xilddx Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I have a POD X3 Live so I can get almost any sound I want! But the sound of a growly, punchy, deep bass sound played perfectly in sync with a decent sounding kick drum is what floats my boat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 As an ideal, I like my sound to be an integrated part of the whole and to blend into the music to the point of it being invisible unless it is removed. A great sounding bass on its own is of no real interest. The relationship between my tone and a drummers ride cymbal is the most important aspect of a lot of my playing and a 'great' bass sound can be crushed by the wrong cymbal. When the two are working together in harmony, I'm in heaven. Its worth mentioning that the sound of a modern orchestra evolved over centuries of experimentation of what the optimum sound was; x violins, x violas, x trombones etc. I think that modern music is more flexible but each of us has to find his or her personal optimum chemistry in terms of where our individual sound fits in with the collective whole. Its a holy grail thing. I have only ever got it for moments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I like it all, top, middle and bottom , works for most things. I will occasionally roll off a bit of bass if things are boomy, or cut a little bit at 1k if it sounds boxy, or add a tiny bit of high-mid if I can't hear myself onstage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Warm, rich, fat... basically, all the things I want to be when I'm older Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgraham Posted February 26, 2009 Author Share Posted February 26, 2009 WoT, for the benefit of those whose workplaces block youtube, what is the video of? Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnzy Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 My tone is really dependant upon the situation. I play lots of afro beat and highlife music and the tone required is heavy and suby. My ideal tone is that of dougie rauch, defined and greasy. those who have heard Billy Cobham' Life and Times album will know what I mean. its a unusual tone, very heavy and growly, think Anthony Jackson!!!! this works in most situations for me, I do have to tone it down a bit for ballads. Maybe we should post our recordings to make sense of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBeefChief Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 [quote name='mcgraham' post='419968' date='Feb 26 2009, 11:34 AM']WoT, for the benefit of those whose workplaces block youtube, what is the video of? Mark[/quote] A monkey sniffing his fingers after picking his arse and then falling off a tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgraham Posted February 26, 2009 Author Share Posted February 26, 2009 [quote]A monkey sniffing his fingers after picking his arse and then falling off a tree[/quote] A jazz piece then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatboter Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Not too bassy because that makes it undefined when playing in a band. I like lots of midtones with just a bit of bass added, like a Wal, a Fodera of a Ken Smith with the bridge-pickup mixed with a tiny bit of the neck-pickup. I need every note to be be heard and I don't like it when people feel the bass but can't hear the notes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayfan Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 [quote name='Absolute-beginner' post='419927' date='Feb 26 2009, 10:45 AM']A guitarist and a drummer?[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 A strong, deep & clear piano-tone with a touch of growl and grind & hi-mids a little boosted. That's my fave tone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 [quote name='wombatboter' post='419984' date='Feb 26 2009, 11:47 AM']I need every note to be be heard and I don't like it when people feel the bass but can't hear the notes.[/quote] It's an interesting distinction. I think both are equally important. Some of us seem to want to be heard as an individual, where as some of us want to contribute to the sound of the band as a whole. I think the latter is more important, but it's very hard to be so selfless, and i've never really acheived that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 [quote name='mcgraham' post='419968' date='Feb 26 2009, 11:34 AM']WoT, for the benefit of those whose workplaces block youtube, what is the video of? Mark[/quote] A monkey sniffing his fingers after picking his arse and then falling off a tree. Oh, wait.. BigBeefChief beat me to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBeefChief Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 [quote name='wateroftyne' post='419996' date='Feb 26 2009, 12:13 PM']A monkey sniffing his fingers after picking his arse and then falling off a tree. Oh, wait.. BigBeefChief beat me to it.[/quote] Great minds...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgraham Posted February 26, 2009 Author Share Posted February 26, 2009 But fools... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 [quote name='BigBeefChief' post='419879' date='Feb 26 2009, 09:51 AM']I love sizzle.[/quote] Mmmmm... bacon... *drool* [/hsimpson] [quote name='BigBeefChief' post='419889' date='Feb 26 2009, 10:01 AM']Marcus Miller is a Gay-Hole.[/quote] I reckon his wife might disagree with you there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Warm and round with a bit of thud. As little treble as I can get away with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirky Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 [quote name='birdy' post='419923' date='Feb 26 2009, 10:41 AM']BUT the biggest things I have done recently too improve my tone are a) raise the action[/quote] +1. The main thing I noticed when trying all the lovely basses at the Yorkshire Bash was how low the actions were on all the modern instruments. Seemed to me to be much harder to influence the tone with my fingers, and I felt like it was all dependant on the electronics of the instrument and amp. WoT's basses were the notable and glorious exceptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I have always aspired to a sound that contains as much wood as I can get with as little technology in the sound as is possible - I guess that's why I don't generally like effects, new strings or frets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepurpleblob Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 (edited) Set everything flat, plug it in, switch it on, does it make a noise. Good.... my sound. Everybody thinks I'm joking when I say this. I'm not..... Edited February 26, 2009 by thepurpleblob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 (edited) [url="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=358765544"]http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea...endID=358765544[/url] I had a sound back in 90-92, that I loved. 1976 Thunderbird played with fingers and upside down, (lefty) through an SVT II, into a Marshall 4x12". No FX. Only tracks that I played on here are "Breathing Under Water" and "Zero". The others are played by one of the guits when I left. Guitars, Les Paul Custom through a Boogie and a Jaguar, through a 30th Anniversary Marshall stack, all with beautiful use of FX. That's me at the back with the hat on. Edited February 26, 2009 by steve-soar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
escholl Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 lots of bass, lots of mids, lots of volume. i love my rig :wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonshelley01 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 As long as I can be (just about) heard, I'm more concerned with getting the notes in the right order at the right time. I used to spend a long time coming up with "great" tones, but playing with a drummer and two guitarists using distortion, they all got swallowed in the mix, so now I just have simplified everything and lo and behold, I now cut through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 [quote name='Kirky' post='420041' date='Feb 26 2009, 01:04 PM']+1. The main thing I noticed when trying all the lovely basses at the Yorkshire Bash was how low the actions were on all the modern instruments. Seemed to me to be much harder to influence the tone with my fingers, and I felt like it was all dependant on the electronics of the instrument and amp.[/quote] My RIM Custom 5 may look like some fancy modern thing but it plays and sounds like a big old beast! It's incredible how good a tone you can get by stripping back the signal chain to the bare minimum - in my case two passive pickups, a 4-way switch, passive tone and then a Class A preamp/DI. And an action high enough to get huge dynamic range. Big old strings and a longer scale help too - I'm running year old nickel rounds, 38-58-78-104-134 on a 36" scale. I know I'm like a stuck record on this subject but if you're into really big fat rock/soul/funk/reggae bass sounds, the sort that entirely envelop a mix, then this hybrid old school/modern approach pays amazing dividends. Bass tones that get me excited are the likes of Willie Weeks on Donny Hathaway Live, Jamerson of tons of Motown (though sometimes he's too low in the mix), Jaco on Invitation (midrangey but still BIG!), Family Man on every Wailers album, Larry Graham on anything, Geezer Butler on early Sabbath. Thick and fat and big. Something punchy, sometimes deep, sometimes greasy, sometimes gnarly. No EQ needed, the pickup switch, passive tone and my hands are more than enough. I never plug in at home but every gig and recording session I get the tone I want so I must be doing something right! Anyone looking for their 'tone' without context is doomed to failure. EQ is an unreliable friend but you can always trust technique (not poncy flash technique, I mean manual control of tone through your plucking, fretting and muting) as long as you listen and react. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 [quote name='steve-soar' post='420096' date='Feb 26 2009, 02:24 PM'][url="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=358765544"]http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea...endID=358765544[/url] I had a sound back in 90-92, that I loved. 1976 Thunderbird played with fingers and upside down, (lefty) through an SVT II, into a Marshall 4x12". No FX. Only tracks that I played on here are "Breathing Under Water" and "Zero". The others are played by one of the guits when I left. Guitars, Les Paul Custom through a Boogie and a Jaguar, through a 30th Anniversary Marshall stack, all with beautiful use of FX. That's me at the back with the hat on.[/quote] Nice tone Steve! Just enough growl/grind & mids... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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