wateroftyne Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 [quote name='cheddatom' post='237489' date='Jul 11 2008, 05:49 PM']I know that songs can sound different to each other, even if the sound is kept exactly the same, but without some contrast in sound, I feel that it all kind of merges into one, and this is where audiences get bored.[/quote] True, but it's not something the bass player needs to worry about too much, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umph Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 [quote name='wateroftyne' post='237462' date='Jul 11 2008, 05:07 PM']You're either going deaf, or listening to it through speakers with no bass...[/quote] ahh my sub broke but i just fixed it, nice tone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 [quote name='cheddatom' post='237489' date='Jul 11 2008, 05:49 PM']I still find that this is enhanced more when there is a variety in the clean tone i.e a thin trebly clean tone for a verse, and a massive big bottom tone for a chorus makes the world of difference. Some will say that they can make this kind of contrast by using just their fingers, but I remain sceptical (but open minded).... ...The contrast that YOU hear when playing a bit lighter/harder with/without a pick over the bridge/neck is pretty much negligable by the time it gets to the ears of the audience...[/quote] If your hands can't get that shift in tone between verse and chorus then either you're not trying hard enough or your gear isn't good enough. Come and hear us play. I guarantee that what I'm doing drives and shifts the vibe just as well as when I used tons of pedals. The great thing about doing all this with your hands - and in my case the odd switch of pickups (neck/series/parallel/bridge) or tweak of passive tone knob - is its very intuitive and thus natural and musical. Of course I don't just change the simplistic static tone, I'm also varying the note envelope through muting and attack differences and also hugely varying both the dynamics and my timing vs the beat. There very few bassists that can control a pedalboard as intuitively as I'm controlling my sound. Just curious, how do you change your sound without pedals, what do you do? Maybe you're missing a trick there, I know I used to when I was effects-laden. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 [quote name='cheddatom' post='237489' date='Jul 11 2008, 04:49 PM']I think my main point is that when I go to a gig, as a musician, I am watching them play and enjoying that experience, and thinking "god I wish I was that good" or "god don't they sound good". Some gigs I go to, there will be a band that has a pretty continual sound. Now, I know that songs can sound different to each other, even if the sound is kept exactly the same, but without some contrast in sound, I feel that it all kind of merges into one, and this is where audiences get bored. I'm not saying every bassist needs to start gigging with 25 pedals, but I am saying that variety in tone is very important IM(not so)HO, and the most effective way of acheiving contrast in sounds is using pedals/footswitchable rackmount pre-amps/whatever. The contrast that YOU hear when playing a bit lighter/harder with/without a pick over the bridge/neck is pretty much negligable by the time it gets to the ears of the audience, and so I recommend effects etc to exaggerrate the contrast in sounds, therefore (hopefully) keeping the audience's attention. Obviously i'm probably wrong as always, but i'd rather you read it thinking "he may have a small bit of a point here" rather than "what a twat - he wants a keyboard player!".[/quote] I had a listen to your stuff on myspace, the band sound really good!......I can understand where you're coming from when you mention tone and contrast and I thought there were some great examples of that in your tracks, I'm just wondering if the audience actually look that far into it, would they really mind if the bass was straight when you come to a chorus or climax in your songs, because I think your band could do that regardless of tone changes on bass. Not slagging what you do at all.....I enjoyed it, just trying to be constructive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 [quote name='cheddatom' post='236701' date='Jul 10 2008, 05:16 PM']They may not give a sh*t, but they may well be able to tell subconsciously or something....... My point being, I and quite a few bassists will use effects and their "tone" to try and fill the gap in frequency content of their 3 piece band, compared to a 4 piece. Take their sound away and you have 1 clean bass, 1 guitar, and it all sounds miles thinner. Loads of music-lamens have complimented me on my bass sound over the years.[/quote] Which is an interesting point. I've never played in a 3 piece! (Worse luck!) I've always had 2 noisy (and usually good) guitarists to get around. I generally have what most of you would describe as mid-forward. All my graphic EQs seem to run an upside-down smile! Not that it doesn't work in the context of what I'm doing. And it's not all mid. There's just a smidge of upper bass and lower mid lift, plus a dip around 2k then a mild boost through the presence region. I can make it sing in a penetrating way that seems to leave guitars unscathed yet has enough bottom end to underpin proceedings. Works best with the Vigier and MIA Jazz. The Warwick Infinity is better for more aggressive stuff, and The Attitude yells more than it sings!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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