skidder652003 Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Well then ows about that then? Soungarden on Later.. Fender P, did exactly what is says on the tin didn't it? Fancy boutique bass? I don't thimk so ta very much! "Beauty improves with use and age" Tools for the job... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerstodge Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 [quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1352241527' post='1860718'] Well then ows about that then? Soungarden on Later.. Fender P, did exactly what is says on the tin didn't it? Fancy boutique bass? I don't thimk so ta very much! "Beauty improves with use and age" Tools for the job... [/quote]partial to a p bass meself mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 ok, then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 If it said "A sh*te tone" on the tin then yes it did ;-0 I play a P and its my instrument of choice but that tone last night almost made me ashamed to play one. Bloody awful, then again i've always felt my 8 year old son makes a better noise than SG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 If it wasn't for the almost constant evangelism of P-bass players, I would never have known what I'm missing. I know now though, so any time you want to stop is OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolverinebass Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I don't know. I saw Soundgarden at Hyde Park a few months ago. I felt that Ben Shephard was using too much low end and added to the fact that P basses have a natural mid scoop he wasn't that clear for quite a lot of it. Nothing in that had changed on Jools, plus like all bass players everywhere he was undermixed. I happen to quite like him as a player. I don't think he's innovative in any way, but for some reason I just think he's really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 (edited) P basses have a natural mids-SCOOP? G. Edited November 10, 2012 by geoffbyrne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 [quote name='Wolverinebass' timestamp='1352281652' post='1860965'] the fact that P basses have a natural mid scoop..... [/quote] My ears don't agree with that fact Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolverinebass Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Maybe it was just my imagination. I could have played one with a rubbish amp or cab, but I didn't like the sound. I generally find passive basses a bit wooly for me and there isn't enough cut without stupid eq curves. Each to their own. Certainly they have low mids in abundance, but for that sort of attack noise 1.5 - 2.5k, I didn't get what I wanted out of it without a rather hefty bout of eq boosting. I'm not saying they're rubbish (far from it), just that they don't work for me. If I'm mistaken, then fair enough, it was only my own experience (ducks head). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Fair enough, we probably hear the same noise, but just have a different definition of mid scoop :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1352294682' post='1861170'] My ears don't agree with that fact [/quote] Nor mine! The opposite to some extent in fact. I didn't see the show so I can't really comment, I did catch one of my old friends from Uni singing acapella with her band The Staves though, that was excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 [quote name='Wolverinebass' timestamp='1352295414' post='1861187'] Maybe it was just my imagination. I could have played one with a rubbish amp or cab, but I didn't like the sound. I generally find passive basses a bit wooly for me and there isn't enough cut without stupid eq curves. Each to their own. Certainly they have low mids in abundance, but for that sort of attack noise 1.5 - 2.5k, I didn't get what I wanted out of it without a rather hefty bout of eq boosting. I'm not saying they're rubbish (far from it), just that they don't work for me. If I'm mistaken, then fair enough, it was only my own experience (ducks head). [/quote] Surely the only difference between an active and passive bass is where the first set of tone controls are mounted (on the bass or on the amp). If you can't get the right sound from a passive bass then I would suggest that the settings on your amp are wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 There is something to be said for having some cut/boost available on the bass and treble (at least) on your guitar though. I do like passive electronics and I've got a Jazz where I experimented a bit with the pots and the tone cap and came up with a combination that gave me an ideal range of sounds without much more tweaking being required, but I did have to change everything in the control cavity to get that happening. Yes you could argue I could've done it on the amp but I'd rather not have to go back to the amp every time I want to change the EQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafbass02 Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I've always felt that a lot of the problem with P basses is that most people tend to anchor their thumb on their pickups when they play, as do I. But, (and this is why I don't like P basses) on a p bass the pickup is quite far 'forward'. This means you generally play where there is more string excursion and where the tone produced is more hollow and 'plunky'. It's what I always think of as being a very sloppy and loose tone. Especially if you play a bit heavily. Whereas on a jazz style bass for instance you can rest your thumb further back where the strings are tighter, resulting in more 'punch and growl'. That and because there is only a pickup in that neck spot there's nothing to add that mid punch and bite the strings produce from back near the bridge. Just my two penn'orth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 (edited) [quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1352298158' post='1861228'] There is something to be said for having some cut/boost available on the bass and treble (at least) on your guitar though. I do like passive electronics and I've got a Jazz where I experimented a bit with the pots and the tone cap and came up with a combination that gave me an ideal range of sounds without much more tweaking being required, but I did have to change everything in the control cavity to get that happening. Yes you could argue I could've done it on the amp but I'd rather not have to go back to the amp every time I want to change the EQ. [/quote] Personally when I'm playing, I'm playing at have no time to fiddle with the controls no matter where they are placed. When I'm not playing my amp controls are right there for me to fiddle with. What I have discovered over the last few years of playing through my amp and using backline supplied by venues or other bands is that when I use my rig no matter what the venue is I always sound right and hardly ever have to make any adjustments at all. With other rigs all bets are off, but having adjustments available on my bass are rarely of any use. What I do find useful on a well designed pre-amp is that the volume and pickup balance controls tend to work more smoothly than most passive basses, but even that doesn't hold 100% true. And now we've gone way off topic... Edited November 7, 2012 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Ben has always sounded like he's using 40 year old strings and a mattress in front of his cabs. It's got sod all to do with his choice of bass though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 [quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1352280963' post='1860953'] If it wasn't for the almost constant evangelism of P-bass players, I would never have known what I'm missing. I know now though, so any time you want to stop is OK. [/quote] Good point well made (and I love my P ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 P basses have a mid scoop? depends where you think mid is, I would say anywhere between 300 and 1000 hz, a hell of a difference when you boost or cut any of these frequencies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I like me some P (check my sig) but that didn't do it for me, a typical Later mix devoid of anything musically discernible in the low end I thought . I was about to dismiss it as that until the next act, Trey Songz, came on. Now that was a bass tone that made my ears prick up, really nice. YMMV. I think it was an MTD through a GK rig. Now this brings into question whether Soundgarden were badly mixed or whether it was just a poor tonal choice by them to start with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1352303950' post='1861337'] Personally when I'm playing, I'm playing at have no time to fiddle with the controls no matter where they are placed. When I'm not playing my amp controls are right there for me to fiddle with. What I have discovered over the last few years of playing through my amp and using backline supplied by venues or other bands is that when I use my rig no matter what the venue is I always sound right and hardly ever have to make any adjustments at all. With other rigs all bets are off, but having adjustments available on my bass are rarely of any use. What I do find useful on a well designed pre-amp is that the volume and pickup balance controls tend to work more smoothly than most passive basses, but even that doesn't hold 100% true. And now we've gone way off topic... [/quote] Sorry as its OT I know but I go the opposite way altogether! Nice flat amp almost any make and model (as flat as you can tell by ear I know nlah blah) and rely on knowing I have put the sound Im after into the amp from the bass controls (always active) which meens the desk DI has that good bass sound not good bass amp sound to work with. Just shows how we all do thing our own way neither right nor wrong really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Just had a listen to the Soundgarden clip. Don't get what was particularly wrong with the P-Bass, it was just your average run of the mill driven P sound, it suited what they were doing. P-Basses don't sound naturally mid-scooped at all to me. They have a low-middish presence that's hard to get away from for me in a studio and live environment, it's not something I consider a bad thing at all but I pick and choose when I use one for recording for this reason. Works for some stuff, not for other stuff. What I really love is a P-Bass with fresh roundwounds for out and out rock stuff, they have a really forward, almost piano-like sustain to the note, especially when played with a pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 [quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1352307883' post='1861429'] I like me some P (check my sig) but that didn't do it for me, a typical Later mix devoid of anything musically discernible in the low end I thought . I was about to dismiss it as that until the next act, Trey Songz, came on. Now that was a bass tone that made my ears prick up, really nice. YMMV. I think it was an MTD through a GK rig. Now this brings into question whether Soundgarden were badly mixed or whether it was just a poor tonal choice by them to start with? [/quote] Just watched both bands, and all of this +1: nail > head Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 [quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1352312758' post='1861524'] Just watched both bands, and all of this +1: nail > head [/quote]Just watched both bands. One was a band and the other was a bland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 The only thing that struck me was Chris Cornell's interesting choice in knitwear . I couldn't hear the bass player. I quite liked the bass part in the Chez Long track, didn't go much on the song though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 [quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1352315139' post='1861575'] I couldn't hear the bass player. [/quote] Me neither. That's a relief, I know I'm going deaf but didn't realise it had got that bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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