you need would be to listen to bass tracks / players you like and find a sound(s) that would work with your band. From there you can add the details to your post here and also do a search on 'tinternet for "How do I get the sound of XXXX". It may be just simple EQ changes you need or a full flight case of effects - someone on here usually has a good idea of how to get it.

**WARNING** Bass tone is an elusive and ever evolving medium. It has been known to be achieved for brief periods of time until its arch-rival for your money, G.A.S., becomes present (usually as a result of reading the For Sale ads on here!).

:)

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Having used MB heads for a few years with no FX etc i now couldn't (or rather wouldn't like to) gig without my BDDI. I dont use it for any of that Ampeg nonsense, nor for any distortion but it does seem to bring my tone to life with just a small amount on the blend knob.
A nicer, deeper low end and some nice sparkle. Seems to work well with MB heads.

The Behringer BDI21 9BDDI clone) is under £30 and well worth a try IMO, and almost as good as the real thing.

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[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1358878' date='Sep 1 2011, 03:21 PM']Having used MB heads for a few years with no FX etc i now couldn't (or rather wouldn't like to) gig without my BDDI. I dont use it for any of that Ampeg nonsense, nor for any distortion but it does seem to bring my tone to life with just a small amount on the blend knob.
A nicer, deeper low end and some nice sparkle. Seems to work well with MB heads.[/quote]


Nice demo here:

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_56iFr402U"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_56iFr402U[/url]

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[quote name='bremen' post='1358975' date='Sep 1 2011, 04:43 PM']Nice demo here:

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_56iFr402U"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_56iFr402U[/url][/quote]

Yeah, its probably the best ive seen, mainly as it covers a few different styles and not just that "how to sound like you have an Ampeg" tone.

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[quote name='Bilbo' post='1358884' date='Sep 1 2011, 03:25 PM']I'm with Doddy - practice more. The better my technique, the better my sound.

Practice with your amp. Turn it up louder and play softer.

[b]Also, get your drummer to try different cymbals - that will have more effect than a compressor!![/b] :)[/quote]


No it wont.

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