What makes “your sound”?

[Lozz196]

I recall reading an interview with Glen Matlock (he of Sex Pistols fame) and he said that the integral piece of equipment for his sound wasn’t the bass or strings but his Fender amp. 
 

Now thinking about this I’d probably say a Tech21 pedal in one shape or another, be it BDDI, VTDI or Para Driver they all have the Tech21 sound and this has been pretty much a constant with me over the last 20 or so years.

 

So, what’s the integral piece of equipment for your sound?

[MacDaddy]

All in the fingers innit! 

[Ed_S]

At home, a Tech21 RBI or RPM straight into the mixer and out via a decent pair of cans is ‘me’. Live, though, it’s a Markbass head with the EQ flat (well.. all dials at noon) and the filters turned off that has become my thing. I’ve found LM2, LM3, F1, LM800, Nano300 and Nano2 all equally acceptable.

Edited November 10, 2023 by Ed_S

[mr4stringz]

These days it’s my rack preamp, a Hilbish Design Beta Pre. It’s the heart of my sound in my current band. There can’t be many of them over this side of the pond, and it was very much a right time, right place purchase. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[BassAdder60]

In the past it was this 

 

But now it’s this !

 

I seem to have a thing for heavy weight and valves !!

 

 

[lozkerr]

For me, it's this. Fender Jazz V Deluxe through an Eden Metro atop a 118 cab. This was taken a few days before lockdown - seems ages ago now!

[Downunderwonder]

So long as whatever I am plugged into will overdrive a little when I dig in I can do the rest with fingers most days. I would definitely like to be back doing effected improv before I die.

[PatrickJ]

I’ve spent a fair amount of time crafting a ‘virtual’ rig with my Helix

Stomp …. It’s become what I now consider to be my sound for the band I play for. 

[Dad3353]

My fingers, in association with my ears. 

[attackbass]

My hands and what I play and the way I hear music.

 

 

[chris_b]

It isn't one piece, it's the whole signal chain that creates your sound. From your fingers, and the way you use them, to the speaker cones, every link in that chain can make or break your sound.

[joeystrange]

I’m not sure. My sound has changed a fair bit over the years but it’s always loud and dirty. 
 

People often tell me they can always tell when I’ve played on something and the only constant over the whole time is a Precision and SansAmp BDDI, so that, I guess?

[Burns-bass]

Flat wound strings!

 

I just use the amp EQ and don’t bother with effects. Had no complaints in recent years as I play in retro bands. Makes setup simple too!

[Gasman]

Quite often it’s out of my control - the acoustics of the venue, what the sound engineer’s been taking to get him through the event, whether there’s a big crowd or not, these factors all contribute. 

[Munurmunuh]

Fairly tense strings gently tickled by a very light touch.

[Skybone]

Obviously a little bit of everything.

[Leonard Smalls]

Today it's a touch of compressed Ampeg model in one Helix path, the other path with tube overdrive, plate reverb and Wah.

Yesterday it was a Royal Blood sort of thing with bass in one path and autowah screaming guitar in the other.

Before that with an actual pedalboard it was whatever craziness I could conjure from Qtron and bass-synth.

Tomorrow, who knows?

[Merton]

My sound is my fingers, bass and the preamp settings I choose. The amps and cabs I choose are there to enhance those other facets to my tone; I probably sound the same through the majority of amps etc but feel the Trace/BF rig allows me to focus on the playing more

[asingardenof]

Depends on what I'm playing at any given moment - my "sound" is very ephemeral.

[spongebob]

Definitely my attack, string choice, Markbass.

 

Whether I gig with my 'Ray or Ricky, to me, I don't sound a million miles apart! 

[WinterMute]

Depends on what the song requires, via a Quad Cortex, I'll build a sound to suit the track from a few general presets.

 

The constants are 5 strings and round wounds.

 

I've used the same Boss Bass Chorus pedal for 40 years on my fretless.

 

I have a sound for my originals projects, which is a bi-amped patch using an SVT 3 model into a 2x12 EV IR for the LF and a GK 800RB into a 4x10 TE IR  for the HF, both with switchable distortion and chorus paths and an LA2 limiter model on the mixed output, which is suitable filthy when needed, but behaves itself in decent company.

[Boodang]

Pickups.... I had some custom jazz single coil pups made, alnico2 for the bridge and alnico5 for the neck. Tone starts at the source and these really work for me, no eq needed.

[Dan Dare]

I don't have a "sound". It changes depending on what the material calls for.

[msb]

Monique really changed things for me.

 

 

[BigRedX]

What I play in terms of note choices and phrasing, combined with an good multi-effects unit.