How would you describe your tone?

[Baloney Balderdash]

Do you have a favorite tone that you consider your's, and if that is the case how would you the describe it and what are the main contributes to it?

Not sure if this is the correct sub forum, one could argue it'll fit as well or better in some of the other, but well now it's here, if a moderator feels that it is better placed somewhere else feel free to move it.

How I would describe my tone would be twangy, like it got some of that Fender Bass VI vibe going for it, or one could maybe describe it as a more twangy and polite version of the classic 80's punk P bass tone, like for instance JJ Burnel utilize, as it also got a fair bit of bite, snap and punch to it and is mildly overdriven with an Orange amp type low gain overdrive that got that signature grinding clanky character to it.

I achieve it with my main Ibanez GSRM20 neck + GSRM20B mahogany body Mikro Bass with just an EMG Geezer Butler P pickup installed, wired directly to the output jack socket, tuned to F# standard, as in 2 half steps above regular 4 string E standard tuning, and string accordingly with  gauge .095 - .072 - .054 - .040 strings, which gives a very balanced tension, always run through a 1 octave up effect mixed with clean signal, delivered by a customized toneprint in my TC Electronic Sub'N'Up Mini, to give an effect similar to that of an 8 string bass, with pairs of respectively bass and octave strings, only the octave up is mixed a bit lower than it typically would on a real 8 string bass, but before that a TC Electronic SpectraComp at the very beginning of my signal chain, right after the bass, also with a thoroughly customized toneprint, adding some snap, bite and punch, then after the Sub'N'Up going into a Boss LS-2 with 1 of the parallel effect loops got the before mentioned Orange amp type light overdrive in it in form of a Joyo Orange Juice, which adds some light grindy grit and a good deal of snap and bite, mixed with the other parallel effects loop of the LS-2, where an 8 band graphic equalizer resides, then after that some additional EQ'ing, mainly boosting the lower and upper mids, again emphasizing punch, snap and bite, then a subtle plate reverb, and finally a faux, EQ based, cab sim, utilizing the bass specific full parametric equalizer model in my Zoom MS-70CDR, basically just rolling off a good chunk of upper treble frequencies, before going into an EHX Black Finger, tube driven optical compressor, though with the compression dialed in so that it practically never reaches threshold, just adding a beautiful touch of tube coloration warmth and slight compression, really acting primarily as a tube preamp stage then a compressor, making it all sound a bit more focused and just rounding off the upper most harsh edges, through without in any possible way affecting playing dynamics or dulling my tone in any possible way, basically retaining all it's snap and bite, just keeping it from sounding unpleasant, and then as the last point in my "ampless" setup going into an Art Tube MP Project Series tube preamp with the 40Hz LPF engaged, again helping with focusing my tone (unlike the Black Finger, which run it's 2 preamp tubes at proper high 300V plate voltage, the Art ustilizes a starved tube plate design, I think around 70V, but I like what it does, and the tube in it is definitely not just for a gimmick, changing the cheap horrible Chinese stock tube it came with out with an EHX 12AX7EH one, same as in my Black Finger, made a huge different for the better on it's tone).

That's more or less roughly how I get my basic main clean tone.

However I would also consider my high gain distortion tone a main aspect of "my tone", which is basically the same as above, but with another Boss LS-2 being placed right after the first one, having a Mosky Black Rat, RAT clone, set to vintage (silicon I assume) clipping mode, with the gain knob up fairly high and a relatively dark tone, placed in one of the parallel effect loops, blended with the other parallel effects low where another Orange Juice overdrive is sitting, sort of set to a lower medium gain stacked into a Boss MT-2 Metal Zone, which has the gain knob set close to the minimum position, which together with the fact of the Orange Juice overdrive stacked into it helps with it not getting into the fizz territory that the Metal Zone otherwise is infamous for, the Orange Juice also bringing it in a more crunchy and grindy direction, together contributing to bring in some high end and a more focused shaping of the mids, and actually overall having a big say in making this cross-fusion high gain distortion tone exceptionally well articulated and defined, despite it the otherwise being absolutely massively ballsy, monster heavy, roaring and growling, with a quite prominent super raunchy fuzz like quality, basically preventing it from turning into just one big indistinguishable monolithic shapeless sludge of a blurry mess. 

In some way you could say that my high gain distortion tone is somewhat in contrast with my clean tone, but I actually find they compliment each other well, despite one would properly expect something less heavy and massive, somthing in a more biting and clanky direction, somewhat more in line with my clean tone.

 

 

Just for reference here's my entire signal chain put to words:

(*pedals listed in [ red/bold/underline text ] are "always on" effects*)

 

4 string 28,6" scale Ibanez GSRM20 neck + GSRM20B body Mikro Bass (equipped with an EMG Geezer Butler P pickup, wired directly to the output jack socket, and strung with gauge .95 - .75 - .55 - .40 D'Addario XL nickle roundwound steel core strings, tuned in F# standard tuning, 2 half steps above regular 4 string bass E standard tuning) ->>

TC Electronic SpectraComp (always on compressor) ->> TC Electronic Sub'N'Up Mini (always on digital polyphonic octaver, used as an 1 octave up effect mixed with clean bass signal, giving an effect similar to that of an 8 string "octave" bass, with pairs of respectively bass and octave strings) ->> Boss LS-2 [A+B Mix <-> Bypass] (always on, parallel effect loops mixer/switch) ={ [Loop A Send] ->> Joyo Orange Juice (always on low gain overdrive, really primarily used to enhance harmonic content, [Tone] set at about 10:30 o'clock, [Voice] set to boost a wide curve around a 800Hz center frequency about +2dB pre gain stage, always mixed with the Artec Graphic EQ in parallel effects [Loop B]) ->> Joyo Orange Juice (medium gain clanky grinding overdrive, always used with the other Orange Juice behind it stacked into it, and always mixed with the Artec Graphic EQ in parallel effects [Loop B]) ->> [Loop A Return] ->||<- [Loop B Send] ->> Artec SE-EQ8 Graphic EQ (always on 8 band graphic equalizer [100Hz LoShlv= +1dB ; 170Hz (low Q)= 0 ; 280Hz (high Q)= +3dB ; 500Hz (high Q)= 0 ; 800Hz (high Q)= +1dB ; 1.4kHz (high Q)= +3dB ; 2.3 (low Q)= +3dB ; 5kHz HiShlv= -10dB], always blended with the Orange Juice overdrive in parallel effects [Loop A]) ->> [Loop B Return] ([Loop A] + [Loop B] mixed at an about 55/45 ratio) }=>> Boss LS-2 [A+B Mix <-> Bypass] (parallel effect loops mixer/switch) ={ [Loop A Send] ->> Orange Juice (lower medium gain, somewhat grindy type of overdrive, always used staked into the Metal Zone in front of it, together always mixed with the Rat distortion in parallel effects [Loop B]) ->> Boss MT-2 Metal Zone (distortion, always used with the Orange Juice behind it stacked into it, and always used mixed with the Rat distortion in parallel effects [Loop B]) ->> Behringer VP1 Vintage Phaser (EHX Small Stone clone, used in the high feedback and deep sweep mode, always used boosted by the Hotone Trem in front of it, and almost always used mixed with flanger in parallel effects [Loop B]) ->> Hotone Trem (Tremolo with rate and depth at 0, always used to boost either the Behringer phaser placed behind it and make it a bit brighter, or stacked into the Metal Zone in front of it, since it's a few dB above unity gain when engaged) ->> [Loop A Return] ->||<- [Loop B Send]  ->> Mosky Black Rat (RAT clone, in original classic RAT [Vintage] mode, quite raunchy, fuzz-esque, high gain distortion, always used mixed with the Metal Zone distortion in parallel effects [Loop A]) ->> Monarch MFL-22 (flanger, most often used mixed with phaser in parallel effects [Loop A]) ->> [Loop B Return] ([Loop A] + [Loop B] mixed at an about 50/50 ratio) }=>> Zoom G1Xon (Used for an always on 2 band parametric equalizer [Freq=63Hz Q=4 Boost=+1dB ; Freq=200 Q=2 Boost=+1dB], and additionally used for 3 patches (all including the EQ at the end of the chain), which respectively are as follows: Tremolo+VintageCE (Boss CE-1 emulation), chorus patch :-: Plate Reverb+HD Hall Reverb+Tape Delay, prominent reverb patch :-: Plate Reverb+HD Hall Reverb+Tape Delay, extremely thick lush reverb patch, used as a reverb pad effect with volume swells) ->> NUX Tape Core Deluxe (Roland Space Echo tape delay emulation) ->> Zoom MS-70CDR (always on 2 band parametric EQ [Freq=400Hz Q=2 Boost=+1dB ; Freq=1kHz Q=4 Boost=+1dB], subtle spring reverb, and faux, EQ based, cab sim, consisting of a 2 band parametric EQ set as follows: [Freq=10kHz Q=1 Cut=-18dB ; Freq=20kHz Q=0.5 Cut=-20dB], plus a lush Church Reverb model with a line selector behind, making it switchable on/off)

->> Band rehearsal/jamming/gigging  // ->> Home practice / Home recordings  :

->> EHX Black Finger (always on tube driven optical compressor, dialed in to a quite subtle compression, primarily functioning as a tube preamp stage) ->> Art Tube MP Project Series (tube preamp, with HPF at 40Hz) // ->> Band rehearsal/jamming/gigging ->>  [Effects Return] (poweramp input) of Peavey Solo Special 112 (160W, solid state guitar combo, with the build in 4 Ohm 12" speaker unit disconnected and instead hooked up to a The Box PA 502 PA speaker) ->> The Box PA 502 (full range PA speaker with 1x 15" + 1.7" high frequency tweeter horn)  // ->> Home practice / Home recordings  ->> Behringer Eurorack UB1202 (mixer) ->> [ ->> Sennheiser HD 380 Pro (headphones) ]/[ ->> Behringer Tube Ultragain MIC100 (tube preamp) ->> M-Audio Fast Track (sound interface) ->> Reaper (DAW) ]

 

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Baloney Balderdash

[krispn]

one or two sound clips would be much easier

 

[krispn]

I should add I only say this as I've said on a few threads (like the synth ones) I'd love to hear some of the sounds people describe in context. A synth sound or a dirt sound isolated is one thing but to hear sounds in context makes far more sense. I know what a lot if the gear mentioned is and does but reading a pedal list with settings doesn't really help me create a sonicscape - maybe I just don't have the imagination!

[BigRedX]

My bass guitar tone sounds like a bass guitar.

[Skybone]

Our Tone is sound. He does go on a bit though sometimes... 🤨🙄

[Lozz196]

Now I’m in a classic rock band doing 70s style rock my tone is a pretty generic Fender type tone, one that supports the songs rather than tries to cut through the mix. Hard placed to notice it until it’s not there.

I tend to pick the tone to the band, as in my last band (punk) it was a cross between Duff McKagan, JJ Burrell & Lemmy, I’m not a big believer in “that’s my tone irrespective of what band/genre”. 

[Doctor J]

14 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Do you have a favorite tone that you consider your's, and if that is the case how would you the describe it and what are the main contributes to it?

Not sure if this is the correct sub forum, one could argue it'll fit as well or better in some of the other, but well now it's here, if a moderator feels that it is better placed somewhere else feel free to move it.

How I would describe my tone would be twangy, like it got some of that Fender Bass VI vibe going for it, or one could maybe describe it as a more twangy and polite version of the classic 80's punk P bass tone, like for instance JJ Burnel utilize, as it also got a fair bit of bite, snap and punch to it and is mildly overdriven with an Orange amp type low gain overdrive that got that signature grinding clanky character to it.

I achieve it with my main Ibanez GSRM20 neck + GSRM20B mahogany body Mikro Bass with just an EMG Geezer Butler P pickup installed, wired directly to the output jack socket, tuned to F# standard, as in 2 half steps above regular 4 string E standard tuning, and string accordingly with  gauge .095 - .072 - .054 - .040 strings, which gives a very balanced tension, always run through a 1 octave up effect mixed with clean signal, delivered by a customized toneprint in my TC Electronic Sub'N'Up Mini, to give an effect similar to that of an 8 string bass, with pairs of respectively bass and octave strings, only the octave up is mixed a bit lower than it typically would on a real 8 string bass, but before that a TC Electronic SpectraComp at the very beginning of my signal chain, right after the bass, also with a thoroughly customized toneprint, adding some snap, bite and punch, then after the Sub'N'Up going into a Boss LS-2 with 1 of the parallel effect loops got the before mentioned Orange amp type light overdrive in it in form of a Joyo Orange Juice, which adds some light grindy grit and a good deal of snap and bite, mixed with the other parallel effects loop of the LS-2, where an 8 band graphic equalizer resides, then after that some additional EQ'ing, mainly boosting the lower and upper mids, again emphasizing punch, snap and bite, then a subtle plate reverb, and finally a faux, EQ based, cab sim, utilizing the bass specific full parametric equalizer model in my Zoom MS-70CDR, basically just rolling off a good chunk of upper treble frequencies, before going into an EHX Black Finger, tube driven optical compressor, though with the compression dialed in so that it practically never reaches threshold, just adding a beautiful touch of tube coloration warmth and slight compression, really acting primarily as a tube preamp stage then a compressor, making it all sound a bit more focused and just rounding off the upper most harsh edges, through without in any possible way affecting playing dynamics or dulling my tone in any possible way, basically retaining all it's snap and bite, just keeping it from sounding unpleasant, and then as the last point in my "ampless" setup going into an Art Tube MP Project Series tube preamp with the 40Hz LPF engaged, again helping with focusing my tone (unlike the Black Finger, which run it's 2 preamp tubes at proper high 300V plate voltage, the Art ustilizes a starved tube plate design, I think around 70V, but I like what it does, and the tube in it is definitely not just for a gimmick, changing the cheap horrible Chinese stock tube it came with out with an EHX 12AX7EH one, same as in my Black Finger, made a huge different for the better on it's tone).

That's more or less roughly how I get my basic main clean tone.

However I would also consider my high gain distortion tone a main aspect of "my tone", which is basically the same as above, but with another Boss LS-2 being placed right after the first one, having a Mosky Black Rat, RAT clone, set to vintage (silicon I assume) clipping mode, with the gain knob up fairly high and a relatively dark tone, placed in one of the parallel effect loops, blended with the other parallel effects low where another Orange Juice overdrive is sitting, sort of set to a lower medium gain stacked into a Boss MT-2 Metal Zone, which has the gain knob set close to the minimum position, which together with the fact of the Orange Juice overdrive stacked into it helps with it not getting into the fizz territory that the Metal Zone otherwise is infamous for, the Orange Juice also bringing it in a more crunchy and grindy direction, together contributing to bring in some high end and a more focused shaping of the mids, and actually overall having a big say in making this cross-fusion high gain distortion tone exceptionally well articulated and defined, despite it the otherwise being absolutely massively ballsy, monster heavy, roaring and growling, with a quite prominent super raunchy fuzz like quality, basically preventing it from turning into just one big indistinguishable monolithic shapeless sludge of a blurry mess. 

In some way you could say that my high gain distortion tone is somewhat in contrast with my clean tone, but I actually find they compliment each other well, despite one would properly expect something less heavy and massive, somthing in a more biting and clanky direction, somewhat more in line with my clean tone.

 

 

Just for reference here's my entire signal chain put to words:

(*pedals listed in [ red/bold/underline text ] are "always on" effects*)

 

4 string 28,6" scale Ibanez GSRM20 neck + GSRM20B body Mikro Bass (equipped with an EMG Geezer Butler P pickup, wired directly to the output jack socket, and strung with gauge .95 - .75 - .55 - .40 D'Addario XL nickle roundwound steel core strings, tuned in F# standard tuning, 2 half steps above regular 4 string bass E standard tuning) ->>

TC Electronic SpectraComp (always on compressor) ->> TC Electronic Sub'N'Up Mini (always on digital polyphonic octaver, used as an 1 octave up effect mixed with clean bass signal, giving an effect similar to that of an 8 string "octave" bass, with pairs of respectively bass and octave strings) ->> Boss LS-2 [A+B Mix <-> Bypass] (always on, parallel effect loops mixer/switch) ={ [Loop A Send] ->> Joyo Orange Juice (always on low gain overdrive, really primarily used to enhance harmonic content, [Tone] set at about 10:30 o'clock, [Voice] set to boost a wide curve around a 800Hz center frequency about +2dB pre gain stage, always mixed with the Artec Graphic EQ in parallel effects [Loop B]) ->> Joyo Orange Juice (medium gain clanky grinding overdrive, always used with the other Orange Juice behind it stacked into it, and always mixed with the Artec Graphic EQ in parallel effects [Loop B]) ->> [Loop A Return] ->||<- [Loop B Send] ->> Artec SE-EQ8 Graphic EQ (always on 8 band graphic equalizer [100Hz LoShlv= +1dB ; 170Hz (low Q)= 0 ; 280Hz (high Q)= +3dB ; 500Hz (high Q)= 0 ; 800Hz (high Q)= +1dB ; 1.4kHz (high Q)= +3dB ; 2.3 (low Q)= +3dB ; 5kHz HiShlv= -10dB], always blended with the Orange Juice overdrive in parallel effects [Loop A]) ->> [Loop B Return] ([Loop A] + [Loop B] mixed at an about 55/45 ratio) }=>> Boss LS-2 [A+B Mix <-> Bypass] (parallel effect loops mixer/switch) ={ [Loop A Send] ->> Orange Juice (lower medium gain, somewhat grindy type of overdrive, always used staked into the Metal Zone in front of it, together always mixed with the Rat distortion in parallel effects [Loop B]) ->> Boss MT-2 Metal Zone (distortion, always used with the Orange Juice behind it stacked into it, and always used mixed with the Rat distortion in parallel effects [Loop B]) ->> Behringer VP1 Vintage Phaser (EHX Small Stone clone, used in the high feedback and deep sweep mode, always used boosted by the Hotone Trem in front of it, and almost always used mixed with flanger in parallel effects [Loop B]) ->> Hotone Trem (Tremolo with rate and depth at 0, always used to boost either the Behringer phaser placed behind it and make it a bit brighter, or stacked into the Metal Zone in front of it, since it's a few dB above unity gain when engaged) ->> [Loop A Return] ->||<- [Loop B Send]  ->> Mosky Black Rat (RAT clone, in original classic RAT [Vintage] mode, quite raunchy, fuzz-esque, high gain distortion, always used mixed with the Metal Zone distortion in parallel effects [Loop A]) ->> Monarch MFL-22 (flanger, most often used mixed with phaser in parallel effects [Loop A]) ->> [Loop B Return] ([Loop A] + [Loop B] mixed at an about 50/50 ratio) }=>> Zoom G1Xon (Used for an always on 2 band parametric equalizer [Freq=63Hz Q=4 Boost=+1dB ; Freq=200 Q=2 Boost=+1dB], and additionally used for 3 patches (all including the EQ at the end of the chain), which respectively are as follows: Tremolo+VintageCE (Boss CE-1 emulation), chorus patch :-: Plate Reverb+HD Hall Reverb+Tape Delay, prominent reverb patch :-: Plate Reverb+HD Hall Reverb+Tape Delay, extremely thick lush reverb patch, used as a reverb pad effect with volume swells) ->> NUX Tape Core Deluxe (Roland Space Echo tape delay emulation) ->> Zoom MS-70CDR (always on 2 band parametric EQ [Freq=400Hz Q=2 Boost=+1dB ; Freq=1kHz Q=4 Boost=+1dB], subtle spring reverb, and faux, EQ based, cab sim, consisting of a 2 band parametric EQ set as follows: [Freq=10kHz Q=1 Cut=-18dB ; Freq=20kHz Q=0.5 Cut=-20dB], plus a lush Church Reverb model with a line selector behind, making it switchable on/off)

->> Band rehearsal/jamming/gigging  // ->> Home practice / Home recordings  :

->> EHX Black Finger (always on tube driven optical compressor, dialed in to a quite subtle compression, primarily functioning as a tube preamp stage) ->> Art Tube MP Project Series (tube preamp, with HPF at 40Hz) // ->> Band rehearsal/jamming/gigging ->>  [Effects Return] (poweramp input) of Peavey Solo Special 112 (160W, solid state guitar combo, with the build in 4 Ohm 12" speaker unit disconnected and instead hooked up to a The Box PA 502 PA speaker) ->> The Box PA 502 (full range PA speaker with 1x 15" + 1.7" high frequency tweeter horn)  // ->> Home practice / Home recordings  ->> Behringer Eurorack UB1202 (mixer) ->> [ ->> Sennheiser HD 380 Pro (headphones) ]/[ ->> Behringer Tube Ultragain MIC100 (tube preamp) ->> M-Audio Fast Track (sound interface) ->> Reaper (DAW) ]

 

 

 

I would describe my tone concisely 😉

[SumOne]

I needed a new heel for my shoe, so, I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. Give me five bees for a quarter, you'd say. Now where were we? Oh yeah: the important thing was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones.

[BigRedX]

On a more serious note, I don't really have a bass tone.

It very much depends on the instrumentation of the band, what the other musicians are playing both in terms of sound and note choices. I have a Line6 Helix, so I can get almost any bass guitar sound imaginable. Also a bass guitar sound isn't always appropriate so I might use a keyboard synth instead.

[Cuzzie]

4 minutes ago, SumOne said:

I needed a new heel for my shoe, so, I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. Give me five bees for a quarter, you'd say. Now where were we? Oh yeah: the important thing was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones.

You like watching Matlock don’t you

[uk_lefty]

30 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I tend to pick the tone to the band, as in my last band (punk) it was a cross between Duff McKagan, JJ Burrell & Lemmy, I’m not a big believer in “that’s my tone irrespective of what band/genre”. 

I like the approach here! 

I would like to have a "here's my tone, this is what I play, this is ME" but I tend to just do this: ramp up the mids if I'm playing fretless (currently with flats) or a song like Crazy Little Thing Called Love, otherwise I go a little mid scooped and like a bit of string clank and some grit in the sound. 

Then the sound man makes me sound like "whatever it's just bass, you done yet I've got a flipin hour mic'ing these cymbals?" 

[SumOne]

If a picture says a thousand words then it's probably equally (if not more) true using words to communicate a tone. The easiest way I could describe the tones I try for are to reference things people have heard: Robbie Shakespeare (Sly & Robbie), sometimes Bernard Edwards (Chic), sometimes Al Sisneros (Sleep)....all very different, but all heavy, solid tones. 

 

[Munurmunuh]

Is there a word for the change in tone that comes when you trim the nails on the first two fingers of your right hand right back? If so, that. Squared.

[NancyJohnson]

I'll say this first off, I couldn't finish reading the original post; it's like when you're watching a film where there's a mad scientist with a blackboard covered in unfathomable calculations and he's screaming that in a few hours he'll work out how to time travel.

While I'm sure the OP harbours a passion and an element of madness for his/her tone, I'll pass along something that I've learnt from my long and varied experience of bass playing in bands and studio sessions, it's that (read carefully); nobody except you cares what you sound like.

Truth hurts, eh?

Understand that all these boxes, these nuances, these dB tweaks that you're throwing in are going to be lost in a band context; if you want a gnarly but polite Jean-Jacques Burnel tone, just dump all the existing outboard gear and buy a Tech21 Sansamp BDDI, roll back the drive and plug it into the effects return on your amp.

 

[andruca]

For rock music I always try to sound as HARLEYDAVIDSONIAN as I can. That'd be my description.

[Munurmunuh]

5 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

nobody except you cares what you sound like.

But they do care if you're happy or not. 

[Baloney Balderdash]

1 hour ago, NancyJohnson said:

I'll say this first off, I couldn't finish reading the original post; it's like when you're watching a film where there's a mad scientist with a blackboard covered in unfathomable calculations and he's screaming that in a few hours he'll work out how to time travel.

While I'm sure the OP harbours a passion and an element of madness for his/her tone, I'll pass along something that I've learnt from my long and varied experience of bass playing in bands and studio sessions, it's that (read carefully); nobody except you cares what you sound like.

Truth hurts, eh?

Understand that all these boxes, these nuances, these dB tweaks that you're throwing in are going to be lost in a band context; if you want a gnarly but polite Jean-Jacques Burnel tone, just dump all the existing outboard gear and buy a Tech21 Sansamp BDDI, roll back the drive and plug it into the effects return on your amp.

 

I get what you are saying, but I don't agree with what you say, not even one bit.

I know for a fact that other people care about my tone, I know cause I care about other people's tone, and not just on bass, and I know people who feel the same way.

You would think that would be the reason why I made this thread in fact, but obviously you don't.

You know (or maybe the problem is that you don't?) people who actually care about music.

Also using a Sansamp BDDI to mimic JJ Burnel's tone got to be one of the worst pieces of advice ever given, that sucker sucks the mids right out of your tone, exactly what his tone is all about, mids.

Also I don't care for a generic tone I care for the tone the way I envision it to be, it's called being creative.

And your bass getting lost in the mix in a bass/vocals and drums duo is kind of really hard, like you would have to do a serious effort for it to get lost, I don't say it is impossible, but it's not something I plan to do, and I would think very few people would either.

In other words you don't know what you are talking about, which might explain why my OP looks like mad scribbings to you.

Truth hurts, eh?

Edited April 8, 2021 by Baloney Balderdash

[Baloney Balderdash]

30 minutes ago, andruca said:

For rock music I always try to sound as HARLEYDAVIDSONIAN as I can. That'd be my description.

Personally I go for HarleyBentonian, which is properly a more realistic bet. 

Edited April 8, 2021 by Baloney Balderdash

[andruca]

7 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Personally I go for HarleyBentonian, which is properly a more realistic bet. 

Definitely into that too, owned several of those, still own one in fact 👍

[Doddy]

1 hour ago, NancyJohnson said:

While I'm sure the OP harbours a passion and an element of madness for his/her tone, I'll pass along something that I've learnt from my long and varied experience of bass playing in bands and studio sessions, it's that (read carefully); nobody except you cares what you sound like.

I completely disagree with this. I think your tone is a big part of who you are as a player, and it does matter to people who are hiring you for gigs and recording.

Have you heard the story about Will Lee recording the demos for Billy Cobhams 'Spectrum', but being dropped from the master session because his tone sucked at the time?  

[such]

My main focus last few years has been my tone. Spent lots of time and money trying basses, strings, pedals, even picks. 

There was also a time, about two decades ago, when I wasn't interested in my tone at all. Had one bass, no pedals and a simple 1x15 combo. I spent several hours a day practising. I had time to do that, because with the gigs I was getting, I didn't need a day job. 

I also had lots of time over last year. I spent it geeking out on my tone, and I will continue to do so. I've got a day job and I need it. 

[Frank Blank]

So, there’s usually a reticent quality of endeavour about my bass tone and at the same time, in cognitive and, indeed precognitive terms, it’s a very natural rhapsodic augmentation of my living environment. When someone playing complex passages, passages say, that attempt to convey the minutiae of human lives in all their manifold sensuous and intellectual complexity is asked to define the nuances of their tonal output, we can see for ourselves the branches and leaves of opprobrium working their noble way into the twilight of aural comprehension. Not only that, but the parts of the brain employed when playing or listening to the bass or making love are illuminated by the very act of discussing the inherent architecture of bass tone, or drawin a complex and over detailed diagram of love making.

Long before such tonal schematics became de rigeur,  the Albanian visionary and goat herd, Maximilian Coque, argued that the portrayal of bass, both behaviourally and proto-subjectively, in modern musical culture was actually a comprehensively valid field for theoretical psychoanalysis in a post-reductionist, albeit tonally abstract, environment. Recent advances in aural science allow us to put Croque’s theories to the test under laboratory conditions and it turns out that the old man was right on the money. Fancifully, I wonder how these whimsical speculations over bass tone might appear to the audio technicians of the future, and whether they could turn this endless rumination over what is, in essence, a very basic and fundamental sound in to a simple three dimensional structure composed of papier-mâché and dried macaroni? Food for thought.

In the spirit of Croque and his theoretical ruminations I would describe my bass tone as lamb madras mopped up with the last chapati and then a walk home in the rain because I missed the last bus.

[Steve Browning]

John Deacon on Queen II. That's my sound.

[krispn]

1 hour ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

I get what you are saying, but I don't agree with what you say, not even one bit.

I know for a fact that other people care about my tone, I know cause I care about other people's tone, and not just on bass, and I know people who feel the same way.

You would think that would be the reason why I made this thread in fact, but obviously you don't.

You know (or maybe the problem is that you don't?) people who actually care about music.

Also using a Sansamp BDDI to mimic JJ Burnel's tone got to be one of the worst pieces of advice ever given, that sucker sucks the mids right out of your tone, exactly what his tone is all about, mids.

Also I don't care for a generic tone I care for the tone the way I vision it to be, it's called being creative.

And your bass getting lost in the mix in a bass/vocals and drums duo is kind of really hard, like you would have to do a serious effort for it to get lost, I don't say it is impossible, but it's not something I plan to do, and I would think very few people would either.

In other words you don't know what you are talking about, which might explain why my OP looks like mad scribbings to you.

Truth hurts, eh?

I like tone. I’ve been in bands were there’s been real consideration of frequencies and tones so instruments complimented each other. It was a very real part of the band’s rehearsal. Ultimately it all went to sh*t at gigs because we had no real control over our sound. I remember soundchecking  in a room and every time I hit a G on the E string something in the room vibrated. The sound man asked if I needed to play that note  I suggested he start to notch out the eq at 100, 200 400, 800 etc until he fixed the troublesome vibration and if it didn’t work I’d offer some alternative frequencies to try. Knowing about frequencies and tones is helpful to make sure we eliminate feedback of gaps in a sound.

My point is we all cared about the overall sound. Most players do - we all want to sound ‘good’ to our ears.

I don’t think anyone would question the enthusiasm and passion many BC’ers have over their gear and tone and I’m sure for some genres of music all the effects create sounds and soundscapes which are greater than the sum of their parts. 

Seriously one or two sound clips would be really useful if you wish to share ‘your tone’

[Conor&Bass]

I go for "not too boomy, not too pingy" - gives me a wide range to shoot for and always seems sit fine in the mix...