Cover band bass tone

[grumpyguts]

Questions about tone are a regular thing so I know I'm not breaking new ground here... But.

Given the variabilities inherent in differing venues is it unrealistic to try and replicate the bass tone as per the original recording?

Many cover bands will do a range of tunes from a variety of genres. What works for one song won't be right for another.

For example we do Rescue Me, the bass intro is important and the tone matters. I'm trying to get to it, but with a Sire Jazz, Hartke Bass Attack and LH500 there are a lot of potential knobs to twiddle. Perhaps too many!

As a relatively inexperienced live performer should I just set a decent tone for each venue and apply the same to everyting. Do others spend much time during a gig adjusting stuff?

I look at our guitarist with his mass of pedals and think perhaps I should make more effort with this.

[BigRedX]

What are your guitarists doing with regards to matching the guitar sounds on the songs you are playing?

[stingrayPete1977]

I don't want to say it's all in the fingers but to be honest it's all it the fingers!

I get a generic decent sound as best I can then alter my playing style to suit the song, up near the neck, side of the thumb, slap, fingers over the pickup, fingers near the bridge, plectrum, palm muting etc etc etc

I just knock a bit of treble off when
using a pick other than that I'm good to go.

Some people say a Stingray is a one trick pony, I'd say those people have a limited technique

[chris_b]

Develop your sound. Make it a good one then use it on everything. No really, everything. Make those songs yours.

James Jamerson, Duck Dunn and Nathan East have played on a thousand hit records (I'm grabbing that number out of the air but it's closer than a few hundred) and probably several thousand that weren't hits, over the last 60 years and between them they have used 3 tones. That's one each for all those different songs they played for so many different singers on so many records and over so many the decades.

If someone wants to play 20 songs on a cover band gig and use 20 different sounds, that's OK. Totally unnecessary, but OK. IMO you'll be a better bass player if you sound like you. That's what the pro's do.

[Japhet]

I have a clean sound through my amp and use pedals for different songs.

[Les]

I just have two decent as I can get sounds, one with my fingers and one with a plec and go with that to be honest. Never had any adverse comments or thought that the sound doesn't fit with the song we're covering.

Les

[Raggy]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1500995498' post='3341595']
Develop your sound. Make it a good one then use it on everything. No really, everything. Make those songs yours.
[/quote]

This.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1500995498' post='3341595']
Develop your sound. Make it a good one then use it on everything. No really, everything. Make those songs yours.

James Jamerson, Duck Dunn and Nathan East have played on a thousand hit records (I'm grabbing that number out of the air but it's closer than a few hundred) and probably several thousand that weren't hits, over the last 60 years and between them they have used 3 tones. That's one each for all those different songs they played for so many different singers on so many records and over so many the decades.

If someone wants to play 20 songs on a cover band gig and use 20 different sounds, that's OK. Totally unnecessary, but OK. IMO you'll be a better bass player if you sound like you. That's what the pro's do.
[/quote]

Would you give the same advice to the guitarist?

[Osiris]

My band plays a wide range of covers from 60's top modern day. I tend to play with a relatively flat eq and make any minor adjustments to playing position and occasionally panning between pickups on my basses that have more than one. I also use a bit of low gain drive, usually so low gain that I doubt anyone actually notices anyway! This gives me a good 'one size fits all' sound (with some subtle variation) that works well with everything. Our guitarist and keys players have dedicated sounds for different songs, so I like to keep the bass tone relatively constant behind them, and it seems to work really well across the board.

[acidbass]

[color=black]Depending on the instrumentation of your band, singer, arrangements, keys etc etc, you will only ever get so close to the original sound of the song anyway. I’d concentrate on fitting your playing and tone around the others in the band, instead of worrying too much about replicating the tone of the original player on the record. [/color][font="Times New Roman"][size="3"][color="#000000"] [/color][/size][/font]
[color=black] [/color]
[color=black]FWIW I use a Jazz Bass on all my gigs and only ever use two settings:[/color][list]
[*][color=black]Both pickups maxed, tone maxed[/color]
[*][color=black]Bridge pickup only, tone maxed[/color][color=black] [/color]
[/list]
[color=black]There’s just something about the sound of J and P basses that seems to sit well in every mix.[/color]

[BigBassBob]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1500994245' post='3341583']
I don't want to say it's all in the fingers but to be honest it's all it the fingers!
[/quote]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1500995498' post='3341595']
Develop your sound. Make it a good one then use it on everything. No really, everything. Make those songs yours.
[/quote]

Both of these are gold pieces of advice.

It is near impossible to sound just like a Jamerson track for one song live and a Mark King recording the next. Find a good, functional sound and adjust your technique and approach for each song. Serve the song and make it your own at the same time. You'll find your feet if you keep at it.

[BigBassBob]

When playing with my function band which covers modern pop to Motown to funk to rock, I adjust my technique, maybe tweak my bass' on board EQ and pickup pan and use the occasional pedal. You might want to use a compressor as this would help you stay prominent in the mix when playing in different positions (e.g. playing soft near the neck, playing aggressively closer to the bridge etc).

[ambient]

Just get a good basic sound.

Maybe for Motown songs roll the treble off, play nearer the neck, use your thumb rather than fingers.

You can achieve a lot of tonal changes without messing about twiddling knobs.

[EliasMooseblaster]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1500996532' post='3341616']
Would you give the same advice to the guitarist?
[/quote]

Probably...unless your covers band is
(i) mostly doing prog-rock or shoegaze covers (when a lot of effects might be necessary)
(ii) playing a lot of Soundgarden or Sonic Youth (lots of weird tunings)
(iii) playing Police songs (some people might notice the lack of chorus on the guitar)
...I'd have thought you could improve the flow of the set a great deal if your guitarist can tackle most of the set with a few basic tones.

[synthaside]

I find I tend not to worry about touching my amp, I used to worry a lot about trying to get the right tone for each song, found i was tap dancing / knob twiddling too much on songs.
Which was counter productive as you want no more than 3-4 seconds between songs.

My setlist is pretty varied but my method is as follows.

I use a passive J so perhaps for your gig's keep it simple and go for a bass mid and treble all on the zero or / centre detente just change your sound with pickup blend.

1. Find a good tone for the stage/play area and set my amp a little louder than I need.

2. Roll my pickups to about 70% , along with my tone to about 50% , this is my default rock tone, i use a 70's spaced Jazz so its a bit clankier than most.
also i've got a bit of easy headroom for when the guitarists seem to creep a bit higher

3. Use effects only on songs that REALLY need them, uptown funk, ( synth part)

4 Otherwise just adjust my pickup balance ( volume controls for me) / play position or technique pick , fingers or for motown stuff i've even been known to thumb pluck palm mute

Edited July 25, 2017 by synthaside

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1500994245' post='3341583']
I don't want to say it's all in the fingers but to be honest it's all it the fingers!

[/quote]not on Ace of Spades it's not, I've seen finger players trying to do it they don't even bother with fuzz, they shouldn't bother at all

Edited July 25, 2017 by PaulWarning

[synthaside]

Well in that case its in the hand holding the pick , and the big muff ;-)

[lojo]

We play (played) a whole range of 80s music , whilst it wasn't totally necessary, I had a multi amp set to give me all the required tones and I enjoyed refining them , however the audience experience would not have been different if I just played a clean p bass on every song.

[Rich]

I have a Line 6 Bass Pod XT Live which I find works really well for, errm, Live stuff. We too cover various styles and the Pod helps me get something approaching the right sound. My core sound is flat; no amp models, no cab models, no EQ, no FX. I use this as a basis for everything else and add models or FX as required. For example, my patch for old skool soul/Motown uses a B15 fliptop model, and yes I know the Line 6 models are never going to be as good as the real thing, but it does a good enough impression of that Jamerson sound. Which is great because it means the only changes I have to do on the bass itself is pickup selection -- I don't have to guff about with tone controls. The same goes for my 'rock' sounds (Sunn & SVT models) and the other various tones I use. It's probably not a perfect solution, but it works an absolute treat for me and I am very chuffed with it.

[ezbass]

I have a basic flat sound at the amp, then vary the pickup positions, use fingerstyle, slap or a pick as required. For those songs that need it, I'll add chorus, octave or pre amp set to a big smiley face eq (slap).

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1500997756' post='3341647']
not on Ace of Spades it's not, I've seen finger players trying to do it they don't even bother with fuzz, they shouldn't bother at all
[/quote]

You know what I'd still argue that the attack from a pick played with some gusto but no big muff would suit the track better than someone with a Ricky and some dirt but tickling it finger style.

[la bam]

When I first started I thought I'd need to replicate the bass sound for each song.

The reality is you definitely dont.

Just have a great tone that works with your band, and perhaps a brighter or distorted patch for the odd song and you'll do fine.

The band sound is much more important than replicating each song.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1500996532' post='3341616']


Would you give the same advice to the guitarist?

[/quote]

Would you want a drummer with seven drum kits too?

Would you only do covers of female or male fronted bands to suit?

Choir?

Orchestra?


The sign of a good song is one that can be alerted a lot and still be enjoyable.

Edited July 25, 2017 by stingrayPete1977

[blue]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1500994245' post='3341583']
I don't want to say it's all in the fingers but to be honest it's all it the fingers! [/quote]

Exactly your tone cones your fingers.

Are you pehaps talking about your sound or effects?

Blue

[Dad3353]

[quote name='grumpyguts' timestamp='1500993340' post='3341567']...
Many cover bands will do a range of tunes from a variety of genres. What works for one song won't be right for another...
[/quote]

What does your drummer do to match his (or her...) kit to all these various and varied styles..? Change snare for each..? Damp his kit, or tune up, or down..? Swap cymbals..? Go from the maple kit to the Vistalite..?
I doubt he (or she...) does any of this. The one kit will suffice throughout the gig, but his (or her...) playing style will adapt. Maybe a switch to brushes, or mallets, but even that is quite rare. No, it's all in the fingers, or, in the case of drummers, in the wrists. Can be different with an electro-kit, I'll allow, but even then, only the most sophisticated e-drums can carry off authenticity over all genres.
As others have said above, play your best with what you have and adapt your playing as best as possible, and that's fine. I wouldn't even dream of trying to imitate the original; at best, I'd be inspired by it, but no more.
Just my tuppence-worth.