Where do you prefer your tone to sit ?

[BassAdder60]

At first this might seem an odd question but in the context of your bass tone and music genre where do you prefer your sound to sit in the mix

Feel but not be heard 

Feel and heard but a more woolly tone 

Heard and distinct more like a bass and rhythm punchy sound ?

In a rock context I find playing bass in a band with one guitarist needs a full punchy and distinct bass tone which fills the band sound and adds depth and drive 

Finger style or pick can achieve this as many great players do so.

More recently I’ve gone over to using a pick as I find I actually hear the True Tone of the bass guitar more so than the softer attack and rounded finger style tone. 
 

Some songs in rock needs the bass sat in the background of the mix, present but hard to hear in the mix.

Some songs need the bass upfront in the band sound to compliment the guitar and punch the song along … 

I know where I prefer to have my tone and that’s why I play rock and now mostly with a pick 

 

 

 

[Dad3353]

We play quite a varied repertoire of pop/rock covers; Our Youngest on bass uses the same tone throughout, and it fits well. He adjusts slightly (fingers only, fretless sixer...), but that's all, plugged straight into our Hiwatt 200w valve PA head. Quite different from studio stuff, recording; for 'live' work any attack from a bass is only really present in its immediate vicinity. Once moved to the back of the hall, or off-axis, it's the bass tone that is present. Personally I'm of the opinion that there is much 'precious' about one's tone. Does the drummer tune snare and toms differently for each number..? Not really, although in the studio, it may take a day to decide which snare best fits the role. We all have different ears, tastes and experience, but, to me, bass is bass is bass, really.
Disclaimer : I'm a drummer (and no, I don't swap snares between numbers. Drums is drums is drums...) 

Edited July 16, 2021 by Dad3353

[hooky_lowdown]

I never understand why some bass players don't want to be heard. I've seen many bands and know other bassists who prefer to hide in the mix, but I just don't see the point. Even if you play poorly, no matter, a bassist has a job to do in the mix, and should always be heard.

I play mostly Rock, Blues, some Motown and Ska. I mostly use a pick, so I can dig in when necessary, so I can drive the song along. Sometimes I play thumb style (a la Robbie Shakespeare) if I want a fatter or more rounded tone, rarely if ever play fingerstyle, doesn't work for me.

[BassAdder60]

I have been in bands as a guitarist and found the bass player turning down so as not to be heard !! 

It makes no sense and although when the bass is present often you / audience don’t realise it but stop playing and the whole sound changes.

Yep I’m more let’s be heard and felt bassist and found a pick achieves this better for how and what I play. 
All credit to finger players ( Steve Harris ) who clearly are heard and no pick required !

[Dad3353]

17 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

I never understand why some bass players don't want to be heard...

When approaching a venue (pub, festival, whatever...) the first sounds you'll hear are the bass, almost without exception. Being heard is one thing, being overly prominent is quite another. I wouldn't like to assist at a Schubert concert in which the trombones took over the phonic spectrum. They're there, all right, but in their place, as bass. 

[Nicko]

34 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

When approaching a venue (pub, festival, whatever...) the first sounds you'll hear are the bass, almost without exception. Being heard is one thing, being overly prominent is quite another. I wouldn't like to assist at a Schubert concert in which the trombones took over the phonic spectrum. They're there, all right, but in their place, as bass. 

This.  Asking whether the bass should dominate is no more peculiar than asking whether the lead guitarist should turn down.  The relative loudness of the bass and it's tone has to be viewed in the context of the whole song.

[chris_b]

I want every note to be clearly heard and felt by the guy sitting in his front room in the next street. And I want to see a sprinkle of dental fillings on the floor around the room.

[Lozz196]

It all depends on the band I’m in.

In the last one we were a 3 piece originals street punk band, so my bass was trebly, gnarly, with break-up/gain, acting as bass and a bit like rhythm guitar, a la Lemmy, keeping the drive going.
 

My current band is a classic rock band with guitar and keys so I do the Fender/Ampeg thing having a sound that locks with the drums and keeps out of the way of the guitar & keys.

To me it’s all about the band and what it requires.

[Nail Soup]

In my experience it’s balancing two six strings that Is difficult. The bass has a bit more tolerance….. a bit too loud and it doesn’t tread on anything else and sounds ok…. a bit too quiet and it still fills the bottom end even if you cant hear the note choice.

But all in all I like to clearly hear the bass👍

[White Cloud]

Personally, I think John Entwistle got it right... loud, punchy and aggressive.

Turn it up or turn it off.

[diskwave]

The question suggests that we as bass players have some sort of control over the overall audience experience.  I gave up years ago worrying about how I sound from the middle to the  back of the room/hall cause unless ur doing the Entwisle, John Taylor, Jaco  thing then those bass frequency nuances we endlessly discuss pretty well all sound the same...either over bloated, or soft and mushy.....rarely will ur crispy well honed tone sound like that at the bar. 

[uk_lefty]

6 hours ago, BassAdder27 said:

All credit to finger players ( Steve Harris ) who clearly are heard and no pick required !

This is surely down to EQ rather than volume? I play fingerstyle 99% of the time along with two guitarists and never gave a problem being heard. Being heard at the right pitch and at the right time, however.... 

[Downunderwonder]

I like to be clearly and dearly missed if I stop playing and audible to anyone who is listening. Lots only hear it when it stops, no need to beat them about the head with it.

[BigRedX]

It really depends on the style of music and the other instrumentation.

I play in two bands.

One with two guitarists and synths and most of the time the bass is there to provide the bottom end although every once in while the bass line takes centre stage in the arrangement.

The other is just vocals, synths and myself on Bass VI and drum machine. Pretty much all the instruments are equally important for both frequency range and melody/harmony and the mix changes all the time depending on who is doing what in any song at any particular time. Having both synths and Bass VI means that either of us can be providing the bass line or the melody part and often we'll swap over  in the middle of the song.

[lowdown]

Very loud, very confident and very right...Otherwise, why bother?

If you get 2 out of 3, questions start to get asked.... ****

 

[ubit]

For many years I mistakenly had my setting in the happy face zone. I thought as that was what I had my stereo at that that was what was best. I eventually heard someone mention the sad face setting. I tried this and it was like an epiphany. My bass cut through without sounding too loud. I like plenty bottom end but plenty top end too. Mids are the highest. I like a toppy sound with the clank of new strings. I used to change my strings every three gigs. I sweat a lot when gigging. I would boil the strings and get a couple of extra gigs out of them.

[BassAdder60]

21 minutes ago, ubit said:

For many years I mistakenly had my setting in the happy face zone. I thought as that was what I had my stereo at that that was what was best. I eventually heard someone mention the sad face setting. I tried this and it was like an epiphany. My bass cut through without sounding too loud. I like plenty bottom end but plenty top end too. Mids are the highest. I like a toppy sound with the clank of new strings. I used to change my strings every three gigs. I sweat a lot when gigging. I would boil the strings and get a couple of extra gigs out of them.

Yep the smiley face EQ sounds great on its own but in a band context rarely works 

I think the natural voice of the amp and bass guitar and technique play a part to the finished EQ but mids are your friend especially low mids 

[chris_b]

17 minutes ago, BassAdder27 said:

I think the natural voice of the amp and bass guitar and technique play a part to the finished EQ but mids are your friend especially low mids 

This.

I tend to own amps that get a great sound when the controls are at 12 o'clock or very close.

IMO extreme use of the EQ means you bought the wrong amp.

[Graham]

Heard, clear and present for me - hence my taste for solid state heads.

It'll be interesting when we start gigging with our new guitarist, as he's a strat player whereas the last guy predominantly played a Les Paul, so I'll have to see how I need to change my tone to fit accordingly

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, Graham said:

It'll be interesting when we start gigging with our new guitarist, as he's a strat player whereas the last guy predominantly played a Les Paul, so I'll have to see how I need to change my tone to fit accordingly

Do you play with a pick? Does your new guitarist have a predominantly clean sound? 

If the answer to both of those is yes you may have to have a bit of a rethink of your bass sound. I found that mine all but disappeared in this situation and I had to switch to mostly finger-style (or a softer nylon pick) and completely different EQ to separate the two instruments out again. Otherwise you'll probably get away with a small EQ adjustment if anything is required (I've also played with Strat players who from a tonal PoV might as well have been wielding an LP). 

[Graham]

2 hours ago, BigRedX said:

Do you play with a pick? Does your new guitarist have a predominantly clean sound? 

If the answer to both of those is yes you may have to have a bit of a rethink of your bass sound. I found that mine all but disappeared in this situation and I had to switch to mostly finger-style (or a softer nylon pick) and completely different EQ to separate the two instruments out again. Otherwise you'll probably get away with a small EQ adjustment if anything is required (I've also played with Strat players who from a tonal PoV might as well have been wielding an LP). 

I'm a fingers player, so shouldn't be too much of an issue; I'm expecting to have to make some changes to get to a similar result, so see how we get on

[4000]

On 17/07/2021 at 11:34, chris_b said:

This.

I tend to own amps that get a great sound when the controls are at 12 o'clock or very close.

IMO extreme use of the EQ means you bought the wrong amp.

This depends entirely on what sort of sound you’re after. Most of my favourite-sounding players eq heavily and I tend to too.

I was checking back on Lemmy’s early amp settings the other day and he had the middle, treble and presence on his Marshalls on full and the bass full off. 

And Chris Squire back in the day: 

Squire's settings on the Marshall are Volume = 4, Bass = 4, Middle = 6, Treble = 10, Presence = 10.

and on the Sunn:

"My sound is a combination of the amp controls, the guitar's controls, and the volume we're playing at." The settings on the Sunn Coliseum Lead head, which Chris states without hesitation, are 6 on the volume levels, 4 on the low freq control, 3 on the high freq control, 5 on the mid-freq, and 10 on the treble. On the Rick, the volume and tone controls on the treble (bridge) pickup are run wide open. The bass (neck) pickup volume is near full and the tone knob sits on 4.