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Does anyone just use a bass & amp?


The59Sound

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Just now, chris_b said:

Buy better gear and play it well and you'll sound the best anyway.

One man's "best" is another man's "deeply dull" - taste is a many splendoured thing!

I blend the sound of my Wal with envelope filtered tube distortion, envelope filtered bass whammy and bass synth to produce a meaty funk tone that cuts through, and doesn't sound like any other bass this side of a Spacebass...

Each to their own!

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36 minutes ago, police squad said:

yep, no pedals here, not even a tuner. That clips onto the headstock

Me too.

 

12 minutes ago, The59Sound said:

Now this I would disagree with. A tuner (not a child's toy aka clip-on tuner) is essential for gigging/playing. Being in tune is more important than having a good tone. Why would you play without a chromatic tuner? That's like removing a string from your bass.

My child's clip on tuner does a good job for me thanks. Keeps me in tune and doesn't affect the tone at all.

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My rack tuner is not in line with my signal and taken from the amp tuner OUT. I do also use a TC Polytune sometimes in line but it has a true by-pass when off and also no effect on my sound.

As long as a tuner is used it doesn't really matter what type in my opinion.

Dave

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Just amp -> tuner -> bass for me.

It's great to be able to set up quickly and, in the event of an inevitable balls up, the offending party is easier to spot.

I think if I was playing incredibly stylised music then I'd need pedals but I want my bass to sound like a bass, and it does.

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Depends. Sometimes that's all I need. Sometimes I need lots of FX. Depends on the set list.

But generally I'll always take a compressor. They are just too useful in fixing room problems.

 

And obviously a tuner. People who show up to shows without a tuner have a special place in hell reserved for them.

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1 hour ago, The59Sound said:

Now this I would disagree with. A tuner (not a child's toy aka clip-on tuner) is essential for gigging/playing. Being in tune is more important than having a good tone. Why would you play without a chromatic tuner? That's like removing a string from your bass.

I never put mine in the signal chain. 

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I use pedals allways but not for the tone shaping. All tone comes from fingers/strings/bass. Pedals are there for tuning and fx, i do love to use envelope filter and/or octave in soem funky lines. I have a compressor always on but i don't consider it tone shaping as it's set as transparent as possible only really working on the high peaks. Amp and cab are only there to make this sound louder, all flat, changing tone to the possible minimum.

So, i could plug my bass directly to the mixer and get my core tone straight away but i would miss the fx in some lines. Rig can be replaced by very goor floor monitor if needed.

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38 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

Always, I must admit I think a clip on tuner looks rubbish during a gig. 

Have you seen this one?
PW-CT-12_MAIN.jpg

Face it to the back of the headstock and there's not much visible from the front. If your bass has a black headstock then it becomes invisible. Not a very big screen but if you have a decent vision won't be a problem.

 

EDIT: more pics:

 

like i described:

planet-waves-ns-mini-headstock-tuner-twi

 

or, completely invisible:
vfm7yzqbcb00lompioge.jpg

Edited by Ghost_Bass
pics added
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I have done in the past, although generally only when I had an amp with a built in compressor. 

Currently I have a board with 8 pedals on it, including a comp and tuner. I use them fairly sparingly, but I like the additional textures they offer. I could play everything happily without them though...

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I use a clip on tuner and a volume control 95% of the time. What's with all the clip on hate? They fit in your pocket, they're cheap and they do the job.

I do clip it to the mic stand when I'm not using it though, as it does look stinky poo.

 

Conversely I also have a massive pedal board full of toys for certain gigs where synths, octaves, phasers and all sorts are needed.

Depends on the gig really.

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2 minutes ago, The59Sound said:

Please remind me to bring my tuning fork for the next gig - about the same in terms of professionalism.

What's unprofessional about silently tunning between songs when the singer is addressing the audience? Surely having a musician tuning by ear in those periods would be uncomfortable for everyone. No mather how good one's gear is it will come out of tune during the gig, strings get hot from the hands, the overall ambient temperature also gets hot with the punters body heat, it's impossible to keep perfect pitch from start to end, do an outdoor gig and it gets even worse.

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Just now, Ghost_Bass said:

What's unprofessional about silently tunning between songs when the singer is addressing the audience? Surely having a musician tuning by ear in those periods would be uncomfortable for everyone. No mather how good one's gear is it will come out of tune during the gig, strings get hot from the hands, the overall ambient temperature also gets hot with the punters body heat, it's impossible to keep perfect pitch from start to end, do an outdoor gig and it gets even worse.

My perspective is that being out of tune is way more unprofessional than the tuning solution itself, whatever that may be. 

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2 minutes ago, Ghost_Bass said:

What's unprofessional about silently tunning between songs when the singer is addressing the audience? Surely having a musician tuning by ear in those periods would be uncomfortable for everyone. No mather how good one's gear is it will come out of tune during the gig, strings get hot from the hands, the overall ambient temperature also gets hot with the punters body heat, it's impossible to keep perfect pitch from start to end, do an outdoor gig and it gets even worse.

Just buy a pedal tuner like a normal person. Clip ons look sooo amaeturish... and you can't tune silently.

Edited by The59Sound
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7 minutes ago, Dave Vader said:

I use a clip on tuner and a volume control 95% of the time. What's with all the clip on hate? They fit in your pocket, they're cheap and they do the job.

I do clip it to the mic stand when I'm not using it though, as it does look stinky poo.

I think you might have answered your own question there - I'm sure it'll generate a separate thread in and of itself, but the sight of a clip-on tuner visibly poking out of your guitar's headstock during a song seems to be about as polarising as having a music stand on-stage!

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1 minute ago, The59Sound said:

Just buy a pedal tuner like a normal person. Clip ons look sooo amaeturish... and you can't tune silently.

Ummmm - yes you can.  You just turn your bass volume down.  Most Clip on tuners work by sensing the frequency through vibration.

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